Of Royal Descent (28 page)

"Doyle," he said, nodding in my direction.

I returned my focus to the activity I had previously been engaged in before his entrance - attempting to crawl on the ceiling.  Climbing the concrete walls was easy.  I didn't have to think about what I was doing.  The ceiling was a different story.  It was a mixture of knowing exactly how to distribute my body weight and what pressure points to push against the surface so that I wouldn't fall flat on my back.

"That's cool," Chuck said, watching me make it from one end of the room to the other. 
"Creepy, but cool."

I didn’t respond.

"Man, don't be like that.  This might be the last time I ever get to talk to you face to face.  Stephen says your teeth are going to be fully developed anytime now."

According to Stephen, the
length of my teeth was a good indication of when I would begin the third shade.  As soon as they were fully sprouted, it would be possible for me to shade back to my human appearance, which was apparently the marker that the second shade had come to an end.  Chuck would have to be kept away from me in order to prevent his own descent into royalty.

I jumped from the ceiling and landed on my feet, facing away from him.  I realized I was being childish, but that was the beauty of the second shade.  Everyone expected it.  I walked to the bathroom and closed the door.

"Okay, fine.  Then I guess you don't want this from Addy either," he said. 

I wrenched the door open and glared at him.  He held a CD case between his first and middle fingers of his right hand.

I raced to the front of the cage.  "Give it to me," I demanded.

"Is that any way to ask?" Chuck smiled.

"Give it to me, and I'll consider not gutting you when I'm free," I stared at him.

"Wow, you really gotta work on your social skills," said Chuck, stretching out the CD case to me.

I extended my arm as far as it would go and was barely able to snatch it.  My exultation was short-lived, however, when I realized I'd smashed the compact disc player two days prior.  I spun to face Chuck, who shamelessly waved a portable player and headphones in front of me.

"Let me guess, give it to you now or you'll skewer my appendix when you're free?" he mocked.

"Something like that," I replied, holding out my hand.

Chuck dropped the player into my palm
, and I retreated to my bed.

"Hey, can we at least say good-bye first?" Chuck asked.

In my pursuit to listen to the CD, I'd almost forgotten he was still there.  "What?  Like closure?"

"Something
like that," he said, mimicking my answer from before.

"Okay.  I'm sorry you cock
-blocked me the other day and potentially ruined my relationship with the only girl I've ever loved.  And I'm sorry that being your friend involves doing everything your way, which is why we left Maine in the first place.  Good call on that one, by the way.  Maybe I won't be angry with you once I'm in the third shade, but what does it matter?  It's not like you're gonna be around anyway, right?  But don't feel guilty about abandoning me when you're safe at home and have found someone else that lets you run the friendship.  I'm pretty sure no one would blame you for nullifying and voiding our childhood pact of protecting one another when under the imminent threat of a zombie virus.  Wow, maybe girls are on to something with this closure stuff.  That did feel good."  I kept a poker face as I stared at Chuck.

He stood there with his hands in his pockets and exhaled sharply.  He looked away, shaking his head.  "Good-bye Doyle," he said and walked up the stairs, leaving me to listen to Addy's message.

Quickly, I put the CD in the player, shoved the headphones circa 1980's over my ears, and pressed play.  Addy's voice, at once both calming and tantalizing, fed through the speakers. 

"Hey
, Doyle.  No, I'm not mad at you, so please stop worrying about it," she said softly.  "I love you, and I always will.  I told you I wouldn't ever leave, and I meant it."

"That being said,
I fully intend to make you pay dearly for those things you said to me."  Her voice was full of playful threat, and I ran my tongue over my teeth.

"You'll understand," she continued soberly, "
if I don't feel comfortable returning to the basement right away.  But I made you this playlist so you could have something to remember me by until we see each other again.  Be good.  I love you."

The readout on the display turned to track 2 and "You're the One" by Tracy Chapman began.  I closed my eyes and let my head fall back against the concrete as I listened to the provocative beat.  The words suddenly took on a new meaning compared to the last time I had heard the song.

I thought of Addy sitting at a computer, deciding to list this song first.  I set the controls to continuously repeat the track and lost count of how many times it cycled through before something literally hit me.

I opened my eyes and snarled. 
Why did people keep throwing things at me?

"Calm down, it's just me," said Stephen when I removed the headphones.

"What do you want?" I asked rudely.

"I need to look at your teeth."

I approached the bars.  My predator teeth were no longer concealed by my bottom lip and they jutted out in mostly forward-sloping angles.

"
They're almost fully set.  Take off your shirt, let me see your chest," he said.

"Don't make this awkward
, Stephen.  I thought we were just pals," I smiled.

"Hilarious," said Stephen with a deadpan expression.  "Now take off your shirt."

I unbuttoned and shrugged out of the long-sleeved flannel shirt I had been wearing and threw it on the bed.

"You're getting huge
, and signs of decay are now showing over your torso," he observed.  "It shouldn't be much longer."

I looked down at my arms and chest.  Sure enough, a few small patches of greenish-black were forming in scattered areas.  I noticed my fingernail beds were almost completely black as I absently ran my hand along one of the rotting areas.

"What about my face?" I asked, wishing I hadn't smashed the mirror.  Stephen stared at me.

"Your ears are starting to purple
, and blood is pooling under your eyes, giving you dark circles."

