Dex

by Claflin, Stacy

  As he walked in, he kept one hand on his gun inside his pocket. Radley lit some candles, illuminating a home as well-kept as the one Dex had grown up in. Nostalgia from a house filled with love sent tingles down his spine. He shoved the feelings aside, refusing to allow anything other than caution to rule his thoughts, dictate his emotions. Just because torture devices didn’t hang from the ceiling didn’t mean they were safe.

  Zianna locked several deadbolts into place.

  Dex checked around for additional exits. If push came to shove, he could throw himself out a window and hope Lucy would follow. There was also a sliding glass door in the back. That would probably open easily enough.

  Radley picked up a candle and glanced at Laiken. “Why don’t you show them around while Zianna and I warm up some dinner?”

  “Sure. Should I set them up in one of the bedrooms?”

  “If you want, go ahead.” Radley gave Dex and Lucy a friendly smile. “Make yourselves at home.”

  Lucy grinned. “Thanks!”

  Dex followed Laiken around the downstairs, remaining close to Lucy. Laiken showed them each room, not saying much about any of them. Just a simple, “here’s the living room,” or “this is the dining room.”

  As they made their way up the stairs, Dex gripped the gun all the tighter but the second level was just as tidy and welcoming as the first.

  “You guys going to share a room?” Laiken asked.

  “Yeah.” No way was Dex letting Lucy out of his sight around these strangers.

  “We’ve got a spare room with some twin-size beds and one with a king. Which do you want?”

  Dex shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me.” As long as he was close enough to keep her safe, he didn’t care where they stayed.

  “Okay, then.” Laiken pointed to the door nearest him. “This is the one with the three smaller beds and the one next to it has the big bed. Look around. I’m going to see if the women need anything.”

  “Sure.” Dex almost felt bad being so suspicious of them, but he wasn’t going to let his guard down anytime soon. In fact, he’d keep it up until daybreak and then get out as fast as possible.

  “Which room?” Lucy asked.

  He shrugged. “You pick.”

  She opened the door nearest her and peeked inside. Dex went in first and made sure the room was free of any people or anything obviously dangerous, which it was, and then wandered around, checking drawers, under the bed, and in the closet. Everything was fine.

  “This good?” she asked.

  “It looks like it. Let’s check out the rest of the rooms.” He opened the door and the mouthwatering aromas of spices and cooked vegetables nearly knocked him over.

  Lucy took his hand. “Eat first. This room nice.”

  “I need to check for—”

  “Hungry. They nice.”

  Dex took a deep breath. This might be the only chance he had to look around without any of them watching, but Lucy made it hard to say no. He’d have to check when everyone was sleeping if it came down to it. “Okay. Let’s eat.”

  Chapter 21

  Dex finished the last bite of the vegetable dish—he wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it was delicious—and then wiped his mouth with a napkin. A napkin! He couldn’t remember the last time he’d used one of those. Maybe not since he was a kid in his parents’ home.

  Zianna leaned back in her chair and studied Dex. “So, what did you learn about the doctors?”

  “Yeah,” Laiken agreed. “You’re the only person I know brave enough to actually go to ol’ Silverly.”

  All three of their hosts stared at him, clearly eager to hear what he had to say. Lucy continued eating. Whether she was paying any attention was anyone’s guess.

  Dex cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize the hospital was so dangerous when I went. I just needed a place to sleep.”

  “You’re much better off here,” Radley said.

  “Seems that way.”

  “Seems?” Laiken snorted.

  “What’s it like?” Zianna leaned forward.

  Dex twisted his napkin in his lap. “One building is pretty much empty. The others have people—or at least wanderers.”

  Radley’s eyes widened. “Vaccinated ones?”

  “From what I’ve seen, they have them at various stages.”

  Zianna nodded toward Lucy with a questioning glance.

  “Apparently she’s the only one who was vaccinated and stayed fully human. That’s my understanding, anyway.”

  Lucy glanced up and nodded.

  Radley put a hand on Lucy’s. “Were you bitten?”

  She swallowed a bite of food. “Injection.”

  Laiken swore. “Serious? They’re actually doing that?”

  “Yeah.” Lucy turned back to her food.

  Zianna turned to Dex. “How’d you get her out?”

  Dex took a sip of his water and then recounted the story, trying to remember each detail. Maybe something he said would help them all better understand what the doctors around the world were trying to do to fix the wanderer situation.

  The three hosts hung on every word he said until he finished the story, only leaving out the part about taking the men’s weapons. “What do you guys know about the vaccinations?”

  Laiken pressed his palms on the table. “Not much more than you do. We’ve seen more of the vaccinated ones because we live so close to Silverly.”

  “Do they escape often?” Dex asked.

  “Not that we know of,” Radley said. “But they do release some of them. I’ve seen it myself.”

  “What?” Dex exclaimed. “Why would they do that?”

  “They usually watch how they interact with other wanderers. The first time I saw the doctors bring one out, I hid and followed them as they tracked the zombie. They said they wanted to see if the wild and vaccinated ones would accept each other.”

  “Did they?”

