A Plague on All Houses (19 page)

“Look,” I said, trying desperately not to let him intimidate me, “Lil has been miserable. Her mom might be dead, her boyfriend was ripped to pieces in front of her. As far as she knows, all she has left of her old life are those two cats. She's been making herself sick worrying that they might have starved to death or worse, been eaten alive. She hasn't been able to think about anything else, and sooner or later her concentration would've gone at the wrong moment and she would have gotten herself or someone else killed.”

“That was not your decision to make!” He shook me again, eyes blazing hot blue fury. “You. Could. Have. Been. Killed!” He emphasized each word with another shake. On “killed” he threw me away from him, the back of my head smacking into the wall hard enough to rattle my teeth. I barely managed to catch my towel before it slipped all the way off my body.

I'd had enough. I wrapped the towel around my upper chest, tucking it securely in place as I stared defiantly at Gabriel, silently daring him to touch me again. I was angry enough to hit him if he tried. “Maybe it's not enough for all of us just to survive. Who the hell are you to place a value judgment on the worth of Lil's cats? Lil has to be able to live with herself and if she'd left them to die, she might not have been able to do that. She needs something to love and something worth fighting for. And neither you nor the military have the right to decide what that is. And if you don't get that, you can just go to hell!”

“Ashley—” He took a step towards me.

I held a hand up in warning. “Don't. Just don't.”

He stopped and took a few deep breaths. “Why didn't you just tell me you were worried about her?”

I rolled my eyes. “Because you would have said no.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end in places. “Jesus, Ashley…” He dropped his hand by his side, shook his head and repeated, “You could have been killed.”

“But we weren't.”

I swayed on my feet, ready to collapse where I stood. This second emotionally charged adrenaline rush and subsequent crash left me even more drained than the first. And this one had lasted only a fraction of the time in comparison.

“Is your head okay?” The anger had left Gabriel's voice to be replaced by concern and, if I wasn't mistaken, remorse.

“Sure,” I lied. I actually had the beginnings of a headache. “I just really want to shower and get the smell of disinfectant out of my skin, okay?”

He took another deep breath. “Okay.”

I turned away from him towards the door and felt his hand on my shoulder.

“Ashley…”

Something in his voice made me look back at him. The raw pain in his eyes startled me. “You could have been killed…” Suddenly he'd pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly against him as he kissed the top of my head and whispered fiercely, “Jesus, you could have been killed.”

With that he lowered his lips to mine in a schizophrenic kiss combining the last of his anger, relief, and a pent-up passion that shook me to my core. Then he just held me again, so tightly I could feel his heart beat.

We stayed like that for a moment that stretched out into taffy time, that weird sensation when a minute seems to last an hour, as if the world has slowed down around you. I felt so safe in his arms after what I'd been through that night, it made me want to weep with relief and with the knowledge that no matter what weird hang-ups he had where I was concerned, he had feelings for me. Even if some of them were homicidal at times.

Finally he loosened his hold on me and I stepped back out of the circle of his arms. “I need to check on Lil.”

He nodded. “I'll go with you.”

“Just … just don't yell at her, okay? She's been through enough tonight. And”—might as well get this out of the way—”it was my idea.”

Gabriel gave one of his rare laughs. “Why does this not surprise me?”

We left the stairwell and went to my room, Gabriel picking up the bottle of bleach from where I'd dropped it the second time. “I'll go first,” I whispered. “She's probably hiding in the bathroom about now.”

I opened the door. “Lil?” There was no answer. Worried, I stepped inside, stopping short at the sight before me.

Gabriel came in behind me. “Is she okay?”

I pointed to the bed where Lil lay in tucked in bed, Binkey draped around the top of her head like a furry halo, Doodle curled in the crook of one arm. Lambiepie's threadbare head stuck out of the covers next to her. Both cats purred loudly and the contented smile on Lil's face, even in her sleep, brought tears to my eyes.

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “She's okay.”

Gabriel put an arm around me and squeezed gently. I rested my head on his shoulder. For the moment, I was okay too.

