by Amanda Ashby
“There were eight hundred kids at my old school and three days later there was only one,” he simply said. “It’s not something you can turn your back on. It’s not something I want to turn my back on.”
She felt her eyes mist up as she stared at him. For six months he had been at their school, sitting at the back of the class just acting like a regular kid—well, a regular kid who kept to himself and didn’t seem to mind being called New Boy. But really, the whole time he had been living this secret life. A secret life full of zombies and death. No wonder he didn’t bother much with the small talk, since most things must seem a bit inane compared to what he had been through. Mia studied his face. His normal controlled expression was gone and in its place was one of hurt and pain.
Suddenly his desire to do everything by the rule book made a little bit more sense.
“Chase, I didn’t realize—”
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about.” Candice suddenly stood up and made a stirring motion with her hands in a little victory dance. For a moment Mia just blinked before realizing her friend must’ve found something.
“What do you have?” Chase hurried over.
“Only the list of ingredients.” Candice grinned. “Though you know, to be honest, it looks more like a grocery list. Basil, vanilla essence, jasmine, rock salt, mandrake root, four coffin nails—okay, you might have to go somewhere else for those last two. Anyway, here it is.” She passed it to Chase, and Mia started to clap.
“Candice, you’re a genius.”
“I’ve often thought so.” Her friend reached out and shoved the rest of her discarded burger into her mouth and grinned as Chase studied the list.
“So? What do you think? Can we get all this stuff?” Mia asked and didn’t realize she was holding her breath until he nodded his head.
“There’s a specialist supplier just outside of town. I’ve been there a couple of times and he should have everything we need.”
“And he’s not a Chaos Maker?” Mia double-checked. Never let it be said she didn’t learn a lesson.
“Definitely not.” He got to his feet and put the list in his pocket. “I’ll head over there now and then we can get to work.”
“Okay, thanks, Chase.” Mia shot him a grateful look as he gave Candice a quick nod and hurried out of the cafeteria.
“You know, the more I look at the guy, the cuter he becomes,” Candice announced once Chase had moved out of hearing. “I wonder if he’s going to the prom?”
“I doubt it. He just doesn’t look like the prom sort of person.”
“Well, all the same, I might ask him. After all, I did buy a second prom ticket so that my future boyfriend would know I was ready for him.”
“What?” Mia blinked at her friend. “Are you serious?”
“Sure, why not?” Candice shrugged. “He obviously thinks I’m smart since I translated Latin. Hey, maybe I could end up being his partner in crime? We could wear matching outfits.”
“Candice, we’re in the middle of a zombie crisis. How can you even think about the prom? Besides, what if you go all carnivore and try and eat him?”
“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t,” Candice protested. “Anyway, why are you so upset? It’s your prom obsession that got us into this mess in the first place, and once we’re all saved, you’ll be going with Rob. Besides, don’t you think it’s amazing how Chase is so determined to save us?”
“Determined? He wanted to follow the rules and kill you all. With gas. But I was the one who wouldn’t let him.”
“You know, Mia, you’re acting very defensive about this.” Candice blinked. “I thought you’d be happy if I went with someone since it will stop me crowding you and Rob so much. Oh, and speak of the devil,” Candice said, and Mia looked up to see Rob jogging toward the table holding an overflowing tray of food. Before he arrived, Mia quickly grabbed Algeria’s book and tucked it safely away in her bag. No good could come from anyone seeing it.
“Mia, there you are. I’m glad I found you. It’s been such a crazy day. First someone hit my SUV and dented the fender, which is a total pain because it’s custom made. And then I find out I might be benched for the next football game. Something about a bad science grade.” He shook his head.
Mia only just resisted the urge to burst out laughing since Rob’s day sounded pretty much perfect compared to her own. But before she could say anything, he looked at her with interest.
“Hey, have you been eating chicken? Something smells great around here.”
Mia gulped. She looked down and couldn’t help but notice that Rob’s left arm was uncontrollably twitching by his side.
Chase had better hurry up with that list. Like, seriously.
nine
“Thank God school’s over for the day,” Mia said to Candice as she hurried out of class and down the front stairs of Newbury High the second the final bell rang. Chase had sent her a text to say he would meet them in the parking lot.
“Why? Did you feel the need to eat five hamburgers in a row and then wonder if they’d taste better uncooked?” Candice retorted sarcastically as she fished out her car keys.
“Okay, so perhaps your day was bad, too. But at least you didn’t have zombies stalking you—no offense. I’m still glad it’s over,” she conceded as she realized Candice was still a bit pissed at her. Funny that her friend didn’t mind Mia had accidently turned her into a zombie, but she didn’t seem to like being told that asking Chase Miller to the prom was a bad idea.
But before she could say anything else, her math teacher walked past and gave her an appreciative sniff. Mia shuddered. According to her count, so far she’d managed to turn five teachers into almost-zombies. She pulled out her water bottle and gave herself another squirt as Candice shot her a wide-eyed stare.
“Why exactly are you spraying yourself with water?”
“To stop me smelling like chicken, of course. Didn’t you just see how Mrs. Walcott was looking at me? I swear she could picture a gravy boat floating just above my head. It’s creeping me out.”
