Текст книги "Oblivion"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 40 (всего у книги 51 страниц)

Chapter 5

My stomach clenched as Dee’s words settled in and I could feel my pupils dilating. “Okay,” I said into the phone. “Don’t worry, Dee. I’ll take care of it. I promise.”

Kat’s face had paled as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. “What?” she asked.

Every muscle had locked up in my body. “It’s Dawson. He made a run for it.” Dammit. “I’m sorry.”

“No. I completely understand.” She brushed the flakes of snow out of her hair. “What can I do?”

“I need to go.” I grabbed the keys out of my pocket and placed them in her palm. I then handed over my cell. “And I mean I need to go really fast. Go home and stay there. Keep that in the car. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Daemon, I can help you. I can go—”

“Please.” I grasped her face once more and kissed her hard. “Go home.”

Trusting that she’d listen to me, I let go and then I moved faster than anyone could track. I had a feeling I knew where Dawson was heading. Dammit. He waited until I was out with Kat to make a run for the office building where he’d last been kept.

I darted across the highway, narrowly missing getting taken out by a truck. I hit the heavily wooded area and slipped into my true form so I could move even faster.

We had maybe two hours together, Kat and I, before the real world intruded and I had to chase down my brother. Fury was like red-hot lava pumping through my veins. It wasn’t so much that the date had been ruined that infuriated me. It was the fact that I had to leave Kat in a parking lot alone. It was because I had to chase down my brother and stop him from ending up in the DOD’s clutches once more. It was because I knew this wasn’t going to be the last time.

Several miles out from the office building, I caught sight of Dawson. He was in his human form when he skidded to a stop, facing me. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “You’re supposed to be with Katy.”

Half tempted to pick him up and throw him through a tree, I struggled to keep a tight leash on my fury as I shifted back. “Yeah. I was with Kat, up until the moment Dee called me and told me you made a run for it.” Dawson’s hands curled into fists. “You didn’t need to leave her. You shouldn’t have left her. Not with—”

“Don’t,” I warned, lifting my hand. “Don’t you dare think I don’t know how dangerous it is for her to be out there when I’m chasing your ass around.”

“Then why are you here?” he fired back, his eyes turning luminous. Off in the distance, thunder cracked in response to the violent energy he was throwing off.

I stepped toward him. “You really going to ask that question? Seriously? Did they knock a few brain cells out when the DOD had you?”

“I’m going to knock a few out of your head.”

Fighting my brother was the last thing I wanted. No. It was actually the first thing I wanted right now. I lifted my arms. “Try it.”

Dawson didn’t need any further coaxing. Shifting into his Luxen form, his light tinged in blue, he lunged at me. I changed as I caught him. He was out of practice, because he wasn’t able to break my hold as I lifted him up and threw him back several feet. He landed in a nimble crouch and slammed his hand down in the snow.

A wall of snow flew into the air, coming at me with speed of a racing train. I spun out to the side, but wasn’t fast enough. The heavy snow came down on me, burying me several feet.

Son of a bitch.

A burst of energy left me, throwing snow up in the air in a shower of light. I sprang out, furious as icicles fell from the elm trees. Jesus, those things could’ve impaled someone. Dawson was on the run again, racing over the fallen trees and mounds of snow.

I took off after him, easily catching up to him. He tried to turn to the left, but I caught him around the shoulders, taking him to the ground. Dawson bucked, nearly tossing me over his shoulders, but I wasn’t letting go.

Just stop, I told him. Just freaking stop.

A shout of rage bounced around my skull. He rolled, and I almost lost my hold. I dug in, kicking up snow as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Standing, I forced him onto his feet. Don’t do this, I told him. Don’t put us through losing you all over again.

You need to let me go. He gripped my arms as I felt a warm tingle along the base of my neck, but before I could investigate that, he broke my hold, managing to shove me back a foot.

Oh, I was so done with this.

