Trepidation (27 page)

“We got snowed in,” I said.

“Well, let’s get you home. The others are outside and downstairs.”

I was more than happy to leave our own personal ice tomb. Our friends made quick work of digging our truck out, and we made the slow trek home through the snow.

Back at the apartment, Kate and I slept in front of the fire, trying to thaw out from our very unpleasant stay in that frozen, bug-infested nightmare. 

***

W
hen morning came, the apartment was freezing. I put on jeans and a sweatshirt and walked into the living room. Everybody was gone except Lucas, who was putting wood on the fire. “It’s freezing,” I said.

“Tell me about it. After we got back last night, I worked the nightshift, and I’m still wound up. I’m gonna grab something to eat, warm up, then catch some Z’s.”

I dug through the cupboard and opened two cans of tuna, one for me and one for Lucas.

He grabbed a spoon and dug right in. “Thanks, Dean.”

“Not a problem. I mean, you did save my butt last night, getting us out of that shop and home through that snowstorm.”

“About that...”

I cocked a brow. “Great. I feel a lecture coming on.”

“Dean...”

“What?” I asked. “How did you expect me to get home in that mess? We were trapped, and—”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it? I’m getting a little tired of you and Nick and even Val treating me like a kid. I’m sick of—”

“Hey! Calm down, would ya? It’s just...well, you left Kate alone last night to go on a ghost hunt, man.”

I huffed. “She told you that?”

He sat down and propped up his feet on the coffee table. “Yeah.”

“I made a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

“She might’ve been killed, Dean.”

“Kate can handle herself.”

“What if a herd had jumped her?”

“What could I have done if they did? They would have eaten me too.” With that, I sat down on the couch, and Sparkles hopped up into my lap, looking pleadingly at my tuna can.

“Let me rephrase that. What if one came out of nowhere and you weren’t there? You didn’t have her back, Dean.”

I pondered his words, and they stung a bit because they were true. Max sent us on missions with partners because no one could afford to be alone for even a minute. Leaving Kate left her vulnerable, and that was stupid and selfish on my part. “I screwed up,” I said.

“I hope that’s all it was.”

I cocked a brow. “Huh? What else would it be?”

“You’re no good to this team if you’re stressed out to the point of having hallucinations. Jackie’s gone, Dean. You can’t keep risking your life and ours to try to find her. That can get you killed. Heck, it almost did. Kate said you were attacked by zombies, and that never woulda happened if you would’ve gone back into the house.”

“What, Lucas? Nick’s not here, so you feel like you have to fill in for him, acting like a bully and criticizing me?” I retorted.

“No, bro. It’s not like that. Jackie’s death hit you hard, and I know you’re still grieving. It’s just...well, we can’t have you making mistakes that are gonna get one of us killed.”

“Last time I checked, Lucas, you weren’t a freaking shrink. Can’t we just change the subject?”

“Promise me you’ll never do that again.”

“Fine. It’ll never happen again.”

“Good, because I don’t want anything to happen to Kate.”

When he smiled, I knew instantly what it was really all about, and I recalled the hug he’d given to Kate the night before. The two of them had been doing a lot of guard duty together, and it suddenly dawned on me that there was more than that going on between them. “So you like Kate, huh?” I said with a huge smile.

“Of course I do.”

“No, I mean, you
like
her—like, you think she’s hot.”

He grinned. “She is. Val and I didn’t work out, but I’ve got a whole lot more in common with Kate.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“For starters, she laughs at my jokes.”

“Does she know you like her?” I asked.

“Um, judging by the way she kissed me last night, I’m pretty sure she does.”

“You and Kate? Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Does Val know?” I asked.

“No, and I’d like to keep it that way. I’d rather not turn this whole thing into
Guns and the Restless
. Please keep it on the down-low, li’l bro.”

“That’s why you came for us in the blizzard. You were worried about Kate.”

“Yeah, but I was worried about you too. We go way back.”

“You gotta tell Val,” I said.

“Huh? She already knows you and me go way back.”

“Lucas, cut the jokes. You know what I mean. Val needs to know you like Kate.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not sure she can handle it. I think she’s still totally hung up on me, even if she won’t admit it.”

