Night Betrayed Part 20

Mayyybe.

He knew it was for her own good. But would she see it that way?

h.e.l.l, he'd seen and felt the resistance and apprehension in her as she approached the gate last night. Whatever it was she thought she was doing helping the zombies to die a humane death, it wasn't something she wanted wanted to do. He hadn't had to work hard to convince her to spend the night in his arms. to do. He hadn't had to work hard to convince her to spend the night in his arms.

Theo told himself all of those logical arguments, but he couldn't quite dismiss the fact that she was gone. That she'd left without waking him.

His thoughts, circular and greedy, were interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs and a dull rapping on the side of the door.

Theo pulled to his feet from the couch when he saw Sam. "Hey," he said, shaking off the last vestiges of worry.

The kid had a tray with food on it-Bless Vonnie!-and he set it on the table next to the monitor that was still lit up. So much for a screen saver, because the image of the Cult of Atlantis still glowed there. Was probably burned onto the screen forever.

"Brought this for you," Sam said, gesturing to the food. But he was looking at the monitors. "I want you to teach me about these. What you're doing. Hey"-he froze, and his eyes goggled as he looked at Theo; suspicion, and maybe a little fear, glowed there-"I've seen that before."

He was pointing to the labyrinthine symbol.

"You have?" Theo asked casually, taking a drink of sweetened tea for his dry mouth, and doing a quick glance around the room to make sure Selena hadn't left any signs of her presence. This sleeping with a mother had definite complications. "Where?"

"The Elite. When they come here, they have it sometimes on their list. I think I saw it once, inked on someone's arm."

"Do they come here often?" Theo asked, trying the thick hunk of bread. Slathered with b.u.t.ter, just a bit warm, it tasted like heaven. Zucchini bread. And scrambled eggs. Vonnie was a G.o.ddess. He could marry her.

"Yes. Once or twice a year. What are you doing?" Sam had moved forward and looked as if he wanted to touch the keyboard. Fascination warred with apprehension and he hesitated.

"Go ahead. Try it." Theo came over and shoved the keyboard from the second computer toward him. Right onto the spot the kid's mom's bare rump had been only a few hours ago. He nearly blushed at the memory, and had to pull his thoughts back to the present. Yep, he had it bad if he was fantasizing about the kid's mom while the kid was here.

"I don't know what to do with it," Sam said. But he sank onto the chair and tapped one of the keys.

"Why do the Elite-or the bounty hunters-come here?" Theo asked.

He had heard a variety of horror stories about the Elite-or Strangers-and their visits to settlements. Sometimes they were uneventful, but other times there were repercussions later. Only two months ago, he and Elliott Drake had been trying to save a group of teens about Sam's age from being taken off into slavery for the Elite. The Strangers had tricked the teens into becoming addicted to grit, the post-apocalyptic version of crystal meth, and had lured them away from Envy with the promise of more. "You should stay away from them."

"That's what Mom says," Sam replied. He was pecking at the keys, typing nonsense on the coding screen. Theo let him get a feel for it.

"Listen to her. I've seen lots of bad things happen with them."

Sam paused and looked up at him, his eyes wary. "You seem a lot older than you are. I mean, than you look."

"I am," Theo replied. Not that the kid would believe him, but lying was never a good policy. "What do they do when they come?"

But Sam didn't get a chance to reply, because they heard the sound of footsteps, followed by his mother's voice calling for him. The kid bolted from the chair faster than Theo had ever seen him move, and was across the room trying not to look at the pinball machines and video game consoles when Selena appeared.

"Vonnie said you were up here," she commented, looking at both of them, but speaking to Sam. Her glance over Theo had been impersonal, but she generally was all business in front of her son. It didn't necessarily mean anything. "Sammy, you and I are overdue for a chat, I think."

Theo tried not to ogle, but it was hard not to. She just looked so good, so casual and warm and feminine with her dark hair long and loose, and in a deep-vee pink s.h.i.+rt that b.u.t.toned down the front. Her legs were bare beneath dun-colored shorts, long and golden, and-Oh boy-she was wearing something around her ankle. A woven cord with little beads on it, low and sagging just slightly over the curve of her ankle. Just loose enough that he could slip his little finger beneath it, slide it around the tender skin of her foot.

Anything he might have said was interrupted when she gave Sam a firm look and gestured to the stairway door. Apparently, she wasn't about to be dissuaded from her chat with him.

