Waking Up Dead

there somewhere, and she’d try and kill me the moment she saw me.”

“Look—”

A beep sounded and Luke halted his words. Pete held up a hand, turned around, and strode over to the workbench. His walkie was on there, it crackled some, and Pete gave it a shake before heading to the garage doors, mouthing the word signal as he did so.

In a way Luke was grateful the conversation had been halted. Should he have told Pete he’d seen the Lily zombie? He wasn’t sure. Which would hurt the man more? Knowing or not knowing? Luke frowned. How would he feel if Jackson were ever to…he shuddered…that was not an option. Even the thought of it made something inside of him twist.

“We have an issue,” Pete said, striding back into the garage.

Luke looked up and immediately noticed the change in his friend. Whatever feelings he’d been battling for Lily were now buried. “What kind?” Luke asked.

“Couple of packs of zombies over in Concepcion, small town not far from here. We tend to keep it cleaned out as it’s our drop-off point.”

“So…”

“So I need to take a couple of teams and clear it out. You okay here?”

Luke nodded. “Of course. Go.”

Pete was out the door a second later, talking into his walkie as he did so. Luke grabbed his tool bag and placed it on the workbench, before taking a swig of water from the large bottle there.

It was long before their meet time but he decided to go see Jackson. At the least she’d want to know about the zombies Pete was planning to go kill. Hell, she’d probably want to go help. His almost laughed at that thought and he hurried from the garage and across the courtyard. Jackson had spent forever trying to find this camp. No way would she want to head back out again so soon. She was full of questions. Was probably finding someone to answer them for her—maybe even Nancy. He imagined the two women together and smiled. They’d be friends in no time.

He nodded to himself and sprinted to the house that was now part theirs. If he was very lucky she might even still be at home. Maybe curled up in bed, sleeping. Christ knew she needed to. He’d die a happy man if she would sleep ten hours straight.

His heart thumped as he imagined her in just her vest and panties. Or better yet naked as she had been in his arms this morning—the purple panties no more. She was so fucking beautiful. Would he ever get enough of her?

Doubtful.

I know what this is…because he did. Luke knew exactly what it was between them, had known it from the moment he’d given her that too-brief hug in the garage. It was the two of them now. Even surrounded by three hundred-odd others, it was still just the two of them.

He grinned as he pushed open the door to the room slowly, so that she’d have ample time to realize it was him. She didn’t like surprises.

“Hey,” he said.

But no one answered, because Jackson wasn’t there.

…

Sebastian had indicated that the drive to the shack would take fifteen minutes at most. More than twenty minutes later—courtesy of the watch he had strapped to his wrist—and Jackson was having serious doubts about the doctor’s time-keeping skills.

“Is it much farther?” she asked.

He frowned and pulled on the stick shift. “I don’t know. I’ve never driven here myself before. Someone else usually drives and I get on with some work. So maybe it might be a little bit longer. I don’t know.”

She shook her head and cast him an exasperated look. Nancy was right. Sebastian was a bit kooky, but he was also honest to the point of blunt and she respected that about him.

“I’m starting to wonder about the wisdom of this, Sebastian,” she said. “I’m also starting to wonder why I let you talk me into it, and I should have told Luke what we were up to.”

“You have to check in with him?”

“No, of course I don’t, but he’ll be worried if he gets back to the room at midday and I’m not there. We said we would meet up.”

“Everyone meets up at midday, so I wouldn’t worry. He’ll have plenty of people to talk to.”

“That’s not quite what I meant.”

She thought of Luke busy in the garage, fixing things up, and suddenly regretted not checking in with him. She didn’t want him worrying, but in truth, she just hadn’t thought things through at all. She was lost and feeling a bit like a third wheel and Sebastian’s need for her help had seemed like a godsend. Despite the fact she couldn’t drive, he’d insisted they needed to make one quick trip—and he’d been so goofily persuasive. He’d do the driving if she was willing to be guard. Before Jackson had a chance to ask what the hell he was talking about, or anything else for that matter, he’d dragged her off to find Nancy and pass it by her.

Nancy had sighed when Sebastian told her his plan, but had nodded before taking Jackson aside.

“He’s a bit odd, but the work he does is of the utmost importance, Jackson. It’s fairly safe from here to the shack, so you’ll be fine, and I don’t doubt you can take care of yourself. You might come up against a stray zombie or two, no packs around here, though I doubt you’ll even see that. I’ve got several teams out doing sweeps as there’s an issue over by Concepcion, but that’s not in your direction. That does mean, of course, that I can’t really spare anyone else to go out with Sebastian, not with the internal checks we’re doing, and it’d be just like him to go on his own and get himself in trouble.”

“The shack?”

Nancy sighed again. “Best to see it. You’ll understand what it’s all about then.” She shook her head and gave Jackson a long look. “I’d really appreciate it if you’d do this for us. We need you.”

How could she refuse that? A role, a way to contribute. She couldn’t—it was exactly what she needed at just the right time. But then there was Luke. She needed to be back by midday. She’d have to be quite stern with Sebastian about that. It would be hugely unfair to leave him worrying. I should have checked in, damn it.

“We’re back by midday, okay? I don’t want Luke to worry.”

Sebastian frowned and pressed down on the accelerator. “I get the impression you can take care of yourself, Jackson. Which is why, as you put it, I asked you to do this. But don’t worry, we’ll be back well before then. We’ve got hours and hours.”

“I’m having serious doubts about your math skills. It’s already after ten. We’ll have to turn around as soon as we get there.”

“I only need to make a quick check,” he insisted. “Besides you’ll be glad I talked you into this, believe me. I’ve never understood why everyone at camp stops work in the middle of the day. For my work, at least it is the perfect time. It’s hot, which means the wakers are at their most sluggish.”

“The wakers? Do you mean the zombies?”

He nodded. “I do.”

“So why not call them that?”

“Because of my work.”

Jackson frowned. Once again he wasn’t really making sense, and yet she sensed there was something important going on. Answers to her questions maybe. “You still haven’t told me what your work is.”

“And I won’t. Like I said, you need to see it to appreciate it. All you need to know right now is that I need your help. Really need your help.”

“Well at least Nancy knows what we’re doing. I don’t want everyone thinking I’ve upped and left already!”

He grinned and pressed the accelerator too hard. They jerked forward. “Ah here we are.”

In the distance, on the edge of a long field, Jackson could see a large building. It might have been a warehouse once, or some sort of depot. Her first thought was that it was the perfect place for hiding zombies.

“Do you do a security sweep when you arrive?” she asked.