Grave Creatures Read online

  The soldier took a calming breath, set himself, and fired.

  Everything exploded in a massive flash of bright light as the sounds of screams filled the air.

  Present day rushed back in, mixing the screams with the sound of casinos and cars.

  I felt drained, as if I’d just been through a real life catastrophic event. I thought for certain I was going to pass out. Plus, I had zero idea of what the hell just happened to me.

  It had to have something to do with Gabe, but I couldn’t say what.

  Still, that box in my vision clung to me. It was definitely important since Fred had been there. I assumed it was his former master who’d been holding it before the nameless soldier blew the shit out of him.

  I glanced up and saw that the zombies were only a couple of steps down from where they’d been when I drifted off to la-la land.

  That meant no time had passed.

  What the hell was going on?

  “Everyone back off,” Chuck called through the connect. “We’ve got a problem here. Do not engage with the zombies. I repeat, do not engage.”

  Chapter 24

  The rest of my crew backed off to give our two zombie pals a wide berth. They were heading back down to where they’d started their little zip line adventure. My guess was they wanted another ride.

  “Chuck?” I said through the connector, “what’s going on down there?”

  “Griff caught one of the dead guys in his gripping spell and it exploded.”

  “Oh jeez,” said Rachel.

  I shook my head as we slowly followed the other zombies.

  “How bad?”

  “The entire area is covered with zombie bits and goop.”

  “Swell.” As if this wasn’t bad enough that Fred had turned them loose where the living were, now he was making them explode? What a dick. “Normals took notice, no doubt?”

  “Oh yeah. They’re covered in it. Most of them are laughing, but there’s an old woman down here who is pretty pissed off.” He giggled a bit. “Serena told her it was a show.”

  “Doing Paula’s job, Serena?” I said with a grin.

  “Somebody has to.”

  This wasn’t going to make my life any easier.

  I don’t know what, if anything, Fred had against me, but it sure felt like I’d done something to irk the guy. It could also have been someone else on my team, or even one of the Directors. Actually, that was probably the most likely cause of all this, since they looked more his age. Then again, Serena and Griff had to have been around back during the time of my vision. The gun wasn’t that old.

  “Right. How many more of them are there?”

  “Three,” answered Chuck.

  “Plus the two headed back your way,” I noted. “Okay, so we’ve got five exploding zombies.”

  “And be wary,” Griff added. “Don’t forget the necromancer.”

  The memory of the soldier on the field came back vividly, causing me to reach out and grab Rachel’s arm for help. She pushed in and held me up while giving me a concerned look. I could only hope that whatever it was that was happening to me would control itself soon. Fighting zombies was hard enough when I wasn’t struggling to stay upright.

  “I don’t think he’s here anymore,” I replied to Griff with a gasp. “Something happened to me that I need to discuss with you guys. First, though, let’s take care of these zombombs.”

  “Zombombs?” Jasmine snorted with a look over her shoulder.

  “That’s technically what they are, right?”

  “You’re so goofy, Chief.”

  I gave her a tired wink. “Thanks.”

  As we passed the Four Queens I glanced up to see two more zip liners going overhead. Fortunately, they were members of the living. That was good considering I didn’t have another chase in me at the moment.

  We kept trailing the zombies.

  It was amazing to watch how nobody even bothered to give the dead guys more than a passing glance. To be fair, the majority of people on this section of the strip were normals, so they likely just assumed our zombie pals were actors, drunks, or homeless. Truth was that I’d be hard pressed to argue the point with them considering the way these guys looked and smelled. In Vegas, most of the actors I knew were drunks, and many of them were homeless. It kind of went with the territory.

  “Anyone got a containment plan yet?” I asked hopefully.

  “How are you set for running, Chief?” Chuck replied with a question of his own.

  I wasn’t set for it, but sometimes you had to push aside how you felt and do what was best for the team. It’d take a little work to get me back to full strength though. My legs were still a bit wobbly.

  “I may need a helping hand from Serena,” I said, and then gave Rachel a naughty grin.

  “Perv,” she whispered off the connector.

  “Why?” Serena said. “What happened?”

  “Again, I’ll explain later. Let’s just stay focused on getting these zombies out of here.” I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. “But I am going to need a boost of energy or something. I’m pretty drained.”

  The zombies were getting closer and closer to the launch point. If they decided to go up again, that would suck. Again, I wasn’t in the running mood.

  The area was too crowded to shoot them, though. Time was running out.

  I could have Felicia and Jasmine head back down to the landing point and keep tabs on them. This would probably work since I had the feeling Fred just had these guys running on a loop while waiting for me. Of course they could also have been waiting for Fred to leave the area before starting whatever mayhem he had lined up for them.

  Again, that memory flashed into my head. What had triggered it? I had walked backwards to keep away from the zombies and I bumped into someone, and…

  Fred.

  So that’s what this “flash” stuff was all about. But shouldn’t it have showed me the world from his point of view and not from the view of some soldier who was at odds with him? The entire thing was confusing. Plus, it was making my head ache.

  Again, I’d have to deal with that later. We had the more pressing issue of zombies on Freemont Street.

