Dead Over Heels

The end of the world just might be their perfect beginning…

Glenview, North Carolina.
Also known—at least to sixteen-year-old Ava Pegg—as the Land of Incredibly Boring Vacations. What exactly were her parents thinking when they bought a summer home here? Then the cute-but-really-annoying boy next door shows up at her place in a panic…hollering something about flesh-eating zombies attacking the town.

At first, Ava’s certain that Cole spent a little too much time with his head in the moonshine barrel. But when someone—or something—rotted and terrifying emerges from behind the woodpile, Ava realizes this is no hooch hallucination. The undead are walking in Glenview, and they are
hungry.
Panicked, Ava and Cole flee into the national forest. No supplies, no weapons. Just two teenagers who don’t even like each other fighting for their lives. But that’s the funny thing about the Zombpocalypse. You never know when you’ll meet your undead end. Or when you’ll fall dead over heels for a boy…

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Alison Kemper. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

2614 South Timberline Road

Suite 109

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Visit our website at
www.entangledpublishing.com
.

Ember is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

Edited by Kerri-Leigh Grady

Cover design by Kelley York

ISBN 978-1-63375-074-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition September 2014

For Julie Golder-Alion and Brian Greenwood: Florida friends who love the mountains.

Chapter One

Autumn sunlight streams through the kitchen of our vacation house. “Come on, Ava.” Mom slides the glass across the counter. “It’s just iced tea. The poor boy’s probably dying of thirst. Take it out to him.”

I fight to suppress a giggle. My mother’s matchmaking attempts have never been subtle. “Which brother’s working today?” I ask. “The hot one?”

“Like I’d have any idea which is the hot one,” she says in her best mom voice.

I close the SAT prep book I’ve been reading since breakfast. “Well, the older brother is tall, dark-haired, and takes off his shirt while he works in our yard—even when it’s, like, forty degrees out. And the younger one wears camo and plays the banjo. I’m not sure he’s my type.”

She nods at the tea. “You’ll have more fun here if you make friends. And I’m sure both boys are very nice.”

“If they’re so nice,” I tease, “why don’t
you
bring the tea?”

Her eyebrows lift, disappearing behind her bangs. “Like I don’t have enough to do around here. Your dad and I are heading to the lumberyard this afternoon to get the post caps.”

I wince sympathetically. If mom’s helping dad all day, she probably has enough on her plate. “Dad’s still planning to fix the fence himself?”

“He’ll try. I hope he doesn’t screw it up before he calls a professional.”

“Like when he installed the new garage door?”

She grins. “And it closed on the hood of my car?”

Laughing, I hop from the bar stool and grab the tea. “You guys are cute. Go fix your fence. I’ll meet this country boy. Maybe he’ll serenade me with a banjo tune.”

She hands me a fistful of sugar packets. “Take these. People around here don’t seem to like my tea.”

The screen door bangs shut behind me, a blast of cold, outside air reminding me I’m not in Florida anymore. Our patio is still a mess—crumbled concrete and half-missing steps. Six months ago, my parents decided to buy this vacation house in the country—a fixer-upper with enough land for a tree farm.

From now on, I’ll spend
every
summer and school break in the North Carolina mountains. It’s beautiful here, but remote—maybe even a little lonely. No cable TV. No internet. Heck, my phone doesn’t even work here half the time. It’s like one of those maps the cell phone companies use to show coverage—with the blank areas. I’m in a blank area. A
big
blank area.

As I navigate the overgrown path toward the edge of our land, I wonder what’s happening in the nonblank areas. It’s Thanksgiving break, and if I were home in Orlando, I’d be heading to the mall with my friends. We’d eat lunch in the glassed-in food court—the one place where I feel like I’m outside without actually
being
outside. It’d be warm enough to wear a tank top and flip-flops. Here, the temperature has dipped below sixty. I already regret leaving my hoodie in the house.

I’m careful not to touch any of the plants on the unkempt trail. Part of me wants to stop and tuck my yoga pants into my socks—to stop bugs from crawling up my leg—but another part of me—the vain part—knows I look dorky when I do this.

I follow the buzz of the weed whacker. My parents hired the Greer brothers to clear the overgrown fields so we can plant Christmas trees. The Greers live down the mountain, like, a half mile from us. Our other neighbors, the Beavers, are at least a mile, maybe two, up the road. There’s some swanky country club over the next ridge, but it’s pretty far. Everything in between is national forest. No houses for miles. For a girl from the ’burbs, this isolation feels totally bizarre.

