“They are,” she whispered with a tinge of horror. “More and more, they are.”
“How do you know that? Are you following them?” The very idea sickened me. “Emma, do not follow them. I don’t care if you’re a witness, whatever that means, and that they can’t touch you. Or can they?”
“They can’t.”
The bud of panic withered. “Good. But I still don’t want you near them.”
“Alice, I couldn’t bear it if you suffered like…” Her eyes widened, and she pressed her lips together. “Never mind.”
I jumped to my feet. “Finish that sentence right now, Emmaline Lily!”
Flicker, flicker. She glanced over her shoulder and groaned. “Great! I’ve been spotted. Just…take my magnificent advice,” she said when she faced me. “One day you’ll thank me.” And with that, she really was gone.
*
As promised, Cole picked me up at seven-fifteen Monday morning. I’d opted to humor him in this (jump jump), but only because of our visions. I did not want to have another one at school. So, when he eased into my driveway and realized I was standing on the porch, looking anywhere but at him, he parked, got out and approached me.
The sky was a clear, wide expanse of baby blue, with no clouds in sight. Emma’s way of telling me there would be no zombies out tonight.
Emma. All night I’d tried to talk to her, but she’d never made another appearance.
Whether she’d listened or not, I’d told her that I couldn’t leave the zombies alone. I just couldn’t. I was finally on the right track. I could help make this town safer so that no one else would have to watch a loved one die because some evil undead thing wanted a midnight snack. I hoped she understood.
“You okay?” Cole asked. Today he wore a black cap, the rim bathing his face in shadows. “You look tired.”
“Thanks a lot,” I replied. As always, he smelled mouthwateringly delicious. “That’s what every girl wants to hear first thing in the morning.”
But really, he’d nailed it. I was beyond tired.
“I didn’t say you looked bad, just tired.” He handed me a syringe, tucked snugly in a small, black case. “That’s your EpiPen.”
My zombie toxin antidote. “Thank you.” I carefully placed it in my back pocket.
“Any problems with zombies last night?”
“No.”
“Good. That means none of them escaped my traps.”
Surely he wasn’t saying he’d fought them. I hadn’t seen the rabbit. “You mean…”
“Yep. We tracked a nest headed toward your house.”
Emma was right. They were hunting me. But…why? And why hadn’t she formed the cloud?
“We managed to stop most of them before they could reach you,” he added. “The ones that made it past us must have gotten caught in the trees.”
I hadn’t seen them, hadn’t known anyone was out there. Either they were getting better at hiding, or I’d been too distracted. Neither boded well for me.
“When do you guys sleep?” I asked, reaching out before I could stop myself and playing with the button on his shirt. You shouldn’t touch him. It promotes a familiarity you do not share with him. Gritting my teeth, I dropped my hands to my sides.
“Haven’t you heard?” His warm breath trekked over my forehead, reminding me of just how wonderfully tall he was. “We sleep during class.”
I couldn’t detect a shred of sarcasm from him. “Great. That’s just great. Next you’ll tell me to set up camp in the principal’s office, since I’ll be spending so much time there.”
“You probably will.”
Peachy.
“Good news is, Dr. Wright is one of us so she’ll let you off the hook if at all possible.” There was a heavy pause. “So. Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “We actually sleep in shifts. You’ll get used to it. Last night we all stayed up because we suspected the zombies would head for wherever you were and we’d have to fight more than we were used to.”
“They did, and you did.”
“Yeah.”
“My grandparents…” My hand fluttered to my throat. I wanted to look at him, to judge his expression, but I still couldn’t allow myself.
“They will be in danger if they leave the house at night, yes. We’ll do what we can with the traps, but it’ll be better if you move in with someone else.”
I tried not to reveal my horror, but I’m pretty sure I failed. “With who?”
“Me,” he said simply.
No way. Not just because he’d dumped Mackenzie when she’d moved in with him, but because…well, just because! “How can you even suggest that?”
“Because I want you protected.”
“No.” I couldn’t hurt my grandparents like that. But then, I couldn’t let the zombies hurt them, either, now could I?
My plan to save others from this kind of situation was growing more complicated by the minute. I’d figure something out, though. I’d have to. Until then, I’d protect Nana and Pops with my own life.