Mail Horror Bride (One Nation Under Zombies Book 1) (30 page)

“And it didn’t?”

“Raven, he was talking to the zombies we killed.”

“That’s it? That’s the bad news?”

Damian looked at her like she was crazy. “Isn’t that enough?”

She laughed. “We’ve all done it. In the heat of the moment, we’re scared, angry, because of this happening and the zombies are the best target for those emotions. I’ve cussed them out myself while killing them.”

“It wasn’t like that. He was really talking to them, like they were saying things to him.”

She didn’t laugh at that. She thought back to the morning they’d thought Cruz might have left them, the moment on the cliff when he’d thought some invisible zombie was about to hurt her. “He’s fine, Damian.”

“In what universe is he possibly fine? He’s having conversations with dead people.”

“He just needs his medicine. We’ll find him some and he’ll be his normal self again.”

“This is his normal self, Raven. You need to understand that. He’s clearly mentally ill and dangerous.”

“He’s sick and he needs us. We’re like a family now, Damian, so whatever else you’re about to say, just don’t. I won’t leave him, just like I won’t leave you. No matter what, we stay together.”

“Well, then, you’re going to love the other bad news.”

Raven groaned. “What is it?”

“Jeremy is in looooooove with Cruz and she also knows he has a thing for you. Our happy little family is about to get all kinds of Jerry Springer.”

“Great. Our helicopter ride is going to be real pleasant.”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m worried about my sister,” Janjai answered, continuing to look out the window. They’d found a minivan and once Hal pulled the dead man out of the driver’s seat they’d taken it, continuing their trek toward Colorado where they would hopefully find her sister alive.

“You sound afraid.”

“I am. Anything could have happened to her.”

“Anything could have happened to you but you’re safe and sound, with good people.”

Janjai kept her mouth closed. She wasn’t so sure she was with good people anymore. Maura had a darkness to her but it didn’t come from a place of evil. She was scared and maybe a little mentally ill. Janjai’s mother had told her often that heartbreak was the number one reason for insanity. The second? Confused religion. People who thought they were doing the work of God but were really justifying their sick actions.

The more time she spent with Hal and Angela, the more she thought they fell in the latter category. She had no problem with the fact Hal read from the bible every evening. She rather enjoyed it. It gave her peace to know God was still there in the midst of all the madness. But some of the things she’d overheard between Hal and Angela didn’t sit right.

The things she’d heard Angela say to Hank before she shot him still haunted her. The smile on the girl’s face would haunt her nightmares for years to come.

“Janjai?”

“Hmm?” She looked at Hal, found him observing her curiously. “Sorry. My mind went somewhere else.”

“Do you feel safe with us, Janjai?”

“Should I not?”

She held her breath while Hal checked the rearview mirror, checking on Angela, who slept in the back. “We’re good people.”

“Maura didn’t have to be killed.”

“Angela protected me.”

“She could have shot in the air, scared her.”

“She could have. Maura could have reacted by slashing my throat open faster.” He tightened his hands around the steering wheel. “It was justified.”

Janjai frowned. “Would you have killed Maura?”

“Only if I had to. She wasn’t marked by evil. She was just lost. She could have come back. I had hoped she would.”

Marked by evil
. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard Hal say that. She wasn’t sure what it meant and she didn’t think Hal or Angela were sure, but they thought they were. That made them dangerous. Unfortunately she needed them to get to Colorado and find her sister so she didn’t say anything as they traveled down the road. She just closed her eyes and prayed.

“You will read the bible tonight?”

“I always do.”

“Good.” She prayed the real meaning of the words would touch their souls without getting twisted along the way.

“Cruz?” Jeremy’s voice cracked with panic.

“Everybody hold on. It’s all good.”

The helicopter jostled harder than before.

“You sure this thing is safe?” Raven asked out the corner of her mouth, not wanting to feed into the others’ growing fear. Or her own.

Cruz winked at her.

