The Z Word Read online

  “It's a virus. It enters the bloodstream at the site of the bite, then attacks and reproduces in the frontal lobes of the brain.”

  “Ugh, Gareth, how do you even know this stuff?”

  He frowned. “I just do.”

  “So then what? It makes mush of my brains? Then I go all moany and bitey?”

  “You...die first, then reanimate.”

  He pressed his lips together. Seffy noticed a tear falling from his face and plopping into the water.

  “I can't do this.” He dropped the towel onto the cracked countertop and pulled her into a fierce hug.

  Seffy pressed her face into the hollow of his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut. She heard the pounding of his heart and was sorry she'd caused him any pain. At the same time she wondered why it took her approaching death to get this attention from him. In the next instant, she chastised herself for being cynical. He was here now and that's all that mattered.

  Seffy pulled away and looked up at him. “You know, there is a bit of poetic justice that I'll be going this way. It's a sorry end to my sorry life...all brought on by my inner skank.”

  Gareth's eyes grew hot. “Don't talk like that.”

  Seffy shuddered under his furious expression.

  He grabbed the remaining bowls and dried them with the towels. Someone came up behind them.

  “You'll be sleeping in the corner of the kitchen,” Malone said, “away from the others.” He pointed to a dark part of the room. “I'll put down a bed roll for you and keep watch through the night.”

  Seffy didn't know what he expected her to say. “Uh, okay.”

  Malone put his words into action and grabbed a bedroll. He rolled it out on the floor and pulled a chair over next to it. Then, he grabbed his gun.

  Seffy dried off her hands, shrugged at Gareth, then sank onto the bedroll, cross-legged, trying to be brave. She took a deep breath. Okay, I've had my cry, I know my regrets. And on some level I can admit that I'll be relieved it's all over. She leaned forward and waved to the group. “Good night, everyone.”

  No one looked her way except Trent, with his burning eyes and sweaty face. Yay.

  As Malone settled himself in the chair with the rifle over his lap, Lani came over and gave her a hug. “I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Addison was next. She gave a quick, hard hug then stood up. “Only you would make out with a zombie, Sef, I swear.”

  Seffy lifted a corner of her mouth. “I know, right?”

  Gareth was last. He knelt down and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead then looked at her, emotion welling in his brown eyes. “If anyone can beat this, it's you.”

  She nodded and drew her brows together in an expression of determination. “I'm gonna give it that ol' college try, don't worry.”

  He sighed, not amused. “Try and get some rest.”

  She let out a small laugh. “Should be easy since I'm so damn tired.”

  “It has been a rough day.” He smiled and leaned close. “Love you, Sef.”

  Traitorous tears burned the back of her lids. Well, now.

  Gareth rose to his feet and went back to sit with Lani and Addison. Seffy cleared her throat, then with one last look at Malone's grim face, she curled up in a ball on her side, facing away from the others. Closing her eyes, she let her muscles relax one by one. Memories flooded her mind of the years with her friends when they had nobody but each other. Their relationships had gone a little off the rails lately. Maybe her absence would bring back balance.

  Seffy breathed deep, trying to be sensitive to any changes in her body. What was happening? How would it feel to die? Where would she end up afterward? She'd already been to hell, so that didn't scare her so much. Maybe she'd just cease to exist. And in her heart of hearts, she was okay with that.

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she visualized happy thing. Right now she wasn't in some rusted old bomb shelter, but snuggled in the folds of her down comforter, mellow California sunlight streaming through the lace curtains at her window, the scent of her favorite pomegranate candle in the air.

  ***

  Seffy stretched and cracked open one eye. What time is it? Damn, I can't be late for work. She eased her head in the direction of her clock radio. No red numbers stared back. Frowning, she pushed herself up onto her elbows. The room came into focus, which brought the now-familiar black wave of despair at waking up in a safe house. Crap. Maybe, just maybe one of these days I will wake back up in my own damn bed.