We finished clearing the rest of the buildings on campus the next day. While Gabriel and I weren't exactly best buddies, the soul-crushing distance between us seemed to be gone. I could look at him without feeling total humiliation and he could—well, he could look at me. It made for a much more positive search-and-destroy experience.

Mine was not the only improved mood around DBP Hall. The atmosphere in general seemed lighter, more optimistic and less like
Lost in Space
’s Dr. Smith's “We're doomed,
doomed
!” attitude that had prevailed over the last week. It had been two days since any of the military personnel had come down with what we were now calling Walker's Plus (so named because those not infected via bite or other direct contact with the zombies developed flu-like symptoms very similar to Walker's flu). There weren't a lot left, maybe a quarter of the original Alpha and Beta teams, but we still had sharpshooters to cover us. And considering they'd been dropping like sexually active teens in a slasher film every twelve hours or so, this was definitely an improvement.

We'd rescued a total of thirty or so survivors so far, not a lot when you consider Big Red's average daily attendance is two thousand students, plus teachers and staff. Still, we'd rescued people and had high hopes for pockets of survivors in Redwood Grove itself and the surrounding homes and businesses. There were several tourist stops in the quarantine zone, as well as many isolated homes, gas stations, random business off of the highway.

A lot of self-sufficient, flannel-and-jeans wearing, borderline survivalist types lived in this county. If they hadn't succumbed to the virus, odds seemed reasonable they could hold out against the undead—if they figured out the whole shoot-’em-in-the-head thing, that is. But honestly, you'd have to be totally out of touch not to know that, ever since zombies became the new vampires and inundated our culture.

Other encouraging news? The military could still do aerial supply drops so we were good for food and other basic supplies indefinitely. And best of all, at least from my perspective, nothing had been said about last night's clandestine mission. So I was feeling pretty damn good by the end of the day when we got back to DBP Hall, where Colonel Paxton and Simone waited for us in the lobby.

“Good job today, everyone.” Colonel Paxton gave us his version of a smile. “After you're decontaminated and get some dinner, we'll go over tomorrow's tactics.”

Dinner! Yay! I was starving.

“And Ashley? Would you and Lily please come see me and Professor Fraser in Room 217 as soon as you're cleaned up?”

Shit. Should've known the shit would hit the fan sooner or later. I shot a dirty glance in Gabriel's direction. Did he really
have
to rat us out?

He gave a little unapologetic shrug.

Yeah, I suppose he did.

Clean but hungry, Lil and I reported to the lecture hall in record time. No sense putting off unpleasant business, and the sooner we finished, the sooner we could eat.

“This sucks.” Lil frowned nervously as we neared the door to Room 217. “Couldn't they have let us eat first?”

“Nah. They want us weak and hungry so we'll crack and spill the beans.”

“Spill
what
beans?” Lil turned her frown on me. “I mean, at this point, what beans would we not spill? It's not like we have anything to hide.”

“Good point,” I admitted. “But it sounded good.”

Lil gave a little snort of laughter and we went inside.

Simone and Colonel Paxton waited for us at the front of the hall, seated at a table. Lil and I approached with the air of prisoners waiting to be sentenced.

Colonel Paxton got to his feet with a chivalrous, and theatrical, little bow. “Have a seat, ladies!”

Lil and I looked at each other. Ladies? Did one still qualify as a lady after spending the day skewering, shooting, and otherwise taking out rotting brains? I had a sudden image of myself and Lil crooking our pinkies while firing our M4s. Somehow I managed not to giggle. It wouldn't be appropriate.

We sat across the table from our interrogators.

“So you went on a little spur-of-the-moment excursion last night, correct?”

We nodded. No use denying it.

“How did you get off campus?” Colonel Paxton's question was asked in a non-threatening tone. The only thing evident in face and voice, in fact, could be described as friendly interest. Maybe he was just biding his time before opening up a can of Colonel sized whup-ass on us, but as far as interrogations went, so far, so good.

Lil and I described our route out of Big Red, including our leap over the Slinky of Doom and subsequent walk into town through the woods.

“We did our best to stay out of sight,” I explained. “Figured we didn't want to draw any attention to ourselves going in or out of Big Red.”

Both Paxton and Simone nodded. “Good instincts,” said Simone. “Go on.”

