The Lola Chronicles (Book 2): A Day Without Dawn (15 page)

One Bad Decision After Another

“Where have you been?”
Green eyes wide and just a little wild Hunter grabbed me by the shoulders the second I stepped into the gym. “I thought they’d killed you or kidnapped you or hell, I don’t know.” Releasing me he dragged both hands through his hair and hissed out a breath. “Something worse. How could you go off on your own like that without telling me?”

Did I have DAMSEL IN DISTRESS stamped on my forehead or something? Hadn’t I proved that I knew how to handle myself? What was it about boys that made them go full-fledged Neanderthal when they thought a girl was in danger? Well, I hated to break it to Maximus and Hunter, but this girl could look out for herself. In fact, she preferred it.

“Not now, Hunter.” Brushing past him I headed straight for the locker room. I needed some serious alone time to wrap my brain around everything I’d just learned. Finding out Maximus was still alive was one thing, but discovering Travis might be a drinker on top of it?

Mind. Blown.

“Lola, we need to talk about this.”

“Where is everyone?” With the exception of Greg and Stevenson playing a game of one on one the gym was completely empty. The basketball echoed like a drum on the court as one of the guys – I was pretty sure it was Greg given his boxy silhouette, but it was too dark to be sure – dribbled it towards the basket. There was a moment of silence, a quick
swish
, and then an enthusiastic, “In your face, bro!”

I grinned. Greg might not have always been the sharpest tool in the shed but he definitely knew how to have a good time and there was something to be said for that. Why bother fighting to survive if you couldn’t enjoy the little moments life handed you?

None of us would ever lead normal lives again. Not after everything everyone we’d lost and everything we’d seen. But I liked to think that when it was all over, when the drinkers were dead and we could go out at night without fear of having our throats ripped open, that Greg and Stevenson would be playing a game of basketball just like they were now.

“They went to bed early.” Hunter followed me across the gym. “Lola we need to talk about this. Who sent you that note? Because I know it wasn’t one of us.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, okay?” I pressed my hand against the locker door and looked back at him over my shoulder. “I left. I came back. End of story. I’m sorry I freaked you out, but last time I checked this isn’t a cult and I don’t need your permission to leave.” On that note I shoved the door open and stepped into the locker room. Undeterred Hunter followed me inside and the door banged shut behind us. Our unannounced entrance startled Livy who was sitting cross-legged on top of her sleeping bag, already dressed for bed in a pair of flimsy silk shorts and a white tank top.

“You can’t be in here!” she squealed, the miniature flashlight she’d been using to read one of her girly magazines flying into the air as she crossed her arms over her chest and burrowed down inside her sleeping bag like some kind of deranged gopher. “This is girls only!”

“Yeah,” Becca piped up from behind her even as she quickly ran her fingers through her hair. I did a double-take when I saw she had some kind of green goop spread all over her cheeks and forehead. “Girls only.” 

“I’m here to talk to Lola,” Hunter said through gritted teeth as he averted his gaze.

“Lola? Did someone say Lola?” Sprinting around the lockers holding a flashlight in one hand and a book in the other Rose’s entire face lit up when she saw me. “You’re back! I was so worried. I tried to keep Hunter from finding out for a long as I could but…oh.” She blushed a deep tomato red when she finally noticed who was standing behind me. “Hi Hunter.”

He threw a hand up in front of his eyes. “Hi Rose. Mind lowering that?”

“Sorry,” she squeaked, directing the beam of the flashlight down to the floor where it spread out in a pool of flickering white. “And, um, sorry for lying to you.”

“No problem.”

Oh, sure,
Rose
got a free pass. But what did I get?

A lecture.

“You heard Livy. This is the girl’s locker room and last time I checked you weren’t a girl.” I pointed at the door. “So get out.”

“What on earth is going on?” Muffling a yawn, Ms. Siegel stepped around the corner wearing a ruffly white nightgown that went all the way up to her neck. Her eyes widened when she saw me and widened even more when she saw Hunter. “Young man, what do you think you’re doing in here? This is the girl’s locker room.”

“See?” I smirked. “Told you so.”

“Ms. Siegel I just need to talk to–”

“Out!” she exclaimed, cutting him off. “Right this second. These girls are hardly dressed!”

“But–”

“
Out
.” Darting past Rose she literally shooed Hunter out the door while I stood by and watched, struggling not to laugh. I knew if I was in Hunter’s place I would have been beating him over the head with questions, but the look on his face when Ms. Siegel told him to get out had been priceless. If I had to guess Golden Boy wasn’t exactly accustomed to not getting his own way. For his entire life he’d been handed things on a silver platter – good looks, a charming attitude, the ability to throw a football like a rocket – and the word ‘no’ wasn’t one he was used to hearing.

“Are you girls all right?” Ms. Siegel asked as she fluttered around us like a mother hen looking after her chicks.  “Do you feel violated in any way?”

“We’re fine,” Livy said as she leaned back on her elbows. “He just caught me off guard. I mean, I’m not even
dressed
.”

I considered pointing out that the string bikini always Livy always wore on our school’s annual end-of-the-year trip to Lynx Lake was a hell of a lot more revealing than her pajamas, but I thought better of it. Why pick a fight when for once I wasn’t the bad guy?

“Good.” Ms. Siegel nodded solemnly. “I am sure he did not mean any harm.” 

“What time do we have to be up tomorrow?” Becca asked, muffling a yawn. “I want to make sure I give my clay mask enough time to set before I go to sleep.”

Yes, because the drinker zombies
really
cared about clear pores.    

For the first time we all looked at Ms. Siegel for an answer. Looking pleased – and just a little bit flustered – she glanced down at her watch. “Well, according to the plan Hunter has put together we should be up and ready to leave the gym by first light which would be about…seven and a half hours from now.”