"Later," Sam called, and trudged off.

Theo watched them go, trying to quell an uneasy feeling that bubbled up higher and larger than he liked. He couldn't talk to Selena now, but maybe in a little while they'd have a minute together.

Instead of worrying about something he couldn't do anything about for now, he snagged a spoonful of eggs and turned to the computer. Now that he knew the truth about Blizek, he had to dig into the system and find all of the data Brad had been hiding. He wondered if there were any other clues in his video message, along with the mention of Truth.

Lou. I could really use you!

His brother's response came back almost immediately, filled with hubris. Knew you couldn't handle things without me. I'm close, brother. Knew you couldn't handle things without me. I'm close, brother.

Theo smiled and sent back a f.u.c.k you f.u.c.k you. Then a hurry your a.s.s up. hurry your a.s.s up. He opened his mind and felt Lou's direction, and agreed that he was indeed close. Maybe tomorrow. He opened his mind and felt Lou's direction, and agreed that he was indeed close. Maybe tomorrow. Sure you don't want me to come get you? Sure you don't want me to come get you?

The f.u.c.k you f.u.c.k you came back just as swiftly as Theo had sent his, and he chuckled, returning to the computer puzzle at hand. Definitely, two brains would be better than one. Theo might be the better hacker, in general, but Lou was smarter about other things ... not that Theo would admit it to him. came back just as swiftly as Theo had sent his, and he chuckled, returning to the computer puzzle at hand. Definitely, two brains would be better than one. Theo might be the better hacker, in general, but Lou was smarter about other things ... not that Theo would admit it to him.

He sat and worked some more at it, focusing on the problem of getting even deeper into the annals of the computer system, then decided to take a break and play some pinball. He'd rebooted the Star Trek game the other day, and it had worked fine, although the ball shooter had stuck a few times. Today, in deference to his dream, he plugged in Aragorn and Legolas and waited for the lights to start up after the reboot.

The lights.

Blinking, rapid lights.

A p.r.i.c.kling started over him and Theo leaned closer, looking at the game and its bells and b.u.mpers and lights lights.

What had Selena said? Zombies don't like blinking lights like that. Zombies don't like blinking lights like that. It seems to confuse them. It seems to confuse them.

And then he had an idea.

The minute she saw the circling hawks in the distance, Selena had a bad feeling.

She was still tense and upset from her conversation with Sam earlier today, which had not gone as well as she'd hoped. And now, with his angry words still ringing in her mind, she was bringing a basket of vegetables from Frank's garden to Yellow Mountain, as well as delivering Robert's swaddled corpse to Cath, who would cremate the man for his family.

Sam was supposed to be the one doing it but stormed off in the middle of hitching up Thelma and Louise when Selena tried to approach him again, just to smooth things over. He was still not talking to her, and Selena decided she could use a change of scenery. She also thought she might have the chance to speak to Jennifer, if she was in the settlement.

Along with all of that tumult, she was trying not to think about last night for a variety of reasons-the least of which was how good it had felt to waken next to a man who felt so solid and comforting.

Theo had found her later, not long after her conversation with Sam. Just before lunch. Selena had been angry still; angry with Sam for his stubbornness, for his blindness in the face of love, for his unwillingness to talk about consequences-and, if she had to be honest, angry with Theo for stopping her last night, for giving her an excuse to stay inside. And, most of all, she was angry with herself for being so weak. For giving in to momentary pleasure in the face of responsibility, just because it was easier.

So when Theo approached her, seeking her out in the guise of informing her that lunch was ready, she wasn't in the best frame of mind. But then he said nothing; he merely gathered her into his arms in the storage room and held her.

And the rush of warmth, of comfort, flooded her. When she was in his arms, she felt so good. Home. Safe. As if she had nothing to fear.

"I just want you to be safe," he said, reading her very thoughts. "Selena. I don't understand it. I'm trying, but I have to be honest with you-I'm having a hard time comprehending why you put yourself in such danger."

"It's not some big deal what I do out there at night," she said in a rush, her face buried in his male shoulder. Oh G.o.d, here I go. Oh G.o.d, here I go. It was all going to come out. "It's not that it's such a huge secret. I just don't tell people, I don't want them to know-because they might misunderstand. People It was all going to come out. "It's not that it's such a huge secret. I just don't tell people, I don't want them to know-because they might misunderstand. People have have misunderstood. And it's-well, it's hard." misunderstood. And it's-well, it's hard."

