Naked

by Alexandra Christian

  After a few more blocks, Cage realized they were being watched. Nothing moved that he could see, even with his excellent peripheral vision, but nonetheless, something was there in the shadows. Uneasiness crept in, and for a moment he almost thought Phoe had been right. He thought she must sense it too. She was holding his hand so tightly, he was sure he would find red, half-moon shaped marks on his skin later.

  Neither said anything, their ears perked for even the smallest sound.

  “Phoe,” he whispered, pulling her closer. “Don’t stop. Don’t look around. Just keep walking.”

  “Why?”

  “Just do as I say,” he hissed.

  There was a man standing on the corner up ahead. He was large, wearing a ragged flannel shirt. His eyes glimmered in the dark with a milky dead glow. He stood still, watching Cage and Phoe move down the street like a sentinel. Another joined him from the street opposite. Then another and another until they lined the main street.

  “Cage, who are those men?” she whispered.

  “Just don’t look at them. Keep going.” Casting a glance higher, Cage could see that there were more of them in the broken second-story windows. “Pretend like you don’t notice them.”

  “Cage, I’m scared.”

  “Just keep walking.” Their feet pounded against the broken asphalt in an ever-quickening cadence. They weren’t running, but nearly. He could hear Phoe’s ragged breathing and the rushing roar of the blood flowing in her veins. It made him hungry again, and he bit the inside of his cheek hard, trying to lose the grinding pain in his belly with the steady rhythm of their walk.

  “Cage.” Phoe whimpered. “They’re following us.” He glanced over his shoulder and saw a line of the men walking slowly behind them, blocking their path back to the forest. “What do we do?”

  He let the lapel of his jacket open slightly, letting her see the gun resting just under his arm. “Whatever happens, don’t look them in the eye.”

  “What?” It was too late. Cage turned, facing the army that had assembled behind them.

  At first he’d been sure they were zombies by the dead eyes and shuffling gait, but now he couldn’t be sure. They didn’t have the distinctive smell of rotting meat, nor the blackening flesh that began at the cuticles and radiated outward until their entire bodies turned to ash. These men were not the corpses of the long dead, infected and reanimated by the alien bacteria spread by The Others.

  “Hello,” Cage shouted, putting his hand up. He wanted to see if these things were communicative. They looked at one another and put their hands up, copying him. “My name is St. John. My friend and I are in need of supplies.” The creatures did not respond, but stood still, staring them down with their unwavering gaze. “All right, then. I’m out of ideas,” he murmured.

  “Still think this was a great idea?” Phoe asked.

  Cage snarled, tugging her arm roughly and steering her up the street. “You can hold your I-told-you-sos until we get out of here.”

  They walked quickly, but the line of zombies advanced behind them. Their feet pounded against the pavement, becoming more thunderous with every step, and now they were making some sort of barking sound.

  Phoe tried to turn, but Cage kept her facing forward. He feared that he was going to pull her arm out of joint the way he was dragging her down the street, but this was no time to be gentle. He wasn’t sure what those things were, and he was positive he didn’t want to find out. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an alley. He jerked to the right.

  “Now run,” he said, dropping her hand.

  They took off down the alley, Phoe desperately trying to keep up with Cage’s long-legged strides. He could hear the zombies closing in quickly, and up ahead they were already crawling down the fire escapes from the buildings above. Soon Cage and Phoe would be overrun, and if they couldn’t get to the outlet at the end of the alley, he would have walked them right into a trap.

  His shoulders ached, and he could feel the urge to shift, but he wouldn’t do it. That would leave Phoe on her own, and she would most definitely be torn apart by those things.

  “Cage,” she shrieked. He looked back as one of the things dropped down, tackling Phoe in the street. It hissed and thrashed, batting at her like a cat with a ball of string. He turned, aiming carefully. His hand shook as he tried to get a clear shot that wouldn’t hit her. The thing seemed to be somewhat intelligent. When it noticed Cage coming toward them with the gun, it pulled her in front of him, using her body to shield his own.