  Seffy stretched her arms over her head and looked around. Soft snores punctuated the stillness. She grimaced in confusion at the pair of boots sitting next to her bedroll. Then the events of the previous evening overtook her brain. She gasped and looked down at her hands, then felt her face. They seemed normal. Her heart began to hammer.

  Hey, I'm not dead! Or reanimated! Her smile faded. Unless I've only been asleep for like ten minutes.

  Seffy quietly got to her feet in order not to disturb Mr. Trigger Happy. She noticed his watch on the table next to the chair. She picked it up and saw it was six in the morning. I made it through the night! Exultation swept through her. She tried to remember how long it took for Clay to change, but was too excited to think it through.

  She kicked Malone's boot and watched as he snorted his way to consciousness. When his eyes flickered open, she smiled. “You know, I could've eaten you all gone by now.”

  Malone's eyes bulged and he scrabbled for his gun, which had slipped to the floor.

  “Dude, I'm fine.” Her smiled slipped slightly. “Unless I'm a late bloomer.”

  He checked his watch. “Seems like it woulda happened by now.”

  She heard rustling from the living room as everyone awoke, and suddenly Gareth was in front of her, scrubbing his hair with his hands. “Sef?”

  “Reporting for duty.” It was cheesy, but happiness bubbled up within her.

  His sleepy face broke into a smile and he picked her up, hugging her hard. More arms grabbed her until she was in a group hug which threatened to suffocate her. As Lani, Addison and Gareth back away and gazed at her in wonder, Malone stood up and spit into a cup on the table.

  “Well, princess,” he said with an evil grin, “your stock just went up.”

  Chapter Ten

  “What's that supposed to mean?” Seffy didn't expect a response since Malone was not one to over-share.

  He rose from his chair and looked down at her with suspicion. “You'll find out.”

  Some of her happiness dimmed. Oh, great. Another inscrutable response.

  “Malone,” Lani scolded.

  “Ignore him,” Gareth said, sliding his arm around Seffy and giving her another squeeze. “We're just glad you're you.”

  “Yeah,” Addison said, “It's safe to say I still prefer the annoying you to a brain-eating you.”

  “Wow, Addy, words to treasure.”

  The redhead sent her a tired smile. “Anytime.”

  She glanced across the room and saw Trent staring at her with a strange light in his eyes. She looked away. “So, what's the plan now?”

  Malone watched the other group huddled on the couch. “We head to the next safe house.”

  “That's it?” Gareth said.

  “Yeah, you got a better idea?”

  “I think it's time for some questions to be answered.”

  Malone rooted around in several different pockets of his coveralls and pulled out a cigar. He stuck it between his teeth without lighting it. “What kind of questions?” he mumbled around the stogie.

  “For starters, how did we get to Montana?”

  Malone's dark brows went up a notch. “You said you drove here.”

  Gareth firmed his lips for a moment. “What about the others then? They didn't have a car either.”

  “I don't know how you all got here. Space aliens?”

  “Hey,” Addison said, alarmed, “we're not gonna talk about probing, are we?”

  Gareth crossed his arms over his ch
est. “Okay, where did the zombies come from then?”

  “Yeah,” Seffy said, trying to sound tough and accusing at the same time, and failing.

  “Can't tell you that yet.”

  “What?” yelled Trent, jumping up, a vein throbbing in his forehead. “You know how the zombies got here?”

  “Hey, it wasn't my doing.”

  “God,” Addy said, looking at Malone with new eyes. “Are you in on this?”

  He chomped his cigar and glared at her. “What's that supposed to mean?”

  “We're the ones asking the questions,” Gareth said.

  “Yeah, and it would help if he'd answer a few,” Addison said.

  Lani went up to Malone and patted his arm, her gaze beseeching. “The more we know, the more we can work together.”

  “All I can say right now is that when we get to the compound—”

  “Compound? You said safe house before.” Trent walked up to Malone and stabbed his finger toward his chest. Perspiration poured down the lean lines of his face. “Which is it, pal?”

  Seffy watched Malone's icy mien chill a few more degrees. Then she looked at Trent's wrecked appearance and red-rimmed eyes. “Are you sick?”

  Trent's gaze swerved to hers. “Mind your own business!”

