Alex nodded enthusiastically. “Okay, no problem. Just tell me what to do.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and guided him away from the trail. “We’ll start over there, on the east side.”
Alex nodded, and we set off across the grass. Behind him, I could see Lucy standing outside the lodge, watching us. Watching me.
Alex and I walked around the camp, checking the perimeter wires were still intact. He talked constantly, vomiting out words without really saying anything. For my part, I stuck to grunts of acknowledgment and the occasional vague comment. That seemed to be enough for him. He was quite happy to prattle on with minimal interruption. One part of me wanted to ask questions, but another was tired of interacting with people and was content to let him talk.
We were about halfway around the camp, close to the path that led down to the river, when a quiet scuffling noise came from the nearby undergrowth. Alex froze, his jabbering cut short. A squirrel burst from beneath a nearby bush and darted in front of us. Its tail brushed one of the tin cans hanging from the perimeter, setting it clattering.
Alex clutched at his heart. “Whoa.” He was laughing, but his voice was uneven, and his skin was pale. He let out a slow breath and rubbed his forehead. I watched him closely as he looked off into the forest, eyes flicking left and right, searching for something.
“It was only a squirrel,” I said.
He half smiled. “Yeah.”
I focused on checking the can the squirrel had disturbed while Alex recovered. As we moved on around the camp, he kept his eyes on the forest. He didn’t talk, just rubbed at the graze on his knuckles and left me to make sure the perimeter was set up correctly.
“So, what happened?” I said, pointing to the graze.
“Huh?” He looked down at his hand as though he’d forgotten it was there. “Oh… I scraped it on a rock when I was out getting wood for a fire. No biggie.”
“There’s some antiseptic cream in the lodge; you should put some of that on it. No point risking an infection.”
“Sure, good idea. Thanks.” He nodded, but his attention was still somewhere else.
As we got closer to the lodge, I stopped to tighten a length of string that I’d wrapped around a young tree. Alex stood next to me, still watching the forest. He frowned and tilted his head.
“You see something?” I said.
“Yes… no… probably not. I think it’s just a shadow.”
I followed his gaze, but the forest looked empty. By the time I’d finished with the string, the frown had gone, but Alex was still watching.
I stepped in front of him. “What’s wrong? You’re looking for something.”
He hesitated, just for a second. “No, it’s nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”
I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but the guy was a worse liar than I was. Apparently, we all had secrets. I let it pass and moved on along the perimeter. He followed a few seconds behind me.
When we got back to the lounge, Mike was sitting up on the couch. Lucy had dragged over one of the armchairs to be next to him. She’d found a couple of blankets upstairs and had wrapped them around his shoulders. Dark rings curved beneath his eyes. His forehead was slick with sweat. I’d met zombies that looked more alive. As Alex and I walked into the room, Mike coughed. His chest made a harsh rattling sound.
Alex broke into a grin as soon as he saw Mike was awake. “Hey, you’re finally back in the land of the living.”
Mike nodded, but he was looking past Alex at me.
Lucy leaned in toward him. “This is the person I was telling you about. Marcus.”
Mike smiled. “Hey, Marcus. Forgive me if I don’t get up. I’m still feeling pretty unsteady.” He raised a hand to the cut on his head. “Thanks for letting us stay here; we really appreciate it. And for the antibiotics. I hear you probably saved my life.”
“That’s okay,” I said, trying to sound like I meant it. “It’s just until you’re back on your feet.”
“Definitely, we don’t want to encroach on—” Another rattling, wheezing cough interrupted him. Lucy touched his back, her face creased in concern.
It took him a full thirty seconds to get his breathing under control. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Sorry about that.”
I shook my head in response.
“What I was trying to say was that we don’t want to encroach on your territory. We’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible.”
“Thank you,” I said.
We stood, frozen in our respective positions, until Lucy spoke. “Everything okay out there, Alex?”
“Errr. Sure, yeah. Yeah, it’s all good.”
The room fell silent again.
Alex shifted his feet then said, “I thought I could check out the river, see if I can catch us some fish. Unless anyone needs me here?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Mike said. “Fresh sushi would make a change from that jerky.”
Lucy laughed. “Yes, that would be good. Thanks.”
“Any fishing gear around here?” asked Alex.
I shook my head. “Not as far as I know. I haven’t seen any.”
Alex stuck out his bottom lip and bobbed his head. “In that case, I guess I’ll just have to grab them out of the water with my bare hands. Like a bear.” He grimaced and made a swiping motion with clawed hands.
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Go on, get out of here. Get back before it even thinks about getting dark, okay?”
It was Alex’s turn to roll his eyes. “Yes, Mom,” he said, grinning.
“And…” Mike said.
All three of them spoke in unison. “Watch your backside.”
They laughed, the phrase apparently a tradition born out of repetition and shared experience. There was an easiness to their manner. It was as though now that Mike was on the road to recovery they could relax.
I smiled along with their laughter, but my stomach was twisting into knots. I didn’t want Alex wandering around the forest on his own.
“Do you need any help?” I said. “With the fish, I mean.”
“No, no. I’m good. Thanks, though.”
“It might be safer with two of us.”
