Page 27

They’d been crouched and hiding for what seemed like ages. She’d tried to ask Brie what they were waiting for, but Brie’s glare shut her up. The shamblers had entered the city hours ago. A chill set in after the sun left the sky. Renee was hungry and tired from all the miles they’d marched. Brie’s fingers squeezed Renee’s arm as her eyes flicked over the pile of debris they hid behind.

Humans. Militant ones who worked as a unit cleared out the remaining shamblers. Random gunfire had been going off since they arrived, but it was their first time seeing a group of living people. Seconds later, Brie made some clicks and guttural noises. The fast zombies leaped from their hiding places and attacked.

“No!” Renee cried out, but it didn’t have the desired effect. One human saw her and then aimed his gun directly at her. Shit! The fast zombie to his right tore into him as Renee was knocked on her ass.

“Stupid!” Brie snarled at her.

Renee didn’t argue. Shouting out like that had been stupid.

Brie bellowed and moved her hands, issuing orders to the pack. She yanked Renee up and thrust her into the open. The zombies feasted on the dead humans; two fought over the intestines of a fallen soldier. Renee bit her lip and looked elsewhere. She’d never be okay with this. Never get used to it.

She felt worse as they quietly dashed through the city. Tears obscured her vision, and she knew it would only infuriate Brie more. More gunfire. Brie yanked her behind some cars and waited.

“Go around wide. Report.” Brie told the pack that followed them.

Several minutes later, some odd clicking and grunting above told them another group was just ahead. Renee pinched her brows. Another group? She wanted to avoid people, and it seemed like they ran into them everywhere they went.

“Go ahead. Call for help.” Brie said and signaled back before she turned and leveled her gaze at Renee. “Are you going to be stupid again?” she asked in her normal voice.

“No.” Renee’s stomach rolled, not just because she was starving and not because the gore was making her nauseous. It was because she didn’t know what she would do when they encountered the other group. She had to help the humans, she was one of them, but… she didn’t want Brie or Zane to get hurt.

They advanced closer to the sounds of fighting. Cries for help filled the air. Horrible, scared voices who didn’t want to die. Both she and Brie hurried to the scene. She had to do something, but who would she help? The humans who howled in misery? Or the horde?

When they reached the fight, Renee froze. Her breaths were shallow as she tried to understand what she viewed before her. Brie, beautiful, brave Brie, charged in to save her group. The screams and the cries hadn’t been the humans. It had been the zombies. Had they always screamed in pain? Did humans even realize how much agony they were in? Renee’s heart beat so hard it threatened to break free from her chest.

Brie moved around the humans like a dancer, fluid and deadly. Her expression was so cold as she tore out a man’s throat while evading a machete beside her. She twisted and knocked his feet out from under him and used the machete he’d threatened her with to impale him. Her fancy sunflower shirt was ruined.

“Brie!” Renee called out when another human raised his gun at her friend’s head.

Brie spun to the side and jumped in the air. The man turned and aimed his rifle at Renee. Shit. Her own people were going to kill her. It’d be her own fault. She didn’t want Brie to die. He squeezed the trigger, but Brie knocked the rifle up, smacking him in his face, dazing him. A heartbeat later, she ripped his head off.

Renee stumbled back. Too much.

All of it.

She couldn’t stay there. Brie’s eyes widened, and she shook her head.

“I’m sorry. So sorry.”

Renee turned on her heel and ran. She ran unthinkingly down an alley and then pivoted and ran down another. No sense of direction on where she’d gone. She had tried, and wanted to be a good friend, Renee especially didn’t want to hurt Zane. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. How she truly hated this life. Everything since the end had been all about death and blood.

Renny, stop running.

Her brother’s voice echoed off the buildings’ walls, but she ignored it and pounded her feet against the street. Renee wasn’t cut out for any of this, which was why no one ever wanted her around.

Only out of desperation, would others let her travel with them. Most of the time, her only duties were to stay awake, make food, and warn them if zombies were headed in their direction. Sometimes they wanted her to search for supplies in the most dangerous areas because they didn’t care if she made it back or not.

She was useless because she couldn’t deal with the harsh realities of life. At least this one. She never liked horror, avoiding all the scary stories or movies. Now, everything was a horror movie. She tried to keep her vision clear by wiping away the tears, but they kept coming. Cries of pain echoed off the walls of the buildings she darted past. She couldn’t tell anymore if they were human or zombie.

Renee stopped and slumped down a wall. Alone. Always alone. She couldn’t make it with the humans and wouldn’t make it with the undead. No point. There wasn’t any point anymore. Her eyes slid shut. Just find the happy place. Find the happy place to remind herself why she kept fighting.

Shit. Ice cream on a beach wasn’t doing it.

The hand slid up her back. She let out a breath. There it was. Cool fingers brushed her hair away, causing tingles on her neck. It kinda reminded her of the tingles she felt when Zane touched her. Nope, she couldn’t think about him now. Held. She’d been held, cherished. Zane made her feel that way. Stop it . She was not thinking about him.

