Death Whispers (Death Series, Book 1) (42 page)

“Yeah it was.”

“Our first real kiss,” she said, ducking her
head.

I was dazed, but was up for a repeat performance.
Yeah, I was into the whole practice-makes-perfect philosophy.

“Better get going or your aunt will freak out.”

“Yeah, I guess. I could stay here with you all
night.”

“Not scared anymore?” I teased.

“Not so much, no.” She smiled.

I put the LED back in its spot, making my way back
to about the spot where I thought light should have been. But, it was
still dark.

What-the-hell?

“Caleb?” Nervously.

“It's okay.”

“
No..
.
no it's not.”

“What?” I turned to her, not able to see her
face in the inky blackness.

“I think someone closed the door.”

“What? Who?”

“Those jerks.”

That narrowed it down.

“Carson and Brett.”

No way. Did they follow us?

“How do you know?”

Duh.

“They've been in here, one of them,” she
paused. “Brett touched the same place where I was crawling.”

Well-hell. No pulse, no way out, in the dark with
my girlfriend.

Hey...
in
the dark with my girlfriend
.
Now that had possibilities.

“Caleb!” She sounded a little hysterical.

“I'll think of something.”

My mind turned to the graveyard not two blocks
away. I guess the zombie crew were going to have to start early.

We needed zombies, (and the Js suddenly appearing
wouldn't be too bad either). Were Carson and Brett still out there? I
was gonna have to deal with them. Doesn't look like Brett had
softened toward me when I lent him a hand with his crazy-ass dad.
Huh.

Jade was mashed up next to me, which was great,
but she was my responsibility.

I had an idea.

“Are they still out there?”

“I think so.”

Okay. I decided that if I just didn't fight all
the calling the Dead were doing then they'd just come.

I let that thread of power slide out of me,
visualizing one grave in particular, knowing that probably, in the
Zombie Handbook, there was a rule about too many multiple raisings.

I
called Clyde to me,
come.
Then
threw a visual net, using it in my head like a lasso, tossing it
around that one grave like a circle. I clenched it tightly, pulling
it toward me.

“What are you doing?” Jade said, sensing
something big.

I heard her voice as if far away, I felt them
coming, heading toward the dump. Belatedly, it occurred to me that
they may draw some attention.

I
thought,
stay
hidden...
I
heard a response.
..
yeeeesss;
a
hiss in my mind
like
a razor.
I
shuddered, the communion with the zombie felt like breathing. Natural
and right.

My
voice answered Jade, sounding as dead as what I called,
“Getting
help.”

“I think they're here,” she said.

Outside of the door I heard a scuffle, then
shouting, “I told you he'd get those fuckin' dead creepers out of
the ground. They're going right for the door,” Brett screeched.

“Don't worry, I have this under control,”
Carson said.

He was going to burn my zombies, couldn't have
that.

I yelled, “Clyde, rip the door off!” And put
everything I had into it. A great bubble of power left me and I felt
a moment of extreme vertigo, my skin feeling as if it would slide off
my body. Then the world righted and sunlight streamed in, a rotting
head poking in as the door hung crookedly off its hinges.

That solved the locking-us-in-the-hideaway
problem, I thought wildly.

Jade yelped when Clyde poked his head in. Clyde
wasn't a chatty guy, he just stared and I said (very literally;
zombies were a task-oriented group): “Grab the kid named Carson,
don't hurt him.”

Carson saw Clyde coming and tried to throw a fire
ball, which he held, suspended, in the palm of each hand. I noticed
that one of my other zombies was frantically beating at the flames on
its feet or what was left of its feet.

Carson
was going to need work on his aim. But Clyde was fast-as-hell.
Whoever said zombies only shambled, hadn't met
my
zombies, they could have serious speed.

I exited the broken freezer door, pulling Jade out
as I went. I kept her behind me until I figured out this new mess. I
saw something blurring toward me in the periphery.

Jade screamed, “Caleb, watch out!” and then
Brett was on me, both of us rolling away from Jade, our hands swept
apart.

I turned desperately, trying to keep sight of Jade
and Brett belted me a good one in my jaw. Hell! I gave him a knee
right in the crotch but it glanced off and got him in the stomach.
Too bad the damn kidneys were around the back. We grappled. I got on
top and punched him right in the head. I sprung up, trying to get to
Jade who was very near Carson, but Clyde had Carson pinned to him,
his back against Clyde's chest. Carson could move his hands and he
was moving his hands... against Jade.

She stood with four zombies around her, tiny
looking, them a rotting back drop, Carson preparing to torch her.

I didn't hesitate, “Move in front of her.”

The zombies twitched as one, moving in front of
Jade, the one with the burning feet, crawling to be in front of her.
Cripes!
I'd think
about that later, right now Jade needed saving.

“Clyde, the hands!” I screamed.

Clyde looked at me, his eyeballs rolling wetly in
my direction, a dark understanding lighting in them. Clyde folded one
arm across both of Carson's, tightening it like a vise. The remains
of one cuff of his sleeves waving small fingers of material in the
light breeze, a cuff-link tenaciously hanging on, twinkling in the
hazy sunlight.

“He's breaking my hand,” Carson screamed at me
with true alarm.

“
Oh
well
!”
Jade screamed back.

Huh.

Clyde
was busying himself with bending Carson's hand back toward his wrist.
“Now Clyde, don't break it off.
Yet
.”

