Alice in Zombieland wrc-1

by Gena Showalter

  “Yes, besides me.”

  I couldn’t admit it. I just couldn’t. “First I want you to answer me. Do you know what caused those tracks?”

  “Yes.” No hesitation from him.

  Unbidden, I took a step closer to him. “What?”

  “You tell me.”

  I rooted my feet into the ground, too afraid I’d try to press myself against him and shake him. “I never said I knew.”

  “You paled. That was answer enough.”

  “I…I…”

  “But I have to hear you say the words.”

  Stubborn, nervous, I shook my head. “No. I won’t.”

  Cole stared at me, frowning, a slash of menace in the shadows. “You’re really handicapping me here, Ali. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. And I cannot—absolutely will not—mention anything outright. You have to tell me what I’m trying to say.”

  Dang it! Was he implying what I thought he was implying? That he saw monsters, too, but couldn’t admit it until I admitted it? But if I admitted it, and that wasn’t what he’d meant…

  “Let’s try this another way,” he suggested. “Your dad is dead, isn’t he? Killed this summer.”

  Immediately I spun, giving him my back. “I won’t talk about that, either,” I said. I figured Cole had done a search on me the same way I’d done one on him.

  “He died in a car crash at night, in a cemetery,” Cole persisted. “You were with him. Did you see anything…weird?”

  “I won’t talk about that,” I repeated, stomping away from him. If I did, I would cry in front of him, and I absolutely refused to cry in front of him.

  A scream burst from my lips as my feet were jerked out from under me.

  Something tight and inexorable banded around my ankle, lifting me up…up…until I dangled from a tree branch, no part of me touching the ground. Blood rushed into my head, making me dizzy.

  “What the heck!” I shouted. As I swung back and forth, I looked up. Thick rope encased my ankle—a rope that had been painted to resemble tree bark.

  Someone had booby-trapped the land behind my backyard. Or was this one of the trip wires Cole had mentioned?

  He closed the distance between us and crouched down just in front of me. Suddenly we were eye to upside-down eye.

  “Let me down!” I demanded.

  His smile was anything but pleasant. “You and your commands. Ask nicely.”

  How dare he throw my words back at me! “Will you please…let me…down?” I ruined the saccharine-sweet request by trying to punch him.

  Laughing, and baffling me with the sincere amusement I detected, he jumped out of striking distance. “Now, now. No need for that. I’d be happy to help you. After,” he added.

  “After? What do you mean after? Do it now!”

  “After we finish talking.”

  Oh, really? I arched back, then curled in, repeated the actions again and again, until I had a nice swing going. He was stretched to full height, the best kind of target.

  “What are you— Oomph!” He crouched over, wheezing.

  I’d just head butted him in the gut. Satisfaction filled me as I said, “How about now?”

  When he no longer sounded like an old man hooked to an oxygen tank, he moved directly in front of me, placing my forehead directly in front of his navel. Brave boy. To keep me still, he settled his hands on my waist. My bare waist, I realized with a flare of panic. My shirt had risen up, catching on the underwire of my bra.

  “Stupid gravity!” Motions rushed, I reached up, clasped the hem and tugged.

  “Settle down before you hurt my favorite body part. I’m really fond of my…gut.” He shooed my hands away, my shirt falling and once again catching on my bra. “Here. Let me.” He tucked the material in the waistband of my jeans. “Better?”

  “Yes, now get me down from here! Who would do something like this, anyway?”

  “I would,” he stated simply.

  I tried to meet his gaze, but he was simply too high up. “You did this?”

  “That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”

  “But why?”

  “You tell me.”

  Not that crap again. “Cole. Please. Act like you’ve never been to juvie and let me down.”

  He sighed, and it was not a patient sound. “Ali has a mean streak. Good to know. And I told you. I’ll let you down—after we chat. So let’s chat. Did your dad ever talk to you about something weird?”

  Dread slithered through me, wrapped around my heart and squeezed painfully. “Like what?”

  “You. Tell. Me.”