Crap. Noise. Her eyes flew open and scanned the alleyway, almost expecting to hear her brother’s voice in her ear, warning her to get moving. Someone was getting closer and fast. There was nowhere to hide and she would have to jump to her feet to run.

Zane barreled around the corner, painted in blood, and appeared okay yet furious. He was in front of her in seconds. She shrunk against the wall.

“Renee.” He crouched down in front of her.

Her lips quivered. He’d hate her now. She loathed herself.

“Renee.” His tone was gentle as he smoothed down her hair.

She broke down and bawled like a baby. How could he dismantle her with only her name? Zane pulled her to his chest, where his heart thumped so rapidly, she was worried it might explode. A loud bang sounded, and his body rocked against hers. The vibrations from the bullet rippled through his body to her ear and were almost deafening. Directly beside her face was a hole in his chest. Another shot. Zane picked her up and ran at dizzying speed, rounding a corner.

Shouts, gunfire, and growls surrounded them as he ran. She caught glimpses of the chaos. There were weapons, fire, and teeth everywhere. They ended up in an old store when he finally put her down, and his eyes raked over her.

“I’m fine, but you’re hurt.” Her eyes were fixed on his shirt, which had a hole in his chest and splattering of blood all over.

“It’s nothing. I need you to stay here. There were more humans than expected. I need to know you’re safe.”

“You can’t keep fighting. You’re hurt.” Her shaking fingers traced his multiple wounds.

“There’s no choice. We fight, or we die.” His irises dimmed with his words.

“Monster!” a woman’s voice said.

In Renee’s peripheral, the woman advanced with a gun pointed at Zane. Without thinking, Renee spun and jerked the gun from the woman’s hand. It went off, but she ignored it and leapt on her.

A terrifying growl filled the store and almost paused her assault, but all Renee saw was red. No one - no one would take Zane from her.

Strong hands lifted her into the air. Renee screamed in frustration and swung her arms. Her fists were covered in red. What?

“Renee, my heart, shhh.” Zane held her, even when she shoved at him.

She wanted him to let her go but couldn’t get her hands free. She nipped at his chest. He inhaled sharply but didn’t let her go.

Muffled voices in the background filtered in over the sounds of blood rushing in her ears. Brie. One of the voices was Brie.

“That was her?” Brie asked.

Zane kept Renee locked in his arms, immobile. “Yes, I need you to finish the sweep. We’ll meet you soon. Make sure the others keep watch. The city’s almost cleaned out.”

Brie huffed. “Because of you. You decimated them to get to her. There will barely be enough now to feed the herd.”

“There is another settlement a day from here. They use the supplies in the city to sustain themselves.”

“Fine,” Brie snapped.

The only remaining sound was Renee’s own breathing and Zane’s heart. No longer struggling to escape, she trembled in his arms.

“Renee?”

She shook her head, keeping her face buried in his chest. Her mouth tasted like blood. It was… his blood. Her fingers touched her lips. Her tongue darted out and licked them. Not his. Odd that she immediately knew the difference. But his blood tasted like him, fresh and with a hint of citrus. The blood on her fingers was more metallic. It tasted delicious.

Lifting her head, she peered at the wounds showing from his torn shirt. His blood wasn’t black like the others. It was red. Not a typical human red, but still a shade of red.

Her eyes lifted to his face, and she stepped out of his arms, turning to the dead woman on the floor. Her hand flew up over her mouth in disgust. She was shredded to pieces. Renee stumbled backwards and rammed into a counter behind her.

“Renee.” His voice sounded so vulnerable.

She gazed at his handsome face. Better. So much better to look at him. Even though he was covered in death, his mouth and chin were bloody. He must’ve done that to the woman. But then she’d tried to kill him. Maybe it was okay.

Her hands shook when she pointed to his chest wounds. “You’re hurt.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“No.” Renee shook her head. Her voice was distorted and didn’t sound right. “You’re a zombie. Zombies don’t heal, they die. You can’t die.” She crumpled to the floor. He couldn’t leave her now, not like this. Nothing was right.

“I won’t.” He crouched down, leveling his gaze on her. “I promise, I won’t leave you. It won’t let me die.”

“You can’t die?”

“No.”

His voice sounded so despondent when he said it. Shouldn’t that make him happy? Who wouldn’t want to be immortal? That’s why he was their king. But then, who would want to be a zombie king?

His hands cupped her face. “Stay with me, please.” His voice trembled the way her body was.

It was like they’d traveled back in time, and Zane wasn’t the king of the undead, he was just Zane. A younger Zane, who was scared she was going to leave him. Where would she go? He already told her he’d always come back, always find her, and that she was his. She wanted to be his.

“Do you remember what happened to you?”

Renee didn’t know what he meant, so she just stared at him. After a moment, he lifted her up into his arms and carried her out of the store. She closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against his bleeding chest.