Dark Days (26 page)

“I think you're hollow because you're missing from each other's lives,” I explain, trying to think fast and keep talking. “Despite everything you've said and done, Marek, Milton is still your brother. You still love him.”

He laughs derisively. “And what led you to this conclusion?”

I have now reached them, and the three of us are standing in a little triangle a few feet from each other.

“You did,” I say. “That day in Central Park by the statue of Alice in Wonderland. “You said you'd like to think that your family could reunite.”

Now he laughs even louder. “I was lying to you. It was a manipulation.”

“That's what you tell yourself, but you weren't lying. I could see it in your eyes. It was the most honest thing I ever heard you say. It's also why you sent me those letters. Deep down there's a part of you that wanted us to figure it all out. Maybe you don't even realize it, but it's there.”

He shakes his head. “You couldn't be more wrong.”

“My sister and I fight,” I reply. “Nothing like the two of you. It's usually about clothes or whose turn it is to do the dishes, but we fight. And sometimes I can't stand her.”

I look over at my sister and smile.

“But she's my sister and I love her more than anyone on earth.”

Beth smiles back at me.

“When you were little and Milton was trampled by the horse, who rescued him? Who carried him to safety?”

I notice a change in Marek's expression. It's slight, but it's there.

“I should have left him there in the street,” he says. “Then none of this would've happened.”

“But you didn't leave him,” I say. “Because you couldn't. He's your brother. You were heroic in his rescue. And when he became a scientist, you were proud. That's why you wanted him to make the explosive. And earlier today, that's why you named the research center at the zoo after him. He's your brother and he's a part of you.”

The two of them look at each other, and I can't tell if anything I've said has made a difference.

“Could it be true?” asks Milton. “Could you still think of me as a brother?”

Marek shook his head. “Even if I could, it wouldn't matter. If I don't get your body parts, I'll be dead in a matter of days. So I guess we are going to be reunited, the two of us forming one person.”

Just then there is the whoosh of a subway train as it enters the station.

“No, we won't,” says Milton.

When the doors open, he surprises all of us by stepping on board.

“As soon as this train leaves the station, it will take me out of Manhattan,” he says. “I will die instantly. And when I do, you will no longer be able to transplant my body parts. That means you will also die, in a matter of days.”

“No!” screams Marek. “Get off the train!”

There is at most another twenty seconds before the train doors close and seal both of their fates.

“Believe it or not, I still love you,” Milton says. “She's right about us always being brothers. I am forever sorry about what has happened. We should never have lived like this. We should have died in the subway tunnel all those years ago. We should have died together. Come with me. Let's leave this world as brothers and not enemies.”

Milton reaches out toward him, but Marek is frozen by indecision. He does not know what to do. Then, as the train doors start to close, he leaps on board.

I look through the window right at them. They stand face to face for a moment, and then they embrace. The last thing I see is Milton's eyes as they close and he rests his head on his brother's shoulder.

A rush of air roars out of the station as the F train departs and disappears into the darkened tunnel that leads to Queens. Moments later it passes beyond the protective blanket of the Manhattan schist.

Marek and Milton Blackwell are dead.

M
y family will never be . . .
normal
. That was true even before the undead disrupted our lives. But now, we'll be even less normal than before. It's been an odd couple of weeks since that day we broke Mom out of jail and watched Milton and Marek ride off in the subway.

Don't get me wrong; it's great that the four of us are together. But there are still a lot of adjustments that have to be made. After all, my mom is undead, and even though there isn't an evil dark lord of the underworld trying to kill her, there will be some complications. My dad thought he had buried her forever, but he never stopped loving her. That's the key to all of it . . . love. If you love someone, nothing else really matters.

My family is everything to me, and when I use that word I don't just mean the people who share the same blood that I do. (In fact, some of them don't even have blood.) No, I use it to mean the people who share my heart. All the people I love.

