by Lake, D. K.
Pretty Dead
The Zombie Zovels
Book 5
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or by any information storage and retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of a reviewer in brief quotations.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Copyright © 2018 by D.K. Lake
Chapter 1
As I started to wake up I heard voices close by.
"Look, she's waking up!" Alice whispered. "Are you sure those restraints will hold her?" she added.
"Yes, they were tied so tight they're nearly cutting off her blood supply." Nick said but he sounded annoyed.
"It's for your own safety, not unless you want the girl to eat you." Alice snapped.
Eat you? What were they talking about?
"This is ridiculous, she's not going to eat anyone." Nick muttered.
"Well, after what you told us she very well could be one of them, and then everything that happened at the Blood Gang's camp where she walked with the dead even I'm convinced she's one of them." Alice said.
"She's not. She just risked her life for your people and it's the only reason they're still alive. You should be thanking her, she took down those savages that your people were too afraid to go near. She's not a walker, she's a warrior." Nick barked.
"Then explain the eyes?!" Alice exclaimed.
"What the hell is going on?" I moaned.
I heard someone gasp and there was sudden movement next to the bed from where someone had jumped away.
A dull pain spread across the back of my head from where whoever hit me, and I had another sore spot on the side of my head from where Margo had whacked me with the bat. I opened my eyes and I heard another gasp.
"See! Look at her!" Alice said loudly.
"Yes, it's Alex. Walkers don't talk." Nick said matter-of-factly.
"What are you yapping about?" I asked and soon realized my wrists were tied to the bed and there was a drip attached to my arm. "What the shit is this?" I demanded, yanking on the rope at my wrists.
I was back in the same room I had woken up in the first time I arrived in Eden, and Doctor Flynn, Alice, and Nick were standing around the room, all staring at me. I was still in the same grubby clothes I had been in before.
"Alex, it's ok, but there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding and if you just stay calm-"
"Stay calm?" I interrupted Nick. "I helped save a bunch of these idiots and then they knocked me out on the way back. Where's Lane and Drew? Are they tied up somewhere too?"
"No, just you." Nick said, stepping out of the way as the old crow (Doctor Flynn) got in my face and shone a light in my eyes.
"I kept trying to tell them that you're not a flesh-eater but they wanted to be sure, that's what the ropes are for. It's been pandemonium here. Half the community thinks you're dangerous and want you locked up and half of them think you're a hero." Nick explained.
"Seriously? What have I done wrong?" I eyed Nick. "Did you tell them?!" I asked angrily.
"I had to. How else was I going to explain your...uh, your..."
"Your...your? What are you babbling about now?"
"I explained everything the best I could, that you were bitten and I gave you the vaccine and that you got better...and you never told me the dead weren't interested in you?!" Nick said, throwing his arms in the air.
"It's not like I wanted to advertise it." I said, pulling against the ropes as Doctor Flynn shoved a thermometer into my mouth.
"This is exactly why I didn't tell anyone about it. You're all overreacting. I'm not one of the walkers, ok? I don't know why they don't want me, it must be Nick's magic potion or whatever." I mumbled with the thermometer still in my mouth. "Look, I'm not going to hurt anyone, or bite anyone or whatever it is you think I'm going to do. I kinda wanna punch Margo but that's only 'cause she hit me in the head with a bat."
"The thing is...we heard you got reinfected." Nick said, pointing at my arm, it was only then I noticed it had been properly cleaned up, stitched up and had a fresh dressing on it. "Someone cut you using a blade that had been contaminated with walker blood." Nick explained.
His words sunk in and I remembered Ray slicing my arm. My mouth fell open as Doctor Flynn took the thermometer out.
"I'm infected again?!" I cried.
No, no, no. I couldn't go through all that again.
Nick was about to speak but Doctor Flynn opened her mouth first.
"No increase in temperature, she hasn't shown any symptoms, she's perfectly normal...well apart from that." she said, glancing at my eyes.
"Margo said she kept throwing up when they were locked up together." Alice interjected and I scowled at her. Bloody Margo.
"Trust me, you'd be throwing up too if you were in my shoes. There was an ear on the floor in my cell, we had hardly any food, and about half a cup of water to share each day, and a bucket to use that never got emptied."
Alice crumpled her face in disgust.
"The girl is perfectly healthy." Doctor Flynn sighed.
"What if she bites someone, could they get infected?" Alice queried.
I looked at Nick with a ‘is she serious’ look.
"I'm not going to bite anyone, ok?" I said firmly, wanting to get out of here. It was boiling inside this small room. "Not unless they bite me first." I added and Nick shook his head slightly. "Anyway, didn't you already infect me once before? How is this any different?" I asked Nick.
"That was somewhat different. I used a watered down version of the virus and it had no effect. But this is different because you contracted walker blood directly from a knife." Nick said.
"But I'm not infected so what does it matter? And I'm not contagious so let's just put that out there so no one else freaks out."
