Текст книги "Fall Into Forever"

Автор книги: Beth Hyland

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

chapter sixteen

You are the candle that lights the whole world,

and I am an empty vessel for your light.

~ Rumi

Ivy

The next day we get up early because I have to work at noon. I strip the bed, wrap myself up like a burrito, and head to the laundry room to start a load. Jon laughs at me and the little steps I’m taking. (It’s hard to walk like a burrito.) I yelp when he grabs the other sheet from me and puts it over his head like a ghost.

“I’m coming for you,” he says in a spooky voice, holding out his arms.

I scream, hitch up my sheet, and run down the hall, but before I reach the laundry room, I hear a clunk.

“Ouch.”

I turn around. Jon is rubbing his head. Not being able to see were he was going, he bumped into the corner of the door.

“Let me kiss your boo-boo.”

We end up leaving a little later than we planned.

My shift at work literally drags on forever. Everyone’s talking about what happened to Maddy. When they find out I live in the same dorm, I’m bombarded with lots of questions. Because I hate being the center of attention, I keep my answers vague and manage to avoid telling them that I was the one who discovered her. I’m sure it’ll get out though. Things like that always do.

Now, I’m finally back at the White House, sitting in the family room with Jon and his roommates.

“Let your goddamn cousin sleep in your goddamn bed!”

With my eyes downcast, I try to keep a straight face and let Jon handle this.

Cassidy got back from Portland a few hours ago. The police still haven’t caught the guy who attacked Maddy, but they have a few leads. Even though they’ve rekeyed the entire residence hall, including all the dorm rooms, Jon insists I stay here with him, which is okay by me. However, I don’t want Cassidy to stay at the dorm alone and since Tate is her cousin, it only makes sense that she should stay here, too. It was Jon’s idea, actually.

“Then where am I supposed to sleep, huh?” Tate adjusts his PSU ball cap, pulling it lower on his forehead. “Didn’t anyone think about that? Why doesn’t anyone seem to care about me or my needs?”

I glance at Cassidy. “Is he always this way?” I mouth.

“Baby of the family,” she whispers.

Rick, whose grandmother owns the house, claps Tate on the back. “We love ya, buddy. But she’s your cousin, which means you give her your bed.”

Tate gives him the evil eye. “Thanks for the support, ass-wipe.”

Jon points his beer bottle at him. “I’ll bet if you’re really nice to James—you know, make him dinner or something, rub lotion on his feet—he’ll let you sleep with him.”

“Fuck you, Priestly.” James props his long legs on the coffee table and clicks the remote.

“That’s okay,” Cassidy says. “I can sleep on the couch. No big deal. I’m just happy I’m not at the dorm. Half the girls on our floor have moved out until they catch the guy.”

Jon sets down his beer with a bang, his face stern and angular. “This is Tate’s problem, Cassidy. He needs to fucking man up and take the goddamn couch.” He glares at his roommate. “It’s not like you’ve never passed out and slept on it anyway.”

“Dude, he’s right,” James says. “Quit your whining and do the right thing.”

“This sucks.” Tate stomps out of the room and heads toward the stairs. “You guys are all ganging up on me.”

“Take the sheets and the pillowcases off the bed,” Jon calls out to him. Tate doesn’t answer, but his footsteps in the upper hall get louder.

A short time later, with Cassidy busy doing laundry and cleaning the disgusting upstairs bathroom, Jon and I are in his room. I grab my sports bra and head to the bathroom. I’m not used to changing in front of him yet.

“Thanks for going to bat for Cassidy,” I tell him.

“I’m glad Tate finally agreed. I was getting ready to give up my half of this bed to her.”

I hesitate in the bathroom doorway and turn around. “Good thing you didn’t have to do that, because I’m kind of thinking I might want to hook up with you again tonight. Just sayin’.”

He laughs. “Oh really? Is that all this is?” Suddenly he’s in front of me. He backs me into the bathroom and lifts me up onto the counter. I let out a little giggle. I’m thankful this room doesn’t look like the one down the hall.

“If this is just a hook-up, I might be thinking it’s the only chance I’ll have to be with you, so I’d better take advantage of the situation.” He pulls the shirt over my head.

“And you might have to be a little more aggressive, since we may not have much time. We could be interrupted any minute.”

