A Mad Zombie Party

by Gena Showalter

  They boo and hiss, but Frosty keeps going, carrying me away.

  "No movie?" I tease.

  "Oh, you'll get your movie. I'll pop in a DVD."

  "Desperate to be alone with me?"

  "You have no idea."

  Joy practically fizzes in my veins as we enter our bedroom. People usually say some variation of "this is life, get used to it" when bad things happen. But right now, everything is just right. Everything is perfect. And to me, this is life. I'll get used to it.

  *

  Ten years have passed since I first fell down the zombie hole. I woke up and discovered zombies are real and only slayer light can destroy their darkness. I lost so much. My parents, my little sister. My grandfather. But I gained so much, too. Cole, friends who understood me in a way no one else ever did, and now...a family of my own.

  Cole proposed to me my freshman year of college. I said no--but only to make him beg. Which he did. Fun! Then, of course, I said yes. He's my best friend, my heart and soul, my future. We married a year later, and I've been Ali Holland ever since, the happiest girl in the world (and probably ever, of all time)!

  Cole did, in fact, become one of the youngest, hottest detectives on the force. I say "one of" because Frosty did, in fact, become one of the youngest, hottest detectives on the force. Women go crazy for the two of them, but Milla and I just laugh about it. Our boys are devoted. (AKA whipped.) The four of us, we've been to hell and back, and the bonds between us are unbreakable. That's never going to change.

  Besides, why would our boys want anyone else? We're awesome! I'm a counselor for troubled teens, and get this...I'm a mom! Cole and I have two rug rats. A boy, Phillip Tyler (Ty), named for our dads, and a girl, Miranda Janelen (Rane), named for our mothers. Both darlings see zombies, and their abilities...good glory, both Ty and Rane far surpass Momma and Daddy.

  I have a feeling our third munchkin--due any second--will surpass even his--her?--siblings.

  Speaking of our third, we'll name the darling Emerson, whether boy or girl. A tribute to my little sister.

  If you couldn't tell, we've settled into our "normal" lives quite nicely. Anima hasn't been resurrected, but zombies still rise. At least we've learned the root cause of the infection. Our actions here, in this physical world, dictate the condition of our spirits when we die. Evil deeds cause rot, and rot spreads. So, as long as there's evil in the world, there will be zombies. And as long as there are zombies, there will be slayers. (Or janitors.) But now, thanks to a little tip Rebecca gave Frosty, we can turn average citizens into slayers. They just have to believe us when we tell them about the spirit world in operation around them, and they have to want to do what we do. That desire does something to their spirits, brings dynamis to life.

  We cleanse the zombies we can, without fighting them, without being bitten by them. But we've discovered a resistant strain of zombie toxin that doesn't respond to our waves of power-- zombies we have to take down the old-fashioned way. These unclean zombies are the ones that rain black ash when they die. The others rain white-as-snow ash.

  We do what we can.

  You'll be happy to know the gang is still together. Bronx and Dr. Reeve are married. In fact, they were the first to tie the knot. They have a daughter, Allison (named after me!) but delivery almost killed Reeve, so they decided to adopt the rest of their kids. They run Sunlight, a foundation for the troubled teens I send their way. Teens who don't yet know--or aren't ready to accept--they are slayers. Or, if they aren't, that they can be.

  Gavin and Jaclyn got married, divorced, then married again. They think it's fun and keeps their spark burning white-hot. Jaclyn is now pregnant with twins, so I'm pretty sure they'll stay together this time. Gavin is a fireman, and she's an instructor at Sunlight.

  Chance and Love live together, and after babysitting Ty and Rane decided they never ever never wanted to have kids. Go figure. Chance runs some sort of software company (he starts talking shop, I tune out), and wears pin-striped suits on a daily basis. Even though I'm a married woman, I'm not blind, and the guy looks go-o-o-od in those suits. Love, on the other hand, ended up famous. Someone posted pictures of her all over the internet. She was dressed in slayer gear and strapped with weapons, and people couldn't get enough. Those pictures went viral, and a very well-known company hired her to model swimsuits (she was on the cover!). Now, she's in high demand.

  Emma, Kat and Helen visit me when they can. Both Ty and Rane can see them, and boy, do the kids love their aunt Em and auntie Kat, and they think Grandma Helen is the prettiest grandmother in the entire world.

  They love Nana, too. She lives with us, and helps us with the kids. Actually, she's more like a second mom to them. I don't know what I'd do without her.

  As you can see, life is good. We weathered the storms and came out stronger on the other side.