I shot forward, wrapping my arms around his waist, and then I launched both of us into the air. I brought him back down into the snow, slamming him through the layers. Icicles and clumps of snow rained down all around us. Whitish-blue light pulsed out from Dawson, slamming into the trees around us.

Jesus, Dawson grunted. That wasn’t necessary.

I held him down, hands on his shoulders. It was necessary.

Dawson tried to roll me, but we both froze as a voice spoke loud and clear. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Kat.

Well, that explained the warm and fuzzy feeling along the back of my neck.

We both shifted into our human forms as we looked over to where Kat stood.

“I thought I told you to go home and stay there,” I said, voice thin with warning.

“And the last time I checked, you don’t get to tell me to go home and stay.” She took a step toward us. “Look, I was worried. I thought I’d come and help.”

My lips pulled back in a sneer. “And how would’ve you helped?”

“I think I did. I got you two idiots to stop fighting.”

I stared at her in a way that promised we’d be talking about this later.

Dawson pushed at me. “Let me up, brother.”

I looked down at him. “I don’t know. You’re probably going to run and make me chase you again.”

“You can’t stop me,” he said, voice apathetic.

Muscles in my arms and back flexed as I held him down. “I can and I will. I’m not letting you do this to yourself. She—”

“She’s what? Not worth it?”

“She wouldn’t want you to do this,” I seethed. “If the situation were flipped, you wouldn’t want her doing this.”

Dawson reared up and got to his feet. “If they had Katy—”

“Don’t go there.” My hands curled into fists.

He went there. “If they had her, you’d be doing the same thing. Don’t lie.”

I opened my mouth, but he was right. I wouldn’t lie. I already knew this. I glanced to where Kat stood, her arms wrapped around her waist, shielding her from the cold wind whipping through the trees. If they had her, nothing, and I mean nothing, would stop me from going after her. I stepped back, thrusting both hands through my hair.

Kat inched closer. “We can’t stop you. You’re right.”

Dawson jerked toward her. “Then let me go.”

“But we can’t do that, either.” She glanced at me before she continued. “Dee and your brother have spent the last year believing you were dead. That killed them. You have no idea.”

“You have no idea what I went through,” he said, and then looked away from her. “Okay, maybe you do a little. What was done to you is being done a thousand times over to Beth. I can’t just forget about her even though I love my brother and sister.”

I inhaled sharply. It was the first time Dawson had even acknowledged that he gave two shits about us since we had him back.

“And they know that,” Kat rushed on. “I know that. No one expects you to forget about Beth, but running off and getting yourself captured isn’t helping anyone.”

“What are the alternatives?” Dawson asked.

Kat drew in a deep breath as she glanced at me again. I stiffened, having a feeling I wasn’t going to like what was about to come out of her mouth.

“Let us help you.”

“What?” I demanded.

She ignored me, like always, it seemed. “You know bum-rushing the DOD isn’t going to work. We need to find out where Beth is, if they are even keeping her here, and we need a plan to get to her. A really thought-out plan with low fail potential.”

Both of us stared at her. I had no idea what Dawson was thinking, but I wanted to throttle Kat…in the gentlest way possible. How could she offer to help him when we had no idea where to even begin looking for Beth? Because I doubted she was being kept where Dawson had been. The DOD couldn’t be that stupid. But most importantly, I didn’t want her anywhere near the DOD or this issue with Dawson. No way.

Dawson turned away from Kat, his back straight as he stared up at the trees. “I can’t stand the idea of them having her. It hurts to breathe just thinking about it.”

“I know,” she whispered.

My brother nodded. “Okay.”

A muscle began to tick along my jaw, and it took a huge amount of self-control to keep my mouth shut.

Kat had no problem talking. “But you have to promise to give us time. You can’t get impatient and run off. You have to swear.”

A shudder rolled through Dawson as he faced her. His arms dropped to his sides. “I swear. Help me and I swear.”

“It’s a deal.”

