Suspending Reality

by Chrissy Peebles

  “Of course it is,” I snapped. “I don’t get it. There’s an entire lab filled with those vials. Why do they care about one missing bag of them?” I asked. When he looked away, I knew something was horribly wrong. Am I in big time trouble? I bet they saw me on the security cameras! Lucas would never rat me out. “Did they send your team here to arrest me? And why would they risk their lives just to bring me in?”

  “Just the opposite, buddy,” Lucas said, avoiding my gaze.

  I blinked. “The opposite?”

  “Yeah. You’re being hailed as a hero for stealing them out of the city.”

  “Why?” I asked. “What are you not telling me?”

  “There’s something else.” A shadow crossed his features.

  I tried to make sense of his words. Why would I be a hero for sneaking out a bag of vials? “What’s going on, Lucas? Just spit it out.”

  He bit his lip and then finally spoke. “There’s no easy way to say it, but the city’s been overrun by zombies.”

  A shudder shot down my body. “How’s that even possible? It’s an island, with walls, and those undead freaks don’t go in the water!”

  “They didn’t actually break in. It was the virus itself. Somehow, it accidently got inside, and many people became sick and started attacking everyone.”

  “I-I don’t believe it,” Nick said, shocked.

  “Too many people were bitten, and an overzealous general even bombed parts of Kelleys Island. The lab is completely demolished.”

  “No!” I shouted. “How could they do that?”

  He swallowed hard. “The formula’s gone. All that’s left are those vials you stole.”

  “No! Quit joking,” I said.

  Lucas nodded gravely. “It’s absolutely true, pal. I’m sorry, but you have the only remaining vials.”

  I froze, numb. Parts of me wanted to believe him, but it all sounded so far-fetched that I just couldn’t. We’d been safe for months on the island, but now all was lost. Our safe haven had been compromised, infected, blown to bits. I sucked in a trembling breath as my mind contemplated his words over and over again.

  “No! I can’t believe this,” Nick said, his harsh tone jerking me out of my trance.

  “I was on zombie patrol inland, battling a herd in a tank, shooting as many of those smelly, decaying freaks as I could. I missed the whole thing so there was no way I was exposed to the virus.”

  My heart lurched as horrible images and thoughts and worries flooded through me. “What about Mom and Dad? Grams? Dr. Hamming? My friends and family?”

  “Lots of people escaped to South Bass Island. I think your grams and your parents were with them, but Dr. Hamming is dead. As of now, Dean, you hold the only cure in your hands.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Nick said, slowly letting out a breath. “It’s impossible.”

  “I assure you it is entirely possible and entirely true, crappy as it is. You’re our only hope, Dean. General Rika didn’t send my team to capture you, but to bring you back to safety, along with those precious vials.”

  “Is the island totally destroyed?” I asked, fearing his answer.

  Lucas hesitated. “All the zombies have been killed. We’re rebuilding the parts of Kelleys Island that were bombed. The south side, where you live, was untouched, so I’m sure your family’s safe, but they don’t know how long the restoration will take.”

  “I hope they weren’t infected,” I said quietly.

  “Like I said, a lot of people escaped to the other islands around Lake Erie. The important thing is that we managed to avoid an epidemic.”

  “But you don’t know specific names,” I said. It wasn’t Lucas’s fault, and I knew I shouldn’t be taking my anger and helplessness out on him, but I couldn’t help it. Not having answers frustrated me big time. In a brief moment of anger, I punched the window until my knuckles ached.

  “It’s a big mess over there,” Lucas said. “Everything’s in total chaos, but I plan on going back and helping the island get back on its feet. We just have to be more careful about letting anyone new onto the island. Stricter guidelines have been put in place.”

  “How much stricter could they get?” I’d already felt like I was living in a prison.

  “Every resident has to carry an electronic ID badge. If you leave the island and come back, you have to be put in isolation for one week for observation.”

