Z 2135 (4 page)

City 6

Adam Lovecraft sat in the classroom with the other Cadets, all of them watching the wall screen which showed a City Watch officer dispatching a horde of zombies. The Watcher was caught outside The Walls, alone but not off guard, because he had been a good Cadet, and had learned smart ways to stay alive no matter the odds. That was the message Adam was supposed to get from the instructional, and he knew it, but he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes on the screen or his mind on the topic.

Adam was lucky, considering all that had gone so horribly wrong. His mom had been murdered by his father, who was now sitting comfortably in City 7 as winner of The Darwins. Then his sister was put into The Games for spying, then was killed along with Liam, leaving Adam an orphan with no one to care for him. After that, he had been kicked out of Chimney Rock and arrested for defending himself.

With so many things going against him, Adam should have been living in the Dark Quarters or dead—it still wasn’t clear which would have been worse. Hell, a few months ago, Adam was sure he’d be the next Lovecraft exiled into The Games. And any of those should have been his fate if Chief Keller hadn’t saved him.

“Lots of people have it tough,” Keller had said, “and I’ll say you’ve got it tougher than many. But you know who else had it tough? Jack Geralt. He rose up from nothing to become a champion for the people. I see that same fire in you, Adam. A need to do what is right, no matter what.”

Adam was surprised that anyone—outside of his family—saw anything in him. Most people thought he was dim because he was so quiet, and expected little from him. That was if they even thought of him at all.

But Keller wasn’t like the others.

“You remind me a lot of your father, before his troubles,” Keller had continued. “And I’ll vouch for you, if you promise to always live up to your potential and stop wallowing in personal miseries.”

What else could Adam say?

He agreed.

In the months that followed, Keller taught Adam how to think positively and how to be an important citizen of City 6, putting the needs of his fellow man before himself. To Adam, the City Watch message wasn’t merely words anymore, but something truly important: “Love the State. Promote human dignity and the rights of all individuals by safeguarding the needs of the many.”

With that sentiment firmly ingrained in him, Adam joined the City Watch Junior Advancement Plan, a program set up for “special people who demonstrate an ability to put the needs of The State first and foremost.” Keller had compared it to being selected as a knight’s apprentice, a position of honor that Adam could grow into, if he was truly worthy of the title. He too could become City Watch, just like his father.

In turn, Adam was taken in, nurtured, and was being made into the best version of himself thanks to the program’s constant encouragement. And since leaving Chimney Rock, Adam had gone from a nobody to a valuable part of something important—something that mattered. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he belonged somewhere.

Too, he derived satisfaction from daily challenges, having other Junior Citizens to share experiences with, and feeling good about
Adam
and what
he
could do for The City. Even talking to the other Junior Citizens helped him learn new things, especially about himself. City Watch gave Adam ideals to strengthen his character like 10 thousand pushups would strengthen his arms—Keller had said that. The City Watch Junior Citizen motto said the rest: “The City Is Only as Strong as Its Weakest Citizen.”

Adam would never be a weak link again.

And usually Adam had no problem staying upbeat and positive. But today was different.

Today he was thinking about Ana.

Tomorrow would have been her 18th birthday, and while he tried to bar thoughts of her from his mind whenever he felt them creeping in them—they had a way of making him unable to think about anything else—today it was impossible.

He should be watching the screen, holding his eyes to the
Top 10 Ways to Take on a Horde if You Find Yourself Without a Weapon.
Adam liked the instructionals, but today’s made him think of his sister, how he would never see her again, and the horrible way that she died—overcome by zombies in the middle of the night after trying to escape The Games. Though the cameras missed filming the attack, they broadcast the grisly remains of her body being found, torn to strips that looked like boar food.

Adam turned from the on-screen Cadet who was fighting rampaging zombies, and thought back to Ana’s 13th birthday. He had been sad, because Ana was getting all the attention. He was still little and used to getting most of it. He went into a corner and pouted, not his proudest moment.

“I have an idea,” Ana had said, coming over to him and pulling him into a hug. “Why don’t we make it your
unbirthday
.”

“What’s that?” Adam had asked, trying not to cry.

She had laughed. “Any day except one's birthday. It’s from
Alice in Wonderland
, I think.”

“Unbirthdays don’t sound very special.”

“That’s because no one takes the time to acknowledge them. We should acknowledge yours.”

Adam had asked how they would do that. Ana said she would show him, then turned
her
birthday into one of his best days ever.

He looked back to the screen and felt bile in his mouth. He couldn’t believe how much it was affecting him. Adam blinked, then turned, hoping Jason “Smoky” Bilson didn’t notice him getting queasy.

