“What’s happening?” Jenny asked.
“Phalanx,” he said. “Old Greek formation. Still pretty effective, huh?’
The zombies draped the ends of the body bags over their left arms and grasped the bags’ side handles with their left hands. Then they raised the body bags in front of themselves, creating a thick plastic barrier as wide and tall as a person. They weren’t exactly bulletproof shields, but they deflected most of the fists and debris thrown by the crowd.
Through the narrow gaps between the body bag shields, the zombies swung their blunt objects, batting back the crowd. They swung in unison, and stepped forward, pushing the crowd back.
All the while, the strange young man was simply looking into Jenny’s eyes and lightly brushing her cheek with his fingers. His eyes looked familiar to her.
“Are you doing that?” she whispered.
“Doing what?”
“You’re controlling them.”
He looked around at the expanding ring of zombies, who were pushing their way into a square formation. “I certainly hope so. I’d hate to see what would happen if they ran wild. They might eat your brain!” He rubbed her forehead and temples with his fingertips. “Kidding. Are you remembering me yet? I know you woke up a few weeks ago. I could feel it like an earthquake, and I was thousands of miles away. Those fuckers in that little town, they tried to kill you, didn’t they?”
“Yes,” Jenny said. “They did.”
He laughed. “Stupid rednecks! Come on, let’s get moving.” He stood up and held out his hands to her.
Jenny kept looking at his eyes, trying to figure out how she knew him. Every inch of her body was screaming in pain, and she felt like she would collapse any moment.
“Okay,” he said. “I get it. Guy shows up with a band of zombies swinging brooms. You don’t know what to think. But you should know two things. First, this mob will eventually tear my deceased friends apart, and there goes your security team. Second, there is an army of state police and federales on their way to collect you, and I can get you out of here.”
Jenny took his hands and stood, but she was wobbly on her feet from her beating. Every part of her ached.
“So, what’s your choice?” he asked. “Live or die?”
Jenny looked at him. “Are you Archidamus?” she asked.
“You do remember me.” He pulled the glove from her left hand and took it in his own, skin to skin. It was a strange, dangerous feeling to Jenny, touching anybody like that, except for Seth.
“What about Seth?” she asked.
“The healer? He’s safe. You’re in danger. Come on, we have to hike a few blocks.” A wall of flashing blue lights approached from the far end of the street. “Not that way.”
He supported her with one arm as they walked, and the phalanx of zombies moved with them, walling them in from the mob.
Those at the front of the square alternating between knocking on people who approached and jabbing their long weapons forward to push people back out of the way.
The zombies on Jenny’s left and right simply held up their body-bag shields and only struck people who tried to reach inside. Behind Jenny, zombies walked backwards, holding up the body bags and ready to strike if necessary.
“This is so fucked up,” Jenny whispered.
“You get used to it. I’m Alexander in this life, by the way. But you can call me whatever you want. Do you like Euanthe better?”
“Call me Jenny,” she whispered.
“We have to move faster, Jenny.”
“I can’t.” Jenny’s legs wobbled beneath her.
“That’s fine.” He picked her up in his arms and began to jog. The zombies sped up with him, and the front line fell into a wedge to pry apart the crowd. The rioting mob seemed to be losing their focus on Jenny, now that the person with the megaphone had shut up, and Jenny had gained a dozen or more scary-looking, somewhat armed protectors. The people who’d been intent on attacking Jenny started attacking each other instead, or bashing in car windows.
“Why's everybody going crazy?” Jenny asked.
“Tommy. The fear-giver. He can make a crowd panic.”
“Ashleigh's opposite,” Jenny said.
“He wanted you to hit them all with a plague,” Alexander said. “It was a trap, but we've wrecked his plans. He didn't have any idea I would show up.”
Jenny slid an arm around Alexander's shoulders. It was such a strange feeling to be carried like this, and the strangest part was how comforted and protected she felt. She remembered from her dreams how she had felt in his presence, knowing she'd finally found her place in the world.