  --Because I'm an amazing leader.

  Cole has entered the building, everyone.

  --What? You know it's true.

  I do. I also know behind every excellent decision you made, there I was, directing you.

  --And behind every crappy decision?

  You were on your own.

  --So that's how this works?

  I thought you knew. But, uh...honey? I think my water just broke.

  (I wish you could see my husband right now. He's chalk white, and there's panic in his eyes. He can take down a horde of cleanse-resistant zombies with a crossbow, but he flips his lid every time I go into labor.)

  I guess this is goodbye. Better now than when I start cursing--labor is the only time I suspend the Kat-rule about a lady never dirtying her mouth with foul words. Please know that we're happy, and we're excited to see what the future holds. (Also know that if you turn into a zombie, we're coming for you. Just saying.)

  Let your light shine!

  Ali and Cole

  Life didn't turn out the way I once envisioned it.

  Milla Martin here. I never get tired of saying my name--my legal tie to Aston. Once, I saw myself as a dedicated surgeon, but the night we cleansed Shady Elms of evil, Frosty and I got a little too excited to be together and didn't use a condom. Nine months later, we welcomed Ryn into the world.

  (We spent months agonizing over our son's name. In the end, we wanted our firstborn to honor Kat. Kathryn. Without her, we would have been two ships passing in the night, blowing our horns at each other and threatening to war.)

  During my pregnancy--when Frosty wasn't pampering the crap out of me--I began to cook for the slayers.

  --Yes. I rock.

  He so does! But back to me! I cooked breakfast to start everyone's day right. Lunch to fuel them for the coming battle, if zombies were spotted. Dinner to recharge them when they returned from patrol. I rediscovered my love of the kitchen. And then, when Ryn arrived, I didn't want to leave his side.

  Ryn has grown into an amazing boy. He's quiet, but he's smart. He studies a situation before he comments or acts. Like Ali's kids, he's a brand-new breed of slayer. He has abilities, and then some. The things he can do while he's in the spirit realm... I'm still shocked sometimes. On his first hunt, he somehow stopped time, cleansed all the zombies he could, then restarted time, leaving the rest of us floundering in the seemingly instant change of situation.

  Uncle River says Ryn will be the next leader of his crew. My brother hasn't settled down, or found a nice girl to love (or even a mean one). In fact, he's wilder than ever. He's convinced another war is headed our way. Evil isn't dumb, he says; it waits for the perfect time to strike.

  I worry for him sometimes, for all of us, but I know that no matter what happens, we're in this together, and together we will prevail.

  --Also, we're kind of badass.

  This is true.

  --And now I would be forever grateful if you'd stop writing your--our--letter so I can start loving you properly. Ryn just left to spend the day with Uncle Riv...

  Got to go!

  Never look back,

  Milla and Frost
y

  I'm awesome. Just thought you needed the reminder.

  My friends are so happy. Their kids are little terrors--but adorable! I love watching their lives unfold. Do I wish I walked among them? Yes. I'd be crazy not to. But I also wouldn't give up my amazing afterlife. Dude. I'm, like, forever HAWT. Not that I know how hot I am. And the fact that I don't know just makes me hotter.

  When kids die before their time, they enter the holding zone, where they continue to age. Of course, everyone stops aging somewhere around thirty-three. I'm twenty-eight now and I've only gotten awesomer. My peers can't get enough.

  That's right. This little Kitty Kat is playing the field and loving it. Hear me purr! Except...none of the guys up here compare to one I can't seem to stop watching down there...and no, it's not Frosty. The horror! He's totally nuts for Milla, and that's the way it should be. It's--ugh, I can't believe I'm admitting this, but...it's River.

  There. Now you know. The boy is a ten on my bow-chica-wow-wow scale. And you've heard the old saying, right? Two hawts can totally make a right.

  Anyway. I'll get to spend real time with River soon enough. I'll get to spend time with all the slayers. You know they won't live forever, right? You heard what Frosty once said: death is hereditary. An-e-way. I know my friends will be surprised to find out what, exactly, happens up here. Like, we seriously have our own war going on. I've had to learn to fight, and yeah, you guessed it, I'm pretty amazing at it. Probably the best ever. If probably is the new word for definitely. When you got it, you got it. No use denying it.

  An-n-nd speaking of the war, I'm being summoned for a court appearance. Time for another battle (for me to win)!

  Live as if today is your last day...because it just might be.

  Love,

  Kat

  First Publication 2015

  Copyright (c) 2015 Gena Showalter All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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