“Where’d you learn that?” Emalee asked.
“Watching you in the yard. You weren’t the only one who kept trying to do handstands and gymnastics. I learned not to do it in front of you. I knew you’d make fun of me,” Mason said.
Emalee laughed. “You mean like you always made fun of me?”
Parker kicked the last zombie standing in the kneecap and it cracked. The zombie went down.
“Time to run,” Emalee said.
The trio was around the building, shoving past a few stray zombies.
They stopped to catch their breaths in front of the warehouse.
Emalee hugged her brother until he awkwardly pushed her gently away and blushed.
“We need to save Rihanna from Devon,” Mason said.
Parker nodded. “I think Reading is already way ahead of us. He’ll tear him apart if he gets to Devon first, though.”
Emalee sighed. The smart voice in her head said to cut and run. They had a warehouse filled with enough food to last months. Maybe years. All they had to do was fortify it so no zombies or Devon’s group could get inside. It wouldn’t be hard.
She knew there was no way Mason would go for it. He wanted revenge and Rihanna in his life.
“Let’s go find Devon.”
Mason smiled. “We don’t have to. Rihanna is meeting me. I’ll convince her to take me to Devon and we’ll end this once and for all.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
She’s going to show, Mason kept telling himself. She’ll be here. She has to be.
He glanced over at the bushes, where Emalee and Parker were hiding. He knew they were going to get impatient if Rihanna didn’t show.
Mason didn’t blame them, either.
They’d spent the night in the warehouse, taking turns watching the parking lot for signs Devon had found them. Mason had helped lure all the zombies out of the warehouse itself and marveled at the amount of food in their possession.
The breaches in the broken doors and the two bay doors on the loading docks would need to be fixed but, as long as they didn’t make too much noise, the zombies wouldn’t all wander back in.
Where was she?
Mason was about to give the signal he’d given up when he heard someone or something walking slowly through the weeds around the corner of the house.
He ducked down near the back deck, holding a tire iron and hoping he didn’t have to use it.
“Mason?”
He sighed in relief and smiled, standing up. “I’m here, Rihanna.”
She stepped into the yard. The rising sun was behind her and it shined in her hair.
Mason lost his breath for a second. She was so pretty.
“I wish you hadn’t come,” Rihanna said and looked at her feet. “I’m so sorry. Devon caught me sneaking out. I had to tell him where I was going.”
No. This can’t be happening, Mason thought.
“Hey, freak. How’s it going?” Devon asked with a grin. He was a few steps behind Rihanna. The baseball bat in his hand made a sickening slapping sound as he smacked his free hand with it.
Ten of his friends, all armed with weapons, fanned out in the yard and surrounded Mason.
“Let’s go see your other friend, Reading. He tried to cross me, too. Thought you could take over my territory? Nice try, freak. Now you’ll pay for your stupidity,” Devon said.
“Where’s my brother?” Parker asked, coming out of the bushes.
Mason wished he had stayed hidden. If things went bad, he’d need Parker to help fight their way out but now they knew he was here.
Devon laughed. “Your brother is my prisoner. Like you’ll all be.” He turned to Mason. “You might as well tell your freak sister to come out, too. If we have to shake the bushes, she’s going to get hurt.”
Emalee came out, too.
Mason sighed. This hadn’t gone the way he’d wanted by a long shot. “What do you want from me? I’ll go with you. Do whatever you want but leave my sister and friends alone.”
“It doesn’t work like that.” Devon pointed the end of the baseball bat at Mason. “Why should I let them go when they’ve been helping you all along? I need more free labor. I’m building the coolest headquarters you’ve ever seen. I just need more people to help me. By helping me I mean you do all the heavy lifting.”
Mason took a step forward, showing the tire iron. If he had to, he’d fight his way out of this mess. He didn’t want to become a slave to Devon, who was clearly insane.
“We’ll go if you give me your word my brother is safe,” Parker said.
Devon stared at Parker.
“He’s fine. Let’s go,” Parker said and put his hands up, nodding at Mason, who knew Parker had read Devon’s mind. If Reading had been hurt or worse, he’d know immediately.
They were stripped of their meager weapons and led around the house to the street.
Rihanna was crying and keeping her head down, not looking at Mason.
“She’s upset because you’re a freak,” Devon said to Mason. He poked Mason’s shoulder with the bat. “She feels pity because there’s something wrong with you.”
“Rihanna and everyone else fear you. No one likes you and you hate it. You just want to have a real friend,” Mason said, reading his thoughts.
Devon looked really mad and raised the baseball bat to slam it into Mason’s head but Rihanna got between them.
“Don’t do this. You promised, if I took you to Mason, you wouldn’t hurt him.” Rihanna put a finger in his face. “You promised in front of everyone.”
Devon slowly lowered the bat, staring at Mason.
Mason stared back. He wasn’t going to back down even if it meant getting hurt. He needed to show Devon he wasn’t scared.
He needed to show Rihanna he wasn’t someone she needed to pity.
