Thirteen Roses Book Three: Beyond: A Paranormal Zombie Saga (18 page)

‘He’s still in there, the black one, the dangerous one. But the plague is nearly done. The turning took considerably longer this time, it’s nearly done…’

Sod it. Jackson weighed up his options before realising he didn’t have any. He checked the magazine of his stolen gun. There were a dozen or so bullets, enough to make a good account of himself. He wasn’t going to bother try and bargain this time.
 

A soldier’s face appeared in the door and his shot went straight through his gas mask and ripped his lower jaw off. The man staggered out into the corridor making horrible gurgling noises. The next thing Jackson saw was the barrel of a machine gun. He dropped flat as the room was sprayed with bullets.
 

The bags hanging on the machine burst, covering him in lukewarm liquid. One of them was filled with stuff that turned people into cripples. He waited until the gunfire stopped and yanked the sheet off the bed, scrubbing the moisture off his head and face. He looked through the steel beneath the bed and saw a pair of boots.
 

He lined up his shot and blew the left foot away. The man screamed and fell forward into the room. More gunfire followed and a couple of bullets screamed off the metal beneath the bed. This was it. The moment the bullets stopped he surged to his feet and fired at the soldier appearing in the doorway. Jackson’s first shot hit the frame, but the second caught him in the throat and his blood went everywhere.
 

The soldier with the missing foot was crying piteously and Jackson scampered around the bed and drove his foot into his face. His gas mask smashed and his nose snapped. The cries grew thick and quiet. Good enough. The soldier with no throat was flapping his hands around, somehow still on his feet. Jackson grabbed his gun from his hands and shoved him out into the corridor.
 

As he did, three other soldiers moved into position on the far side of the corridor. Shit. He raised his gun and fired as he threw himself to one side. A bullet caught him in the arm as he went down and he rolled and bumped against the far wall of the room. He groaned, gripping his arm and inspecting the wound as the bullets slammed into the bed and the far wall.
 

The bullet had gone straight through, leaving a deep furrow through skin and flesh on the outside of his arm. Nothing too bad. Nothing he couldn’t handle. The gunfire died away, gradually this time, and he realised through the ringing in his ears that he could hear voices.
 

‘…enough. We’ve still got the machine and either you let him out or you never see it again.’

That was Luke. The lying bastard was trying to save him. Jackson smiled. That was just fine. He would save him and Jackson could use him to get the machine part back. That would ingratiate him with these evil fuckers as well. Most important, the ladies would be safe and they could begin to rebuild.
 

The last part put a smile on his face as he remembered the soft warmth beneath his hand. Bitch had never been that soft. He caught himself and stared at the far wall, where wisps of stone and mattress still glided slowly to the floor. He had called her bitch again. Why? Why couldn’t he free himself from his evil? God had called him, yet still he battled, still he struggled every moment to be the person he knew he should be.
 

Perhaps he deserved to die. Perhaps the soldiers were God’s message for him, that until he became a better person, he had no right to live. He didn’t deserve life while he disrespected those he loved. Had he ever loved her? He thought he had. He spent four years with her and shared his bed with her. But that didn’t mean love.
 

Still, all women deserved respect, every inch of the way. Without them, there was nothing. They were the life givers. He nodded and placed his gun on the floor. He would trust in God. If he was meant to be here, if he was meant to have the chance to make himself better, God would save him. He heaved himself up from the floor, ignoring the pain in his arm.
 

God would protect him.
 

He stepped out into the corridor. There were ten soldiers with their guns trained on him and he took a deep breath. He would go to his maker with pride.
 

‘Let him through. Let him through.’

Etienne sounded… beaten. Jackson couldn’t suppress his smile as he passed by the white-robed jackass. ‘Thanks, couldn’t have done it without you.’

Etienne clenched his jaws together and glared up at him. ‘You, none of you, will see another sunrise. Please believe me, this isn’t over.’

Luke waited by the door, a book tucked under his arm. He didn’t smile at Jackson but nodded and stood to one side to let him through. Jackson went into the corridor and stopped, mouth falling open as he saw Ed standing up and looking completely fine.
 