The Top 10 instructionals had moved on to
Do Nots!

A careless Cadet was getting his face eaten in front by one zombie while a second chewed from the back. Four claws pawed at their meal. Like all instructionals, the footage was real, taken in training. But today’s reminded Adam specifically of Liam’s final footage, when the zombies were mangling his body and fighting over his head. Adam had watched in horror, both live and during the many repeated broadcasts. It took a while to identify the body, just like Ana’s. When they finally did, Adam felt both better and worse.

Better because at least he knew what had happened, but worse because now they were both really dead. While Adam hadn’t known Liam all that well, he was City 6, and you always mourned your own when they fell in The Games—unless the person in The Games had somehow wronged you. Then you rooted against them as hard as you could.

Like with his dad.

As Adam started to wallow in self-pity, he remembered something Keller had said, “Many people see the eye in the City Watch logo as a sign of oppression, that the government is always watching them. Often, those are the people with something to hide. Watchers see the eye for what it is: a beacon of hope, a sign that no matter how dark things get, there’s always someone looking out for us: our brothers on City Watch. Things will be better when we make them better, Adam. Remember that.”

Adam felt awful for Ana and Liam, but in his heart he knew that City Watch and Keller were right. Even in his childhood, City Watch had taken care of them. Daddy was proud to be City Watch, before whatever happened did. But like Keller also said, “family can be who you choose.”

Now Keller was Adam’s family.

The
Do Nots!
finished and the screen went black. Commander Nelson went to the front, faced away from the wall screen, and lectured the virtues of victory and vigilance (the only
V
’s that matter!).

Class finally ended and Adam stood. He clicked his wristlet to ping his advisor; he was finished with Survival and on his way to Combat.

He left the room and heard “Adam,” as he stepped into the wide wooden hallway. Adam turned around to Keller’s smile.

“I missed you yesterday. Did everything turn out fine?”

Before Adam answered, Keller turned and started walking, expecting the boy to fall in step beside him. Adam did, like always, feeling brighter by the step.

“Yes,” he said, four steps behind Keller, working his legs to make it three. “I hit Ruben in the throat. You were right, he defended low.”

“Are you confident you could beat Ruben again?”

“Yes.”

Adam’s pause was so slight, he barely felt it. Keller heard it anyway.

“Why aren’t you sure?”

“Because he’s the second biggest in class. When he hits, it really hurts.”

“Of course it hurts. It will always hurt. You don’t learn to make it not hurt, Adam. You learn to ignore it.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Your father was excellent at going against larger adversaries. Remember Bear? That man would have crushed anyone but your father. Maybe you will be that powerful someday.” Keller turned without slowing. “You
are
him you know.”

Keller allowed Adam to catch pace.

“What your father did at the end was awful, Adam, and I understand why you might not be able forgive him. I don’t know if I could either, but Jonah Lovecraft wasn’t all bad. Before the unthinkable, your dad was the best. Never forget the part of your father that City Watch was proud to claim. Banish the Jonah Lovecraft who murdered your mother in cold blood, and ruined all hope for your sister. Wipe him from existence. Let’s speak only of the Jonah I knew as a friend, and the father who loved you so.”

Keller continued, slowing ever so slightly. “Don’t let anyone get the best of you, Adam. Not ever again. Life tried that once. Never give it another shot. If your opponent is slow to guard their throat, you be fast, no matter his size. Ready,
fire
, aim. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

Adam thought of his friend, Michael, and how he was the opposite. He would have told Adam to tire Ruben out,
if
he had to fight him. Michael stressed caution, and taking the safe road. Adam preferred Keller’s way: “Always do what no one’s expecting. And strike when others are hedging.”

They were almost to Combat—the part of their walk where Keller would say what he wanted, if there was something he had been holding back. Every once in a while there wasn’t, and Keller would walk with him from Survival to Combat simply because he wanted to, just to spend time with Adam. One time he said, “You don’t have a father and I don’t have a son, what kind of man would I be if I didn’t try to make that hurt a little less between us?”

Adam had been trying to work out exactly what that meant since Keller said it, but he knew it felt good and that was enough.

Now, though, Keller turned to Adam. “How would you like to go undercover?”

He had no idea what that meant. Real City Watchers went undercover all the time. But Adam didn’t know they did that in the Cadets, and had no idea what sort of mission he might get if he said yes.

Adam also knew he had never been more excited by anything, ever.

“I would love that!” Adam, his heart cramming extra beats into seconds.

“OK,” Keller smiled. “I’m trusting you to do this, and I will bring you on board, even though missions are never for Cadets. I’ve not searched the archives, and don’t have access to other cities, but I think you might be the first to get one.”

