Chapter 24 Zombie
ZOMBIE
“You’ve reached Lucy, I can’t come to the phone ri—”
I throw my phone to the ground, flinching when it shatters. Trick, Quake, and Whiz circle around me, concern etched in their matching expressions.
“Still can’t get her?” Trick asks.
“What the fuck do you think?” I bark, my control snapping.
We arrived at the zoo a few minutes ago, but I’ve been trying to get a hold of Lucy for a half hour now with no luck. At first, I tried to tell myself that maybe she fell asleep at her desk or ran to the bathroom, but the more time passes, the less convinced I am.
“Standing out here isn’t helping,” Whiz comments, and I shoot him a glare.
“It’s not, VP. I get that you don’t want her to get in trouble if we’re caught on the security cameras, but at some point, you’ve gotta run with ‘it’s better to ask for forgiveness than beg for permission’.
Scrubs can clear any footage of us later.
Right now, we should get in there so you can see for yourself that Lucy’s okay. ”
He’s right, I know he is. I have been waiting because I don’t want her to get in trouble because of me, but enough is enough. I’m done.
I jerk my chin toward the van. “Grab Martin.”
Quake opens the back door and drags our captive out by his bound feet. His head hits the ground, and a satisfying crack has me grinning.
I needed that.
We make our way inside the building to Lucy’s office, but the room is empty.
“Lucy!” I shout, stalking through the halls and poking my head in other offices we pass.
When we reach the break room, my heart drops to my feet. There are clear signs of a struggle, and Lucy’s broken cell phone taunts me from the floor by the wall.
“Something’s wrong,” I snarl, taking off at a run.
My brothers follow me, but Quake is a bit slower because he’s got Martin thrown over his shoulder. I have no doubt the man would be bitching up a storm if he didn’t have Duct Tape securing his mouth shut.
The cool night air hits me when I burst through the door to the public space of the zoo, and I immediately drop my eyes to stare at the ground in hopes of spotting some sort of clue as to where Lucy might be.
“Over there,” Trick barks, pointing to our left. “Drag marks.”
We follow the trail until they stop. For a moment, I’m grateful, and then I spot the blood. I search for another trail and come up empty.
“Jesus,” I mutter. “Lucy!”
“Lucy!” my brother’s echo.
We’re close to the lion enclosure, so that’s the path I take. Maybe this is all a huge mistake, and the blood is from some kid who scraped their knee during their visit.
Yeah, and maybe you’re The Pope.
Leo and Sarabi roar as I step up to the fencing, and my fear skyrockets when I see their mouths stained red.
“They’ve been fed,” Whiz comments. “Lucy wouldn’t do that with us coming, would she?”
“No.”
“Hey, kitties,” I croon, hoping they somehow recognize me from the one and only time I was with their master. “Where is she, huh? Where’s Lucy?”
Leo prowls back and forth, and Sarabi disappears behind a rock before returning with a human leg in her mouth.
“Fuck,” Quake comments.
“Damn, that’s awesome,” Whiz adds, ignoring my glare.
“I hope they’re still hungry,” Trick says.
As for me, I breathe a sigh of relief when I see a man’s shoe at the end of the severed leg. “It’s not her.”
“No shit,” Whiz bites out.
I glance at Quake. “Toss him in. We’ll come back once we find Lucy.”
Quake makes his way to a lower part of the fence and tosses Martin over like he weighs nothing.
Leo and Sarabi pounce on their new snack, ripping him limb from limb.
His howls of pain fill the air, but in seconds, he goes silent.
I don’t know if he’s dead or just passed out from the pain, and I don’t give a fuck.
All I care about is finding Lucy. Someone threw that other man in with the lions, and who knows if they’ve got my girl or not.
That’s the only explanation for her silence.
A noise floats on the air, and I cock my head to listen.
“Is that…” Whiz begins, his words trailing off so he can listen as well.
A blood-curdling scream echoes in the night, and I know in my bones that it’s coming from Lucy.
“Lucy!” I shout, but the only sound I hear is the splashing of water. “Frosty.”
I sprint toward the arctic section of the zoo, my heart in my throat with every step I take.
“What’s a damn snowman have to do with all of this?” Trick asks as he falls into step next to me.
“Frosty’s a polar bear,” I say.
“Aw, damn.”
I skid to a halt when we reach the clear wall holding the polar bears in. My knees buckle as I stare at the blood-red water, and I collapse because there’s no sign of Lucy.
“We’re too late,” I whisper brokenly. “I’m too fucking late.”