Alice in Zombieland

was getting quite good. I wasn’t going down easily tonight.

“I can’t spare anyone tonight, I’m sorry, so I put up so many traps nothing will get past your gate, okay?” Cole grabbed my arm and bolted into a full-blown sprint, forcing me to keep up or be dragged. “Don’t step anywhere I don’t step.”

“I thought we were fighting them here,” I gasped out. There was a full moon tonight, the large golden orb surrounded by a long stretch of black sky. There were clouds but no stars that I could see.

“Frosty spotted the first wave of them already and stayed on their tail. They’re headed to your house, but we want to see if they’ll follow you.”

A question I’d like to know the answer to as well. “And if they don’t?”

“I’ll be notified and we’ll return.”

We broke out of the forested alley, his Jeep waiting at the curb. Bronx was at the wheel, his hair hidden under a dark bandanna, just like mine. Cole practically threw me inside, then slid in beside me. The tires gave a little squeal as we started down the road.

Reminded me a little too much of the night my family had died. How my dad had tossed me in the car, how I’d had to scramble to get buckled in. I will stay calm. This night was different. It would end differently, too. Though it was pitch-black inside the vehicle, I could make out an arsenal of guns, crossbows and swords.

Zombies were gonna die tonight, not us.

“You armed?” Cole asked me.

“Yes.” Before he’d driven me home, he’d given me a switchblade and a double-edged dagger. Tomorrow I would learn the basics of wielding a shortsword and shooting a crossbow. I couldn’t wait. Until then, I was to stick with what I knew.

The Jeep swerved, nicked a corner and bounced me up and down.

“Careful,” Cole said.

Bronx was his usual talkative self—meaning, he said zero. Several sharp turns later, a stint outside the neighborhood and into another, the Jeep stopped abruptly at a curb. Cole hopped out, dragging me—and two of the swords—with him.

He hustled me up a hill, through another cluster of trees and into a clearing. Bronx stayed close to my heels.

“What do you want me to do?” Though I couldn’t see his friends, I suspected they were spread out, watching and waiting. I could smell the floral scent of Mackenzie’s shampoo, the musk of Haun’s cologne and almost everything else I’d breathed in at Cole’s house.

A darkened cluster of clouds moved in front of the moon, creating a dull, almost reddish color. It was the perfect camouflage for us. We were dressed in head-to-toe black, and there were black half circles painted under our eyes. I had no idea why Cole had asked me to add the paint, but he and Bronx sported the streaks, too, so okay.

“Tonight you watch and learn.” He threw the swords down, took hold of my arm and tugged me to a tree. He bent down and linked his fingers. “Up.”

Using his hands as a stepladder, I climbed onto one of the branches and crouched. I palmed both of my blades. “Let me help,” I said. “There’s got to be something I can do.”

He remained on the ground, those violet eyes pinning me in place. “We’re the last line of defense tonight, so we shouldn’t have to fight very many. If any,” he added. “Stay up there unless absolutely necessary. You’re still healing, and I should be able to handle any stragglers that make it our way.”

“But—”

“Because you’re working with daggers,” he interjected, “you’ll have to get up close and personal to render one immobile. If you get close, and they open your wound, you’ll bleed and weaken, and they’ll tear you up the rest of the way.”

Okay, so, basically I was bait. “You shouldn’t have armed me if all you wanted me to do was watch.” The temptation to act would be too great.

“We have to be prepared for anything, always.”

I sighed. I might not like his logic, but I understood it.

“I hate that we’re throwing you straight into the fire like this, that you haven’t done any simulations or practice runs. You’re going to be surprised by how this goes down. But if the zombies are hunting you specifically, we need to know it beyond any doubt, and this is the fastest way.”

A howl ruptured the night, stealing my bravado. Not a wolf’s howl, but a man’s. Hunkering down at the base of my tree, Cole moved the swords in front of him. “We usually leave our bodies at one of our houses, so that they’re out of the way and no one out here can harm us while we’re unable to defend ourselves.” He withdrew the small crossbow from one ankle holster and a gun from the other. “That was impossible for Bronx and me, since we had to drive you here. We’re gonna leave ours right here, with you. Don’t worry if the zombies approach. Our bodies will be fine. You just watch for humans, and if you see any, you need to scare them away.”

I trembled as I said, “All right.”

“Did I tell you that the zombies don’t feel any pain?” he asked, still in teaching mode. “If you’re forced to fight, don’t try to hurt them. It won’t do you any good. They make noises when you strike them because they’re startled out of their rampage. Therefore, your only goal is to disable them.”

“Okay.” I’d already decided this was for better or worse. I wouldn’t change my mind.

Another howl. A scream. Grunts and groans. The sounds came from all around us. I wasn’t sure who was making them, the zombies or Cole’s friends. Next came rattling leaves, pounding footsteps.

“Yeah, they’re following you, all right,” Cole said. “Bronx?”

Bronx nodded.

Both boys donned sunglasses that strapped around their heads. Cole tossed me a pair, but I dropped them. Great!

“Now,” Cole said.

In unison, they stepped out of their bodies.

Someone must have flipped a switch, because bright halogens suddenly lit up the entire clearing, throwing too-bright rays in my direction and chasing away every single shadow. I squinted, my eyes tearing.

The sunglasses now made sense, and so did the dark circles under my eyes. Black absorbed light, deflecting the too-bright glare, allowing me to maintain optimal sight. A very smart move.

That was my last rational thought.

Frosty burst through a thick green bush, the black paint smeared on his face. He wasn’t wearing sunglasses. He dove for the ground, rolling when he landed. “Now, now, now!” The moment he stopped, he had two guns palmed and aimed.

Good thing. The zombies had arrived—and not just a few stragglers but an entire horde.

Pop, pop. Whiz, whiz. Thump, thump. Both Cole and Frosty squeezed at their weapons’ triggers, sending bullets and arrows flying. More grunts and groans sounded as zombies tripped and fell. The scent of rot intensified, making me gag.

More zombies pushed through the bushes, some stumbling over their friends, some managing to remain on their feet. But the moment the light swept over them, they wrenched up their arms to protect their eyes. I’d never seen them in full light before. Now I wished I hadn’t. They might smell rotten, and look it, too, with their dirty clothes, broken features and ripped, sagging skin, but there was something strangely…beautiful about them right now.

Their skin was like chipped ice, glistening with onyx and sapphire undertones. Eyes that had appeared black in the dark were glittering rubies in the light, and utterly hypnotic.

The zombies who weren’t hit by one of Cole’s or Frosty’s weapons flailed for the trees when they realized they couldn’t reach the boys without enduring more of the light. A stroke of good fortune—until a gust of wind snuck up behind me and tossed my scent at the combatants. The zombies froze, sniffed…those ruby gazes zeroing in on me. Suddenly they forgot their aversion to the light.

They marched forward.

“Swarming,” I heard Frosty tell Cole between shots. “Everywhere. All directions.”

Frosty faced front; Cole faced backward. Bronx extended both arms to cover left and right.