Nick started to panic about his slip until Kody distracted them with a scream. As the teachers and adult Weres took over herding the wolves, he saw that the zeitj?gers were back and watching everything closely.
Too closely for Nick’s sanity.
Without a word, Kody pulled him into the hallway, out of the line of fire.
Nick took a second to make sure no one could overhear them. “What are the odds that one of the Were-Hunters made a bad time jump and that’s what brought out our ugly giant plague doctors?”
“Sadly, the young Weres do that all the time. No. Something much more treacherous is going on here.”
“Like…”
“No idea. But it has to be bad. I’ve only heard of zeitj?gers appearing in number right before something catastrophic.”
And given the fact she was a warrior who’d been killed during Armageddon and sent back in time to stop it from happening, that basically said it all.
They were screwed.
Sighing, Nick looked up at the ceiling. “I swear, if I survive this, I will never, ever say that a day is going good again in my life. Lesson learned. All days suck from now on.”
As the adult Squires began to arrive to evacuate the school, Nick saw Bubba Burdette come in among them. At six foot four and being a former college football linebacker turned zombie-survivalist, Bubba tended to stand out even in a crowd. He was a strange combination of horror-movie buff and redneck, complete with a well-trimmed beard and black hair.
But the one thing everyone knew about Big Bubba Burdette, he hated mornings with a burning passion. The fact that he was awake and here at this ungodly early hour more than anything else confirmed that the end of the world was upon them.
His heart pounding, Nick met Kody’s gaping expression. “What new hell-monkey wakens?”
Bubba snorted at his sarcasm. “After all the weirdness of the last few days and what with this storm moving in like it did and throwing down hailstones the size of baseballs, me and Mark wanted to make sure you and your mom were safe. I left him with Cherise and promised her I’d see you home.” He scowled as he saw the blood on Nick’s arm from where Mason had taken a bite out of him. “What happened? Do we need to get you to a hospital?”
That mixture of raw fear and concern in Bubba’s blue eyes caught Nick off guard. When Nick had been sucked into an alternate universe, Bubba had been his real, natural father there. A part of him he didn’t want to acknowledge had kind of liked it. Since his own dad had spent the majority of Nick’s life incarcerated or trying to kill him, Bubba had been the only real father figure Nick had ever known.
At least until two years ago when the immortal Dark-Hunter Kyrian had saved his life and given him a part-time job. Now Kyrian was like a second dad to him, which, while annoying at times, was also kind of nice.
There was nothing Nick wouldn’t do for either man.
“I’m fine. Just a flesh wound.”
Bubba narrowed his gaze on him, then looked at Kody. “Is he lying to me, Ms. Kody?”
She flashed a playful grin. “Doubtful. You know Nick. If it was really bad, he’d be whining like a baby and begging for his mom, and a lollipop and sticker.”
Bubba laughed before he took Nick’s backpack. “C’mon, runt. Let me get you home to your mama. She’s worried sick.” He glanced around. “So where’s your other cohort? Not like Caleb to leave you alone. Way he hangs all over you, boy, I keep waiting for a wedding announcement.”
Nick snorted. “Sent home for hurling.”
“Lovely.”
“Not really. Except for when he scored on the shoes of my least favorite teacher. That was pretty epic.”
Bubba shook his head. “Did you drive?”
“Nah. After I got jumped, Ma wants me to, but seriously?” Nick had to force himself to not roll his eyes since he only lived a block and a half away. “Takes longer to find a parking spot than it does to walk it.”
This time, Bubba broke out into laughter. “Being the only son of an overly protective Southern mother, I get it… in a way only you know. They are truly God’s very special creatures.”
“Heavy emphasis on the creature part. Especially those long, clinging, fun-sucking tentacles that wrap around and hold you down till you can’t breathe.”
“Amen, little brother. Amen.”
Kody grinned at them. “Your mama still in town?” she asked Bubba.
“Nah. She left last night. Thank God. I wouldn’t want her trying to travel in this mess. I’d be the basket case if she was at the airport today.”
“You two,” Kody said with a laugh. “I don’t know why you pick on your mothers when you’re both worse about their safety than they are with yours. Nick, your mom’s younger than Bubba and I’ve seen you hold on to her arm when she’s going up and down stairs.”