Devon turned on his heels and started walking down the road. “Make sure there aren’t any zombies between us and headquarters. I’d hate for something to happen to our prisoners.”
Mason was pushed to walk.
Parker was right behind him, followed by his sister.
They walked for at least a mile with many teenagers and kids pacing on either side, all heavily armed and watching for zombies.
Can you hear me?
It was Parker in Mason’s head.
Yes.
I count at least thirty of them. Most I’ve never seen before. I scanned Devon’s thoughts but I can’t get an exact number of people he has on his side, Parker said.
None are on his side. He’s leading by fear. No one is strong enough to fight him. He needs to be dethroned before we get hurt. Mason didn’t have an answer to how they’d do it, though. The idea was easier than doing it.
I think I can take him one-on-one but then what? No one will take me or Reading seriously. We’ve had run-ins with a few of them already. They’ll fight us to lead.
Mason sighed. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. We need to survive before we can figure out a plan to escape.
We need to beat up Devon or else there won’t be anywhere safe to escape to. He’ll never let us go. He’ll never let you get away and you know it.
Mason knew what Parker was getting at.
You want me to fight him. The only person who the others would follow is me. I don’t know why you think it, Parker, but you do. Even if I somehow manage to best Devon in a fight… I don’t think anyone will care.
They’ll follow you. I can sense it.
What about your brother?
Mason already knew the answer to the question.
Chapter Twenty-Three
They were lead to an abandoned high school a few blocks away, the weeds choking the lawns and pushing through the cracks in the pavement. All of the windows had been broken out, glass on the windowsills, and boarded up with wood.
There was one clear path to a side entrance Emalee thought was at the gymnasium. As they approached, she could see two boys standing on the roof looking down.
Devon knoc
ked on the door three times. Emalee thought it was for show because he opened it himself and stepped inside.
Emalee, Mason and Parker were pushed inside what used to be the gym. Cots had been set up against the walls and tables and chairs were set up in the center of the floor. She counted at least fifty kids ranging from three or four all the way to late teen. They were lounging around but all stopped what they were doing when Emalee entered.
The outer upper windows of the gym had been blocked with wooden panels but the other side let in sunlight.
Emalee noticed Rihanna trying to whisper to Mason but he turned away. Emalee didn’t blame him. She’d set them up, even if she had sworn she had no choice.
“Let’s go see where Reading is hanging out,” Devon said with a laugh. He started moving faster, to another door, and they had no choice but to follow as more of Devon’s group joined in.
They passed through the locker room and into a hallway. Devon was ahead of them and opened a door, stopping to let them catch up.
“Where is my brother?” Parker asked.
“I told you. We’re going to see him right now.” Devon grinned.
Emalee walked outside, into the inner courtyard of the school.
She had to admit they had a nice setup. There were working grills in one corner and she smelled grilled veggies and meat cooking. A few girls were washing clothes in giant fifty-five gallon drums while boys hung the items to dry on clotheslines tied from the tops of the roof.
A group of really small kids were playing in a giant sandbox in another corner.
“Where are the adults?” Parker asked.
Devon swept his hand out in front of his body. “We are the adults now. We’ve all been left behind while our parents thought only of themselves. The selfish adults are probably living it up on a cruise ship right now, safe from the zombies, while we had to struggle. Hundreds of us, too. This is only a small sample of our numbers. There are scouting parties out all over the city. We have three gardens up the road and some kids stay there and work it or they don’t get my protection anymore.”
“They’re forced to work?” Mason asked.
Devon grinned. “They’re the ones who don’t follow the rules. They have to work for a living. So the rest of us can eat. I beat the selfishness out of them with hard labor. It works out for everyone.”
“Except the kids doing all the work.” Parker took a step forward and the boys around him closed in. “Where’s my brother?”
“Right this way.”
A group of sheds had been erected in the center of the courtyard and, as they walked around it, Emalee could see what was on the other side: a low tree.
She gasped.
Reading, unconscious, was tied to the tree. His arms were bent at weird angles and his head slumped forward against the tight ropes around his neck.
Parker took a step to go to his brother but Devon and six of his cronies blocked the path.
“He’s fine. I told you he was hanging around.” Devon started to laugh and so did the kids with him, but Emalee could tell they were uneasy about it.
Laughing so they didn’t get singled out by Devon and tied to the tree themselves.
Mason, standing next to Emalee, nodded his head. “He’s still alive. Just unconscious.”
Emalee was about to respond when she saw someone standing near the tree who was smiling. It was Henny, the ghost girl she’d been trying to find.
The one who’d led her into all this mess.
Was she part of Devon’s plan all along? She must’ve been. She’d set them all up. Guided Emalee here so they’d be captured and made to work the garden.
Emalee was never going to say another word to Henny again.
When the ghost girl waved at her, Emalee looked away.
“Take down my brother,” Parker said.
“Not until you kneel at my feet and swear loyalty to me,” Devon said and laughed. He pointed at Mason. “Especially the freak.”
“He’s not a freak. You’re being ugly,” Emalee said, focusing her attention and anger on Devon. She was so mad at Henny right now for betraying her.
