Zombie Games Book Five (End Zone) (18 page)

Father Brambati’s eyes widened. “Goodness child, have I done anything to harm you or the baby?”

She glared at him.
“No, but I heard you talking. You were okay with Billie sacrificing Adria!”

“
Why, that’s ridiculous,” sputtered Father Brambati. “I’m a man of faith. I’ve devoted my entire life to the church and your accusations are ridiculous.”

I narrowed my eyes.
“Of
faith
? I guess the real question is - with whom does
your
faith and devotion lie?”

“
Child, you’ve got me all wrong,” he replied, his face turning red. “I had no idea that they’d planned on sacrificing the infant. No idea at all!”

I turned to the couple, who’d been silent. “From what these two told me, they’d planned on sacrificing Adria to let Lucifer into our world. Father Brambati is in on it, too. Just as Kylie said.”

“Wild, are you certain about this?” asked Henry, looking unsure. “Because that’s a
mighty
strong accusation to make against a priest.”

“Henry, we are
not making this up,” I insisted. “He’s under Travis’s thumb, just like these two. Or rather, they were. You can’t trust any of them.”

“She’s right,” said Kylie, eyeing the couple suspiciously. “Especially these two.”

Henry paused. “Well, I’ve got to take your word for it. You, people, however,” he said, spitting out a wad of chew. “I don’t trust you as far as I can spit.”

Father Brambati took a step forward. “But Henry-”

“Save it,” he replied, cutting him off. “I’ve got no time for lies, especially from someone who’s dishonoring a position as a man of God.”

The priest
glared at him. “You’re going to regret this. All of you.”

Henry smirked. “Why is it when someone says that, the only thing regretted is not pulling the trigger fast enough.”

Father Brambati’s eyes lowered to Henry’s gun but he held his tongue.

“
Well, it’s certainly good to see you guys. How are you doing okay, Kylie?” asked Tiny, putting his arm around her.

She smiled up at him. “
Relieved.”

Nora cleared her throat.
“So… how is the baby?”

“Pretty good
,” said Kylie. “Considering what we’ve been through.”

Nora walked over and smiled down at the baby.
“If you’d like, I can hold her. I’m sure you’re just exhausted,” she said, pushing her dark hair behind her ears.

Kylie kissed Adria’s forehead. “No… she needs to have her diaper changed and m
y shirt is already kind of damp. I’ll just keep her for now.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t mind.”

“Believe me, she’s really wet.” Kylie turned to Tiny. “Um, so where’s my mom?”

He
groaned and slapped his forehead. “Oh hell, I forgot. She’s looking for you. I’ll go round them up so that they know you’re safe. Hey, where’s Allie?” he asked, frowning.

“I left her in Nordstrom’s,” I
replied.

He sighed in relief. “Good. I was almost afraid to ask. Well, I’ll
go and round up the rest of the group.”

“Okay,” I replied as he jogged towards the stairs.

“Bryce is
sure going to be happy to see you,” said Henry, his blue eyes softening. He chuckled. “In fact, I think he might be handcuffing you to his wrist from now on.”

I smiled.
“I think I might actually let him.”

The priest began to cough.

My smile fell. “You okay?”

“I could use something to drink,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“We’ll find you something when the others return,” said Henry.

“Bless you,” replied the priest.

I refrained from rolling my eyes.

Henry waved his gun towards a broken fountain
, a few feet away. “Why don’t you three sit over against that retaining wall, where I can keep an eye on you?”

The priest
sighed. “Look, I am no threat to you, friend. Please… just hear me out-”

“
My hearing is bad and my true friends know better than to try and pull the wool over my eyes,” stated Henry, tightening his grip on the gun. “So, unless you want to find out what’s on the other side of that bridge you were bragging about, I’d keep my mouth shut and sit your ass down like I told you!”

“That’s no way to talk to a man of God,” replied the priest in shock.

I snorted. “Really?” I said. “You’re honestly going to go there?”

“Just
go and sit your ass down already,” said Nora, looking aggravated.

Father Brambati’s
muttered something under his breath as he joined the others by the fountain.

Henry
sighed. “By George, I think he’s finally understanding us.”

“I hope so,”
I said in a low voice, looking at the trio uneasily. “But, I still don’t trust them. John was telling me that Lucifer was the one who started the zombie apocalypse. Apparently, he wants to kill Adria before she grows up and is strong enough to stand up to him.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Is that right?”

I bit my lower lip. “Yes. And after seeing Travis’s powers, I’m having a hard time not believing him.”

“Now listen here,
” said Henry with a determined look on his face. “There is no way in hell that I’m letting these people touch Adria, by golly. So, you just worry about your sister and keeping Bryce happy. Pay no mind to what that feller told you.”

“It’s kind of hard not thinking about it,” I said. “We’re talking about the devil.”

“Wild, don’t underestimate me,” he said. “Especially right now. Hell, I’ve gotten my second wind and I’m in the mood for a little Copenhagen and a little ass kicking,” he patted his shirt pocket and frowned. “And it looks like I’m all out of chew.”

I chuckled. “
It appears that we never run out of the latter, though.”

“You got that right,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

Still chuckling
, I walked over to the edge of the black hole and looked down. “You know, I wonder what’s
really
at the bottom of this?”

“
I don’t know and frankly, I don’t want to ever find out,” said Henry.