“Definitely.” His mouth crashes over mine, consuming me. He manages to slide one of my legs out of my jeans without pulling away from me, leaving my thong in place. I hear the zip of his fly and the sound of him rummaging in a nearby drawer.

His lips leave mine just long enough for him to roll on the condom. His erection, sheathed in flesh-colored latex, juts out at me, thick and proud. A thrill runs through me knowing where it will be in a moment. He scoots me to the edge of the counter and moves the thong aside. I cling to his neck as he lifts me slightly. I feel the tip of him right there.

His crystal blue eyes lock onto mine. “Doing okay, babe?”

I nod, too breathless to form any words. I love that he asks me that every single time.

“Good.”

In one quick thrust, he fills me completely.

Pleasure shoots through my core so intensely that every other part of my body goes weak and numb. I cling to his shoulders for stability, loving the feel of his powerful muscles flexing under my fingers.

With one hand behind me on the counter and the other holding my hips still, he thrusts into me, fast and feverish. His dark, glistening hair hangs over his face, just like when I first laid eyes on him. Wild, like an animal, determined and driven to attain a primitive goal. But this time, that goal is me.

Arching into him, I let my head fall back and instantly his hot mouth is on my nipple.

The pressure in my lower belly is unbearable, and I dig my nails into his shoulders. Just when I think I might break, my inner muscles tighten around him and incredible waves of pleasure crash over me.

“Holy shit, Ivy,” he says, thrusting even harder and increasing the intensity of my release. “I’m coming, baby.” Groaning, he grabs a handful of my hair and buries his face in my neck as he climaxes.

As he holds me, both our bodies trembling, I wonder how it’s possible to feel this in tune with another human being. Joined like this, we are one flesh, one mind, one thought.

He nuzzles my ear. “God, that was intense, Ivy.”

“Same.”

“Sorry if I pulled your hair.”

“If you did, I must’ve liked it. Sorry if I scratched your back.”

He lifts his head but doesn’t pull out. “Don’t be. I like your marks on me.”

“I’d say that was a pretty damn good hookup,” I tease, rubbing my bare foot over his bare ass. “Who knew two strangers could be so compatible?”

He gets that devilish glint in his eye that I’m really growing to love. “I wouldn’t mind doing this again sometime. What’s your name? Can I get your number?”

It seems funny to be having this conversation when he’s still inside me. I scratch my head and pretend to be thinking aloud. “Hmmm. Should I give him a real name or a fake name?”

“Just as long as the number is real, I don’t care what your name is.”

I smack him on the butt with my foot. He laughs and pulls out of me. I watch while he disposes of the condom, his penis still semi-erect and glistening.

He catches me looking at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” I say, jumping off the counter. “You’re just really beautiful. That’s all.”

He hikes up his jeans, covering that awesome tight ass of his, then he exits the bathroom, grinning.

When I enter the bedroom a few minutes later, Jon is lying on the bed. With his hands behind his head and an open textbook next to him, he looks relaxed and content. I love knowing that I helped him feel this way.

“Are you going running?” he asks, looking at my workout clothes. “Why don’t you come over here and do some homework with me instead?” He pats the bed.

“That’s tempting, but if I have any hope of not dying from exhaustion while staying out of the clutches of brain-eating zombies, I need to stay in shape. Want to come?”

At first I think he’s going to say no. He looks too comfortable. “How far are you going?”

“Not far. Maybe three or four miles.”

“Okay, fine.”

While Jon gets ready, I sit at his desk and put on my running shoes. “Can I use your computer for a minute? I want to see if the grades for the biology midterm have been posted.” My computer is in my backpack, but it’s old and takes forever to boot up.

“Sure, go for it.” Jon says, grabbing a T-shirt from the floor.

One of his tattoos, different from all the rest, catches my eye. The 3D design on his ribcage under his left arm gives the illusion that the skin is pulled back to reveal a lone rose inside. I wonder what the story is. I know he’s been with a lot of girls. Was that for a girl who stole his heart?

He catches me looking and quickly pulls on the T-shirt, covering up the inkwork. “Listen, if we don’t head out soon, it’s going to be too dark.” With a hand on the wall, he bends his knee, stretching his quad.

“Okay, hold on.” I pull up the grading website and plug in my student ID. The biology midterm results haven’t been posted, which means my hopes for an A haven’t been dashed yet. A notification chimes on his computer just as I’m logging out.

