We needed zombies, (and the Js suddenly appearing wouldn't be too bad either). Were Carson and Brett still out there? I was gonna have to deal with them. Doesn't look like Brett had softened toward me when I lent him a hand with his crazy-ass dad. Huh.
Jade was mashed up next to me, which was great, but she was my responsibility.
I had an idea.
“Are they still out there?” I asked Jade.
“I think so.”
I let that thread of power slide out of me. I visualized one grave in particular.
I called Clyde to me. Come. Then I threw a visual net, using it in my head like a lasso, tossing it around that one grave like a circle. I clenched it tightly, pulling it toward me.
“What are you doing?” Jade said, sensing something big.
Her voice sounded as if it came from far away. I felt the zombies coming, heading toward the dump. Belatedly, it occurred to me that he may draw attention.
I thought, Stay hidden. The response—yeeeesss—was a razor-like hiss in my mind. I shivered. The communion with the zombie felt like breathing—natural and right, but took some getting used to.
I answered, “Getting help.”
“I think they're here,” she said.
Outside of the door, there was a scuffle, then Brett screeched, “I told you he'd get those fuckin' dead creepers out of the ground. They're going right for the door.”
“Don't worry. I have this under control,” Carson said.
I yelled, “Clyde, rip the door off!”
A great bubble of power left me. Vertigo struck, and my skin felt as if it would slide off my body. Then the world righted, and sunlight streamed in. A rotting head poked through the door hanging crookedly off its hinges.
That solved the locking-us-in-the-hideaway problem.
Jade yelped when Clyde poked his head in. Clyde wasn't a chatty guy, he just stared and I said (very literally; zombies were a task-oriented group). “Grab the kid named Carson, but don't hurt him.”
Carson saw Clyde coming and created a fire ball in the palm of each hand. One of my other zombies was frantically beating at the flames on his feet or what was left of his feet.
Carson was going to need work on his aim.
But Clyde was fast. Whoever said zombies only shambled hadn't met my zombies. They could have serious speed.
I exited the broken freezer door, pulling Jade out as I went. I kept her behind me until I figured out this new mess. I saw something blurring toward me in the periphery.
Jade screamed, “Caleb, watch out!” and then Brett was on me, both of us rolling away from Jade, our hands swept apart.
I turned desperately, trying to keep sight of Jade, and Brett belted me a good one in my jaw. I aimed a knee at his crotch, but he moved, and it landed in his stomach. We grappled for a few seconds. I managed to get on top, and I punched him in the face.
I looked up and Jade stood with four zombies around her, tiny looking, them a rotting back drop, Carson preparing to torch her.
I didn't hesitate, “Move in front of her.”
The zombies twitched as one, blocking Jade with their bodies. The one with the burning feet crawled to be in front of her. Cripes! I'd think about that later, right now Jade needed saving.
“Clyde, his hands!” I screamed.
Clyde’s eyeballs rolled in my direction, and a dark understanding lit them. He folded one arm across both of Carson's, tightening it like a vise. The remains of one cuff of his sleeves waving small fingers of material in the light breeze, a cuff-link tenaciously hanging on, twinkling in the hazy sunlight, then grabbed Carson's right hand.
“He's breaking my hand,” Carson screamed at me with true alarm.
“Oh well!” Jade screamed back.
Huh.
Clyde was busying himself with bending Carson's hand back toward his wrist. I said, “Now, Clyde, don't break it off. Yet.”
“Yeah, Clyde,” Jonesy said from behind me. “If you break his hand, how's he gonna scratch his ass?”
I turned in time to see Jonesy taking a swing at Brett, who had been creeping up behind me.
“It's about damn time!” I said, ducking out of the fray. “I thought I was gonna have to do all the work.”
John followed Jonesy, who was in a full-on struggle with Brett. I turned my attention back to Carson. “Say 'uncle' you troublesome prick.”
“Screw you, Hart.”
I just looked at Clyde, who got it, exerting more pressure on old fire lover.
