Undead Much (33 page)

  So I guessed I owed Thomas big-time. Owed her my life, really, but that didn’t make me like her any more than I did before. And I didn’t feel the slightest smidgen of guilt that she and the entire Carol and Little Rock SA councils were under investigation by the National High Council, especially since I hadn’t been the one to blow the whistle, after all.

  Kitty was responsible for that. Apparently, she’d been investigating the Carol Settlers’ Affairs office since all the crap went down last September, and had become convinced there was a mole somewhere in the Arkansas organization. A very high-ranking mole who was behind the entire “Arkansas taken over by zombies” plot!

  Crazy to believe, but Kitty had all the evidence to prove that Jess’s efforts had been facilitated by someone
inside
SA and that Aaron hadn’t even been the first terminal patient she’d hooked up with. Several others had died while Jess was figuring out how to work the channeling spell without killing the body she was inhabiting.

  Of course,
why
someone in SA would want Arkansas zombieapocalypsed and, more important,
who
was guilty were things Kitty hadn’t been able to figure out. Whoever it was had covered their tracks and had enough power to wipe the memories of the few people who might have witnessed something sketchy.

  So we were all in wait-and-be-highly-suspicious-of-each-other-while-we-see-what-the-High-Council-investigation-comes-up-with mode. Which was fine with me. I liked wait-and-see mode. It was highly preferable to everyone-trying-to-put-Megan-in-jail mode, and the High Council people seemed to
really
know what they were doing. They made Kitty look like a disorganized spaz in comparison, and she was clearly my hero at the moment.

  She’d used the fresh blood sample she took from me to prove that the virus in my blood was active, but not mutating the way it would be if I were manifesting large amounts of black magic, confirming I was as innocent as she’d thought. She hadn’t been able to tell me or anyone else she’d been working with to clear my name because of the high-ranking mole, but I still totally wanted to be like her when I grew up.

  Ethan was also my hero, of course. He’d figured out the Jess/ Aaron connection, which had stumped even Kitty. She’d known she was looking for a terminal patient, but hadn’t suspected Aaron was her guy thanks to his studly cheerleader front. Needless to say, she was impressed with Ethan, and word was that he was going to be offered an Enforcement job in the next few months.

  I was sure he was thrilled. Not that we’d talked…

  “So what do you say? Nasty gummy fish or more popcorn?” Dad asked.

  “I’m already stuffed.” I turned back to him with a smile, trying not to think about Ethan or the fact that he hadn’t called to see how I was feeling today.

  Using my latent power had increased my ability to heal, but Ethan wouldn’t know that. All the specifics of what I was were being kept tightly under wraps. Settlers’ Affairs didn’t want it to get out that they had a Settler with WB virus on active duty. They were afraid it would attract the wrong kind of attention from people like Jess and Aaron, and whoever this mystery mole was, who would want to use my power and blood for their own evil purposes.

  They were so afraid that, even though the Enforcers had mind-wiped everyone who’d seen the pond zombies, instilling the injured with memories of rabid dogs loose on the ice and erasing the memories of their coven days from the cheerleading squads’ bleached-blond heads, I’d been worried they were going to lock me up just to keep anyone else from getting their hands on me.

  But they hadn’t. Yet. The SA council and the Enforcers were actually being very cool. They’d even apologized for judging me unfairly after Elder Thomas spilled the beans about the WB virus thing a few days ago.

  So mostly, it was good news all around. Or as good as could be expected.

  The not-so-good news, however, was that no one could find Aaron. Or Jess. Or whoever he/she was at that moment when I reached into Aaron’s body and pulled out that heart. By the time our reinforcements arrived, Aaron had vanished and none of us could remember seeing him move. In all the craziness of the zombies swarming back under the ground, he’d disappeared.

  And so had another corpse, one I was considerably more attached to.

  Cliff was also missing by the time the big beige SA cars and ambulances arrived, and I hadn’t felt the slightest tug on my energy since. It made me worry, though I was certain, deep down, that I’d
know
if he’d gone back to his grave.

