The Zombie Chronicles - Book 6 - Revelation (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (7 page)

Nick glanced at her. “Back up a sec’. Dean sneaked you out of jail?”

“
Don’t worry. I went back to the hole when we were done, just like a good zombie.”

He sighed. “But you could’ve jeopardized everything.”

“
I think the better question is why I wasn’t invited,” Claire asked.

“
You were out like a light from those sleeping pills they gave you,” I said, climbing out of the car.

“
You snooze, you lose,” Lucas kidded.

I stared at the four-story brick apartment building. A group of armed men flooded out the door and surrounded the perimeter. Others surrounded our vehicles in a military fashion that Nick and Lucas probably admired, and more men fanned out up and down the street like trained military troops.

“
Clear!” one shouted.

“
We’re safe,” another said.

I felt more at ease knowing we hadn’t been deemed to be dangerous.

Steven talked to some of the security personnel and warned them about the impending doom.

A tall man in a tattered leather coat with brown, shoulder-length hair and a beard walked up to Steven. “We aren’t taking any more survivors. I don’t care how you do it, but you need to get rid of them fast.”

Chapter 7

I was mortified. We’d come all that way, and there was a chance we weren’t even going to be allowed in the apartment complex where Steven and Rachel lived.

“
Max!” Steven yelled. “You can’t expect me to just—”

“
If you don’t get rid of them,” Max said, cutting him off, “I will.”

“
But Dean helped me save Rachel, and—here is the guy who helped me save Rachel.”

Max held his hand up to stop Steven from talking. “Wait…
you
helped him save my daughter?”

“
Yes, sir,” I said.

Tears welled up in his eyes. “I never got the chance to properly thank you. I know how dangerous that was.”

“
The important thing is that we brought her home safe and sound.”

“
I apologize for all this. Of course you and your friends are welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.” He looked at Steven. “Put them in Apartment 410.”

“
But the Joneses live there,” he said.

The man shook his head grimly. “Not anymore. John and Ruby left to meet up with relatives in West Virginia.”

Steven dropped his head. “I didn’t know them that long, but they sure were nice people.”

“
You know how it is. People come and go,” Max said. “There’s a long waiting list for vacancies, but Dean deserves this. This is the best way I can think of to pay him back for risking his neck for my daughter, a girl he didn’t even know.”

“
Thank you for your hospitality,” Nick said.

“
We all appreciate it so much,” Val added.

“
Thank you,” I said.

He smiled. “No, thank you. But there is a catch. The last tenants left their dog, Sparkles. You’ll need to take care of her as long as you keep the apartment.” He waved a woman over, and she handed a miniature pinscher to Nick.

Nick held Sparkles awkwardly. “Um…I don’t deal with ankle-biters. I prefer Rottweilers and bulldogs, not these yappy little things.”

“
Hey, now! Sparkles is a princess,” Max said. “But be careful. She eats shoes.”

Claire reached for the tiny dog. “Aw! We’ll take good care of her.”

I swear I saw Claire smile for a split second, and I thought the dog might be good for her, some cuddly company in a time of heartbreaking grief.

“
Steven!” a girl with long blonde hair called, then rushed out and hugged Steven. She then looked at me and threw her arms around me. “Dean!”

I embraced her tightly. “Hi, Rachel.”

“
After that raid, I didn’t know what happened to you. It’s good to see you guys. Come in.”

I walked into the huge lobby and glanced at all the men and women who were sitting around, all of them armed with guns. Nick and Lucas introduced us, and I waved hello. The stairs were gone, blown to shreds, but I immediately understood the brilliance of it; I was sure it had been done purposely to keep the undead at bay, in case they breached the building. The dumb corpses couldn’t climb, so they’d never get up to the apartment buildings.

“
Come on up!” a familiar voice called from the fourth floor.

“
Ed!” I said, glancing up at the thirteen-year-old kid who’d led us around the drain sewers on our rescue mission to save Rachel.

“
Hey, Dean!”

I grabbed hold of the rope ladder and clambered up to the second, third, and finally the fourth floor. I glanced down the long hallway at the multiple doors. A huge, octagonal window at the end of the corridor provided a lot of light.

Ed gave me a fist-bump, and I smiled. “What happened to you?” he asked. “We thought you bit the bullet.”

“
Not a chance. We escaped and hid out, then ran into Steven.”

“
Yeah, Steven left the lab and came to Rachel’s dad’s hideout. He’s been here ever since. He lives on the third floor.”

“
Is this where you live?” I asked.

“
Yep. Home sweet home for a year now. I used to come and visit Steven and Rachel at the lab. Rachel’s dad hated them living over there, but she got in a fight with her dad and refused to live with him anymore. They’re cool now though. I guess they worked it all out, so she’s back.”

“
That’s good. Hey, I need to talk to Jonathon,” I said, referring to the scientist who’d helped us at the lab. “Is he around?”

