Jenny Undead (The Thirteen: Book One) (2 page)

“Fine,” she said. She let her arm
drop, but kept holding the knife.

“Jesus Christ, Jenny,” Sully said,
wiping sweat from his forehead. “You are one scary bitch when
you're mad, you know that? I almost pissed myself.” He walked
around her, not taking his eyes off the blade, and sat down heavily
on a cot. He had a few impeccably clean rugs thrown down to make it
homier, with several chests surrounding the area of the interior of
the tent. One of the chests sat next to his cot and was stacked
neatly with a barely-used ashtray, an old cigar box, and a couple
of nudie magazines. The cot itself was perfectly-made, the blanket
without a crease or a wrinkle.

“I forgot what a clean freak you
were,” said Jenny.

He shrugged. “I like a tidy home. Or
tent.”

“You got tobacco in that box?” she
said.

“Help yourself,” he said. “But
put your fucking knife away. I'll tell you what's going on. Should
have told you before. Guess I didn't think you'd believe
me.”

Jenny sheathed her knife, aware that Sully
looked away as she did so, avoiding looking at her legs. She always
got an odd feeling around Sully, like something wasn't quite right,
but then, she got that feeling around most people. Everyone was
fucked up in some way these days. She flipped open the cigar box
and rolled a cigarette quickly and skillfully despite her shaking
hands. She picked up the box of matches and lit it, then sank down
on the chest, pushing the old girly mags away. She inhaled and blew
out the smoke roughly. It went down like sandpaper and came back up
the same way.

“Talk,” Jenny said.

“You know he's down there, don't
you?” he said. “A feeling in your gut, am I
right?”

She shrugged and took another drag.
“Maybe. How do you know?”

He looked at her as if trying to decide on
something. Finally he sighed. “You ever hear of The
Thirteen?”

“Everyone has,” she said.
“It's a fairy tale. They don't exist.”

“They do,” Sully said. “I'm
looking for them.”

“You looking for Superman, too?”

“Laugh all you want, J,” said Sully,
“but The Thirteen exist. And I'm going to find them.”
He hesitated, his eyes watching Jenny. She shifted uncomfortably.
“I have it on good authority that your brother was running
with them.”

“The Thirteen?” said Jenny.
“Casey is some kind of super zombie?”

“I also have it on good authority,”
said Sully, ignoring her, “that he was seen right outside
that tunnel you've been hanging out in for the last few days. And
no one's seen him since.”

“Who's this good authority?” said
Jenny, suddenly serious.

“None of your damn business,” he
said. “You can cut me if you want, I'm not saying.”

Jenny sighed, turning the cigarette in her hand,
watching the ash fall from the cherry onto the floor. Sully stared
at the fallen ash, looking twitchy. After a long silence, Jenny
asked the question.

“Do you think he's dead?”

“Do you?” Sully said, raising an
eyebrow. “You could feel him down there, I know you could. Or
else you wouldn't be so batshit crazy mad at me. It's not like you
to lose it, Jen. You know he's there.”

“What about you?” she said.
“Why are you looking for these...people?”

“The Thirteen?” he said. “I
got my reasons.”

Jenny punched the cigarette down into the
ashtray. “And those reasons would be?”

He swallowed heavily and looked at her somberly.
“You're not the only one who's looking for answers,
Jenny.”

“You're looking for someone?” said
Jenny.

“You could say that,” said
Sully.

“Or are you running away from
someone?” she said, eying him. “You seem more like a
runner than a finder to me.”

“Fuck off,” he said. “You
don't know me as well as you think you do.”

“I don't know you at all,” said
Jenny. “But you seem to know me more than I know myself, and
everywhere I turn, there you are. Seattle, Detroit, and now
Chicago.”

“What are you trying to say,
Jen?”

“I'm not saying anything,” said
Jenny. “Just seems convenient that you're always here,
telling me what to do. If you and I weren't friends, I might think
it's suspicious.”

“You think I followed you to
Chicago.”

