Archive of Our Own ^beta

Luz peeked around a crashed police car.

“Two at the end of the street,” she whispered.

“Thinkers or Shamblers?” Amity whispered back.

Good question. The zombies had first appeared about two weeks ago, and the news reports hadn’t said much before the TV stations were overrun. From what they knew, the zombies acted like a hive mind with two roles: Shamblers, fresh-turned zombies that could barely move their newly rotted bodies, and Thinkers, zombies that had been infected much longer and could plan ambushes. Like the one that took out their school this morning. Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus, and Hunter had been the only ones to make it out.

Of course, both kinds of zombies were infectious.

Luz squinted. “Shamblers, I think. One just ran into a telephone pole.”

“I’d find that funny if I wasn’t so scared.”

“Guys?” Gus hissed nervously. Luz looked back. The rest of them had bunched up behind her along the length of the car, each of them clutching their weapon of choice. Amity had her rocket launcher; Willow, her bow; Hunter, his martial arts staff. Gus had grabbed a can of hairspray and a lighter from the home economics room.

Gus was on lookout the way they’d came. The horde that had taken over the school had sent a huge mob to chase them for the last hour. As Gus pointed, a long shadow poured over the end of the street. Suddenly a green, goopy skull thrust itself into view, then turned its glowing red eyes on them.

“Guuuh!”

“RUN!”

Luz grabbed Amity and sprinted as fast as she could down the street. She heard the others close behind, feet pounding. The zombie horde stumbling and lunging down the road after them. She aimed her friends towards an old grocery store, but changed course with a shout when she saw another Shambler rise up behind the cash register. Or she thought it was a Shambler, until it opened its mouth and a barely-intelligible screech poured out.

“Nghaaaa!”

“We’re gonna die we’re gonna die!” Gus screamed. She heard a nasty thud and an even louder shriek. Glancing back she saw the Thinker who had moaned the alarm grab hold of Gus’ ankle and start dragging him back, jaw sinking open impossibly wide – no, his jaw was falling off. It seemed to surprise the zombie, too. The half-second of surprise in its dull eyes gave Hunter a chance to stop and spin, his pipe breaking its nose with a wet, sickening crunch. Willow swung her bow around and fired, adding a nice red-feathered arrow into the center of his forehead.

Luz looked ahead. The Shamblers were shuffling towards them, but more gooey faces were popping up from the surrounding stores. The only place that looked empty was –

“There, the pet store!”

“Go, I’ll cover!” Amity let go of Luz’ hand and turned, taking a knee. She swung her rocket launcher off her back and aimed. At least, Luz had thought it was a rocket launcher, until Amity popped a colorful ball into the tube and fired. The projectile launched with a bang, white-hot and throwing sparks, shooting straight through six zombies at once like some kind of deadly acid bullet. The zombies shrieked with outrage. “Eat some, dingbats! Courtesy of the Hexside High Robotics Team!”

My girlfriend is so cool, Luz thought, veering towards the pet store. One of the Shamblers had somehow managed to lurch in their direction. Willow fired, this time shooting it through the throat. It must have hit the spinal column because it dropped, although its limbs still twitched feebly and its mouth yawned hungrily. Luz suppressed a shudder and ran for the doors. They didn’t open, but she’d expected that – the power grid had gone out three days ago. She dug her fingers into the doors and pulled.

“It – won’t – open!” she panted.

“Move, move!”

She flung herself aside. Hunter reached her, then kept going, running full-tilt into the doors and slamming his shoulder against them. The doors gave an awful metallic shriek and the metal pin bent, but the doors were still closed. Hunter lined himself up and slammed them again, this time with both palms on different stress points.

The Thinkers were moving faster, and the zombies from other stores had come out and were already crossing the street. Luz readied her bat, then ran forward and met them in the middle of the road, swinging her weapon into the nearest gooey skull. The zombie dropped with a gurgle. She ignored it and swung again, trying not to think about who they used to be. They were zombies now. If she didn't fight, she and her friends would be next.

Amity spotted how close a few of them were and fired her launcher at them, but doing so gave the zombies in front of her an opening. She leaped back just in time to avoid getting chomped in the shoulder, then turned and sprinted to join them at the doors. Gus pulled out a can of hairspray and a lighter to cover her retreat. Luz kept swinging, but she was getting forced back – they were only a few meters from the door now.

“Hunter!” she shouted.

Hunter backed up, then spun. Ten years of martial arts went into that kick, and the bottom of the doors bent like a paperclip.

“In in in in in!”

They funneled inside, Hunter and Luz facing the horde. Finally Gus’ shoe disappeared through the hole.