Banjo Boy has already cleared half the scruffy field. Fall-colored leaves smoke and pop in a small fire.

“Hey,” he yells, turning off the weed whacker.

That’s what the locals say. Not hi or hello, but
hey
.

They also say
red light
. If they give directions, it’s, “Turn left at the red light.” Never green or yellow. Always red.

I joke around with my parents about the local accents, but truth be told, I think the Southern drawl is kind of cute. Especially on the shirtless brother.

I edge closer to the fire, careful to stay out of the high, dangerous grass. “Um, yeah. Hello. Hey. My mom thought you might be thirsty. She sent tea.” Smoke burns my nostrils, making me cough.

He eyes the drink warily. “Is it sweet tea?”

I hold up the sugar packs.

He appears less than thrilled but takes them anyway. The hand reaching for the glass is coated in grime and soot.

Be nice,
Mom said.
Try to talk
.

“Um, sorry it’s iced. Guess she forgot how cold it is out here.”

“It’s warm by the fire.” He says it like
far
.

Leaning against a stump, he tears the sugar packets with his teeth. I kind of wish I had an excuse to snap a pic of his outfit—camo pants, navy work jacket like mechanics wear, and a brown ball cap with the words “Trout Magnet” embroidered across the front. It’s sort of adorable, but my friends back home would never believe it.

The boy doesn’t say anything, just focuses on dumping each pack of sugar in the tea. Is he shy? Antisocial? Guess it’s up to me to make the small talk.

“So, you hear about that flu?” I ask.

“The one in China?”

I nod. “Yeah. Crazy stuff, right?”

For the entire week before we came up to North Carolina, the national news focused on a health scare in Beijing. Scientists think it’s some weird mutation of rabies—one that causes people to lose their minds and run around biting each other to spread the infection. The Bleke-Burns virus, they call it, although some late-night comedian keeps referring to it as Zombie Flu, probably because of rumors that the biting has turned to cannibalism in extreme cases. My AP bio teacher has been pretty much obsessed with the outbreak—assigning us extra reading on viruses and asking for current-events reports based on the news. I’m almost glad to be on vacation in the woods and away from the constant footage of infected people. Their bizarre, pale eyes have started haunting my dreams.

The boy’s brow creases. “Reckon we’ll get it here?”

Is he kidding? The outbreak is on the other side of the planet. Plus, we’re, like, in the middle of freaking nowhere. “Uh, no. Glenview’s pretty isolated. I think we’re good. I’m sure the government will keep it contained—you know, like how Ebola stays in Africa.”

He takes a small sip of tea. Awkward silence again. He finally glances up. Under the filthy cap brim, his eyes are the same glacial blue as his brother’s.

“So, um, where’s Jay?” I’m sure this kid’s nice, and he’s not bad-looking, but I’d be more enthusiastic about this errand if I was talking with the shirtless brother.

“Him and Dad went camping. I stayed behind to finish the job.” He nods toward the fire. The
far
.

“Pretty chilly for camping.”

He tosses the empty sugar packs in the flames. “We’re used to it. Best deer hunting’s in November.”

Hunting? Bleh.

“You bow hunt?” The corners of his mouth quirk up, like he already knows my answer.

“Are you kidding? I could never shoot a deer. They’re too beautiful.”

His smile tightens, accentuating a pale scar on his chin. “You get hungry enough, you’ll shoot the pretty deer.” His eyes lock on mine, waiting for a reaction.

A shiver runs down my spine. Okay, it’s official—I have
zero
in common with this guy.

“I’d better get back to the house and uh, help my mom.” I take a step away from him.

“Your name’s Eva, right?”

“Ava,” I correct.

“Tell your mom thanks for the tea. It was nice of her to send it.” The politeness doesn’t match this rough-looking boy. “I’m Cole.”

He doesn’t offer his grimy hand, and I’m glad.

“It’s, um, nice to meet you,” I try to smile, but it feels like a lie.

“Yeah, you, too.” He hands back the glass. “Good tea.”

I suddenly realize he might be lying, too.

…

Afternoon sun burns through my work jacket, warming my shoulders and back. I wrestle a dead kudzu vine into the fire and readjust my favorite cap—the funny “Trout Magnet” one Jay gave me for Christmas. When I raise my eyes again, the new girl has already disappeared back into her house.

Floridiots
. That’s what we call them around here. Rich A-holes who flatten our forests to make gated communities. Clog our roads every summer with SUVs that cost more than my house. When I washed dishes in Highland, it’d take me an extra half hour to drive up the mountain, stuck behind looky-loos with out-of-state tags.