“I know you did.”

Sully worked a muscle in his jaw. “There's
another explanation.”

“I'd love to hear it.”

“I can't tell you.”

“Fuck, Sully!”

“It's not what you think,” he said.
“It's not you, Jen. I told you who I'm looking for. It's just
that you have a connection.”

“Connection,” said Jenny. “To
The Thirteen?”

“Casey's with them,” he said.
“I know he is.”

Jenny frowned. “You really believe that,
don't you?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you looking for them?”

“I have my reasons.”

“I'm risking my life,” said Jenny.
“On your information. I think I deserve to know.”

Sully shook his head, suddenly sad. “It's
not The Thirteen I'm looking for. Just someone who might be
associated with them. I don't think they've found her yet,
but...they will.”

“Who?” said Jenny. “You have a
kid or something?”

Sully pursed his lips, looking her over. Finally
he nodded curtly. “I have a daughter. Somewhere. Her name is
Caroline. I think that your brother's people will find her someday.
And when they do, I want to be there.”

“My brother's people?”

“The Thirteen.” He sighed.
“Look, don't believe me, Jen. I don't care. The fact remains
that your brother was seen outside of that subway. And you and I
both know that he never left. So ignore everything I say, except
for that. You want to find Casey. I know where he is. That's
all.”

“How do you know these people are going to
find her? Your daughter, I mean.”

“I just know,” said Sully.

“That's illuminating.”

“I'm sorry, Jen. I can't tell you
everything. She's my daughter, I don't want to put her in
danger.”

“So you want to find these
people...”

“The Thirteen,” he said.

“The Thirteen,” Jenny repeated.
“So you're using my obsession with finding Casey because you
think he knows them.”

“I wouldn't say it like that,” he
said.

“And somehow you know that Casey will meet
her. Your daughter. So you want me to find Casey so you can keep an
eye on his friends.”

“Yeah,” said Sully.

“You made me pay for that last tip about
the tunnel,” she said.

“I know,” he said. “I'm some
kind of bastard.”

“Yeah, you are.” She shook her head.
“Look. I'll help you because I want to find Casey, and you
seem to know a lot about that. And I'll help you find Caroline if
you want me to. But I'm not putting Casey in danger if I find him.
I don't know about all this Thirteen bullshit, but I don't like how
you played me.”

He smiled a smile. “You gotta be a shark,
J. You know that as well as I do.”

“I guess I do,” she said. “But
don't pull that shit again. Understood?”

“Yeah,” he said.
“Sorry.”

“And you owe me. That guy behind you has a
Thumper dress.
The cozzy. You need to get it for me.”

He sighed. “I hate talking to that
guy.”

“That's not my problem.”

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “Look,
I'm sorry. I'd do anything to find my family. I think you
understand that.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I don't
like how you did it.”

A boot scuffed behind them and a shadow fell
over Sully.

“Should have known you'd show up,”
Sully said. “Come to yell at me, too?”

“I'm looking for a girl,” said a
familiar voice. “Heard you might have one.” Jenny
smiled as Declan Munro stepped into the tent. “Goddamn, Jen.
You are the most ravishing woman covered in zombie guts I've ever
seen. What is that perfume you're wearing?”

“And what took you so long?” she
said. “You almost missed me.”

“Good thing I'm here now,” he said.
He held out his hand and pulled Jenny to her feet. And then he
kissed her hard, guts and blood and perfume and all.

“I don't like it, Jen. I don't want you to
go back.”

They were alone in Sully's tent. Declan had his
determined face on.

“Too bad,” she said. “Sully
says Casey's down there for sure. I just need one more day. I know
I can find him. Just one more day, Deck. Then I'll be done, whether
I find him or not.”