“Go, I’ve got more range,” Hunter panted.

There wasn’t time to argue. She dropped and shuffled quickly backwards. When Hunter did the same, she and Willow grabbed his legs and yanked him back. A Thinker’s face came smashing down where Hunter’s neck had been a second before. Gus moved forward immediately and filled the hole with fire.

“We gotta block the entrance!” he panted.

“I got it, I got it!”

Amity ran up with a long metal chain from the dog collar aisle. In seconds she’d lashed three carts to the bars of the doors so cunningly that Luz doubted anything but metal cutters could get them loose. Some of the zombies decided up was better than down and had started trying to force an opening at the top of the doors. Gus climbed on top of the carts so he could reach high enough to force them back, then lifted his spray can.

A Thinker more skeleton than zombie thrust its narrow skull sideways through the opening, scraping the melted flesh off its cheekbones. It was like Luz was watching in slow motion. She saw its bloodred eyes light up, then shift to blue. Gus opened his mouth to scream. The jaw slung open, unhinged, Gus’ thin wrist already between its molars –

– And bit down instead on Hunter’s wrist, just after he’d thrust Gus out of the way.

The two of them hit the ground, hard. Willow was already firing arrow after arrow, but this time the zombie just grinned, slowly, slyly, even as its forehead sprouted with feathers.

“Fooouunnnd youuu,” it whispered. Then the blue light vanished, once again a dull red, before the now-gurgling zombie withdrew, groping uselessly at its skull. Amity had run back to grab a collapsible dog kennel and was using her handheld soldering iron to melt it and the carts into place.

“Hunter!” Luz cried, dropping to her knees.

Hunter was lying on his back, face paper-white, staring at the ceiling and clutching his arm. “It bit me,” he whispered. “He saw me, it bit me…”

“You’re gonna be okay,” Luz said, or she thought she did. Her heart was pounding so loud she could barely hear over it.

“That blue light?” Willow panted, bow still at the ready. “Was that Wittebane? Hunter?”

Luz had ripped off her jacket and was winding it around Hunter’s arm, if only to keep the zombie’s saliva from getting on anything else. They had to keep anyone else from getting infected. They had to keep - keep Hunter…

Gus grabbed Hunter’s hand. “Hey, hey man, look at me. You said your uncle experimented on you, right? Maybe he made you immune. Okay?”

Hunter let out an awful noise. “I was supposed to be patient zero.”

“Okay but you weren’t. You ran. I know you said he gave you a ton of shots growing up, but you don’t know what he injected you with, and no one around you got sick. Maybe you built up an immunity. Okay? Hunter?”

Luz pulled out her cell phone. “No service,” she said hoarsely. “Anyone else?”

Gus fumbled for his phone without taking a hand off Hunter’s. “Yeah. I mean no, no service. But our parents are probably looking for us by now. Right, Hunter? Didn't you say your foster dad was working on a cure? I bet he'll bring it straight to you.”

“Door's secure,” Amity said, a grim satisfaction in her voice as she jumped down. “Willow, Luz, help me make sure the other entrances are locked. Gus, get him to the dog bed aisle. We can set up a more permanent base in a minute, let’s just get him out of sight from the door.”

Luz obeyed. She, Amity, and Willow moved around the perimeter of the store together. To the left was a small salon, with grooming tables, dog kennels, and dog bathtubs in the very back (no running water, they checked.) The left side of the store was also all for dogs – dog beds, dog food, dog collars. Willow picked up a few prong collars and wordlessly handed them out. Emergency doors stood at the back left of the store, next to the bathroom and breakroom. Amity chained the emergency doors shut. There was a petcare center along the back wall, with a few birds and reptiles out on display. Luz checked on them, relieved to find that none of the habitats were broken into.

“They must not have had a lot of animals in stock when the virus hit,” Luz said. “We should come back and feed them.”

“Us first,” Willow said, “but then yes. I think it might help to keep something alive.”

The emphasis she put on ‘something’ left them all sobered.

It took at most three days for the infection to spread, hours if you were small or sick or just unlucky. Your flesh started to melt, but not all the way. Your veins turned crunchy. Your brain stopped working. And when it started working again, it wasn’t you anymore. It didn’t belong to you anymore. She’d heard of the ‘Belos’ virus growing a consciousness, but Hunter said it was really Professor Wittebane. That he could see through the eyes of his victims any time he wanted. That that was how he knew where to deploy Shamblers so effectively. How Thinkers somehow knew the best places to find schools, hospitals, daycares, even in cities they’d never been in before. It wasn’t that Luz didn’t believe him. But actually seeing Wittebane do it…

And he had. He’d looked right at Hunter and said, ‘Found you.’ He was going to come for Hunter. He was going to come for all of them.

