Jade: Earth's Last Hope Against the Undead (2 page)

Turning to look at Trent, Jade saw
determination on his face. They had one chance and they both knew
it. They would need to find shelter fast and hope for the best. If
they found cover maybe the zombies would pass. Maybe they would
even find suitable housing for the night. It would be good to have
the company of another human, to share warmth. She missed the days
of another’s touch.

His eyes spun as he scanned the land. They
centered on a structure in the distance and he pulled Jade toward
it. She knew what he was thinking and didn’t hesitate to
follow.

When they reached the structure they
instantly ascended the rusty ladder, with her going first. It
wasn’t an enclosed space as she'd hoped, but it would do. The old
water tower looked as though something had torn right thru the
middle of it. Half the top stood erect, an awful reminder of the
devastation that had occurred here.

It seemed enough shelter to protect them
from the elements. But above all else the height would protect them
from the pack of zombies steadfastly approaching. Even if the horde
discovered them and managed the ladder, they would be able to fend
them off one at a time or in two’s until they no longer came.

She climbed ahead of him, his face close to
her butt as they managed the ladder. Flakes of worn paint coated
their dirty, callused hands. By the time they reached the top, they
were both struggling for air and only able to stumble to the
corroded floor of the tower.

A thin puddle wet her cheek. It was red from
rust and she made sure not to ingest it. She knew doing so could
cause a nasty urinary tract infection. He breathed heavy next to
her, lying on a dry section of the floor. She tried to speak, but
felt the dryness seize her throat and waited. When she began again
he turned and looked her straight in the eyes. He held a single
finger to his mouth and hushed her. There they remained for several
hours.

She woke to his touch, feeling woozy, but
she didn't open her eyes. Doing so might make him think she wanted
to take things further. She didn't, at least not yet. Jade barely
knew Trent and, although he seemed nice enough, she didn’t care to
end up involved in the middle of this mess. She would rather avoid
it, even though she couldn’t stop thinking of the possibility.

Trent didn't abuse her trust. She felt his
eyes upon her, searching her. Surely he must have felt a similar
attraction. She thought it imminent for two young people to
consider such things when embraced in each other’s arms in an
attempt to keep warm. There was an inane fear he might molest her
while she slept. If things went too far she would have to stop him.
But his hands never wandered.

Trent brushed her hair back over her ear.
With care, he moved her bangs to one side. Although Jade’s eyes
were closed she could sense his eyes piercing through her eyelids,
searching her true self. The act made her feel very small.

She hadn't been a saint. She wasn’t one
before this infliction and surely wouldn’t be one afterward. She
was like any other girl her age, wanting some things more than
others and willing to experiment.

Jade felt the light brush of his fingers
again and her eyes sprung open. His eyes glimmered down upon her.
She was caught in the moment, seeing the stars twinkling beyond his
shadowed face. She longed to kiss him and felt very near to doing
so. He went to speak, but this time she hushed him, fearful of what
she'd seen.

She held a finger to his lips and waited.
They froze, unwilling to engage in any movement or speech. When
whatever Jade believed she'd seen had passed, she pointed to the
edge of the water tower. They crawled with care and deliberation.
Upon reaching their destination, they peered down over the edge and
observed.

In the distance, half a dozen zombies chased
an unsuspecting human. Jade’s eyes wavered, knowing this person’s
fate didn’t bode well. She wanted to warn this man by screaming,
and her eyes found Trent’s equally troubled eyes in desperation.
Before she could decide what to do, the zombies were upon the
man.

Three of them grabbed the man and pulled him
down. His face flushed upon seeing the stark white figure as he
flailed about on the ground like a fish out of water. The vampire
Jade had seen went to his rescue.

She crossed her arms, drawing both swords at
once. With them, she hooked the strange bent tip at the end of each
sword on two of the three attackers. She brought the swords
together with a snap. Two undead heads rolled free, their decaying
bodies falling limp to the side of their victim. The third of these
zombies attacked, while the others closed in, the last of them only
a child.

The vampire struck the closest zombie’s
neck, her teeth sinking in deep, not with the intent to feed, but
to kill. She tore away a large chunk of dead flesh and spat it
aside. The zombie’s angry expression deadened as it collapsed to
the side of the fallen man.

She spun into the air, letting her swords
twirl around her like a weed whacker. The strange malformed tips
found each of the remaining three victims: a zombie male in the
chest, a female on the arm, and the child’s neck. The youngest
zombie slumped to the ground.

With the two remaining zombies diverting
their attention on her, she spun her swords once in the air. The
living man saw this and crawled to his knees, bewildered by his
savior, yet looking terrified. Clearly he wasn’t sure whether to
run or wait it out. Either decision might ensure his death. He
almost seemed to dance upon his knees as if daring himself to
run.