  Another glance around the crowds in the area told me that this was going to end up being quite a situation if we didn’t take care of things. Yes, it was roughly four in the morning and therefore not as crowded as it would be if it had been midnight, but if even one normal figured out what was really going on, there’d be mayhem. Not just here, either. It’d go right back to the way it was during the werewolf craze.

  I couldn’t have that.

  “We can’t let them back on the zip lines,” I said after taking a deep breath, “so tell me your plan, Chuck.”

  He did.

  I groaned.

  Chapter 25

  We had to act fast, which was something I wasn’t feeling up to at the moment.

  I stopped and moved to the wall, pulling Rachel with me. To anyone who didn’t know us it probably looked like we were doing a little hanky-panky, but the truth was that I needed her strength. Hanky-panky sounded good, too, of course, but in my current state of repair I doubt I’d have been much fun.

  She looked at me and nodded as Jasmine and Felicia joined her. They were helping to stabilize her, though I’m sure that Jasmine was also funneling energy in as well. Felicia didn’t have that particular skill, so she would keep them both on their feet.

  I closed my eyes and felt their energy flowing to me.

  You’d think it’d be pretty hot to have a couple of hot ladies flowing energy into you…and you’d be right. But it was also troubling because it meant that they were losing it in the process. Still, it had to be done. I needed power fast.

  The entire process only took about twenty seconds, but it felt like an hour.

  Rachel let go and collapsed into my arms. Jasmine was faring better, but she was a little more pale than before starting the transference.

  “Take care of her,” I com
manded while gently moving Rachel to them. “I have to get this done.”

  I took off at a full sprint, feeling like I’d just chugged down five energy drinks. There was a potency to mage power that topped those drinks though, and you didn’t tend to have the typical crash either. Plus, zero calories. Some of the wealthy hired on mages specifically for this type of daily boost. They’d bring in ten to twenty midlevel practitioners to keep themselves fed throughout the day. I had the money to do this, too, but I typically had more than enough energy as it was. Not after flashes, apparently, but that wasn’t standard fare for me.

  I could only hope it’d remain that way.

  The zombies were just approaching the zip line ride when I came zooming past. The rest of them were milling about, undoubtedly waiting for me.

  Chuck, Serena, and Griff had obviously already high-tailed it down the road to set up our trap for these bags of zombie juice.

  I slapped one of the corpses on the head as I ran by and yelled, “Hey, fucker!”

  That one exploded an instant later, but I was already out of reach of the mess.

  Another perk of being an amalgamite. Speed.

  I glanced back to see the rest of the zombies were hot on my trail. They were quicker than I’d expected, but I still had to slow down to make sure that I didn’t get too far out of their radar. For all I knew, they would stop their pursuit and just head back to the ride and await my return.

  I cut right on South 4th Street and spun around to egg them on.

  “Here, zombie zombie,” I called out in the most annoying voice I could muster.

  They were all still coming my way but I slowed up a little more so they could catch up. I didn’t want them close enough to start blowing up, though, so I balanced distance and reeling them in until we got to East Carson. That’s when I ran diagonally over to the parking lot and waited for them to follow.

  My team had cleared out all the normals by setting up temporary null zones. These zones were typically a no-no unless heavy regulations were followed, but the PPD was allowed to use them in emergency situations as long as they didn’t last beyond an hour. Essentially, the zones would keep normals away from entering the area. They’d get a “gut feeling” that they shouldn’t come near, and it was strong enough to actually work.

  All of the zombies had made it across the street except for one straggler. He was hit by a locksmith van. Poor bastard. The locksmith, not the zombie. Chances are the locksmith knew about supernaturals since he or she undoubtedly had to open many doors to many odd places over the years. Still, it’d take him a minute to figure it out, and that meant he was probably shitting himself at the moment with the thought that he’d just decimated a tourist.

  “Nail them,” I called out, referring to the zombies who were right behind me.

  Chuck and Griff began laying waste to the beasties.

  Chuck had clearly ignored the point about using his smaller gun because he had his Eagle unleashing hell. I was damn glad they were both excellent shots, too, because it wasn’t much fun running directly into the general radius of 50-caliber projectiles and mage blasts.

  “No effect,” Griff announced as I finally arrived at their position.

  “Bullets either.”

  “Tried legs, knees, hands, hearts, head?”

  “Hit all of them, Chief,” Chuck said as the zombies kept coming.

  I looked around to see what other options we might have on hand. Nothing was really springing forth except possibly throwing a car at them. I was strong, but not that strong.

  That’s when an idea struck.

  “Griff,” I said while running back toward the zombies, “cast a shield on me.”

  “What are you…”

  “Just do it!”

  I was within ten feet of the zombies when I felt the familiar tingling of being shielded. If these bastards wanted to explode around me, at least I’d be protected.

  Wrong.

  They managed to break through the shield, causing a shriek to jump from Griff’s mouth.

  Great. Fred had dropped in another fucking trigger. This time it was integrated right in the zombies themselves. That necromancer was really pissing me off now.