  As much as it infuriated me, I was willing to do whatever it took to be safe. Nick and I questioned Lucas for the next hour, but that interrogation didn’t change anything. For all I knew, my parents and my grandma were dead—or worse, undead. I wanted to scream from the emotional torment ripping through me like a knife. No! They aren’t dead! They aren’t infected! Not my family! I didn’t believe that for a minute, and neither did Nick. I had to quit thinking about everything, because my mind was turning to mush.

  We took turns driving through the night so everyone had their turn for a catnap. When it was my turn to ride in the back, as much as I tried not to think about things, thoughts of my parents wandered into my head. I wondered if they were okay and when we’d be reunited. I thought about them giving Val up for adoption. I wasn’t even sure why that popped into my head, but it did. I still couldn’t believe I had a sister, and even though my parents had had their teenage reasons for giving her up, I was still bitter about missing out on all those years I could have had with her. I hadn’t had the chance to grow up with a big sister. Maybe part of me wanted to make up for it by protecting her and saving her life, now more than ever. Knowing my parents, even if they had only been teenagers at the time, they wouldn’t have given Val to just anyone. I knew my grandma would have made sure Val had a loving, caring, safe, happy home. I only wished I would have known about her. Why did she have to be a big secret? Was that really fair, keeping our sibling away from us like that? But there was no use dwelling on things I couldn’t change. I had to keep my mind focused on getting to the next city. Nick, Val, and I had become fighters, and somehow, I knew we’d get through it together.

  Beams of sunshine shone through the trees, and mist billowed and swirled all around us. Morning had come so fast! Val was sleeping quietly in the back seat next to me, and I was thankful for the chance to focus on my thoughts and form a plan. There was no way I could have dealt with any of her crazy antics at that moment.

  Lucas shook his head, jamming to songs on his iPod, and Nick drove us down the highway, past deserted towns.

  “Great! Another obstacle,” Nick suddenly said, breaking the silence.

  Black skid marks caught my attention as I peered through the windshield. Further down the road, cars and trucks had crashed and were now abandoned on the little stretch of road. What the heck happened here? I wondered.

  Chapter 17

  The sun shone brightly in the early morning. Through the windshield, we peered at the scene before our eyes. Even though months must’ve passed, the car accident looked like a picture frozen in time with countless vehicles piled up on top of one another, stretching out as far as my eyes could see. Scraps of metal were strewn all along the road.

  I swallowed hard and pointed at the mess, even though Nick had already gotten a good look at it. “Whoa! Look at that. I’ve never seen such a big collision before.”

  “There’s broken glass everywhere,” Nick replied with a frown.

  I could sense the implication in his words: That glass could have led to a flat tire or two, and we had no time for obstacles.

  “We can swerve around some of the cars to get past,” Lucas said, hesitating.

  I stared at a crumbled blue car that was resting upside down. The thing that scared me the most was that I didn’t see one dead person, and I knew there weren’t exactly any clean-up crews or EMTs around—at least not human ones. I didn’t even want to think about where the bodies had gone.

  “What’s going on?” Val asked from the back seat.

  I wrapped my arms around her shoulders to pull her close and
pointed ahead of us, explaining the situation.

  Val’s jaw dropped open. Her hands wrapped around my arm, either to support herself from the shock or to keep me in place. Either way, she was distressed.

  “We’ll be okay,” I said.

  Nick swerved around a red sports car and slammed the brakes, tossing us forward.

  I pushed my hand against the driver seat to steady myself and Val, only then noticing the beads of sweat rolling down her face. In the soft glow of the sun, her skin pallor reflected the light. Her grip was more flaccid than before, as though she was losing strength, which she probably was. My heart went out to her. “Could you hit those brakes with a little less vigor?” I asked my brother.

  “Sorry,” he muttered. “It looks like the girls blew a tire. We better go help them.”

  I craned my neck to see what he was talking about. “Pull up closer,” I said.

  Nick shook his head. “I’m not parking on all that glass. You want us to be the next ones to get a flat tire? No way. We’re not moving from this spot. Once we get the girls moving, it’ll free me to swerve around in the grass.”

  “Makes sense,” Lucas said.

