Trepidation (28 page)

I nodded and positioned my gun, looking for my next target. “Let’s do it.”

“Okay. Target locked,” she said.

“Fire!” I breathed out as I squeezed off one shot and then another.

The corpses crashed to the ground in a trembling heap.

I stopped, but Claire kept firing while I glanced over my shoulder to make sure nothing was sneaking up on us.
So far, so good,
I surmised, then went back to firing.

Through my scope, I could see one hybrid peering up at me, scowling. Before I could even grasp what was happening, it pulled out a gun and fired up at me.

Claire nailed it in the head, but its friends hurried and took cover behind the parked vehicles.

I heard a
crash
from below and froze.

“What was that?” Claire asked.

“Z’s men...or worse,” I said.

“Well, either way, I’m blowing it away.”  Claire pointed her gun toward the door and slowly made her way across the roof toward it, with me right behind her.

We both walked into the stair corridor, but neither of us saw anything. I walked down a few flights of stairs, but nothing moved or stirred. I knew it wasn’t smart for us to leave our positions, but I didn’t want to get ambushed by any ghouls or maniac Z-lovers.

A loud
bang
suddenly reverberated through the building, and everything shook. The
boom
echoed everywhere around us, nearly bursting my eardrums, and I was suddenly surrounded by smoke, debris, and darkness, my head swirling with confusion. 

W
hen my eyes fluttered open again, I looked around a bit confused, unsure of what had happened.
Did the building cave in on us? Did they use the tank?
The whole place was immersed in a hazy darkness, so I unfastened my flashlight from my belt. My hands shook as I held it, causing the beam to waver. I coughed as I inhaled the smoke that was swirling around me.

As my eyes regained focus, I glanced around for an exit, but there didn’t seem to be one. The whole place was in shambles, with piles of brick, cement, and drywall everywhere, everything coated in plaster and dust. It didn’t look like we were getting out of there anytime soon, at least not without a bulldozer.

Suddenly, there was a cough behind me, and I remembered I hadn’t been alone. “Claire! Are you okay?”

“Not Claire,” a low, raspy voice said.

Chills rushed over me. I spun around in the direction of a hybrid’s voice. The thing shined a bright flashlight in my eyes, temporarily blinding me again. I fumbled around for my gun, only to discover that I’d been disarmed while I was unconscious, but I wondered why it hadn’t killed me while it had the perfect opportunity.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

I shined my own light right back at the towering figure, and I gasped when I saw the hybrid’s hideous face. My eyes flew wide open, and my mouth fell agape. It was just standing there, grinning at me, toying with me; quite like Z, the hybrids seemed to enjoy terrorizing their victims, and it wanted me to see its face before it killed me.

The creature shuffled through the debris and aimed its rifle straight at my head.

In that moment, I was sure it was all over. My life flashed before my eyes again, and I thought about the others mourning my death. My heart beat like a runaway train when the cold barrel touched my forehead. Suddenly, though, I felt the cold tip of the rifle lift from my skin.
Another near-miss?
I wondered.

“You’re not gonna die here and now. You’re
not
on my hit list. I’ve done enough recon to know that, and I have to follow orders.”

He then reached out his hand, and I swallowed hard as he helped me up. I’d never touched a hybrid like that before, and I was thankful I was still wearing my leather gloves. When he stared at me, I stepped back in complete disbelief. He was huge, and I was sure he’d been a bouncer or a wrestler in life. His size mortified me, especially since I only had a flashlight, a piece of nearby debris, or a broken two-by-two for a weapon, if I even had time to jerk it up from the pile of rubble.

“Where’s Claire?” I frantically asked. “You better not have hurt her.”

His putrid finger pointed to the left.

There, I saw a body covered in dust and debris. I instantly rushed over and felt for a pulse; I was happy when I felt her heart beating strongly. I gently caressed her soft but dirty face. “Claire?” I said. Tears welled up in my eyes when I saw her lying there like that, and I took a moment to compose myself.

“She’ll be okay,” the hybrid said, his throaty voice cutting through the fog of panic that was enveloping me.

