Love in the Time of Zombies (27 page)

“Captured
your ass pretty easy, though, didn’t they?”  Zeke went over to grab the keys off
the closest guard.  “Here.”  He tossed them to Powell through the bars.  “Get
out of here.  Take the others with you.”  He began stripping the uniform off the
smallest dead guy.  He’d need it for Scotlyn as soon as he got her back.  And
he was
going
to get her back.  “Don’t even think about leaving anyone
behind, either.”

“There
are vampires locked up in here.”  Powell got the cage door open and scowled in
outrage.  “You want me to save
them?
”

“Get
everyone
.”

“You’re
kidding, right?”

“Just
do it.”  Zeke ordered.  “And hurry.  More humans will be coming.”  The casino
was huge, but there seemed to be a lot of white suited lunatics roaming
around.  He passed out the other two sets of keys to the closest prisoners and
raised his voice.  “I’m looking for my mate.”  He got to his feet, haphazardly folding
the stolen suit in his arms.  “Strawberry blonde.  Smells like summertime. 
Probably trying to boss around some really dangerous people.”

“Lars
has that woman.”  A nearby fairy volunteered.  Her wings brushed the top of the
cage.  “They’re in the arcade.”  She pointed to the left.  “Be careful.  The
humans seem to know a lot more than they should about us.”

The
arcade.  Right.  That explained the skee-ball.

Zeke
would’ve known that if his brain wasn’t on fire with panic and his body wasn’t shutting
down from pain.  He had to focus.  Scotlyn was all that mattered to him.

“Hey.” 
Powell called as Zeke headed off.  “We’re going to the Grand Canyon.  Seems
like a good spot to lay low for a while.  It’s like five million acres of
nothing.”

“I’m
going to South America.”  Zeke retorted.  “You wanna tag along, fine.”

“Fuck
that.”  Powell scoffed.  “I haven’t left the US since the US became the US. 
Ain’t gonna start now.  You do what you want, but tell Cale to meet us in
Arizona.”

“Tell
him yourself.  He’ll be in South America.  With me.”  Iasia was their best bet
for survival and Caleb was
going
to survive.  That meant Cale was staying
glued to Zeke’s side, whether he liked it or not.

“You’re
still a dickhead, Z.”  Powell shouted.

“I’ll
miss you, too.  Send postcards.”  Zeke kept walking.  “And do me a favor and
try to keep your escape from this joint
subtle
.”

A
sign on the wall said “arcade” and pointed to the stairs.  He took the steps
three at a time as he headed up.  At the top, he found an entire room filled
with videogames and pinball machines.  Funhouse mirrors lined the walls, giving
the whole space a sense of unreality.  The paint was a rainbow of neon colors
and garish stripes.  This was the place.

It
was all exactly how he’d seen it through Scotlyn’s eyes.

“Scottie!” 
He should probably be a little more inconspicuous, but he was beyond caring. 
Zeke began tearing through the blinking, chirping, flashing games.  “Scotlyn!” 
He desperately scanned around for her.  She
had
to be alive.  Had to…

“Zeke.”

It
was barely a sound, but it just about drove him to his knees.  His head snapped
around, zeroing in on her voice.  “
Scotlyn.
”  He headed for her at a
run.  “God
damn
it.”

She
was strapped down to a medical table, while blood was drained from her arm into
a plastic bag.  Given the pallor of her skin, she must have lost a gallon of
it, so it was a wonder she could still open her eyes.  But somehow her green
gaze fixed on him and she gave a ghost of a smile.  “You’re here.  For once,
I’m glad you never listen to me.”

A
blond human stood between her pale body and Zeke.  He pointed a gun Zeke.  “You
don’t understand.”  His eyes were crazed.  “It’s for science.”

Zeke
didn’t consciously move.  He just somehow found himself across the room, his
palm wrapped around the human’s esophagus.  The man gave a panicked scream as
Zeke pinned him against the wall.  Zeke heard the gun discharge, but it
missed.  Even if the bullet
had
hit him, he wouldn’t have felt it.  All
he knew was white hot rage and the feel of the man’s neck as he prepared to
snap it.