  Argh! “I do not know you. I do not trust you. Therefore, I will not talk to you about this.”

  Another sigh slipped from him. “The answer is simple, then. You’ll get to know me. Are you going to the game? To Reeve’s party?”

  Funny that I didn’t have to think this answer. “No to the game, but I’m considering making an appearance at the party.”

  “Okay, let me rephrase. You’re going to the party. But are you going with anyone?”

  “No.” Wait. Yes, I was. I was going with Kat, wasn’t I?

  “Good. I’ll meet you there.”

  My eyes widened to the point I feared they’d fall out of my head. He’d meet me there…for a date?

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Not a date. You don’t like to share your story with people you don’t know, and I don’t like to date girls I don’t know.”

  Great. I hadn’t meant to, hadn’t realized I’d done it, but I’d asked the date-thing aloud. “We’re on the same page, then,” I said in an effort to recover. “But just to be clear, we’ll be spending time together, chatting about something other than the tracks and weirdness?” With our peers as witnesses, I realized with a groan.

  “Yes. You got a problem with that?”

  A big one. But I said, “Fine. I’ll do it if you insist, but only because I think we need to continue this conversation. Like, say, on a day when you’re feeling more cooperative. So will you let me down now? I’m about to be sick.”

  “You are not. But if you’ll answer one more question, I’ll give you what you want.”

  Stupid rope, forcing my hand. “Ask.”

  “Does anything unusual happen to you each morning, when you first look at me? Something that doesn’t happen at any other time, just morning, the first time you see me.”

  He couldn’t know. He just couldn’t…unless he, too, experienced something. He’d hinted before, but I’d assumed he meant something else. Oh, please, please, please, be the visions.

  “Wh-what makes you ask that?”

  “Does it?” he insisted.

  “Yes.” I’d give him that much. “Wh-what about you?” Seriously, I had to stop with the stuttering. It was beyond humiliating!

  “Yes.”

  An agreement. So much more than I’d expected. “What do you see?” I whispered as eagerness consumed me. I had to know.

  “I’ll tell you, but not here and not now. Write down what you see, and I’ll do the same. After school, we’ll exchange notes. That way, neither of us can claim the other is lying. And if you hand me a blank note, I’ll make you regret it.”

  “Scary,” I said with mock-mock fear. He was scary. “But the same goes for you.”

  “Good.”

  Now that that was settled… “We’re going back to school? You’ll let me down?”

  “I told you I would, didn’t I?” He bent down and pulled a small— Oh, dear heaven, I was about to be murdered. He was now holding a crossbow.

  His arm extended, and he aimed the weapon at the top of the rope. His finger tapped the trigger. I screamed with blood-curdling force, only to tumble toward the ground when the arrow severed the rope rather than my foot.

  I flailed for an anchor, but I never hit. Cole caught me just before I landed. He righted me as if I weighed no more than a bag of feathers, and I swayed. A long moment passed before I felt steady enough to stand on my own. Did I step
away from him, though? No. He wouldn’t let me; he held tight.

  “Why do you have a weapon like that?” I asked. A weapon he’d obviously taken to school—and gotten through security.

  “You tell me.”

  Enough! “Never mind.” I hated those three words on his lips, I decided. Absolutely hated. “For now, it doesn’t matter.”

  His fingers applied pressure to my waist. “Do I need to tell you that this conversation goes no further, not even to Kat, or do you already know that?”

  Yeah, I’d decided to talk to Kat about the visions. But this entire experience had been a wake-up call. No talking. Not now, not ever. Not even about the small stuff. And how odd, calling the visions small. But compared to this, everything was small. “Already know,” I said.

  “Good. That’ll do for now.”

  8

  The Beginning of the Dead End

  By the time I got home from school, my nerves were battered and deep-fried. Cole had returned me to the building, as promised, but I’d immediately run into Ms. Meyers, and she’d asked me why I’d missed her class.

  “I…well…problems,” was all I’d gotten out.

  “Excuses are merely the cherry topping of an E. coli–infested sundae, Miss Bell.”

  I’d gagged as she’d walked away.

