“That’s not going to stop me,” I told him, shifting to a better stance, so I could lunge out of the way if needed. “I’m much faster than you. Even if you empty that clip into my heart, it’s not going to kill me. I’m already dead.”
“It’ll slow you down,” Zeke replied, twirling his machete in a graceful arc, the razor edges glinting in the darkness, “and that’s all the time I need.” He eased to the side, a slow, cautious movement, and I stepped with him, moving off line. We circled one another, weapons held at the ready, eyes trained on each other, while the rabid hissed and growled from its cage.
“How many?” Zeke demanded, his face hard. I frowned in confusion. “How many of us did you bite?” he elaborated in a cold voice. “Who did you feed from? Caleb? Darren? Should I be worried they’re going to turn into rabids or vampires?”
“I never bit any of you,” I shot back, angry that he would think that, knowing I had no right to be. Of course, what else would he believe? “I never fed off anyone,” I said in a more reasonable voice. “And it doesn’t work that way. I would have to kill someone to turn them into a rabid.”
“Like Joe.”
My stomach clenched, but I tried keeping my voice and expression neutral. “I…I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I said, willing him to believe me. “And it might not have mattered. He could’ve already been infected by the boar.” But it was a weak excuse, one I didn’t really believe, and I knew Zeke didn’t, either. In his mind, I had Turned that rabid all on my own.
Zeke shook his head. “You were just using us,” he muttered, as if it pained him to say it. “This whole time. It makes sense now—you never believed in Eden, you never believed in any of this. All you wanted was an easy food source. And I fell for it.” He clenched his jaw. “God, I left Caleb and Bethany alone with a vampire.”
My heart sank, even as betrayal burned hot and fierce in my chest. This Zeke was different, the student of Jebbadiah Crosse, the boy who had been trained his whole life to hate vampires and everything about them. His eyes were cold, his expression closed off, unyielding. I was no longer Allison to him but a nameless demon, the enemy, a creature that needed to be slain.
So this is it. I tightened my grip on my weapon, and I saw him do the same. We circled slowly, each looking for an opening. He had range with that gun, but I was betting Zeke didn’t know how quickly a real vampire could move. Getting shot was going to hurt, but after the first round I could close the distance and…
My steps faltered. And…what? Kill him? Cut him down, like I did with the raiders or the rabid boar? I could already feel the bloodlust, humming in my veins, eager for violence. Even if I disarmed him, I couldn’t trust myself, my demon, not to pounce on him and tear him apart.
Zeke’s eyes followed me, never wavering. I could almost see his finger tightening on the gun, when I straightened and slid my weapon back in its sheath. His brow furrowed, confusion crossing his face, as I shook my head.
“I can’t do this.” Facing him fully, I raised my empty hands, before letting them drop to my sides. “Shoot me if you have to, but I’m not fighting you, Zeke.”
He didn’t move, a war of different emotions raging in his eyes, though the gun didn’t waver. In the distance, toward the house, shouts echoed over the rain, the sound of footsteps sloshing through the mud.
I eased back a step, away from him, toward the outer wall and the forest that lay beyond. “I’m leaving now,” I said quietly, and Zeke raised the pistol a fraction of an inch, pressing his lips together. “You won’t see me again, and I won’t talk to anyone on my way out. Feel free to put a bullet in my back, but one way or another, I’m walking out of here.”
I half turned then, bracing myself, waiting for the pop of gunfire, for the explosion of pain across my shoulders. Zeke stood with the gun trained on me a moment longer, then dropped his arm with a sigh.
“Just go,” he whispered, not looking at me. “Get out of here, and don’t come back. I don’t want to see you again, ever.”
I didn’t answer. I turned my back on him fully and crossed the final steps to the wall, gazing up at the rim.
“Allison.”
I turned. Zeke stood in the same spot with his back to me, the gun still dangling at his side. “We’re even now,” he murmured. “But…this is the last favor I’ll grant. If I see you again, I’ll kill you.”