  “Let her go,” Cage shouted. It responded with a low gurgle, as if it was trying to laugh. Blood and bile bubbled from its swollen lips. Cage was fighting the urge to stare into the creature’s dead eyes, making it difficult to aim. Phoe screamed again as it pulled her head back by the hair, licking at her cheek.

  “Cage. Shoot him,” Phoe cried, trying to pull away from the creature. His eyes were everywhere. The other creatures were closing in fast. Soon it wouldn’t make a difference if Cage shot this one or not; there would be no use in running. “Please, Cage. Help me.”

  Keeping his eye on the target, he let the rest of the commotion turned gray. He blocked it out, his vision narrowed to the zombie-thing, mapping out the kill spots: brain, heart, lungs. With a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger lightly. Before he could fire, Phoe screamed, but this time not from panic. He lowered the gun and watched as she drove her elbow hard into the creature’s sternum. The bone cracked audibly, and the thing went down on its knees. She stumbled forward in a clumsy dance and, with a less-than-graceful movement, kicked it in the face, sending it sprawling backward. She ran toward Cage, and he grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind him.

  “Good job,” he panted, stopping short at a chain-link fence blocking the end of the alley.

  Despite her terror, Phoe grinned. “I think I broke my elbow,” she said.

  “Elbows are overrated.” Grabbing her by the waist, he lifted her onto the fence, sending her scrambling over first.

  “Cage. There’s more,” she shrieked, nearly falling down as another zombie climbed down from a ledge above.

  “I know that. Keep moving,” Cage shouted as he turned and fired. The gunshots exploded with loud popping sounds. The creatures screamed and writhed as they fell. Cage never missed, but before long he’d have to reload. Their situation was getting more desperate with each passing second. They managed to scramble over the fence, for a moment blocking the path of the zombie-things who slammed into the chain links, dumbly trying to claw their way through.

  Phoe cowered behind Cage, unconsciously tugging him toward the clearing ahead. He reached into his jacket, pulling out a magazine and slamming it into the chamber of his pistol. “You’re going to have to run, Phoe.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Distract them.”

  “How are you going to do that?” she huffed, unconsciously taking hold of his arm as if to stop him. “Those things will tear you limb from limb.”

  Cage smirked. “I think you underestimate me, love.”

  “What do I do if they come after me?” she asked. Her expression was one of wild panic as he shoved one of the guns into her hands. “I mean, I only have one good elbow left.”

  “Shoot them.”

  “What? I’ve never shot a gun before.” She stared down at the pistol in her hands and then back at Cage. “I don’t know if I can.”

  He took her by the arms, looking into her face with a reassuring smile. “Of course you can.” He put the gun into her hand, molding it to the correct posture and flipping the safety switch. “Just remember. Point at the opponent and squeeze the trigger gently. Don’t tense, or you’ll mess up your shoulder.”

  “But Cage—” She was cut short as a window opened overhead. A new wave of the creatures began to pour out, climbing down the walls toward them. They rolled and crawled over one another, using the other mindless walking corpses as makeshift ladders that would carry them over the fence.

  �
�Run,” Cage shouted, pushing her toward the mouth of the alleyway. She did as she was told, casting her eyes backward just long enough to see the zombie horde burst through the fence and overtake him.

  * * *

  Phoe’s heart echoed the sound of her feet pounding against the pavement as she ran away from the melee. Damn her ankle. She heard Cage’s gun go off and the shriek of one of those things. The noise stopped her short and she looked back. She couldn’t see Cage anywhere, but those creatures were swarming like angry ants over a discarded piece of candy. He’d given her strict orders to run, but she couldn’t just leave him there. Even as her head tried to convince her otherwise, she began to run back toward the fight.

