The Zombie Chronicles - Book 5 - Undead Nightmare (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (16 page)

“Dean?” the raspy voice said.

My heart sank at the sight of her. I had hoped Asia had been mistaken, but she’d told us the truth. I raced toward Jackie, but she turned around and headed back up the staircase.

Nick was faster than me and beat me up the stairs. At the top, it was dark, with no daylight coming in through the windows.

I swallowed hard as I spun in a slow circle, my nerves on complete edge. “Jackie, it’s me, Dean,” I said. “Asia told me everything, and I’m here to help you get well. I don’t care what you look like, baby. We’ll help you. I promise.”

Heavy breathing echoed in the air, and my heart thumped wildly. A few long growls made the hair on my neck stand on end. My finger hovered over the trigger, and I felt like I was cornering a wild animal. I took slow, measured steps. “Jackie…” I said. “Baby, please come out.”

A shriek pierced my ears, a sound that only a hybrid could make. “Dean,” a demonic voice called out.

A cold chill flooded through my entire body as I carefully felt along the stacked boxes. “Jackie, where are you?”

“Come and find me,” the raspy voice said.

“Zombies don’t talk,” Nick said. “That’s gotta be her.”

At the sound of another shriek, I jumped back. My heart had never beat so fast before, and the floor creaked with every step I took. My flashlight beam swung around, but I didn’t see anything in the dim light. I aimed my gun and took a few more steps, then glanced around. Sweat coated the palms of my hands. I stood there holding my breath, listening for any sounds. I tried to hang on to what was left of my sanity and said in a shaky voice, “Jackie? Baby, talk to me.”

A ravenous moan echoed across the room and sent chills down my spine. A sudden panic flooded through me. I paused, drew a deep breath, and willed myself to keep going.

The signature zombie moans began to echo from the other side of the attic.

I took a deep, trembling breath.

“Zombies!” Val said.

“And more than one!” Asia said, her beam wavering as she whipped her flashlight all around.

Shapes began to emerge, and shadows shifted in the dim light. I could feel my hands shaking in fear as zombies started to stumble from all over the place. I was finally armed with a suitable weapon, but I had to be careful with each shot; the last thing I wanted to do was to put a bullet in Jackie, Nick, Val, or Asia. “Guys!” I yelled. “Don’t shoot Jackie. She’s wearing red.”

I wrapped my finger around the trigger and squeezed. A zombie in front of me fell back. Gunfire rang through the air as the others let shots off. Taking careful aim, I fired again. Another zombie in a blue suit fell sideways. Three more shots equaled three more down.

Suddenly, it was eerily quiet.

Asia shined her flashlight around. “I don’t see any more, but where’s Jackie?”

Val’s green eyes glowed through the darkness. “I see her.”

“Where?” Nick said.

“To the left.”

We all shined our lights, and as I swung my beam around to the left, I found myself staring into the milky white eyes of my girlfriend, looking at me in desperation, as if she was somehow trapped inside her own body. Her skin was torn and tattered, her lips black, like a living nightmare. “Jackie, don’t give up hope,” I said. “I’m here for you, always and forever.”

“Dean,” Jackie said, her voice garbled, “just hold me.”

Nick forcefully pulled me back. “Stay away from her! She already exhibited dangerous behavior when she bit Asia. We can’t trust her right now, Dean.”

“Dean,” she pleaded, “I-I don’t wanna be like this. I’m not strong enough to handle this.”

“I’ll be strong enough for the both of us,” I said, “but I need you to cooperate, okay?”

Suddenly, she began to laugh in a twisted, sinister chuckle. “Not a chance!” her voice thundered.

“She has a knife!” Asia said when the beam of her flashlight glistened across the shiny blade.

Before Asia’s words could even register, Jackie lunged at me, wielding the knife, but I flung myself sideways. I tried to seize her and knock the weapon out of her hand, but before I could, Val slammed her to the ground. Jackie shrieked and dropped the knife, sending it clattering to the floor. I trembled as a feeling of dread encompassed my body. Nick and Asia made quick work of tying my hybrid girlfriend up, and Val found a pillowcase to put over her head, and that immediately calmed her down. Nick heaved her over his shoulder, and we walked down the stairs.

