Part 30 (1/2)

At least if he and Selena had been riding alone, they might have been able to talk.

Not that he knew what he'd say.

He could have insisted on driving, instead of Wyatt, who'd claimed the privilege simply because he'd been in Iraq in the marines, and commandeered a fire truck on a regular basis-or at least, he had before the Change.

Theo glanced at Selena as they jounced along in the backseat, noted her pert nose, the full thrust of her lips, and the long golden length of her arm. Not to mention the curves of that nicely proportioned, insomnia-inducing body.

Did she still see a berserker warrior, a bloodthirsty killer, a man who thrived on violence when she looked at him? Was that why, although she met his gaze, there seemed to be a reserve there?

There was nothing in her expression or demeanor to indicate that she'd forgotten her revulsion for him and his actions-and the tension between them rose and fell, as choppy as the primitive terrain.

He tried to make conversation with her in between giving Wyatt directions-and he succeeded. He learned that she only had one patient now, and that Frank's cacao trees seemed to be surviving. The brittleness he'd noted before he and Lou had left seemed to have eased.

But she didn't smile as much as she used to. And the peacefulness and serenity that had so attracted him from the first seemed dull and diluted from what he remembered.

She'd changed.

Or maybe he had.

Yes, I definitely have.

So when they at last approached the looming walls in the truck, he felt a wave of apprehension chill him. He glanced at a tight-faced Selena, hoping everything would be all right when this was all done.

Selena looked down at the struggling figure linked to a long table in a very brightly lit room.

The creature's gray skin sagged and tore, and her orange eyes glowed with desperation and hunger. The face was long and rubbery and empty, with jowls that had sagged beneath her eyes, sunk deeply into her cheeks, and were hanging down around the chin and jaw. Holes and wrinkles in the foul-smelling skin exposed the white of bone, and the black muscle and tendon beneath the flesh. What might have once been thick glossy hair was now thin and brittle and gray. Lips were nonexistent. Clothing hung in shreds from a body that bulged around the ankle and the wrist cuffs that held her-it was a woman-to the table.

Oh my G.o.d, was all Selena could think. Despite her experience with zombies, she'd never seen one in this capacity: closely, and in the light where all of the details were clear. She had to blink to keep back tears. was all Selena could think. Despite her experience with zombies, she'd never seen one in this capacity: closely, and in the light where all of the details were clear. She had to blink to keep back tears. How does this happen? How does this happen?

”We didn't know what to do with it-her,” Theo said, standing next to Selena. ”I thought you could help.”

At that moment, she wasn't thinking about the horrifying creatures of night, the ones who'd dragged her son into pieces. Those monsters were far removed from this pitiful being, strapped and confined, and desperate.

Her crystal glowed hot against her skin and she pulled it from behind her s.h.i.+rt, heart racing. This was easy, simple. There was no threat to her, no danger. No night.

”Let her up,” Selena said to Theo, moving closer. She reached for the woman's rotting hand as soon as he'd freed the wrist and the hulking body s.h.i.+fted and moved, lurching as it tried to rise into a sitting position.

He refused to release the creature's legs, but it was enough. Selena touched the woman's hand and felt the grainy, flaky skin against hers, and closed her own fingers around the crystal. As she looked into the woman's eyes, seeking that last bit of humanity beyond the guttural moans that sounded like nothing, they connected for a moment. She saw deep into the burning orange, into the fear and angst buried inside.

Then a jolt of energy slugged through her, and Selena took in the memories from the woman as the last bit of energy died from those orange eyes. The horrible creature slumped and sagged, and then fell back onto the table with a heavy jolt.

Selena turned to Theo. ”She's gone.”

He nodded, and reached for her hand. ”Thank you.”

And that was when it truly hit her: that he'd waited for her to help the creature. Instead of killing her himself. Instead of doing the sort of blind, violent execution she'd witnessed.

Shaking a little, she looked around the room. Wyatt and Elliott had done nothing but stand there, watching in silent horror.