My mouth opened, but no words came out. I couldn’t bear to lose Claire, and I couldn’t imagine how my brother would take it. Nick had finally opened up and let himself have a shot at love, and losing Claire would absolutely destroy him, even worse than when he’d lost Darla. So many thoughts raced through my head, but I didn’t know what to say or what to do.

“I checked her out before you came to,” the hybrid said. “You’ve been out a long time now. You missed all the action outside. Then again, I guess we both did.”

The thought of being stuck in that claustrophobic little space with a hybrid sickened me, even if he hadn’t pulled the trigger. I swallowed back the rising panic and looked around. My eyes fell on a large piece of concrete, perfect for bashing the things head in if he tried anything funny. I coughed and wiped my burning eyes.

“Why didn’t you do it?” I asked. “Why didn’t you kill us?”

His face contorted into something akin to shock. “Do you think we are only capable of doing the worst possible things? Truly, you ought to give us more credit.”

“I’ve seen what your kind can and will do! I’ve seen it firsthand. I know what you are. Did the scientist put a chip in your brain or something, to make you behave?”

“No,” he said, almost laughing. “Those rumors are amusing though, are they not?”

“Then why didn’t you kill me when you had a chance?”

“I still have a chance, and part of me wants to more than anything, but I...well, I’m fighting it,” he said in the typical demonic voice of those of his white-eyed ilk.

“So you’ve got some shred of humanity left, a conscience?” I said.

“Yes,” he said. “You are very observant.”

I’d never met a hybrid who was quite as human as he was, and I’d always thought of them as monsters. I thought about the ones in the lab, how they’d feasted on a patient still hooked up to an IV, or the ones who had murdered my friends from the nursing home in the infamous baby doll attack. I’d thought they could only hold on to their wit and intelligence, not humaneness. They had their minds but were stuck in zombie bodies, and I wouldn’t have wished such a cruel fate on anyone, but I had no idea they had any shred of compassion in them, so he surprised me.

The hybrid inched closer, and I stepped back. “You don’t trust me,” he said.

“Why should I? I’ve been tricked before, and I’ve seen too many people die.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What happened here?” I asked.

“We were blowing up the buildings like Charlie told us to do. And then I saw you and Claire on the roof. I told my comrades to wait because you two were on Charlie’s ‘do not kill’ list.”

“You’re lying. Charlie tried to kill me in that lab. I barely survived.”

“Because you were stuck in that lab with all those infected animals. But once he heard you were safely out with no ill effects, he put you on his ‘do not kill list’ for the hybrids.” I cocked a brow and he continued. “Because you and Claire saved his life once. You rescued him from a house that was surrounded by a herd of zombies. He thought he owed you that. So he put your whole gang on the list so he could repay his debt to you for saving his life.”

“That’s crazy. But how do I pick the mind of a madman?” And then a thought occurred to me. I remembered how that hybrid had shot those two thugs who snuck up from behind me. I wondered why the hybrid had saved my life, and now I knew. 

“We’re attacking Z’s gang hard,” the hybrid said. “If your brother and friends were not on that list, they’d surely be dead right now.”

I swallowed hard. “How do you know they’re even here?”

“Charlie said they could never turn down a good fight. And Charlie heard through his spies that Max was attacking Z tonight. So he sent us to take out both sides. Don’t worry. Your little posse will be spared. But I can’t say the same for the rest of Max’s group.”

“So you came up here to warn Claire and I to leave the building because it was going to blow up?” I asked.

“Yes. But the bomb must’ve detonated.”

I shook my head. “Then how are we still alive?”

“Lucky for us, our homemade explosives weren’t all that powerful, and they didn’t completely destroy the building. By the way, my name is Shawn Balaston.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.

He handed me my gun back. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

I slipped my gun into my holster, then he handed me back my knife and rifle. I thanked him and knew he must’ve trusted me enough to give me back my weapons.

“Thank you for coming up here and trying to warn me,” I said. “I’m sorry I got you in this jam.”

“It’s okay. Helping you made me feel human.”

“Do you remember much?” I asked.

He paused, then spoke, “The memories fade in and out, but I know I have a wife and a son. I remember...loving them.”

“Are they still alive?”