I closed my eyes for a brief second, partially relieved that Dawson was backing down and partially infuriated by Kat involving herself in this. Her fingers were like ice cubes when I took the keys from her. The walk to the SUV was strained and silent. We piled into my car, Dawson in the back. The fight had gone out of him, and he was resting his head against the backseat of the SUV, eyes closed.

Kat watched me as I pulled off the shoulder of the road, then she peered over the back of her seat. “Hey, Dawson…?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to go back to school?”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“I mean, I’m sure you can,” she continued, nibbling on her finger. “You could tell people you ran away. It happens.”

“People think he’s dead,” I pointed out, my voice harsh.

“I’m sure some runaways all across the nation are believed to be dead and aren’t,” she reasoned.

“What do I tell them about Beth?” he asked after a moment.

“That’s a good question.” Challenge dripped from my voice.

Kat paused from gnawing on her finger. “That you both ran away, and you decided to come home. She didn’t.”

Leaning forward, Dawson rested his chin in the palms of his hands. “Better than sitting around thinking about everything.”

“He’d have to get registered for classes,” I said, and as much as I hated to admit it, her idea was a good one. If Dawson was in school, I wouldn’t have to worry about him running off while Dee and I were there. He would be contained at least eight hours a day. “I’ll talk to Matthew. See what we can do to get it taken care of.”

Proud of herself, Kat settled back in her seat with a smile.

Dee was waiting on the front porch when I pulled into the driveway, Andrew standing sentry beside her. Dawson was out first, heading toward Dee. They spoke and then embraced. That was another first since he’d arrived.

Turning off the car, I looked over at Kat. “I thought I told you to go home.”

Her smile faded as she looked over at me. “I had to help.”

Turning my gaze to the windshield, I dropped my hands to my lap. “What would you have done if it wasn’t Dawson you came upon, but me fighting the DOD or whatever the hell the other group is?”

“Daedalus,” she said. “And if it were them, I would’ve still helped.”

“Yeah, and that’s what I have a problem with.” I got out of the SUV and walked around to the front. Leaning against the bumper, I waited for her.

A handful of seconds later, she joined me. “I know you’re upset because you worry about me,” she said. “But I’m not going to be the girl who sits at home and waits for the hero to wipe out the villains.”

“This isn’t a book,” I snapped.

“Well, duh—”

“No. You don’t get it.” I turned to her, furious at her and frightened for her. “This isn’t a paranormal fantasy or whatever the hell it is you read. There is no set plot or clear idea of where any of this is going. The enemies aren’t obvious. There are no guaranteed happy endings and you—” I lowered my head so we were eye level. “You are not a superhero, no matter what the hell you can do.”

Her gray eyes turned stormy. “I know this isn’t a book, Daemon. I’m not stupid.”

“You’re not?” I laughed without humor. “Because being smart isn’t rushing off after me.”

“The same could be said about you!” Anger rose in her voice, matching mine. “You run off after Dawson without knowing what you’re getting into.”

“No shit. But I can control the Source without trying. I know what I’m capable of. You don’t.”

“I know what I’m capable of,” she threw back.

“Really? If I’d been surrounded by human officers, would you have been able to take them down. Live with yourself after that?”

Her lips parted as blood drained out of her cheeks. Her voice came out as a whisper. “I’m prepared to do that.”

God, I didn’t want to hear that. I took a step back, shaking my head. “Dammit, Kat, I don’t want you to experience that.” Raw emotion slammed into my chest. “Killing isn’t hard. It’s what comes afterward—the guilt. I don’t want you to deal with that. Don’t you understand that? I don’t want you to have this kind of life.”

“But I already have this kind of life. All the hoping, wishing, and good intentions in the world aren’t going to change that.”

That just pissed me off more, because I never, never wanted her to experience any of that. “That issue aside, what you promised Dawson was freaking unbelievable.”

“What?” Her arms dropped to her sides.