Lil and I took turns relating our adventure in Redwood Grove, keeping it as short and succinct as possible. We both sounded as if we were narrating a particularly boring History Channel show (“
Zombies were a way of life in the twenty-first century…”
) Funny how an experience so nerve-shatteringly scary could be reduced to a few minutes of flat, matter-of-facts narrative.

Colonel Paxton frowned when we mentioned how many zombies had converged on us downtown. “That's not good. I would have thought they'd have gone through their available food source by now and wandered out of the area.”

I felt rather than saw Lil wince. The food source in question could very well have been her mother. “Maybe there are still a good number of survivors holed up somewhere in town. Most of the zombies were headed down Main Street before we attracted their attention.”

“Good point,” said Simone. “Is there a school or church or other establishment where people could hold out for a while?”

Lil brightened. “That's where the Safeway shopping center is. There're a few other shops, like a coffee house and a hardware store too.”

“There's also an old Lutheran church down that way,” I added. “One of the old-fashioned stone kind. And the fire station.”

“All viable possibilities,” said Simone.

Lil gave me a sideways glance full of hope, obviously thinking about her mother. “We have to get those people out of there right away.”

Simone looked at her with compassion. “It's not as simple as that, Lily. It won't do us any good to rescue a large group of people only to have the zombies find their way back to campus en masse before we've had a chance to reduce their numbers. It could mean death for everyone here, not just any possible survivors in town.”

“Professor Fraser is correct.” Colonel Paxton tapped his fingers on the table. “We'll need to clear them out before they discover there's more food to be had here and swarm.”

Swarm? I didn't like the sound of that.

“We'll discuss this more in a bit,” said Paxton, ready to move on. “How did you get past the zombies?”

Once more Lil and I looked at each other. Somehow it felt wrong to mention our rescuer given his dislike of all things military and/or government, but it seemed just as wrong to withhold information. It's not like the guy did anything wrong, after all. If anything, he'd saved two of the Zombie Squad's precious Wild Cards.

Lil shrugged, abdicating responsibility and the decision over to me. I gave a mental shrug and said, “Well, erm, we had help.” I then proceeded to spill the beans about our rescuer, playing up his heroics and leaving out the bits where he said nasty things about the military and all the stuff about being threatened on the borders of the quarantine zone. Figured some things are just better left unrepeated, you know?

“He dropped us off outside the Admin building and took an old logging trail so we could get back in without being seen.”

“Did any zombies follow you?”

I shook my head. “No. He drove like some sort of insane NASCAR driver out of Redwood Grove and the trail itself is pretty small and winding, so I don't see how any of them could've kept up with us.”

Colonel Paxton nodded in satisfaction. “Did he tell you his name, where he lived?”

“We asked, but he wasn't talking.”

“He wasn't interested in coming back here with us either,” said Lil.

“He seemed like a survivalist type,” I added. “Kind of like Burt Gummer in
Tremors
, but better looking.”

“Erm, yes. Very helpful, I'm sure.” If Colonel Paxton had seen
Tremors
, I'd eat my hat. Actually about now I was hungry enough to consider anything if sautéed in enough butter.

Colonel Paxton stood up, signaling we could go. “Go get some dinner. We'll see you back here with the rest of the teams after you eat.” We got to our feet. “You've brought us some valuable intel, ladies. But if you leave campus without direct orders again until this situation is resolved, I will have you placed under arrest so fast your heads will spin. Is that clear?” His voice remained amiable throughout.

“Can you do that?” I couldn't resist the question. Hard to take a man with a face like a sad clown seriously.

“I'm the commanding officer and this is a military operation. I can do anything I'd like.” He smiled, the expression almost superimposed over his perpetually gloomy features. Simone's face was carefully neutral; I suspected she was trying not to smile.

Lil and I scurried up the aisle and out of the room. “Do you think he was serious?” Lil's eyes were huge.

“Heck if I know. But unless you've got more cats stashed away in town, I think it'd be a good idea to take him seriously.”

After eating a rushed dinner, we hurried back to the lecture hall to get the tactical briefing on tomorrow's mission. Déjà vu, but with a thankfully full stomach.