She rolled her eyes and looked down, the ground rolling way too far below them not doing anything to calm her stomach.  She’d traded spots with Damian so he could sleep and had felt Jeremy’s death glare on her ever since. The girl really had it bad for Cruz and refused to believe Raven wasn’t somehow her enemy now. She didn’t have a clue what to do about that though. She’d never flirted with the man and never would, but she couldn’t just encourage Jeremy’s crush on the man. The age difference was too wrong.

Pimjai didn’t speak. They’d debated the zombie baby’s fate before leaving, ultimately deciding to just leave it. It didn’t have teeth and would never grow any. It wouldn’t be possible for it to get out of the house and attack anyone. They left it behind with a clear conscience, but one look at Pimjai’s eyes and Raven knew her conscience wasn’t as clear as hers.

“We’re almost there.”

Raven looked at Cruz, opened her mouth to say something, but forgot what she’d wanted to say. His dark eyes were blazing fire, his jaw clenched tight, nostrils flared. She’s seen him angry, but this look was scary.

“We’re landing,” he said, the words almost a growl.

She looked out the window at the neighborhood they were descending upon. The yards were a good size but the houses were pretty small. Not what she’d expected, but she wasn’t a mega-fan like Jeremy. She didn’t have a clue what kind of life he’d had before hitting it big.

“Where we landing?” Damian asked, having been roused by Jeremy.

“Home sweet home,” Cruz answered, his voice still a low growl.

He settled the helicopter down in the middle of the street and shut it down.

“Oh crap.” Raven pointed to a trio of zombies creeping out from the side of a house, drawn by the sound of their arrival.

“Pull back up,” Damian ordered. “We got more coming from the other side of the street.”

Cruz ignored him completely, unfastening his seat belt and stepping outside the helicopter without a word. He raised his gun and shot the zombies closest to a small canary yellow house as he made his way toward the front door.

“What the hell?” Damian bellowed. “Did he just leave us?”

“Something’s wrong with him,” Raven explained, unfastening her own seatbelt. “We have to get out of here.”

“Zombies are out there,” Pimjai said.

“And they know we’re in here. The sound of the propellers is drawing them. They’ll tear this thing apart.”

“I told you that crazy asshole was dangerous.”

“He’s not crazy!” Jeremy snapped. “You just don’t understand him.”

“I understand he’s the only one who knows how to fly this big metal bird and he just left us,” Damian shot back, grabbing his rock hammer and machete. “Let’s go, people. They’re almost on us.”

They exited the helicopter, weapons in hand. They all had some form of a blade and they made a quick decision to use those. Damian had Cliff’s pistol and Pimjai had his shotgun, but they made too much noise. Cruz had already done enough damage with his own gun on his way into the yellow house, the sound of his gunshots announcing them to any zombies in the area that hadn’t heard the helicopter.

“Five of them back here,” Damian quickly counted.

“Three up here,” Raven responded, taking count of the three dead people walking toward the front of the helicopter.

“You and Jeremy take the front. Pimjai and I got the back. Everybody watch your backs!”

Raven looked at Jeremy, glad to see her holding a large knife they’d found at the house. It was a far better weapon than the switchblade they’d found in the pawn shop. “I’ll take the two big ones. You take the shorter one if you feel you can do it.”

“I got this,” she replied. The contempt in her eyes didn’t hide the shaking in her limbs though.

“Just be careful, Jeremy. I don’t want to lose you.”

Jeremy blinked then turned away, bracing herself for the fight.

Raven pulled her katana free of its sheath as the trio reached them, swinging high and fast. She beheaded what used to be a blond male and spun, raising her arm for the woman. A downward slash and the top of the woman’s head slid off, taking a tangled mass of red hair with it.  She turned to see Jeremy stepping backward, away from the shorter zombie. It had probably been a child, judging by the height. Judging by the clothes, a rock band T-shirt and jeans, Raven put it around Jeremy’s age but couldn’t tell if it were male or female. The facial features were too gone, the hair a length that went to either gender.

“Put your blade through its head, Jeremy.” Raven scanned the street, making sure nothing else snuck up on them.

