White Trash Zombie Unchained (White Trash Zombie 6)

Now the swamp held a new threat: zombie-gators. It sucked that we couldn’t simply cordon off Mudsucker Swamp so no one else got infected.

However, I could warn people who might come out here, such as Bear Galatas and his survivalist group. I made a mental note to call him once we made it to the lab, then returned to mulling over how Saberton could have known about the shambler.

“Kristi Charish is involved,” I said after a moment. “She has to be.”

“Dr. Charish is in Chicago,” Pierce said flatly. “I’ve had eyes on her ever since she took Saberton’s offer. Her daily movements are monitored closely. If she’s doing more zombie-related R&D, she’s doing it while she’s taking a shit.”

Marcus scratched the back of his head. “Still, she could be calling the shots, even from Chicago. That Saberton operation today had her stink all over it.”

Pierce gave a grudging nod. “Maybe so, but it’s a stretch to assume she’s responsible for Angel’s shambler.”

I winced. “Yep, that one seems to be all on me.” I paused. “And on Judd. And the gators. And, well, those hunters who didn’t think they needed life jackets.”

“Could be worse,” Brian said, mouth crooked in a smile. “That gator could’ve bitten your face off.”

Pierce snorted. “Please. Gator face-biting is nothing. What’s abysmal is being the one who has to explain to Mo why we’re one boat short.”

“Maybe he won’t be as mad if you tell him there are some really nice rifles down there—ow!” Laughing, I ducked away from a second swat from Marcus.

“Stop helping, Angel,” he warned.

“But I’m just so good at it!”

Marcus rolled his eyes heavenward in mock-despair. “The world isn’t ready for Angel Crawford in charge.”

“What?! Say you’re sorry.” I launched into an acapella version of the Charles in Charge theme song, using my own name instead.

“For the love of god, he’s sorry!” Pierce exclaimed. “Aren’t you, Marcus?”

Marcus held up his hands in defeat. “More than you can possibly know.”

• • •

As predicted, Mo lost his shit when we arrived at the launch without the other boat. But after Pierce pulled him aside for a low conversation, he was all smiles again.

“Did you tell him about the rifles?” I asked Pierce as we climbed into the Tahoe for the return trip.

“Nah,” Pierce said, mouth curving in a wry smile. “Marcus will send some people out to retrieve the Tribe weapons and equipment. I simply told Mo where to find the boat and that I was doubling his payment. Money is the way to Mo’s heart.”

“Y’know, that works for my heart, too,” I pointed out, then settled in for the ride back to the lab. To my surprise, I fell asleep almost instantly and didn’t wake until we were in the lab garage.

After we unloaded, I started toward the door to the lab proper, but Rachel stopped me with a touch on my arm.

“When you’re taking pictures, composition makes all the difference,” she said after I gave her a questioning look. “I mean, it’s how you position the elements in your viewfinder and the angle of your shot.” She hesitated a moment then let out a breath. “Maybe when we get some free time I could show you a couple of tricks.”

“I’d like that,” I said, accepting the enormous olive branch. I doubted we’d ever sit over coffee and actually talk about photography, but that didn’t diminish the gesture one bit. “Thanks.”

She gave me a short little nod then strode over to Rosario and helped him and his injured butt onto a stretcher.

I watched her head off toward the infirmary with Rosario. “What a weird fucking day.”

Chapter 11

I had an hour before I needed to leave for my biology class, and I used more than half of it for a steaming hot shower to boil away the swamp funk. When I returned to my room, I found three syringes and a note penned in Dr. Nikas’s elegant handwriting.

Angel,

Here is your refill of V13. The second syringe is a stay-awake mod. With it, two hours of sleep will feel like ten. There are adverse effects if activated after less than two hours sleep. I only supplied one dose as it should be used infrequently, but in these challenging times, you may have need. The third syringe is four doses of a mild combat mod. You have been off V12 long enough for there to be no interference. After the events at the swamp, I am uncomfortable with your being without access to emergency augmentation.