”Theo,” Wyatt said now, pointing to a long channel behind him. ”What's this?”

Theo glanced at Selena and brought her over to it. She gasped when she saw two people floating in some liquid that looked like thick, sluggish water.

”Ballard took her”-he gestured to the dead zombie-”from here. She was just like them until he took her out and injected something into her brain. A crystal and some other fluid ... Over there, Elliott.” He pointed toward a table with a finger that shook. ”And then she turned into that. Right before our eyes.”

The other three gaped, revulsion and horror branding their faces. ”Just like that?” Selena asked.

Theo nodded. ”The most horrible part about it was that he was talking to her all through it, after he took her out of that ... stuff. She was still alive, still aware of what was happening. She even answered-or tried to-questions from him. And from what he said”-Theo swallowed audibly, his handsome face twisting into something old and haggard-”she'd been kept that way, in that stuff, for fifty years.”

Selena clapped her hand over her mouth as she stared at the two figures, but she wasn't able to keep her belly from tightening and purging. She barely found a can before she lost the contents of her stomach. When she looked up, she saw that the others were just as horrified. ”My G.o.d,” she whispered.

”I know,” Theo said, holding her gaze. ”It's completely changed how I feel about them.”

”Why did you leave them in there?” Elliott asked, a note of tension and judgment in his voice as he gestured to the bodies in the channel.

Theo shook his head, his lips pressed together. ”We took one of them out. They can't breathe; they can't move. They just sort of start to gasp and cough, like a fish out of water. Lou and I tried to save them, but didn't know what to do. It's like they're alive ... but they aren't. So we put him back in until ... until we figured out what to do.”

Then Theo straightened and drew in a deep breath. ”And that's not all. That big tank outside-you saw it when we came in-it's filled ... filled filled” -his voice cracked- ”with more of them. Including,” he glanced at Selena, ”Wayne and Buddy.”

”Jesus Christ,” Wyatt said, the words tight and low. His hard face had set even more, and he turned away.

”Those poor people. What the h.e.l.l are we going to do about them?” Elliott asked, staring down into the channel.

Theo looked at Selena, his face weary, the silent question in his eyes.

She nodded, her mouth dry. ”I'll do what I can.”

Chapter 19.

Remy opened her eyes slowly.

One of them was swollen half shut, but the other worked fine. The rest of her hurt hurt. Everywhere.

The ground beneath her was cold and damp, and the only light was the smoldering fire beyond. She was under the vehicle, where Seattle had rolled her aching, limp body after he'd finished with her.

Remy shoved away the memory of his hands on her, yanking her clothing aside, spreading her legs, shoving himself inside. She'd emptied what little had been in her belly earlier, to his disgust, and all she had left was an ugly, empty sc.r.a.ping.

And the determination to get the h.e.l.l away from him.

She couldn't move far; one hand was attached to some metallic thing by a handcuff. The gangas gangas couldn't get to her there as long as she stayed under the truck, so she kept herself in the center, out of their reach. They weren't smart enough, she didn't think, to try and move the truck. couldn't get to her there as long as she stayed under the truck, so she kept herself in the center, out of their reach. They weren't smart enough, she didn't think, to try and move the truck.

She just hoped Seattle meant to unlock the restraint before he drove off in the morning. She could live through another beating and rape, but not being dragged along beneath those huge wheels.

Things hadn't started off this badly when he'd killed Ian and took her off with him in the truck a week ago. That was how she'd lost Dantes, too. He couldn't have followed a truck, but he'd already gone missing when they drove off. Remy tried not to worry too much because Dantes always always found her. No matter what. found her. No matter what.

And at first, Seattle had been what he must have considered to be charming and friendly. Remy had been plotting her escape from the beginning, taking care to keep her pistol hidden in the small pack she had, or in the back of her jeans. She should have left sooner, but they were with other bounty hunters and didn't want to raise suspicion. Plus, she needed time to plan.