As we walked, Asia and I scanned in front of us with our flashlights. “All clear,” she said.

We crunched over glass and hurried through the shattered door.

“Jackie!” Claire said, rushing over.

Nick motioned for Claire not to come any closer. “Get in the truck, Claire,” he said, rubbing his thumb on her cheek. “Kate will drive. She knows where to go.”

“I wanna drive, Nick,” Val said.

“Not today.”

“Why not?” she asked, staring at him and putting her hand on her hip the way our mother always did when she was angry. “Oh wait. You’re afraid I’m going to turn—”

Nick didn’t sugarcoat it. “That’s
exactly
what I’m afraid of. Driving under the influence of serum isn’t safe.”

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know everything, Nick, and it’s not a foolproof plan. What if Claire and I turn and attack Kate while she’s driving?”

“Kate, Val, and Claire will ride up front and Dean, Lucas, me, Jackie, and Asia will ride in the back,” Nick said.

“Nick, I—” Val began.

Nick gripped her shoulder. “I know it’s not a perfect plan, but Kate has a walkie-talkie and can alert us.”

“So let me drive, and she can alert you if I turn.”

“Kate’s driving, end of discussion,” Nick said in his drill sergeant voice.

Realizing there was no point in arguing with him, Val and I obeyed our brother and got into the truck to sit in our assigned seats. It was a bit infuriating that Nick insisted on asserting his authority all the time, and I was sure our plan would have worked, but yet again, Nick insisted on
his
way.

I walked to the back of the truck and heard a series of moans echoing through the air. Sure enough, a glance down the street told me that flesh-eaters were on the way, a whole sea of them lumbering toward us. For the first time in a long time, the herd didn’t frighten me; we were armed and ready to fight if we had to, but we also had a vehicle and could easily just drive away.

“Everybody get in!” my brother roared.

I slammed the door shut, and Kate floored it, taking off with a jerk. Lucas sprawled out in a deep sleep. Jackie was lying in the corner, tied up and with the pillowcase over her head, quiet as a mouse. It took everything I had not to go over to her and whisper words of encouragement, but Nick had made it clear that if we didn’t keep our distance from her, he wouldn’t help us get her to the lab. I almost wanted to call his bluff, but I was afraid he’d separate me entirely from Jackie if I tried.

“Dean…” Jackie whispered, her voice scratchy. “Dean, help me. Please come here.”

Unable to resist her, I stood to go to her, but Nick gripped my wrist.

“Not a chance,” he said in a stern voice. “She’s already tasted human flesh, and now she wants more.”

I couldn’t imagine my girlfriend trying to hurt me, but I’d just witnessed it with my very own eyes when she’d come at me with the knife. “Just stay with me, Jackie. You know I’m here for you.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Hold on, baby,” I said. “Try to fight it.”

“I-I’m trying.” She wailed out, as if she was in pain. “Dean, help me!”

I straightened and opened my mouth to speak, but my throat felt coarse and dry. It was about five p.m., and I knew we wouldn’t reach the lab until morning. I’d been through a lot, but nothing had ever been as hard as ignoring Jackie’s pleas for help, and watching her go through that horrible transformation was my worst nightmare. I wanted Jackie back, the Jackie I knew.

Chapter 13

We drove through the night and took shifts sleeping in the bumpy back of the truck. By the time dawn finally came, my thoughts were a blur. I felt I’d somehow failed Jackie. We had made progress on our journey and had saved many lives, including Val’s, but now Jackie was a hybrid, and we were in a worse situation than we were to begin with.
Why does every solution we come up with create more problems? It’s always one step forward and two steps back.
Still, as bad as things were, no matter how long it took or what I had to do, I’d save Jackie somehow. Our journey in the zombie wastelands reminded me of an EKG. We had our ups and downs, peaking sometimes and then crashing back down into deep, dark valleys. At the moment, as I stared at my helpless, seemingly hopeless girlfriend, my heart felt as if it had flat-lined.

