Great. Wonderful. “Why don’t I lasso the moon while I’m at it?”
Kat’s eyes narrow on me, her hazel irises focusing with laser sharpness. “When did you become such a baby?”
Ouch. “You’ll trust me not to betray him?”
“Yes, but only because of the vision. Meanwhile, I’ll be watching you, and if I suspect you’re doing anything wrong, my next visit won’t be so pleasant.”
I rub at my wrist. I didn’t lie to Frosty. I’ve learned my lesson and won’t betray him. More than that, Kat is right. I owe the boy my life. He saved me tonight. I’ll gladly stand guard over him.
“I’ll take care of him as if he’s my brother.”
This soothes her, but only slightly.
“Do you know when he’s going to be attacked? Or where?” I grab a notebook and pen from the nightstand. “Any details you can give me about the vision will help.”
Silence greets me.
I glance up, but she’s already gone.
Sighing, I fall back on the bed. The mattress creaks, blending with the rhythmic thump, thump, thump of my neighbor’s headboard. Frosty isn’t going to like having me as a shadow. He’s going to protest. Loudly. He’ll insult me, and it’ll hurt like crazy, and like Kat said, he might even try to kill me, but I’m tough and I’ll handle it.
Who’s going to attack him? A female zombie? A former employee from Anima? A new employee from Anima?
Strike those last two. One, agents are cowards. When Anima was in operation, they only approached Zs while wearing a specially designed hazmat suit, the outer layer of material made of something akin to zombie flesh, rendering the human underneath it invisible to the undead. Two, I haven’t been contacted by anyone associated with the company, not since Cole and Ali burned down their facilities and wiped Rebecca’s memories—a woman who would happily eat her own young if it meant surviving another day.
That memory-wiping thing... It is reversible. But again, if Rebecca remembered her past, or the war, she would have contacted me. Would have threatened River again.
What would I do then?
The stupid tears return to my eyes, stinging, and I roll to my side. My current situation is the sum total of the decisions I made in the past, I know that, just like I know I have to live with the consequences every day for the rest of my life.
This is no one’s fault by my own, and I won’t make the same mistakes. I won’t.
And I’m not helpless. I can do everything in my power to create a better future. Starting now, with Frosty. I would forever hate anyone who hurt River, just as Frosty will forever hate the people who hurt Kat.
I can’t ever make up such a loss to him, but I can damn sure try. And I will.
I blink open tired, gritty eyes as bright light streams through the crack in my bedroom curtains. My temples pound, a memory knocking on the door of my mind.
I reach for Kat, intending to cuddle her close, but her side of the bed is cold.
Makes sense. She’s dead.
The thought hits me, a reminder of all I’ve lost, and agony nearly splits open my chest. But as bad as it is, it’s not as bad as usual. Another memory surfaces, and I grin. Yesterday, she came to visit me; she asked me to fight zombies for another slayer, not realizing she was sending me to Camilla Marks. She promised to visit me again.
I jolt upright and scan my bedroom, hoping she’s already here. Beige walls. A small bed with blue sheets and brown covers, a large dresser, the drawers hanging open. My clean clothes are piled in one corner and my dirty clothes piled in another. I’ve been meaning to do laundry for, oh, about four months.
There’s no sign of Kat.
Still, I jump up and race into the bathroom, a small space with only a sink, toilet and shower stall. I brush my teeth and hair, but I don’t bother to change my clothes. I’m shirtless, but wearing a pair of running shorts. I’ve worn worse.
“Kat,” I call, not even trying to hide the desperation in my tone. “Kat.”
She appears in a blink, as if she’s been waiting for my summons, and my knees almost buckle. I step toward her out of habit, only to stop myself as yesterday’s warning plays through my mind. Touch her, lose her.
No touching. Ever.
“Congrats! Today’s your lucky day.” She’s dressed in the same T-shirt and boxers as before, but it doesn’t matter. She’s beautiful in a way no other girl can ever hope to be. “You call, I answer.”
“I missed you,” I say.
“You’d be crazy if you didn’t.”
I try for a scolding expression but only manage to smile at her. “When you aren’t with me, where are you?” I want to know every detail about her new life.
She points to the ceiling...and then she waves her arm and whips her body into the most hideous dance of all time.
I laugh—really laugh—and say, “Stop. Before I have to bleach my eyes.”
“Because your moves and grooves don’t compare to mine, and watching me only reminds you of your failure?”