“Help him find Beth? How in the hell are we supposed to do that?”

She shifted from one foot to the next. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out.”

“Oh, that’s good, Kat. We don’t know how to find her but we’ll help. Awesome plan.”

Heat flooded her cheeks again. “You’re such a hypocrite! You told me yesterday we’d find out what Will was up to, but you have no idea how. The same thing with Daedalus!”

I opened my mouth, but shit, she had me.

“And you couldn’t lie to Dawson when he asked what you’d do if they had me. You’re not the only one who gets to make brash and stupid decisions.”

“That’s not the point.”

She cocked a brow. “Lame argument.”

I shot forward. “You had no right to make those kinds of promises to my brother. He’s not your family.”

Kat flinched as she took a step back, and a part of me regretted my words, but she had made a promise we had no idea how to keep to my more-than-slightly-unstable brother.

“Dawson is my problem, because he’s your problem.” Her voice shook as she continued. “We’re in this together.”

My eyes met hers. “Not on everything, Kat. Sorry. That’s just the way it is.”

She drew back again, blinking rapidly. “If we’re not together on everything, then how can we really be together?” Her voice cracked. “Because I don’t see how that’s possible.”

My eyes widened. Shit. “Kat—”

She shook her head and then backed away from me. Pivoting around, she walked over to her house, her movements stiff. I wanted to go after her. I wanted to stop her. I didn’t want tonight to end like this.

But I didn’t.

Chapter 6

After I met with Matthew Sunday morning, he said he could work something out with the officials that would allow Dawson to return to school. It wasn’t going to be easy, and not just the technicalities of Dawson reentering school. It was going to be a lot for him to deal with.

“It’s a good idea,” Matthew had said.

Yeah, it had been a good idea, but it was going to be a freak show when it happened, just like it had been after he and Bethany had disappeared and after Adam had died.

The only thing different this time was that we could prepare for it. Since Dawson wasn’t able to make his grand reappearance until sometime midweek, we were going to be able to lay the groundwork as soon as we returned to school Monday. Dawson’s return wouldn’t be kept secret there.

It was Sunday afternoon and Dee was upstairs with Dawson, attempting to convince him to let her cut his hair. I was pacing the length of the living room, my thoughts on the house next door. On the person next door.

Some of the anger had faded from last night, enabling me to see that I kind of made a mess out of explaining why I was so furious with her. As impossible as it was, I wanted her far away from all of this.

Scrubbing my hands down my face, I muttered a curse under my breath. How could I keep her away from any of this? She was a part of this, like the damn center of it all.

I dropped my arms to my sides. Staring at the wall, I wanted to slam my fists into the plaster. Damn, sometimes not caring about anyone was so much freaking easier. Feeling for a person, wanting them safe at all costs, was probably one of the scariest stunts I’d ever pulled.

I started for the kitchen when I sensed a nearby Luxen. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Glancing out the window, I saw that it wasn’t Adam or Matthew, not even Ash.

Lydia stood at the door.

Not surprised that someone from the colony finally showed up, I went to the door and opened it. “I know why you’re here and no, you can’t see him.”

She smiled tightly. “Well, good afternoon to you, Daemon.”

I folded my arms, quiet.

With a sigh, she folded her hands together. The insulated white vest she wore reminded me of the officer Dawson had tossed through the window. “So, it is true? The rumors?”

When I didn’t answer again, Lydia lifted her chin. A flicker of light raced through her veins, a stark contrast against her ebony skin. “You can either answer my questions or answer Ethan’s. Is that what you want?”

I wanted that like I wanted a meteorite to land on my head. “What rumors did you hear?”

“You’re not going to let me in?” When I smiled at her, she looked like she was seconds from throwing me through a wall. The skin around her eye twitched. “Rumor is that Dawson was with the DOD this entire time.”

Having no idea what information I could trust Lydia with, I leaned against the doorframe. “Is that so?”