“Do you want me to see what that is?” I ask. Then I remember Cassidy’s experience with Will. Jon and I have become close, but obviously there’s a lot about him that I don’t know.

“Yeah, sure.” He grabs his other foot and continues stretching. “Go ahead.”

Somewhat relieved, I click the other open browser tab. If he had something to hide, he probably wouldn’t let me do this. Or at least he’d be hovering to make sure I didn’t see something I wasn’t supposed to see.

“Geez, Jon,” I say, looking at the screen, “you’ve got, like, fifteen or so pending friend requests. When’s the last time you checked this?”

Now that I think about it, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen him checking any of his social media accounts on his phone. Maybe he’s not into it, which would put him in the minority of most of the people I know. With everyone living their lives online, not having a presence there has made me feel left out and alone sometimes, so I love the idea that Jon isn’t into it, either.

“I don’t know. Last week. But maybe it’s been longer than that. Go ahead and click okay on all of them.”

My stomach clenches. “You don’t even care who they are? Don’t you want to make sure you know them?”

“They’re probably KREX listeners. I usually get new requests from people the day after I do a show, and I’ve been on the air more than normal lately.”

It strikes me how guys can be much more casual about online privacy than girls.

One of the profile pictures jumps out at me. It’s an attractive girl with an edgy punk hairstyle and a beautiful smile. With streaks of purple in her dark hair and multiple piercings in her ear, she’s the kind of girl I can imagine looking really good with Jon.

“Do you know Gretchen Shue?” I ask tentatively, watching his reaction carefully.

He’s doing a stretch for the back of his calves now and his face brightens. “Sweet. She’s the lead singer of that band who played the Hardware. Remember them? They’re called Shoo, Gretchen. They played the night of your birthday party.”

How can I forget that night? It was the first time Jon kissed me. I nod, trying not to show my disappointment. How can I compete with the gorgeous lead singer of an indie band? Hell, I can’t even read music or play an instrument.

He comes up behind me and looks over my shoulder. I’m glad he can’t see the hurt on my face.

“I’ve been trying to set up an interview with those guys, but they’ve been hard to pin down. Gretchen and her husband, the cello player, had to fly back east for a wedding, and her brothers, the other guys in the band, told me she handles all the scheduling. They don’t have a manager. Niice. I’ll send her a message when we get back.”

This Gretchen chick is married? She’s a business contact, not social? A huge sense of relief washes over me. I blink my silly tears away before he sees them.

He touches a finger to the screen. “Go ahead and delete this one, though.” He’s pointing to the profile picture of a white-haired couple named Lloyd and Karen Oliver.

“Who are they?” I ask, deleting the request.

“Just some old people friending everyone.” He grabs a baseball cap from the top of his dresser and puts it on. “If you’re a friend of a friend of a friend, they think they need to add you.”

“So you’ve gotten a request from them before? Do you know them?”

“I think they’re new to social media, so they’re probably confused. Did you know that the fastest growing demographic is senior citizens?”

Yeah, I’ve heard that before.

A few minutes later, as we head out on our run, it occurs to me that he didn’t say he didn’t know the Olivers.

chapter seventeen

Get a kickass partner.

~ Zombieland Rule #8

Ivy

Dani, Cassidy, and I arrive outside Explorer Stadium about thirty minutes before the race is scheduled to start. We’re supposed to meet up with James, Kelly, and Reese somewhere. Jon’s already here, since he had to arrive early to meet with the organizers, but we haven’t seen him.

People are dressed in all sorts of crazy costumes. Businessmen, ballerinas, baristas, cowboys, soldiers, dog walkers, construction workers, doctors, and nurses. Basically, every occupation you can think of where people could be working when the zombie apocalypse occurs.

Even though I’m not into wearing costumes, Dani begged me to wear a pink tutu over my running shorts, like she and Cassidy. Since Jon’s planning on wearing some sort of costume too, I eventually relented.

We pick up our packets at the main gate. There must be close to a thousand people waiting around for the apocalypse to begin. I pin my number to my sleeve, making sure that it lies flat.

The zombie check-in is near the north entrance. Jon said that list filled quickly. Everyone wanted to be one of the infected and chase after the humans trying to get through the obstacle course. From what I can see, their costumes consist of a lot of torn clothing and massive quantities of blood. I spot a clown zombie and quickly turn away. I seriously. Hate. Clowns. Stephen King’s It, anyone? That’s all I’m saying.