  “Stay here,” I whispered to Val, who nodded, wide-eyed. “If you hear or see anything, don’t move. Don’t get out of the car or do anything stupid. You hear me?”

  She nodded again.

  I wasn’t convinced that she’d listen, but taking her word at face value was about all I could do.

  “Hey, Nick,” she called. “Can’t we just have them ride with us? We can all fit in here I’m sure.”

  “And lose a perfectly good vehicle loaded with supplies just because they have a flat tire?” he retorted.

  “He’s right,” Lucas agreed. “We can change it in less than fifteen minutes. It’s no biggy and not worth losing a Jeep.”

  Nick opened the car door to step out, but I tugged at his arm and nodded my chin toward Val. “I still think we should park a little closer to the girls.”

  He narrowed his gaze the way he always did when he was irritated. “Why?”

  “Because she’s not doing so well, and I’d like to keep an eye on her,” I whispered so Val wouldn’t hear me.

  “Park here,” Val said. “I can change that tire in a hurry.”

  “Remember what we talked about? Nick and I got this.” I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

  She wasn’t doing well at all. The girls’ Jeep was at least fifty feet, maybe a hundred, down the road. Nick wasn’t doing us any favors by stopping so far from where we were heading.

  Val shook her head and tried to squeeze past me.

  I grabbed her around her waist to hold her in place. “Where do you think you’re going?” I hissed.

  “Look at that accident.” She struggled in my grip, but her attempts were feeble. “You’ll need backup. I’ll call this in.”

  Nick shot me a look that warned me our big sis was drifting back into La La Land, and I couldn’t have agreed more. “Val, you’re not at work,” Nick said.

  She flopped back down. “I’m so confused. I can’t even tell what’s real anymore.”

  “Go back to sleep,” I said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I’ll take care of things until you’re better.”

  She nodded, her eyes shining unnaturally again. “I’m so sorry. You must think I’m a horrible partner. Just don’t take my gun and badge, okay?”

  It was so sad to see her like that, and I felt like shouting and kicking at something. Instead, I just bit down hard on the inside of my cheek until I thought I drew blood. “Just promise you’ll get some rest.”

  She peered over my shoulder, her gaze clearing a little. “I’ll try. Hey, am I imagining things or is this the dude who arrested me and threw me in that hole back on the island?”

  Lucas’s fingers reached up, as though to touch her cheek. When I shot him a venomous look, he pulled back. He smiled, but his eyes never left her as he spoke, “Yeah, that’d be me, the one and only. But don’t worry. I’m on your team now.”

  Val met my gaze. “Slap the bracelets on that perp!”

  “This is Lucas,” I said patiently. “He’s a friend, not a perp. He’s one of the few friends we’ve got left.”

  She grabbed the collar of Lucas’s shirt. “My mistake. But, hey, will you do me a quick favor?”

  He smiled. “Sure. Just name it.”

  “Tell Claire she’s safe.” She leaned back into the back seat.

  I could see she was overwhelmed with tiredness by the way her brows drew together with a tiny crease forming in between.

  Lucas cocked a brow at me. “What’s she talking about?”

  “I’ve taken her off my hit list,” Val said simply.

  “That’s good.” Lucas nodded.

  She licked her lips, as though she was thirsty. I raised a water bottle to her mouth, but she shrugged it off. “Yeah, it’s good. For her. This might be one fight she couldn’t win.”

  “Why’s that?” Lucas asked, as if humoring her.

  “Because once I change into a zombie, I’ll probably end up bored and determined and particularly hungry. Combine that with the fact that I won’t be very choosy as to what or who I eat and how I get my next meal, and you’ll have a deadly combination.”

  A dark shadow crossed Lucas’s features for a second, but it disappeared quickly, and his easygoing smile was back in place. “You’ll be the first pretty zombie,” he whispered. “I think that makes up for the deadly part.”

  With her confused gaze focused on him, she leaned back into the seat and wrapped her arms around her waist. Her lips moved still, but no words came out.