Declan was pacing the floor in front of her. He
always got twitchy when he didn't get his way. He scratched his
beard, his dark hair standing on end. Declan took off his leather
and threw it on the bed. His shirt was wet with sweat, but Jenny
knew the thick coat was necessary. It was insurance. She never
should have left the subway on her own. It was stupid. She had no
leathers, no weapons but her knife. If she'd met those rotters
further away from Expo, she'd be walking-around-dead by now. The
infection took some right away. Others, the strong ones, it took up
to a week. But dead was dead. If the rotters infected you and your
body was still in once piece, you became one. Declan stopped pacing
in front of her and narrowed his eyes, mouth open to speak.

“You know, Lucy has more faith in me than
you do,” she said, interrupting.

“You know exactly why Lucy wanted you to
go,” Declan said. “And it had nothing to do with faith.
She doesn't really make a secret of it.”

“She doesn't like me,” Jenny said.
“Whatever. I don't care about that. But she told me she was
sure I could pull this off.”

“Jen, pull your head out of your
ass,” he said harshly. She flinched a little. “Lucy
wants you dead. She doesn't give a shit about you or what you can
do.”

“What, she thinks getting me killed would
give her a chance with you?” she said.

“I didn't say she was smart,” he
said.

“So I'm just some outsider to her? After
five years?”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Declan.
“She's always been a girl who gets what she wants.”

“Bitch,” Jenny said. But there was
no heart in it.

“Jen, don't do this. We can go off on our
own. We can do whatever we want.”

“We do that anyway.”

“No Lucy, no gang, just us, Jen. We can go
anywhere.”

“It's not safe anywhere,” she said.
“We are always going to be running. But this one thing, I
can't
not
do it. It's the one thing about this whole mess
that I have to take responsibility for. I never
should have left him, Declan. He was just a kid and I left him in
that lab.”

A lot of scientists went crazy in the end,
pressured by the government and obsessed with finding a cure.
Declan didn't know exactly who her mother was, or her grandfather.
No one really asked about family. Everyone had lost people in
horrific ways. So Declan never asked, and Jenny never told. She was
glad. She worried that if he knew, he would look at her
differently. No one needed to know about the family she came from.
Her family wasn't just the reason Jenny was running. Her family was
the reason
everyone
was running. Her family was the reason
the world ended.

“It doesn't matter what I say to you, does
it?” Declan said. “You're going back no matter
what.”

She shrugged. “I have to.”

He swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing
up and down under a sizable amount of beard scruff. He sighed
heavily and sat down next to her on the cot. A pair of mirrored sunglasses dangled from the neck
of his tee shirt. He looked at Jenny and a part of her screamed to
stay. It still gave her goosebumps when Declan looked at her like
that. It had been only three days, but she felt like she was seeing
his gray-blue eyes for the first time.
Fuck.
She set her
jaw, prepared for an argument.

“He's my brother,” Jenny said, her
voice too hard. Declan flinched and she felt a pang of guilt.

He finally nodded. “I know. If it was my
family, I'd probably do something fucking crazy, too. It's just
that, my family's all dead. I know you know that, Jen, and I'm not
trying to rub it in. But you're all I've got now. You just scare me
sometimes. Those Righteous ain't fucking around. They will kill you
if they figure you out.”

“I know,” she said. She looked down
so she wouldn't have to look at him. Jenny had taken off the dress
covered in guts and had Sully's pristine sheet wrapped around her.
She stared at her hands. “I have to try.” Her voice was
soft. “I left him behind, you know? With our mother and that
poor excuse of a fucking grandfather.” Bile rose up in her
throat and she forced it down. “He was all alone.” She
raised her eyes back to Declan's face. “I shouldn't have left
him. This is my chance to save him. I just have this feeling he
needs me to do that for him.”

Declan stared at her for what felt like a long
time. “Fine,” he said. “I'll get you back there.
But you have to promise to be careful.”

“I will,” she said. Declan raised an
eyebrow.

“I know you, Jenny. Don't do anything
crazy.”

“Because you're the picture of
sanity?”

“No,” he said. “Because you're
better than me. And because I don't want to have to go back there
and kill every fucking one of those Righteous Thumpers for ...” He shook
his head. “You know what you mean to me, Jenny. Just don't
fucking die.”

