Although it was still early April, it felt like midsummer, and Benny was wearing only a sweat-soaked T-shirt and cutoffs. The months of training had hardened him and packed muscle onto his arms and shoulders. He squared those shoulders and gave Nix a steely stare.
Nix raised her sword and in a loud clear voice announced, “I. Am. Going. To. Swing. My. Sword. Now.”
“Hilarious,” said Benny through gritted teeth. He brought his sword up, elbows and knees bent at the perfect angles, weight shifted onto the balls of his feet, the tip of the bokken level with his eyes, his body angled for the best use of muscle in attack and the least display of vulnerabilities for defense. He could feel the power in his arms. With a loud, ferocious yell that would have frozen the heart of an enemy on the battlefields of the samurai era, he charged, bringing his sword up and down with perfect precision.
Nix batted his sword aside and whacked him on the head.
Again.
Benny said, “Ow.”
“That’s not how you do it,” said Lilah.
Benny rubbed his head and squinted at her. “No, really?” he said. “I’m not supposed to block with my head?”
“No,” Lilah said seriously. “That’s stupid. You’d die.”
Lilah possessed many skills that Benny admired—fighting, stalking, almost unbelievable athletic prowess—bu
t she had no trace of a sense of humor. Until they’d brought her back to Mountainside, Lilah’s existence had been an ongoing hell of paranoia, fear, and violence. It wasn’t the kind of environment that helped her cultivate social skills.
“Thanks, Lilah,” Benny said. “I’ll make sure I remember that.”
She nodded as if he had made a serious promise. “Then I won’t have to quiet you afterward,” she said. She had a voice that was soft and rough, her vocal cords having been damaged by screams when she was little.
Benny stared at her for a moment, knowing that Lilah was dead serious. And he knew she would do it, too. If he died and zommed out, Lilah would kill him—quiet him, as everyone in town preferred to say—without a moment’s hesitation.
He turned back to Nix. “Want to try it again? I’ll block better this time.”
“Ah … so you’re going to try the ‘smart’ part of ‘warrior smart’?” observed Chong. “Very wise.”
Nix smiled at Benny. It wasn’t one of the heartwarming smiles he’d been longing for. It reminded him of Lilah’s face when she was hunting zoms.
Benny did block better, though.
Not that it did him much good.
“Ow!” he yelled three seconds later.
“Warrior smart!” yelled Morgie and Chong in chorus.
Benny glared hot death at them. “How about one of you clowns trying to—”
His comment was cut short by a sharp and sudden scream.
They all froze, looking off toward the center of town. The yell was high and shrill.
There was a moment of silence.
Then another yell cut through the air. It was a man’s voice, loud and sharp and filled with pain.
More screams followed it.
And then the sharp, hollow crack of a gunshot.
4
“STAY HERE!” TOM ORDERED. HE RACED INTO THE HOUSE AND CAME out a moment later, a sword in one hand and his gun belt in the other. This was not a practice sword but the deadly steel katana he used in his job as the Ruin’s most feared zombie hunter. He slung the strap over his shoulder as he raced past Benny toward the gate. He vaulted it like a hurdler and was running full tilt while he buckled on the gun belt. “Do not move from the yard!”