“Hey.”

Luz came to herself with a jolt. They’d entered the stock room next to the pet center, at the back right of the store. Willow was shooting metal spikes meant for lawn leashes into the big truck door, pinning it shut. Amity was holding Luz’s hand. She moved to stand directly in front of her.

“Luz. Look at me. We’re going to make it.”

Luz blinked several times. "Why...why are the lights on?"

"Backup generator."

"Do pet stores have those?"

Amity grinned and pointed. Her disassembled rocket launcher had been connected to the breakers and was humming steadily away. "They do now."

Luz opened her mouth. Her hands felt so hot, the rest of her felt so cold. If the lights were on, why did it seem so dark?

Amity took Luz's hands in hers. "Luz. Sweet potato. Talk to me."

“It bit Hunter,” she croaked. “I don’t…I don’t know who the people we killed are. I don’t want to kill Hunter.”

“We won’t,” Amity said firmly. “We couldn’t help the other zombies. We have time to help Hunter. We can radio for help. His dad will probably get here before we even need to worry. And you heard Gus - repeated viral doses can create immunity. That’s how vaccines work.”

Luz looked at her dully. “My mom’s a vet, Amity. I know how they work. Vaccines are usually dead or super mild versions, not the full-blown death disease.”

“Then you should know all the reasons Hunter could be okay," Amity said doggedly. "He got tons of shots when he was younger and never got sick. If nothing else, he might have a longer incubation period. Wittebane would have wanted a Patient Zero to get deep into a populated area, not be caught at the edges.”

“Very reassuring,” Willow said dryly. “I’m done with the truck door. Let’s grab some water bottles from the break room and make a plan.”

They left the stock room. The right side of the store looked like it was full of food for cats, rodents, and birds. Luz stepped to the side and grabbed three pouches of unsweetened dried kiwi, and a twenty pound bag of peanuts.

“In case anyone’s hungry,” she explained.

“I got that,” Amity said. “But if anybody makes me eat cat food, I’m going to barf.”

“What about dog food?” Willow asked innocently.

“Barf, but specifically in Wittebane’s shoes.”

“Weird but deserved.”

They got the water bottles. Gus had set Hunter up on one of the bigger dog beds, an oval one with a stiff rim. Hunter’s arm was still wrapped in Luz’s jacket and he was curled on his side, breathing shallowly.

“Hey,” Luz called softly.

Gus looked up. His eyes were red, but he smiled. Then he saw the food and his eyes widened. “Where did you get those?”

“Bird aisle.”

“No way! Hunter, they got food!”

Hunter cracked open his eyes. “’M not hungry.”

“Better these than us,” Willow said, waving a bag of kiwi. Hunter stared at her, looking haunted. "Yeah, okay, too soon." She shrugged and opened the bag. “Look, you survived living with an abusive megalomaniac for like, fifteen years. And that was without help. Now you've got your dad, and us. We can fix this together.”

“Willow,” Luz said quietly.

“Ground rules,” Willow declared loudly. “We’re going to take precautions. At least two people keep guard at all times, one front and one back. One person sits with Hunter. One person’s on break. And I mean on break. This is just a siege in a soccer game and we’re going to abso-freaking-crush the opposing team, hopefully literally. Also, Amity and Hunter, you’re both going to work on getting a signal out to whoever’s still receiving out there, any frequency. Build a radio if you have to. Luz, you and I are on first aid duty. Gus is taking care of meals – oh, and don’t feed Amity any cat or dog food. Something about barfing. Questions, comments, compliments?”

Hunter raised his hand. “In two days, if I’m not better…”

“We’ve got some plastic dog kennels left on the shelf. Next question?”

“You need to let me out,” Hunter insisted. “I just became your biggest liability. Captain, if I – if I hurt anyone –”

“I’ll accept responsibility,” she said firmly. “Look, we just shot a lot of people. I shot a lot of people. And maybe they were beyond saving, but if we’re going to make it out of this with our sense of selves intact, then we’re saving who we can. Even if that’s just one person. And that person is you. I’m also playing favorites here. You’re – you're ours. Saying ‘friend’ isn’t strong enough. Alright, Hunter? We’re saving you. We will not abandon you.”

Hunter’s jaw was clenched painfully tight. Gus set a hand on his back, and kept it there when Hunter’s shoulders started to shake.

“Right.” Willow stood up. “Who’s taking first watch with me?”

Luz raised a hand. “I’ll, um, take the front door?”