  She looked away with an inward shrug.

  “Q and A time is over, kiddies. If you want to survive, you'll follow me.” Malone yanked the cigar from his mouth, picked up his rifle, and stalked over to the kitchen table to put away his gun cleaning supplies.

  Addison rolled her eyes. “That went well.”

  “The zombie-wannabe is right,” Trent said, his voice as ragged as his appearance. “He knows something.”

  Zombie-wannabe? “Hey!” Seffy said, glaring at him.

  “Well, duh.” Addison gave him a once over then headed to one of the chairs and sat on the edge.

  Trent swiped at his forehead with his arm and stalked back to the wall he'd claimed as his own.

  “I'll make breakfast,” Lani announced in a nervous voice. “And everyone should use the facilities before we leave.”

  Well, my good news just landed back in bizarro land. Seffy went to help to stay occupied while her mind puzzled over Malone's reticence and her own escape from a fate worse than, er, death. They prepared oatmeal, and the last of it at that. She stared at the beige gray mush and was glad her complexion didn't match—which it would've had she become a zom...

  Had she been reanimated.

  She closed her eyes for a moment. Think of something else. Anything else. Keeping her eyes averted from breakfast, she got out a stack of enameled bowls and let Lani serve it up.

  Malone snatched a bowl and began to slurp. Seffy grabbed her middle, knowing she wouldn't be able to eat. Despite the fact she hadn't succumbed to a virus, physically she still felt rather fragile. Once all the breakfast stuff was cleaned up and put away, Seffy watched Gareth approach Malone.

  “When we go out again, I want weapons. In fact, we all need something. There will almost certainly be more zombies than when we got here and you can't expect us to risk our lives on your mysterious non-answers.”

  Malone sized him up with squinty eyes. “Fine.”

  “Real weapons. Not sticks or rocks. If you don't have any guns left, chain mail or trench spikes would work.”

  Trench spikes? Oh, Gareth.

  Malone stared at him for a few more seconds then pulled out a key on the silver chain from around his neck. He walked over to the darkest corner of the kitchen, kneeled down, and unlocked something. Seffy peered after him and saw a metal cabinet she hadn't noticed but had obviously slept near. From it, he pulled two more rifles, several machetes and an ax. He looked up at Gareth who loomed over him.

  “This is all I got.”

  Gareth grabbed the biggest of the extra rifles. “Shells?”

  Malone pulled out several boxes and smacked them onto the floor next to Gareth's feet.

  Gareth reached down and took one of the boxes. “This'll do.”

  “Can I have a gun?” Addison asked.

  “Nope,” Malone said, standing up after locking the cabinet.

  “Oh, so only guys get the guns? Gee, times get a little tough and we have to go all sexist?”

  “They ain't getting it either,” he said, jerking his head toward the others.

  “What?” Trent and Jared exploded at the same time.

  Malone fixed them with an baleful look. “You'd use it on me before you ever got near a zombie.” He turned. “Seffy gets it.”

  Now it was Addison's turn to explode. “That's ridiculous! She doesn't know the first thing about guns!”

  “That's how it works or you're on your own.”

  Trent marched over and grabbed the ax, making Seffy shudder. A rifle might not be the worst of Malone's problems, especially as the blond was going from weird to scary.

  Gareth took the other rifle and handed it to her. Seffy looked up at him and he gave her a little nod. She had no clue why Malone thought she should have one. She hadn't had the nerve to pull the trigger last time. The wood stock was cold in her hands. When she glanced up, she intercepted a miffed glare from Addison. Another shudder.

  Gareth took her aside and showed her how to load and cock the gun. Seffy feigned interest. She'd feel better using it like a baseball bat. Which meant the creatures would have to be a lot closer. Within snack radius as Malone would say. Shudderpalooza.

  Lani walked over to the others. “Since we'll be fighting side by side, we should properly introduce ourselves.” Which she did, then waited for them to return the favor. Trent stared at her with his sullen, sickly expression. “The blonde is Cynthia, and the brunette is Eva. He's Jared.”