This new family’s no different. Take the girl, for instance. Acting like she’s doing me a huge favor with that glass of crappy tea. She’s pretty, sure—clean and bright-eyed—but pale as skim milk. I ain’t got much use for delicate girls.

I poke my fire and study the surrounding acres of brush and forest, nestled in a cup between mountain peaks. If my family owned this land, they’d have me down here working, hauling brush or hunting ginseng by the creek. Wonder if the girl gets outta chores ’cause she’s female. I got a hunch, even if she had a brother, I’d still be out here doing hard labor while he played
Call of Duty
or some crap like that.

I sling another mess of brambles on the fire and wish for the millionth time I was out in the forest with Dad and Jay. Working for Florida Girl’s parents beats the hell out of slaving at the country club, but it’s still same old, same old. A bunch of city folk with no damned clue about the mountains.

These two acres make up the best grouse hunting along Walnut Creek Road. Or they used to—before this idiot clear-cut the land for Christmas trees. I’ve hunted this thicket since I was eight. Watched the chicks run through the brush every spring. Now I’m burning their homes to ashes.

And the girl said she didn’t like to hurt animals.

Florida people don’t know nothing.

…

Banjo Boy stirred up a ton of pollen cutting that brush. By the time I climb back to the house, my eyes burn like
far
. I pop a chewable allergy pill, the familiar bitter-orange taste coating the back of my throat.

The kitchen is warm after the chill of the November air. In the other room, Mom and Dad argue in soft voices. As usual, it’s about me. And my stupid allergies. Not the standard pollen aversion that half the world suffers from. The other allergies—the life-threatening ones.

“You know I hate leaving her alone,” Mom says.

“She’s sixteen, Margery. In January, she’ll get her license. And a few years after that, she’ll leave for college.”

“I know, but—”

“She’ll stay inside. What could hurt her?”

“I don’t know.” Mom pauses. “A random colony of fire ants?”

Dad sighs in a long-suffering way. “We’ve had the house sprayed. She’ll be fine. And we can ask the Greer boy to check on her.”

“I’m not sure that’s wise, asking a sixteen-year-old boy to check on our gorgeous daughter we’ve left alone in the middle of the woods.”

Dad grunts. “Point taken.”

“Ugh,” I say, entering the kitchen. “Is Mom still trying to set me up with Banjo Boy?”

Mom laughs, fishing her keys from her purse. “Why don’t you come with us today, sweetie?”

Tempting. My phone works sort of randomly in town. I might be able to call some of my friends at home. Of course, I’d just have to hear about all their
amazing
plans for Thanksgiving break.

“I’ll just stay here,” I tell my parents. “My bio teacher assigned a big research paper on rabies—due Tuesday after we get back.”

Dad nods solemnly. “Wouldn’t want your average slipping to a ninety-nine percent or something.”

I lean over to swat his arm. He gives me a hard time about my school obsession, but I know he’s proud.

Mom unhooks her good coat from the peg near the door. “Stay inside, okay? I don’t like you going outside when we’re not here.”

“Yeah, yeah. I promise. Not a foot out of the house.” I pour myself a glass of tea. “Got your list?”

Dad pats his jacket pocket.

A trip to town means a major haul through the wilderness. It’s nearly forty miles to Glenview, and most of the road is unpaved and pockmarked. The town sits in the valley, surrounded by mountains and national forests. Sure, it’s beautiful, but it makes our home-improvement projects a nightmare. My dad’s not exactly Mr. Fix-it—sometimes, after the long drive, he realizes he’s forgotten something and can’t finish the job.

Our house won’t be completed in record time.

Mom blows me a kiss. “Be back in a few hours.”

I stand at the kitchen counter, draining the last of my tea as the rattle of their car down the dirt road fades to nothing. With a sigh, I pull out my laptop and prepare to spend quality time with Louis Pasteur and his rabies vaccine.

For some weird reason, my brain drifts back to Cole. I move to the window and lean my forehead against the glass. I can’t see him from here, only the road twisting deep into the forest. On the other side of our dilapidated fence, squirrels chase each other through brown November leaves. Part of me wonders what it’s like to spend a cold, clear day outside, working hard, watching birds and squirrels, listening to the creek tumble over stones.

“Don’t go there,” I tell myself aloud. “With your allergies, it’s never gonna happen.” I’ll have to settle for watching from behind a window. Or even better, I could stop daydreaming and get my butt to work.

I write for an hour before I’m startled by the blare of a horn—the musical kind that plays Dixie or Dixieland or whatever that song is called.