Under a Graveyard Sky

posted security.”

“Just a couple of weapons?” Faith asked.

“The problem is what,” Tom said. “Almost anything useful is illegal for carry by a minor in New York.”

“I hate this place,” Faith snarled, then got ahold of herself. “Sorry. But…”

“I’ll get you an issue K-ll,” Tom said. “But that’s it.”

“Better than nothing,” Faith said, saluting. “Reporting for duty, sir!”

“Just… Don’t get yourself turned into a zombie,” Tom said. “Your mother would kill me…”

* * *

“I had no idea these buildings were so complicated,” Faith said as they were walking down another seemingly interminable service corridor.

“Every one of these buildings is basically a self contained city,” Dave said, proudly. He’d found he enjoyed the girl’s company. She might be a little firebrand but she was a smart one. And willing to pitch in no matter what the weight. Strong as hell, too. She’d carried a sixty pound circuit breaker up two flights of stairs without a single bitch. “More like a space ship. Air has to be pulled in and pumped to everywhere in the building. Then there’s water and sewage. Movement of materials. It’s a dance really. A great one.”

“What are those?” Faith asked, pointing to some huge…thingies.

“Air handlers again,” Dave said. “Currently they’re not running since the portion of the building they supply isn’t in use. No need for them. Nobody’s using the air.”

“And that is…” Faith stopped and tilted her head to the side. “What’s that sound?”

“Fluid flow?” Dave said, cocking his head. “Air flow? There’s an electrical hum…”

“I was thinking of the…” She stopped at the shriek.

The zombie had been behind one of the idle air handlers. It was covered in blood, not its own. Faith really didn’t want to see what it had been feeding on behind the box.

“Charlie?” Dave said, stepping forward. “Charlie, it’s me, Dave…”

“Don’t,” Faith said, putting out her hand. “It’s not going to…”

The zombie charged the twosome, keening.

It was the first time Faith had heard the zombie wail and it sent shivers down her spine. That was the sound early man had heard in the forests. It was the thing in the corner at night. The monster under the bed. In the closet. It was fear curled up into a ball and distilled. For just a moment she froze.

“No!” Dave shouted, backing up. “Charlie! No, no, no, NO!”

The zombie was fixated on the engineer. Which gave Faith her chance.

She whipped the K-ll into the zombie’s shin as it passed. She could hear the bones snap from the blow. But it turned on her nonetheless. She captured one grasping hand in a come-along, lifted the arm and spun under, tucking it up and back.

The strength of the zombie surprised her as did it’s complete disregard for pain. Any normal human would have been down on the ground with a broken leg and a nearly dislocated arm. The zombie just continued until it was fully dislocated, its teeth snapping to reach its tormentor.

Faith drove the butt of the K-ll into the zombie’s kidneys and was mildly unsurprised to get no result. It just didn’t notice pain at all. With that understanding, she flipped the club out and up, then across, hard, on the upper part of the zombie’s neck. There was a sickening crunch and the thing dropped to the ground.

“Oops,” she said, trying not to throw up. “I think we’re going to have to report this to Uncle Tom…”

* * *

“I didn’t mean to kill him,” Faith said, miserably. “I’d just tried everything I could to subdue him and nothing was working. I know you’re not supposed to use a baton on bone or the neck but…I couldn’t think of anything else to do…” she started sobbing.

“I’m surprised you could,” the NYPD officer said, shaking her head. “You gonna be okay, Miss?”

BoA security and the coroner’s overworked office had already cleared the bodies away. As Faith had feared, the zombie had been feeding on a previous victim. Both of them had been support engineers working in the area.

Faith was meeting with NYPD under the gaze of BoA’s General Manager for Security and Emergency Response as well as the Chief Legal Advisor. The experienced attorney was more used to contract law but he could dance the tune of criminal law. Juvie was, admittedly, not his expertise.

“Are you planning on charging my client?” the attorney asked. “She has cooperated fully.”

“Given the situation and everything else going on?” the cop said. “It’s up to the DA’s office but I don’t think so. I’d find it unlikely. Thirteen-year-old girl is defends herself and another person from an H7 EDP and the EDP is killed in the process? With a stick? I’d say the Post would want to interview her but not the DA.”

“I think we’ll try to avoid that,” Tom said. “If there’s nothing else?”

“We’d appreciate it if you’d keep her somewhere safer than the steam tunnels,” the cop said, standing up. “And she’s going to need counseling.”

“We’ll get her the best available,” Tom said. “Chad, could you walk the officer out while I talk to my niece?”

“Of course,” Chad said. “Officer?”

“Are you going to be okay?” Tom said. “And feel free to say ‘I told you so.’”

Faith grunted a laugh, then shrugged.

“I’d like to say the crying for the cop was all an act,” she said, tonelessly. “And some of it was. But, no, not really what you’d call okay. On the ‘told you so’ cause among other things I had to use a MELEE WEAPON. I’d planned on killing my first zombie at at least twenty-five yards! Not where I could hear the bones crack and get blood all over myself! So, no, not okay. Okay?” She sniffed again and grimaced. “God, I HATE that I cry. It’s so…girly!”

“Think soldiers don’t cry?” Tom said. “Think your father never cried? You cry. You cry, usually, when nobody is watching. You cry in the shower. Or only when friends are there. People who know. Who understand. And you didn’t cry in the crunch.”

“Go me,” Faith said.

“I don’t think there are really words for this,” Tom said, shrugging. “I can get you all the counseling in the City. But it boils down to you did what you had to when you had to. If you hadn’t, then two more lives would have been lost…”

“One,” Faith said. “If worse came to worse I was going to break Dave’s leg and run for it.”

“That’s the spirit,” Tom said, his hand over his mouth trying not to laugh.

“I mean, even a twenty-two!” Faith said, throwing her hands up. “That way I could have shot his leg out at a distance!”

“Dave’s or the zombies?” Tom asked.

“Yes! Either! Both!”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about it again,” Tom said, shaking his head. “I should have been smart and kept you up here in the first place. I’ll…find some paperwork for you to do or something.”

“Great,” Faith said, crossing her arms.

“For now it’s back to the apartment,” Tom said. “I’ve already called Dr. Curry and told him that Sophia’s done for the day. And you definitely are. I’ll have someone run you over.”

“I…” Faith said, then frowned. “That’s the only thing that makes sense. But…I am not going to the apartment without my gear.”

“Faith…”

“Uncle Tom,” she said, reasonably. “The next time I might not be able to say ‘I told you so.’ I know you’re running us over with executive protection. Are they staying on the door til you get there?”

“Uhm…” Tom said. He had had a hard enough time finding the personnel to run them home. There were a million tasks.

“There are still criminals,” Faith pointed out. “And unknown threats. You’re not going to leave us alone in the apartment without so much as a taser. Not this time.”

“Agreed,” Tom said, sighing. “I’ll have the security detail transport it. But no going zombie hunting!”

“Been there, done that,” Faith said. “All I really want right now is a bath.”