Thirteen Roses Book Five: Home: A Paranormal Zombie Saga (18 page)

Bayleigh drove them down to the warehouse and all the way he was muttering instructions on autopilot. He didn’t care where they went. There was nowhere he wanted to go anymore. He was holding his thoughts at bay, but he didn’t know how much longer he could keep them in check.

As they pulled into the car park, he stared at the long row of lorries. Every one of them would be filled with food slowly rotting. Everything around them was slowly rotting. The houses would go. It would take a few years before they started showing the signs, but come back in twenty and there’d be nothing that wasn’t fallen in or overtaken by nature.
 

By then the food in the trailers would be gone and the zombies would be… he didn’t know. Would they be gone? Would they be advanced, working in packs like the hunter gatherers of old? He would have to wait twenty years before the Father allowed him back in. Twenty long years of seeing people die and experiencing this pain after it.
 

Or he could go and speak to Az and Seph. There it was. He couldn’t avoid it. It would be easy. They didn’t need Az’s little army. They didn’t need anyone except the three of them. The Father would never suspect Luke would kill him. Of course he wouldn’t, he was his son. All they needed was access to his realm and a sharp knife.
 

That’s all it would take for him to return to his rightful place. He would regain his immortality and lose this horrible feeling eating away inside. And he would have his powers back again. Not just the fear, but the control over purgatory and his wings. His wings.
 

He rubbed his hand over stumps that were now entirely covered by hair. He rolled his shoulders, acutely aware of the lack of weight there. He was half a person, no longer an angel yet not human enough to exist here properly. He had the feelings, but he couldn’t deal with them. He hadn’t grown up, hadn’t been a child learning how it all worked. He was stunted.
 

He shook his head and slipped down from the truck, heading towards the cab of the full trailer. It opened but the keys were nowhere to be seen. Bayleigh wanted to get the keys from the office inside and, despite his misgivings, he couldn’t argue the logic. This trailer was already full and ready to go. They could spend the next few hours hauling crates of food or they could just take this one. Or… he didn’t care. It made no difference in the long run.
 

They climbed back into the artic and drove round to the front. The girls were talking about the zombies they’d fought last time they were here, and he shifted in his seat. He shuddered at the thought but part of him welcomed it. Killing things might be just what he needed.
 

Bayleigh spotted it first. The zombie moved like those they’d fought before and he watched, horrified, as it raced from the building to hide behind another truck. He opened the door.

‘Stop, what the hell are you doing?’ Bayleigh said.

‘We need to get the keys.’

‘Not with those bloody things out there.’

‘They’re only zombies, Bayleigh.’

‘Only? They’re crazy hyper zombies and we’re going nowhere near them.’

Luke pushed the door open, loosening his sword. ‘Both of you, stay here. I’ll go inside and get the key.’

He slipped out before they had the chance to argue. They’d come after him, of that he was sure, but maybe it would make up his mind if someone got killed. If one of his people died he was stuck here and had the perfect excuse to go to Az.
 

He cursed and glanced over his shoulder. Krystal was climbing down from the truck, sword already in hand. A zombie appeared from behind a van and ran at her across the concrete. His shoulders stiffened. It moved in the same, awkward manner, but fast, like something was pulling it towards Krystal on a rope.
 

She set herself, blade horizontal like he’d taught her. He held his breath, sneering at himself as he did. The zombie got faster and he thought she’d left it too late. Then the blade flashed, Krystal side-stepped, and a headless body tumbled to the ground. It was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen and he stopped just short of applauding. Ten days of teaching and she could move like the best of them.
 

She jogged over, face flushed and grinning, and he clapped her on the shoulder. ‘Well done. Where’s Bayleigh?’

‘Staying in the cab. I told her it was better to have someone out here in case we need help.’

‘That’s true.’

‘Yeah, and she couldn’t handle it. She’s not fast enough.’