“Great. I suggest grabbing a few more prong collars from the dog collar aisle. I’m not sure why people still want those, because they look really painful, but right now that’s good news for us.” She mimed cracking them like a whip.

“Pretty sure that’s not their intended use,” Amity pointed out.

“I won’t tell the warrantee company if you won’t.”

They took hourly shifts. Once they’d settled into routine, it became three-hour shifts. The front entrance was the worst because they could see the gooey horde pressing against the glass doors. A couple of times Luz thought she saw a flash of blue among the red, as if Wittebane was checking to make sure they were still there. When Luz wasn’t on watch, she taught anyone still alert enough some basic first aid. Hunter didn’t need any, though; he knew nearly as much as she did about sutures and broken bones. The petcare center had a small room in the back for sick animals, and she got him the supplies he needed to stitch his wound. Later, when it was her turn to sit with him, he quietly asked her to take down all of his symptoms and note the time they presented. She didn’t ask why; they both knew. Tracking the progression could help other survive. Even if he didn't.

Amity, for her part, pulled apart the equipment in the dog salon. She found every tool she could - the clippers, scissors, even the wiring in the dryers. She made a taser, another mini-not-rocket-launcher, and about three different radios to cover every frequency she knew of. She stationed each radio around Hunter and gave him instructions on how to use them. He tried all of them, reciting their location, their names, and their situation by the hour until his throat was dry.

When he wasn’t on the radio, he was usually talking quietly to Gus. Sometimes Luz forgot that Gus was two years younger than the rest of them. Hunter asked him about how he learned to cook, how he’d made the stale ramen from the breakroom taste so good, if Gus could teach Hunter how to sew clothes and not just sutures when all of this was over. When it was Gus’ turn to rest, he and Hunter slept back to back.

Night fell fast the first day, although that might have been the zombie horde blocking the window. At least the lights still worked, even if the water didn’t, and when the bulbs turned off automatically, Amity went to the circuit breaker and programmed an override. Forcefully. She came back with sparks popping around her lavender hair.

“It was being stubborn,” she said flatly, before she took her turn on watch.

In the morning, Hunter suggested that Gus feed the animals.

"I'm fine here," Gus said, squinting at a bag of bird seed. "Do you think we could make popcorn out of this?"

Hunter made an abortive gesture, as if he had been about to reach for Gus and caught himself. "Look, the animals need food, too. And Luz might need help. Right?"

"Right," she said quickly.

Gus looked uneasy. "But...what if -"

"We're not on day 3, Gus. I promise I'll be fine."

Gus reluctantly got up and followed Luz to the back. Luz winced. Gus kept his eyes on the floor, lips pressed together, arms hanging from his shoulders like they were too heavy to move.

"So!" she said, as brightly as she could. "Do you, um, want me to tell you which animal is which? Look - they've got a chameleon!"

Gus shrugged, but stepped closer.

Encouraged, Luz took him on a tour of the small selection of animals. There was a chunky green chameleon, foot-long boa with an unusual pale yellow morph, an incredibly fluffy bird, and a young, all-white cat. Gus was most interested in the chameleon, and she told him how they change colors by rearranging a lattice of crystals in their skin.

"Like a quick-change costume," Gus said, smiling a little.

She grinned and nudged him. "You would make some kind of theater reference, Mr. Drama King."

"That's 'King of the Drama Club,' I'll have you know."

She rolled her eyes, but it was nice to see him banter. "And the stage is your domain, yeah, yeah. C'mon, let's get these guys some food and water."

Luz checked the storeroom behind the habitats first, and was pleased to find bags of food marked 'Store Use.' With all the stress these little guys had been under, it was best to make sure they ate the same food and avoided more stress. They got through feeding the cat and were just opening the bird food when they got a surprise guest. A cardinal fluttered down from the rafters, chirping and whistling, flying in circles around Luz and the open bag.

“Aw, you’re adorable, aren’t you?” Gus cooed. “Do you think the workers here tamed it?”

“Not sure.” Luz tossed a handful of seed at their feet and watched the bird land in the pile, pecking and chirping happily. “It's definitely not intimidated by people. But we probably shouldn’t touch it. It could carry diseases, and we don't want to transfer those to the other animal or Hunter. I mean, I’m pretty sure he couldn’t catch a bird disease, but…”

“Yeah,” Gus sighed. "I really, really hope he can't catch the Belos virus either, and that we're worrying over nothing. But...if I'd just been two inches farther away, maybe..."

“It’s not your fault,” Luz said quickly.

“I know. It's Belos' fault. And I really hope all that stuff I told him was true. But more than that, I just wish he'd never been bitten at all.”

“Yeah.”