“Don’t.” 
Scotlyn sat up as far as the bindings on her hands and feet would allow.  “Don’t
kill him.”

“
Why
the fuck not?
”

“I
can fix this.”  The human croaked out.  “Just hear me out.  I know how to fix
it.”

“
Fix
torturing my mate?”  Zeke slammed his skull against the hideous paint.  “I
already know exactly how to
fix
that, asshole.  It involves you losing
every major organ in your body.”  The guy made a gurgling sound as Zeke lifted
him off the ground by his throat, cutting off his oxygen supply.

“Zeke. 
Please.”  Scotlyn’s voice was even fainter, the effort to move exhausting her.

She
was about to pass out.

“
Shit
.” 
He dropped the human and the guy crumpled to the ground, gasping for air.  Zeke
barely noticed.  He hurried over to yank the needle from Scotlyn’s arm.  “Scottie?” 
He began untying her.  “Baby?  Stay with me.”

She
struggled to focus on his face.  “I thought you were nobody’s hero.”  She said
hazily.

Zeke
gave a laugh that was at least partially a sob.  “So did I.”  Touching her
again was more than he could’ve hoped for.  “You alright?”

She
gave a listless nod.

“You
don’t understand what’s happening here.”  The human rasped.  “We need her
blood.  It’s the only way.”  He started to stagger to his feet.

“Move
towards her and I will kill you.”  Zeke told him flatly, his attention still on
Scotlyn.  He carefully sat her up and started putting the plastic uniform on
her limp form.  “We gotta go, Trix.  You with me?”

“Always.”

“She’s
an angel.”  The human continued.  “A miracle.  When she was bitten by the
zombie, it started turning her.”

“
She’s
not a fucking zombie!
”

“I
know.  Because
then
she was bitten by a shape shifter.  By
you
, I
suppose.”  He waved a hand at Zeke.  “When that Change started, it fought back against
the zombie bite.  Supernatural creatures are protected, but there was enough
time for the zombie virus to take hold within her.  Enough time that her body
had to create antibodies against the virus as she became a shifter.  It’s all
there in her blood.”

Zeke’s
brows drew together, trying to make sense of that gibberish.  “Her blood is the
cure for zombie-ism?  That’s what you’re saying?”

“No. 
Nothing can
cure
the zombies.  But, with her antibodies, I can inoculate
the humans who are still living.  Her blood can fix things.  I can make a
vaccine against the virus.”

“You’re
not going to be alive to make anything.”

Scotlyn
swallowed.  “Let him try.”  She got out.  “Let him try to save who’s left.”

“They
only
need
to be saved because of him.  You said so yourself.”

“I
know.  But, now he’s the only one who can do this.  Maybe he can make up for
some of the damage.”

“In
science, we learn from miscalculations.”  The human nodded like he really
believed that bullshit.  “That’s why you need to leave the woman here with me. 
I can do so much
good
with her.  You have no idea how important she is.”

“Oh
yes I do.”  Scotlyn was the most important thing in his entire world.  His
person.  His
mate
.  Zeke zipped up her suit.  “Make your inoculation
with the blood you already stole, because that’s all you’re getting.”

“But,
there is so much more I might discover…”

“I
don’t care.”  Zeke lifted her into his arms.  “Be glad she’s nicer than I am,
because I don’t
also
care about protecting the surviving humans.  I
still want you dead.”

“I’m
not
that
nice.”  Scotlyn murmured.  She reached over grab a video camera
off a table as Zeke carried her passed.  She deliberately smashed it against
the ground.

“
No!
” 
The human screeched like he’d just lost the one thing he cared about.  He fell
to his knees beside the shattered bits of plastic, his eyes filling with
tears.  “My journals…  My history…  Fifteen years…  What have you
done?!
”

“I
just erased your life, the way you tried to erase ours.”  Scotlyn weakly
wrapped her arms around Zeke’s neck.  “Now we
all
have to start over. 
This time, don’t be such an asshole.”