“Why me?”

“Because no one would suspect a Cadet, especially you. They already like you because they loved your father. But as a warning, this is serious. You do understand that, right Adam?”

“Yes.”

“There are traitors among us. Traitors are cancer. We must excise the disease. I can count on you, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. Terrific to hear. This movement is insidious, having already claimed some of our best … it’s awful. It’s a weed. The only way to stop the problem from spreading is to yank it at the root. I had no idea how deeply the roots seeped into City Watch. Can you appreciate the danger we’re in, Adam?”

“Yes.”

“And it gets worse.” Keller dropped his low voice lower. “The only thing worse than a traitor is a nest of them. Can you imagine how awful that would be, to have a nest of traitors in your family?”

Adam nodded. He said, “Yes.”

“I think we have a nest,” Keller said, like a confession. “Will you help us squash it, Adam?”

“Yes,” Adam said. “Of course.”

He was foolish for feeling sorry for himself just a few moments ago. Now Adam was on the verge of doing something big, something no other Cadet had ever done. He wondered if his sister—considered a traitor to The State—would be proud of him and what he was doing, or disappointed.

Paradise

“He’s perfectly calm,” Duncan repeated.

He could tell neither Ana nor Liam believed him. She looked confused; he seemed downright suspicious.

Liam said, “So he’s over killing his son. Oli? In two hours, without a rampage?”

“I’m not saying he’s fine, or that he’s not upset, or that the man isn’t deeply grieving. But he just lost his son, and eight others. And now you two are leaving. The man needs time to digest.”

Ana, always quick, got there first. “Wait. What do you mean ‘you two’—you’re not coming with us?”

“No, I said I would stay here; it’s best for everyone. If I leave now, Oli will fall apart. The camp will follow.”

Liam looked suspicious, but held his silence, knowing Duncan well enough to trust him, even if something smelled sour.

Duncan continued. “I know it sounds flimsy, but I promised Oli I’d stay and help get those three captured orbs up and running, programmable by his people. So far, I got one up and tweaked, so we’re close. More importantly, though, I figure he also needs an ear … about Daemon.”

“We’re not leaving you,” Liam said. “I don’t trust these people.”

“Nothing will happen to me,” Duncan said. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t know that,” Liam countered. “Oli’s flaky. And Shaw’s downright psychotic. If you piss Oli off, Shaw will seize the chance to take you out. He’s been eyeballin’ us since our first day.”

“Oli needs me, and Oli’s still in charge. Even if Shaw and everyone else hated me, it wouldn’t matter. They all listen to Oli.”

“That makes sense,” Ana said, eager to cut the arguments short and find her father. “But when do we get to see you again?”

“I’m not sure,” Duncan shrugged. “I imagine I’ll either join you next time a courier comes through here. Or, if you and Jonah come back here.”

Duncan excused himself before they started digging deeper, especially Liam. Dinner was an hour off, once Shaw came back from the perimeter sweep he was told he didn’t have to (then was asked not to) make.

It was absurd, Duncan knew, to say that Oli needed him that much, and even his fake admission of the cover story felt weak to him. Paradise had existed before Duncan’s arrival, and would continue to thrive in its way after he left. That was mostly because of Oli, one of the toughest men Duncan had ever known, well-seasoned by time with The Underground on both sides of The Walls. He also knew that even if Oli
did
fall apart, the village was well organized enough to fall in step behind Oli’s council, a set of three elders who served as the camp’s skeleton government.

But Duncan couldn’t tell Ana and Liam the truth of why he wasn’t going with them: he needed to make an immediate return to City 6 so he could get medicine to keep his infection at bay.

It had been a month since Duncan had run dry of his supply. He never expected to be away from City 6 for so long, but even if he had never returned, West Village’s doctor could have brewed a new batch of medicine from the formula Duncan had memorized.

Yet West Village was now in ashes, meaning City 6 was Duncan’s only hope … and a place where he was a wanted man.

Duncan had been hiding his infection for two years. He was bitten by a zombie child he and his friend, Dr. Liza, had tried to rescue outside The Walls. The child, docile and in the early stages of infection, escalated immediately. It had nearly killed Duncan. It
would
have, if not for Dr. Liza’s quick thinking and the shot she fired to kill the child monster.

Dr. Liza had brought him back to her hidden lab in City 6, and promised to keep his infection a secret, as long as he agreed to be a guinea pig. Duncan was the doctor’s first human test subject in her campaign to cure the plague.