The truck came to a sudden stop, and my pulse pounded as someone or something started banging on the truck. The banging grew louder, and the truck began to shake.

With her gun drawn, Asia crept toward the back doors.

“Don’t you dare go out there,” Nick said, jerking her back. “We have no idea what we’re up against.”

Every muscle in my body tensed. “Uh…zombies, ya think?” I said, slightly sarcastically.

He grimaced at me. “Let’s find out how many.” He picked up the walkie-talkie. “What the heck’s going on out there?”

“Don’t get out!” came the reply.

I swallowed hard, wondering how many were outside.

“Don’t leave us in suspense, Kate,” Nick said. “What are you lookin’ at?”

“I’m driving us through a small herd,” her static reply said. “They came out of nowhere.”

“We’ve got a freaking arsenal back here,” Asia said. “I say we all get a little target practice in on these brain-slurpers.”

“Uh-uh,” I said, shaking my head and looking at Jackie. “We haven’t got time. Besides, Kate can probably mow ‘em down with the truck or maneuver through them.”

The truck backed up and turned around, then jerked forward as tires spun. We jerked once more, then started moving again.

“We’re good,” Kate said over the walkie-talkie.

Asia walked toward us, her lips pressed into a thin line, as if she was pouting or angry.

“Please stay seated while the vehicle is in motion,” Nick asked politely, mimicking an airplane stewardess.

“No.”

“What’s wrong with you, Asia?” I asked.

She was hesitant, then finally asked, “Did you notice something odd?”

“No. What?” Nick asked.

“Don’t play dumb,” she said. “You know full well what I’m talking about.”

Nick looked at me, then nodded back at her. “Sit down, Asia.”

She looked at him sternly and refused to back down. “Not until this is addressed.”

“What the heck are you two talking about?” I asked.

She stepped toward me, hanging on to the truck wall for balance as we flew over bumps. “Your girlfriend is a zombie magnet.” Her gaze shot to Jackie, who was still huddled up in the corner, whimpering slightly, with a pillowcase over her head. “You called them, didn’t you?” she asked.

Jackie said nothing.

“Think about it,” Asia said. “When I left Jackie at the jewelry store, she was alone, but when we went back to get her, there were zombies up in the attic. When we left town, a multitude of them were coming down the street toward us, even though they hadn’t been there seconds before. And then…well, there’s now. A horde of zombies just tried to take down our truck.”

“It’s no secret that the world is overrun by zombies, Asia,” I said. “It’s just a coincidence.” I shot my gaze to my brother. “Right, Nick? Tell her,” I said, in complete denial.

He let out a breath. “We know hybrids communicate somehow with other zombies, Dean. Jackie could be doing the same thing.”

A chill shot through my entire body. I knew it was true, but I didn’t want to believe it.

“Even tied up and blinded, your girlfriend is beyond dangerous,” Asia said.

“But…well, the zombies coming at us when we left coulda come because we fired off all those shots when the zombies poured out of the U-Haul. You know they’re attracted to gunfire and loud noises, and—”

“Maybe,” Nick said, shrugging, “or maybe not.”

“Maybe isn’t good enough. We need to know for sure,” Asia said. “If Jackie’s paging her friends with some kind of zombie telepathy, we’re gonna have major problems.”

My emotions surged at her implication. “Problems? What are you saying, Asia? We can’t just ditch her.”

“She’s gonna get us all killed,” Asia retorted. “She can
call
them. This totally changes things. I’m all about saving Jackie, but our survival has to come first.”

“She just wants to get rid of me, Dean,” Jackie said in a grating whine. “She wants to kill off her competition. She’s just jealous.”

As my head jerked in her direction, Asia touched my arm. “You know I like you, Dean, but I’d never do that. I’ve done nothing but try to help her.”

“Help me?” A maniacal, gravelly chuckle escaped Jackie’s throat. “She came at me with an axe! I only bit her in self-defense. She wanted to kill me, Dean…so she could have you.”