  I mean, we
had
shared a body and reached into a person and pulled out a heart together. We were undeniably connected, a fact Kitty had confirmed with some much-needed sharing about former prophets who had come to the aid of powerful Settlers in times of earthly crisis. She said it was a sign that I was working for the right side that someone like Cliff had found me, and that our instinct about taking Aaron’s heart had been dead-on. The
habeo are transit
spell might have some consequences down the line as far as mutating our power was concerned, but there had been no other way to stop the zombies Aaron/Jess had summoned.

  Kitty had recommended we just chill and wait and see what happened with my mojo before freaking out, however. Having had more than enough freaking, I agreed, especially when a second test of my blood revealed all was still quiet on the getting-messed-up-by-black-magic front.

  Which made me feel better… but not that much better.

  I’d lost more than two pints of blood and a few chunks of skin last night-I’d lost a piece of myself I could never get back. I was a darker person and the world a darker place, and I knew I would never see either the same way again.

  “It’s probably good you’re not dancing tonight. Our whole family could use a little R and R,” Dad said, snapping me back to the present just as the buzzer sounded, signaling the beginning of halftime.

  “Yeah, I’m not too broken up about it.” The cheerleaders were claiming the first halftime of the basketball season and participation in whatever “super-special” opening game event the boosters had planned.

  The fund-raiser had ended up a draw, so we would now be
sharing
halftime with our cheerleader enemies, alternating every other game. Of course, only Monica and I knew just how vile the cheerleaders really were, but that didn’t stop Alana and a few other pom squadders from booing as Dana strode to mid-court with a microphone in her hand.

  I, however, didn’t utter a sound. Monica and I had been warned not to attract cheerleader attention for the next few days. Erasing memories as traumatic as what Enforcement had removed from the cheerleader’s brains was tricky business. Seeing too much of the people involved in those memories too soon after the procedure could cause Dana and Lee and the others to start remembering things no Settler wanted them to remember. We’d come scary close to having our world exposed and our power destroyed, and no one wanted to risk another Class Three containment crisis.

  Monica and I wouldn’t have been allowed to go to the game at all, in fact, if Kitty hadn’t argued that our absence was as likely to incite curiosity as our attendance. So we were here, but lurking in the upper bleachers, both of us sacked out next to our parents. Monica still wasn’t talking to me after last night, but I could tell she wasn’t going to hold a grudge for too long. She had at least texted to make sure I was recovering… unlike Ethan.

  God, Ethan. Where was he? I had been sure he would be here tonight, but so far there had been no sign of him.

  Dana cleared her throat as the last of the boos faded. “I’d like to dedicate this special performance to Aaron Peterson, who’s been missing since the rabid-dog attack last night. Aaron, we miss you and hope to see you soon.”

  Um, no they didn’t, not looking the way he did when I last saw him, but at least it seemed that the Enforcer mind wipe was holding strong. Dana even had a little tremble in her voice as she introduced the head of the booster club and then ran to join the rest of the squad behind a giant breakthrough poster on the other side of the court.

  “Thank you, Dana,” Mr. Cotter said. “The Carol High boosters are so glad to see all of you here to celebrate our new gym. It was my pleasure to cut the opening-game ribbon earlier tonight, and now it is my privilege to make the following special announcement. In honor of our new gym, and a new era of CHS athletics, we’d like to introduce the
new
Carol High mascot-the Carol Cavemen!”

  Then, I kid you not, that horrible “Walk the Dinosaur” song from the 1980s boomed out of our new state-of-the-art sound system, and all twelve cheerleaders burst through the breakthrough sign dressed in… caveman costumes. We’re talking cheetah halter tops, big mallets, and furry pelt diapers. Yes.
Diapers
. Made of
fur
.

  Their ponytails were as blond and perky as always and their makeup tastefully applied, but nothing could make up for the fact that they were dancing around to one of the worst songs of all time in diapers. (Have I mentioned the diapers? The
fur
diapers?)

  It took the laughter a few minutes to really get started-probably because we were all fighting off symptoms of clinical shock after learning that our fabulous, fierce Cougars had been replaced by
Cavemen
-but once it did, it was loud enough to drown out the music completely. One by one, the cheerleaders lost the beat and their place in the routine and started bumping into each other, turning their pitiable performance into a true travesty.

