her some and see if it works? Doc seems to think it will do the trick.”
“It could kill her, like the last guy,” he snapped. “I don’t know what to say, what to do. I do know we’ll never make it to a city before she turns into a full-fledged monster. Wouldn’t that look great on the front of the family Christmas card? Yeah, she’ll make a lovely addition to the family reunion next year.”
“We have to do something. Like you said, we can’t just leave her to her fate.”
He crossed his arms. “You hold the possible formula in your hands, right?”
“Right.”
“So why haven’t you put it to good use already?”
“Well, Doc says it won’t work during the transformation. We can’t give it to her until she actually becomes a zombie. That’s how the formula works. The problem was, General Lofters planned to execute her right away, as soon as he found out she’d been bitten. And you know darn well there’re no exceptions.”
“So what do you propose? We wait, invite her to lunch, and then hand her a cup of tea? She’ll rip our heads off as soon as she turns. I’ve seen how these things work…and eat. They’re almost unstoppable.”
“She couldn’t wait to meet you,” I said. “You’re her little brother.”
“Yeah, right. You mean she couldn’t wait to eat me.” He shook his head. “Play the guilt card, why don’t you?” Then he swiftly picked up Val and cradled her close. “It’s not safe out here.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Well, what are you waiting for? I’ve got sister dearest, so let’s go.”
I nodded and swung the black bag of vials over my shoulder. “You’re going to love her when you meet her.”
“Maybe, as long as she doesn’t get hungry.”
Chapter 4
Nick and I took turns carrying Val. My arms clasped beneath her body to hold her in place. I struggled along the woody path, intent to keep up with Nick, even though he didn’t seem to want to make it easy on me. Granted, he was still pissed that I hadn’t told him about our sister right away, but knowing I had saved her life was my personal redemption and justification. I released a long, settling breath and moved the thicket out of the way; still, the deeper we moved into the woods, the denser the thicket became. To make matters worse, Val’s long hair almost trailed down to the ground, and I had to be mindful of it so it wouldn’t get caught in anything and hurt her. It seemed to me that she should have woken up already, but as the seconds and minutes ticked by, I began to worry that she might not ever wake up again.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked hesitantly after what seemed like an eternity. I noticed his worry lines straight away as his gaze shifted from Val to me then back to Val, as though he couldn’t make up his mind whether to forgive me for the sake of our sister or keep being a jerk about it. “Let me take her,” he muttered, grabbing her out of my arms.
I opened my mouth to thank him, but he’d already turned his back on me, leaving me standing in the middle of nowhere while he continued his march.
For the next hour, Nick carried Val without complaint. The bulging veins in his arms and neck told me his muscles were nearly at their point of fatigue.
Unable to watch his struggle any longer, I put my arms under her. “Hey, man. It’s my turn again. Take a break and let me carry her for a while.”
He jutted out his elbow, and ignored me as if I was nothing more than some pesky fly.
We spotted a trail and decided to follow it. It was a brilliant stroke of luck, because we soon came to a clearing, and our pathway ended at an overgrown dirt road. Nick was hopeful that there was a city nearby, so we started to walk off to the side.
I tried not to worry about Val, but it was difficult to put her failing condition out of my mind. “I wonder when she’ll wake up,” I said.
“Don’t go getting all worked up over it. This is completely normal.” He
“It could kill her, like the last guy,” he snapped. “I don’t know what to say, what to do. I do know we’ll never make it to a city before she turns into a full-fledged monster. Wouldn’t that look great on the front of the family Christmas card? Yeah, she’ll make a lovely addition to the family reunion next year.”
“We have to do something. Like you said, we can’t just leave her to her fate.”
He crossed his arms. “You hold the possible formula in your hands, right?”
“Right.”
“So why haven’t you put it to good use already?”
“Well, Doc says it won’t work during the transformation. We can’t give it to her until she actually becomes a zombie. That’s how the formula works. The problem was, General Lofters planned to execute her right away, as soon as he found out she’d been bitten. And you know darn well there’re no exceptions.”
“So what do you propose? We wait, invite her to lunch, and then hand her a cup of tea? She’ll rip our heads off as soon as she turns. I’ve seen how these things work…and eat. They’re almost unstoppable.”
“She couldn’t wait to meet you,” I said. “You’re her little brother.”
“Yeah, right. You mean she couldn’t wait to eat me.” He shook his head. “Play the guilt card, why don’t you?” Then he swiftly picked up Val and cradled her close. “It’s not safe out here.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Well, what are you waiting for? I’ve got sister dearest, so let’s go.”
I nodded and swung the black bag of vials over my shoulder. “You’re going to love her when you meet her.”
“Maybe, as long as she doesn’t get hungry.”
Chapter 4
Nick and I took turns carrying Val. My arms clasped beneath her body to hold her in place. I struggled along the woody path, intent to keep up with Nick, even though he didn’t seem to want to make it easy on me. Granted, he was still pissed that I hadn’t told him about our sister right away, but knowing I had saved her life was my personal redemption and justification. I released a long, settling breath and moved the thicket out of the way; still, the deeper we moved into the woods, the denser the thicket became. To make matters worse, Val’s long hair almost trailed down to the ground, and I had to be mindful of it so it wouldn’t get caught in anything and hurt her. It seemed to me that she should have woken up already, but as the seconds and minutes ticked by, I began to worry that she might not ever wake up again.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked hesitantly after what seemed like an eternity. I noticed his worry lines straight away as his gaze shifted from Val to me then back to Val, as though he couldn’t make up his mind whether to forgive me for the sake of our sister or keep being a jerk about it. “Let me take her,” he muttered, grabbing her out of my arms.
I opened my mouth to thank him, but he’d already turned his back on me, leaving me standing in the middle of nowhere while he continued his march.
For the next hour, Nick carried Val without complaint. The bulging veins in his arms and neck told me his muscles were nearly at their point of fatigue.
Unable to watch his struggle any longer, I put my arms under her. “Hey, man. It’s my turn again. Take a break and let me carry her for a while.”
He jutted out his elbow, and ignored me as if I was nothing more than some pesky fly.
We spotted a trail and decided to follow it. It was a brilliant stroke of luck, because we soon came to a clearing, and our pathway ended at an overgrown dirt road. Nick was hopeful that there was a city nearby, so we started to walk off to the side.
I tried not to worry about Val, but it was difficult to put her failing condition out of my mind. “I wonder when she’ll wake up,” I said.
“Don’t go getting all worked up over it. This is completely normal.” He
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