Gus wiped his eyes. “Hey, do you think we could take the rest of the animals out? Like, as a distraction, or animal therapy?”

“I don’t see why not,” Luz said thoughtfully, staring at the habitats. “We can put them back if no one wants to hold them. Actually, if the zombies get in, that might actually save us time getting these guys out.”

Gus brightened. “Exactly! In fact, we should keep these guys out exactly for that reason! Or just keep them, period. Like as pets. Forever.”

Luz laughed. “Since when are you an animal lover?”

“Since I am desperately in need of comfort and can’t hug my basically-brother without maybe zombifying myself." Gus immediately dipped his hand into the chameleon tank, cooing. "Aw, look at you! Yes, you’re a big leaf boy, yes you are. Oh neat, he’s already changing color!” He held up his blue sleeve, with a lizard to match.

Luz gave him a slightly strangled smile.

The animals were quite popular, not that Luz expected anyone to object. Amity was deep into fixing the wiring on the third radio when the cat crawled into her lap. She petted it for a minute, went back to work, then let out a squeak five minutes later.

“Why is there a cat on my lap?!”

“It has chosen you,” Luz intoned gravely. “Also it’s been there for a while and it was really funny watching you not notice.”

“It kind of was,” Willow added. She’d come back to switch shifts and the fluffy bird (what even was that thing? A mutant parakeet?) had gotten very comfortable in her hair.

As if sensing that they were both off-limits to touching, the cardinal had decided Hunter was its new perch and made itself comfortable on his lap. Hunter had sort of cupped his hands around it, one arm still wrapped in Luz’ jacket. The bird fluffed its feathers and settled in for a nap.

“You sure the snake won’t eat him?” Hunter asked, casting a nervous look at the reptile winding around Luz’ arm.

Luz smiled. “I’m sure. These guys generally just eat small mice at this size. And they only eat once a week. I’ll try feeding him again in a bit, but I found a box for frozen mice in the trash, so he might have been fed pretty recently.”

Gus sighed, leaning back on a pile of dog beds with his eyes closed. The chameleon was currently investigating his shirt collar for potential cuddle spots. “You know what? I needed this. I will eat dog food for a month if I get to pet this guy.”

“You can have my share,” Amity said dryly.

Willow stood up. “Alright, this really was nice, but I gotta get to the front and Amity has to get to the back.” She moved her finger to the bird’s feet, trying to coax it off. The bird didn’t move.

“C’mon, little guy. Time to get off… You’re going to get scared if you stay, I’ve got front duty. With lots of spooky zombies. C’mon…come on… Luz, help?!”

“Nope,” Luz said. She was now on her back, one hand stretched straight up, her new snake friend coiling between her fingers. “Bird says no, you’re stuck, I don’t make the rules.”

“It’s going to freak out and poop on us from the rafters,” Willow muttered, but she gave up trying to remove it and went to the front. Amity reluctantly took her turn at the back.

When Willow and Luz switched places an hour later, the bird was still riding her shoulder, now with one foot tucked into its feathers and its eyes half-closed.

“This bird,” Willow said, awed, “has nerves of steel. I freaking love it.”

The animals certainly made the second night easier. It gave them something to focus on besides the terrifying creaks and groans of the horde still trying to force their way in.

Even so, the third day dawned with all five of them nearly as red-eyed as the zombies. Luz woke up from her rest shift to find Hunter trying and failing to punch buttons on the first radio. His face was twisted with nausea and his hands shook so badly he hit two buttons every time he aimed for one, when he managed to hit the radio at all.

Luz sat up quickly, pulling herself from Amity’s embrace. When had Amity fallen asleep there? “Hunter, stop, you’re gonna break it. Tell me what to hit, okay?”

“I…can do it,” he wheezed.

“Really? Cuz your hitting AM and FM at the same time, and only one of them has good music.”

Hunter started to speak, then collapsed on his side, coughing too hard to breathe. She immediately leaned over to help him, then froze. One of his radios was whining with static, and – was that a voice?

“I think the radio’s working!” she said, frantically punching the same buttons she’d seen Hunter smash. “Hello? Hello, can somebody hear me?”

“It’s – position? We’re – over –”

“Luz Noceda from Gravesfield pet store on Main and Levington, hello? Please, we’re under attack!”

“–ing? Is – with you – stay th–”

A burst of static.

“No!” Hunter said hoarsely, pushing himself up. “I had it! I had – I need to –” Then he coughed, hard. A gob of dark green fluid spurted over his chin. They both froze.

“Hunter…”

“I think,” he said without looking, “we should get Willow.”

