Page 7

“Get up. You can’t sleep here. It’s not safe.” Brie’s voice cut into her dream; she was eating ice cream by the ocean.

“What?” Renee straightened and peered around, still alone in the shed she’d claimed for herself. She frowned at Brie’s bloody hands that clutched her arm. Renee smacked Brie’s arm aside and frowned at the smears of blood that stained the fabric of her sleeve now. “I’m fine.”

“I wasn’t asking.” Brie hauled her up.

“Wait. I want to take some water.” She loaded her arms with bottles.

Brie peered at her like she was crazy. Her lipstick was back on, and there wasn’t any blood on her face. She’d changed clothes, too. Now she wore a pretty dress that hung to her knees covered in roses. So weird.

“Yeah, I get it. You don’t get dehydrated, but I do.”

Brie huffed and led her outside. It was still night, and the undead roamed everywhere. Brie led her through the denser part of the sea of monsters until they arrived at a set of three buildings and the faster zombies milled around. Brie shoved her forward. Renee gave her the stink eye but trudged to the front of what appeared to be a tiny house.

“Go. He wants to talk to you. I can’t believe you pissed him off twice in one day. It’s like you want to actually die.”

Renee was about to open her mouth when Brie marched past her and opened the door. Biting her tongue, Renee entered the candlelit room behind Brie. The bastard sat in an old wingback chair like the king he was and glanced at Brie.

“She was asleep in one of the buildings,” Brie explained.

“Do better tomorrow. Get out.”

Brie shot her a warning look and closed the door. Renee peered around the room. No windows. It appeared to be built after the uprising. There was a door to the right that probably led to another tiny room. She straightened her back and put her bottles of water on the one table in the room, and refused to look at him. Nervous about being trapped with him, she opened the water and chugged it.

“What’s your name?”

His question caught her off guard. From the way Brie acted, she didn’t think anyone had names in the horde. Her first thought was to lie, but what did it matter?

“Renee. Why?”

“Renee.”

Her stomach fluttered at the sound of her name on his lips. “Yeah, why do you want to know my name?”

“Do you remember what happened to you?”

She turned toward him. Such a weird question, and she wasn’t sure what he meant by it. Perhaps he meant after she’d fallen and hit her head, but she’d been stuck with his horde the entire time. He was still dressed in black, but the clothes seemed newer because they weren’t covered in bits and pieces of flesh and gore.

“Is Brie your queen?”

“What?” He was the one to seem surprised this time.

“You gave her the zombie’s head, and she held it up. She keeps showing up and keeping tabs on me.”

“What is your obsession with court titles?”

She tried to resist staring at his lips when he spoke but, old habits. Lip reading was how she got by before and during the apocalypse. Sure, her cochlear implants were helpful, but she’d take advantage of whatever was visible to her to help piece together context and tone. His lips were smooth, not chapped like hers or most of the other humans she’d been around.

“It’s not an obsession. There’s a very obvious hierarchy here. Is it more of a tribe thing? Are you a chief?”

“No. That’s nonsense.”

“So is Brie your queen?”

His eyes narrowed. “Would it bother you if she was?”

Renee straightened. “No. I don’t care. I’m trying to understand my situation.”

He raised an eyebrow.

She threw her hands up in frustration. “I don’t know what you want. I don’t know why I’m here or why you don’t want them to eat me. I’m not any different from anyone else that used to live in this small town your horde just wiped off the map.” She swallowed hard. “I’m not stupid enough to think I can get away. There are too many of you, and I’m trying to figure out how to handle things.”

He stood and appeared in front of her so quickly she stumbled back. His hand circled her waist, preventing her from falling. When their eyes locked, it was like everything around them faded except for the sounds of their heartbeats. Her eyes widened. His heart thundered against hers. Zombies were dead. They didn’t have heartbeats. She was questioning her own sanity.

Renee studied his handsome face. Thin, almost emaciated, with sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and his blue and purple veins prominently stood out against the alabaster white tone of skin. The shadows under his eyes accented the bright goldish color. His long, dark hair fell around his face and hung past his shoulders. It took all of her willpower not to reach out and trace his jaw or brush his hair back.

“You can’t escape. You’re only safe with me.” His voice caressed her, making her lightheaded.

“Why do you want me safe?”

“I...” His face twisted before he frowned, releasing her as he sank back into the chair.