  Lani gave them a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”

  The girls stared at her as if she'd asked to eat their brains. Jared ignored them.

  Lani returned to Addison's side. “Tough crowd.”

  “You know,” Addison said toward the others, “if you refuse to become a part of the core group, you'll be picked off one by one, like extras with no names. If I were you, I wouldn't be so standoffish.”

  “Where you getting your info?” Trent asked with a sneer. “Zombie movies?”

  Addison shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Seffy stared at her in dismay. Addison watches zombie movies, too?

  “I don't know why you're all acting like this is all okay,” Cynthia snapped. “We want to go home. NOW.”

  “Feel free to leave at any time,” Malone said laconically.

  “I can't stand this!” Eva said in a shrill voice. “I can't just walk for miles and miles!” She burst into tears. Within moments, mascara ran down her shiny cheeks.

  God, is that how I acted? Is that how I looked?

  Malone ignored them all and filled a knapsack with supplies.

  “MRE's,” Gareth whispered into her ear. Seffy shot him a confused look.

  “Meals Ready to Eat. Army issue food.”

  She surveyed his suspiciously knowledgeable expression.

  “I just know,” he said with a crooked smile, then pulled her into another hug.

  “Uh huh.” She absorbed his touch, guessing his hugs would soon be in short supply once things returned to normal.

  Well, normal for here.

  “Anyone needing to use the facilities better do it now before we leave,” Lani reminded everyone in a hyper cheerful voice despite the muffled sobs of the two new girls.

  Seffy heeded Malone's words since the bathroom was empty at the moment. She also brushed her teeth and hair. Attention to personal hygiene was key even when one might become dinner. Maybe even more so.

  Once everyone had the chance to freshen up, Malone put his ear to the metal door and listened. After several minutes, he opened it and pushed out the muzzle of the rifle.

  “You do know every time you fire the gun, it will only attract more zombies,” Gareth said in a low voice.

  The bald man looked in Gareth's direction. �
�Yeah, well that's a risk I'm willing to take. If I can see 'em, then I can kill 'em.”

  “What happens when you run out of ammo?”

  “I won't,” Malone muttered.

  He pushed through the crack in the door while everyone else held their breath. Just when it seemed like the coast was clear, the sudden blast of the rifle made them all jump. Malone poked his shiny head back into the room. “Got 'im. Right between the eyes.” Then he grinned, the cigar sticking out of one corner of his mouth. “It's safe to come on out now, people.”

  Seffy's empty stomach seized up as she shuffled outside with everyone else. She shielded her eyes against the pink glare. Would the sun ever be yellow again?

  They all stood, blinking in the light, struggling to get their bearings. Seffy gripped the rifle and looked at her friends. Just a few days ago they were planning to have lunch at Canter's Deli. Did L.A. still exist? Was Verity still in the tanning salon? Her skin becoming more golden while Seffy's paled to insignificance?

  Malone jerked his head. “Okay, look alive!”

  Gareth cringed at the volume of his voice.

  “It's about seven miles, so keep up. I won't be getting involved in any heroics. If you're stupid enough to get eaten, rest assured I'll be there to finish you off.”

  “Ew,” Addison said. “Does he mean eat what's left or kill the pre-zombie?”

  “Of course he means kill the pre-zombie,” Lani said, trying to be reassuring, but her voice wavered.

  Seffy wondered why Lani continued to stick up for the guy. How could she find him attractive, what with his henchman vibe and non-answers? What was his story? Why was he out in the middle of nowhere going from house to house? As they filed past the dead body, whose blood-stained shirt somehow complemented the green plaid pants, she decided nothing made sense anyway. Right now she just needed to be thankful to be alive.

  And she was. More or less.

  Malone set out and they all endeavored to keep up, like recalcitrant baby ducks following a daddy duck. Seffy snickered at the image, then fought to suppress a fit of the giggles. And failed. Trent's head spun around like he was demon-possessed, which made Seffy snort all the harder. Man, she was losing it—the byproduct of waking up to an impossible situation in general and nearly becoming a zombie, specifically.