She woke Amity, then they got Willow and Gus. Gus’ face turned a chalky gray the second he saw the green goo on Hunter’s chin, and Willow nearly had to make him go to the break room. He insisted on staying, though, so Willow moved on to asking Hunter to list his symptoms. Then she asked about his appetite, then started quizzing him on math and chemistry, his best and worst subjects in school.

“You’re still lucid,” she said slowly. “But you and Luz know more about illnesses and first aid than me. What do you think? Objectively,” she said, glaring at Hunter.

“Quarantine,” Hunter said immediately, jaw set, meeting her gaze. “I didn’t exactly know what my un- what Wittebane was doing until the day I left. I don’t know how this disease progresses any more than you do. It’s not worth the risk.”

“I don’t think any of us could handle sticking him in a dog kennel if he’s this aware,” Luz said quietly. “That’s, um. That’s not objective. But it goes back to what you said about…ourselves, or something. Living with ourselves.”

“We should vote,” Amity said.

Luz took her hand. “I don’t think we need to.”

Gus swallowed. “But we’re – we’re on day three, aren’t we? And this only just happened. He's even still lucid, like you said! So, maybe, if he doesn’t turn by today…”

He might make it.

It was too dangerous a thought to say out loud.

“We need to fix the radio,” Luz said, trying not to let her voice shake. She turned to Gus. “Hey, can we pull you off the front door? You’re with Hunter, and I’m on the radio. We need to find whoever was talking to us. I heard the word ‘stay.’ I think someone might be coming to help.”

9 AM.

10 AM.

The hours crawled by. Luz traded off with Amity every twenty minutes or so, both of them too restless to focus on any task for too long.

At 11:13 AM, Hunter slipped into a heavy sleep. At least, Luz was telling herself he was just asleep, because he wasn’t responding when they called his name or tapped at his face. No one said the word 'coma.' Gus stayed next to him, shakily wiping up the goo he coughed in his sleep. Nobody spoke more than a few words at a time, terrified to miss something from the radio. Nothing. There hadn’t been a single syllable on any frequency since whatever Hunter had heard that morning.

Finally at 1 PM, Gus got up to make them lunch – a trail mix of dried fruit and the last of the peanut bag, plus some fish fillets from the cat treat aisle. He tried to pour some water down Hunter’s throat, at least enough to keep his mouth hydrated.

“He’s turning really gray,” Gus whispered to Luz. “Is that good or bad?”

“It’s not green,” Luz murmured.

“It’s still the third day. What if he…”

“It’s not green,” Luz repeated. Her snake, as if sensing her distress, poked out of her collar and bopped her cheek.

Amity stepped around the corner, rubbing her eyes. “Luz, trade off with me? I thought of something I can try with the radio.”

“Yeah, okay.” She got up and caught Amity’s hand as they passed, giving it a squeeze and kissing her cheek. Then she headed for the front doors.

The crush of zombies was the same. They bared their teeth at her. She glared back. Can’t they just move on? Are they waiting until Hunter turns us? Pretty dumb use of their time. Not like they eat other zombies. Or are we the only uninfected people left for blocks? Is that why they’re still here? No, no way. No way Mr. Blight and Mr. Deamonne and – and mom – they wouldn’t go down so easily. They wouldn’t.

“Luuuuuzzzz….”

She nearly screamed. One, two, five, ten – all of the zombies she could see had turned bright blue eyes to focus on her. Her snake coiled its neck and hissed.

Several zombies with enough facial muscles to do so sneered at her. “Suuurrrennnderr”

“Make me,” she taunted. “Or can’t you break into a pet store held by five teenagers?”

“IIiii caaannn…ooouutlaaast…aaaallll offff yoooouuuu.”

“Looking like that?” Luz asked, one eyebrow raised, circling a finger to encompass his entourage. “My dude. You need a bit more than vitamin D to fix that mess.”

“Suurrrennnderr…Huuunterrr…annnd Iiii wiilll spaaaare –"

“Nope!” Luz said cheerfully, swinging her bat against one palm. “Welcome to try, though! Wonder why you’d wait three days to ask. Huh, Grim and Ghoulish? Why so eager all of a sudden?” The zombies snarled and shifted, pressing their rotting faces against the glass, clawing at it. The sudden agitation made Luz pause. “You really are suddenly desperate,” she said slowly. “You…you infected Hunter on purpose, didn’t you? And you’ve been watching us. You could probably guess his progress from our faces. I bet you’ve realized he isn’t turning into Ghoul Jr. And if you wanted to make him patient zero…I bet you want to know why. You want to experiment on him again, don’t you?” Her grip on her bat tightened. “Forget it. You’ll never touch him again.”

