“…struts like Gaston,” she sang out, with enthusiasm and joy in her heart, “injures nuts like Gaston—”
“No.” His brows had formed a thick, menacing line. “Human—”
“—puts sheepskin up his butt like Gaston!”
“—don’t make me turn this car around.”
“His macramé briefs are sostrang-u-la-ting…”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe I just said that. This is a travesty.”
“My, what great thighs, that Gaston!” she finished, and beamed at him. “They really are great, by the way. All firm and muscly and stuff.”
“And stuff?” he repeated, incredulous. “Mother of gods, what—”
“Holy shit,” she whispered, her attention caught by what she saw ahead of them. “Max…”
He slammed on the brakes, and his SUV screeched to a halt.
They’d reached the end of Zone A, and the moat and wall separating them from Zone B had come into view.
Whether or not a breach was reported, the government took no chances with such an early line of defense. The system operated on an independent, tamper-proof power grid whose workings remained mysterious even after twenty years. And unless a driver swiped a valid passcard and satisfied the facial recognition algorithm for all detected passengers, the drawbridge stayed up and the hulking door guarding the entrance through the wall remained securely shut at all times.
She’d never heard of anyone being able to sneak through the security setup, even in a vehicle’s trunk or underneath its chassis. There was never a guard at the gate, or another official who could activate the mechanisms without a pass and accepted, confirmed passenger identifications, and there was no known—or even rumored—way to override the system.
Max’s sunglasses tumbled from his grasp and fell to the floor. “What the fuck?”
“Yeah,” she agreed, stomach churning. “What the fuck.”
It shouldn’t have been possible. Itwasn’tpossible. But there they were.
Even though there was no other vehicle in sight, the drawbridge over the moat was down. The door through the wall was open.
Over the course of two decades, she’d seen her share of technical malfunctions on the access road. But when those malfunctions occurred, the system always—always—reverted to closed doors and raised bridges. It was the default state, without exception, for the safety of all.
Maybe zombies could have taken down the cell tower and power lines using sheer physical force. There was no fucking way the creatures had overridden the access road’s security system, though. Not unless they’d secretly spent the last two decades becoming sophisticated hackers.
Here was the definitive proof. A terrible accident hadn’t caused the breach. For a second time, horrifyingly enough—
“This was sabotage,” he stated.
“Yeah,” she said again, and shuddered in dread.
8
Edie ate her long-awaited, much-needed breakfast as she and Max discussed what to do next. Parked between two dumpsters, out of easy sight, they should be safe enough for a few minutes. She hoped.
“I’m not changing my mind,” she told him for the dozenth time, and downed another starchy spoonful of her on-the-go meal. “But feel free to drop me off at my house so I can grab my car and go on my own.”
He dragged a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his forehead. “By themselves, zombies are incredibly dangerous. But now we have to take into account whoever planned this clusterfuck too, Edie, and they could be anywhere.Anywhere. We have no idea what they want or why. All we know is that they’re willing to kill innocent people to get it. Which means they would killyouwithout a second thought.”
“And you.”
He waved that aside. “Come back to my house. Bring your”—he glanced at what she was eating and turned up his perfectnose—“whatever that is, along with the rest of your human food, and we’ll hunker down until the problem is resolved.”
“No.”
“Do you want to be a martyr? Is that it?” His glare should have incinerated her where she sat.