“
He doesn’t live here, but I can always go and visit the lab to let him know this is where you’re staying.”

“
Thanks,” I said. “If he could stop by, that’d be great. Or I could go visit the lab myself.”

“
Meanwhile, wanna check out your new pad? The Joneses were neat freaks, so they took good care of the place—well, all except the stuff their little mutt chewed up.”

Val climbed up over the edge. “I wanna see it!” she said.

He handed me the keys and glanced over the edge. “As soon as everyone gets up here.”

Nick, Lucas, and Claire climbed up, and we were led down to our new apartment.

“
Here ya go. It’s all yours,” Ed said.

I unlocked the door and walked into a sparsely furnished apartment. There was nothing fancy about the décor—just a few brown couches and lounge chairs with a coffee table. It wasn’t huge, and there was no electricity, but it was nice and clean livable. We had three bedrooms; two had king-sized beds, and one had bunk beds with Spider-Man blankets on them, which made me laugh. The bathroom was equipped with a makeshift toilet, a big, red bucket with a board over it.

“
Well, it isn’t exactly the Ritz-Carlton,” Val said, “but I’ll take it.”

Lucas lifted up the board. “Whoa! Dude, that’s nasty!” he said, wrinkling up his nose. “I thought you said those Joneses were neat freaks? Who takes a crap and leaves it? The least they coulda done was dump their dump out before they left.”

“
Why don’t you just go take care of it?” I suggested.

“
Huh? Why me?”

“
Well, you seem to always be throwing crap around,” Val mocked. “You might be good at it.”

“
Hey!”

She laughed. “We’ll draw straws,” she said, grabbing some striped ones from the kitchen. She used a knife to cut them at different levels.

Lucas was none too thrilled when Lady Luck refused to get him out of the dirty job. “No way, man!” he said.

“
Be a man for once, would ya?” Val said patting his back.

Shaking his head, he frowned.

“
Dean and I will take the bunk beds,” Nick said. “Val and Claire can share one room, and lucky Lucas gets a room all to himself.”

Lucas pushed the white curtains aside, and we could all see the security detail patrolling outside.

After we settled in, Claire didn’t stick around to chitchat. She went straight to her room and shut the door, ready for a long-overdue nap.

“
You’re safe here,” Ed said, “and you’re on the fourth floor. Zombies can’t get up here with the stairs gone.”

“
I like it,” Nick said. “We’ll hole up here for a few weeks, until the herds pass.”

“
Only a few weeks? Why?” Ed asked. “Do you know how many people would kill for this apartment? All they ask is that you take daily shifts of guard duty. It’s all split equally between everybody.”

“
This isn’t our home,” Nick said flatly.

Val shot him a look. “I’ll never get back on that island with my history, Nick. My résumé has gotten ‘bitten’ written all over it.”

Lucas winked. “You might wanna add ‘resurrection’ too.”

She sighed. “Right. They’ll never let me in.”

Nick pondered. “One way or another, we have to go back. We need to make sure our family is okay, and I’m sure they’re dying to know whether or not we’re even alive.”

“
I agree,” Val said, “but then what? What if they isolate me and schedule me for execution? I can’t go through that again. I just can’t.”

“
Let’s not debate this right now,” I said. “We’ve been through enough, and I’m gonna follow Claire’s lead and try to sleep it off.” The truth was, my heart was breaking, and I was tired of pretending like everything was okay. I just wanted to be by myself. As the others discussed strategies and plans, I walked to my room. I bit my lip when I heard Claire crying softly. I knocked on the door. “Claire?”

“
I just need some time alone, okay, Dean?”

“
Can we talk for just a minute? I’m not feeling too great myself.”

“
Sure. Okay. Come in.”

I opened the door and met her tear-stained eyes.

“
I’m gonna kill every zombie I see from now on,” she said, standing up.

I hugged her. “It won’t change what happened.”

“
But it’ll sure feel good.”

I hugged her tighter, and she embraced me tightly. We just held each other for a long time, so long it felt like forever. She cried in my arms, and I stroked her red hair.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and Nick walked in. “I thought you were taking a nap, Dean.”

“
I was, but—”

“
He heard me crying,” she said.

Nick touched my shoulder. “Can I have some time alone with Claire?”

“
Um, sure,” I said.

“
Thanks.”

I left the room and shut the door. I could hear Nick whispering encouragement to her. I’d never known him to be so sentimental, so soft, and it was quite strange.

I went back to my room and pondered for hours. Val told me our scheduled guard duty wouldn’t start for a few days, so we’d have time to get used to everything, but I didn’t just want to sit around the apartment moping. If there was something to do, I wanted to help, and I needed to keep busy to take my mind off things. Losing Jackie cut deep into my heart and soul, and I would do anything to escape the hurt and pain.

Chapter 8

When I woke up the next morning, I walked into the living room and saw Claire staring out the window.

She turned to meet my gaze, then looked out the window again, staring at the garden. “Did you see the cows and chickens back here?”