We are gathered together at the moment because this is family night. Well, technically it's family day, and the rules are both simple and ironclad. When it's my turn to pick what we do, then you have to do what I say. That's why all of us are out on the Great Lawn in Central Park.

We had to spread out three blankets just to hold all the food that Dad made for the picnic. Alex is devouring fried chicken at a record pace while he talks to Beth about the play she's directing at drama camp. Grayson and Liberty are locked in an epic match of One Foot Trivia as Natalie does everything she can to come up with questions to stump them. And my parents are holding hands, laughing at each other's stories and listening to
La Traviata
.

In other words, even though it's not normal, it's still pretty close to perfect.

I close my eyes and turn my face toward the sun so that its warmth radiates through my body. I inhale the delicious aromas of food and fresh air, and I listen to the music of people laughing and having fun.

I'm wearing my mother's necklace, the one that started me on this adventure, and I reach up and press the omega symbol between my thumb and finger.

Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, and it's often used to signify the end of something. It was chosen as the name of our secret society because we were to be the last word on the undead. But omega is also the first letter of the Greek word for family. So, in that way, what is an ending is also a beginning.

I open my eyes and look at my family and know that I am the person I am supposed to be. I think back to when we used to come here and my mom would read
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
to us. I remember her favorite line from the book:
It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.

It really is no use going back, and I have no interest in doing so.

My name is Molly Bigelow, and I am ready for whatever comes next.

I am forever indebted to the people who have helped bring the Dead City books to life. It is a debt that I will try to repay with everything from cupcakes to friendship. First on the list are the amazing people at Simon & Schuster. There is the dynamic duo of Fiona Simpson and Mara Anastas, and their Omega team of Nigel Quarless, Kayley Hoffman, Jessica Handelman, Karina Granda, Kara Reilly, Emma Sector, Carolyn Swerdloff, Teresa Ronquillo, Michelle Leo, Candace Green, Anthony Parisi, Kelsey Dickinson, Sara Jane Abbott, and the remarkable Lauren Forte. (Go Mets!)

Those of you who think Molly Bigelow is too good to be true have obviously never met my agent, Rosemary Stimola. Like Molly, ro stimo is straight out of Queens and possesses the perfect blend of tough and tender, brilliant and brave. I'm just glad she decided to rep authors instead of fighting zombies. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if she does that on the side.)

I also want to thank the people who take the time to read the books and share them. They are teachers, librarians, and readers like Brady, Bayla, and Peyton, who stay up late at night because they just have to know what happens next. You are my rock stars.

And finally there is my family, who makes everything possible. They inspire and encourage. They read and edit. They live and breathe on every page. The love that exists between the characters in the books is a reflection of the love they give me every day.

Ωmega Today! Ωmega Forever!

JAMES PONTI
was born in Italy, was raised in Florida, and went to college in California. After receiving a degree in screenwriting from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, he began a career writing and producing television shows for the likes of Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, Spike TV, History Channel, and Golf Channel. James loves writing, travel, and the Boston Red Sox. He lives in Florida with his family.

ALADDIN

SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK

authors.simonandschuster.com/James-Ponti

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

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www.SimonandSchuster.com

First Aladdin hardcover edition October 2015

Text copyright © 2015 by James Ponti

Jacket illustration copyright © 2015 by Nigel Quarless

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Series designed by Lisa Vega

Jacket designed by Jessica Handelman

The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond Pro.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ponti, James.

Dark days / by James Ponti.—First Aladdin hardcover edition.

pages cm.—(Dead City; book 3)

Summary: “Molly Bigelow and her Omega team have been banned from investigating Marek Blackwell and his plans for New York City. But when they discover that Blackwell is raising money for a zombie army, they have to act. But will they be in time?”—Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4814-3636-6 (hc)

[1. Zombies—Fiction. 2. Supernatural—Fiction. 3. Secret societies—Fiction. 4. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.P7726Dar 2015

[Fic]—dc23

2014046622

ISBN 978-1-4814-3638-0 (eBook)