“Run the simulation with the Aurelian Wall,” I said.
Ballard complied. We watched, time and again, as the red dots rampaged over the blue. Every time they won.
“This doesn’t take into account us, what we can do,” said Marek.
“I can’t see what happens next,” said Infester. He looked like he was going to faint. I went to him, prepared to help him into a chair. “Thank you, child,” he said––when there was an explosion outside.
It rocked us where we stood.
All the lights went out, during which nobody moved; then, slowly, they flickered back on. Infester was weak in my arms. “It’s auxiliary power,” he said. “The computer is coming back on. There’s not much time.”
“This one is smart,” said Ballard. “He’s using his zombies to take out the transformers. They have to do what he says. Otherwise....”
“I’ll be damned,” said Lennox. We heard the sound of motorcycles.
“Child.” I was torn between where to go––with Lennox or to stay with Infester. They were going to the car. Lennox grabbed my arm but I shook him off.
“I noticed there was a last symbol,” I said to Infester.
“That is the symbol for war, child.” Together, we walked across his living room and out the door. It was mayhem in the streets.
Lennox revved his engine––we took off. Infester was scrunched between myself and Ballard, in the back seat. I had come into some kind of argument.
“I don’t care what you think! I need to get to them!” said Ballard.
“We need to get to those nests, first.”
“I’ll be quick. I promise.”
“Look! There’s one right there!” said Marek.
We saw a member of I Gatti bust a wheelie through the street. “Pull up to him,” said Marek.
“This damn window doesn’t go down,” said Ballard.
“Whoa!”
As we watched, the guy on the motorcycle (“I think it’s Paolo,” said Ballard) swerved, veered, and almost crashed. We saw what had nearly taken him out.
“It’s a zombie!” said Marek. “Get him!”
“We need to know where it’s going. We can’t just take them out.”
Lennox changed gears. I felt the engine put me in the back of my seat. The zombie looked up at the headlights coming towards it. It blew up across our windshield.
Metallic black blood filled our vision. Lennox turned on the windshield wipers.
We were in Campo de’ Fiori within seconds––it was a quick shot across the water, to get to Trastevere and La Luna Blu, where Ballard wanted to go.
Lennox gave his appraisal of the situation––we were seeing zombies all over the place. Luckily, the city was practically empty. Whenever we saw a zombie about to get someone, the black Charger ran it down. The shell of our impregnable car was covered in sticky black blood.
“I want to kill,” said Marek, “kill.” He was itching to get his hands on the weapons he had stowed in the trunk.
“You must not kill the necromancer,” said Lennox. “If you do, it will be like a free-for-all. Its zombies will go everywhere. Do you understand?”
It was late. Rome’s citizens were fast asleep. Power was out to all the homes.
“If the boker goes, the zombies will be free to do their thing. You don’t build an army for no purpose,” said Lennox. “If we can figure out where they’re going, then we can round them up. We have to find the necromancer.”
Infester coughed. He wasn’t doing so well. “He’ll be magic. A wizard. Killing the brain doesn’t work,” he said.
“The boker is controlling them,” said Lennox. “The boker is the brain. To stop the zombies you have to destroy them with fire, or else cripple them so badly that they can no longer function.”
“Remember, if one of them bites you,” said Infester, hacking, “that’s it.”
“So don’t get bit. Got it,” said Marek.
“Zombies are mindless automatons. You’ll be doing that person a favor,” said Infester.
I got what he was talking about, suddenly. “What can they do?” I asked. “These zombies.”
They were people once––I didn’t know how I felt about killing them. When I told Marek, he said, “Life is ugly. Don’t justify it.”
“They can climb,” said Lennox. “They’re super strong. I had one of them walk up the side of an elevator on me. It broke its own neck trying to get at me. They’re also really, really fast.”
“There is no mental curtain between themselves and their maker,” said Infester, coughing once more. “That means wherever they are, so is the king-sire, child. He can see through their eyes.”