"I know," Theo said gently. "Vonnie told me a little about Sivs. And Crossroads."

Selena nodded. She wasn't surprised. "Vonnie knows more than anyone else, and she tries-but she doesn't really understand either. No one does. They can't see what I see, and really comprehend it, here." She pulled away and touched her heart so he could see. "When I help them die, when I touch the zombies and touch my crystal, I feel like-no, I know know-that I'm saving them. They were human once, like you and me. And when I touch them, somehow I know that they're released. They can die in peace."

"They were human, a long time ago. But they aren't any longer," Theo said. His voice was quiet but firm. "I know that you don't want to see anyone or anything hurt or tortured, and that you only want kind deaths for them. I can't understand that viewpoint, because I've seen enough of the damage they do. I've seen the bodies, the skin and bones and what's left after. There's nothing commendable or redeemable about a zombie, to me. But," he said firmly when she opened her mouth to speak, "I respect you and what you believe. And so I want to help you. Because I can't believe you want to risk your life like that, over and over."

"I don't want to, but I have have to." Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and Selena tightened her fingers on his shoulders. "I can't not help them. Even if I can't save every single one of them, it's my responsibility to help as many as I can. Talk about asking to." Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and Selena tightened her fingers on his shoulders. "I can't not help them. Even if I can't save every single one of them, it's my responsibility to help as many as I can. Talk about asking why why! I ask myself every day why why I have to be the one. I have to be the one. Why Why I was found with that d.a.m.ned crystal. I was found with that d.a.m.ned crystal. Why me? Why me?"

"Ask yourself," Theo said, reaching up to touch her hand, "what would happen if you didn't didn't. If you stayed inside, safe, and remained a mother to your son, a daughter to Vonnie, and a guiding angel to those who come to the Death Lady to help them die with dignity, and in peace. Would that be so bad?"

She was shaking her head, even as a soft flower of wondering opened inside her. Was he right? The tears burned her eyes and she blinked them away. I don't know. I don't know.

"The zombies are already dead. Beyond help. They don't even know what they're doing. But what if something happened to you you?"

I don't know.

I don't know. know.

She didn't come to lunch; she wasn't hungry. There was too much ... too much to think about. His words, so compelling and his arguments so believable. His concern for her was so genuine.

Was he right? Was risking herself worse in the long run?

And shortly after ending their conversation, feeling brittle and confused, Selena had accepted the chance to run the errand to Yellow Mountain. It would be an opportunity for her to get away. To think.

To have some time to herself, away from the demands of mother, daughter, caregiver, lover.

But when she caught sight of the spiraling and diving hawks not far from the roadway, her insides began to churn.

She left Thelma and Louise tied to a large tree when it became clear that the path to whatever the birds were scavenging was through heavy trees and brush, and she walked the rest of the way.

Moments later, standing on a large patch of concrete overgrown with veins of gra.s.s, Selena looked down at two bodies. The stench was rancid, as zombie flesh always was.

And in the daylight, she could see the horrible green-gray tinge to their skin, the abnormal size of their pores, the way the bodies were rippled with stretch marks from being forced out of proportion. The hair on one was threadbare and gray-blond; on the other, it was just as thin, just as bland but with a darker tinge.

Their skulls were bashed in like eggsh.e.l.ls, one from the back, one from the side, slick with dark red blood that still oozed but was beginning to dry. Their hugely knuckled hands, with nails grimy and sharp, curled into the ground like crab legs. Flies, ants, even maggots ran in and out and through the flesh and worn clothing, and the shadows of waiting hawks flashed on the ground in a similarly eerie pattern. Remorse and grief had her turning away; the rank smell and the disturbing sight had her stomach rebelling. She vomited into the bushes until her belly hurt and then returned to the scene, letting the guilt and the anger dig a little deeper into her belly.

It killed her to know that the souls of these two creatures-these people-were trapped forever in limbo.

Wounded with guilt-for if she'd gone out last night, she might have saved them-and yet resolved, she found some brush and brittle sticks and used them to burn the corpses. There was no sense in allowing them any further indignities.

And she went on to Yellow Mountain, heavy and bleak.

Theo didn't see Selena all the rest of the day. He learned that she'd gone to Yellow Mountain on an errand, and as the sun made its descent, he began to wonder if she would return before dark.

Or if she'd purposely stay away so that she could go out and do whatever she did without having to face him.