Carson squealed like a pig. “Ooowww! Tell him to stop.”
“Clyde stop,” I said like I didn't mean it.
Jonesy and Brett were still dueling it out behind me; distinctive meaty thumping sounds of fists swinging.
Interestingly enough, Clyde didn't stop.
“Stop him!”
“Okay. Clyde, stop breaking Carson's hand. For now.”
Clyde took off the pressure, but he let his skeletal hand linger over Carson's.
John came up behind me. “Not that this isn't terrific entertainment, but I want to mention we're not exactly being subtle.”
Uh-huh.
I walked over to Jade. The others zombies stared at me as if I were the single most important thing in the world.
She fell into my arms. “I thought he was going to burn me, Caleb!”
I looked over at Brett and saw that Jonesy had him in an elbow lock. Nice. I guess we couldn't deliver them back all broken; the adults would ask about that.
“Jonesy, get off Brett.”
“Ahhhh!”
“Just do it!”
Jonesy backed off Brett carefully, giving him full eye contact. That was really necessary with Brett, a proven weasel.
Brett stared at me sullenly.
I glanced at one of the zombies over the top of Jade's head, it was a girl zombie.
But I was a believer after Gran and said, “Go watch him,” I pointed to the pile of sullenness that was Brett. The zombie shuffled over there, oops, that was the one with the feet issue.
Brett stood up, fists clenched (I knew that look), and said, “Get your creepers away from me Hart.”
“No, dick-hole. You locked me and Jade in there then tried to beat on me.”
“No, I beat on him,” Jonesy interrupted.
I laughed. “Your butt can just stand there while we deal with Carson.”
The other three zombies stood there, staring blankly at me, waiting for the next directive. Their rotten smell clung to all of us like loose clothing.
I turned to Carson. “Listen, I haven't done anything to you, but you insist on trying to drive me crazy, endangering my girlfriend, and hassling us all. Stop it, or I'm gonna sick my zombies on you.”
The zombies took a step toward Carson, Clyde giving an enthusiastic squeeze. “Not now guys, and girl,” I hurriedly corrected, her eyes almost gone but somehow alive.
The zombie brigade, energetic bunch.
“Not so easy, Hart. You need us.”
Was he high?
“How do you figure, Mason?” Jonesy asked.
“’Cause you've got this hideaway for a reason. I'm thinkin' you're all tryin' to hide from something... or someone. Looks like you're limited on how many of your creepers can help you, right?”
Damn. If he were really dumb, this would be easier.
John said, “Here's the thing. This is like a stalemate, like in chess.” He nodded at Brett. “Why don’t you guys just go away.”
Jade added, “Just go now and leave us alone.” She looked directly at Brett. “You should know better. Caleb helped you.”
“You think he helped me?” Brett barked out a laugh. “What do you think happened after you left?”
We were all quiet.
“He used me like a punching bag. You made it worse not better, Hart. You think you're so damn good. Well, you're not. You need to be put in your place, just like all the other jerks that think their shit don't stink.”
I felt sick. His dad ha
d beat him anyway.
“So your dad's a royal dickhead. You wanna be like him, he's so cool?” Jonesy asked.
“No!” Brett yelled.
“Then stop it Brett. Stop it now,” Jade said quietly.
“Oh, you're all nice now that you're with him.” Brett jerked his chin at me. “But you have bad taste in dudes, Jade.”
“Ah... how is this relevant?” John asked.
Exactly.
Carson squeezed out, “Make this,” he rolled his eyes up to rotting-Clyde, “dead thing let me go and we'll leave you alone, for now.”
“Not good enough. Leave us alone, forever,” I said.
“Fine. Just so you know we're not gonna be friends, ever,” Carson said.
“Yeah, I think we got the enemies thing down.” I looked at Clyde. “Let him go.”
Clyde released Carson.
Carson stumbled and glared at Clyde, who stared unflinchingly back.
