Four (Their Dead Lives,1) (35 page)

Kale fell on his chest and grabbed at his butt, howling, “You shot me in the ass, Homer!”
 

Jeff lowered the smoking weapon and, smiling in relief, glanced at Alec. “Oops.”
 

Dylan, struggling to breathe while looking at them, said, “There’s a life raft up top. We need to get off this bitch.”
 

They ignored him, focusing their gazes on the interior.
 

“You have to shoot it again,” said Alec.

“I know.” He edged closer to the dark hole. Although he could not see the Embracer, he took no chances. He unloaded and pumped and unloaded and pumped, filling the interior with each spread. A light stream of smoke rose from the barrel. Alec hovered behind. “I don’t see—”

The cloaked beast launched into them, splitting them apart like a couple of bowling pins. Jeff slid across the deck, turning on his chest and clawing at the wood to slow down. His legs touched water but he didn’t fall overboard, unlike Alec. His friend flipped over the yacht’s side but barely managed to grab its edge, scrambling to get a better grip.

Howard cowered closest to Jeff. His eyes were locked across the deck, watching the struggling Kale, who grabbed his shotgun wounds and crawled with all he had, trying to escape the Embracer. A dark glove hovered over him.
Kale!
Jeff twirled around, searching for the shotgun. He had heard a splash throughout the mayhem.
Did I lose it?

As Jeff searched, Howard rose to his feet. He tightened his tie and straightened his belt.
He’s not going to—

Howard rushed forward, the Embracer his target.
 

“Wait!” Jeff reached for him.
 

Kale stared from the floor, watching his roommate make his move. “Howard, don’t!”
 

Howard raised his fists and a deep roar emerged from that scrawny body. “Get. Away.
FROM
MY FRIEND
!” He thrust an arm out, trying to throw an upper cut punch.
 

It went nowhere—his fist dangled inches short of his target.
 

The Embracer stared at Howard, as if analyzing a rare specimen, then slammed its elbow into Howard’s skull. Howard’s head snapped sharply to one side, and a gigantic red gash stretched across his neck until a red fountain flowed free. His body flipped to the ground, and his head hung on by slivers of flesh. A few twitches till his lifeless eyes died on Kale.
 

Kale, his whole body trembling, screamed in despair. Spit flew off his lips. Tears poured from his eyes. He clawed at the deck for Howard. “No!”
 

The Embracer whipped Kale in the air and flipped him over its shoulder.
The gun, find the gun!
Jeff scrambled around the deck, fearing the weapon belonged to the sea. He spun back as the Embracer made for its escape.
 

Dylan lunged for them but the grasp fell short.

Alec tugged himself aboard.

Finally seeing the shotgun, Jeff dove for it. He rolled to his knees, pumped, and aimed.
 

None of them were fast enough, and the Embracer vanished into the ocean with Kale.

SCOT
 

The bark of a tree was pressed against his skin as he watched the others. They’d fled into the woods after the attack on the highway. CJ was doing worse than him, even though Scot had suffered more bites.
My wounds are painless.
Numb. And unlike CJ, he possessed the strength to stand.
 

Please be right about me, Kale.
 

The ailing CJ slumped against a tree across from him. Nasir knelt by the teen’s side, examining his chewed-open back. A vibrant mesh of decaying green and gray crawled up CJ’s neck. The rest of his skin was death pale.
 

Gasping, CJ grabbed Nasir’s faded red shirt. “You have to end it. Now.”
 

Scot had no desire to watch. He peeked around his tree to look at Kelsey. She was sitting on a log with Lexington. They’d all stopped for one reason only.
 

They must leave us.
 

CJ would be first, Scot knew.
Then me.
Nasir had told Kelsey she should move away, because it would do her no good to watch.
 

“I can feel it taking over,” CJ said to them. His weak eyes landed on Scot. “Can’t you feel it, man? Can’t you feel it crawling through your skin?”
 

I feel nothing.
 

