Night Resurrected (21 page)

—and, presumably, the rest of the world.

Practically a city, although from what

Cat knew, it was nowhere near the size

or extent of pre-Change cities like New

York or Los Angeles, or even Denver. It

sounded like a foreign land to her.

The place had been called Envy for

so long many people had forgotten it

actually began on the site of Las Vegas,

originally being named New Vegas, or

N.V.

Regardless, Cat had no desire to go

to a big, busy, crowded place like that.

Even though she heard there were actual

restaurants there, where you were

served food at a table like in the old

days, and it offered a variety of

tradesmen making clothing and even a

few places to barter for or buy rebuilt

appliances, she didn’t want to go. She

liked

it

in

Glenway.

She

was

comfortable in the small peninsular

town, protected from the zombies by a

deep trench on two sides and the ocean

on two more. She felt safe here. Safe,

and able to heal.

But Dad seemed excited about the

trip. It was almost as if he were looking

for an excuse to go—after all, why

would they need to make a three-day

journey to deliver some stones? Even if

they had glowed in the dark?

“You don’t have to go with me,

Catie,” he said, stirring honey into his

tea. “In fact, it might be better if you

didn’t. Yvonne can always use your help

with Tanya, and don’t think I haven’t

noticed Benjamin Mandova spending a

lot of time talking with you.” He smiled,

the corners of his eyes crinkling deeply.

“Maybe he’d get up the nerve to do

something else if your papa wasn’t

around glowering at him.”

“If you think I’m letting you go by

yourself, you’re nuts,” Cat said flatly.

“But I don’t understand why you think

it’s so important.”

He shrugged. “Call it instinct. I’ve

been around long enough that I’ve

learned to listen to it. Stones don’t just

glow. And the fact that the zombies have

become more erratic lately, and they

have glowing orange eyes that look a lot

like those stones . . . I think George

needs to know.”

Cat got up, mug in hand, and went

over to the sink. She pumped water into

the basin with rough movements and was

just turning back to Dad when the front

door opened.

“Grandpa!” A whirlwind of energy

burst into the room, hurling herself into

his arms. She had springy dark hair and

happy brown eyes.

Yvonne—Tanya’s mother and Cat’s

sister—followed her daughter. She

looked fondly at her father and daughter,

who were smooching, hugging, and

tickling each other. “Good morning.

Sorry for the interruption, but since

you’ve moved here, Tanya seems to

think your house is just an extension of

ours. Usually I can keep her contained

until after nine, but this morning she got

away from me.”

“We’re always glad to see you!” Cat

said with real warmth. Moving here was

the best decision she and Dad had made.

Which was why she felt such an inkling

of mistrust about this proposed trip to

Envy. She was afraid it would change

everything again.

“What’s going on?” Yvonne looked

from Cat to their father, obviously

sensing the underlying disagreement.

“Last night when the zombies were

out, we noticed a glow coming from

George’s laboratory,” Dad said. “It was

orange, and when we investigated—we

were careful! Sheesh,” he interjected

when Yvonne drew in a sharp breath of

alarm. “Anyway, we found the glow

coming

from

some

stones.

Like

crystals.”

“Dad thinks we should take them all

the way to Envy for George to look at,”

Cat said, not trying to hide her dislike of

the idea.

Yvonne pursed her lips. “Tanny,

honey, can you run home and make sure I

turned off the . . . uh . . . water. In the

sink? And while you’re there, why don’t

you get your new doll to show

Grandpa?”

Cat didn’t say anything until Tanya

was gone, but she watched her sister

with calculating eyes. Once the door

closed behind the little girl, she said,

“What’s going on?”

Yvonne shrugged. “Tanya likes to

talk. I didn’t want her to be spreading

this around, but . . . Dad. I think you’re

right. You should take them to Envy.”

She hesitated, smoothing her hand over

the battered kitchen table as if to sweep

away a bit of crumbs. “You know Ana

and I were very good friends. Although

we were close, she was a little secretive

about

some

things.

About

her

background. So I don’t really know what

the situation was, but . . . one time, by

accident, I saw her bare torso. Like, the

side of her belly and rib cage. And she

had crystals embedded in it.”

“Crystals?” Dad sat straight up, his

dark eyes sharp. “Like the Strangers?”

“No, no. She definitely wasn’t a

Stranger—these were different. And they

were in the wrong place on her body; not

up by the collarbone.” Yvonne shook her

head, pinching her lip between two

fingers. “I always sensed she was

different, that there was something she

wasn’t telling me. Not in a bad way, Cat.

I’d trust Ana with my life. It was like she

was . . . hiding from someone. Or

something.”

“I still don’t see why that has

anything to do with the glowing crystals

we found,” Cat said stubbornly.

“I’m not sure either, but if they were

found in George’s workroom, and his

daughter has crystals in her skin . . . I

doubt it’s a coincidence.” Dad drummed

his fingers on the table.