  “Yeah. They seemed to believe that if the zombies had any little bit of the virus, they could sense it. There were no attacks like you saw in that one room.”

  Radley twisted a strand of her hair. “I wonder what they did to those poor creatures to make them go after each other like that.”

  “Poor creatures?” Dex exclaimed.

  “They didn’t ask for any of this.”

  “The wanderers are mindless killers. They don’t have any feelings.”

  “Are you certain?” Zianna asked.

  “I’ve been fighting them off for eleven years. They don’t have a shred of humanity.”

  Zianna arched a brow. “You say that even after seeing the group Lucy was with?”

  “She was the only one who showed any intelligence—because she isn’t a wanderer.”

  Radley twisted her hair so tightly that it turned her finger white. “Do you think they have more of that vaccine?”

  “I’m the wrong one to ask. What else do you know about these new types of wanderers?”

  “Just that the ones who look human are every bit as dangerous as the other ones. They can still kill or turn us.”

  “How’d you guys know that little girl was a wanderer?”

  Zianna rose and gathered some plates. “It’s in the eyes. There’s no life. But also, you can tell by their movements if you’re farther away. They act more like zombies than people.”

  “How long have you known this?” In all of Dex’s years fighting the creatures, he’d never seen any vaccinated ones. Or had he, and just not realized it?

  “We’ve been here a couple years.” Radley rose and collected silverware and napkins. She turned to Lucy who was scraping sauce from her plate with a fork. “Do you want more, dear?”

  Lucy looked up at her. “I can have?”

  “Sure. We’re used to feeding five. Our other two are out, and believe me, they eat a lot. We have plenty more.”

  “Thanks.”

  Radley took Lucy’s plate. “I’ll be right back with more.”

  Dex turned to Laiken. “Yo
u guys have been here two years?”

  “Zianna and Radley have. That’s when they joined us. They were leery of us like you are at first, but you can tell they’re family now.”

  A bunch of questions ran through Dex’s mind about the others who were out on a run. “What about you and the others?”

  “I’ve been here for about three years and the other guys a couple more years than me.”

  Dex glanced around the dining room. “How have people lived here for five years without this place being attacked and destroyed by the wanderers or people? Surely that fence isn’t enough.” Not when the large fence surrounding his hometown had barely been enough to keep them out.

  “The fence helps more than you’d think and so do the locks, though those are more to keep out the human variety.”

  Radley came and in plunked a plate full of food in front of Lucy. “It’s what we do to the fence that keeps the zombies away.”

  Dex arched a brow. “What?”

  Zianna came in and contorted her face. “It’s so gross, but it works.”

  “What?” Dex repeated.

  Laiken rose. “We smear zombie blood on it a couple times a week.”

  Dex stared at him, at a loss for words. He couldn’t be serious.

  Radley picked up some empty glasses. “We don’t know why it keeps them away, but it does so we keep on doing it.”

  Dex found his voice. “Maybe it covers the scent of our organs. They just move on.”

  Laiken nodded. “Either that, or they smell their dead comrades and move on before they become the next victim.”

  Dex made a mental note to remember the trick. It was sure to come in handy at some point. “No point in questioning a good thing. At least it works. I’m impressed you’ve managed to stay here so long.”

  Zianna gave a slight nod. “Like we said before, you’re welcome to join us. Safety in numbers and all that jazz.”

  “I appreciate it, but I can’t afford to stay here when I need to find my family.”

  “What so urgent?” asked Laiken.

  Dex’s stomach tightened. He didn’t want to talk about his mom with anyone—he only wanted answers. “It’s personal.”

  “We want to learn more about the vaccinations. If you stay, you could help us. You’ve successfully gotten in and out of Silverly.”

  Dex nearly laughed. “I’d hardly say it was successful. Lucy and I barely made it out.”

  “How’d you get in?” Radley asked.

  He shrugged. “Just went in through the gate. It was unlocked.”

  “And they didn’t see you?”

  “It was dark.”

  The three hosts exchanged worried expressions.

  “What?” Dex exclaimed.

  Zianna turned to him. “That’s when they release the really dangerous zombies.”

  Dex stared at her, his stomach twisting in tight knots.

  Chapter 22

  “What do you mean by really dangerous zombies?” Dex demanded.

  The three exchanged glances again. Radley turned to him. “They not only have mild zombies, but they have ones on the other end of the spectrum too.”

  “Meaning?” Dex’s voice raised a full octave.

  Zianna sat. “Super crazy. Way worse than normal ones.”

  The room spun around. Dex leaned on the table for support. “They’ve created worse ones? Are those out in the woods? How do you know about them?”

  Lucy looked up from her meal. “Bad zombies.”

  “We’ve seen them,” Laiken said.

  “I thought you said you haven’t been to the hospital.”

  “Not inside the fence, but there are places you can see inside. Places where the wood is worn or cracked.”

  “How can you see them if it’s dark out?” Dex countered.

  Laiken held his gaze. “They have lights they use sometimes. Real bright ones—you can see them from here when they use them.”

  “When we can, we head over to see what we can. They only ever turn on the lights when they’re doing something big. And we’ve seen the crazy ones several times.”