“On your knees,” Devon said. “I wasn’t asking. I was telling.”
The crowd moved back and gave them room.
“You don’t scare me,” Mason said. He stepped in front of Devon. “You’re just a coward. Afraid everyone will see the real you.”
“This is the real me.”
Mason shook his head. “The real you misses his mother. You remember crying all night that first night? When she didn’t come back from the store, leaving you and the babysitter?”
Emalee knew Mason was reading Devon’s thoughts, trying to find a weakness and seeing his memories to use against him. Maybe scare him off or get him to see what a jerk he was being.
“How do you know about my sitter? She was a family friend,” Devon said.
“She was paid ten bucks an hour because your mother didn’t think you were mature enough to stay home on your own,” Mason said.
Everyone around them began to murmur.
Maybe this will work. Show the real Devon to everyone, Emalee thought. He was just a scared kid like everyone else.
“You don’t know anything about me,” Devon said.
“I know everything about you. Don’t make me be the jerk, Devon. Let us go and leave us alone. We don’t want any trouble with you,” Mason said.
“There isn’t any trouble. I’m going to string you up with all your friends,” Devon said and punched Mason in the nose.
Emalee screamed as her brother fell to the ground, knocked out.
“Tie them all up,” Devon yelled.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mason felt like an army had been marching in his head for hours. He was exhausted, despite having been unconscious. He was slumped against a cold brick wall and his neck hurt; his body was stiff.
He was alone.
Mason got to his feet and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He was in a small room with no furniture and only a door. He tried the handle and wasn’t surprised it was locked.
“Hello? Let me out,” he said. He pounded his fists on the door.
“Back to the corner so I can open it,” a girl’s voice said.
Mason recognized it as Rihanna. “Forget it. Just leave me alone. I’d rather be trapped in a cage than see your face again.”
The door opened and Rihanna, as well as two other girls, were standing in a hallway.
Mason turned away.
One of the girls with Rihanna snickered and Rihanna told her to be quiet. “Give me a second with him.”
“Devon said…”
“I said back up into the hallway and close the door. What do you think is going to happen? There’s no getting out of the room and he obviously doesn’t want to leave or trust me. Do it,” Rihanna said.
She approached Mason, who looked at her when the door closed.
“You betrayed me,” he said.
She put her hands up. “I did. I can’t argue with that. I really screwed up. I want to apologize to you, Mason. I had no idea meeting you was going to ruin your life.”
“My life was already ruined when the zombie apocalypse started. Where’s my sister? Is she safe?”
Rihanna nodded. “She’s in the next room. Devon separated all of you until tonight when he holds court. He’s going to convict you of trying to steal from us. Spying for the zombies.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It doesn’t matter. Everyone is afraid of Devon. Anyone who’s ever stepped up to challenge him gets beaten up by his goons before they have a chance. It gives him the advantage.” Rihanna stepped forward and lowered her voice. “He’s scared of you. He told me you know things about him no one else knows. No one could possibly know. Is it true?”
Mason was about to answer but stopped himself.
He was staring at how pretty Rihanna was.
“No,” he said. “Just good guesses.”
; She shrank back. “You don’t trust me.”
“Why should I?” Mason felt bad because he’d said it with a lot more venom than he’d wanted to but he couldn’t help it. “I’m not sure if Devon sent you to talk to me. Find out what I know. Another way he gets the advantage.”
“I’m not lying.” She looked on the verge of tears.
Mason knew all he had to do was enter her thoughts and see if she was lying.
He couldn’t do it.
What if she was trying to set him up again? He didn’t think he could take knowing she was using him. Maybe Rihanna just wanted someone to knock Devon off his throne.
Someone easily manipulated like Mason, someone special who they called a freak.
Devon called him a freak.
The more Mason’s thoughts raced the angrier he got.
“I need you to leave me alone,” Mason said to Rihanna.
She glanced at the door again. “I’m here to rescue you.”
“What about my sister and the twins?”
“One at a time.”
Mason shook his head. “I’m staying.”
“He’s going to hurt you. He has a room filled with zombies he’s going to throw you into. Don’t you get it? Your only chance is to escape. I can help you. But we need to hurry. These girls aren’t loyal to me. We’ll need to make it look like you knocked me down and ran off before I could stop you.” Rihanna sighed. “Devon will punish me but he won’t hurt a girl. He’ll hurt you if you stay.”
“If I run, he’ll find me. There are too many other obstacles in the way to ever be free or safe. With Devon and his people on my tail, I’ll never be able to sleep.”
Mason really wanted to believe she was telling the truth but needed to focus on the fight he knew was coming. Devon was going to pronounce him a traitor and who knew what the actual punishment was going to be.
He didn’t want to ask Rihanna, fearing the worst.
“Can you get my sister a message?” Mason asked.
“Yes. What do you want me to tell her?”
Mason took a deep breath. “Tell her I’m fine. I’m not going to leave until this is done. Until either Devon or I quit.”
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