“But . . . what if George and Ana are

. . .” Cat allowed her voice to trail off as

she struggled for the right words. “. . .

not to be trusted? I mean . . . crystals?

When I think of crystals, I think of the

Strangers. And I can’t say it makes me

very comfortable knowing your friend

Ana wears crystals.” She glanced at

Yvonne, who frowned back at her.

Dad sighed and settled back in his

chair, then ran a hand through his

thinning gray hair. He looked from one

daughter to the other, then sighed again.

“All right. Girls”—he still always

called them girls, even though they were

both

in

their

twenties—“there’s

something I need to tell you.”

Oh shit.
Cat didn’t like the sound of

that, nor his arrested expression.

“What?” Yvonne demanded, her face

and voice as tense as Cat felt. “I
knew

there was something going on with you,

Dad. I knew it.”

Cat resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

She’d
been the one living with Dad for

the last six years—since Yvonne got

married. As if her sister had any clue

what was going on with their dad.

But apparently she herself didn’t

either.

“You have to keep it a secret. It’s

imperative. My life—and that of others

—depends on it. Can you do that?”

Her heart pounding, Cat nodded. “Of

course, Dad. I’d never do anything to

endanger you.” She exchanged glances

with Yvonne and saw the same

apprehension and confusion in her

sister’s face.

“I’m . . . uh . . . involved in a group,”

he said, obviously choosing his words

carefully. “A secret group that’s trying to

. . . well, hell, how do I explain this? A

group that’s banded together to build up

a resistance to the Strangers. We’re in

the process of building a rudimentary

communication

network

using

computers.”

“Computers?” Cat breathed. “Like

the old Internet?” A tingle of excitement

blipped through her.

Dad nodded. “It’s real spotty, but one

of the locations is now here in Glenway.

Thanks to me.” He held up a hand when

his daughters would have peppered him

with questions. “I can’t give you more

details right now. I
can’t
,” he added

sharply. “The fewer people who know,

the safer we all are. But I can tell you

this much: Ana and George can be

trusted. I know this for a fact. They’re

part of the group. And so that,” he said,

spearing Cat with his eyes, “is why I

have to bring those crystals to Envy.

They mean something. I don’t know

what, but I think someone there can help.

They need to know about them. Things

are happening.”

Cat became aware of her heart

pounding in her chest and a queasy

feeling roiling her belly. A secret group.

A resistance.

All at once little things began to fall

into place in her mind: hushed voices,

her father leaving their house at odd

times. The cloth-wrapped packages he

occasionally brought home. He’d always

claimed it was part of his job as a

medic, which made sense. But now those

details took on new meaning.

He’d always tried to help people

when they needed help, using whatever

medical training he’d been able to get

over the years from other people and

from books; there was no formal place

to learn medical practice like in the days

o f
Grey’s Anatomy
or
ER
. But she’d

never thought of her father as a person

who bucked the system, who caused

ripples. She thought of him as a

peacemaker, a healer.

He’d

always

been

just

Dad:

comforting, supportive, and strong.

Funny. Stern. A terrible cook.

“Wow,” she breathed, looking at him

with new eyes.

“So,” he said, looking back at her,

“I’m going to Envy. If you want to come,

I’d like it. And they’re having a big

celebration sometime this week—I’m

not sure which day, but it would give us

a little bit of a cover for going.

Survivors Day, it’s called.”

“Remembering and celebrating all

the people who survived the Change,”

Yvonne added helpfully. As if Cat

couldn’t have figured that out for herself.

Dad winked. “It might be fun, you

know. I’ve always wanted to go. But,

Catie, if you feel more comfortable

staying here with Yvonne, I completely

understand. I’ll find someone else who

wants to travel with me. I won’t go

alone. Brady Luck looks like he’s old

enough to have been a survivor.” His

eyes still glinted with humor.

Cat was shaking her head hardly

before she realized her decision. “No,

Dad, I’ll go with you. I’d like to find out

more about this resistance group.”

His smile wavered, then turned

affectionate. “Ah, yes. I was afraid

you’d say that.”

W
yatt looked down at the orange

crystal.

It was about the circumference of a

nickel, roughly spherical in shape and

rough around the edges. Certainly not

something that had been polished and

prepared for a jewelry setting.

Could it really be the Mother crystal?

The source of power for the Atlanteans?

Something this small and irregular?

Regardless, it affected the zombies. It

seemed to call them. And it was

important to the Strangers. Therefore he

had to do whatever it took to keep it safe

and out of their hands.

He shifted, looking down from his

perch high in a massive tree with

widespread limbs. The zombies were

long gone, having disappeared once

dawn began to color the sky. But Wyatt

had taken no chances, so late last night

he climbed high onto a sturdy branch,

tying himself in place so he could sleep

safely.

It also gave him a good vantage

point, this high off the ground.

Now he rose, standing on the branch.