Fuck you. I'm not a zombie. My friends would've kept me from that.
"True. You're also not undead. You are a fascinating bridge between us and living humans."
Where am I?
"In our group consciousness."
What is that? And who the hell are you?
"Time for you to awaken and discover your fate."
WHO ARE YOU?
"You know the answer to that. I was so sad to see you fly away from Fairchild just as I and my troops arrived."
Jen's eyes slitted open. Blurry figures leaned over her. They were saying something, but it sounded like gibberish.
Her brain was on fire and her heart beat impossibly fast. A picture formed in her mind. She stood before the pit and the sailors rose, their arms outstretched toward her. She tried to flee, but her legs froze to the spot.
The overwhelming grave stench washed over her as the zombies gathered around her, then dropped to their knees and bent their heads as if they were knights kneeling before their queen.
She raised a hand to rub her eyes, hoping she'd wake up. She stopped, her hand in front of her face. The flesh had rotted, and hung in shreds. Glistening white bones shone through.
The voice came back. "You are one of us now."
Jen screamed.
Visions came and went, from a fiery pit of molten rock she tried to escape from to iceberg-laden water she was drowning in. No more pain. Please!
"Jen."
She kept her eyes closed. Was this just another dream?
Closer, the voice said, "Jen, can you hear me?"
I know that voice.
She murmured, "Wayne?"
Wayne laughed. "Yeah, it's me. Can you open your eyes?"
Her eyelids were stuck together, but she strained and they popped open. A face hovered above her, blurry. "Wayne."
The blurry face shot away and someone nearby took in a lungful of air.
"Wayne?" she asked.
Wayne's voice came, but this time it was shaky. "How do you feel?"
Jen blinked several times and his face came into focus. She smiled. "For once, I'm glad you asked. It was pretty shitty for a while, but I think I'm over the fever."
She rose on her elbows and Wayne scooted back. "What the hell's wrong with you?" she asked.
He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing on his neck. "You were bitten."
Jen raised the arm that had been bitten. It was wrapped in bandages and blood had seeped through and dried. She flexed it. "Doesn't hurt."
Zeke had given her the serum. "So the serum worked?" She looked around the room. A small office with two desks and two chairs, it smelled of grease and oil. She lay on a couch with a cheap plastic cover.
"Where am I?"
"My shop," Wayne said. "In Coventry, Rhode Island. D-Day found a couple of motorcycles. One had a sidecar, and we put you in it and rode here as fast as we could."
"Where are the others? Where's Zeke? I need to thank him."
Wayne glanced at a closed door. "They're in the shop."
Jen pushed herself into a sitting position and shook her head. "Still some cobwebs. How long was I out?"
"A day."
Damn.
She pointed to a door on the opposite wall. "Bathroom?"
Wayne nodded.
Jen pushed herself to her feet and used a desk as support as she stumbled toward the bathroom. Wayne backed up to the shop door. His hand gripped the knob as if he were about to make a run for it.
Jen ignored him and made it to the bathroom. Hanging onto the doorframe with one hand, she fumbled along the wall for a switch. She found it after a moment and flipped it on.
Sharp fluorescent light blinded her. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, then opened them.
The small bathroom had a standard toilet with a seat that had seen better times. The floor tiles were worn, but clean, and a sink with a rust stain down the back of the basin stood directly in front of her. A mirror hung on the wall above it.
She glanced in the mirror, then did a double-take. A worn version of herself, with torn dirty clothes and disheveled black hair, stared back at her.
A chill hit her body and she trembled. One brown eye peered back at her. Only one, because the other was deep yellow.
18
Jen froze. "Holy shit."
She spun. "You need to kill me now. Before I finish turning and hurt you."
Wayne put his hands out, shaking his head. "No. You were bitten yesterday."
A bang came at the door. "I hear you talking," Zeke said. "Is she awake?"
Jen looked at herself in the mirror again. "I can't let anyone see me like this. Especially not Zeke."
