Out of nowhere, a huge gray extended-cab pickup truck that had metal plates welded to it like a cattle scoop came through the wal , narrowly missing him and Ian. It careened through the zombies at a breakneck speed as if it was a lawnmower after crabgrass.
Nick froze as the driving style reminded him of his favorite redneck savant.
No, it couldn’t be. …
They were dead. …
But even so a glimmer of hope ignited inside him.
A loud “Yee-haw” sounded as the truck doors were slung open and Bubba, Mark, Caleb, Nekoda, Simi, and Alex spil ed out with weapons galore (wel , not Simi; she came out bearing only a large bottle of barbecue sauce while licking her chops, and interestingly enough, she wore a large white lobster bib). Mark was armed with a flamethrower as he ran for the first group of zombies.
Bubba stood in the door and propped his arms up on the top of the truck with a crossbow so that he could snipe at them. “Head down, Mark!” he shouted before he let fly an arrow that landed right between the eyes of the zombie in front of Mark.
Nekoda ran to Nick with a cattle prod. “Here, I’l trade you.” She handed it to him, then took Ian from him and ran with the kid to the truck so that Bubba could keep him safe.
Nick used the cattle prod to zap Tabitha, Eric, Madaug, and his mom. They staggered back as their brains rebooted and they became human again.
Tabitha recovered the quickest. Snarling in anger, she grabbed the demon nearest her and snapped his neck. “Turn me into a zombie … you suck!” She jerked a set of sais out of her boots and went to town on their rotten hides.
How she remembered being a zombie, Nick had no idea, but he was too busy fighting off the others to worry about it right now. Eric pul ed the metal belt off his waist, which turned out to be an iron whip, and took up a position at Tabitha’s back so that he could guard her while Madaug took his mother to Bubba’s truck to stay with Ian.
Simi was snapping off pieces of the zombies and laughing as she skipped around them, daring them to touch her.
Meanwhile, Caleb, in human form, was fighting the three demons with moves Jet Li would envy.
Nekoda came out of the truck with a katana she brandished like a ninja queen. Nick froze as he watched her for a second.
Dang, she was flexible and skil ed.
He hissed as a zombie shoved him. Turning, he shocked it, then stabbed it with his sword.
And stil they kept coming. Nothing they did seemed to matter. This new breed of zombie wouldn’t be stopped. Not by hacking, burning, or stabbing. Dog, who trained them? The Terminator?
Nekoda screamed.
Nick turned to see two zombies on her like the last piece of steak in a dog kennel.
His heart sank. They were going to kil her.
Do something. Because if he didn’t, they wouldn’t survive this.
You will have the power to command the dead. . . .
Ambrose might have been on meth. Or he might have been tel ing the truth.
Hoping for the latter, Nick ran to help her. The first zombie he reached spun on him and bit him hard in the shoulder. “I’m real y getting tired of this.” Nick stabbed the zombie through the heart.
Stil it kept fighting.
“Run, Kody!”
She refused. “Not without you.” While he appreciated the thought, the girl was insane.
Nick put himself between her and them. “This isn’t looking good for us. Is it too late to switch sides?” Kody gave him a smile that made him weak in the knees and strong in resolve. “I have faith in you, Nick.” And then she did the most unexpected thing of al .
She pressed her lips against his.
Nick was stunned as he tasted her. For an instant, time stood stil as his breath mixed with hers and her tongue swept against his. This … this was better than anything he’d ever dreamed and it made his entire body heat up.
Great, I would get my first real kiss three seconds before the zombies kill me.
His luck never changed.
Kody cried out as a zombie ripped her from his arms and slung her to the ground. A group of them descended on her.
Nick felt the book heating again in his pocket as it whispered to him.
To make the dead behave,
Total dominion you must crave.
Huh? What crack was the book on?
But no sooner had he thought that than he final y understood. It was something Brynna had done a report on in school last year. At the time he’d thought it stupid, but he final y got it.
Visualization. In order to make something happen, to become something else, you had to see it clearly in your mind.
That was the first step of achieving success. Vague dreams never amounted to anything. Only those that were ful y seen could manifest.
Just like with the dagger.
Thoughts had power. Negative and positive. They influenced everything. They could empower a person or rip them to shreds.
And hopeful y, tonight, they’d save al their lives.
Closing his eyes, Nick saw himself like the character in the Zombie Hunter video game.
I will fear no evil for I am the baddest beast in the land. I am the power they can’t tear down. And my will is law.
They will do as I say. The dead don’t command me.
I command them.
Power, true power, comes from within. Not without.