"I think you should let the girl go. You can't keep sedating her when there's nothing wrong with her so stop wasting my supplies and untie her." Doctor Flynn ordered. At least someone had some sense.
Wait, what? Sedating?!
"You've had me sedated?" I ground out.
"Only for a few days." Alice replied.
"A few days? I'm not your prisoner, I've done nothing wrong, so let me go already!" I yelled.
"But her eyes?" Alice blurted out, looking at Doctor Flynn frantically.
"I don't know, I'm a pediatrician. I have no experience with scientific experiments." Doctor Flynn answered.
"What is wrong with my eyes?" I cried as Doctor Flynn removed the needle from my arm.
Doctor Flynn wagged a finger at Alice to untie me and she reluctantly did as she was told and Nick untied my other wrist.
"Nick, can you tell me what's going on please?" I whispered.
Nick frowned and went over to the cabinet and returned with a mirror. He went to hand it to me but changed his mind and held it against his chest.
"Nick," I groaned, my patience wearing thin.
What was wrong with me? Alice was acting as though I had grown horns or something.
"You know how sometimes animals can create hybrids," Nick started.
"No, Nick. I don't."
"Well, a hybrid is created by combining two different elements."
"Ok?"
"When I gave you the vaccine and you died, I think
you somehow transitioned but not fully, otherwise you'd be all aaaargh!" Nick made a strange groaning noise and rolled his eyes like some idiot.
Doctor Flynn took one look at Nick and left the room with a shake of her head.
"Nick, stop it! Get on with it." I snapped.
"In order for the full transition one's body must shut down."
"You mean die?" Alice interrupted.
"Yes. It was one of the mistakes hospitals were making when the virus started, sending the dead off for transportation but they weren't really dead, and that's how it spread so quickly."
"Yes, the dead were rising everywhere, get on with it." I said.
"Alex died but the vaccine counteracted the virus and brought her back."
"But her eyes didn't look like that last week?" Alice said and I tried to grab the mirror but Nick stopped me.
"I think because Alex nearly transitioned it made her immune, and now with getting reinfected with a stronger strain of the virus, it has combined the two elements again. Alex already has an immunity, and the cure is in her blood, and mixed with the virus again it has created in a sense a hybrid."
"So she's a new breed of walker?" Alice asked confused.
"Hmm...she's not really a walker, she's not brain-dead or hungry all the time, and she doesn't eat people."
"Yet." Alice muttered.
"It's the only answer I can come up with, she is her own hybrid."
"What about the screamer? I overheard Drew telling Sophie and Hutch that one of the screamers protected her like she was one of their own." Alice queried.
"It's certainly interesting, but this is all new to me too. Screamers as you like to call them, they're dominant, they see themselves as a higher rank, but they must see Alex as some kind of pack leader." Nick said trying to explain it the best he could but even he sounded confused by it.
"So she can walk, talk, and run around with them and they won't hurt her?" Alice said. "That makes you the safest person in this camp." she added, eyeing me carefully.
"So is my blood useless to you now?" I asked Nick.
"No. If anything I think it will be stronger to combat the virus."
"So we're still going to Washington?"
"If you'll still prepared to travel there, then yes. I have nothing if I don't have you." Nick said.
I just nodded and held out my hand for the mirror.
"Take a deep breath." Nick said, preparing me.
"That bad?"
"No, it's just a little different, like in the movies the hybrid usually has a special power or an obvious mark or something."
"But this isn't the movies, Nick."
"I know, but I'm trying to prepare you. I don't want you to get too upset."
I gently pried the mirror from his hands. I took a deep breath and slowly turned the mirror over and sucked in a breath.
Chapter 2
I stopped breathing. And I'm pretty sure my heart skipped a beat.
"Alex, breathe." Nick reminded me.
It was as though I was looking at a stranger. My familiar chocolate brown eyes had been replaced with pale blue ones, so faint almost like ice, with a dark ring around the outside and a solid black center. It reminded me of Selene from Underworld when she goes all badass and her eyes change.
"What happened to them?" I asked, gingerly touching the skin under my eye and dragging it down, searching for contacts, anything that would explain this.
"Your blood is already immune, it must have reacted to the virus causing a change."
"I guess I should be pleased I didn't grow a tail." I muttered and Nick chuckled.
"I'm sorry, Alex. We didn't know what to do with you." Alice said honestly.
"I finally talked them into letting me in to see you." Nick said.
"Now I understand why everyone freaked out when they saw me. I think I would have attacked me too." I sighed and handed the mirror back to Nick.
"Will they go back to normal again?" I asked.
Nick shrugged. "There's been no change since you were brought in, at least that's what I've been told anyway."
"I guess it could be worse, I could have turned feral or something. Sooo am I free to go?" I asked, looking at Alice.