And while the current serum wasn’t a cure, it was humanity’s best hope at the moment. It worked by keeping the virus dormant in the bloodstream, but it required early administration to the infected, before the virus had a chance to do any serious damage. Prior to Duncan, the medicine had tested successfully on lab primates. Duncan was the first evidence that the serum also worked on humans, but Liza needed more subjects—not exactly something humans were standing in line for. And Dr. Liza could never tell The State about her work; they would want to turn prisons into labs.

Yet she didn’t want to her research public until after she found a cure. Which meant waiting until she found subjects naturally, like Duncan, who had accidentally been infected.

While the medicine worked in 90 percent of its subjects, it only delayed the inevitable turning. Also, the medicine required weekly injections. The longest any of the lab animals had gone without the medication before turning was five weeks.

Duncan had run out of medicine exactly four weeks ago.

Now he could feel himself changing, ever so slightly.

Being around zombies, even though they were outside of the camp’s walls, caused something to stir in his blood. It was as if Duncan could feel their hunger and thoughts, like he was part of some sort of hive mind. Their thoughts were never in words, though. They were visual and emotional—fear, hunger, anger—flashes of emotion tainting his thoughts.

It was all he could do to keep these feelings in check, and he was cognizant enough to realize it was only a matter of time before the hive thoughts would overpower him and trigger the change in his body.

Of course, he had no idea of
how
the change would happen, or how quickly he would turn. Would his metamorphosis be instant, or a slow degradation? Duncan didn’t know, nor did he want to find out, which was why he had to get back to City 6 immediately. Every minute spent in Paradise was another in which Duncan put his humanity and the entire camp at risk. He had wanted to leave a few weeks back, but guilt kept him in Paradise, tending to Oli, Liam, and Ana.

Now it was time to go.

It seemed that as the weather grew hotter, zombie activity in The Barrens increased. The zombies seemed hungrier, more desperate to feast. As zombies wandered nearby, their thoughts seeped into Duncan’s brain more often, threatening to trip whatever mechanism inside his cells caused the turn.

Duncan had thought about telling the others—specifically Ana, Liam, and Oli—that he was infected, so they’d let him leave and return to City 6. But if he told the others, he would be banished. If Oli wouldn’t allow his son to stay, he’d never let Duncan return. Even worse, Oli would surely be mad that Duncan hadn’t told him about his infection already. But Duncan couldn’t risk Dr. Liza’s life by telling anyone, even if it might have saved Daemon’s.

He strolled along the interior walls of Paradise as the sun dipped beyond the tree-lined horizon. It looked as if God had poured molten sun across the sky, casting the world in many shades of beautiful orange. He felt a chill as he considered how few sunsets were left in his life if he didn’t get medicine soon.

As they often did, Duncan’s thoughts shifted back to the well-being of others, foremost among them Ana and Liam. He wished he could escort the two on their trip. Not just to see Jonah again, but to ensure the kids made it there safely. He wasn’t sure he could trust the courier, even if Oli cast the man as a regular.

What helped ease his mind a little was that Duncan had spoken with Oli earlier about sending a hunter orb along with Liam and Ana. Since Oli couldn’t afford any men, he said he’d think about it, as long as Duncan stuck around to fix the other two orbs. Duncan agreed, saying he’d finish training Balon on the schematics. In truth, Balon had learned enough, which made Duncan feel less guilty about his plan to leave first chance he got, whether he was done programming the other orbs or not.

Duncan caught Oli’s eyes on his final lap around the camp, looking down from the dining hall porch. The man smiled as they exchanged an unspoken something—kinship from one warrior to another, perhaps.

Oli rang the bell. Duncan crossed the yard and strolled up to the steps of the dining hall.

Duncan sat in between Ana and Liam at a long wooden table, one of five in the dining hall which seated most of the 50 or so citizens left at the camp. Four girls, all from the Harrison clan, worked the kitchen and set the tables before joining Oli, along with the council, at his table for dinner.

Usually, the day’s final meal was led with a prayer from Oli, but tonight he simply said, “Let’s eat,” as he sat at the end of the table toward the room’s rear.

Meal times tended to be lively affairs, with conversation flowing as freely as drink. Tonight, death was the elephant in the room. All had lost someone close to them today, whether friend or family, and people were clearly swallowing their feelings—anger, the frustration of a failed mission, and of course, sorrow—along with their food.

A silence had settled over the hall, cut only by the sounds of the mourners poking forks at the hand greens. Three children who had lost their older brother stared at their plates, eyes red. Their mother, who’d lost her husband three months earlier, didn’t even bother pleading with them to eat.

Just when Duncan began wondering if anybody would say anything, the doors to the dining hall burst open.