“I have no idea. They were before I turned. I was bitten while trying to protect them. My wife tried to nurse me back to health, but she couldn’t, and everything went black when I...well, I was told the scientists captured me and gave me some kind of serum. I was human for three days before I changed into this. I begged them to let me go when I thought I was cured, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.”

“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” I said.

“I’d rather be this than roam the streets like those things out there, mindless and devouring everything.”

Even though there was a deep sadness in his voice, I knew he was a coldblooded murderer, a hit man, with orders to eliminate specific targets. “Personally, I think this is worse,” I said. “You still have to kill to eat, but you are also aware of it, aware of what you are, because your mind is more clear.”

“We only feed on animals,” he retorted, “mostly rodents.”

I was just thankful they weren’t feeding on people.

“I feel bad about all of this,” he said. “I really do. Charlie sent me to demolish Z’s gang first, and then ambush Max and his group.”

“It’s a stupid plan. Charlie should’ve let Z and Max battle it out, then took on the victor.”

“Charlie personally wanted his hybrids to take out both sides. It’s a pride thing. He wanted to say he conquered victoriously and nobody else.”

“He’s a narcissistic sociopath,” I said.

I don’t really like the plan, but I have to do what they want me to do if I’m going to get what I want.”

“And what’s that?” I asked. “What do you want?”

“To be human again and to find my wife and son.”

“How will attacking Z’s men help you become human again?”

“Charlie promised that if we help him, he’ll help us.”

“How? What can he possibly do for you?” I inquired.

“He has a cure.”

I swallowed hard. “Shawn, I’m afraid Charlie lied to you. There is no cure.”

“No!” the hybrid insisted. “Charlie would have no reason to lie.”

“No reason other than to create an army of obedient hybrids,” I muttered, but I did think about his words for a minute. If the hybrid wasn’t lying, that meant we needed to save Charlie. What he’d done in the lab was as horrible as it was unforgivable, and I despised the man, but if he had a cure, the world deserved to know about it.
The cure might have to be fixed or altered, but it could still save hundreds of lives.
I hated that Charlie had dangled it in front of Shawn and the others like a carrot though; it proved that he was still as diabolical as ever, still manipulating others to do his bidding.
Maybe there isn’t a cure at all, and Charlie’s just tricking them, telling them what they so desperately want to hear, giving them hope, lying to them
. “Do you hate what Charlie’s making you do?” I asked.

“Are you kidding?” he said. “I was out there roaming the lonely city streets, and he gave me my mind back. Do you know how wonderful it was to have some sense of humanity again, if only for three days? Charlie took me to the roof of the building, and I watched every sunset and every sunrise. I got to stare up at the starry sky.” He looked straight into my eyes. “Yes, you have to fight to survive, and I know it’s an uphill battle, but don’t ever take being human for granted.”

“I won’t,” I said. “I’ve had some near-death experiences that really made me think, this being one of them.”

“It isn’t Charlie’s fault I’m this way. He didn’t turn me into this, and I truly believe he wants to help. He just...wants something in return.”

“What did Charlie do with the people he saved, the ones who didn’t turn into hybrids?”

“They weren’t allowed to stay. He let them go, as long as they promised to leave town. He only kept the hybrids because he needs us to save his new lab. If the gang destroys it, there will be no cure for us. He’s helping us, so we’re indebted to him.”

I wondered if Charlie handpicked his little hybrid army, because there were some that I was sure would have killed him in a heartbeat. These were loyal to him, though, and they truly believed he was going to be their savior, that he could cure them.

Suddenly, something else hit me. Shawn said that Charlie had let the people go, the ones who didn’t change into hybrids. I realized then that the woman I’d seen near the antique shop, the green-eyed one who reminded me of Jackie, was probably one of them.
So she wasn’t a figment of my imagination,
I realized, and it was quite a relief to discover that my sanity was, for the most part, still intact. 

Charlie was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When he deemed someone worthy, they were given special, preferential treatment. To everyone else, though, he was a mad scientist who put them through hell. Clearly, he was twisted, and while he’d deemed the Jackie lookalike to be worthy of life, he hadn’t felt the same about poor Kate and Asia. For some reason, they ended up on his naughty list, so he punished them horribly.