“Chicken? You don’t smell like chicken. You smell like someone who ate an overcooked burrito for lunch, but definitely not like any poultry.”
“Really?” Mia held up her arm to Candice’s nose. “So when I do this, you really don’t feel like eating me?”
Candice wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Hardly. A little lick maybe, but no chewing. You know, I have enough problems with my sensitive stomach as it is. Actually, that reminds me—I should take my antacids.” She pulled a small bottle out of her bag and shook out a couple of tablets. For a moment Mia just stared at her friend with interest, but before she could say anything, Rob came out of the building and started to eagerly glance around.
“Get down here.” She tugged at her friend’s sleeve and tried to pull her down behind the VW.
“What?” Candice stared down at her. “I’m not getting down there. You know what my knees are like. Is this some sort of zombie-queen thing?”
“Candice, please just do it,” Mia let out an urgent hiss as Rob continued to look around the parking lot. The main problem that came from hanging out with the same person for the last zillion years was that most people knew if they found one of them, the other wasn’t too far behind.
“Fine.” Candice grudgingly dropped down and peered around. “But what’s this about? Oh, hey, isn’t that Rob over there? It seems like he’s looking for you. Once this whole zombie business is sorted out, you really need to get your eyes tested.”
“My eyesight is just fine, thank you very much,” she said.
“Well, maybe it’s your brain that’s malfunctioning then, because why are we hiding when it’s obvious he wants to find you? I mean, this whole situation is because of him.”
Yes. Mia gulped. So it was.
As she watched Rob’s left arm continue to twitch uncontrollably, she couldn’t help but think of the eight burgers he had devoured in the cafeteria. And why had she never noticed how pointy h
is teeth were before? Not that she was going to tell Candice that. Or Rob, for that matter. Hiding was a much better option, at least until they had done the reversal spell. Her membership card for the Spineless Wonder Club should be arriving in the mail any day now.
“Well?” Candice shot her a quizzing glare. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Mia assured her. “It’s just with this whole zombie business, it would hardly be appropriate for me to just go off with Rob. I need to stay focused.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course—” Mia started to assure her just as Samantha suddenly stormed up to them.
“Mia, there you are,” the cheerleader said in a particularly loud voice, which in turn meant that not only Rob but half a dozen other seniors all started to walk slowly toward them.
“Hey, Samantha.” Mia got to her feet and started to edge back toward Candice. “S-so what can I do for you?”
“You can tell me why you are so determined to ruin my life,” Samantha snapped. “Because all I’ve heard today is Mia this, Mia that, Mia, freaking Mia. Well, let me tell you, I’ve dreamed of being prom queen since I was a little girl, and if you think I’m going to let some Buffy-obsessed nobody come along and take it all away from me, you’re wrong.”
“You know, she looks pretty pissed off,” Candice warned in a low voice as Rob and the rest of the seniors joined Samantha and started to press in on them. All that was missing was the “You’re going to die, losers,” horror music and the picture would’ve been complete.
“Get in,” a voice called out, and Mia and Candice both spun around to see Chase’s Impala screeching to a halt next to them. Never had she been so happy to see anyone. Mia tried to ignore her shaking hands as she pulled out her water bottle and gave Samantha and the rest of them a squirt of water before gratefully jumping into Chase’s car.
“Oh my God. What is wrong with them?” Candice scrambled into the backseat and slammed the door shut.
“It’s the virus,” Chase explained as he drove off, leaving Samantha and the others standing in the parking lot looking perplexed. “As it progresses through stage two, the cravings start to increase. As does the loss of motor functions. Were any of them twitching?”
“Yes,” Mia took a deep breath and tried to collect herself. “So would they have tried to hurt me?”
“I don’t think so.” Chase shook his head. “They were probably just as freaked out as you were.”
“I doubt that,” Mia assured him. Then she frowned as she turned to where Candice was sitting in the backseat opening up a small bottle.
“It’s Rescue Remedy,” her friend explained as she held it up. “It’s good for stress, and if that situation back there wasn’t stressful, then I don’t know what is. Do you want some?”
“Er, no thanks,” Mia said before turning to Chase. “This loss of motor skills? Does it include opening bottles?”
“Sure, I guess.” He shrugged. “Why?”
“Well, isn’t it a bit weird that Candice didn’t go all zombie along with the others back there? And that reminds me, she doesn’t seem to think I smell like chicken, either.”
“Are you sure she’s not just being nice to you?” He lifted an eyebrow but Mia shook her head.
“You obviously don’t know Candice very well. She calls it like she sees it. Anyway, she said I don’t smell.”
“I said you don’t smell like chicken,” Candice corrected from the backseat. “So what does it mean? Maybe this whole zombie thing isn’t as bad as we thought? I could even be immune like you guys. I mean, I was right next to Mia when she did the spell.”
“Normally there’s only one queen.” Chase chewed on his bottom lip as he pulled the Impala over to the side of the road and turned to study Candice’s face. “I’m afraid not. See the way the skin is starting to go slack around the eyes and mouth? That’s definitely a sign of stage two, but it does seem like something in her body is slowing down the virus,” he said thoughtfully as they both watched Candice put her bottle of Rescue Remedy back into her purse.