  “This is painful to watch,” I mumbled to Dad.

  “Yeah. I think I’ll go hit the men’s room until it’s over,” Dad said. “You could visit your mom at the snack table, or I think I saw Ethan head outside a second ago.”

  “What?!” He’d seen Ethan a
second
ago and had waited until
now
to tell me?

  “He isn’t a smoker, is he? I don’t want you dating a smo-”

  I was on my feet before he could finish his sentence. “He’s not a smoker-he was probably leaving!” I bit my lip as I realized how crazy I must sound. I’d gone from zero to mournful in two point two seconds. If I didn’t watch it, Dad was going to realize something was up. “I’m going to go try to catch him. Be back in a few.”

  “Okay, but call my cell if he’s giving you a ride home.”

  I acknowledged his order with a wave and made a relatively dignified dash to the front doors and out into the cool night air, even though my heart was racing a thousand miles a minute.

  No matter what I’d felt for Cliff, no matter how strong the paranormal connection between us, Ethan was the one for me. He was my home base, my best friend, and the only person who I trusted with my life but who terrified me at the same time.

  But the terrified part was okay. Because that was part of what love was about: feeling something so powerful it was scary, but staying and feeling it anyway. That’s what my dad and mom had done. They’d stayed and fought for each other, forgiven each other, and-

  “And you’re sure you’re ready?” Kitty asked. She and Ethan were standing by Kitty’s enormous truck, looking decidedly chummy. “You’ll have to leave Arkansas. The closest certification program is in Nashville.”

  “My bags are already packed. I’m just waiting for the word,” Ethan said, sending my heart crashing into my stomach where the wreckage burst into flames. He was leaving? To go to Nashville? And his bags were
already packed
?

  “It probably won’t be for a month or two. We’ve got to get your paperwork and background check through the system. But I don’t anticipate any problems,” Kitty said, grinning up at her latest protйgй. “You’ve done some great work. Everyone’s really excited to see you join the team.”

  “It’s what I’ve wanted to do for awhile.” Ethan was practically glowing as he shook Kitty’s tiny hand. “Thanks for the recommendation.”

  “No thanks necessary. You earned it.” Kitty hopped up into the driver’s seat. “Come by the training office on Monday and we’ll get everything started.”

  Ethan said goodbye and Kitty drove away, and I knew I should scram. But instead I lingered in the shadows near the door, watching as Ethan walked toward his car, sniffling in confusion as he walked right past it and made a beeline to where I was hiding a dozen feet from the gym exit. I obviously needed to work on my super-secret-eavesdropping skills. As he closed the last few feet between us, I debated making a run for the safety of the girls’ room but decided against it. I needed to talk to him, and this might be my last chance.

  I had to let him know how sorry I was, and that I’d always care about him no matter what. I had to be strong and rational and not turn this into some sort of Megan blubber-fest.

  “So you’re leaving and you weren’t even going to tell me?” I blubbered, opening my mouth and inserting my decidedly weak and irrational foot.

  “You’ve done a lot of things lately without telling me. So I guess we’re even, huh?” he asked, in that deep, sexy voice he always had when he was angry or upset. I wondered which it was right now? Probably angry, if the scowl on his perfect, kissable lips was any indication.

  I flinched but didn’t look away. This was it. Time to take my medicine. “Yeah. I guess. I’m still sorry, you know. Really, really sorry. This past week has been… really hard. I’m not saying that’s a valid excuse, but I… ”

  His scowl softened for a second. “I know. Kitty told me everything last night. I can’t believe your mom never told you about your real dad.”

  “I was keeping secrets from myself too,” I said, refusing to give into the temptation to bask in the warm glow of Ethan’s sympathy. It was time to get real, with him and myself. “Everything that has happened since September had me really mixed up. My powers returning and the zombie attacks and Jess. Even the good stuff, like Enforcer training and us-it was just a lot to handle in a really short amount of time.”

  He stepped closer and I felt the invisible wall between us start to crumble. “Then why didn’t you just say something? I could have understood if you needed time or-”