The vampire brought one blade down on the
woman, slicing off her damaged arm. She turned her attention to the
male zombie and wasted no time taking his head. He fell useless to
the ground. She continued to toy with the woman, as if amused by
her antics, the way she staggered and tried to bite the vampire.
This female zombie advanced, and the vampire took her other arm.
When the zombie woman still approached the vampire sliced a leg,
not severing it, but creating a wound deep enough the zombie
buckled and fell. Still she came.

“
You see how they are, don’t you?” the
vampire said.

The confused man nodded, appearing unsure of
how to answer.

“
They're weak.”

She buried the blade deep into the woman’s
forehead, bringing her instant death.

“
We are the strong.” She crossed to
the man and helped him to his feet. “We are your
masters.”

The man’s eyes were wide, but Jade could see
his will was weakening to her suggestion.

The vampire moved in close to him, sheathing
each blade. Then she took his chin in both hands and let her long
fingers drag along his jawbone, the nails tickling him enough to
force a reaction. He shivered in her gentle clutch. His eyes
thinned as she planted a deep kiss on his lips.

Blindly, Trent’s hand found Jade’s by mere
coincidence. Neither of them withdrew their hands, too afraid of
what would happen or what wouldn’t as a result.

Before the man could do anything else, the
vampire struck his neck with force. The man’s thin eyes bolted open
with pain. When the man’s life was spent, the vampire shoved him
away like a useless object. He buckled to the ground.

She wiped her mouth, spat on the deceased
victim and then departed in a flash, no doubt on her way to further
feed her insatiable needs.

Jade and Trent continued to gaze down upon
her victim for a very long time.

Jade shivered. She rolled onto her back to
visualize the rising sun. Soon it would be time to leave. They
wouldn’t be safe up here forever. Trent had already mentioned this
and she'd agreed.

They'd decided to stick together because
thus far their partnership had worked. This was the lie they told
themselves, but Jade knew the truth. There was an attraction and if
they somehow made it through this mess, if they could survive this
much, there might be something more worth exploring.

Until then there was no point forming any
sort of bond. It was useless when at any moment you could end up
food for some horrid creature. She could never get close to anyone
knowing that.

“
We should go,” Trent said.

She studied him, tracing the lines of his
face. She stopped herself, realizing her desire for him was
mounting. “It’s too soon.”

“
No, it isn’t. We need to
go.”

Trent stood and gathered their things. They
were leaving and her opinion didn’t seem to matter. But Trent also
had been somewhat of a visionary, at least to her. Damn, she was
doing it again.

She nodded, giving in. Sometimes it was best
to concede than to fight. There had been far too much hostility in
this world. She couldn’t bear losing him so soon anyway, knowing he
was getting under her skin faster than she liked.

Jade stood, helping him gather their minimal
things. Then a thought occurred to her. “Where should we go?”

Trent continued to pack, finishing quickly.
“There must be others. We should find them.”

But Jade didn’t want to share Trent. Not one
bit. He was the type of guy that wouldn’t have paid her a second
thought before all this, his muscles rippling, young and athletic.
Jade was pasty white with not much of a figure. Although she was
book smart, and far from being a slouch. Not necessarily a tomboy,
but she could hold her own.

“
Is that a good idea?”

He glanced up at her and shoved the last few
items into his pack. “It’s the best idea we have.”

And she knew he was right. There was
strength in numbers. Another part of her, a part that had read many
stories about this, knew that with more people came greater risk of
being discovered. But she didn’t say so. Instead she remained quiet
and followed as he led her down the long rusty ladder to the ground
below. She was thankful it was so quiet and empty, although this
did not disillusion her. At any moment things could change and they
would be at a disadvantage.

They started down the street without a
weapon, but she knew this was what Trent desired most. The vampires
had taken most weapons away as a means of controlling humans. Guns
were noisy, so they were best to avoid or not use more than once.
Anyone clever enough would have hidden other weapons.

Right now they sought blunt objects that
were natural to Earth, a branch or length of wood or metal. Those
items could fend off the zombies, but they were only a good defense
against the vampires if they were pointed. For now, in the daytime,
they didn’t need to be concerned with the vampires. That time would
come soon enough, but hopefully they would find shelter by
then.

Jade glanced back over her shoulder at the
water tower. She already missed it. Although it hadn’t been the
perfect shelter, it was one others might not discover. Perhaps the
vampires would have never found them there. And they could have
fended off any zombies. It was as good a shelter as she'd come
across. She was ready to mention this but chose to remain
quiet.

Trent also glanced back, looking past her.
She traced his vision and saw he too was looking at the water
tower. Evidently they shared the same concern and that made her
feel a little better about leaving it behind. This meant she was
right, but Trent thought they could do better.

Has he seen better shelters?

They walked for hours, taking turns peeking
back, until the water tower had gone out of view.