“They're not too smart, your zombies,” Carson said.
“Smart enough,”
“Nah, they're dumb,” Brett said, motioning toward Clyde. “But that one is something different.” He moved to stand near Carson.
“Let's split. We'll leave the zombie-lover and his freak friends here. They can get it on in the cave back there in the dark.”
The zombies watched the two with dark intent. I was really betting my residual feelings were leaking some on my zombie horde.
We followed the pair part of the way, then watched them walk the rest. At the gate, Carson turned and flipped us off.
“He's so consistent it's scary,” John said.
“He's always a dick, if that's what ya mean,” Jonesy said.
“Yes, that's what I meant.”
“Are we done yet?” Jade asked.
I looked down at her.
“I think we should fix some stuff before we go.”
“Okay,” John said. “But now that they know where the hideaway is, it's not a secret.”
I shrugged. “Secret enough. Carson's a coward and won't want to get mixed up in a thing where adults might show up.”
“True,” John said.
I check my watch. “We gotta hurry because Jade needs to get back soon.”
“Okay.” Jonesy clapped his hands, and the zombie posse turned to look at him. “Whoa! Hey, Caleb, call the dogs off.”
I laughed. “I don't think they're gonna get ya.”
“Maybe. But I don't want any special attention either.”
In a raspy voice, Clyde asked, “You have need for us this day, master?”
Master?
“Ah... yes, Clyde. Maybe you and,” I gestured vaguely at the others, “can help with our hideaway.” I explained what needed doing.
“This is what you would have of us?” Clyde asked.
“Yeah.”
“This is a small thing, this that you require.”
“Yeah.”
“This magic you have, necromancer, is not a small power. You must think on this thing that you wield.”
He gave me that level stare, his dead eyes holding the weight of his words.
I squirmed under his gaze, feeling uncomfortable.
“I think you need to give old Clyde here the sales pitch,” Jonesy said.
“The what?”
“Tell him why,” Jonesy said.
I turned to Clyde. I couldn't believe I was discussing things with a zombie, but I pressed on. “There are these government dudes who want to take me—”
“The young men we dispatched?” Clyde asked. I became fixated on how when he frowned, the rot froze between his brows.
The zombies were reacting to Clyde too, splitting their attention between us.
I swallowed. “Ah, no. Actually, those guys just want to beat me up and make us all generally miserable.”
A look of confusion came over Clyde's face, at least as far as I was able to tell, since his mouth only had about three teeth and a partial lip.
“They mean you harm without infraction on your part?”
“Kinda… I don't know. Listen, they're jerks, and they don't like me and just enjoy causing trouble. Here's the thing: I need this place to hide, in case these government squirrels are looking for me and I need to escape. Can you and them”—I gestured at the other zombies—“make the tunnel bigger?”
“What, pray tell, do the government rodents wish from you?”
John responded, “I think they want to use Caleb to do bad things for them, like spy-type stuff.”
“Nefarious things?” Clyde asked, a rotten lip plucking in undead amusement.
John nodded. “Yes, exactly those things.”
“What?” Jonesy asked.
“Later,” I hissed.
Jonesy looked offended, he'd get over it.
“Very well,” Clyde said, straightening the lapels of his coat. One came off and fluttered to the ground. He gave a sniff and stepped over the top of it.
He looked over at the zombie group, eying them for almost a full minute. I was just about ready to ask what he was doing when they all shambled over to the freezer. The zombies did the GI Crawl back through the tunnel. Sounds of metal screeching and clanking began.
Jonesy bobbed his head forward and back. “Now this is what I was talking about.”
“Are they lifting those cars?” Jade asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“They're strong.” She said it like it was a bad thing.
“Yeah, they are.”
“I told you guys to piss off? How come you showed?”
John grinned.
“What?” I asked.
“You weren't answering your pulse, I knew something was wrong.”
“We can't get pulse-signal in there,” I said.
John raised his eyebrows. “For an hour?”