  Following that delightful encounter, Cole had ignored me at lunch.

  What? You expected him to fawn?

  Well, yeah. A little. He’d abducted me, trussed me up like a Thanksgiving turkey, hinted at secret things, promised to share what happened to him in the mornings, asked me out on a non-date, only to give me a big fat pile of nothing? Hello, mixed signals. But okay, whatever. I had no need of him. I’d made plans before him, and I could make plans after him.

  Except, he’d been waiting for me after final bell.

  He’d handed me a note, and I’d done the same to him. Not a single word was spoken. He’d been rock steady during the exchange. Me? I’d been shaking like I had advanced Parkinson’s.

  Now I sprinted up to my room, locked the door and threw myself on the bed, digging the small folded piece of paper out of my pocket. I’d desperately wanted to read it on the bus, but I’d managed to stop myself. I hadn’t wanted prying eyes to catch a glimpse.

  And there was no question Justin would have pried. We’d sat next to each other again, and we’d chatted, and, well, he’d repeatedly warned me about Cole.

  He’s bad news.

  He’ll break your heart—and maybe your face!

  Everyone’s scared of him for a reason. He’s put over a hundred people in the E.R.!

  Could no one at Asher High under-exaggerate a story?

  When Justin realized I wasn’t willing to discuss Cole, he’d surprised me by asking me to go to Reeve’s party with him. I’d almost said no. I mean, I planned to talk to Cole while I was there, but Cole had made it more than clear that we weren’t a couple. But then again, I might not have a ride. Kat might be too sick to take me.

  Justin must have sensed my reluctance because he’d added, “Just as friends. It’ll be fun.”

  In the end, I’d said yes.

  Now I unfolded the page Cole had given me, halfway expecting it to be blank, despite my threat. But, no. There were words. Before I actually read them, I closed my eyes, drew in a deep breath…held it… Whatever his answer, I wouldn’t freak…let it out. I would remain calm. My eyelids cracked open slowly....

  The note read, Doing stuff. Kissing. Fighting.

  Oh, thank goodness. My entire body sagged against the mattress as I clutched the note to my chest. Relief poured through me. He’d had the visions, too, which meant, in this one area of my life, I was completely sane.

  But, the relief was followed quickly by confusion. Why had we imagined kissing each other? Why had we imagined fighting those monsters?

  How was any of it possible?

  Was there a strange mental connection between us? Or were we having glimpses of the future? Was that even possible? I’d never experienced anything—

  Wait. The Rabbit Cloud of Impending Death.

  I hopped out of bed and logged on to my computer. A little research on clouds—cough two hours cough—and I learned about coloration, effects on climate, global brightening, and rainmaking bacteria, but not much else. Crap.

  A knock sounded at my door. “Ali?” Nana said.

  “Yes?” I closed the laptop, not wanting to have to explain my search if Nana peeked inside my room.

  “You’ve got a visitor.”

  Brow furrowed, I strode over and opened up, and a grinning Kat soared into my bedroom.

  “Guess whose lucky day it is? Yours!” Despite her grin and cocky words, she looked tired, with pallid skin and dark circles underneath her eyes.

  She was dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans that lacked her usual flare. Why did so many Asher girls wear winter clothes during the summer? Kat had to be either sweltering or feverish.

  “Are you okay?” I asked as I gave her a hug. At least she was cool to the touch. “I heard you were sick.”

  “Sick? Me? Never! I just needed a little Kat time.” She turned to my grandmother. “It was very nice to meet you, Mrs. Bradley. You have a lovely home.” So polite she was.

  So bizarre.

  Nana beamed. “You, too, sweetheart. And thank you very much for the compliment. You girls have fun, okay.”

  “We will,” I said.

  Nana gave me a thumbs-up, so proud that I’d finally made a friend, before leaving me alone with Kat.

  “Your parents let you take time off just to take time off?” I asked, envious.

  “Yep. My dad—and uh, my mom—say kids deserve breaks, too.”