‘What happened to you?’

‘Magic?’

‘Huh?’

He managed a smile for the kid and got one back. That was good. He could work on them both together, him and Krystal. Luke came back out and closed the door. They set off down the corridor and got as far as the wall when Luke hesitated.
 

‘You do know we’ve only accomplished one part of this, don’t you? We need to rescue the women.’

‘We need to kill them ones.’ Jackson nodded back towards the corridor they had just left.
 

Bayleigh turned to him, scowling. ‘What?’

‘The test patients. They’re all crippled, completely screwed.’

‘What do you mean, crippled?’

Jackson sighed and rubbed his eyes with forefinger and thumb. ‘Whatever these bastards been pumping into them to keep them still or whatever, destroys their muscles. They can’t move, they can’t do anything.’

‘Oh my god, that’s monstrous.’

‘You surprised?’

He took a step back at the fierceness in her gaze. Then it was overcome with tears and she shook her head. ‘No, no I’m not, just. God.’

Luke patted her shoulder gently and she lifted her head to give him a grateful look. So the big man was getting in with the little folk, was he? Making friends before they found out how much of an arsehole he was.

Jackson cleared his throat. ‘Before we go anywhere, I thought you might like to tell us all exactly why you’re so desperate to keep us alive. I reckon Alex and Bayleigh and Ed would like to hear that.’

He knew from the look in Luke’s eyes the bastard realised Jackson knew the truth.
 

‘Yes, tell us please, Luke, I know I’d love to hear.’

Another voice cut in and they all spun. The creature before them was huge, the same size as the demon, but with wings that pushed against the sides of the corridor. He wore jeans but no top and Jackson couldn’t help admiring the muscle tone. This guy did a lot of work on himself. And he had horns.
 

Jackson was stunned by a snarl from behind as Luke shoved past him. ‘You better have a really bloody good reason for all this. Are you and Az in this together? Why did you do this to me?’

Luke sounded desperate and pathetic and Jackson couldn’t help smiling. He felt something else as well, though. He couldn’t deny the faintest spark of panic as he saw the only other person who hadn’t shown any doubt since this all started, beginning to crack. It was fine though. He would stand strong. God had just saved him.
 

Bayleigh

She couldn’t take her eyes off him. She’d never been big on muscles and perfect bodies, but it wasn’t just that. He was magnetic, drawing her eyes toward him. The wings and horns should have been off-putting but somehow they blended into the background. She glanced at Alex, seeing the jaw that had looked strong and comforting a minute ago, and saw only his flaws. His nose was slightly bent and his eyes could be further apart. They were tiny things, but as her gaze was drawn back to Seph, they were magnified and made huge by his sheer perfection.
 

She let out a long breath and clasped her hands over her breasts. He was an angel but not at all like Luke. He was a real angel. Even his voice made her shudder. Seph looked over Luke’s head to catch her eyes and broke into a lopsided smile. Her heart leapt and she giggled.
 

She became acutely aware of Alex beside her, shifting from one foot to the other, and she looked at him again. He was staring at Seph, blushing, and she burst out laughing. ‘He’s quite something, huh?’

‘What? Of course not, I mean, he’s just an angel.’

‘Just an angel. Are you sure?’

‘Well, wings, horns, you know? Although I didn’t think the horns were part of the deal.’

‘They don’t really matter though, do they?’

He shook his head, muttering a dreamy ‘no’, and she laughed louder. Even Jackson had relaxed, his head cocked and his arms loose at his sides.
 

Luke wasn’t relaxed, though. ‘Why did you do this?’

‘I have an excellent reason. I have many excellent reasons, my friend. But I thought you were about to tell these lovely people why you are so concerned for their welfare.’

The angel smiled, showing sharp teeth hidden behind his perfect lips. Bayleigh transferred her gaze to Luke and found herself wondering whether he looked the same, before he came to Earth. The way he’d looked at her a minute ago… she shivered and smiled. Luke turned to them, mouth open and a scowl on his face, when the door opened and Etienne burst through followed by his soldiers.
 