I shut my eyes tight.  I know how it sounds, coming from a zombie, but I desperately did not want to be ugly.  Aside from vanity, I couldn't stand to think Addy wouldn't be attracted to me when the second shade was over and done.  It was bad enough being a monster, but damn, why did I have to be stuck being an unattractive one?  Stupid sexy vampires had it made.  Witches could make themselves appear however they wanted.  Werewolves had animal magnetism.  Thanks to pop culture, every other monster was now being portrayed as sexy and misunderstood. 
But not zombies.  I was bred into the most hated and ugly species of all.  How was that fair?

"Is there any
way to jumpstart the third shade?" I asked, opening my eyes.

"It's possible, but I don't think you'll like it.  It can be pretty unpleasant."

"What do I need to do?"

Stephen shifted his bodyweight.  "It's not what you would have to do.  It's what would have to be done to you."

"Since I don't feel pain, how bad could it be?  Let's do it."

"What's the hurry?" Stephen asked.

"I want to stop rotting.  I want to hunt my own food.  I want to be capable of doing whatever I need to do in order to satisfy everyone that I can be left alone with my girlfriend."

Stephen ran his hand over his forehead.  "Let me talk it over with Russell and Gretchen.  We'll have to make a few preparations if they consent."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like removing Chuck from danger, for one."

"Can we do it today?" I asked.

"I'll be back to let you know," he said, heading upstairs.

I returned to the bed and put my headphones back on, keeping them turned low.  I started it from the beginning and let it play through.  When track 11 began, I heard a noise at the top of the stairs.

I ripped off the headphones and waited
, but there was only silence. 

"Hello?" I called out.  That's when the smell hit me.  I reflexively licked my lips. 
Addy
.

I pushed off the bed and walked to the bars. 
"Sweetheart?"  No answer. 

"I'm sorry for what I said.  I didn't mean it.  Please come see me.  I swear I won't be mean to you again."

There was still no further movement on the stairs, and I began to grow agitated.  I exhaled slowly, and tried again. 

"I got your CD.  I've been listening to it.  It's great, thank you."

I heard her exhale.

"Addy?  Please, let me see you."

Slow, descending footsteps sounded, and I held my breath, waiting for her to turn the corner.  When she came into view, my jaw dropped. 

"Addy?"  It looked as if she had
gone through Kai's wardrobe and picked out last year's Halloween costume. 

"What
?  Don't you like it?" she asked innocently.  I stared, open-mouthed, as she twirled and gave me a view of the back.

She wore a pale blue corset with a black lace overlay that dipped low on her chest.  The corset was paired with low-riding, shredded, leather pants with black hosiery underneath.  Her black combat boots came to her mid-calf and were laced in the back with electric blue shoelaces.  What looked like motorcycle gloves covered her hands.  It was, by far, the most form-fitting and revealing outfit I had ever seen her wear. 

"Oh, I like it very much," I said, beginning to regain my senses.  "So I guess this means you really
aren't
mad," I said, smiling cockily.

"No, not anymore," she
said sweetly, taking a step closer.

An image of sinking my teeth into the meat of her shoulder flashed in front of me
, and I immediately stepped back. 
Oh God, how long had it been since I had eaten?

She raised an eyebrow at my retreat.  "I promise I won't hurt you... much," she teased. 

This could not be happening.  She was advancing on me, and I was starving.  Why hadn't anyone come down to feed me?  I wasn't strong enough to send her back upstairs, and more importantly, I didn't want to. 
Of course
, I thought,
the restraints.

I ran to the restraints and strapped myself in.  Addy would be safe
, and I was free to focus on what she came downstairs for.  I trembled in anticipation.

"Oh wait, silly me, I forgot.  I was supposed to bring you dinner," she said, disappearing.

I gritted my teeth and tried not to scream.  She returned with a heaping plate of bloody flesh.  But, this time, it wasn't cleaned meat.  It was the headless body of a whole chicken. 

"
Ungh!" I screamed, writhing against the cold concrete.  I didn't know what I wanted more, Addy or that freshly-beheaded chicken carcass.  She sat the plate down on the floor, giving me a full view down the top of her corset. 
Addy. I wanted Addy more.

She righted herself and crossed the rest of the room until she was standing in front of me. 

"You're not going to treat me badly anymore, are you?" she asked, pressing her body into mine.

"No.  No, baby, I swear it," I stuttered. 

"No matter what?"  She cocked her head to the right and ran her hand down my side.

I wanted to scream at her to hurry it along.  I mean, I already apologized, what more did she want?  Couldn't she see
she was torturing me?  Obviously, however, I knew yelling at her would not give me the results I was seeking.  If she wanted me repentant, that's what I was going to pretend to be.

"I swear, no matter what," I said as sincerely as I could.

"Good," she said, taking a step back and smacking me hard across the face.

Her glove felt as if it had been weighted.  It still didn't hurt, of course, but it enraged me.  I stared at her and tried to make sense of what was happening. 
Was she testing me?

"I will not treat you badly ever again, no matter what," I said evenly.

Tears sprang to her eyes. 

"Did you tell him?" asked Stephen from the doorway.

He caught me off-guard, and I snapped my teeth at him.  I didn't know how much more sensory overload I could take.  The smell of the bloody meat wafted up to me, and I was still worked up from Addy's flirting.  Now rage was running free, and I couldn't seem to separate one desire from another.  It was too much.

"Tell me what?" I asked, barely able to keep my voice louder than a hiss.  Addy looked stunned.  "Tell me what?" I asked again, directing my question at her.

"If you're not going to tell him, Addy, I will.  Doyle, you and Addy were never going to work out.  I mean, you're turning into a zombie," he said, laughing softly over the last word.  "You did me a favor by treating her the way you did the other day."  Stephen came closer to me, and my teeth began to throb.