“What?” Candice demanded. “Why are you both looking at me like that?”
“Do you think it’s because of all the vitamins she takes?” Mia asked. “I mean, her phone beeps at least ten times a day to remind her to take things. She’s a walking pharmacy.”
“I have no idea what it means, but it might be handy to know,” Chase conceded.
“Well, I’m pleased you’re both so happy about it,” Candice muttered as she touched her eyes and mouth to no doubt check for sagging skin.
“No one is happy,” Mia assured her friend as Chase started up the engine again. “So what happens now? Did you get all the ingredients?”
“I did, so we just need to mix it all up and then wait until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Candice protested. “That’s a long way off, and who knows what sort of irreparable damage this is doing to my body. Plus, I have serious doubts that my parents’ medical insurance will cover my zombie-rehabilitation expenses.”
“We still have some time before the virus moves into stage three,” Chase promised. “And we need to do it at school so that we don’t miss anyone. We just have to hope that no one is out sick.”
Mia gave an adamant nod of her head. “No complaints from me, and if you want, we can go back to my house to do it. Grace has cheerleading practice and my mom works late on Wednesdays.”
“Actually, if you don’t need me I might just go straight home,” Candice said as she smothered a yawn. “I think all of that protein is starting to make me tired.”
“Sure,” Chase said as they headed up Crescent Grove to the nicer part of the Twilight Zone, where all the houses looked like they had been supersized with long driveways and Gone with the Wind-style pillars at the front. Candice’s was the most supersized of them all.
“Thanks for the lift,” Candice said as Chase leaned into the backseat and opened the door for her. Mia noticed her friend’s face was pale and strained.
“That’s okay,” Chase said. “And since your car’s still at school, I’ll come by and pick you up in the morning if you want.”
“You will?”
“Of course,” he said as he gave her a double-dimpled smile. “And Candice, try not to panic. Now that we’ve got all the ingredients and the full incantation, there’s no reason why the reversal shouldn’t work. So don’t be thinking you’re dying. Okay?”
“Okay.” Candice managed a nod, but it wasn’t until she had disappeared up the path and into the enormous house that Mia turned to him in surprise.
“That was really sweet of you.”
“It’s nothing. It can’t be easy for her. The rest of the people who are infected probably don’t even realize it, but since Candice is aware of what is happening, not to mention seems concerned about her health, I just didn’t want her to worry.”
“Well, it was still very nice of you. Not everyone gets Candice. Her dad is a financial wizard and her mom works in real estate selling massive condos. They have more bathrooms than we have bedrooms. Problem is her folks work so hard that they’re hardly ever at home. That’s why she’s a bit of a hypochondriac. She had the flu when she was about eight and her mom took the day off to stay with her. I think she’s been trying to replicate it ever since.”
“Well, turning into a zombie would certainly get their attention. Though probably not in a good way,” Chase said as he started the engine to make the short drive to her own house. As he drove, Mia couldn’t help but study him.
There was definitely more to Chase Miller than met the eye. Not that she’d met any other zombie hunters before, but she wouldn’t have expected them to be so kind or so calm under pressure. She started to understand that part of the reason she hadn’t succumbed to a complete meltdown was because of Chase’s soothing presence. For a moment she wondered what Rob would be like under the circumstances, but she realized that was just futile since it was never going to happen. Besides, Rob was kind
as well. Maybe a bit more self-centered than Chase, but he wasn’t purposefully cruel like Samantha and most of the other popular group. And anyway—
“Are you okay?” Chase suddenly asked, and Mia realized she had been staring at him the whole time.
“Oh, right.” She flushed as he turned right at the end of the leafy street and headed down Moonshine Drive. “Yeah, I’m fine. Well, as fine as I can be, I guess,” she said, and wondered if he’d try and reassure her like he’d done with Candice—maybe use his dimples. But he just shrugged, and once he pulled up outside her house, he turned to her.
“So, are you sure it’s okay to do this here? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“I think I’ve managed that all on my own. Anyway, it’s fine,” she assured him as he once again reached across her and opened her door. This time Mia was aware that his arm grazed hers. She jumped slightly and got out of the car. This zombie business was obviously affecting her nerves. Chase walked around to the trunk and pulled out a large brown bag and they both hurried inside.
“My room’s upstairs.” She nodded for him to follow her up, but it wasn’t until he stepped in that she realized how odd it was to be spending so much time with a guy who two days ago she probably wouldn’t have been able to pick out in a lineup.
“Wow, you really do like Buffy and Angel.” Chase put the bag down on her bed and looked around at the numerous posters that were plastered all over the wall. Suddenly she felt like a twelve-year-old girl as she caught sight of all the clothes that were scattered around the place.
“You probably think it’s dumb,” she said as she started to scoop them all up. Next to the bed was one of Grace’s magazines that Mia had been secretly looking at to figure out how to do her hair for Friday. She used her foot to kick it out of sight.
“Why? Because I know that vampires don’t really exist?” he teased, and Mia felt her eyes widen as she thrust all the clothes into her closet.