“That’s probably what this is,” said Lennox. “They’re sweeping. Searching for something.” We hit one again as he spoke. “When the boker finds whatever it’s looking for, he’ll send his forces.”
“Then the Apocalypse can begin,” said Infester.
We crossed the Tiber into Trastevere. The Charger barreled down the alleyways. We were almost to La Luna Blu. Marek and Lennox were whispering together. I remembered what Marek had said. They didn’t go to Trastevere. At the time, it sounded like Marek wasn’t supposed to. Now, it sounded like they––vampires––weren’t allowed.
He bared his eyeteeth as we got there. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said to Lennox.
* * *
Lia came out almost immediately. “What are you doing, little brother?” she said, when she saw Ballard get out of the car. Infester croaked to mind the blood; it was everywhere. She bent down and peered inside, looking at us. The look on her face was totally unfriendly when she saw me. She had on her red and black riding jacket and her helmet in her hands. She was getting ready to take off.
“I... I need to introduce you to some people,” said Ballard. Marek was getting out.
He was just as Six Nine as the rest of the Six Nine Guys. “Ballard, that’s a vampire!” said Lia.
“Two of them, in fact,” said Marek, indicating Lennox.
“I knew it,” said Ballard. “You’ve been holding out on me, Lia. Mom and dad said––”
“Mom and dad said I was in charge.”
“Is something wrong?”
Gaven had appeared. I Gatti was going in and out of the building. I saw the bartender call to Gaven.
“Just a minute––” Gaven pointed to Lennox. “I’ve seen that vampire before. Do you know these two bloodsuckers, Ballard?”
“It’s a long story. They’re my friends. Listen.”
But Lia said no. “I don’t want you involved in this,” she said. “In case you missed it, Ballard, there are dead people in the streets. Dead people who are alive.”
She spoke as if to someone very slow.
“Not this time, Lia,” said Ballard. “I’m not your little brother, anymore. In case you missed it, we’re here to help. We can help. Now you need to listen to me. Inside,” he said. He pushed his way into the club, with the rest of us following.
Lia’s eyes left him and focused on my face. I stared right back. “Come on,” I said, taking Lennox’s arm and leading him inside. Marek, I could tell, was hoping for fireworks.
“...So, you’re saying what, exactly?” said Gaven “...They’ve been planning this, and they’re holed up here?” He pointed to the Aurelian Wall. “That would take weeks to search.”
“Weeks we don’t have,” said Lia.
“Not with all of us,” said Lennox.
“And if I help you? You’re that vampire we’ve been chasing,” said Gaven. “You’re smarter than the other ones. Always manage to get away.”
Marek cracked his knuckles. He and Gaven eyed each other.
“I don’t hunt in Rome. I protect it,” said Lennox.
Lennox explained about the biting, the blood, and the Suck. And most of all, fire. “We need it,” he said. “Luckily, we have weapons. Driving around on motorcycles won’t do anything. Has anyone been bitten yet?”
G
aven shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Which means they’re searching for something,” said Ballard. As if on cue, two members of I Gatti came into La Luna Blu, removing their helmets, looking worse for wear.
“I think you need to see something,” they said, speaking to Gaven, so that I had to strain to hear.
“What? Are you sure?” he said.
“They’re on their way,” they said.
“All right. Tonight we’re allies. No, Lia. But my policy is I don’t let vampires live,” said Gaven. “We set ourselves against evil––wherever we find it.”
“Then this is my opportunity to prove you wrong,” said Lennox. He prevented Marek speaking with a look.
His men pulled Gaven away. “You can come with us and see for yourselves, if you want,” Gaven said over his shoulder, before he left.
Lennox and I followed Gaven out, with Marek and Lia in tow. I still held on to Infester, who wanted to see the Apocalypse for himself. “I’ve waited thirty years,” he said.
Ballard didn’t go. I shouted for him, but he disappeared toward his house at a full sprint. Before I knew it, he was gone.