The door burst open and D-Day strode in, shoving it to the side. "How is she?"
Jen shut her eyes.
Someone hugged her from behind. "You don't know how glad I am to see you alive," Zeke said.
Keeping her eyes shut, Jen turned and hugged him back. "Not sure I am."
Zeke let go of her.
"What do you mean?" D-Day rumbled.
Jen took a deep breath and exhaled. She opened her eyes.
D-Day's jaw went slack and he yanked his machete from its sheath.
Zeke's mouth formed a perfect "O," then broke into a smile that threatened to cut his face in half. "Gnarly."
He took a step toward her and she put her hands out. "No. We don't know if I'm dangerous."
D-Day remained silent, his eyes boring into hers as if trying to read her mind.
"I think she's OK," Wayne said. "She would've turned completely a long time ago."
"Come on," Zeke said. "You're the same Jen we all know and love. You just have the coolest eyes I've ever seen."
Jen lumbered to the couch and dropped onto it. "But we don't know if it's over. Remember that experiment with the old lady that gave O'Connor the heart attack? The serum delayed her turning."
"But not by a day," Zeke said.
"And now we don't have the serum," Jen said. "Our mission was to deliver it so it could be used to make a cure for everyone, not just me."
Zeke stood back, arms crossed. "I had to save you. I had no choice."
D-Day still had the machete in his hand.
Jen's eyes met his. "You can do it. We haven't known each other long."
"Oh, I'll do it," D-Day said. "But only if the time comes. I'm not a murderer."
Jen squeezed her eyes shut and leaned back on the couch. "My mission's changed. Since we no longer have the serum, we need to go back to Atlanta."
"That's the first sensible thing you've said since you woke up," D-Day said. "I'll take you in the sidecar, but we need to find a place to fill up."
"I've got an underground tank here," Wayne said. "You're welcome to it."
"Where Jen goes, I go," Zeke said.
Wayne exhaled loudly. "I knew you'd say that. Looks like Zeke and I are coming along."
D-Day rubbed his hands together. "Now that's settled, where can we get some grub?"
Wayne pointed toward the front glass door. "Burger place on the opposite corner of the intersection and a greasy spoon across the street to the left."
"Burgers it is." D-Day opened the door.
"Wait," Jen said. "I can't go out there like this."
Wayne frowned, then yanked a desk drawer open and rustled through it, finally producing a black pair of sunglasses.
He handed them to Jen. "This should do."
She put them on and looked in the mirror. "Close up, I can tell my eyes are different colors, but not that one is yellow."
"They'll do for now," D-Day said. "We'll pick up some mirror sunglasses after we eat."
Jen nodded. "I'm hungry, too."
She followed D-Day out the door and to the burger place. Zeke kept pace by her side. Wayne stopped and locked the shop's door before joining them.
Feeling better. Bet some food will take me to a hundred percent.
The restaurant had a few people in it. D-Day led them to a tab
le in the back. Seventies' classic rock music played over speakers that looked like they'd seen better days.
A large sign hung on the wall that said, "Clam Cakes and Chowda Our Specialty."
A grimy-looking guy with a unibrow took their order. Jen chose a double cheeseburger.
"How would you like that cooked?" Grimy Guy asked.
"Raw."
D-Day and Wayne did a double take, and Zeke's mouth hung open. Grimy Guy looked at her, the furry caterpillar over his brow crinkled. "You mean rare?"
She glanced at the others, then grinned. "Let's make it well done."
Wayne visibly relaxed, while Zeke's mouth shut. D-Day went back to his complacent-looking expression. "Looks like you haven't changed that much," he grumbled.
Jen wolfed down her food, then sat back and finished her soda. A light belch escaped. "Feel like my old self again."
"You look like a celebrity with sunglasses on indoors," Zeke said.
Wayne laughed.
"I make these look cool," Jen replied.
Jen's fingertips tingled.
What was that?
Jen glanced toward the back wall. Nothing but booths and wall.