Jenny smiled, but Declan didn't. She knew Declan
was just crazy enough to walk into that subway and take everyone
out. Living or not, you did not cross Declan Munro. Unless you were
Jenny Hawkins, of course. As they sat there looking at each other,
his face softened a little. He reached over and touched her cheek
with a large hand that felt like sandpaper. Jenny became suddenly
aware of how bad she smelled.

“Jenny,” he said, his voice low.
“I don't care how tough you think you are. If shit goes down,
I want you to run. If you do one thing for me, it's this: just
fucking run.”

“I'm not tough,” she said. “I
hid from an army of rotters on the way over.” She tried for a
smile.

“Don't make this light,” Declan
said. He hadn't taken his eyes from hers. “I can't lose you.
You're the only good thing in this shithole world. Just survive. Do
it for me. You're what I got, Jen. You're it.”

Jenny put her hand over his larger one.
“Okay, Munro. I promise.”

“Swear it,” he said. His eyes bore
into her. “Swear you'll run.”

Jenny swallowed, suddenly nervous. “I
swear.”

Declan nodded, still looking unsettled, but at
least a small bit satisfied by her promise. Jenny leaned up and
kissed him, if only to calm him down. His lips melted into hers and
within moments he pulled her close, his arm tight and warm around
her waist. But while Declan grew calmer, a twinge in Jenny's chest
was growing stronger. A scratching of doubt. What if he was right?
What if this was a huge mistake?

Behind them, Sully cleared his throat. Jenny
pulled away from Declan and hitched the sheet up.

“Sorry to interrupt,” said Sully
sarcastically. “But I got you this.” He threw something
at Jenny and she caught it. It was a Thumper dress identical to the one she'd
ruined. “That cost me a pack of smokes,” he said.
“And not the shit ones Rosie peddles. You owe me.”

“No, I don't,” she said.

“Yeah, but I can dream,” he
said.

“Thanks, Sully,” said Declan.

“You really okay with her doing
this?” Sully said.

“What choice do I have?” said
Declan. He eyed her. “Wouldn't be Jenny if she listened to
reason.”

“Oh, come on,” she said.
“That's just low.”

Declan smiled for the first time. He was
relaxing. Jenny's chest felt tight, but she breathed the feeling
out and smiled brightly. “If you boys don't mind, I'd like to
get changed.”

“I don't mind,” said Declan.

“Go talk to Sully,” Jenny said,
laughing. “Deck,” she said as he bent to duck through
the opening in the tent.

“Yeah?” he said.

“You know I love you, too, right? I don't
really say it, but you know, don't you?”

He grinned. “Who said anything about
love?”

“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Get the fuck out of here.” He laughed as she threw the
girly mags at him as he slipped out of the tent. Jenny quickly
shrugged into the horrible dress. Scratchy and hot and tight all at
the same time. She was glad this was the last time she'd have to
wear the goddamn thing. Jenny stepped out of the tent and
immediately started sweating. She tossed Declan his leather, which
he shrugged into.

“I have to go now,” she said.
“If I'm late there will be questions.”

“Thanks, Sully,” Declan said.

“Sure thing,” Sully said.
“Jenny. Be careful. Please.”

“I'm always careful,” she said.

Sully raised his eyebrows. “I mean it,
kid.”

“Fine!” she blurted. “Fuck.
You guys are worse than grandmothers. I'll see you tomorrow, Sully.” She
led Declan away, toward the gate.

“I fucking hope so!” Sully yelled
behind them.

Declan held her hand as they walked. He never
did that. He held her so tight it hurt, but Jenny didn't complain.
It was hard for him, more than most people. He didn't know how to
let go of things. He seemed to sense he was squeezing too hard and
released her hand from his as they exited. He leaned over and said,
“I have a surprise for you.” He nodded at Tyler and
Kevin as they passed through. They grinned at Jenny and she smiled
back. As they rounded the corner, she felt her jaw slacken.