“Yeah, I guess we were in there a while.” I noticed that a fine blush had worked its way up Jade's face, coloring her cheeks pink.
Jonesy said, “You guys getting all cozy in there?”
Jade wanted to die. I wanted to die. Jonesy... what an ass. But, he had saved the day. Choices, choices.
“Anyway,” John said, “let's go by the ice cream shop so we can make a pretense of having done what you said you were going to.”
The zombies plodded back out a few minutes later. We checked, and the tunnel was definitely wider. Even stocky Jonesy could get through easily.
When we came back out, Clyde turned his rotting eyes to me. “Master, put us to rest now that we have completed this task.”
Clyde was a good shot taller than I. I realized the rotting-flesh stench wasn't affecting me much anymore, but my friends stood at a respectful distance. Jade had her hand over her nose, and breathing out of her mouth.
I told Clyde, “I may need you again, because things come up.”
“What things are you referencing?” Clyde asked.
“Things like bad people showing up.”
“Nefarious people?”
“Yeah... them.”
“Indeed,” Clyde said, straightening.
We all left the dump and walked to the cemetery.
Me, the pied piper, trooping ahead and the zombies following; skirting behind the tree line so the observant adult wouldn't get in an accident.
We entered Scenic Cemetery and went to Clyde's grave.
Clyde landed on his grave in a graceful, acrobatic move. The others lay down on theirs. I released the thread that held them to me, reaching out for Jade's hand as I did. I thought, Rest.
And they did.
They appeared luminescent for just a moment, sunlight swirling around them, shimmering. Then, they leaked back into their graves as if they had never been.
Jonesy sighed as if he'd been holding his breath and clapped me on the back. “I'm so glad that you're my friend, dude.”
“I hear that,” John said.
“Me three,” Jade said.
“Hey. How come you didn't whammy me?” I asked John.
/> “I read up on being a Null. I guess you can shield your abilities.
I’ve been practicing, and this was my big trial run. Of course, it helped that they were all raised before I came. And I was standing away from you when you put them away.”
We all looked at the undisturbed graves. Cool.
“How do you do it? The blocking?” Jade asked.
“Shielding,” John clarified.
“I think about something completely different.”
“Visualizing?” Jonesy asked.
John gave him a surprised look. “Yeah, that's it.”
Jonesy broke out into a huge grin.
“Whatcha thinkin' about, John?”
“Ah-nothing, just something different.”
“Riiiiggghhht. I am sure it's really different.”
A bright blush rushed up John's face. Jade stared. I stared. We waited.
“It's nothing,” he mumbled, glaring at Jonesy.
“It's not nothing. It's a someone,” Jonesy said.
“Come on, let's go get ice cream,” John said, shooting Jonesy the evil eye.
Jonesy winked at Jade and me. I was sure wondering what John was using to shut down the Null in him. It'd be interesting to find out.
We jumped on our bikes and rode to the ice cream shop, the only tame thing we'd done that night.
CHAPTER 27
We perched on stools around a tall, round table. Jade ordered licorice ice cream, which I thought of as “black-tongue” ice cream and possibly the grossest flavor on the planet (and it reminded me of my zombies mouths). Another weird girl thing: Jade got her ice cream in a cup. That was like against a religion somewhere. I didn't know whose, but somebody’s. I had the best flavor, bubblegum, and so did the Js. Well, Jonesy insisted on half ruining his with an additional scoop of of upside-down pineapple (disgusting), but insisted it was the tightest flavor.
How could fruit elevate ice cream in any way?
Jade pulled out her pulse. “I'm going to pulse Andrea and let her know we ran into you guys and we're still at the ice cream shop.”
“She gonna buy that?” Jonesy asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, she figures I'll sit here, staring at Caleb, then with you two showing up, we'd stay longer. And the bonus is I don't have to lie. We did have ice cream, and we did see you guys here.”
“Stare at me?” I asked.
“Yeah, it's like a joke. She thinks that I stare at you when you're around.”
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