Declan stepped toward her, his boot scuffing on the ground. He reached out and took her cold hand in his hot one. “Just let me be next to you. It's all I ask. Let me protect you.”
“How do you protect a monster?”
“I don't know,” he said. “But I'm going to try.” He shrugged. “Maybe we're not so different, Jen. Maybe we're both monsters. Maybe all of us are monsters. Just some of us know how to pretend better.”
“You're crazy,” she said.
“You're still crying.”
“No, I'm not,” she said. “Remember, dead girls don't cry.”
The others filed outside as Jenny wiped her face with the heel of her hand. She saw the gauntness of Trix's face, the snarl that Abel kept hiding. They needed to eat soon. Beacon and Veronica stared at Jenny with pitying looks on their faces. Jenny looked away.
“Something's happened,” said Declan.
“Your little friends have something to say,” said Trix, a strain to her voice.
Jenny looked at Beacon, who shrank back from her stare. “What is it?” said Jenny irritably.
“Hey, we don't have to be here,” said Veronica, shifting her weight.
“You okay?” Declan asked her.
“Fine,” said Jenny. “I'm sorry, V. I'm just really hungry.” Beacon and Veronica exchanged a look. Jenny gritted her teeth. “I'm not going to eat you, okay?”
Beacon nodded. “Lucy didn't follow Munro here,” he said. “She talked to someone, I think. I don't know who. We never saw him. We waited in the car and when she came back out, she drove us here.”
“Where?” Jenny said.
“Uptown,” said Veronica. “Just some brick building.”
“Can you take us there?” said Jenny.
“Yeah,” said Beacon. “I think I can remember how to get there.”
Jenny eyed Declan. “We'd better take separate cars. We'll follow you.”
“I'll ride with you,” Declan said.
“No,” said Jenny. She looked at Trix and Abel. All were in a bad way. “Go with Beacon. It's safer that way.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
“Something's wrong,” said Abel from the backseat. Beacon was driving slowly in front of Jenny's car, so slow in fact that she had to slam on the brakes a few times so she wouldn't hit the back of his Honda.
“Yeah, like who high-grades a Honda in the apocalypse?” said Trix. “At least cheerleader has a weird Mustang.”
“No,” said Abel. “Why are there so many rotters?”
Jenny frowned. There had been a few that both cars had to swerve around, but that wasn't unusual. All of them had been headed the same direction. That was odd. Rotters didn't usually all travel in the same direction unless they had somewhere to go. And that meant either herd mentality or a huge food source. Since they were so far apart, it couldn't be herd mentality. Jenny peered out Trix's window. Rotters were shambling along the lake, some alone, others in groups of three or four.
“What the fuck is going on?” Jenny said.
“This is bad,” said Abel.
“Why?” said Jenny. “They won't hurt us.”
“But they will hurt anything remotely living,” said Abel.
“Fuck that,” said Trix. “It's Casey.”
The rotters got thicker the longer they drove, clotting up the road with their numbers. Jenny glanced at Abel in the rear-view mirror.
“What Zeke said...” She hesitated.
“You went to see the freak without me?” Trix said.
“It was an emergency,” said Abel. “And he's not a freak.” He met Jenny's eyes in the rear-view mirror. “In my experience, you can't change it, Jen. I know you want me to tell you otherwise, but Zeke has never been wrong.”
“So sending Declan away,” she said, “it wouldn't change anything.”
Abel shrugged. “I don't know.” He sounded tired and there were deep bruises under his eyes. “He said something to me that –“ He stopped, seeming to search for the words. “I don't know if I'm going to make it to the end of this.”
“He said that?” said Jenny. Trix stared fixedly out her window, uncharacteristically silent.
“He said enough,” said Abel. “I want you to know that I was never going to force you to do anything you didn't want to do. Including seeing your mother. I don't even know if I could force you to do anything.” He closed his eyes. “I just wanted to do something good. One good thing. I thought bringing you back was it. Finding a cure, right?”
