Broken Dreams(113)

“I ain’t fuckin’ lyin’! He used the undead, or whatever you call it, as a diversion. I saw him do it! And how do you know vamps ain’t real? Zombies are so why not vamps?” I could see Claire looking over at Henry, examining him.

“You really are mental aren’t you? Hello! It’s fucking daylight, you asshat! Everyone knows that vampires don’t come out in the daylight! They fry, or get all sparkly.” Okay, so I was being a little facetious. There were times that I couldn’t help myself. It was in my nature.

“For the last time, I ain’t lyin’! And there’s vamps, too? Wha’ the hell’s goin’ on?”

I shook my head, thinking how stupid this little twerp was. “Okay, okay. Let’s just say this little fabricated story is true for a moment…” I leaned in even closer to him. “Why would he do something like that?”

“I have no clue! Maybe he’s some sort of freak crossbreed or something.” His words trailed off as he looked between Henry and Nick.

“A freak crossbreed? Because that exists.” I busted out the eye roll again.

“You are really startin’ to piss me off, lady! I’ll shoot your ass! I saw it with my own two eyes!”

“Well, maybe you need to find yourself a pair of glasses!” Claire pushed me aside a little bit. She was going to try to diffuse the volatile situation. Good fucking luck because I was ready to kick his ass.

“Listen,” Claire said. “If he did what you said, then we will take care of it. Just let us trade him for some goods. You can come out to our trucks…”

His eyes nearly popped out of their sunken sockets. “Trucks? Like more than one?” He looked amazed at our good fortune.

“Yes, plural. You can come out to our trucks, and you can pick out some food and water. You’re obviously in need.”

The kid looked back at Henry, then at Claire and me. “How do I know this ain’t some sort of trick?”

“If there aren’t two black trucks out there, you can come back in and shoot him.”

Henry didn’t agree with her deal, and neither did I. I grabbed her arm, and gave her my best “what the fuck” glare. “What? Are you out of your goddamned mind? You can’t just volunteer his life like that!”

“He was going to shoot someone anyway, Elaina.” Claire spoke through her teeth, much like Henry would when he was royally pissed. I glanced over at Henry, and I looked at the blood on him. The sight concerned me, but I didn’t show it. I felt a little guilty, using his life as a bargaining chip.

“Fine. Let’s go then.” I turned around and headed back out the door, not even worrying about the shotgun that he was holding. Henry was screaming in protest, while the prepubescent punk ass kid followed behind like a faithful dog. I swear that I could hear him salivating over the thought of food.

Claire stopped for a moment when we got to Nick’s body, but then she caught back up to me. In the heat of the moment, we nearly forgot about what we needed to do. I felt so guilty that I had neglected my brother. My heart and stomach ached.

Then I heard a garbled moaning. I realized Nick must have been turning. I stopped dead in my tracks. “Claire…” I whispered. I pulled out the Sig that I had tucked neatly away in the back of my pants. Now or never, I thought. Nick suddenly stumbled to a standing position and staggered to the end of the register counter, holding his arm.

We stepped back a few paces. I blinked a few times, but still had my Sig trained on him. I kept saying to myself, That’s not Nick. Nick is dead. He sensed that we were there, and looked up. His eyes were bright emerald green…like Henry’s.

“What. The. Fuck.” I have an epic way with words. He coughed and dragged the back of his hand over his lips.

“E-lai-na…” Nick grumbled. I stared at him in disbelief.

“Nick?” No response. “Nick? Are you in there?” He nodded, but grabbed his neck and cringed in pain. I was absolutely astonished.

“Duuude…this is the most bullshittiest thing I’ve ever seen!” Apparently, the kid had an epic way with words, as well. I was at a loss. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My brain was not computing what had just happened. And where the fuck was Sophie during all the absurdity?

“Claire, what is going on? Have I gone batshit crazy or something? Am I dreaming this?”

“If you have, then so have I,” she stammered.

“Where’s Sophie?”

“I have no idea. She said she would stand guard until I came back out.” I wanted to run over and hug Nick, but I was so confused and, quite frankly, I worried he was going to try to eat me.