  My mom would have told her mom to wash that crazy talk out of her mouth. You should never take time off from learning.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? Because I—”

  “We are so not breaking out the violins and pity partying.”

  I couldn’t help but snort. If I’d needed convincing that we were meant to be friends, that would have clinched it. “You just turned pity partying into a verb.”

  “Well, I’m cool like that. So aren’t you curious about how I knew where you lived when you’ve never given me your address?” She pinched her fingers together. “Even a tiny bit?”

  “Well, yeah. So how did you?”

  With a clap and a twirl, she said, “Frosty texted me all day long, checking on me. I told him to make himself useful and find out about you. I would have texted you and asked you, but word on the street is that you spent the morning with Cole and I didn’t want to interrupt anything illicit. And by the way, I’ll want the entire story when I’m finished with mine. Anyway, Cole knew your addy, the naughty boy, so Frosty knew your addy, and boom, here I am.” She splayed her arms. “In all my exquisite glory.”

  “Wait. Back up a bit. Are you and Frosty getting back together?” All that texting had to mean—

  “No! Yes. Oh, I don’t know.” She threw herself on top of my bed, bouncing up and down. “I mean, I firmly believe that if a guy walks away from you, he should have to crawl back. Frosty hasn’t done enough crawling.”

  I thought for a moment. “What if Cole was being truthful, and Frosty never actually cheated on you?” As rough as the guys were, I couldn’t imagine them lying about, well, anything. They wouldn’t care about consequences. What I could imagine was both of them getting in everyone’s face and saying, I did it. That’s right. Me. What are you gonna do about it?

  “Here’s a free life lesson for you. Boys always cover for other boys. They will lie to your face and behind your back.” After fluffing the pillows and finding a comfortable position, she said, “Now it’s your turn. Spill what happened today!”

  As I paced in front of the bed, I told her that Cole and I had gone for a drive. That he’d asked me slashed commanded me to meet him at Reeve’s party for a non-date, and that I’d said yes. She listened, enraptured, as if I were proclaiming that the
end of the world was near and there was only one way to save herself. I didn’t mention the forest, though, or the tree trap, or the visions. As Cole had said, those were private.

  “He never goes to parties, especially for non-dates,” she said, gaping at me. “I think he really really likes you.”

  “Really?” Okay. How pathetic was I? “Well, it doesn’t matter because I’m going with Justin Silverstone. As friends.”

  A slow smile lifted the corner of her lips. “Justin. The same Justin who spoke to you at lunch?”

  “Yes.”

  “When did you two have time to hook up?”

  “It wasn’t a hookup. We ride the same bus and started talking.”

  “Oh, sweetie…I can’t wait…this is gonna be so epic, and even though you don’t know why and I won’t tell because that would spoil everything, you just made me the happiest girl in the world—and now, I’m gonna make you the second happiest. I’m taking you to spy on Cole.” Gleeful, she rubbed her hands together. “Life lesson number two. Spying is the best—and only—way to learn the truth.”

  I’d been all set to interrogate her about Justin when my attention snagged on two words. Cole and spying. No way. Just no way. He’d catch us.

  “I bet we’ll get to see him shirtless,” she said.

  “I’m in,” I found myself saying.

  “Awesome! Because we’re going tonight!”

  In the dark? I almost yelped. “O-okay.”

  “So enthused,” she said drily.

  Too many things could go wrong. What if I saw the monsters out in public? How would I react? And then there was the tiny crossbow Cole had stashed in an ankle holster. Surprising him was so not a good idea.

  “Maybe we should rethink this. I’m not sure—”

  She popped to her feet and grabbed my hand. “Nope. No reneging. You’ll thank me for this. I promise.”

  “But…”

  “La la la la, can’t hear you.”

  Emma sooo would have done that, and I kind of grunt laughed.

  “Good girl,” she said, tugging me out of the room. “Now watch me work my magic.”

  After dinner, I found myself strapped inside her girled-out pink Mustang and whizzing down the highway. Somehow, she’d convinced Nana and Pops to let me stay the night with her. This would be my first ever sleepover.