“You wouldn't have had to force me,” said Jenny. “I was going to go with you.”
“I don't know,” said Abel. “It's all fucked up. Nothing's what it seems.”
“Why do you say that?” said Jenny slowly.
“Your mom, she's not...well, Jen. And from what I know, she's the only one who can figure this out. This grand cure. If it exists.”
“You don't think it's real?” said Jenny.
“I think,” said Abel, “that there's a lot going on. And even I don't know the half of it.”
“What's going to happen to her?” said Jenny.
“Your mom?” said Abel, meeting her eyes again. “I don't know. I really don't.”
“Where is she?” said Jenny, her voice soft. “Will you tell me?”
Abel was quiet for a long time, and Jenny thought he wasn't going to answer. But finally he opened his mouth, his words nearly a whisper. “She's in New York.”
The Honda braked and then stopped and Jenny did the same. Trix got out of the car without a word and headed for the other car. Jenny and Abel followed. A rotter was clawing at Beacon's window, his hands greasy with rot. Jenny slid her knife under his skull. A female rotter in a pink dress climbed on top of the car, banging on the roof of the Honda. Beacon cracked his window.
“You can't go any further,” Jenny said. “Let us go. The rotters don't bother us.”
“No,” Declan said from the back seat. “Jenny, don't. This is how you died the first time. I can't go through that again.”
“It's just one guy,” she said.
“Jen,” said Veronica, “just give it a minute. This is a trap, babe. It reeks of it.”
“I've got some shit in the trunk,” said Beacon. “Give me a few minutes and we can maybe blast through this shit. I brought all the shit we've been hoarding. Bullets, guns, I even have a grenade back there.”
“Which building is it?” said Jenny.
“Jen, come on...” said Veronica.
“Which building?” Jenny said, her voice rising.
Beacon pointed at a clean, square brick building down the block.
“Jen, please don't do this,” said Declan.
“Come and find me,” Jenny said, trying to smile at him. “Just come find me.”
Abel bashed a rotter in the face with his elbow and the thing went down.
“We have to find Casey,” said Trix, looking toward the building. She looked at Declan over Jenny's shoulder. “Give me your ax.”
“Take care of her,” said Declan, handing the ax out the window. Trix looked at Jenny like she'd forgotten she was there.
“Sure,” said Trix. “Okay.”
“It'll be fine,” said Abel, though he didn't sound very confident. “It has to happen this way.”
“Wait until this clears a little, then use all you have on these fuckers,” said Jenny. “We're going in.”
“Jen!” Declan yelled as she turned to leave. Jenny met his eyes. “Don't you fucking die again.”
Jenny looked at him hard for a moment. “It's not the end. It can't be.” If Zeke was always right, if there was nothing she could do to change it, then she still had to save Declan. She felt that odd feeling of not being able to get enough air. “They can't hurt me this time. I promise.”
“Be careful,” said Veronica. “I don't want to have to take care of Munro again. He's really annoying when he goes all crazy.”
Jenny nodded, then followed Abel and Trix into the throng of stinking, rotting undead.
It wasn't like the parting of the Red Sea as the three of them made their way through the roiling crowd of the dead, it was more like they weren't even noticed. To the rotters, Jenny, Trix and Abel were the same as they were.
“What the fuck is this?” Trix shouted over the moaning and yelps coming from the rotters. “Why are they here?”
Jenny frowned. Over the concentrated noises of hundreds of rotter noises, she could hear other noises. And she felt something else too.
Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump.
“Do you feel that?” said Jenny, being jostled along with the crowd.
“There's more than one,” Abel shouted. “Listen. I can hear them screaming.”
He was right. It wasn't a rotter type of scream, either. It was a living scream. Jenny made out at least three voices, and it was getting louder the nearer they got to the building. After getting closer, she understood why.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” said Trix.
“They're still alive,” said Jenny.