Nasir’s rifle hung off his shoulder, and he looked directly into CJ’s eyes when he spoke, weighing his words. “If you’re truly ready, if you know you are, then, son, so am I.”
 

CJ’s lips shook with hesitation and fear. The answer appeared in his eyes, changing colors, changing into dead tissue. Nasir rose and aimed his rifle at the teen. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”
 

CJ scooted back against the tree, curled in the dirt, and his eyes widened, and with what little strength remained to him, he pleaded to live. “Wait! Not yet, please, just, not yet.”
 

Nasir lowered his aim. “When you’re ready.”
 

Scot, for all the wounds he’d suffered, felt quite normal. He knew his fate, though, and refused to leave without a proper goodbye. “Can you give me a minute?”
 

“For?” Nasir asked back.
 

“I need to speak with Kelsey before, well, you know.”
 

Hesitation appeared in the old man’s eyes but he nodded. “Make it quick.”
 

Scot went to her, taking care to cover the nastiest of his wounds: the bloody flap of skin hanging off his bicep. He was death walking but he shielded the worst from her eyes. She sat up straight as he walked toward her.
 

“Mind if I sit alone with her for a second?”
 

Lexington nodded. “I’ll be close.” He gave Scot a long stare then stood with Nasir.
 

Scot had a hard time looking into those green eyes as he sat next to Kelsey. He focused on the ground instead, saying, “Sorry I’m not my pretty self right now.”
 

Kelsey sniffed. “How are you feeling?”
 

Scot had to smile. “You should see the other guys.”
 

Unamused, Kels looked away.
 

Will you kill your smartassery for once?
“I’m fine. CJ will turn soon, so I don’t have much time. I, I need to tell you something.”
 

“No, Scot, I do.” She touched his knee, but he still refrained the sight of her eyes. “You have to know, I never cheated on you. You have to believe me before you—”
 

“Kels, trust me, I know. You did nothing wrong. I screwed us up. I don’t know what came over me but I was too weak to face you. I didn’t want the truth. I thought of the worst possible scenario and tried to avoid it. I’m sorry I never gave you a chance then.” Her grip tightened on his leg. “What I want to say is not about that. Truth is, I’ve never really dealt with any of my problems. Avoiding them is what I did best, and, and, I haven’t been the same since leaving you.” He inched closer to her, still talking to the ground.
 

Kelsey grabbed his pale, scratched hand.
 

He continued, “And out of every problem I ignored, out of every person I pushed away, my only regret is one.” He found the strength, in the end, to meet her green eyes. He placed one hand behind her neck and he brushed her tears away with his thumb. His lips quivered. “The only one I truly regret is you, Kels.”
 

A wind breathed softly around their bodies, and their kiss became the one light in all the dark that waited for him, and although his lips broke off her cheek, he brought them to her forehead. He refused to open his eyes, for this meant reality had returned, and reality would only last a few more minutes. His hand tightened around her warm fingers.
 

“It’s not fair,” said Kelsey. “We lost each other for so long and over something completely pointless and now we’re here.” She had to look away this time. “Damn it, Scot, why do I have to lose you again?”
 

Her voice. Her eyes. Right now, they are worse than death.
His lips tightened and he forced himself to stand. He touched her chin. “You’ll be safe with Nasir. Stay close to him.” Breaking away, he focused his gaze on the rising sun, and he swore it was mocking him.
You get to rise, and I get to be buried beneath dirt.
He was angry, yes, but he knew there wasn’t enough time for anger.
 

Scot returned to Kelsey. Autumn leaves fell gently around them. He took a deep breath as Kelsey grabbed his hand under her chin.
Say it before this world is gone.
Their fingers intertwined and he stared at those lovely green eyes one last time. “I love you, Kelsey. I always have. I always will.” His touch slipped away but it wanted to linger. He turned for the others. Leaves crunched under his feet. Each step away from her contained more pain than any bite he’d suffered.
 

Lexington walked past him and nodded, placing a quick hand on his shoulder. “Travel safe, brother.”
 