Luke raised an eyebrow but couldn’t hide the grin from her. She headed for the front door. Another figure appeared in it before they got there and they spread apart, moving to either side. The zombie looked from one to the other, like it was choosing. That thought sent goosebumps up his back.
 

It chose Luke. More meat probably. He set himself the same way Krystal had, blade ready for a stroke across at head height. The zombie rushed and he blinked. It was on him faster than he’d thought possible and he missed its neck entirely, slicing through the air behind its head.
 

The pommel caught it in the side of the head and did enough to dislodge its hand as it clutched at his neck. He swayed sideways, breaking free entirely, and slammed his heel down on the creature’s leg. It snapped and the zombie tumbled sideways and onto his hip. He twisted and the zombie fell behind him. Luke spun and buried his sword straight in the back of its head.
 

He yanked it out and puffed, sucking in air. He was beginning to see the attraction of drugs. If they did this to dead people, what would it be like if you were alive? He was about to say as much to Krystal when it occurred to him she was sixteen and probably didn’t need those sorts of thoughts in her head.
 

Why did he care? Why did he care what thoughts she had and whether she was on drugs? He was leaving. He had to go to Az, he couldn’t be here anymore. He couldn’t be here with the pain. He couldn’t be thinking about this girl like she mattered to him, or about Bayleigh, sitting in the truck and staring at him with those beautiful eyes that made every act of compassion he’d ever witnessed pale in comparison. He shook his head and covered the rest of the distance to the front door.
 

 
Krystal was right beside him but he kept his eyes fixed to the front. Silence greeted them from inside the warehouse. The offices were open and they explored them one at a time until they came to a large silver cabinet on the wall.
 

It was locked but gave way beneath repeated pounding from a stool. Keys hung above printed registration plates.
 
They looked at each and Luke sighed. Krystal held up a finger. ‘Where’s your phone?’

‘Where’s yours?’

‘Lost it when I went over on the bike. Hand it over.’

He passed her the phone and moments later she was speaking to Bayleigh. It was one of those things he struggled to get his head around. She ran her fingers across the rows of keys until she found the right hook.
 

‘Kay, see you in a minute.’

She put the phone back in her pocket and headed for the door. She’d taken his phone. It didn’t matter. He had no one to speak to and it wasn’t like she was going anywhere. But he couldn’t ignore that she’d just pinched his phone, as though it really mattered. He was ready to jump off something high. Maybe he shouldn’t go and see Az, maybe he should just give everything up and let the zombies have their way.
 

He sneered. He was depressed. He was an angel and he was depressed. At the very least, he was a miserable bastard. What was worse, he cared about it because he knew people didn’t like miserable bastards. So now it mattered what Krystal and Bayleigh thought about him. His sneer grew wider as he went through the door after Krystal.
 

They stepped out into the car park. The sky was beginning to lighten over to their right and the storm had finally moved on, leaving a light drizzle. He shook his head and stomped towards the truck.
 

He was halfway there when the first zombie stepped out from behind a truck and stared at him. He waited for it to attack and it looked for all the world like it wanted to, but something stopped it. Another appeared, a little further round, and then another and another. Krystal pressed back against him, putting her shoulder against his ribs.
 

‘What are they doing?’

‘Thinking.’ He said it with all venom he could muster and felt her stiffen against him and pull away. ‘Or someone is doing their thinking for them.’

He turned, searching. There was a zombie atop the warehouse, staring down at them with its hands on its hips. Was it thinking, or just staring? How was he supposed to know? Then he saw something, a flash of red in its eyes, and he growled in the back of his throat.
 

‘What?’

‘This is Az’s work. He’s controlling them.’

‘Controlling the zombies?’

‘Why else haven’t they attacked?’

‘Fair point. We should get in the truck then.’

‘He won’t let us, but we may as well try.’

He broke into a run, Krystal on his shoulder the entire way. The moment they began moving, the zombies left their posts and attacked. They moved in that same awkward, hysterical way, that covered the ground like nothing else. They wouldn’t make the truck. They wouldn’t get anywhere near it.
 