  Dex’s heart thundered. “What are they like?”

  “Ever seen a rabid dog?” Zianna asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Like that, but with zombies.”

  The image left a sour taste in Dex’s mouth. “And here I was, thinking the monsters couldn't get any worse.”

  “Leave it to people to find a way.” Zianna scowled, then she and Radley gathered the rest of the dinner plates.

  Lucy got up and followed them into the kitchen.

  Dex ran his hands over his beard. Flecks of dirt fell out and onto his lap. “So basically, I was lucky to get in without running into anyone.”

  “You picked a good day. They don’t often let the rabid zombies out—maybe once a week.”

  “How do you kill them? The crazy ones, I mean.”

  Laiken shrugged. “Never got close enough to one to try.”

  “I can’t believe all this has been going on, and I never had a clue.”

  “Makes sense if you haven’t been near one of the facilities before. You said those doctors claimed there are five others worldwide?”

  “That’s what they said. Unless they thought we might be listening and just said that to trick us.”

  “You think so?”

  “I doubt it, but at the same time, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

  The women returned. Radley blew out a candle. “We’d better get to sleep. No sense in wasting precious wax.”

  Zianna handed one of the candles to Dex. “Blow it out as soon as you get to your room. Hopefully the guys will bring more back from their run, but I don’t want to assume anything until they get here.”

  “Or I could just find my way in the dark. I’m used to it.”

  “Nonsense. You’re our guest. Keep it in the room in case you need it. Matches are in the drawer in the nightstand.”

  “I’m sure I can find them.” Because he’d already seen them when he’d gone through the room before dinner.

  He and Lucy followed them upstairs. Once they reached the top, Zianna showed them which rooms the three of them were staying in, and then they all went into their rooms.

  Dex turned to Lucy. “You sure you want the room with just the one bed?”

  She shuddered. “Yeah.”

  His mind flashed back to the room with fifty or more beds from wall to wall. “Does the other one remind you of the hospital?”

  Lucy sat on the bed and picked up a pillow. “It bad there.”

  “I’ll make sure you never go back.”

  She jumped up and gave him another hug. “Friend.”

  He returned the embrace and tried to ignore how much he enjoyed her pressed close. “You’re my friend, too. Why don’t you climb into bed? I need to blow out the light.”

  Without a word, Lucy went over to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers. She pulled them up to her chin and closed her eyes, her long blonde hair flowing out around the pillow and framing her face nicely. She was breathtaking. Easily the most beautiful woman he’d ever come across.

  Dex blew out the candle and kept his gaze on her until the darkness took her lovely image away. Then he set it on the nightstand and climbed on top of the covers, staying as close to the edge as possible.

  He closed his eyes, though his mind refused to rest. Images of rabid-dog-like wanderers ravaged his mind. Why would those doctors create such a thing? As if the normal mindless, bloodthirsty monsters weren’t bad enough. What kind of lunatic decided to make them worse?

  Next to him, Lucy’s breathing grew deep and rhythmic. She’d fallen asleep. If only Dex could relax that easily. But it was just as well. He wanted to check out the upper level, and there was no way he would be able to get any sleep until he did.

  Dex glanced over at Lucy, his eyes now adjusted to the dark, and fixed the blankets around her before gliding onto the floor without making a sound. He crept to the ha
llway and glanced around. There were no obvious hiding spots for weapons or torture devices, but he still needed to check the vacant bedrooms.

  He headed for the nearest one, holding his breath as he listened for any sound to indicate that one of the three hosts were awake. Dex reached for the door but stubbed his toe on a desk that was between the bed and the door.

  “Smooth,” he scolded himself.

  Something on the desk rolled, threatening to fall.

  Dex reached for it, but the decoration crashed onto its side and rolled onto the hardwood floor. He stopped it with his foot and then returned it to its place.

  Clunk, clunk. Step.

  Two doors down opened. Laiken stepped out, rubbing his eyes. “Dex? What’s going on?”

  He had to think quick. “Sorry. I was just getting up to go to the bathroom.”

  “Oh, I forgot about that on our tour of the house. We have a little outhouse just outside the sliding door. Just remember to lock it when you come back inside.”

  “Sure, no problem. Sorry again about waking you.”

  Laiken yawned. “It’s fine. See ya in the morning.”

  Dex gave a quick nod and turned toward the stairs.

  “Hey,” Laiken said. “Do you need a candle?”

  “There’s enough light.” Dex went down the first couple stairs and felt Laiken’s stare on his back. Then he heard the door click close.

  Dex breathed a sigh of relief, and then realized he actually did need to pee. He headed downstairs and took care of business before returning to the bedroom.

  Lucy had moved to almost the middle of the bed. He lay down carefully on top of the covers, concerned the dip of the old bed would wake her. It didn’t.

  He closed his eyes and tried to relax despite not having been able to check out more of the rooms. The more he talked with Laiken, Radley, and Zianna, the less concerned he was about them as threats.

  But they wouldn't be the first people to pretend to be nice, only to show their true colors later when they turned on him. That was one reason he wasn’t staying. That and his need to find out what had happened to his family.