Wittebane’s many faces laughed. The sound was wet and sucking. She stepped back, unnerved. “Iiii knnnowwww exaaacctlllyyyy whhaaat hheeee iiissss,” Wittebane hissed. “Hhheeee wassss neverrrr paaatiennntt zzzeeerroooo.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Giiiiivve hiiimmm ttoooo mmeeee.”

“No! What did you do to Hunter?”

“GIIIIIIIVVE HIIIMMMM –”

The horde swelled. Amity’s makeshift barrier held but the glass around it cracked, shards breaking off, arms bursting through. Luz screamed. She didn’t dare swing her bat yet, she’d just break the glass sooner – they were trapped –

Suddenly there was a light so bright it seemed to shoot right through the zombie bodies, obliterating shadow, color, even sound. Later Luz would understand it was a very amped-up flash bomb, but in the moment she thought lightning had struck the building. Then she was flat on her back, shapes and noise flowing and pulsing around her. As soon as she could feel her arms she checked her snake (startled, but she’d hidden under Luz’s hair) and forced herself up.

The windows had buckled completely, and shards of glass hung from the top of the frames like gruesome stalactites dripping with melted zombie flesh. But most of the zombies had spattered Luz and the floor around her. In the middle of the street was a weird car, the kind she’d only seen chasing hurricanes on nature documentaries, covered in so many metal plates it looked like a megasized pillbug. Alador Blight had popped out of an opening at the top, firing a much more sophisticated not-rocket-launcher, which fired small explosives or jets of flame depending on which button he pressed. As Luz watched, jaw hanging open, a small kid popped out of the hatch behind Alador. He wore sun-and-moon pajamas, slippers included, and threw what looked like water balloons at any zombie still moving. Then he slid down the side of the armored car and…

“Is that kid playing tag with the zombies?”

Luz looked up at Willow. “Amity’s dad has a flamethrower,” she said numbly.

Amity’s voice sounded behind them. “What about my dad? Wait - Dad?! DAD OVER HERE!”

Alador looked up. “Mittens! Stay where you – ow! Darius!”

“You don’t like it, build more openings!” Someone else shoved Alador up and out of the way. His normally impeccable lab coat was smeared with grease stains, and the silky black shirt and purple pants underneath were torn and suspiciously singed at the edges. “Hunter – where’s Hunter?”

“In here,” Luz said, and she tried to point but she was still numb all over from the flash bombs. Darius climbed out of the tank so fast he put a new tear in his cloak.

“That’s Hunter’s foster dad?” Willow asked the room in general.

“Five bucks says you won’t need ‘foster’ after this,” Luz said. As Willow helped her to her feet, Amity finally snapped to herself and rushed to the broken window. (Her welding job had held quite nicely over the door, although the glass had still broken.) Her dad and Darius reached her in time to keep her from climbing over the jagged edges.

“Mittens, are you hurt anywhere? Do you need water? Is that a cat?”

“It’s a pet store, Dad, and we’re fine, I made like three radios out of spare parts. Was it you who told us to stay?”

“Yes, it was me. I’m so glad you’re alright, we were working on something at Darius’ lab –”

“Hunter,” Darius panted again, and this close Luz finally noticed the syringe in his hand.

“He got bitten,” Luz blurted.

“I know, I know, now where is he?”

“Should we leave the kid out there?” Luz asked, as Willow led all five of them further inside.

Alador grimaced. “At this point I’m more afraid for the zombies. For whatever reason, that child is both naturally immune to the Belos virus and an agent of utter chaos. For my sanity I do not want to think about what he filled those balloons with, only that it won’t melt balloons but will melt almost anything else.”

Behind them there was a loud gurgling noise, followed by delighted laughter.

They turned the corner to the dog bed aisle. Gus was holding Hunter’s wrist in one hand, the other pressing two fingers to Hunter’s neck. The cardinal and chameleon were sitting on either of his shoulders. He looked up and his eyes widened.

“Dr. Deamonne? I-I can’t tell if Hunter’s breathing, I can’t find a pulse –”

“Move.”

Gus moved. Darius pushed Luz’ jacket away, revealing the site of the zombie infection. It wasn’t a neat, curved puncture like Luz had expected, it was jagged, like the infection had begun eating away at his body. But the wound itself was glossy, like scar tissue, and the skin around it was a hot pink streaked with shale gray. The stitches Hunter had sewn crisscrossed his skin like dark X's. Darius pulled a bottle of iodine from his pocket, swabbed the whole wound, then pressed the syringe into the center of the scar and pushed slowly on the plunger.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Gus asked shakily. The chameleon turned purple and crouched closer, pressing against Gus’ cheek.