Lydia nodded. “He was being re-assimilated.”

I kept my expression blank. Re-assimilated? That was one way of looking at this screwed-up situation, but it was better than the truth. I doubted the colony would be thrilled to hear that Dawson had escaped, if that was what truly had happened.

Stepping out on the porch, I let the door close quietly behind me. “We didn’t know until they released him last week. We thought he was dead.”

“I know. I remember how you and Dee were afterward,” she said, her shoulders relaxing. “Why did they have him?”

“I don’t know.” I was such a damn good liar. “We haven’t really talked to the DOD, and Dawson hasn’t really gone into it.”

Lydia glanced behind me, at the closed door. “None of us have ever heard of the DOD releasing a Luxen who possibly needed to be re-assimilated.”

I met her steady gaze. “There’s always a first.”

“I suppose,” she replied, and a moment passed. “He won’t be a problem, right? You’ll make sure of that, won’t you? We don’t want the DOD snooping around, Daemon.”

The point of her visitation was finally laid out between us. The colony, the Elders, cared only about how Dawson’s presence affected them, and if he would drive unwanted attention toward them.

Question was, what was the colony hiding?

Kat still wasn’t exactly happy with me come Monday morning. She wanted an apology for Saturday night. I wanted one, too, and I also wanted to lock her in a room outfitted with obsidian, and maybe a shitload of assault rifles.

The rifles might not be a good idea. She would probably shoot me.

I figured we’d talk later, and later came at lunch when she rushed up to me while I was standing with Billy Crump, telling him the story of how Dawson had run away from home, but now he was back, and blah, blah bullshit.

Kat drew up short as she glanced at the milk I held in one hand and the slice of pizza in the other. “Ew,” she muttered, shaking her head.

Pizza and milk was an awesome combo.

“We need to talk,” she said.

I took a bite of my pizza while Kat eyed Billy like she wanted to take him down. The human boy must’ve sensed it, because he lifted his hands as he backed away. “Okay, well, I’ll talk to you later, Daemon.”

I nodded without taking my eyes off her. “What’s up, Kitten? Come to apologize?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Uh, no I’m not here to apologize. You owe me an apology.”

“How do you see that?” I took a drink.

Steam was seconds from pouring out of her ears. “Well, for starters, I’m not an ass. You are.”

I chuckled. “That’s a good start.”

“And I got Dawson to heel.” She smiled victoriously while I was feeling the exact opposite of that. “And—wait. This isn’t even important. God, you always do this.”

“Do what?” My gaze slid back to her, and even though she was pissed at me and I was angry at her, she was so freaking hot when she was mad. Her cheeks got all flushed, her eyes deepened to a stormy gray, and I wanted to lay her out on one of those tables.

“Distract me with the inane,” she said. “And in case you don’t know what that means: silly—you always distract me with something silly.”

I finished off my pizza. “I know what ‘inane’ means.”

“Shocker,” she retorted.

A slow smile inched across my lips. “I must be really distracting you, because you still haven’t told me what you need to talk to me about.”

Kat might hit me. “I saw—”

Tommy Cruz, football player and friend of the most likely dead Simon, knocked into Kat. No accident. Hell no. I straightened, pushing off the wall.

“Oh, sorry,” Tommy snickered. “Didn’t notice—”

Moving fast, I grabbed a fistful of Tommy’s shirt and pushed him back against the wall, lining him up with the stupid-ass mascot painted on the wall. Tommy’s eyes bugged. I waited for him to piss himself as he gasped out, “Jesus.”

I lifted the milk carton with my other hand, getting it nice and close with his face. “See this milk carton? Do you want to see your face on the back of it? No? Didn’t think so. Touch her again and it’ll be there.”

“Boys!” Coach Vincent’s voice rang out. “Break it up! Both of you! Break it up.”

Silence descended in the crowded cafeteria.