Marek opened the trunk of the Charger, while the rest of us got inside. When he came back he was holding what looked like three small grenades. “Firebombs,” he said.
“Precisely,” said Infester.
Lennox drove behind Gaven, heading into the field. It was at the bridge, that we came face to face with the zombies. They had gathered on one side of it, while we were on the other. I saw I Gatti ringed around us. They made way for Gaven and our car––motorcycle after motorcycle moved aside for us as we passed.
I could see Tiber Island off to my right. The bridge rested on the western tip of it, between two spans. Lennox’s house was directly behind the zombies. There were hundreds and hundreds of them. Their clothes shreds.
They had inhuman red-like, shining eyes. Infester said it was due to their connection with the necromancer. He must be looking through their eyes, I thought, whoever he is.
“I say we charge them,” said Marek.
“We’ll let Gaven decide,” said Lennox. The car was idling. Everyone was staring at the zombies. Across the shimmering surface of the water, moonlight played.
“I don’t know,” said Marek. “He takes a lot on himself.” He jutted his chin out at Gaven.
“He’s their leader,” said Lennox.
“I hate to be a downer,” said Infester, who looked as though he was finally recovering from the shock of his precognition, “but has anyone else noticed that they are staring at all of us? What I mean to say is, if they, these zombies, are looking for something, they’re scouring Rome, right, trying to find it... Why have they suddenly stopped looking, and are staring at us? Unless we’re what they’re looking for.”
“I see what you mean,” said Lennox. “Oh crap, I see what you mean.”
Gaven motioned to Lennox, who got out of the car. “Don’t let him push you around,” said Marek, and sneered.
We watched through the blood-smeared windshield as the two of them talked.
“Always number two,” said Marek.
Gaven motioned strenuously and Lennox shook his head.
“That’s right. Suck up to him,” said Marek.
“Hey,” I said.
He looked back at me.
“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to him,” he said.
“They want our weapons,” said Lennox, returning to the car.
“I’m keeping these three,” said Marek, holding up the firebombs.
“An excellent choice,” said Infester. “Simply throw them and watch them ignite. Kill any living thing.”
“What will I use?” I asked.
Lennox finally looked back at me. I could see pain in his eyes. Behind me, I Gatti was going through his trunk. Infester ticked them off: “Firebombs, oh yes, those are cattle prods, look, knock anything out, ah, my personal favorite, releases a net, guaranteed to drop any revenant. You can set fire to them when they’re down.”
“What we need is a flamethrower,” said Marek, and grinned.
His fangs were larger than I remembered.
Lennox’s lavender eyes held me like a caress. “I shouldn’t have gotten you into this,” he said, “it’s too dangerous.”
“In case you missed it, the only reason we met in the first place was because I got myself into this. Remember when you saved me?”
“What’s she talking about?” asked Marek.
“Halsey was attacked. This was weeks and weeks ago,” said Lennox.
“Wait. By a revenant?”
“No, the boker,” said Lennox. “At least, we think it was the boker.”
“And you’re telling me this now?” said Marek. “After you’ve been going on and on about how they only go after people who are already dead. Is she that cold in the sack?”
“Hey!” I shouted.
“Scusi signora. It’s just––really––not a one of you has a brain,” said Marek. “If a zombie gets you there will be nothing to suck. It’s obvious what they’re after. Or should I say, who they’re after?”
“Me?”
“Is there something we should know about you?” Marek asked.
I shook my head. “You mean besides the fact I dislike you? I’m Sagittarius. Does that count?”
I Gatti started their engines.
Despite their size and physical prowess, The Cats were hopelessly outnumbered. We weren’t even sure if this was all of the zombies, or if there were more of them in reserve.
As if in answer, came the sounds of hundreds and hundreds of new zombies to fill out their ranks. They were shuffling up behind us. I turned in my seat, and felt the pit of my stomach drop out.
It looked like a thousand of them.