“God,
I missed you.”  Zeke carried her towards the stairs.  He could already hear
shouting and gunfire.  So much for Powell and subtlety.  “Listen, we’re going
to have to go straight through the middle of this mess.  If something goes
wrong and we get separated, head for the parking garage, alright?”

”Don’t
worry.  I know this casino better than anyone left alive.  Go through there.” 
She nodded at a door marked “Employees Only.”  It led them into a long corridor
with offices on the opposite wall.  Unlike the cacophony of colors in the rest
of the casino, everything was industrial white.  “Go right until you hit the
security office.”  Her head lolled against his shoulder, like it had grown too
heavy for her to hold upright.  “There’s a set of service stairs right beside
it.”

Zeke
gripped her tighter.  “Hang on, baby.  Shifters are tough.  Your body’s going
to start recovering really soon.”  He raced along the hallway, trying to find
the security office and keep her talking.  “Oh --Hey-- I didn’t get to tell you
about the helicopter ride, yet.”

“Did
you crash it?”

“Little
bit.”

“Into
lake?”

“Water
hazard.  Bright side is I didn’t kill anyone.  Or any
cat
.  You should
have heard Cale bitching about his suit, though.”

“Your
brother does have beautiful clothes.”  She defended.  “Next time I’ll fly.”

“No
arguments here.”  Inside some of the offices he could see zombies moving around. 
Their hands hit against the glass windows, trying to grab them as they passed. 
Zeke suppressed a shudder.  “Good news is I have a destination in mind for our
upcoming vacation.”  He continued, still trying to keep her awake.  “You ever
been to South America, Trix?”

“No. 
But, I saw
Alive.
”

“That’s
exactly what I want to hear from my pilot during the zombageddon.”

Scotlyn
gave a feeble chuckle and her arms tightened around him in a hug.  “God, I
missed you, too.”  She whispered.  “I was so worried I wouldn’t see you again.”

“Then,
you’re an idiot.  You think one little doomsday could keep me away from you and
your lingerie?”

“You
were half-dead when I left you, dumbass.  What was I…?.”  She pulled back in
concern.  “Wait, are you strong enough to be carrying me?”

“Seems
that way.”  He was only on his feet through sheer effort of will, but it wasn’t
a great time to mention it.  “Okay, here’s the stairs.  Now what?”

“Go
up.”

“Up? 
We want to go
down
.”

She
shook her head.  “Up.  Shopping’s on level eight.  It connects directly to the
parking garage through a back entrance.  You said that’s where we’re headed,
right?”

“Jesus.” 
Zeke stepped into the deserted stairwell and looked up at the clear path she’d
found them.  “Does anybody else know about this?”

“Only
if they worked here.  It’s for employees.”

He
grinned.  “The human was right.  You
are
an angel.”

“Better. 
I’m a showgirl.”

“I
promise, I will never make fun of your ex-job, again.”

“Yes,
you will.”

Zeke
kept smiling.  “Yeah, I probably will.”  He shifted her in his arms and plucked
the walkie-talkie off his belt to radio Darcy about their new exit strategy. 
“Leia, come in.”

“Leia?” 
Scotlyn repeated skeptically.

“Hey,
code names are important.”

Darcy’s
voice came over the line.  “Little busy, Z.”  She sounded breathless.

“You’re
supposed to call me
Vader
.”  Zeke reminded her.

Scotlyn
rolled her eyes.  “Cale’s right.  You’re a total geek.”

Zeke
ignored her commentary and kept talking to Darcy.  “Find an employee door and
get up to level eight.  We’re going out through the shopping mall.  It connects
to the garage.”

“On
our way.”  Darcy agreed.

Satisfied,
Zeke started up the steps and resumed his campaign to annoy Scotlyn into
continued consciousness.  “Seriously, though, your career as a dancer isn’t
all
fun and games for me.  In fact, picturing you in nothing but feathers has gotten
me though many sleepless nights.”  He paused.  “Although, to be fair, the way I
got
through them was kinda fun.”