“
Yeah
Clyde
...
how's he gonna scratch his ass?” Jonesy asked reasonably, taking a
swing at the now-lunging Brett who had crept up behind me to finish
our business together.

“It's about damn time!” I said, ducking out of
the fray. “I thought I was going to do all the work.”

Geez, that was close.

John followed Jonesy, who was in a full-on
struggle with Brett. I turned my attention back to Carson. “Say
'uncle' you troublesome prick.”

“Screw you, Hart.”

I
just looked at Clyde, who
got
it
,
exerting more pressure on old fire lover.

“Ouuuuuw... tell him to stop,” Carson squealed
like a pig.

“Clyde stop,” I said like I didn't mean it.

Jonesy and Brett were still dueling it out behind
me; distinctive meaty thumping sounds of fists swinging.

Interestingly enough, Clyde didn't stop.

“Stop him!”

“Okay Clyde, stop breaking Carson's hand, for
right now.” Clyde slowed his progress but let his skeletal hand
linger over the top of Carson's palm, white from the pressure.

John came up behind me. “Not that this isn't
terrific entertainment, but I want to mention that we're not exactly
being subtle.”

He had a point.

I looked over at Jade who looked a little shocky,
huh, better shore her up. I walked over to her, the zombies marking
my progress like it was the single most important thing in the world.

She fell into my arms. “I thought he was going
to burn me Caleb!”

It was lesson-time for Carson.

I
looked over at Brett and saw that Jonesy had him in an elbow lock.
Nice. I guess we couldn't deliver them back all broken; the adults
would ask about
that
.

“Jonesy, get off Brett.”

“Ahhhh!”

“Just do it!”

Jonesy backed off Brett carefully, giving him full
eye contact. That was really necessary with Brett, a proven weasel.

Brett was looking at us all sullenly.

I glanced at one of the zombies over the top of
Jade's head, it was a girl zombie. But I was a believer after Gran
and said, “Go watch him,” I pointed to the pile of sullenness
that was Brett. The zombie shuffled over there, oops, that was the
one with the feet issue.

Brett stood up, fists clenched (I knew that look),
and said, “Get your creepers away from me Hart.”

“
Ah...
no
,
ass-wipe. You locked me and Jade in there then tried to beat on me.”
I looked over at Jonesy.

“
No,
I
beat on him,” Jonesy interrupted.

I finished with, “And Jonesy had to beat on you.
Your butt can just stand there while we deal with Carson here.” I
jerked my head to where Clyde stood holding Carson.

The other three zombies stood there, blankly
staring at me, waiting for the next directive. Their rotten smell
clung to all of us like loose clothing.

I
turned back to Carson. “Listen, I haven't done anything to you
(except for the fire thing at the graveyard), but you...” I thought
about it, “
insist
on driving me crazy, endangering my girlfriend, and hassling us all.
Stop it or I'm gonna sic my zombies on you.”

The zombies took a step toward Carson, Clyde
giving an enthusiastic squeeze. “Not now guys, and girl,” I
hurriedly corrected, her eyes almost gone but somehow alive.

The zombie brigade, energetic bunch.

“Wow, they were going to make it happen there
with Carson,” John said.

“Yeah, nice,” Jonesy agreed.

Jade was leaning against me but looking steadier.

My attention went to Brett.

“Not
so easy, Hart. You need us.”

Was he high?

“How do you figure, Mason?” Jonesy asked.

“Cuz, you've got this hideaway for a reason. I'm
thinkin' you're all tryin' to hide from something... or someone.
Looks like you're limited on how many of your creepers can help you,
right?”

Damn
.
If he were really dumb, this would be easier.

John
said, “Here's the thing, this is like a stalemate, like in chess.
You're a mundane, Jonesy's a mundane. We're not,” John indicated,
sweeping his hand out to include me and Jade, “and Carson is a
pyro. That's all of us against you. I think it's to your...” he
thought, “benefit, to just go away.”

“Yeah, don't go away mad, just go away,”
Jonesy said.

“Don't help Jonesy,” I said, maybe I could
negotiate.

“Don't even try Terran. You and your dip-shit
friends don't stand a chance.” He struggled against Clyde.

So
not going to work.

Jade piped in, “Just go now and leave us alone.
Find someone else to abuse.” She looked directly at Brett. “You
should know better, Caleb helped you,” she said, referencing the
fight with the manic gophers.

“
You
think he helped me?” Brett bit out. He barked out a laugh. “What
do you think
happened
after you left?”

We were all quiet.

“He used me like a punching bag. You made it
worse not better, Hart. You think you're so damn good. Because your
dad's 'all-that'. Well, you're not. You need to be put in your place,
like all the other jerks that think their shit doesn't stink.”

I
felt sick..
.
his
dad had beat him anyway.

“So your dad's a royal dickhead. You wanna be
like him, he's so cool?” Jonesy asked.

John face-palmed.

“No!” Brett yelled.

“Then
stop it Brett. Stop it now,” Jade said quietly.

“Oh, you're all nice now that you're with him,”
Brett glared at me. “But you have bad taste in dudes Jade.”

“Ah... how is this relevant?” John asked.

Right.

Carson squeezed out, “Make this,” he rolled
his eyes up to rotting-Clyde, “dead thing let me go and we'll leave
you alone, for now.”

“Not good enough. Leave us alone,
forever,
”
I said.

“Fine. Just so you know we're not gonna be
friends, ever,” Carson said.

“Yeah, I think we got the,'we're enemies' thing
down,” I looked at Clyde. “Let him go.”