Shit.

The plan.

Distracted by Maximus and possibility of Travis being a drinker I had almost forgotten all about it. I didn’t know if Maximus was telling the truth about the farmhouse being under the protection of some big bad drinker who would turn us all into human shish kabobs, but on the off chance he wasn’t lying through his teeth I had to warn Hunter.

Then again, even if Maximus
was
telling the truth what were we supposed to do? Just leave Hayley and my dad and everyone else the drinkers had captured to rot? One way or another we were leaving Revere tomorrow and we weren’t coming back. If I told Hunter what Maximus had said and he decided to call off our attack, would I be able to leave without Dad?

My mind whirled with all of the different possible scenarios as I grabbed a flashlight and my toothbrush out of my bag. Clicking on the flashlight to avoid slamming my shins into the half-wall that separated the showers and sinks from the rest of the locker room I went to the furthest sink and turned on the cold water full blast.

Maybe it would be best if I just didn’t say anything at all. Yeah, it would be a total dick move and yeah, I was putting our lives at risk, but weren’t they at risk already? And who knew if Maximus was even telling the truth? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d told a lie to serve his own purposes. Maybe he had other reasons for keeping us away from the farmhouse, like the fact that he was a
drinker
.

Maybe,
I thought darkly,
he doesn’t want us there because he knows we’re going to kick some serious drinker zombie – crawler, whatever the hell they’re called – ass.

My mind made up, I leaned down and spat a thick watery stream of toothpaste into the sink. There was no way I was going to be the one responsible for calling off the attack. We were sticking with the plan. It was a good plan, a smart plan, and, when things were all said and done, it was going to be a successful plan.

I just knew it.

Rinsing off my toothbrush I tucked it into the waistband of my shorts and shuffled back over to my sleeping bag. Rose was already tucked into hers, eyes closed and breathing deep and steady. The girl could fall asleep faster than anyone I knew. It was kind of weird, to be honest. Not that I was complaining.

Becca and Livy were still awake. Their whispers carried over the top of the lockers but I knew that within a matter of minutes they would be asleep as well. That just left Ms. Siegel.

Laying down on top of my sleeping bag I waited until Rose’s breathing got even heavier, Becca and Livy’s whispers died down, and I could hear Ms. Siegel’s soft snores before I stood up. Quickly tying my hair off in a long braid I pulled a black hooded sweatshirt over my t-shirt and exchanged my shorts for a pair of dark leggings. Twice I froze, certain I’d woken someone up, but when I didn’t hear anything I finished changing, tucked a small flashlight into the front pocket of the sweatshirt and grabbed my gun before tip-toeing out the back door.  

Maximus’ warning about the farmhouse wasn’t the only one I was going to ignore. Whether he liked it or not I was going to Travis’ gravesite.

Alone.

Thirty minutes later I was
seriously regretting my decision.

I hadn’t been attacked or maimed or dragged off to the farmhouse by my hair, but I had definitely forgotten how far it was from the middle school to the Renner Hotel. If I’d been feeling one hundred percent the distance wouldn’t have been a problem, but after being on my feet for most of the day and tromping into the woods and back again my knee was all kinds of sore. If I was smart I would have taken some aspirin. Then again, if I was
really
smart I wouldn’t be walking around town in the middle of the night in the first place.

Every little noise made me jump. I almost had a full-blown heart attack when a cat climbed out of a dumpster and went sprinting across my path. I was having serious flashbacks to the first night the drinkers had attacked when I’d run for my life through people’s backyards. But I was too stubborn – and stupid – to turn around.

Trying my best to ignore the pain radiating up my leg with every step, I gritted my teeth and kept moving. If I didn’t get to Travis’ grave tonight then chances were I never would. I didn’t know what I expected to find when I got there. I didn’t even know what I
wanted
to find. If the grave was undisturbed then nothing would have changed. Travis would still be dead. My best friend would still be gone. But if the grave was empty…

Goosebumps prickled my flesh as I considered the ramifications of stumbling onto an empty grave. If Travis’ body was gone it could only mean one of two things. Either the drinkers had sunk to a new low, or Maximus was telling the truth and Travis
was
a drinker. But how had he been turned? And when? And why the hell hadn’t he come and found me?

The drinkers were blood-thirsty monsters, no question. But they could still think and reason and act human when they wanted to. Maximus was a prime example of that. So if Travis really
was
a drinker why hadn’t he given me some sign? A note. A midnight visit.
Something
to let me know what had happened to him.

Cutting through a subdivision of cookie-cutter houses I huffed and puffed my way up a short hill and stumbled down the other side. I could just make out the hotel in the distance. Even in the dark it stood out because of its sheer size. At seven stories high it was one of the tallest buildings in all of Revere.

I stopped at the edge of the cornfield. The stalks towered over my head, rustling ominously in the breeze. The last time I’d walked through this field the corn had barely been ripe. Now it had all gone to seed. What hadn’t been picked over by birds hung limply off the stalks and felt like dry sandpaper brushing against my skin as I tentatively entered the field.

Palm wet and clammy, I gripped my gun too tightly as I navigated through the narrow rows and columns. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d walked through the cornfield before, but that had always been during the light of day when I felt safe and secure. Now I felt open and exposed. Every rustle made me flinch. Every sharp
crack
of a fallen stalk under my foot made my pulse race even faster. By the time I was halfway across the field I was a nervous wreck…and that was before I sensed someone following me.

It started with a tingling at the nape of my neck. A month ago I would have chalked it up to teenage paranoia (because we all know the two girls in the corner of the room aren’t
really
whispering about us, right?) but I’d since learned the importance of listening to my instincts.