Gaven was shouting. I Gatti was spread too thin. They started drawing in, forming a circle around our car. We were hemmed in. Trapped, between one Army across the bridge, and another that had somehow outmaneuvered us.
The zombies had walked us right into a trap.
Chapter 19 – Halsey
Now, I remembered specifically and on numerous occasions thinking that the whole purpose of an education was not in waiting, but in real, practical advancement, such that when put in a situation like this, I had more to offer than just my screams. I kept mine in check. But it would have been really nice to draw down storm clouds, or else make the Tiber rise up and swallow my enemies whole––or whatever else I could have done with a magical education that I did not possess.
Infester sat absolutely still beside me––something about how he felt like he was in a fog for the first time in his life...
He had been waiting, too.
This was like a life lesson or something. You don’t wait. I wondered how many more I would have to learn, or if I would ever have the opportunity to learn them again, with so many Fast Walkers bearing down upon me.
Lennox honked his horn, drawing Gaven’s attention. “We’re trapped,” he said, opening the door to speak with Gaven. “Follow me across the bridge. If it gets hairy, have your men jump in the river––I don’t think zombies will follow you,” said Lennox.
Gaven nodded. “Don’t get bit,” he said. He revved his motorcycle.
There was still no sign of Ballard.
The Six Nine Guys made a path for us––and suddenly we were at the front of a wedge, with the zombies across the Tiber, stepping onto the bridge, prepared to meet us. Lennox put his foot down on the accelerator.
The tires spun in place; pretty soon everyone out the windows was obscured by a thick rolling cloud of billowing white smoke from our burning rubber.
“He’s going to kill me for this,” he said, referring to his mentor, John Occam.
Lennox popped the clutch. We did nothing for a moment. Then it was like being thrown backwards through a wall. Blast off!
The full horsepower of the beast threw us against our seats. I held on for dear life.
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We launched down the length of the Garibaldi bridge. We met the zombies halfway across and they broke. Lennox ground a few between the bridge and the left and right sides of his car. I watched as Marek threw the door open and whacked a stray zombie caught in the headlights. It flew over the side of the bridge, and sank below the surface of the water. But the head-on force of impact had caused the front end to buckle.
Zombies were powerful. As far as I knew, second only to vampires. I noticed they had to receive enormous stresses, otherwise they would just shake it off.
You had to blow up a zombie. Or else, destroy it with fire.
I Gatti was behind us. I could see them making their way across the bridge. They used cattle prods to keep at bay the few zombies we hadn’t managed to hit. Still more and more zombies were pouring in.
The engine caught fire. Lennox’s gate slid open, thanks to the controller Marek fished out of the glove box. But that was it. Occam’s racer had ground to a halt, with us outside and the zombies closing.
The vamp glass had been cracked in places. “It won’t hold,” said Lennox. “We have to move!”
We got out of the car as fast as we could. Infester was straggling behind.
I watched as two Fast Walkers launched themselves upon him, biting him repeatedly on the neck. He fell to his knees, screaming, “Run, child!”
Lennox grabbed me. I wanted to go back for Infester. “Don’t look,” said Lennox.
Marek tossed a firebomb and it exploded, dousing the two zombies that had hold of Infester––but also dousing Infester. “Child!” he screamed.
They went up in flames.
The gateway beckoned to us. Lennox released me briefly and struggled with another zombie––it tried to move through him, to get at me. It didn’t make sense. What had I ever done to it? Could they really all be trying to get to me?
The zombie stopped trying to grab me and decided to bite Lennox, instead. “No!” I shouted. Lennox was losing his grip on its face; it snapped at him. I ran to help, but Marek grabbed me. “He knows what he’s doing,” he said. “Come on!”
One Six Nine guy rode past and prodded the zombie with his cattle prod. It sent a jolt through Lennox, whose vampire constitution kept him on his feet. He broke the zombie’s neck and it fell to the ground.
The Wiccan Diaries Page 22