“Hey, isn’t that Touch Montgomery?” Dani says, pointing across the street.

Cassidy cranks her head around to look. “Touch is here?”

Dani frowns. “He’s not running in the race, is he?”

“He’d better not be. Here, hold my stuff.” Cassidy thrusts her water bottle and race number at me, threads through the people on the sidewalk and marches over there. It’ll be hard for anyone to take her seriously with that pink tutu and large polka-dot bow on the top of her head. She went to a couple of kickbacks at Touch’s apartment, but says it’s nothing serious. I think she still has feelings for Will.

I scan the crowd, looking for Jon. He’s been quiet lately. I can tell something’s been bothering him, but whenever I ask, he acts like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about and that he’s fine. On top of making sure everything was ready for the race, he also had a busy tutoring schedule and a long paper to write. I don’t know, though. I think something else is up. Spotting James, Kelly, and Reese on the other side of the street, I wave them over. James is wearing a football jersey, while Kelly and Reese are dressed like—pirates?

“Have you guys seen Jon yet?” I ask. “I know he’s here.”

“What about over there?” Kelly says, pointing. “I see pink.”

I look in that direction and see the crowd, all right. A bunch of sorority girls in pink Parishioner T-shirts.

Wonderful. My boyfriend and his groupies.

We head in that direction. I spot the local news station van with a satellite dish mounted to the roof, parked near the giant bronze Explorer statue in the middle of the courtyard. Holding a white shirt and tie, Jon is talking to the female reporter, but they’re not on the air. The reporter must be waiting to go live with the station.

As we get closer, Jon spots us. He signs, Hello, beautiful.

Okay, maybe it is the race he’s been worried about. I sign back, Hello, handsome.

The reporter touches her earpiece, unaware that her interview subject is having a conversation in sign language. “We’re on right after the commercial. Are you ready?”

“Ready when you are.”

A couple of girls ask him to come over and sign their shirts, but he tells them he’s going live in a minute and can’t right now. I’m not sure how he always stays so patient. It’s not uncommon for people to approach him and ask him to sign their shirts. I know it must get old, but I’ve never heard him complain. When I’ve asked him about it, he just gives me one of those million-dollar smiles and says he appreciates their support.

He looks over at me and signs, After the race is over, want to go back to my place and have sex?

I nearly choke. Jon! I sign back, finger spelling his name with emphasis. I glance at the others gathered around to watch the broadcast, but no one is reacting. Other people can sign too, you know.

He shrugs. You look hot and you’re my girlfriend. How is the fact that we’re going to have sex later surprising? Shouldn’t that be obvious? Even from fifteen feet away, I can see that gleam in his eye.

You’re such a guy.

The cameraman is indicating they’re about to go live, so Jon turns his attention back to the reporter, an attractive Asian woman in a navy blue wool coat.

After the lead-in, she puts the microphone in his face and asks him to explain how the race works. If I were him, I’d be stammering and stumbling over my words, but Jon is a natural.

“All the runners start out with three humanity flags hooked to their belts. The ten kilometer obstacle course is littered with hordes of zombies. The goal for the runners is to get across the finish line with at least one flag still attached. If so, they’re still human. If not, they’ve been infected. And then, of course, there are the zombies. Their goal is to infect people.”

“So who are the zombies?”

“Anyone who wanted to be one,” he says, laughing. “We maxed out on zombies well before the human runner list was filled.”

“And why is that, do you think?”

He shrugs. “People are excited to dress up and unleash their inner monsters, I guess. ”

“So how do these zombies infect people?” she asks.

“We’ve got three types of zombies,” he says, holding up three fingers. “Shamblers are the fastest. They can run after you for about ten feet. The walkers aren’t allowed to run, but they can go more than ten feet. And then there are the crawlers. They can be the most dangerous because you don’t know where they’re hiding.”

“Sounds frightening. Okay, so tell us a little bit about the charity that the race benefits.”

Jon’s tone shifts from playful to serious. He tells the reporter that the money will go to fund a hospice and home care charity helping terminally ill cancer patients and their children. She listens attentively, nodding occasionally. “It’s difficult for kids to deal with the fact that a parent is dying, and this group is there to help them.”

“How did you get involved in the organization?”