  Lucas inched closer, until his fingers almost touched her cheek. He shot me a questioning look. When I nodded, giving him permission, he brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

  I strained to listen, but I couldn’t make out his words.

  Val’s fingers clutched his forearm, and her head bobbed once, then again.

  Lucas reached into his backpack and pulled out a mini black bag. Unzipping it, he pulled out a syringe and a vial full of blue liquid.

  “What’re you doing?” I yelled at him, already picturing the worst. Whatever he’d said to her, I could only hope he hadn’t asked her for consent to kill her, or he would have been the next to go.

  “She needs it,” Lucas said.

  Nick pushed me aside, taking charge of the situation, probably fearing what I might do if Lucas didn’t explain himself immediately. “You can’t just whip out a needle and not explain to Dean what it is.”

  “It’s Tyrima,” Lucas said, as though I was supposed to know what he was talking about.

  “What the heck is that?” I asked.

  “It’ll take a few hours to work, but once it kicks in, she’ll feel better. I’d rather give her the last vial than see her suffer.” He met Nick’s gaze. “You cool with that?”

  “Yeah, do it,” my brother said.

  “Nick!” I shot him a glare. “I hope it doesn’t slow down the process because we need her to change into a zombie as soon as possible so we can give her the cure.”

  Lucas fumbled with the equipment while my brother steadied Val, who assured me, “It won’t slow down the zombie transformation one bit, but it’ll help her keep her mind until the very end. It’ll just take a little while to kick in.”

  “It’s safe,” my brother reassured me. “We’ve used it on the front lines to get important information from people going loony from zombie bites or scratches.”

  Nick obviously knew what he was talking about, and I trusted him. Val was my sister and I hated to see her suffer going through this zombie transition. I slowly nodded my consent, albeit not quite convinced. “Okay, but if something goes wrong, I’ll hold you responsible for it.”

  “I would expect nothing less,” Lucas said, turning to Val. His voice became softer, more soothing. “Hey, like promised, this is going to help you, but you need to
trust me. It’s going to keep you from losing your mind. Nick told me about the grocery store incident.”

  Val’s voice came so low that I had to crane my neck to hear her. “I don’t want to put the others in danger. If you can help me keep my mind a little longer, please do whatever it takes.”

  Lucas nodded and gripped the syringe tightly.

  The serum caught the light and shimmered blue. Val’s gaze fell on it, and her face paled like a ghost. For a moment, I thought she might be sick, but instead of showing fear, she broke Nick’s grip and jumped out of the Jeep, yelling, “You touch me with that thing and you’re a dead man.”

  “Val, we’re trying to help you,” I said.

  “I’m going to bite Lucas,” she said. “He’d better watch out because I’m pretty hungry.”

  “No you’re not!” I said.

  “I repeat, suspect is armed and dangerous,” Val said. “All Philly PD units be advised; suspect is armed and dangerous! I need backup immediately.”

  Nick gripped her arms from behind. “Quick! Do it!”

  She let out a long growl a moment before Lucas pierced her skin, injecting her with the serum as she thrashed about, calling him every name in the book. I knew it was a temporary fix, but we had to do what we could to keep Val sane and calm. She was starting to get weird again with all that growling and hissing, just like back at the grocery store. It was for her own good, and I knew if she could think straight, she would’ve agreed with me.

  Val’s eyes fluttered shut as she slumped back into Nick’s arms.

  “Okay, she’s out cold,” Lucas said. “I didn’t know a girl could even talk like that. Where did she learn that kind of language?”

  “She was a police officer back in Philly. Couldn’t you tell from the cop lingo?”

  “I seriously thought she just watched too many cop shows on TV.” Lucas grinned. “If she had her gun, I bet she’d have shot me dead.”

  “Lucky for you, Nick disarmed her earlier,” I said.

  “Did you see the hate in her eyes?” Lucas asked.

  “C’mon, man. She can’t help it. She’s not herself. She’s just mad that you dragged her out of our parents’ house and threw her in jail, and now you just injected her with something.”