Alice in Zombieland

Dead. Trembling, I gazed around, needing a moment to collect myself. We were in a plush bedroom. A velvet drape hung over the bed. Pastel flowers had been papered on the walls. A crystal chandelier dripped with thousands of sparkling teardrops.

All this loss we were forced to bear. All this pain and heartache. And there would be more, so much more, because we would continue to hunt and fight. We had to. We had to protect those we loved.

Otherwise everything we’d already done would have been a waste, and we would see no light in the future —only darkness.

I cleared away the emotion clogging my throat. “Where am I?”

“The Ankhs’ house.”

A knock sounded, and Mr. Holland peeked inside the room. “We heard voices and hoped you were awake. We’ve got a roomful of people who want to check on you.”

I reached up to try and smooth my hair into place, but the tangles I encountered made me cringe. There would be no fixing my appearance.

“You look beautiful,” Cole said.

Sure I did. But I appreciated the compliment anyway. Although, he still wore that serious expression, so maybe he really believed it. “Send them in,” I said, trying not to sigh dreamily.

First came Nana.

Cole got up and moved to the only window, and she rushed to me, hugged me while being careful of my middle and fawned over me, generally making me feel better as she settled into Cole’s chair. There were bruises on her forehead, but no other injuries that I could see.

Next Lucas, Derek, Collins, Cruz, Frosty, and Bronx filed into the room.

“Looking good,” Frosty said.

“Little Ali packs a big punch,” Lucas said.

“I’ll fight with you anytime,” Derek said.

“When you get tired of Cole, give me a try,” Collins said, earning a sharp look from Cole.

“Not bad. For a beginner,” Bronx said.

They were the first words he’d ever spoken to me, and they’d been grunted. And yet, I cherished them. Coming from him, that was high praise indeed.

“Thanks, guys,” I replied.

“Oh, the friends you’ve made,” Nana said with a shake of her head.

The boys exited and Mackenzie and Trina entered.

“I hate to say this,” Mackenzie said, looking me over, “but you were kind of awesome out there.”

“Yeah, she was,” Trina said with a grin. “I noticed she used a few of my patented moves.”

“No way. Those were my moves!”

They argued as they left.

Next, Kat burst into the room. “About time I got a turn,” she announced, rushing to my side. She grabbed my hand and held on as tightly as if it was a life raft and she was drowning. “As the best friend, I should have been first. Someone will have to be punished for my misery, but don’t worry, it won’t be you, Ali.”

I was beyond excited to see her, but I glanced at Cole.

“She knows,” he said. “When she couldn’t reach you, she called Frosty and me about a thousand times. She was about to tell the world you’d been abducted when my dad finally gave us permission to read her into the program.”

“And you should have done it a long time ago!” Kat exclaimed. “Like I can’t handle knowledge that there are zombies out there.” She leaned down and, losing her smile, her color, whispered, “I’m not sure I can handle the knowledge that there are zombies out there. When you’re better, we’re talking.”

“Definitely,” I whispered back. Then, louder, “So, you and Frosty are back together now?”

“Yes, we are,” Frosty called from the hallway at the same time Kat said, “After he’s suffered a little more. He’s my whipping boy, you know.”

Does he know about you? I mouthed.

She shook her head no.

I wouldn’t tell him, then. Although, now that I thought about it, he might already know. I bet Mr. Holland and Mr. Ankh had done a background check on her when Frosty first started dating her. But that, too, was a confession for another day.

“Everyone knows what I am to you, Kitty Kat,” Frosty said, moving into the doorway and leaning against the frame, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Doesn’t mean they can’t use more examples. Now go! The girls are talking.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Grinning, he walked away.

Kat and I chatted about everything and nothing, laughing and catching up, until my eyelids began to droop.

She kissed my hand, worry falling over her features. “You know, Ali, the first time I saw you in a hospital bed it was no big deal. You had the tiniest little scratch I’d ever seen. I mean, really. I’ve had worse mosquito bites. This time, you’re trapped in bed and looking like…” She waved her hand over me. “This is a big freaking deal. You have two days to get better.”

I so loved this girl. “Or?”

“Or I end things with Frosty, here and now, forever,” she said loudly.

“Hey,” he called, making it clear he’d remained in the hall to eavesdrop.

“I might anyway,” she added. “My neighbor has been asking me out every day. And he’s cute. If cute is the new word for ‘outrageously sexy.’”

A growling Frosty stomped back into the room.

Kat giggled.

“All right, enough.” Nana shooed everyone but Cole out of the room. “And you,” she said, kissing my forehead, “say good-night to your friend and get some sleep.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.

“So what’s next?” I asked through a yawn.

“For starters, you and your grandmother are staying with the Ankhs.”

In the mansion? “I can live with that,” I said.

“Just as long as you do, in fact, live,” Cole said, and we shared a smile—before I ruined it with another yawn. He placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“You and your commands,” I said, my eyes already shutting. But I wouldn’t have him any other way.

Because of him, I’d learned how to survive this new world. More than that, I’d learned how to overcome it.

Deep down I knew fighting zombies was the only thing that would satisfy me now, the only thing that would make me feel as though I’d lived to the fullest. When the end came, I could rest in peace knowing I’d done everything in my power to walk in the light. And I would have Cole at my side. We were in this together.

I could deal with anything else.

What’s on Alice’s iPod?

FURIOUS—Jeremy Riddle

HOW HE LOVES—Flyleaf

FALLEN—John Waller

MONSTER—Skillet

FADING—Decyfer Down

THINGS LEFT UNSAID—Disciple

ALL IN—Lifehouse

BEAUTIFUL DISASTER—Jon McLaughlin

HOW TO SAVE A LIFE—The Fray