“Trust me, Val’s moved on.”

“I don’t think so. She wants me bad, and she likes wild guys. Plus, my hair’s grown back. My Army buzz is no longer an issue.”

“She really hated that.”

“Hated it? She
loathed
it.”

“Well, her new bad boy has hair down to his shoulders, and he’s a little more...mature”

He raised a brow. “What? Who?”

I cleared my throat and tried to speak, but no words came out.

“I have every right to know, and this is a small world, Dean. Don’t think I won’t find out, because I will.”

“Max.”

He stood suddenly, almost spilling the remainder of his tuna, as if it was the most shocking news he’d ever heard. “I’m sorry? Did you say Max? As in Max, our fearless leader?”

“The one and only.”

“No way!”

“Yes way.”

“I-I had no idea. She sure moved on pretty quick.”

“And you didn’t? Besides, it’s not like you guys ever had a relationship or anything.”

“No, but I really cared about her. I still do.”

“Maybe you two should talk about it, clear the air.”

“Yeah, I will,” he said.

“Good.”

“But Max isn’t right for her. I mean, he’s, like, forty, isn’t he?”

“He’s definitely older, that’s for sure.”

“I don’t like it,” he roared, “not one tiny bit.” He threw the empty, fishy-smelling can away, then looked at me. “I’m going to bed. I’m pretty beat.”

“’Night, Lucas,” I said.

“’Night.” And with that, he walked off and shut the door, obviously all out of jokes.

I knew he was pissed that Val was dating Max, and I wasn’t too happy about it either. I tried to tell myself it was because he was too old for her, but I had to wonder if I was just being selfish. I was scared that she’d choose to stay with Max when we left, that she might want to put down roots in Fairport, and that scared me more than anything.

***

I
was walking down the street with a group of guys. We were coming back from a perimeter check. It was freezing and we wanted to hurry back to the apartment complex to warm up. The bushes rustled and armed hybrids surrounded us. Six of us against fifty of them was no match. They took our weapons before we knew what hit us. They had everyone lie down flat on the snowy grass except me. I soon found out why. Charlie walked toward me and smiled.

“I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time,” I said.

“That’s touching, Dean. It is, but that’s not why I’m here.”

“You killed Jackie!” I said as emotion consumed me.

“That was Jonathon. But he’s dead now. So your vengeance should be appeased. He got what he deserved.”

“He said it was you.”

“I can honestly tell you that I did
not
kill Jackie.”

I could feel the heat in my face rising. I wanted to tackle Charlie and sucker punch him. I knew that wouldn’t solve anything. But a few hits sure would make me feel a whole lot better.

“I hope we can be friends,” he said.

I shook my head. He must be delusional. “No, not ever. You left me down in that lab!”

He tapped his chin. “Wait a minute. If memory serves me correct, you knocked me out to go down there.”

“That was Lucas, not me.”

“I couldn’t let you out,” he said. “One of the idiots down there tinkered with the wiring opening all the cages to the infected animals and to the hybrids. And I had no idea where you were down there in the dark. How was I supposed to find you in all that mess without getting infected or killed?”

“You sent in zombies when we tried to escape through one of the exits.”

He smiled slyly. “I figured they could clean house and eat all the infected animals. How else was I going to get my lab back?”

“You’re sick, Charlie!” I shouted. “And you would’ve never got your lab back from those hybrids without getting killed. You’re lucky Jonathon destroyed it.”

He peered at me intently. “You weren’t my target at all. I really felt bad especially when you came to my rescue and saved my life.”

I shuddered at the memories. “I almost died.”

“I can’t believe you survived,” he said. “It’s truly amazing. You define the word ‘survivor’.”

“No thanks to you.”

“If I could’ve gotten you out, you know I would’ve. Those hybrids were murdering everything around them. And you could’ve let the virus out, infecting every single animal around here.”

“As you can see, I didn’t spread the virus. The animals are fine.”

“You’re lucky. But then that does run in your blood.”