Poles had been driven into the ground in front of the building, some standing upright, and some leaning with the weight of what each supported. Jenny counted six, and on each a woman had been nailed at the wrists and ankles. And each of the women was being ripped apart by rotters.
“I can't be here,” said Jenny, blinking away red. The smell of blood was overwhelming and made her ache with hunger. She watched the rotters descend on the women like insects, ripping at each other to get at the writhing, screaming bodies. There were sounds like ripping fabric that Jenny could hear above the din.
“Suck it up, cheerleader,” Trix growled into her ear. “This is for Casey. You have to fight it. Just walk.”
Slowly, they made their way through the crowd of the frenzy. “Why are they here?” she shouted. “Why put the women here?”
“Because it's a trap,” said Abel. “But we're going in anyway. And we're going to win.” Jenny glanced at him. His face was set with a grim expression.
“You don't know that,” said Jenny, grinding her teeth against the waves of hunger that were assaulting her. She wanted to join the rotters and leap onto one of the women. She licked her lips.
“Eyes front,” Trix said, not unkindly. “Push it away. We have to save your brother.”
“Why are you helping me?” said Jenny. “You don't have to do this, you know.”
“It's not about you, bitch,” said Trix.
Jenny narrowed her eyes at Trix. They were nearly to the front of the building. She could see the opening where the door used to be. “Then why are you doing this?”
“Casey's one of us.”
“Bullshit,” said Jenny. “You love him.”
“Fuck off,” said Trix. “I don't love anybody. I'm fucking dead.”
They squeezed through the last of the rotters and were finally standing in front of the door.
“Can you feel it?” said Jenny.
“Yeah,” said Trix. “Living inside.”
“Feels like more than one,” said Abel. “Sully has help.”
“Just to be clear, we might not save my brother,” said Jenny. She looked at Abel. “But if we do, Sully is mine.”
Abel nodded. “Okay, Jenny.” There was something dark about his expression.
“Something's wrong,” said Trix, looking at him. “Do you know something?”
“I think I know why he put the girls out here,” said Abel, staring through the doorway and into the dark hallway beyond.
“To tempt us,” said Jenny. “A distraction.”
“No,” said Abel. “I think Sully knows that we could get through.”
“You think it was to keep the living out,” said Trix.
“I think he was trying to keep Munro out,” said Abel.
“Why?” Jenny said.
“Because he's afraid of Munro,” said Abel. He frowned at Jenny. “I think everything he has done has been to keep Munro out. Away from Jenny. Convincing her to go into the Underground alone, getting the creepy girl with the dreadlocks on board... He wants Jenny to himself. And he's aware of what Munro is capable of. It's all about you, Jen.”
“We already knew that,” said Trix.
“Why take Casey then?” said Jenny. “Why not take me and get it over with?”
“Maybe it's a game,” said Abel. “Maybe the bitch was telling the truth, and Casey is practice. Or maybe he wants you to come willingly.”
“Why would I come willingly?” said Jenny.
“To save your brother's life.”
“That's fucking wonderful,” said Trix. “What can we do? How do we get Casey back?”
“This is the only way,” Jenny said, her voice so low the other two had to lean in to hear her. “The prophet said the only way out was straight through. This is what he was talking about. He was so sorry.”
“The prophet told you that?” said Trix. She looked at Abel, who nodded. “We have to save him.”
“If he can be saved,” said Abel.
“Of course he can be saved,” said Jenny. “I'm not backing out of this.”
“We could try and kill all these rotters so Munro can get through,” said Abel.
“There's too many,” said Jenny. “We have to go now. We don't know what they're doing to him. He'll trade me for Casey. That's how this is going to work. That's how this will play out.”
“It's been nice knowing both of you,” said Abel.
“You don't think we're going to make it out?” said Trix.
Abel smiled, the disarming whiteness of his teeth brighter somehow in the gloom. “I think it's been an interesting life. And it'll be worth it.”
Trix snorted. “Whatever.”
Jenny watched Abel. He met her eyes. “Thank you,” she said.