Alex wrinkled his nose. “Nah, it’s fine. Mike, you take it easy. Luce, look after him, okay?”
Lucy smiled.
“You just get us some fish,” Mike said.
Alex left the lodge. We could hear him whistling the dwarfs’ song from Snow White as he walked across the camp toward the river. Through the window, I watched him go.
“I’m going to let you get some rest,” I said, as soon as Alex was out of sight. “I have some traps out in the forest that I should check. Maybe there’ll be some rabbit to go with the fish.”
“That would be great,” Mike said.
“Okay then, I’ll be an hour or so. I’ll watch my backside,” I said, trying to smile. Mike returned the joke with a broad grin, but Lucy’s mouth barely moved.
I headed into the kitchen, put a couple of energy bars in my pocket, and grabbed a bottle of water. When I got outside, I hesitated. Yesterday morning I’d been happy and relaxed. Now I was tense, nervous. My stomach was still twisted up, and my throat was dry. I could feel the muscles taut across my shoulders, and my back was tight. It was all because of these people. Especially Lucy. She didn’t trust me, and it was upsetting the equilibrium I’d built over the last couple of months.
Why had I said I’d be gone for so long? I did have a couple of traps, but they wouldn’t take long to check. I’d have to find somewhere to hide in the forest.
The shadow writhed inside me, talking to me and planting ideas. The workshop would solve that problem. I could escape, find a zombie, and restore my balance. No, it was too dangerous with the intruders here.
Plates clattered in the kitchen behind me. Lucy was standing in the window. I waved at her and set off across the grass, picking the corner farthest away from the path to the workshop.
As soon as I got o
ut of sight of the lodge, I moved east, around the camp. It was tough going, making my way through the undergrowth. I had my knife, but it was too small to cut through the vines and bushes that clogged the ground. Twice I had to backtrack and pick a different route. I didn’t really know where I was going until I reached the river.
There was no sign of Alex. He’d been lying; he was probably back at the camp with Lucy and Mike. They’d be going through my things, looking for evidence to confirm their suspicions. Ice-cold fear flooded my system. The world swam around me. I had to close my eyes and lean against a tree.
I counted to sixteen then took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I decided to check the river before I went back to the camp. Alex might be farther upstream. Or downstream. I picked my way along the tree line, staying a few feet inside the forest so that I was always in shadow.
I went upstream for no other reason than it was easier. It turned out to be the right choice. Alex was around a bend, about a hundred feet from the trail to the camp. At some point, he’d ducked completely under the water because his hair was wet and hung around his shoulders like seaweed. He’d found a spot where the water was slow and waded out until it was waist height. He was standing, bent over, hands plunged deep into the water.
Alex stood there, not moving for several minutes, then swept his hands together and scooped them out of the water. If he’d been trying to catch a fish, he’d failed. Then he stuck his arms into the river and went back to standing still.
He repeated the process four or five times. Each time he came up empty-handed. He didn’t seem concerned about standing there in the open, and I wondered how he’d react if a zombie came out of the water at him. I’d seen zombies trying to cross rivers before. They’d been swept away by the current, ending up who knew where. Alex might grab at something passing between his hands, only to find it was the still living remains of a human being, not a fish. He’d react too slowly, and it would be on him, tearing out his throat before he had a chance to get away.
But there were more disturbing scenarios, too. What if the helicopter came back? Alex seemed to have bought my story, but I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t try to flag them down. If the machine gun was manned, Alex might see they were wearing uniforms, and he’d know I was lying.
He plunged his hands into the river once more, but they came back out empty.
A voice whispered in my ear. He was exposed, vulnerable. Anything could happen to him out here. It was a perfect opportunity for me to take the first step toward reclaiming the camp as my own.
I pressed my hand against the hilt of my knife. The shadow rose up. The edges of the forest receded, seeming to draw away to give me room to approach Alex.
My knife was in my hand, and I’d taken a couple of steps toward the river before I realized and stopped myself. I closed my eyes and counted to four, listening to the river and willing it to wash away the shadow.
Beneath the rushing water, I could hear the pounding of a heart. Whether it was mine or Alex’s, I couldn’t tell. The knife was weightless in my hand. It felt right. That was where it belonged. I counted to four again, breathing deeply. This wasn’t the time. Even if I could get to Alex, the shadow would leave me exposed. If Lucy or Mike came looking for him, they’d find me at my most vulnerable. Another breath, another count of four.
The shadow loosened its grip.
When I opened my eyes again, the knife felt heavier. It was awkward, like it was too big for my hand. I took four deliberate steps back, deeper into the forest, and slipped the knife into its sheath. A shudder ran up my spine, my hands were shaking, and my stomach churned uneasily—parting gifts from the shadow.
Alex leaned back, stretching his arms, and glanced over his shoulder. I froze, suddenly sure he’d be able to see me. But his eyes passed over my hiding place without registering my presence. He returned his arms to the river. I let out the breath I’d been holding.
It looked like Alex really was just trying to catch some fish. He hadn’t been using it as a cover for checking out the workshop. Unless… I thought back to the morning’s events. Had Alex spent time with Lucy and Mike? Had he told them about the path?