Tommy’s wide gaze darted around, as if he really thought someone was going to intervene. Wasn’t going to be his coach. Oh no, Coach was rocking the Luxen highway. I smiled at him as I slowly released my grip on his shirt, stepped back, and then dumped the milk carton over his head.

Kat slapped her hand over her mouth as sticky white liquid ran down Tommy’s face. Laughter rose from behind me as I patted a clean spot on his chest. “Glad we’ve reached an understanding.” Tossing the empty carton in the trash, I turned to the coach. “Sorry about that. Those milk cartons are slippery buggers.”

Coach stared back with a blank expression. “Get out of here. Now.”

Curving my fingers around Kat’s elbow, I guided her around and started down the aisle. “Overreact much?” she whispered, face burning bright.

I shrugged. “It made me feel better. And I know you thought it was funny.”

She cracked a tiny smile. “Yeah, okay. I did. A lot. Thank you.”

“Uh-huh.” I led her down the hall, stopping by the gym doors. She turned, leaning against the wall. I placed my hands on either side of her head and lowered my forehead to hers. “Can I tell you something?”

She nodded.

“I find it incredibly attractive when you’re all feisty with me.” I brushed my lips against her temple, smiling. “That probably makes me disturbed. But I like it.”

“Focus,” she said when my lips were near hers. She placed her hands on my chest, pushing lightly. “I have something more important to tell you than what disturbing things get you hot.”

I grinned as I backed off. “Okay, back to what you saw. I’m focused. My head’s in the game and all that.”

Kat laughed under her breath, but the sound vanished as she drew in a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure I saw Blake today.”

I cocked my head to the side. I did not hear that right. There was no way that idiot came back here. If so, he was a dead SOB, and he knew it. “Say what?”

“I think I saw Blake here, just a few minutes ago.”

“How sure are you? Did you see him—his face?” My hands curled at my sides as a wave of anger rose swiftly.

“Yeah, I saw—” She stopped, her nose scrunching. “I didn’t see his face.”

Didn’t see his face? How could she be sure she saw him then? I let out a low breath as a different kind of concern took root. “Okay. What did you see?”

“A hat—a trucker hat,” she said, her fingers fidgeting. “That had a surfboard on it. And I saw his hand…”

“So, let me get this right. You saw a hat and a hand?”

“Yeah,” she sighed, shoulders slumping.

I stared at her as the concern for her—for her well-being—unfurled, replacing the hotter, easier emotion to deal with. Kat had been through so much, so there was no surprise that she’d have a hair trigger right now, that she’d see Will or Blake when they really weren’t there. I smoothed out my expression as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, drawing her into my side. “Are you really sure it was him, because if not, that’s okay. You’ve been under a lot of stress.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I remember you saying something like that to me before.”

“Now, Kitten, you know this is different.” I squeezed her shoulders. “Are you sure, Kat? I don’t want to get everyone freaking out if you’re not sure.”

Her gaze met mine for a second and then dropped. I squeezed her shoulders again, wishing like crazy she weren’t in this position. That she didn’t know this kind of fear.

“I’m not sure,” she said after a moment.

Closing my eyes, I brushed my lips across the top of her bowed head. She wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed her cheek against my chest. “It’s okay,” I said, running my hand up her back.

“Sorry,” she murmured, curling her fingers into the back of my thermal. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I just thought—”

“You don’t need to apologize for that.” Reaching down, I brushed her hair back from her face. “It’s totally understandable.” When Kat didn’t reply, I held her a little tighter. “Tonight I’m on babysitting duty. Join me?”

There was a pause, and then Kat lifted her chin. “Sure.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes; it didn’t erase the haunted look there. The smile changed nothing.

Hours later I sat with Kat beside me, and Dawson on the other side of her, two movies into a zombie-thon. At first, we talked about different ways to find Beth, which kept going back to either the office building where Dawson had been held or at the warehouse with the cages.