The robed man took one look at Seph and dropped to the floor, pressing his nose into the stone. The soldiers followed suit and Bayleigh stared at their backs. It made sense, in a weird way. Actually, it made sense in every way. This was an angel, God’s disciple on Earth. Of course they would defer to him. She wouldn’t mind deferring to him. She found herself wondering how the deferring would feel and felt the heat rush to her cheeks.
 

‘I will tell you later, in private.’ Luke said. ‘For now, we need to move.’

He stepped away from Seph and the angel grabbed his arm. Bayleigh took a sharp breath as Luke snarled. His entire body spun and his fist caught Seph square in the chest. The angel flew down the corridor, his wings smacking against the walls and feathers flying. But his grip on Luke didn’t loosen and he was dragged along for the ride.
 

‘Come on, we need to go.’ Alex said.

She turned to him, shaking her head. ‘What about Luke?’

‘What about him, did you see that? I don’t think we need to worry.’

The soldiers were rising from their obeisance. She swore and raced after the others as they ran through the wall and out into St Paul’s. The dim cold of the cathedral was like a soothing bath after the bright intensity of the hidden corridors and her feet flew beneath her as they ran for the door down to the cavern.
 

Halfway across, soldiers appeared at the entrance and Alex veered away, coming to a stop behind a pillar. She caught them and the four of them huddled together, panting. Only she wasn’t panting. In fact, she felt amazing, as though she’d just woken from a great sleep. She spoke while the others caught their breath. ‘We can’t go that way. They’re obviously down there looking for the part.’

‘So where?’

‘Out the front door?’ A thought struck her. ‘Maybe we could get another device from one of the trucks. That was part of the plan, right?’

Jackson shook his head. ‘The plan is to rescue the ladies.’

‘We can’t do that without Luke.’

‘Who says Luke’s coming back?’

She thumped him on the arm and was surprised to see him wince and draw away. ‘Of course he’s coming back. That was Seph. They were friends.’

‘Were?’

She shrugged at Alex. ‘I don’t know now. That didn’t look very friendly. But we can’t get the hostages now, the soldiers are waiting for us.’

Jackson snarled and shook his head, but he stayed where he was. Bayleigh set off, scampering to the next pillar and then the next. She got to the third and checked the others were with her. They weren’t. They were still crouched behind the first pillar, staring at her. She gestured for them to follow and one by one they set off, moving far too slowly across the floor towards her.
 

By some miracle they reached her without being spotted. The soldiers were heading for the other secret corridor and paying no attention to the rest of the cathedral. The moment Alex caught up she set off again, drawing nearer the entrance. He raced after her and slumped down behind the pillar, huffing and puffing. ‘Any chance… you could… slow down a bit?’

‘I’m not going very fast.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Hah, hah, very funny. I didn’t know you were mega sporty.’

She snorted. ‘I’m really not.’

‘You just ran fifty metres faster than I’ve ever seen anyone run it. Ever. And you aren’t even out of breath.’

‘Oh.’

She made a guilty face but felt anything but. She felt awesome, like she was never going to run out of energy. Was this the spell? Something had happened when she was holding Ed’s hand. At first she’d felt it between her legs and only just managed to stay on her feet. Then it took all of her, like the best orgasm she’d ever had.
 

She closed her eyes and found the feeling again. Warmth spread around her body. Something had happened. She opened her eyes. All three of the guys stared at her, mouths hanging open.
 

‘What?’

Jackson sniggered. ‘You look good, girl. You wanna be careful, looking like that with all these single men around.’

Alex put his hand on Jackson’s arm. ‘Oi, leave it out.’

Jackson shoved his hand away and got right up in his face. ‘Or what?’

‘What?’

‘Leave it out or what?’

‘Really? Jackson, we aren’t in school anymore. Grow up.’

Jackson growled and raised his fist.
 

‘Hey, that’s enough, cut it out.’ Her voice had the desired effect and he lowered his arm reluctantly.

‘Don’t tell me what to do.’

‘Don’t be rude to Bayleigh.’

Alex was standing up for her, to Jackson of all people. That was pretty big. ‘Come on, let’s go.’