  “Hey, you sons of bitches. Come and get me,” she shouted, then gave a whistle. Instantly the zombie-things looked toward her, that sick milky glow of their eyes like a thousand lamps in the dark.

  With a deep breath she walked toward them. She raised the gun like Cage had showed her and took aim at one of the creatures. “Squeeze the trigger gently,” she whispered. Bang. The noise of the gunfire was terrific and her ears rang.

  One of the zombies fell to one knee, clutching his shoulder. Not a kill shot, but at least she hit one. It gave her confidence and she tried again, this time blowing the top of its head completely off in a spectacular spray of blood and gray matter. The creatures seemed confused at first but started moving slowly toward her.

  “That’s right. Come get me.” She fired into the crowd again and noticed one fall and take down another with it. It only pissed them off further and they began to run. “Shit,” she squeaked, beginning to fire erratically at them until the chamber was empty.

  “Cage,” she screamed as she took off back down the road. The zombies groaned and snarled behind her. She could hear their shuddering breaths and smell the stink of their bodies. Her eyes darted here and there, looking for someplace to escape. Another alleyway opened up and she turned, spying a fire escape hanging precariously off the side of the building.

  “Why did it have to be a ladder?” she whined. Phoe had always been afraid of ladders. Of all heights. But her options were limited. She ran to the ladder and stood on her tiptoes to grab at the step. She growled in frustration as it was just out of reach. The zombie-things were closer, her quick dart to the right having only thrown them off for a second. With a final desperate jump, she grasped the bottom rung and managed to pull it down with a rusty creak.

  The ladder was fragile. Some of the rungs were already rusted through and the paint peeled to reveal corroded metal underneath. She said a silent prayer that it would hold her and she took a deep breath. She began to climb toward the balcony above slowly but surely. She had no idea what she was going to do once she reached the top, but now was not the time for careful planning.

  Screech. Phoe gasped at the noise and looked down. The zombie-things had caught up and were beginning to climb the ladder behind her. “Go away,” she shouted down, knowing it was silly. They hadn’t listened to her so far.

  She kicked at their gnarly fingers as one grasped her ankle, pulling her down. She almost lost her footing, but luckily the rung held. She kicked blindly, connecting with one of the creatures’ heads, knocking it backward. There was a satisfying crack as its fragile neck broke and it fell to the ground. “Serves you right,” she yelled, scrambling up to the landing above.

  By this time the zombies had swarmed the side of the building, climbing up not only her fire escape but adjacent ones as well. She tried to use her new height to see if Cage was still down there, but there was no sign of him.

  She didn’t have time to pray as one of the zombies made it onto the landing and grabbed her arm. It jerked her so hard that she felt the shoulder socket pop. The thing bellowed an inhuman roar in her face and she could smell the death in its mouth. Blood and some sort of black fluid oozed from the corners, and one look at the thing’s teeth showed them stained red. Her belly clenched to think that it was Cage’s blood slowly drying in the corners of the creature’s mouth. That Cage had died trying to protect her and she had acted too late. Now it seemed all for naught.

  Suddenly a sharp squawk sounded, echoing off the close sides of the buildings. The zombie that grasped her froze, looking up in the sky as an enormous eagle circled. Phoe squinted, staring at the thing, and nearly forgot her terror at being a zombie’s next meal.

  The bird was a dark shape in the sky and when it passed by the moon, it nearly blocked it out with its girth. The hoard of creatures must have seen the eagle as well because they immediately began to scatter with shrieks of confusion. The distraction was just enough for Phoe to deliver a hard kick to the creature in front of her. It doubled over, the force of her blow caving its abdominal cavity. She hit it again, knocking the body backward over the rail, taking her with it.

  She screamed as they fell to the street below, her head bouncing twice on the pavement. The creatures still mindlessly milling in the street spotted her, smelling the blood that dripped from the wound in her forehead. They began to rush toward her. Everything was blurred and she could feel herself losing consciousness.