Shaw entered, Avery beside him, dragging a wheeled cage and a captured zombie. Everyone gasped as Shaw entered. Their gazes settled on the woman, eyes wild, thrashing in the cage, trying to break free or grab a hold of Avery.

Oh, Jesus.

Duncan felt the woman’s hunger in his brain, interfering with his thoughts. He clasped one hand tight in another, squeezing, trying not to shine light on his struggle, and keep his thoughts from tearing, ripping, feeding …

Shaw stood as tall as the cage, his hulking frame casting the zombie in shadow. He looked at Oli, but spoke to the room. “Anyone wanna have some fun?”

He guffawed, dragging his club across the bars while the zombie snarled and gnashed behind them.

The zombie was too close. Her rage and hunger too loud in Duncan’s mind, amplified by Shaw’s taunting. He squeezed his eyes tight and tried to will the danger away. It wasn’t working. The zombie could smell his infection. Duncan felt her staring.

Something drew his attention: he wanted to get closer. Something in him wanted something in her. That something made the caged zombie go crazier, growling like an animal, now down on all fours behind the bars, as if ready to leap. It was grabbing the metal and grunting at Duncan as if trying to broadcast intention.

“Look,” Shaw laughed. “She likes Duncan!”

Oli looked from Shaw to the zombie, to Duncan and back, then to each of them again. The zombie’s nostrils flared, and there was a horrible scraping, almost a clawing, croak from her throat. Her spindly fingers opened and clenched, reaching out and stretching for Duncan.

Oli looked up from his dinner with tired eyes, turning from the cage to Shaw.

“You know the rules,” he said softly, then gestured toward the cage. “No infected behind The Walls. You need to get that out of here, now.”

Shaw barked laughter. “Aw, come on Oli. She’s in a cage. She can’t hurt anyone. C’mon. We all want to take out our frustration from today. Don’t you all wanna get even, just a little?”

Shaw was a pig, the one person in the village Duncan couldn’t stand. Daemon had kept his oaf on a leash, but Daemon was dead. It was only a matter of time before things bucked between Oli and Shaw and one of them wound up dead. But Oli seemed uninterested in rising to the bait at the moment.

Shaw sensed that and looked around the room, his question still in the air.

While a few of the men in raised their fists and said, “Hell, yeah!” most of the others were too shocked, or too scared, to say anything.

The children all cried.

Duncan looked at the courier, sitting three people down from himself, and saw that the man was simply looking at Shaw, showing no emotion either way. At least he wasn’t laughing with him.

Shaw’s face turned crimson. “Come on, you pussies, you all get a free shot!”

Shaw gripped his club tight and thrust the butt through the bars into the zombie’s face.

The woman fell back, screaming.

Her pain shot through Duncan’s mind.

He yelped without meaning to, then noticed all eyes on him, especially Shaw’s.

He had to save face. Fortunately, as a preacher it wasn’t odd for him to cry out against such an act of violence. “Come on, Shaw. There’s no need for that here. Nothing will bring back our loved ones.”

Shaw’s smile faltered, a flash of anger tearing through his eyes as if Duncan had insulted his community standing and questioned his manhood. Silence stretched too long and Duncan was certain something bad was about to happen.

Fortunately, Oli finally spoke.

“Outside,” Oli repeated, his voice so low and so barely there, Duncan figured Shaw was just stupid enough to think he didn’t mean it. For a moment, the giant shifted on his feet, looking like he might protest. Every eye was on Shaw, the cage, Oli, or some combination—everyone surely wondering what would happen next.

The zombie screamed, inhuman and screeching, boiling in Duncan’s thickening blood.

I have to get out of here.

Duncan felt like he would lose control at any second, but the standoff between Shaw and Oli seemed even more powerful, potentially explosive. If Duncan got up, he might squeeze fuel on an already simmering fire.

He tightened his muscles, trying to stay invisible, then looked to his left. Both Ana, sitting next to him, and Liam, on the other side of her, were looking at Duncan in concern. Both knew him well enough to understand that
something
was up, even if they weren’t exactly sure what it was.

Shaw made up his mind. “Fine, but that’s no fun,” and spun the cage toward the door, to take it out the way he came. “If anyone wants to have some fun with me, I’ll be outside the main gate. Bring your own weapons!”

As Shaw and Avery began to turn the cage and take it from the hall, Duncan stood, dropped his napkin on the table, then clutched his hand to his stomach. “I’m so sorry to leave, but I’m going to be sick.”

Oli looked over to Duncan, concerned, perhaps, that Duncan wanted to finish his argument with Shaw.