“
Can I look in the hole?” asked Kylie.

I turned to her. “Yeah, but not with Adria in your arms. I don’t want her getting near this thing.
You know, just in case.”

“Look
,” said Nora. “I can hold Adria. I really don’t care if she’s wet.”

“
Okay,” said Kylie. “I just want to get a quick peek at the hole.”

“No problem.”
Nora walked over to Kylie. She reached over and touched Adria’s cheek. “Hey there,” she said in a soft voice. “Remember me?”

The baby stared at Nora.

“Here,” said Kylie. “Don’t be shy, just take her.”

Nora
grinned and accepted the baby. “My, you’re as light as a feather.”

“Kylie!” hollered Kristie, rushing down the escalator. “Oh, thank God you’re okay!”

Kylie squealed and then ran towards her mother who was crying.

“Kylie,” sobbed Kristie, holding her close.

“I missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too, baby.
I was so worried,” said Kristie, closing her eyes.

Paige smiled at her sister over her mother’s shoulder.
“Missed you too, Paige.”

“Me
too, Ky,” said Paige, squeezing her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“You really
are
okay?” asked Kristie, pulling away. She touched her forehead and studied her face.

“Mom… I’m fine,” said Kylie, reassuringly

Paige walked over to me. “Seriously, you had us all worried when that jerk took off with you in his truck. Did you teach him a lesson?”

“No,” I replied sullenly. “
He took off.”

“Too bad
.” Paige turned towards Nora and her face paled. “Uh, who gave her the baby?”

Kristie
quickly released Kylie. “Hey, Nora, why don’t you give me Adria? She probably needs a diaper change.”

Nora shook her head
. “No, that’s okay,” she replied, backing away. “I’ve got her.”

“Nora,” said Paige in a stern voice. “Give my mother the baby. You’re getting
way too close to the hole. You might drop her.”

Nora looked at the baby and her forehead wrinkled. “You know, something isn’
t right, here.”

“What do you mean, isn’t right?” I asked.

“Nora,” warned Henry. “Watch out for that hole.”

She
didn’t say anything, just stared into Adria’s eyes.

“Nora, are you okay?” I asked, taking a step towards
her. I wondered if all the stress had finally gotten to her.

She licked her lips and then looked at me
. “I’m totally fine. Here,” she said holding out Adria by her armpits. “You can have her if you want.”

I reached out and grabbed the baby. “Thanks.”

Kristie walked over to me. “I’ll take her. Like I said, I’m sure she needs a diaper and formula. Tiny said he’d return with some.”

I handed her the baby and turned to Nora. “You sure you’re feeling okay?”

She smiled. “Yeah, why are you guys’ so paranoid? I’m fine. Really.”

A low hum echoed from the hole and
we all turned towards it.

“Oh, hell,
now
what’s going on?” said Henry.

Nora and I both stepped closer and
peered inside.

Small red lights. As they moved closer, they reminded me of eyes.

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Are those what I think they are?”

“Shit,” hollered Henry. “Everyone, find
cover!”

“Follow me,” ordered Kristie, running towards a
woman’s clothing shop with Adria. “We’ll be in the dressing rooms until you guys kill those damn things!”

“Cassie!” yelled Bryce.

With my heart pounding wildly in my chest, I turned towards the sound of his voice and began running
in that direction.

He ope
ned up his arms, obviously expecting me to enter them, but instead, I ran past him. “Run!” I yelled, hearing the loud screeches behind me.

Henry’s shotgun went off.

“Cassie, watch out!” yelled Bryce as dark shadows loomed above us.

I covered my head with my arms and kept running.

“In here!” hollered Bryce, grabbing me by the arm. He pulled me into a shoe store and then to the back room.

He slammed the door shut and then turned to me.
“Thank God you’re okay,” he said, pulling me into his arms.

I rested my cheek against his chest and closed my eyes
. “I’m sorry. I know I messed up. Again.”

He pulled away and looked down into my eyes.
“No, I messed up. I should have let you come with us into the police station.”

I smiled sheepishly. “It’s okay. I understand. You were just trying to protect me. But, you know… I
can
take care of myself.”

He smoothed the side of my hair. “I know you can, but it’s frustrating for a guy like me.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

He lowered his face until his lips were almost touching mine. “
I want to be the one that keeps you safe. Me. Your fiancé.”

“You do,” I whispered,
still loving the sound of that.

Fiancé
.

His lips touched mine for a brief moment. “
Only when you let me,” he replied, a smile tugging at his lips.

I smiled
back. “True.”

A scream from som
ewhere in the mall separated us. “That sounded like Paige,” I said in a shaky voice.

He swore. “
Figures. I want you to stay here. I’m going to take a look and see what’s happening.”

I stared at him in disbelief. Hadn’t we just talked about this?
“Bryce, I can help.”

His looked down at my hands.
“Do you have a weapon?”

I sighed. “No.”

He leaned forward and kissed my lips quickly. “Well, then there’s a better chance that you’ll become a liability if I let you ‘help’. Just…wait here and I’ll come back for you.”

“But…”

He raised my chin with his fingers and looked into my eyes. “Hey, no weapon and no but’s.”

I rolled my eyes.

He chuckled and ran away.

I sighed and then began looking around for some
thing to use against the creatures. Unfortunately, there was nothing but shoe horns and shoes.