The tingling traveled up her arm and snaked down her spine. She turned her chair toward the wall. Something's wrong.
D-Day finished off a large shake, then put a hand up.
The music on the radio had stopped and it emitted a series of beeps. "This is the emergency broadcast system. Stand by for an important message from the Rhode Island Department of Emergency Management."
Someone at another table gave a loud shhh and the burger joint went quiet.
"There has been a zombie outbreak in Kingston," the radio said. "While that outbreak was resolved, Rhode Island state troopers report that breakouts have occurred in North Kingstown, Exeter, East Greenwich, Warwick, and West Warwick. Citizens in those areas are cautioned to arm themselves and stay in their homes or places of employment. Call 911 to report any zombie activity."
A couple of cop cars zoomed by with their sirens screaming. They were followed by SUVs full of men in camouflage uniforms, heading in the same direction Jen had just been sensing something.
"What's out in that direction?" D-Day asked.
"West Warwick," Wayne said. "Just down the road."
Chairs scraped the floor as the other table of diners hurriedly left.
"I want to go see," Jen said. I have to go see.
"Are you nuts?" Wayne said. "Why do you want to do that?"
Jen looked at D-Day. A small grin appeared on his face. Damn, he always looks like he knows more of what's going on than everyone else.
Zeke stood. "Because that's what we do, Wayne. We're Homeland Security agents, and we kill zombies."
"And there's no serum left to guard," Jen said. "Why not help out the locals before we return to Atlanta?"
"Damn straight." D-Day stood and headed for the door.
Jen shoved the last French fry into her mouth and rushed after him.
The two bikes roared down Tiogue Ave until it became Main Street. Several cars passed them going the other way. Guess it's worth your rations to get the hell out of Dodge when the undead show up.
The sidecar hit a pothole and Jen was thrown against the back. "Dammit. Rhode Island roads suck."
Lined with older-looking two-story houses, the area looked like it probably hadn't changed in fifty years.
Several pickups rode up on their ass and laid on their horns. D-Day and Wayne moved to the side to let them pass. Filled with men and women in a mishmash of camouflage and denim clothing, each wielding a variety of weapons, they sped by and disappeared up ahead.
The cracked sidewalks filled with pedestrians heading away from the action. Some carried possessions, but most had nothing more than the clothes on their back. A number of bicycles sped by on the road.
Two minutes later, they came to a number of vehicles blocking the road between a pharmacy and a two-story brick building. Police vehicles with their lights still going were parked next to civilian vehicles, including the trucks that had whizzed past them.
D-Day brought the bike to a stop several yards away on the grass outside the pharmacy. Wayne pulled up beside him.
The tingling had intensified and covered one whole side of Jen's body. The side she'd been bitten on. She rubbed her unaffected hand over the tingling arm and paused at the scar from the zombie bite. What the hell is going on?
Two armed men approached. "We've got an outbreak up ahead. Zombies everywhere. You folks need to turn around and leave."
Jen laughed. "Zombie is my middle name."
19
Jen held her badge up. "Homeland Security. Agent Reed."
One of the men stepped forward and took the badge from her. He returned to his partner and they examined the badge and whispered between themselves. The man who took the badge looked up. "And these others?"
Jen pointed to Zeke. "Agent Tripp. These other men are with us."
The man with the badge tossed it to her. "You need to check in with the chief." He led her to a West Warwick cop giving orders to a group of men.
"You guys get on the right flank and hold them," he said. "We've got to keep them from spreading out of Arctic."
He turned to Jen as she approached him. One of the men who'd challenged her team whispered in the cop's ear.
The cop smiled and thrust out a hand. "Agent Reed? I'm Captain Leander. I'm in charge here."
Jen shook his hand, then pointed at Zeke and the others in turn. "Agent Tripp, his brother, Wayne, and D-Day."
Leander shook each of their hands, but gave D-Day an extra once-over. "What can I do for you?"
"What's your sitrep?" D-Day asked.
Leander looked from D-Day to Jen. She shrugged. "Good question."