“I know how to do it.” Still the girl’s arms shook as she held the knife tightly in both hands, pointed at the zombie she kept backing away from.

Raven shook her head. If the thing wasn’t slow, Jeremy would already be dead. She checked on Damian and Pimjai, and found them handling themselves fine. Three zombies were on the ground and with a few quick jabs the other two joined them.

A loud crashing sound came from the house Cruz had disappeared into, prompting Raven to raise the katana and behead the zombie Jeremy was playing slow motion tag with.

“Hey!” Jeremy screeched as the zombie fell to the ground. “I had it!”

“If it was a fast one, it would have eaten you already. You have to get over your fear and stab them. You can’t wait until they are literally on top of you and about to take a bite,” Raven told her, turning for the house. “We couldn’t wait any longer. Cruz is in that house and we don’t know what’s in it with him. He might be in trouble.”

Glass broke from inside as they reached the door, an angry Jeremy stomping behind Raven as Pimjai and Damian brought up the rear.

Raven stopped at the open door and peeked in, sword in hand. Seeing nothing dangerous, she stepped inside. The house was in shambles, furniture turned over all over. Glass fragments littered the floor and she saw they’d come from the TV which had been knocked down from the entertainment center. Framed pictures hung haphazardly on the wood paneled walls.

Stepping closer, she noticed they were pictures of a family. A large Hispanic man with a thick mustache, a thin, pretty blonde, and two boys. Cruz and his brother, who looked exactly like him, around seven years old. One smiled. The other didn’t, and she got the feeling that one was Cruz.

“How’s it feel?” Cruz screamed from deeper within the house, followed by the sound of something being hit. “You like it?”

Raven looked back at her group and saw the fear in their eyes as they shrugged. Except for Jeremy. She looked around in awe. Damian held her gaze a little longer and she was reminded of their conversation the night before.

“Maybe we shouldn’t sneak up on him?” Damian suggested.

“Who is he talking to?” Pimjai asked, confused. “Are there people here?”

“Sweetheart, you don’t want to know,” Damian answered.

“I don’t know,” Raven said softly, having witnessed him go off the deep end before, “but I know he needs help. Let’s go. Carefully.”

They moved deeper into the house, traveling down the narrow hallway, passing rooms until they reached what must have been the master bedroom. Raven’s mouth fell open as she saw a dead woman sitting in a chair beside the bed, a stab wound in her forehead, and Cruz pacing back and forth in front of her with a baseball bat, yelling.

“You said I’d never make it. Well, I made it! I made it out of here and I’m still making it. You’ll never be able to reach me again. You’ll never be able to do anything to hurt me.” He swung the bat, connecting with the woman’s face.
His mother
.

“Quit laughing!” he screamed at her. “You’re dead, bitch! Dead! Shut up!”

Jeremy gasped and ran away.

“I’ll get her,” Damian said. “You calm him down or we have to leave him.”

Pimjai simply stared at Cruz after Damian ran off to chase Jeremy. “What is wrong with him?”

Raven didn’t answer. The best answer she had was what Damian had come up with. He was bat shit crazy. It wasn’t something she wanted to say though.

Cruz swung around at that moment. “Raven! You spying on me now? You with Damian? I know he wants to leave me. I know every one of you talk about me.”

“Cruz, you know we care about you.” She sheathed her sword and stepped into the room slowly. “And you know I would never leave you. We’re like a family now.”

His nostrils flared. “No, not like family. Family hurts and betrays. They make it look so nice on TV but it isn’t. That’s acting. This.” He spread his arms out. “This is real. Do you know she once locked me in the closet for a week? A
week
, Raven. She forgot I was in there, thought my screaming was the ghost of my brother.” He started laughing uncontrollably before his face twisted into a mask of rage and he swung the bat again, decapitating his mother’s body with the force of the blow. The rocking chair rocked viciously, dumping her body onto the shag carpet as it rocked forward, and he beat her mercilessly, crunching bone.