He set his back to Krystal’s and settled his hands around the hilt of his sword. Bayleigh would have to do something, and even as he thought it, the engine started up. But the zombies were far quicker.

The first leapt at him like a striking cat and he barely got his sword in the way in time. It went straight through its neck and blood gushed onto his hand. He had set himself and the weight of the zombie wasn’t enough to knock him over. He twisted the blade and wrenched it out the side of its neck, spraying more blood across the concrete.

The freed zombie came at him, head slewed to one side. It was too close for the sword. He grabbed the front of its t-shirt and slammed the hilt of his sword into the side of its head again and again. Its mouth was open and it raged, spit flying off its pastel yellow teeth accompanied by the overpowering scent of rot.
 

Even when the skull cracked and blood covered its eyes, it still thrashed and snapped. The next blow clove in its skull and it dropped limp. He threw the corpse as far from him as possible and waited for the other zombies to feast. They ignored the corpse and kept coming.
 

This was Az. This had his fingerprints all over it, damn him. Luke sniggered as he deflected the claws of his next attacker. He already was damned. Damned first to Hell and second to Earth. If Luke had the power, he’d damn him a third time. He would have the power if he killed the Father.

Especially if he killed him and took over on his own.
 

He smiled as his blade cut through the zombie’s legs. It crashed face first to the floor and he stamped as hard as he could. His heel went straight through the skull as its face crumpled against the concrete.
 

Krystal was still standing and facing her own pile of corpses. The pride he felt at her success would pale beneath the power he’d wield if he took over. He wouldn’t need to worry about her because he could protect them easily. He blinked as the next zombie attacked, leaping through his guard as he daydreamed.
 

It tore a claw across his cheek and he shouted, dropping back as blood spilled out and ran down his face. He hacked through its arm, but all he did was remove the obstacle between them. Its breath was hot on his cheek as it crashed into him. His sword was trapped between them, so he pulled his head back and slammed it into the creature’s nose.
 

It exploded, raining blood across his face, and he pressed his lips together. His next blow drove the bone into its brain and it toppled away from him. It was replaced by another two coming at the same time, hands outstretched.
 

‘Shit.’

He risked a brief glance behind and saw Krystal on one knee. The zombie she fought was missing its face and already falling, but blood covered Krystal’s arm and all his bitterness and anger were wiped out in an instant.
 

Alex

The poker was ripped from his hand as it caught on the child’s sleeve. He swore, grabbing at the wriggling creature as it struck him full in the chest. It threw him back and his head bashed the edge of the steps. The light flashed and dulled as he rolled to one side and hit the floor. The child clung to him and bared its teeth.
 

He grabbed it by the shoulders, holding it as far away as possible. The scent of rot was sweet and sickly and he gagged. The momentary slip gave it space to drive itself towards him and its teeth snapped closed a few inches short of his nose. Their eyes were less than a foot apart and he stared into its blackened orbs. There was something there, some consciousness he hadn’t seen in others.

Then it was gone, replaced with a dull savagery that made fighting it easier. But he was stuck, unable to move or reach the poker. The zombie child was heavy and getting more so every second. He moved one hand from the shoulder to the child’s neck and gripped it tight.
 

He released the shoulder with his other hand and it convulsed, slashing at him with its hands. Its claws were thin and sharp as they raked across his face. The light from the lamp sent shadows dancing across the floor and walls. He tried to grip its neck with his other hand but it knocked his arm away. He tried again and the creature slammed its hand into his face.
 

It was winning. This horrible child creature was beating him. He gritted his teeth and tried for a third time. The arm came again but he shoved it away and wrapped his hand around its neck. He had it now, as helpless as a zombie could be, and he squeezed tight. The child showed no sign it was bothered at the pressure, but Alex had no intention of cutting off its air. He didn’t even know if it breathed.