Definitely zommed out.
But also definitely Sergeant Ortega. No doubt about it.
In a pit.
Zombie.
Pit.
What other pits were there with zombies in them?
And suddenly he had it.
His eyes snapped open.
He remembered exactly where he had seen Sergeant Luis Ortega. And if he was right, then the man—the zom that had been that man—would still be there.
Benny bolted from beside the monk and ran as fast as he could across the bridge.
37
BENNY FOUND NIX IN THE mess hall. She was sitting with Riot, their heads bent together as they spoke.
“Nix!” he called from halfway across the room.
Her head jerked up and she looked around. Then she immediately got up and started to turn away, to leave. Benny ran to her and caught her wrist.
“Nix—I heard about yesterday. Are you all right?”
“Yes. We’re both okay.”
“Thank God!” he said breathlessly. “Listen, I need to talk to you.”
“Benny—no, I can’t . . . I . . .”
He gently pulled her around to face him. Her eyes were red, as if she’d been crying a long time, and her whole face was pink and puffy. Her scar and her freckles always grew darker when she was upset, and now they were very dark.
“Listen, Nix—”
She looked up at him with such pain in her green eyes that it stalled him. “I saw him.”
“You saw . . . Chong?”
“Riot and I went over yesterday. They let us see him.”
Benny half turned to see the look on Riot’s face. She hadn’t told him that last night. There were other storms raging through her life, and Benny held no grudge.
Before he could say anything, Nix flung herself into his arms and clung to him with all her strength.
“Oh, Benny . . . he looked so bad,” she wailed. “He looked so sick. So lost.”
Her words disintegrated into sobs that were so deep, so shattered, that it silenced the entire mess hall. Those sobs were every bit as terrible as Riot’s had been.
Benny enfolded her in his arms and held her close. Her body was furnace hot against his; her tears burned like acid. She trembled with the kind of deep grief and pain that went all the way down to the core. Benny understood that kind of anguish. He held her and kissed her hair.
The monks at the tables turned away. A few of them gave him small smiles and encouraging nods, but they said nothing and did not interfere.
Benny led Nix back to her table and they sat down together, awkwardly, still clinging to each other. Riot got up and came around behind them, wrapped her arms around them both, and laid her cheek down on the tops of their heads.