The lower the sun sank, the tighter his gut grew and the more certain he became that that was her plan.

He tried to focus on his other projects, and working on his idea with the pinball machines, but more often than not, he was standing at the eastern window of the arcade, watching for Selena to approach.

Lou popped into his consciousness again, felt around and obviously sensed Theo's unease and general p.i.s.sed-offness, and left after a brief connection.

Dinner was meagerly attended by Sam, who scarfed down his food, and Vonnie, who was chatty but said nothing of import and seemed to only wish to fill the silence. Frank didn't join them, for he was apparently busy fixing something in the barn.

When the sun finally slipped below the horizon, and there was still no sign of Selena, Theo knew what he had to do.

It took him longer than he liked to pry Frank away from the rototiller he was trying to fix; and had to lend his sharper vision to a.s.sist Frank in fixing a loose wire before he would help him pick the right horse. They saddled a mustang and Theo slung a satchel over his torso. The elderly man's grumbling about being interrupted in his work followed him beyond the walls.

The clank of the gates closing behind Theo made a sound of finality.

The darkening world was still and silent but for the howl of a distant wolf and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. Zombies weren't the only danger, of course; wolves, feral cats, and even tigers and lions prowled the night.

But Theo had the advantage of agility, speed, and height on the horse, as well as a lit torch in one hand and supplies in his satchel. He had no concern for himself and his own safety. Generally, the wild animals would have no reason to attack, especially a much larger creature, unless they perceived a threat.

Theo's mouth tightened more and more as he rode swiftly along what pa.s.sed for a road to Yellow Mountain. By now, the last bit of sunlight was gone and the world was lit by a profusion of stars and a healthy chunk of moon. But the trees brought thick shadows and blocked the light, making it harder for the horse to see his path.

Theo. Lou filtered in, breaking his twin's concentration. Lou filtered in, breaking his twin's concentration.

You okay? Theo responded briefly. Theo responded briefly. Busy. Busy.

Okay.

He listened for the telltale sounds of Selena's wagon, or the calls of the zombies. A twinge of smoke caught his nostrils; someone had recently been burning something nearby.

No more than two miles into the five-mile trip, Theo heard them. He paused for a moment to catch the direction of the sound, his fingers tightening on the torch. He had bottle bombs in his satchel, and the torch would of course work to beat them back, to smash a skull. Destroying the brain was the only way to kill a ganga ganga.

The hair on the back of Theo's neck rose when he realized the groans were closer than he'd thought; the wind had carried them away. Now, in a lull, the sounds came through loud and clear and were just north of the pathway.

Where there were zombies, there might be Selena.

He made a quick decision and veered off the path, stomach tight and heavy. As the horse darted through the underbrush, he thought he heard something else in the distance. The cries were growing wilder, more desperate, and he recognized the sound.

They'd found someone. Selena was there.

He kicked the horse and urged him faster, leaning over the long, strong neck, his mane flying in Theo's face.

Selena! was all he could think. was all he could think. I'm coming. I'm coming. A dark horror stabbed him somewhere, filling his mind and heart. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. A dark horror stabbed him somewhere, filling his mind and heart. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

"Hurry, hurry!" he begged his mustang. he begged his mustang. "Faster!" "Faster!"

At that moment, the horse lost his footing and stumbled, then caught himself and reared back as something came darting out of the darkness. Theo tumbled off with the torch, and landed in a heap on the ground, barely managing to hold on to the flaming staff. As he scrambled to his feet, the spooked mustang ran off, leaving Theo on foot and out of breath.

But he still heard the sounds of insistent, desperate zombies and, ignoring the pain radiating from his body, ran toward them, bolting through bushes and around trees and rusty cars.

There were horrifying sounds and as he came closer, through the trees, he could see the flickering of orange lights and eyes. He ran, using his free hand to dig in his bag for a bottle bomb, ready to go. All he had to do was light the rag stuffed into it for a wick, and toss it into the ma.s.s.

Suddenly, he was there, coming upon the scene of a gathering of zombies. They were fighting to get to something, wailing and moaning and clawing.

"Selena!" he shouted, trying to spot her in the center of half a dozen of the monsters.

And then he tripped over something in the shadows, something soft and alive. He heard the body's groan as he flew through the air again, landing on his face and arms over a fallen tree trunk. The torch fell this time, and as Theo, trying to drag his breath back into his punched diaphragm, turned back to pick it up, he saw the gleam of silver in the light.

Silver hair.