  She knew she was trapped. The creature was dead, but its heavy body lay atop hers and she could barely move. It was only a matter of time before the others came out to feast on her flesh.

  That was when she saw it. The eagle streaked toward her, the flecks of gold in its wings glittering in the moonlight. With another screech it dove for the zombie atop her, digging its talons into the thing’s back and carrying it away. It frightened the others and it was almost comical as they tried batting at the enormous raptor as if it were a toy.

  It flew low, taking one after another in its claws and throwing them like rag dolls to shatter against the walls and street.

  “Cage.” She sighed with relief. It had to be Cage. Her question was answered as one of the zombies managed to grab at the tail feathers of the bird, jerking it out of the sky. The eagle’s body blurred as it tumbled to the ground, rolling over and over as it changed shape. Cage’s body lengthened and shrank, bones and sinew remaking itself right before her eyes until he stood naked over her. His body blocked hers from the advancing creatures.

  The last thing she remembered before the world went black was Cage baring his fangs and launching himself at the onslaught.

  7

  Jess pushed her food around her plate. The thought of eating made her stomach turn. Not to mention having to share a table with Machine. She was trying to keep things civil between them for the time being. She still wasn’t exactly sure what he was capable of, but looking over her water goblet into his eyes, she felt seemed fairly certain that his plans for her were unclear.

  “Does your dinner not please you?” Machine asked, setting his cutlery aside and wiping his mouth with a clean linen napkin. “The filet mignon is fork tender. We’ve managed to breed cows up here now, and it really is quite delicious. That engineered meat still had that chemical taste, you know.”

  “My dinner is fine,” she said, raising her eyes to his. “It’s the company making me ill.”

  Machine smiled and offered a slight chuckle. “Charming to the last,” he said. “I wish I could understand why you find me so repulsive, Miss Addison. You and I had a winning partnership at one time, I thought.”

  “When were we ever partners?”

  “I seem to recall your coming to me begging for my help. The IU was pulling your funding, and you were on the edge of a massive discovery. Do these words ring any bells?”

  “I didn’t know you were going to exploit my work for your own insane agenda,” Jess snapped. “Do you have any idea what will happen if you open that portal?”

  “Of course. I’ll be rich beyond my wildest dreams.”

  “You and everyone else will die. The Sin’khari abandoned their projects on Earth because they knew exactly what would happen. Humans and those creatures cannot coexist.”

  “Naturally. And they’ll all come to me for help. New London is only the begi
nning. Corporations from all over the world are already negotiating for their own colonies. Several are already open for business, and others are mere weeks away. We’re creating paradise up here, but people are so sentimental. They resist change at all costs. You can’t gradually transition them. You have to force it.”

  She didn’t immediately answer, and Machine fell silent, enjoying his meal. He tore into the meat, rare and still bleeding, devouring it like some hungry animal. He would do the same to the entirety of their race. Devouring humanity until there was nothing left.

  “Do you have any idea what you’re playing at?” she asked. “Do you even know who the Sin’khari were?”

  “Who cares?” He didn’t look up as he took a generous sip of wine.

  “Mars is a dead planet. For thousands of years it slowly died, leaving nothing but red sand and ash. The Sin’khari were the last of its inhabitants.”

  “Fascinating,” he replied, not really listening.

  “They were a tribe of scientists, as far as we can tell, searching the galaxy to find a place to, as you mentioned before, evacuate. For years they traveled the stars looking for someplace where they could bring their people. But doom travels fast, and they knew that it was too late for them. All they could do to preserve their culture was collect as many samples of their ecosystem as they could and hide it away.”

  “How clever of them.”

  “They soon realized that what they were trying to do was folly. Vampires, werewolves, dragons…none of those creatures were ever meant for Earth. The Sin’khari abandoned that city under the mountains and trapped those creatures down there for a reason. Don’t you understand? Those beings will devour all of your so-called benefactors within months. You can’t play God.”