AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 19
Meira
Iburst into the bunker, Bardhyl on my heels. “Wake up! I have incredible news!”
Just as the words leave my mouth, I notice they aren’t needed. Both Lucien and Dušan are up and about, dressed and staring my way. Lucien lowers the bottle of water from his lips, while Dušan takes a bite from a large cracker.
“What’s going on?” he asks, crumbs dusting down his top, a black sweater with a few tears around the neckline.
Bardhyl shuts the door behind us. “What I just saw outside might hold the answer to everything we need,” he says, excitement teeming through his voice. “It seems our girl is a lot more special than we first thought.”
“Out with it,” Lucien insists, his attention completely on us.
“I think I can control those undead that have been following me around,” I say in a strong voice. “I probably need to try again to make sure, but I just told them to sit and they obeyed me.” Adrenaline zips through my veins, and I’m bouncing on my toes at what this means for us. “It just never occurred to me until now to understand why those four zombies followed me.”
Dušan and Lucien blink at me like I’ve gone mad.
“She’s telling the truth,” Bardhyl adds. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d be as bug-eyed as you two are right now.”
“You can control the four undead that were following you around?” Dušan repeats my words as though shocked, scratching his head. “What makes them so special? What about other zombies?”
I pinch my lips together, running through all my encounters with these specific Shadow Monsters, all the way back to when I first saw them. Then it hits me like a lightning bolt.
“I might know why. I don’t understand the reason, but—”
“What is it?” Lucien asks, his voice taut and impatient.
“When I was helping Jae escape from Mad’s attack in the woods, I fought several undead to stop them from reaching her. And the four outside, I think I bit during our scuffle.”
Bardhyl’s gasp draws my attention. “You infected them?”
“I think… maybe I did.” My voice comes out unsure. “Whatever makes me still immune to the undead seems to have the opposite effect on them.”
“Sweet fuck!” Lucien runs his hand through his hair, pacing, his gaze miles away. “This changes so much. Here Mad thinks you are the key to immunity. Except you’re a million times better.” He pauses in front of me, taking my hands and kisses the back of them. “You, my little one, can whip the zombies to your command. They are your slaves. You could rule sectors with this ability alone.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I almost choke on my response. His enthusiasm is a bit scary. Ruling over zombies has never been my lifelong ambition, and this is a means to the end to get rid of Mad and gain the Ash Pack back.
“I was right,” Bardhyl declares, the corners of his mouth curling upward. “You are our gorgeous little Zombie Queen.”
I cringe on the inside at the title, but it’s not like I can even rebuke it now.
“The question is,” Dušan, who’s been quiet, says, “how do you get more zombies under your control so we have an army against Mad? Do you need to bite each one?”
“Most likely. But what if it was something else… Me giving them a scratch?” I don’t know why I’m tossing out random ideas… Maybe it’s the whole idea of me going around biting zombies for a living to convert them. Doesn’t that make me one of them but in reverse? And it was disgusting the first time I tasted their blood… I sure as hell don’t look forward to doing it again.
“Only one way to find out. We’re going zombie hunting,” Dušan commands.
My mouth is suddenly dry, but I’m nodding. As much as the notion is strange, he has a point. And if this is the way to eradicate the world of Mad, I’m ready. Not like I have much of a choice if I intend to help my men. I straighten my spine and summon my bravery. “Let’s do this.”
Lucien claps like an excited kid while Bardhyl grins, and Dušan draws me toward him. “Are you sure you’re okay with doing this?”
“Not really, but what are our other options?” I hold on to his hands a bit too tightly.
“I can see the fear in your eyes.” His expression softens, but there’s strength behind his gaze, like he’s ready to catch me if I fall from this mission. “What are you scared of?”
“That I’ll fail and somehow this is a huge misunderstanding that will get you three killed.” My arms tremble.
Concern worries his brow. “If you have several zombies out there following your lead, we’re already one step ahead of Mad.” His hands squeeze mine lightly as his words reassure me.