Jon hesitates. “They helped me when my mother died.”

* * *

Jon

We’re standing near the front of the stadium, along with about a thousand other runners and two or three times that number of spectators.

I’m not sure how long I’ll last wearing this white shirt and tie, because I’m already getting hot. I’ll probably end up taking it off and leaving it on a fence somewhere before the race is over.

“What are our chances?” Ivy asks, fluffing up her tutu.

I’m glad Dani and Cassidy talked her into wearing a costume. She looks awesome.

“If you’re fast, I’d say our chances are good.”

“Me? So I’m the make-or-break part of this team? What if you’re the one who’s not fast enough?” She double-checks that her humanity flags are evenly spaced around her waist.

“If one of us gets infected, the rest of us have to leave them,” James says. “Deal? If this were real, that’s what we’d do.”

“I don’t plan on having any of my flags taken, though,” Dani says, “so there’s nothing to worry about there.”

Cassidy pushes her way through the crowd. “If one of us gets attacked by zombies, the others better come help.”

“Geez, C,” Ivy says. “Way to get back here on time.”

Cassidy looks up at the huge digital display near the starting line, grabs her number and puts it on. “There’s plenty of time. We’ve got a whole two minutes.”

“Where’s Touch?” Ivy asks.

My stomach tightens as I look around for him. It killed me to see Ivy pushing him around campus—a visual reminder that someone else would be better for her. A clean-cut guy who comes from a nice family. I met Touch my freshman year on the football team and we’ve partied together a few times, so I know what I’m talking about. A guy like him has way more to offer her than I do.

“Yeah, I ran into him back there.” Cassidy adjusts the entry number pinned to her sleeve. “For a minute, I thought he was planning to run in the race, but it turns out he just came to watch. He’ll be near the halfway point to cheer us on.”

The entry gun sounds and the race begins.

The first quarter mile is just running over a wide gravel road. Kelly and Reese take off ahead of us. So much for teamwork. James, Cassidy, and Dani are in front of us and Ivy and I are in the back. We haven’t seen any zombies or gone over any obstacles yet. We’re just loosening our muscles and establishing our pace. The first part is designed to let the cluster of runners thin out as the faster ones outpace the slower ones.

The course leads us into a trail through the woods, so we have to run single file. We hear the first zombie before we see it. Or rather, we hear other people who are seeing it—the group of frat guys in front of us screams like a bunch of little girls.

“Oh shit,” Dani says over her shoulder. “This is it, you guys.”

“Bring it on.” Ivy reaches back and I give her a low five.

“I’m with you, babe,” I tell her. “Remember, guys, it could be an individual or a whole horde, and watch the bushes for crawlers.”

“So let me get this straight,” James says. “Even though you helped organize this run, you didn’t get any advance knowledge of where the zombies are being stationed? Didn’t you at least see a map with the hiding places marked?”

“Nope.”

“You’re useless, Priestly. You know that?”

Some of James’s insults are funny and some aren’t. This one falls into the second category.

A zombie dressed in a ragged suit and tie lumbers out in front of us. Dani sprints ahead and gets past him. James shrieks like a little girl. Cassidy doubles over with laughter and a walker emerging from the bushes yanks her flag.

“Hey!”

Now it’s James’s turn to laugh at her. In fact, he’s still laughing when Cassidy catches up to him.

“That totally should’ve been you, James. Not me.”

He blows her a smart-ass kiss. “It’s called karma and sometimes it’s a bitch.”

She punches him in the arm. “Anyone who screams like that deserves to have his flag yanked.” She quickens her pace to catch up to Dani.

James glances at me, a huge grin on his face. I totally know what he’s thinking.

There’s a large puddle of muddy water up ahead. We can’t tell how deep it is. As everyone is strategizing how to get through it, something flashes in my peripheral vision.

“Watch out. Zombie invasion. Nine o’clock.”

Ivy looks to the left and barely misses getting her humanity flag taken. I start to yell something, but then a twig snaps to my right. Before I can move, a crawler in a clown suit grabs one of my flags. I jump away, but in the process my foot slips and I fall to my knees. Five more clown zombies, walkers this time, close in on me.

“Jon,” Ivy screams, circling back. “I’ll divert them. Get up and run.”

