“It wasn’t luck,” said Sorensen. He cleaned his glasses in a half-hearted way. “He was one of the Krypton subjects before I took control of the project a few years ago. I thought we’d flushed all the synthetic hormones and steroids from his system, but when he was exposed to the ex-virus they reacted in unforeseen ways.”
St. George glanced over his shoulder at the older man. “You did this to him?”
The doctor shrugged. “I didn’t stop it from happening to him, if you care to make the distinction.”
“Don’t matter to me,” said the ex. The dead man’s eyes blinked as they tried to focus. “What the hell happened to your head, dragon man? You look like a sick altar boy or something.”
“So how did you survive? Where are you hiding?”
The dead thing grinned. “That’s the cool thing. I’m everywhere and nowhere. I been like this since that bitch tore my head off. Hell, if I’d known that redhead was you, I’d’ve ripped your head off yesterday.”
“What?”
Peasy grinned. “Got her,” he said. “And believe me, I been thinking for months now about—”
*
“—all the things I’m going to do to you. I don’t even know where to start.”
Danielle batted at the desiccated arm. “Fucking murderer,” she snarled. “I’d do it again. Give me half a chance and I’ll tear you to pieces.”
The dead soldier leered down at her through dusty eyes. On some level she knew how vulnerable she was. All flesh in a room full of exes. He could do anything to her. Anything at all.
But all she could think of was Gorgon. About his twisted body as a monstrous giant dropped it like a used napkin. About finding it half-eaten the next morning and crushing the oversized skull of the thing that killed him.
She reached up and smacked the dead man across the jaw. It laughed at her and bent her back further over the table. She swung again and it grabbed her wrist.
“Know what I’m going to do, puta?” It shook her arm. “I’m gonna let them eat your hands.”
A few of the exes in the circle trembled. They lowered their guns and their teeth clicked a few times. They turned to look at her.
“Gonna let them bite your fingers off one at a time. You ever see a zombie when they get someone fresh? If you’re bleeding they’ll sit there and suck on it. It’s liquid meat to them.”
All the teeth chattered. Two dozen exes. None of them moved, but they all stared at her.
“And if you start to get weak,” said Peasy, “we’ll just burn you. Stop the bleeding that way. Then maybe I’ll let them eat your toes. You like that, bitch? Bet you’re one of those toe-sucker freaks.”
She twisted her arm free and screamed at him. Her hands flailed back on the table looking for a screwdriver or a prybar. There was nothing. She tried to keep things clean and tidy.
“And when I’m bored with watching you cry,” he said, “I’ll just divide and conquer. Pull off your legs, your arms, and—”
*
“—then her head. Maybe I’ll save her skull, put it up on a mantle or some shit.”
“You’re with Danielle now,” said St. George.
“Oh yeah. These idiots put me on guard duty around her armor. You guys pissed off the Army something harsh.”
“If you hurt her,” said the hero, “I’ll crush your skull.”
It grinned at him. “I got a hundred thousand skulls, hero. And a billion more waiting for me to move in.”
“There’s nowhere you’ll be safe.”
“Well, good for me I’ve been nowhere for months now,” cackled the ex. “I’m the new zombie virus, dragon man. Now, you got any last words before... BITCH!”
*
“You got any last words before—”
Her fingers closed on the laptop and she swung it over her head. The cables caught, just for a second, but then the USB connectors popped free and she brought the metal and plastic case down on the dead man’s skull. The corner gouged open the flesh from the middle of his forehead across his brow ridge and forced his eye shut.
“BITCH!”
She didn’t wait to see how much damage she’d done. She let the computer drop, dove under his arms, and skittered away across the floor.
He growled and all the teeth in the room stopped chattering. The exes turned as one and tracked her movement across the floor. Their arms raised in perfect sync and pointed at her. Peasy turned and snarled. His face was covered with dark, clumpy blood. He took a step, and the exes stepped forward with him.
Danielle had the M16.
She rolled over and fired. He wasn’t even six feet away, bending down to grab her. The first two rounds caught him in the chest. The third in the Adam’s apple. The last one punched through his nose and out the back of his skull. His face sagged and the ex collapsed in a pile.