Renee put her hands on the wooden table to steady herself. She couldn’t let him get that close again. An odd keening noise drifted from the door to the right, causing the king’s eyes to flick to the door then back to her.

“Don’t move,” he commanded, and went into the room.

Renee considered leaving but remembered the creature he’d ripped in half, so she drank another bottle of water to occupy her mind. Damn, she was getting hungry too. She hadn’t eaten in days and water could only sustain a person for so long before food was necessary.

Whimpering sounds and what could only be described as begging came from behind the door. She padded closer and listened to what was more growling and begging. What twisted shit was happening in there? Heavy footsteps neared the other side of the door. Renee dashed back to the table right before the king walked out and sat in his chair again.

“Um, so I need to eat something. It’s been a few days, and if you want me to keep marching with everyone else, I have to eat.”

“You need to eat?”

“That’s what I said. Can I go search for food? It’s not like anyone else is gonna want what I do.”

He remained silent and stared at her before grumbling and stomping to the door and leaving. Unbelievable . She was his prisoner, for some reason he wouldn’t tell her, and now he was irritated because she needed food, unlike the rest of his minions. Renee pulled out the rickety wooden chair at the table and sank down.

Minutes passed and more whimpering seeped into the room. She should sit and wait. She probably didn’t want to know what was in the next room, however curiosity got the better of her, and she ended up tiptoeing to the door. Her fingers wrapped around the knob and she tried turning it. Unlocked. Last chance , she told herself.

Renny, you don’t want to see that. Her brother’s ghostly voice warned her.

No. She had to see. It could be a secret that would help humanity get an edge over the monsters.

She turned the knob and pushed open the creaking door. Oh shit. The zombie that’d been dragged off from the public display of violence was in the room. All of its limbs were gone, and it floundered around on the floor, trying to get to the other head the king had ripped off, the one Brie had held up. Shit. Shit. She shouldn’t have opened the door. The blood rushing in her ears masked all sounds.

Renee backed up and hit something solid and cold behind her. Damn it. His arm wrapped around her waist before reaching out and slamming the door in her face. He spun her around and bared his teeth. She swore his irises glowed brighter, causing her to shrink back. He was terrifying like that, and looked every bit the monster he was.

“I told you not to move,” he said through gritted teeth. “You don’t listen.”

“I’m not a part of your mindless horde. You don’t control me!”

He laughed in her face. A genuine laugh, and it made him even more handsome than he already was which pissed her off. She shoved against him. His fingers threaded in her hair before he yanked her head back as his gaze sharpened.

“I own you. You want to know why you’re here? Because you’re mine .”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re mine, and you’ll do as you’re told, or I’ll make you.”

She shoved him harder, making him laugh again at her attempts.

“I hate you!”

“Do you plan to kill me again? When I brought you food? And something to sleep on?” His voice was filled with mirth.

“Screw you. I’ll starve.”

“Then you’ll die. You don’t want to die,” he said confidently.

“Fuck you. I’d rather die than be owned by you .”

He bared his teeth at her again. Good, she was glad she pissed him off. He brought his face closer to hers, so close their lips almost touched.

“You need to eat.” His tone was gentle again. “Then sleep. You’re safe with me.”

Her stomach tightened at the timbre of his voice and his words. How could she be safe with a zombie king who’d just told her he owned her? He let her go and returned to the chair but didn’t take his eyes off her. On the table was more water and what seemed like raw meat. Eww. Near the table on the floor were pillows, a sleeping bag, and a blanket.

Renee stared at the meat. “What is this?”

“Dog.”

Once again chewing back vomit, she glared at him.

“It’s the best I could do under the circumstances. Eat or starve.”

She slumped into the chair. “You could’ve cooked it.”

As horrendous as the idea of eating a dog was, it wouldn’t be the first time. Things had been bad the last couple of years, sometimes it came down to eat or die. However, when she had eaten dog before, it was at least cooked.

“You know, if you were going to take someone captive who wasn’t accustomed to living like your horde, you should’ve planned better. I don’t eat raw meat.”

“It’s not raw. Touch it.”

Renee grimaced but touched it. It was warm, almost hot. Okay, extremely rare meat was also gross. But what did a zombie know, right? Her stomach grumbled. She sighed and picked it up. The scent of the almost raw meat made her stomach growl. She’d get through it tonight, and then they were going to have a talk. Trapped by an insane zombie king who claimed she was his, how in the hell was she going to get out of this?