My heart stuttered, and a sick feeling washed through my stomach. He didn’t need to have told her. She’d seen us. I’d stopped Alex going into the forest by distracting him with talk about the perimeter, and she’d been watching me. The fishing wasn’t the distraction; Alex was.
I backed farther into the forest as quickly as I dared. As soon as I was out of earshot, I turned and ran toward the lodge.
Chapter 21
An Interrogation
When I broke out of the forest, Lucy was standing on the lodge’s walkway, her eyes on the tree line. I was panting, and I had a scratch on my cheek where a branch had caught me in the face. I slowed but not quickly enough to avoid her noticing me running.
Her eyes widened. “What’s the matter? Did you see someone?” The words came quickly, and there was real fear in her voice.
I raised a hand and took a few deep breaths, trying to ease the stitch that was developing in my side.
“No, nothing’s the matter.”
Her frown deepened. “So, what’s the hurry?”
I tried a smile. “Just trying to get some exercise.”
Lucy nodded, but she was frowning. “Any luck?”
My mind went blank. “Luck?”
“With the traps? You were checking them.”
I was an idiot. “Ah right. No. No luck today. To be honest, I haven’t caught anything with them for a while.”
Lucy looked over my shoulder. “In that case, it’s a good thing Alex has brought us something to eat.”
Alex walked across the camp, two large fish in his hands and a huge grin on his face. “Sushi, anyone?”
Lucy smiled as he walked past her into the lodge. “I’m impressed. Maybe you aren’t such a dead weight after all.”
Alex laughed. “Come on, all this manly hunter stuff has made me hungry.”
Lucy followed him inside. I paused. She’d asked me whether I’d seen someone, not something. She was more afraid of the living than the dead. Puzzled, I went inside.
Mike had moved from the couch into one of the armchairs. He’d changed his clothes as well, into jeans and a T-shirt. I recognized them from the psychedelic cabin and felt a twinge of anger. The change had done him some good. He looked healthier and more alert than he had less than an hour earlier.
Alex and Lucy took the fish into the kitchen, leaving me standing just inside the door. I was trying to think of a reason to skip food and go upstairs to my room, but before I could make my excuses, Mike said, “Can we have a chat? I’d like to know more about the situation here.”
I smiled a little then sat down in the chair opposite him.
“Any trouble out there?” he said.
“No, no sign of anyone.”
If he picked up on my use of anyone, it didn’t register on his face.
“Good. Luce tells me you ran into a gang?”
Damn. “Yes.”
“And they have a chopper?” His eyebrows were raised, and I could feel the skepticism hanging in the air around us.
“Yeah, they must have found it somewhere.”
“Military?”
I shrugged. “Maybe, but I didn’t get a close look at it. I was too busy running for my life.”
“That bad, huh?”
I nodded but said nothing, hoping to starve the conversation of oxygen.
He opened his mouth to speak, but a coughing fit cut him off.
“I should let you rest.”
He pressed one hand against his mouth and raised the other. “No, please.”
I waited until he’d gotten the cough under control.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was starting to give you the third degree there. Old habits die hard.”
“Habits?”
“I’m a cop. Or I was until the world went to hell.”
I tensed. “Like
an… actual cop?”
“Yeah, in Seattle.”
All I could think of to say was, “That’s interesting.”
I hoped the fear that was bubbling up inside me hadn’t reached my voice. There were a lot of people I didn’t want to be nosing around my home, but suspicious policemen were close to the top of the list, right beneath human lie detectors. Something in the kitchen clattered to the floor, and I jumped. I glanced at Mike and felt another wave of anxiety building.
He laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to arrest you for killing zombies.”
I forced a smile and tried to ignore the trickle of sweat running down my back. I was about to make another move toward my bedroom when Alex came into the lounge. He was carrying a broad serving plate and grinning again. The plate held a mound of fish that had been inexpertly hacked from the bone, and a few crackers. Lucy followed him into the room with a jug of water, four glasses, and some forks.
Alex placed the fish down on the table. “Sorry there’s no wasabi, guys.”
I looked at the mass of gray-white flesh on the plate, and my stomach lurched. I stood, the sudden movement making me sway slightly as the blood rushed to my head. The room shifted around me. I squeezed my eyes shut, playing up my discomfort. When I opened them again, everyone was looking at me.
“I should go upstairs and get some rest,” I said. “I’m not feeling very well.”
“Are you sure?” Lucy said.
I nodded, and the room shifted on its axis again. “Yeah, I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“At least take some food up with you,” Alex said. “I’ll get you a plate.”
He turned to go out to the kitchen, but I put my hand on his shoulder. “No, please. It’s fine. I’m not that keen on sushi anyway.”
“Totally get it. No worries. You could take some crackers.”
“No, thank you.”
Alex shrugged.
We said our good nights.
I moved up the stairs slowly, partly to emphasize the fact that I wasn’t well but also because I was more than a little unsteady on my feet. About halfway up, I stole a look back into the lounge. Everyone was eating, forking ragged chunks of fish onto the crackers and pouring water into glasses.
Serial Killer Z: Volume One Page 18