“Holy shit,” she said. “Is
that a Mustang?”

“Used to be,” said Declan. His
demeanor completely changed when he saw her reaction. He was now
crackling with excitement. “It was a hot little black '67
that was of absolutely no use to anyone. Fucking gas. Anyway, I got
Beacon to help me get it back to the house and I've been modifying
it. Takes diesel now.”

The Mustang looked like something out of a
science fiction movie. It had no hood over the engine, which gave
the illusion of spilling out over the rest of the car. Chrome pipes
burst out of the motor and ran across either side, as if
it could just take off into space. And though Jenny could
distinctly see some much-hoarded duct tape in spots, the car was
completely and utterly impressive. She walked around to the back of
the car and stopped at the trunk. Someone had stenciled a skull
with glossy white paint on the back.

“This is for me?” she said.

“All for you, baby.”

“Deck, I...it's beautiful. It really
is.”

“You like it?”

“If all these creepy prowlers weren't
around I'd throw you on top of that car and have my way with
you,” she said.

Declan laughed. “I wouldn't recommend it.
You'd probably be pretty uncomfortable on that engine.
Besides,” he put an arm around her shoulder. “You
wouldn't want to mess up your stunning ensemble.”

Jenny put an arm around his waist and leaned
into him as they looked at the car.

“I'm scared, Jen.”

“Me too,” she said.

“Let me come with you. I've got a couple
of guns in the trunk from the hoarding stash. I could just blow all
those Thumpers away. Or threaten them until they told us where Casey
was.”

Jenny sighed. The thought had crossed her mind
more than once. “It's no good,” she said.
“There's kids there. People have lives there. They feel safe.
No matter how fucked up those lives are, I just don't feel like we
have any right to take that away from them. Even if they have
Casey, they didn't have anything to do with it. It would be Joshua
and his friends.”

“So? Let's take out Joshua.”

“And then the others would live how?
They're not like us, Munro. They never had to learn to survive.
They only have what food Joshua can scavenge. It's a shit life. But
it's their family, you know? They're not free, but they don't want
to be.”

Declan snorted. “Maybe they need to be set
free. Learn to fight.”

“Not for us to say,” Jenny said.
“I'm the outsider there. Not them. Besides, you know if you
went in there and shot them up, it would start a war when the
real
Righteous found out. You're
worried this little splinter cult will kill me. Imagine if the real
deal got wind of what you're suggesting. The Thumpers and the Heathens, we're just
barely coexisting as it is. No. I'm just trying to get out of this
without anyone getting hurt.” She looked up at Declan's stony
face. “Enough people have been hurt, Deck.”

“They'll hurt you if they figure you
out.”

“Then I won't let them figure me
out,” she said. Declan pulled his arm tighter around her.
“I'll come back to you, Munro. You won't get rid of me so
easy.” Jenny heard Declan's sigh catch in his chest and he
wrapped her in a hug. She put both arms around his waist and her
hands up the back of his shirt until she felt warm skin. “I'm
sorry,” she whispered.

Declan sniffed and stepped away. He smiled but
it didn't reach his eyes. “Do what you gotta do, Jen. I'll be
here when you get back. Remember your promise.”

“Just fucking run,” she said.

“Just fucking run,” he agreed.
“The roads are clear from the subway to the house. You
remember how to get there?”

“Yeah,” Jenny said. “Thanks.
How will you get back?”

He grinned. “Don't worry about me.”
He walked to the trunk and popped it. He pulled out two revolvers,
one nearly as long as his forearm and the other fitting neatly in
his hand. He thrust the smaller one toward Jenny. “This one's
for you.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do with
that?” she said, motioning to her state of dress. She took
the gun anyway and looked at it. It was pretty banged up, but not a
bad little gun. It had been years since Jenny had actually shot
anything. People hoarded their guns now. Just in case.

“Got you covered there, too,” he
said, pulling something brown out of the trunk and handing it to
her. A holster. “It goes around your thigh,” said
Declan. “Rosie found it for me.”