Kat and Dawson were down with that plan, but I was the lone dissenting voice that repeatedly kept pointing out that the likelihood of her being there was slim, but we were still going to scope out the places this weekend.

Land of the Dead or Party of the Dead was on the TV. I had no idea which one, but some dead dude was eating some other soon-to-be-dead dude. I reached over, grabbing a handful of popcorn out of the bowl in Kat’s lap. “I had no idea you were a zombie fan. What is it—the blood and guts or the in-your-face social undertones?”

Kat laughed. “Mostly the blood and guts.”

“That’s so un-girlie of you.” I frowned as a zombie picked up a cleaver and started banging it against the wall. What the? “I don’t know about this. How many hours do we have left?”

Dawson raised his hand and two DVDs shot into his palm. “Uh, we have Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead.”

“Great,” I muttered. Truth was, I was having fun. I had my girl and my brother next to me, and even if what was on the TV was weird as shit, which coming from me was saying something, there was no other place I’d rather be.

Well, having Kat upstairs and in my bed was another place… I shifted my foot on the coffee table.

“Wussy,” Kat replied.

“Whatever.” I elbowed her, knocking a kernel of popcorn between her chest and notebook. She sighed, and I kind of wanted to fish it out with my mouth. “Want me to get that for you?” I asked.

Kat shot me a dark look as she plucked it out and threw it in my face. “You’re going to be grateful when the zombie apocalypse occurs and I know what to do because of my zombie fetish.”

I raised my brows. “There are better fetishes out there, Kitten. I could show you a few.”

“Uh, no thank you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to go to the nearest Costco or something?” Dawson asked, letting the DVDs float back to the coffee table.

I turned to him, incredulous. “And how would you know that?”

He shrugged. “It’s in The Zombie Survival Guide.”

“It is.” Kat nodded eagerly. “Costco has everything—thick walls, food, and supplies. They even sell guns and ammunition. You could hole up there for years while the zombies are getting their nom nom on.”

My mouth dropped open.

“What?” She grinned. “Zombies got to eat, too, you know.”

“Very true about the Costco thing.” Dawson picked up a single kernel and popped it in his mouth. “But we could just blast the zombies. We’d be fine.”

“Ah, good point.” She rooted around in the bowl, picking up a half-popped kernel.

“I’m surrounded by freaks,” I said, resisting a smile. Hearing Dawson talk like…like it used to be was priceless. On the screen, some idiot got a chunk of skin and tissue ripped out of his arm. “What the hell? The guy just stood there. Hello. There’re zombies everywhere. Try looking behind you, douche canoe.”

Kat giggled.

“This is why zombie movies are unbelievable to me,” I went on. “Okay. Say the world ends in a shit-storm of zombies. The last thing anyone with two working brain cells would do is just stand along a building waiting for a zombie to creep up on them.”

Dawson cracked a smile.

“Shut up and watch the movie,” Kat ordered.

“So you really think you’d do well in a zombie apocalypse?” I demanded.

“Yeppers,” she said. “I’d totally save your butt.”

“Oh, really?” I glanced at the screen and got a horrible idea. Concentrating, I mirrored the image of zombie, taking on the gray and loose hanging skin, along with the patchy brown spots and decaying skin along the cheekbones and nose.

Kat shrieked and jerked into Dawson. “Oh my God…”

I smiled at her, knowing my rotting teeth were made of awesome. “Save my butt? Yeah, I don’t think so.”

She gaped at me.

And Dawson…he let out this hoarse, happy sound I hadn’t heard from him in…in years. I lost hold of the mirror image and focused back on Kat. I cleared my throat. “I think you’d suck at zombie apocalypse.”

“You…you are disturbed,” she murmured, carefully settling down next to me.

Grinning, I reached for the popcorn, but came up empty. My gaze shifted to the popcorn-covered floor. I laughed, shaking my head as I glanced at Dawson. He was watching us. The ever-present sadness etched into expression was there, but so was determination.