Cry Zombie Cry (I Zombie Book 5) (34 page)

*

The wound wasn’t nearly as superficial as Rizzo claimed.

“
How did she manage to shoot down that plane with this wound?” I asked.

Morgan looked up as her hand continued to stroke the sleeping girl’s hair. “That’s Rizzo; she’s stubborn and loyal as hell. I’ve never known someone to cheat death the way she does. I wouldn’t trade her for anything.” Morgan looked up at me, her dark eyes begging for strength. “She’s going to be okay, right?”

I nodded.

After sedating Rizzo, we wound up cauterizing the wound. It would leave a fairly sizable scar, but she’d at least live to brag about it.

“
Come on, Morgan. She’s going to be out for a while and we all need to clean up and rest. I’ll check on her before bed.”

“
Are you kidding me? I’ll be sleeping in here with her.”

Morgan caught my concerned stare.

“
She’s had a hard enough life. Her family, cancer…Rizzo’s spent so much time fighting back death and seeing those she loved turn their backs when she needed them most. It’s time someone was there for her. We all need to know someone is looking out for us. I’m going to be that someone this time.”

I wrapped my arms around Morgan and held her tight. She was a fighter, one of the strongest women I’d ever known, but everyone, at some point, needs a moment of weakness.

“
Thank you, Bethany…for everything.”

I started to leave when a phone chime called me back. Morgan furrowed her brow and grabbed the sat phone from her waist. She depressed the answer button and placed the call on speaker.

“
This is Morgan. Copy.”

“
…José…have…baby…I’m en route to drop…”

My breath and heart momentarily stopped.

“
This is Morgan, repeat.”

Static.

“
José, do you copy?”

“
Roger. I have the baby and am en route to the drop off zone. I lost my entire crew, am alone, and on foot. I need backup now.”

Morgan shot a look of joyful surprise at me. My lungs reminded me they needed oxygen and my chest spasmed.

“
Roger that. I’ll have a unit waiting for you. Out.”

Before Morgan said a word to me, she dialed a number on the sat phone and instructed the closest unit to immediately report to the drop off zone. When she hung up, neither of us could hold back the flood of joyful tears. Jacob had finally been wrestled from the clutches of the sinister nation. I would have my baby back. I kissed Morgan on the cheek and raced out to find Jamal.

*

“
Oh my God, Bethany, that is…I can’t imagine how you feel.” Jamal’s grin was a mile wide. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me into the air. As my feet returned to the floor our lips connected and remained to enjoy the warmest, most meaningful kiss to ever grace my mouth.

“
In one fell swoop we took down the Zero Day Collective drop-ships and rescued my child. Jamal, is this really happening? I’m not going to wake up in the morning to find out all of my nightmares had turned into one wonderful dream, only to have it shattered as soon as the light seeps between my eyelids? Please tell me this is real.”

“
It’s as real as you are brilliant. At some point in the next couple of days you will be reunited with Jacob and we’ll begin planning our next attack—”

“
No,” I interrupted. “I don’t want to plan anything at the moment. I just want to be. We can remain here for a while—regain some semblance of sanity and remind ourselves that we are still human. We’ve spent so much time improvising our way through this; it’s time we organized. If we put our brains together with Morgan and Josh’s survival skills, the Zero Day Collective won’t stand a chance.”

I so badly wanted to melt into Jamal’s embrace. The second the thought crossed my mind, my breathing dove deep into the realm of dreams. The next thing I knew, Jamal had lifted me in his arms and carried me into the sanctuary and laid me on my pew. When the blanket rested on my shoulders I looked up into Jamal’s eyes and smiled.

“
I love you, Jamal.”

“
I love you, Bethany.”

A single kiss sent me off into a world of dreams.

chapter 33 |
wild horses

It was the first time I’d slept through the night without being tossed into nightmare theatre. I woke completely refreshed—an altogether foreign concept since the zombies had begun mingling with reality. I sat up in my pew and the scent of dark, earthy coffee wafted my way. As I neared the kitchen area, laughter greeted my ears. The sound stopped me in my tracks. It had been so long since I’d heard the sound of joy. I felt human, alive.

When I entered the kitchen I was met with cheers and a mug of hot, black gold. The bitter liquid warmed my core and brought me to life.

Once the coffee had my eyes fully open, the first thing I noticed was Morgan’s hair.

“
Oh my God, Morgan, when did you—?”

Morgan grinned. “I know, right? This morning. Josh and I were talking and realized my standard issue ponytail had become nothing more than a leash for the undead to grab onto. So, I handed him a pair of scissors and…” She struck an adorable pose. Her hair was choppy, just past her ears, with bangs that would eat a hipster girl for breakfast and mock her with an irony only the truly hip would get.

“
Brave woman. It’s adorable! Josh, I’m next.”

Josh bowed his head and smiled.

Morgan grinned. “I’ve got good news, Bethany.”

“
Other than your fabulous new look? What is it?”

“
Jacob is on his way here. He should arrive within the next three to four hours.”

Thanks to the chaotic battlefield that had become of my emotions, I wept. This time, however, the tears were a celebration of hope. I knew the second that baby was in my arms nothing could hurt me again. It would stand as the final sign that the Zero Day Collective had failed to break me. With Jacob returned, we’d won, and nothing could take that away.

Jamal held up his mug. “To Bethany.”