  But at least it got worse.

  The zombies all stuck to me like magnetic mines, linking their arms and squeezing in tight.

  I pushed and grunted and even screamed at them, but I couldn’t break free.

  They exploded.

  Chapter 26

  Have you ever had one of those days where you just wanted to go back to when you woke up and start again?

  There were body parts everywhere, my head was ringing, and my favorite suit was completely saturated with zombie juice. I looked like I’d just climbed out of a vat of slime. It smelled horrible. Fortunately, I had restocked my clothing supply in the back of the Aston Martin. I had no desire to ask the gang back at the office to clean out the car again.

  Rachel and Jasmine were approaching on wobbly legs and Felicia was talking with the locksmith, obviously doing her best to assuage his fears.

  “Chuck,” I called back, “is Griff okay?”

  “He’s out,” Serena replied before Chuck could. “He’ll be fine.” She looked up at me. “We really have to figure out a way to block these triggers.”

  “Yeah.”

  I took off my jacket and used the inside of it to wipe my face and hair. I seriously needed to brush my teeth.

  “You okay?” Rachel asked with sleepy eyes.

  “Peachy. How about you guys?”

  They both nodded tiredly.

  “I don’t suppose either of you have any gum?”

  They didn’t.

  We got Griff to his feet and started the long trek back to our cars. I took point in walking back since I was dying to get out of this damn suit. A quick glance back told me that my crew had decided to stay out of my smell radius. Nice. The mass of dirty looks I got from tourists was fun, too. I actually felt like a zombie at this point.

  I didn’t even care who saw me change, but my crew had their backs to me anyway while I stripped down, grabbed a towel, wiped off, and then slipped on a clean outfit. I then grabbed some scented spray and coated myself with it, hoping it’d help alleviate some of the stench.

  “Smells like you shit a Christmas tree,” Rachel noted as I stepped back in their midst.

  “Thanks.”

  “So what happened back there?” Felicia said, clearly ignoring the odor. This was saying something considering her nose could pick up smells nearly as good as it could when she was in werewolf mode. “And I’m not talking about the zombies. Something kicked your ass when we were waiting for those guys to come down from the zip line. What was it?”

  Indeed, that was the question. I wasn’t really sure myself. It was vivid and more than disturbing.

  “After we took care of that mage with the demon batteries…”

  “Reese?” Jasmine interrupted.

  “Yeah. Well, I went to the pub to dull my memory on the subject and was approached by a guy who said his name was Gabe.”

  “What kind of bar was this?” Chuck asked with an eyebrow raised.

  “Not that kind,” I replied, grimacing at him. “Anyway, he said that things were going to get worse with these ubernaturals and that he was going to help me.”

  “And you didn’t think that was important enough to share with the rest of us?”

  “Rachel,” I replied, looking at her, “I didn’t even think the guy was sane. I figured he was just some asshole vampire who heard about the latest happenings with Reese and wanted to stick his head into the mix.”

  We got that from time to time. A supernatural would consider themselves worthy of being in the PPD and go on a vigilante-style warpath. It usually didn’t turn out all that well.

  “Anyway, he had used the word ‘flashes’ at one point and I felt something weird at that.” I tried to recall the sensation, but it was fleeting. “That word just stuck in my head. I didn’t know w
hy until today.”

  Felicia tilted her head. “And?”

  “Since I didn’t want to be too close to the zombies when they came down, I backed off. I bumped into someone at that point and the word ‘flashes’ filled my head.”

  I recounted the entirety of what I’d seen in my vision, explaining how realistic everything was, who I’d seen, and the details of the runes on the little box.

  “Our necromancer was in this vision?” Griff said, still looking a little worse for wear. The question was rhetorical. He was clearly mulling things over. “This is a very rare skill you have, Ian.”

  “Story of my life,” I said, feeling like I was quoting Shitfaced Fred from our first encounter. “I don’t recommend anyone seek this particular skill out. There’s not a lot of joy in it.”

  “So the person you bumped into was Fred,” Jasmine stated.

  “That would be my guess, too,” Griff concurred.

  Rachel merely nodded.

  “Why didn’t he kill you right then?” Chuck asked. “I mean, if he’s trying to take you out anyway, why not just do it right while you’re standing there with your back to him? Seems like the perfect opportunity.”

  I shrugged. “I guess you’d have to ask him that.”

  “Not to be an ass or anything,” said Rachel, signaling she was about to be an ass, “but you said no time passed, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you could have just spun and grabbed Fred, seeing that you’d just bumped into him.”

  Damn it. She was right. Again, I had the old coot within arm’s reach and nothing.

  “I am curious why you didn’t see this historical flash before,” Griff added. “Back at King David’s, I mean.”

  “I never touched him,” I replied. “I got close to him and pointed Boomy at his head, but that’s it. I never laid a hand on the guy.”

  We stood stewing in our own thoughts for a few minutes. This was the second time I could have had Fred and I missed him again. I fought to stop myself from falling into a pit of self-pity when Lydia called through with a message that Paula Rose from The Spin wanted to talk to me. I fell the rest of the way.