Scot kept walking.
 

Three crows were perched high in the tree CJ was slumped against. Their heads twitched from side to side. Although the forest swayed, the birds were calm.
 

“You, you guys want to know something?” CJ coughed, his voice rasping.
 

“Yes, son.” Nasir readied his rifle a second time.
 

“I was going to ask this girl to prom, you know, before all of this happened. But I was scared, like terrified.” More coughs. “I know I’ve been talking about sleeping with girls, achieving belts, but truth is, I was scared of them, of girls.” He lowered his face, dropping a hand to the ground and grabbing his baseball hat. He tugged it over his head. “I’d give anything to be scared of something like that now.”
 

The bullet was ready and so was CJ. Nasir spoke to Scot without looking. “You don’t have to watch.”
 

“Do it.” However, Scot did look away. He focused on the calm crows above.
They are watching us.
But the calmness died with a bullet, and the crows shot to flight, headed for a destination only a higher power knew.
 

CJ was gone, protected from a decayed, meaningless afterlife. Kelsey unleashed a wail.
Maybe she thought that was me.
He too wanted to scream. He wanted to run. He wanted to rot alone.
If I turn, I lose all control. What if I bite Kelsey? This must be done.
 

Sweat and blood dripped off his palms as he pressed against the bark of his tree. He was hidden from Kelsey’s sight. The whiskey bottle leaned against the tree by his feet. He had no desire for it. “You do anything to keep her safe. Promise me that,” he told Nasir.
 

The old man faced him, loading another round. “As long as I’m here, no harm will come to her.”
 

“You tell me this before I go. What did you want with me? Who sent you to find me?”
 

A readied rifle pointed his way. “Does it really matter now?”
 

I suppose not. What good is the truth when you’re already dead?
 

“We can wait until you turn, Scot. We—”
 

“And risk eating Kelsey? No. You need to do this before I change my mind.” His body trembled. Short bursts of air erupted out his nose. His chest heaved and he shut his eyes. He forced his mind to a ready calm, and hoped his body would follow. Everything he’d been told, everything that had happened, was pointless. Kale and Jeff? Wrong. He prayed Alec kept his right mind and made Nicole his priority. Because none of them were heroes. They were lucky losers, always had been.
 

And luck always runs out.
 

“May this next life better suit you.” Nasir’s calm voice did nothing to ease Scot.
 

This is the end. Holy shit, this is it.
 

What gave him any hope, any security, as he readied to transport from the world he once knew, were those words touching his mind.
 

We leave as four.

KALE
 

A whisper awoke him.
 

He saw nothing but darkness, felt nothing but heat.
 

“Kale.”
Something was breathing close by.
“Kale!”
 

Kale jolted and swung around blindly. “Who’s there?”
 

Whispers repeated his name, quick and sharp, and the breathing grew louder, crawling over his flesh. He swung again.
Where has it taken me? Where is this?
 

“Kale, Kale, Kale.”
 

“I know it’s you! Show yourself!” In a rage, Kale even swung his stub, ignoring the blinding pain.

A whisper grazed his ear, rendering all the other whispers silent.
“Settle down, boy, you’re safe now.”

“Where are you?”
 

“I’m not to be seen, only heard.”
 

Kale slumped over on his knees. Everything went bleak for him. He waited for the voice to speak again.
 

“That’s a good boy, Kale. You’re being obedient right away.”
 

Kale launched forward. “Don’t talk to me like I’m your dog, fuck-face.”
 

Something cold and sharp sliced through the dark, ripping Kale’s cheek. He spun back from the blow, feeling his blood’s warmth trickling down his fingers.
 

The voice erupted with laughter. “
Now who is fuck-face?”
 

Great, a smart-ass monster
, Kale thought to himself. He screamed out, “What do you want?”
 

“Straight to the point: I want your friends. I want Alec, Jeff and Scot, and you will give them to me.”

“You’re dreaming if you think I’ll ever betray them.”