She nodded. "I'm sorry this all got out of hand but we had no idea you had been cured otherwise we might not have overreacted."
"It's ok. So where's Lane and Drew?" I asked as Nick handed me a cup of water and I greedily gulped it down.
"Lane is out on a run helping to collect supplies from the mill for the party. And Drew is right outside in the same place he's been for the last two days." Alice told me.
Party? Maybe I misheard her.
"Lane, helping out?" I asked.
"I don't know what happened between you guys but he's been really sulky." Alice said.
"We broke up." I shrugged.
"Oh, that will explain it. He's been moping around since he got back and he knew we weren't going to hurt you and we were just being careful, but he and Drew kept getting into arguments so I told Lane to make himself useful and sent him to the mill."
"So are all of the Blood Gang gone for good?" I asked.
Alice put her hands on her hips and blew the hair out of her face.
"It looks that way. I sent a group over to scout the area and most of the walkers have cleared out and there wasn't any sign of any survivors. The group spent the day picking off the walkers in the woods and they didn't see any sign of the Blood Gang. Anyway, I hear their leader is dead, and I have you to thank for that." Alice held out her hand hesitantly and I carefully slipped my hand into hers.
"Thank you. Everyone was too afraid to do anything but not you. And I'm sorry again for all of this, but we really didn't know what to do with you. We were so shocked when the survivors returned and they were alive when we thought they were all dead. Half of them were calling you a walker and needed to be killed, and the rest of them were calling you a hero. It was complete chaos so we brought you in here for your safety and put guards outsides. I spoke to my sister and she told me the same thing that she panicked and thought you were infected when she saw your bite mark, she never mentioned it though when they arrived. It took a day for everything to cool off and we talked to Nick and the rest of your group and I hear you've been on quite an adventure." I just nodded. "So you're probably going to get a few funny looks from some people, but I'll let everyone know you're not going to eat them which was the main problem we had when they brought you in, they even had me convinced up until the moment you woke up and started talking." Alice explained. "So I'll um, leave you to it." She went to leave but stopped. "They're throwing a party tomorrow night, it's kind of a welcome back party for all the survivors and most of the tribe from the mill are going to be joining us, you should definitely be there, let people see you're not a vampire."
"A vampire?"
"It's another rumor flying around." Alice rolled her eyes and left the room.
"So I'm definitely not infected again?" I asked to be sure.
"No, everything looks normal." Nick replied.
"Good. I don't think I could go through that again."
"I don't think you have to worry about getting reinfected. As Alice said, you're the safest person in the camp. If anything happened to all of us you'd be the last one standing."
"Not that anything is going to happen to any of you." I said.
I moved my legs over the side of the bed and rubbed my head.
"Here, take some of these." Nick handed me some pain relief.
"Thanks."
"So will you be sleeping in our trailer tonight or um..."
"I think it would be best if I stayed with Sophie and Hutch, that is if they let me in and don't tie me to a tree and try to set fire to me."
"So you and Lane?"
"It's not going to work out."
Nick nodded his head. "I was looking forward to having a sister-in-law. I always wanted a sister."
"Um...whoever said anything about us getting mar
ried?" I snorted.
"I just assumed you guys would get married one day. I love weddings."
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble. Hey, maybe you'll meet your future wife this year and get your wedding after all."
It sounded silly, I didn't think many people got married nowadays but building a future together gave people hope which is what we needed in today's world.
"I doubt it." Nick mumbled and walked away with the empty glass.
"So do you think it's safe for me to go outside or is there a group of protesters about to throw rocks at me?" I half-joked, peeking outside.
"Pom stopped by earlier, she thought you'd like these." Nick handed me a pair of dark sunglasses that were shaped like cat eyes.
"What do you think?" I asked, pushing them onto my face.
It wasn't that bad for me, I could live with having freaky eyes but everyone else had to look at me and I didn't want to start a mass panic again.
"Suits you. You look like a docile pussycat."
"Well, people love cats, right?"
"Depends if you're more of a dog person." Nick smiled and crossed his arms.
"Is it normal that I feel tired and I've only just woken up?"
"It's the sedative wearing off, you'll feel a little out of it for a while. You'd be best sleeping it off."
"Ok."
"Be careful out there. There still might be a few idiots that think you're a walker. I mean, walkers don't talk it's a no-brainer." Nick chatted to himself as I left the wooden building.
I stepped outside and was greeted by a large man standing guard.
"Ah, the queen is up and about." he smiled and playfully bowed. "I don't think you need to worry about them," he gestured to the random people walking around and minding their own business. "They're all too busy with party decorations to worry about you, not that there is anything to worry about." he chuckled.
He was a lot taller than me and towered over me, with a buzz-cut and large biceps sticking out of his t-shirt, scruffy jeans, and worker boots. His neck was nearly the same size as his head it was so muscular. He looked kinda scary but his personality turned him into a big teddy bear, and he reminded me of my dad.