“Didn’t you learn from the last fiasco that breeding hybrids is a dangerous business? Especially when you lost control of them?” I motioned around me at all the hybrids.” Looks like you cooked up a new batch. I hope these ones don’t go all psycho on you like the last batch.”

“You’re cocky, Dean. And I like that. I could kill you in a heartbeat, yet, you still run your mouth.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I want you to give Max a message,” he said.

“And what’s that?”

“There’s been lots of violence in this town. And I don’t want to cause any more. I’m taking over Fairport. I’ll give Max and his people a few days to pack up and leave. If he doesn’t, then I’ll be forced to unleash my army.”

“Did you give Z the same courtesy warning?”

“Yes, I did. But things didn’t go so well. His group shot at us and we had to dispose of the group. I thought that if I told you, things might go more smoothly and we wouldn’t have a repeat situation.”

“I’ll deliver your message to Max. But he won’t back down.”

“He’s been warned.”

“Gotcha ya.”

“I was born and raised here in Fairport,” he said proudly. “Max just came to the city after the outbreak. Z is even newer. He only came a few months ago. This was my town way before it was any of yours. And I love it more than anything. Just remember that.” 

“I will keep that in mind,” I said.

And with that Charlie and his minions disappeared into the foliage. They left our weapons in a pile and we quickly reclaimed them.

“Let’s go after them,” one of the guys said.

I blinked. “No, there are way too many hybrids.”

“We can ambush them by surprise.”

“And end up dead like Z’s men when they thought they could fight against Charlie and his hybrids? This is not the way to go about it. We need a smokin’ hot plan. It needs to be planned precisely and well executed. Let’s just leave and tell Max what happened.”

They agreed and we walked back through the snow to the Windsor apartment complex. We told Max everything and everyone vowed to give Charlie and his minions’ one heck of a fight because we weren’t leaving. Nobody was. 

***

T
he next day, I learned more horrible news: Things had heated up between Max and Z. Z had launched an attack on the city, killing ten innocent victims. We were all outraged, and Max was prepared to take out the warehouse at nightfall, ready to put Z out of his misery. We all knew there was no way to make peace with that warmonger, and we couldn’t wait any longer. The time had come.

Max went over the battle plan, and when the time came for action, I was more than ready. I’d had enough of that maniac, and I wanted him out of commission.

We parked a few streets away and split up into groups, just the way Max had instructed.  The thing we wanted to do was hurt any of the survivors in there. We didn’t want to hurt any of the survivors. We just wanted Z, the brains behind that operation, the sick mastermind who had no problem torturing and killing men, women, and even children without even batting an eye.

Nick, ever my bodyguard, wouldn’t let me or Claire be on the frontlines, so we took positions on the roof on the adjacent building. Nick and Lucas had taken out the security detail guarding the building, and Val had thrown a smoke bomb inside once the door was open, to smoke out any guards in there.

I was the best sharpshooter around, so I got into position and waited for my cue to play sniper. Through my scope, I watched Max’s men set up tripwires and tape small explosives onto the buildings. When they scurried away, I noticed several shadowy figures walking toward the building. I aimed my rifle and looked through the scope. “Are those hooded men Z’s guys?” I asked.

Claire peered through her scope. “I’m locked on. They’re not with us.”

When the shadowy beings turned and revealed their faces, I gasped at their greenish-black skin and white eyes.

Claire must’ve seen the same thing, because she looked at me with wide eyes, stunned. “They’re zombies,” she said.

I stared through my scope again. “Okay, then let’s take ‘em out.”

“On it,” she replied, pointing her weapon at the corpses.

I focused on the first zombie’s head, but just as I was about to squeeze the trigger, one of Z’s men screamed in agony when a zombie savagely bit into his neck like a rabid animal. I squeezed off a shot, and the zombie dropped.

Another zombie bent over and spoke to the fallen one, as if they were friends, and I noticed that one of them had a gun. I shuddered at the realization. “That’s a hybrid!” I shouted. “Charlie’s launched an attack against Z.”

“Wow. Talk about biological warfare!”

“Yeah, and they’ll take down anything in their path. They could bite Nick or Lucas, who aren’t expecting them.”

Claire glanced over at me in horror. “Then we need to eliminate the threat.”