The rest of the Wild Cards sat in the front row, except for Kaitlyn, sitting several rows back by herself. She really ought to wear black, I thought, and just become a full-time Goth. She sure as hell took herself seriously enough to qualify. Sure, this was a shitty situation, but what was the point of alienating everyone around you? I truly did not understand the bitchy enigma that was Kaitlyn.

I plopped down next to Mack, who gave me his sweet smile as I sat down. Lil cozied down in between Kai and Tony. I noticed Tony checking her out as she did so. Definitely a more age-appropriate crush than me. I also noticed Tony'd gotten rid of any visible piercings no more barbells or hoops. He still had the steel post in his tongue; I only knew because every once in a while he'd click it against his front teeth like a nervous tick.

Simone, Colonel Paxton, Gabriel, and Captain Gentry (I'd have to find out what they'd come up with for his nickname) sat up at the table up front. Gabriel and Gentry looked fresh out of the shower and comfy in jeans and T-shirts. I tried not to notice how good Gabriel looked all squeaky clean and casual. He had nicely muscled arms, not too bulky or body-buildy, but well defined. I knew from personal experience how strong they were. And yeah, it was kind of a turn on.

Okay, I lied.

It was a
major
turn on.

It was with real effort that I turned away from Gabriel's musculature and focused my attention on Colonel Paxton as he began the briefing.

“Our original plan was to send you into Redwood Grove tomorrow to start clearing out the town. But recent intel has made us revise this strategy. There are substantially more flesh-eaters still in Redwood Grove than we foresaw. The numbers need to be culled, yes. But we're going to start further afield and try to lure some of the zombies out of Redwood Grove, and dispatch them accordingly. Then we'll move into the outskirts on the far side of town and use the same strategy to hopefully cull the numbers and avoid the possibility of a swarm following you back to Big Red.”

“A swarm?” Mack raised his hand. “What constitutes a swarm?”

Paxton raised his eyebrows at Simone, who fielded the question. “A large number of zombies, generally at least several hundred, all moving at once in the same direction towards the same food source.” Simone shook her head. “It's a frightening sight.”

Kai shrugged. “We kicked the ass of at least that many here on campus. What's the big deal?”

“The zombies on campus were spread out, their attention in different areas. A swarm takes on a sort of hive mentality,” Simone replied. “We don't know why it happens. But imagine the difference between a hundred bees all buzzing around different flowers in a field, then imagine those same hundred honing in on the same flower.”

Kai shuddered. “Okay, I get the picture.”

Colonel Paxton nodded. “If the zombies trailed you back to Big Red, a swarm that size would get through the barriers and we don't have the manpower to destroy it. If it got out of hand, we'd have to call in an air strike.”

“Nuke it from orbit,” Tony muttered. “It's the only way to be sure.”

“If need be, young man.” Paxton wasn't joking. “If need be.”

“What happened to the whole ‘Wild Cards not expendable’ thingy?” Kai looked like he'd been betrayed by a trusted friend.

“You didn't really buy that shit, did you?” Kaitlyn wore her usual expression of deep unhappiness, now mixed with disgust, probably at what she saw as Kai's stupidity, although it was hard to tell. Kaitlyn pretty much found fault with everything. If she didn't seem so determined to be a bitch, I'd have had sympathy for her point of view. I mean, things kind of sucked in a world where the dead came back to life and ate your friends and family.

Kai leaned back in his chair and gave Kaitlyn a look as close as I'd seen to unfriendly since I'd met him. “Yeah. I bought that shit. No reason not to.”

Kaitlyn snorted derisively, one of the more expressive snorts I'd heard in my lifetime. “No reason if you're an idiot. Of course they want us to feel special. Why else would we risk our lives day after day to take care of their problem? We die, they can always find another.”

Okay, I'd officially had enough of her shitty attitude. “Jeez frickin’ Louise,” I snapped, “This isn't just ‘their’ problem. It's everyone's problem and if we're the only ones who can get down and dirty with the zombies without risking infection, of
course
we're special. God, Kaitlyn, I know you're a bitch, but I didn't think you were stupid.”