She waves her arms at them like she’s directing airplane traffic at the airport. “Over here. Over here. Oh my God, I hate clowns. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

I have no idea if the zombies have been instructed to react that way, but it seems to work. The ones bearing down on me are now heading toward her. I get up and skirt around them and soon we’re past the muddy water and back on the trail.

“Nice job,” she says.

“You, too. Thanks for saving me.”

“No problem, except that I hate clowns.”

“Well, thank you for facing your fears to save me.”

“You’re welcome,” she says, smiling. She looks down and suddenly her smile is gone. “Crap, Jon. You only have one flag left.”

“What?” I check my belt. She’s right. “I don’t understand. Only one zombie got close enough.”

“He must’ve grabbed two of them.”

“Damn clown zombie.”

“I knew there was a reason I hated them. Along with freaking me the hell out, they cheat.”

Up ahead where the path widens, a tire obstacle looms. Zombies aren’t allowed to attack humans on the obstacles, so we’ll be safe once we get there. Dani and Cassidy have just made it through and James is in the middle. Still no sign of Kelly and Reese. They must be way up ahead by now.

Ivy grabs my hand and we run through the obstacle, taking care not to trip. Even though we used to do a similar exercise in football, Ivy is much faster than me. Just as we step out of the last tire, we hear more screaming.

We look at each other. “James,” we say in unison.

Maybe it’s time to get off the trail. “Do you want to head into the woods and bypass the area all together?”

“Why not?” she says. “It’s worth a try.”

But the minute we leave the main trail, I can tell it’s a mistake. There are at least a dozen zombies that step out from behind various trees, blocking the way. We turn around to go back, but two have stepped in behind us. We’re surrounded.

“Go on ahead,” I tell Ivy. “You have all three of your flags left. You can still make it.”

“No,” she says breathlessly. “I’m not abandoning you. We do this together. Your fate is my fate.”

I know this is only a race, but my heart literally swells just now.

But then a zombie lunges at me. I recognize him from one of my upper level chemistry classes. I sidestep away, but I’m not fast enough. He reaches out, his fingers skimming over my one remaining flag, but Ivy is faster and jerks me away.

Two more zombies come at us, but they’re walkers and easy to avoid. I’m not sure how we do it, but somehow we avoid that horde unscathed.

We high-five each other and continue running the course.

The next obstacle is the mud pit. Again, Cassidy and Dani are the first ones out and James is in the middle. They’re covered head to toe in mud.

I hear moaning to my left and turn just in time to see a shambler. “Go,” I yell to Ivy. “They can’t touch us in there.”

We surge ahead and jump into the mud. Almost immediately, I slip. Ivy tries to yank me back to my feet, but I can’t get any traction. “You go on ahead,” I tell her. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“Shut the hell up.” She’s covered in mud, including a big splotch on her cheek, so it’s hard to take her seriously. “I’d rather face a world with you as a zombie than a world without you. Humanity is overrated.”

“Aw, I’m touched. You’d love me even if I were a monster?”

“Even if you were a monster.”

It occurs to me that I just used the word love. Does Ivy love me? Could she love me? My throat goes tight.

But I don’t have time to dwell because she’s laughing hysterically. One of us slips, pulling down the other one, and somehow I end up on top of her. We’re covered in mud. Our hair, our clothes, our faces. It’s literally everywhere.

Her eyes are suddenly serious. God, even covered in mud, she’s hot. I wipe my lips with the back of my hand, which doesn’t do any good because my hand is covered in mud, too. I kiss her. Her lips are soft against mine…and muddy. Other runners skirt around us, giving us weird stares.

The realization that I’m falling for Ivy hits me hard. I’m at a loss to know what to do, because I’ve never felt this way before. It’s uncharted territory, and I’m afraid I’m going to screw things up like I always do. Reluctantly, I break the kiss and we get up.

Ivy has a strange expression on her face.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Jon. Your flag. It’s gone.”

I glance down. She’s right. There’s just an empty race belt around my waist. I look at her muddy tutu. “So are yours.”

She spins around. “Did we lose them in the mud?”

“I don’t know.”

We spend the next few minutes sloshing around in the mud pit looking for our flags, but we can’t find them.

I grab her hand and lead her out of the mud. Zombies are waiting for us, but they leave us alone when they see our flags are gone. We’re one of them now.

“I always knew you were too perfect to be completely human,” I tell her.

“And I always knew there was something wild inside you.”