“He’ll be alright,” Alador said, when Dr. Deamonne didn’t answer. “I told you that child is naturally immune, yes? We were able to isolate the antibody mutation that protected him and replicate it. We have enough doses for all of you and the materials to make more as we travel.”

“Materials like…the kid?” Amity said cautiously.

Alador grimaced. “No. We took enough blood for a typical blood type test, then sequenced what we needed. I have the bacterial growths for the antibodies in the portable lab. We didn’t need to bring him, but I really, really didn’t trust him not to blow up my lab again.”

“Again?!”

“How long will it take to work?” Luz said, eyes fixed on Hunter. Dr. Deamonne had finished injecting the antibodies and had taken up Gus’ previous position, two fingers on his neck. “Wittebane said Hunter wasn’t going to be patient zero. I don’t know what that means, but –”

“I do,” Dr. Deamonne said, his voice low. “Wittebane was dying. He’d intended to make himself immortal through a hive mind, but his initial tests were badly flawed. Hunter was going to be the improved envelope for his consciousness. Getting infected through an ordinary zombie would weaken him. Then Wittebane could kidnap him and finish the final injections.”

Willow looked sick. “He was going to…possess Hunter?”

“Not anymore.”

Alador cleared his throat. “Sorry, Darius, are we able to move him? I’m worried the kid will blow up the street, and we have to distribute the cure to as many labs and people as possible. We have a cot in the car.”

“In a minute.”

“But –”

There wasn’t a dramatic change. One minute Hunter wasn’t breathing, and then next his chest was rising smoothly up and down. His eyes opened slowly. He blinked a few times. His eyes found Darius, then Gus.

“Hi,” he said, voice hoarse and torn from coughing. “Is everyone else okay?”

The cardinal launched itself off Gus’ shoulder and flew in dizzying circles around Hunter’s head, chirping frantically. Willow made a weird noise like she'd been punched in the gut.

Gus grinned shakily. “Yeah. We’re okay. You really scared us.”

“Sorry.”

Dr. Deamonne sat back with a long sigh. “Now we can move him. I wasn’t sure...well. No heavy exertion for at least two weeks. And in the meantime, who taught you to sew sutures? That is absolutely terrible work. I bet you can’t even sew a straight line.”

“Try doing it to yourself sometime,” Hunter said dryly.

“Try being around people who know how! I knew I shouldn’t have sent you to school today, but no, you had a chemistry test and simply couldn’t miss it –”

“I have a C-, I really couldn’t miss it!”

“What on earth is this country coming to, honestly?”

“A lot worse without the antidote,” Alador said pointedly.

“Yes, yes. You, help me lift him.” Darius leaned forward and tucked one arm under Hunter’s shoulder, while Gus quickly moved to get his other side.

“I need to call my mom,” Luz said, slowly straightening off of Willow.

“We have a phone,” Alador said. “And internet connection. And radio, apparently. Though the reception will probably get a bit cleaner with Amity’s help. Three radios, did you say?”

“Yep,” she said proudly. “We can take them with us if you want.”

Between Luz and Hunter, the group moved out of the pet store very slowly – more slowly once Amity doubled back for her radios, and Willow doubled back to get food for their new pets. Alador wasn’t exactly thrilled that they owned a cat, but protested without noticing that he was in the process of petting said cat, so his objections were not taken very seriously.

When they reached the street, it was about as terrifying an experience as she’d expect from a kid with deadly water balloons: craters in the asphalt and a lot of goo everywhere, even the tops of the street lights. The feral pajama child was running around chasing a butterfly with a machete. (Luz wasn’t even sure where he’d gotten the machete and was not about to ask.) Once she was satisfied that the butterfly had flown high enough to escape, she climbed very carefully over the broken glass window. It struck her, as she turned back to help Hunter, that this was the first time she had been outside in three days.

Hunter seemed to have had a similar thought. “I am never…taking sunshine…for granted…again.”

“Easy,” Gus cautioned. “Don’t talk if it’s hard.”

“You sure? I’ve got…a few choice words…for Wittebane.”

Willow cracked her knuckles. “Right behind you. Guys?”

Luz smiled. She leaned over and picked up her bat, where she’d dropped it just inside the window. “I’m in. Anyone have a plan?”

“None involving my child,” he said pointedly.

Amity patted his hand. “Little late for that, but I appreciate the thought. Luz?”

Gus raised a hand. “How about, ‘End plague, stop genocidal megalomaniac, live happily ever after?”

“Simple enough,” Hunter wheezed, lips twitching in a smile.

Luz grinned. “Alright, guys. Let’s go stop the apocalypse.”