He pointed to their left. "Outbreak started at the senior center and—"
Jen's tingling went into overdrive just as a twenty-something zombie with stringy, blood-matted hair stumbled from around the corner of the pharmacy.
Jen put up a hand. "Don't shoot."
With a puzzled expression, Leander waved his hand. "Hold fire."
The zombie was missing a chunk of meat from its left thigh, but it continued to limp toward Jen. She pulled her tomahawk and strode toward the zombie.
Someone behind her murmured, "What the hell's she doing?"
A sharp shh quieted him.
Jen's tingling became stronger, painful, as if a thousand needles were being jammed into the bitten side of her body.
The zombie's head tilted back and the hair covering the face fell away.
Jen winced and gritted her teeth. Got to ignore the pain.
She charged the zombie with the tomahawk cocked over her head. Swinging it down, she slammed the blade into the zombie's forehead, holding back enough to just wound it.
Facing the cops and militia, she held up a hand to stop a militia woman who was raising her shotgun. Leander shot the woman a glare and she lowered her weapon.
The zombie stopped and shuffled, turning to face Jen. She pressed her bitten arm to her side and gasped as a bolt of electricity shot up her side. Got to take this thing out now. Enough experimenting.
She stepped into her strike, bringing the pointed end of the tomahawk around and punching it into the zombie's right eye. It dropped to the ground, the goo from the punctured eye dripping from the tomahawk.
The pain, the electricity down Jen's side vanished. Jen panted. That's some interesting shit.
She walked back to the others. "Chief," she said, "we're going in."
"Do what you want," Leander said. "We're still waiting for more men before we push in, so we won't be able to help you if you run into trouble."
Jen grinned. Who the hell in this world has been in more zombie trouble than me? "Understood."
She moved several yards back from Leander and his people. Wayne, D-Day, and Zeke gathered around her.
"I want you guys to know what's going on. No secrets."
She paused and looked at each in turn. Wayne had a look of concern, while D-Day's perma-frown didn't waver. Zeke couldn't keep still, moving his weight back and forth between his legs. He's like an ADD sixth grader.
"You wondered what the bite and serum might have done to me, besides the trendy two-toned eyes." She took a deep breath. "I can feel when a zombie is close by."
"What does that mean?" D-Day asked. "Feel?"
"I can't explain it very well, at least not yet. But I felt it all the way back at the diner. It got stronger as we got closer to this spot." None of their expressions changed.
"Look," she said, "when that zombie showed itself, the feeling shot through me like an electric shock. It hurt like hell, and it didn't stop until I killed it."
"Do you feel any other zombies around now?" Wayne asked.
She shrugged. "I have the low-level uneasiness I first felt at the diner. But the pain and high intensity sensations turned off like someone had flipped a switch."
"You get the most awesome stuff," Zeke said.
Jen rolled her eyes at him. "We'll see how awesome it is."
"And that's why you want to go in," D-Day said. "See if it happens again. Experiment."
"Bingo."
He slipped the machete from its sheath. "Let's do it."
"We've got our own zombie detector," Zeke said.
Leander walked over. "When are you going in? I've got my men positioned and we can cover you."
"Right now," Jen said. "Where are the cleared areas?"
He pointed to the left of the intersection. "Anything that way. All cleared."
Jen positioned herself out in front of the vehicles and the troops taking cover behind them. Sensations came from a one-hundred-degree radius up the street. They're all over in that direction.
She pointed to a bank. "We'll head there and start clearing out buildings."
D-Day took a step forward, but Jen put an arm out and he stopped. He glanced at her arm and then at her as if to say her puny arm could do nothing to stop him.
"Better let me go first," she said. "With this new sense, I might be able to detect a horde or an ambush quicker."
"Makes sense." He stepped aside.
Jen peered down the road to her right. It looked abandoned, the only thing moving was a sheet of newspaper blowing down the sidewalk.
Zombie Uprising Series (Book 4): The Hybrid Page 9