I offered mine up. “No, to us. We wouldn’t have made it through this without a collective effort. Thank you all so much for being a part of my life.”

“
Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Morgan said. Josh nodded in agreement.

Echo rushed me and wrapped her skinny arms around my waist. “I love you, Bethany.”

Jamal grabbed my coffee so I could return the hug. The second my arms encompassed Echo, she released a sigh the likes I’d never witnessed.

“
I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.”

I pulled back and looked the girl in the eyes. “I think it was you who saved me.”

“
So, what’s the plan?” Morgan asked.

Jamal shook his head. “No plan…at least not now. We’re going to take a break from fighting wars and just be. Franklin and his group have offered to remain and help us rebuild this place into something a bit more stable. It might take a while, but the routine might do our souls some good.”

Morgan lifted her mug and nodded. “That’s the best plan I’ve heard in a while.”

*

The hours passed slowly—slower than I ever remembered time ticking by. I suppose the anticipation of having Jacob back in my arms caused the time dilation. Moments like these made me wish I could jump back in time and have a chat with the good sir, Einstein. He’d argue my situation had nothing to do with dilation. I’d comb his hair, give him a hug, and challenge him to a game of chess.

At least that would pass the time until my baby arrived. If ever I needed a distraction, it was now.

*

“
You’re listening to WZMB, Zombie Radio. Your personal sound…track, to the end of the world. That was The High Violets and
‘
Chinese Letter.
’
A shoegazer of a song, if ever I’ve heard one. I spent the better part of the nineties gazing at my scruffy Doc Martens wishing like hell I could muster up the courage to ask out a particularly delightful wallflower who I knew only by the name…Lizzy. She was an odd mixture of goth, librarian, J-pop, and waif. I know, I know…it sounds crazy but it worked. But alas, I never took the necessary leap of faith to get me to the other side of that dark and stormy chasm.

“
Speaking of leaps of faith—let’s talk about Rip Vanity and the Metal Meltdown known only as Arise. What looked as if it would be the Woodstock for the new world order turned into a nightmare of tragic proportions. Of course, the Zero Day Collective was behind the disaster. Hopefully, those rat bastards will pay for what they’ve done. But before the barrage of bullets strafed the flesh of the living audience, before the undead horde attempted to break living bread with one another…there was music. The bands were epic and the music was pure metal; but every note, every lyric paled in comparison to one particular song—what will most likely become the anthem of our age,
‘
Cry Zombie Cry,’
by UnSun. Aya and company unleashed that beast for the first time ever during the festival, and WZMB was one of the only stations to get a direct feed of the song. And so, for the first time ever, I want to premier for the Zombie Radio Nation a song written for Bethany Nitshimi and the rest of the survivors of the Mengele Virus, UnSun’s
‘
Cry Zombie Cry.
’”

Hearing the song again had the same effect on me as it did when Aya belted out the lyrics on stage. This time, however, there was the added air of pride. I never thought I would see the day that a song was written for me. I closed my eyes to get lost within the warp and weft of the song. The notes and the lyrics danced behind my eyelids and over my eardrums. I could have remained here forever, letting the music wash over my body and my soul.

In the split second of silence between the last fading note of the song and the Kirk-like rhythms of the Zombie Radio DJ, a sound tickled my heart. When I opened my eyes, Echo stood in the doorway…holding Jacob. My baby. His big brown eyes stared at me, as if for the first time.

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t laughter of the mind, but a laughter of the heart. I reached out my arms and crossed to Echo, who handed Jacob over.

“
My baby. My sweet, innocent baby.”

The smell of Jacob’s head rushed my senses like the purest cocaine. He cooed. I cried. Echo joined the emotional trampoline, which ended with all of us laughing out of pure joy.

From the radio came the Sundays’s remake of the Rolling Stones classic, “Wild Horses.” I couldn’t help but allow the meaning to wallop me upside the head. I slow-danced Jacob around the room, his tiny baby laughs squealing from his innocent and miraculous lips.

When I went to lay Jacob down, I realized we didn’t have a crib. I sent Echo off in search of something, anything, that could be used to secure Jacob as he slept. For the moment, he was safe in my arms and it would take wild horses to drag him away.

He lay on my chest, his breathing in sync with mine. My heart beat, at last, with ease.

chapter 34 |
and baby makes…

Faddig stared across his desk at Drs. Otte and Karem. Both men were flush with nerves, unsure if the commander would snap and end their existence prematurely.

“
So tell me, doctors, we’ve pretty much failed completely this time around. From what I gather, there isn’t a single positive to take away from this mission. If that’s the case, I have to say I lay the full extent of the blame on your heads.”

Doctor Otte began to protest. Faddig slammed his hands onto his desk and shouted.

“
Not now, doctor. You will listen to what I have to say and then I will decide if you deserve to attempt a feeble defense of your actions.”

Faddig stood and leaned forward on his desk.

“
I was handed the reins of the Zero Day Collective because of my record of success. I was a proven entity. Failure had yet to creep into my vocabulary…that is, until now. Thanks to your incapable hands I have managed to lead the single biggest failure in the history of the Zero Day Collective. I lost an entire battalion of undead soldiers, three drop-ships, my best pilots, and to make matters worse…the Genesis Cradle wasn’t even released. Not one element of this plan succeeded.”

Doctor Otte raised his hand nervously.