Abel smiled. “Let's go.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
As soon as they entered, the smell of hot blood grew stronger. The scent was so strong, Jenny could taste it. A short way down the hall, she understood why. They heard the footsteps coming from an intersecting hallway ahead to their left, and as they rounded the corner, Jenny saw a girl running toward them. She wore a long dress, her hair wrapped up in tiny braids on top of her head in the Righteous style. The front of her dress was covered in blood. She froze for a moment when she saw them, then came rocketing toward the three of them, holding her wrists out to them.
“Take it, take it!” she screamed, thrusting her bloody arms in Jenny's face. The blood was so close that Jenny could feel the heat of it. She felt the world go red just for an instant before she was pushed back. She shook her head and realized that Trix now stood between her and the girl. The thumper girl's face fell as she looked between the three of them. “No,” she whispered. “You have to. You have to take it.”
“Take what?” said Abel.
“Me,” she said. Tears sprang up in her eyes. “You have to,” she said. “He said I'll burn if you don't. I'll burn in Hell.”
“You think you'll go to Hell if we don't kill you?” said Abel.
“He said I won't and he always knows. He always knows. He always knows.”
“Shut up,” said Trix, making the girl jump. “Go hide somewhere, bitch. Somewhere the rotters won't find you.”
“No,” the girl said. She thrust her arms at Trix. “Please. You have to kill me. You are the rotters.”
“Do we sound like rotters?” said Abel.
She looked uncertain and lowered her arms. She looked past them toward the door. Toward the sounds of ripping flesh and groans and growls and yips. The women weren't screaming anymore.
“What do I do after they're gone?” she said, a quaver to her voice. She had a pretty face and big hazel eyes. She couldn't have been more than fourteen.
“Run,” said Jenny. “That's all anyone can do.”
The girl backed away from them to let them pass. They walked down the hall past her, Jenny clenching her fists until the smell of her blood had lessened. She turned at the sound of receding footsteps to see the girl running dow
n the hall. Running toward the entrance. Toward the rotters.
“No!” Jenny yelled, but it was too late. The girl ran out the door. Only a heartbeat passed before they heard her screams.
“What the fuck is this?” Trix said. “Why are all these Righteous bitches here? The ones strung up outside were thumpers too. Did you see their dresses?”
“It would appear that Sully may have made some friends,” said Abel. “He probably had help with Grayson and Fisher.”
“This is so bad,” said Trix.
“You want out?” said Jenny.
“Fuck you, cheerleader.”
“Is that a no?” said Abel.
“You know he's going to kill you, right?” said Trix to Jenny. “If he gets you he's going to hurt you.”
“Then I won't let him get me,” said Jenny.
The smell of blood was still strong. They circled around the labyrinthine halls, looking for the stairs. They just had to get to the basement and everything would be okay. Jenny pushed everything else out of her head. If they just got to the basement, to her mother's office, to her lab, Casey would be saved and everything would be okay. Another bloodied Righteous girl came hurtling toward them in a different hallway. They ignored her, stepping around her, ignoring her screams to take me, take me, take me.
“Jesus, how many of them are there?” said Jenny, another girl coming around the corner and falling to her knees in front of them. She was praying, her lips moving, her eyes shut tight, her bloody arms raised toward them like she was some kind of gift for them. They stepped around her.
“Why the girls?” said Jenny. “If we were to bite one, it would make us stronger, right?”
“I don't know,” said Abel. “Maybe they're dosed with something?”
Jenny frowned. “I don't think so. This is really fucked.”
“What was your first clue?” said Trix.
“Come on,” said Abel. “I think those are the stairs up ahead.”
There was a dead girl on the landing as they descended. Blood pooled on her dress and the floor around her. Abel nudged something out of the red puddle with his boot. It scraped against the tile. It was a small knife.
“They're doing this to themselves?” said Jenny.
Jenny Undead (The Thirteen: Book One) Page 23
