“No!” I shouted. More softly, I repeated, “No. That isn’t possible.”
“Ali.”
“No.” I peered up at the ceiling, tears welling in my eyes, spilling onto my cheeks. He was saying my dad might have become the very evil he’d once feared, and that simply couldn’t be right. It couldn’t.
If I had to fight my own father…if I had to end him… No! I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it.
But someone would, I thought. For all I knew, they had already.
“I know it’s a hard thing to consider, and you know I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I didn’t think it was a possibility. I would never purposely hurt you, but I wanted to prepare you, just in case, because…that’s what happened to my mom.”
A buzz of shock lanced through me. “Your mother was a zombie?”
“Yes. I was there when my dad ashed her,” he said flatly.
“I—I—” All I could do was hold on to him more tightly, offering what comfort I could.
“She’d come for me, determined to make me like her. I fought her, but not to the best of my ability because she was my mom, and she managed to bite me. I shouted for my dad, and when he raced inside my room she lunged for him. She almost beat him, but he rallied himself and struck with a glowing hand. He was crying when he did it.”
“Oh, Cole. I’m so sorry.”
“The zombies aren’t mindless at first. They remember what they had, and they hate that we still have it. They want to take it from us. The fact that you’re being hunted so determinedly…”
Yeah. I didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. My dad could be hunting me.
Cole sighed and said, “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
“All right,” I replied gently. I needed time to think, to plan.
We were loaded into his car a few minutes later, then parking at the curb soon after that. He checked his phone as he walked me through the forest, and frowned.
“Something’s going down at your house,” he said.
“What?” Suddenly on the lookout for zombies, I raced forward.
“He didn’t say.” Cole moved in front of me and prevented me from falling into any traps. Halfway there, I inhaled the scent of rot. It saturated the breeze, so thick it created a film over my skin.
I looked up but saw no hint of a rabbit in the sky.
Why hadn’t Emma warned me? “Well, the zombies are out here somewhere,” I said, palming my blade. “Do you see them?”
“Not yet, but they’re close by. The scent is unbelievably strong.” He unsheathed his crossbow with one hand and phoned Frosty with the other.
The closer we got to my house, the faster we ran. No zombies jumped out at us. When we reached my fence—no zombies waited there, either, thank God—I caught a glimpse of a retreating Cruz as I threw open the gate, too upset to even tell Cole goodbye. I had to check on my grandparents.
“What the—” I heard him say.
First thing I noticed: all the lights in the house were on. The second thing: policemen were everywhere.
“Weapons,” Cole reminded me.
I tossed the blade to the ground before I scrambled forward. “Nana! Pops!” The officer who stood at the back door grabbed me and held me in place.
“Are you Ali?” he demanded.
Porch light spilled over us. He was an older guy, on the heavier side, with concern bathing his face. “Yes. Where are my grandparents? Are they okay? What happened?”
“Are you okay?” he demanded.
“I’m fine. My grandparents—”
He ignored me, shouting, “I’ve got the girl.” His gaze moved behind me, to Cole, who’d followed me. “Who are you?”
“The boyfriend,” was Cole’s response.
Understanding replaced the cop’s concern. Other cops rushed to our little group, and between their questions and mine, answers began to fall into place. A “vandal” had broken into the house and scared my grandparents. Pops had made sure Nana was hidden and had then come looking for me. He hadn’t been able to find me. The vandal spotted him, knocked him around. Meanwhile, Nana called 911.
Couldn’t have been a zombie. Cole had promised there was a Blood Line all around the perimeter. So…why the smell?
“Justin,” Cole muttered.
My eyes widened. Justin wouldn’t have done this, I didn’t think, but his co-workers certainly could have. Still, that smell of rot…
I’d figure out the flaws in my logic later. Pops was now in the hospital, in stable condition and expecting a full recovery. Nana was here to answer the phone in case my kidnappers called. Only, I hadn’t been kidnapped, I’d snuck out.
I would carry the guilt of this forever. I’d brought this war to my grandparents’ doorstep. I couldn’t even comfort myself with the knowledge that I’d been out fighting tonight. I’d been making out, having fun while they worried and suffered.
“Can I see her?” I croaked.
“Sure,” the cop who’d first grabbed me said.
Though they weren’t done questioning Cole, he followed me inside, refusing to leave my side. I found Nana in the living room, sitting on the couch and silently crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose running. They must have told her I’d been found, but had kept her here while they dug for the truth.
The moment she spotted me she was on her feet and racing to me, throwing her arms around me. I hugged her right back, holding on to her with all of my strength and crying along with her.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“We’ll talk about it later. I’m just happy you’re safe.”
After all the wonderful things they’d done for me, I’d caused my grandparents nothing but grief. And the horrible thing was, I knew I’d continue to do so.
* * *
Pops came home from the hospital a few days later. He looked so fragile I wanted to slug the doctor who’d released him and the insurance company who’d refused to pay for any more of his care.
I told Nana to take any money necessary from my college account and get him readmitted, but she refused. She had been desperate to have Pops back and under her care.
He had bruises under his eyes, and his cheeks were hollowed out. His skin was grayish and paper-thin, and all of his joints were swollen. He was such a darling man, my Pops. How could anyone have hurt him like that?
First day back at school, Cole and I confronted Justin and his sister in the parking lot. Cole spotted them as they stepped from the bus. He got out of his car and shouted, “Silverstone!”