Death Whispers (Death Series, Book 1) (41 page)

Tomorrow
then, Romeo?
MJ

Yeah.-
CH

Deal.-
John
Terran

We signed off; time set, plans made,
zombies-to-raise. Life was busy. I picked up my book again, killing
time for the next few hours until I could pick up Jade.

****

I
rounded the corner of her neighborhood entrance, giving the sign a
cursory glance.
Valley
Keys
,
the lettering long-faded. I was in a “bad area” of Kent. I
worried a little bit for Jade. I'd rode my bike because it was three
or four miles. I'd pulsed that she'd need hers. I figured it was
about the same distance to the dump.

I hopped off my bike, swinging my leg over and
doing a little hop and jog to slow down. Engaging the kickstand, I
set it up close to the fence, hitting the latch on the gate and
walking up to the front door. Jade's Aunt's house was all white.
White body, white trim and white door. Kinda creepy.

Jade stepped out the front door looking
fan-tas-tic. She wore her super dark jeans that rode the line of
looking black but were actually blue. Her hair was swept back in one
of those elastic hair things in a neon green color, a few wisps
escaping to frame those gorgeous eyes. A cami that matched the hair
thing peeked out underneath a hot pink top, just a slip of the color
showing. Jade was zipping up a hoodie that was as midnight blue as
the jeans, silver hoops swaying as she talked to Andrea.

“Hey,” she said to me smiling.

My
mouth was a little dry. Whoever said beautiful girls were
mouthwatering must not have had to actually
talk
to one.

I smiled, swallowing to conjure up some saliva.

“Hey back,” I finally croaked out. Jade's
smile turned into a grin. Great, so she knew that I was reacting to
her so much it made me ache.

Andrea saved the awkward moment. “Where are you
two going?”

I sure wasn't going to tell her the actual place,
she'd tell Psycho-Daddy for sure.

“We're going to check out the ice cream shop.”

Jade
gave me a look. I looked back like,
don't
blow it.

“
The
one where the old Baskin-Robbins used to be?” she asked. I was
struck by how much Jade looked like her. The eyes were wrong,
Andrea's were like black velvet, you could hardly see the pupil in
there. Jade's dad's eyes were the same, the creeper
.

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I was little when they
got rid of it.”

“What's the name now?” she asked. Man, she was
goin' for the details.

Jade piped in, “Terhune's Ice Cream.”

“Oh, right,” she said, relaxing.

“When do you need to be home?” Andrea asked
Jade.

“Ten.”

She turned those dark eyes on me. “Be careful.
You know you're welcome to be here too, Caleb.”

“Thanks, I know.”

Jade swung her leg up over her bike, standing with
her sandal clad feet on either side of the bar between the seat and
the handlebars. On girls' bikes you could do that, boys' bikes had
the ball-buster feature. I walked out to the gate and held it open
for Jade as she rode out, giving a guy salute to the aunt, who
watched us until the gate shut.

Jade balanced on her seat,one foot hitting one
side, then the other taking over. I swung up on my seat as I started
to pedal with my left foot first, putting on that burst of speed just
to get going. I looked around to see if Jade was close. She was but I
slowed down, she was shorter and I didn't think she had that maneuver
down that the Js and I did. But, I was wrong, she was right on my
flank, no trouble at all.

We
rode down Kent-Kangley, a dangerous stretch if you didn't pay close
attention. My parents always said, “Caleb, pay close attention.”
I'd respond, “I won't get creamed today, guys.”

Confidence inspiring.

We
took the back route to Scenic Hill. We passed the cemetery on our
left after cresting a long hill that at the bottom you think,
no
problem.
But
at the top you're like,
thank
God that's over.

It wasn't long until we were at the refuse place.

Jade looked at me, balanced precariously on her
seat. “Okay...so this is the hideaway?”

I remembered that I didn't know the combo for the
lock.

“Yes, this is it. Hold on a sec.” I pulsed
John:

Hey,
what's up?
John Terran

Yeah...
I'm here with Jade and I forgot to get the combo from you.-
CH

Nice...
smooth, Hart, in front of the gf and the whole jazz.-
John
Terran

I
know, dill-weed, just give it to me.-
CH

Look
up there at the sign and just reverse the last four of the phone
number.-
John
Terran

Which
part?
CH

Didn't
I just say?
John
Terran

There
are a bunch of numbers.-
CH

It's
the one that begins with the area code in parentheses.-
John
Terran

I looked up, okay there it was, got it. To think
that they used to have to dial all that.

I
see it, thanks.-
CH

Welcome.
Are we still on for tomorrow for the “help?”-
John
Terran

I
guess.-
CH

So
didn't want to do the zombie work party.

I'm
choking on your enthusiasm, Caleb, try to rein it in.-
John
Terran

sighs
,
I know we have to do it.-
CH

It'll
be okay.-
John
Terran

K,
pulse ya tomorrow.-
CH

K,
ttyl.-
John
Terran

Jade was looking at me. “John?”

“Yeah, he had to give me the combo for this,”
I jerked a thumb toward the massive lock.

I explained the whole thing about knowing the
combo and how it was the phone number reversed, how we found a tunnel
underneath a mound of cars.

Jade's face scrunched up in a cute way. “I don't
want to sound like a lame adult here but, is it safe?”

Like
I'd endanger the chicks, especially this chick.

“
Of
course it is! The Js and I went in there for a couple of hours and
look.” Jamming my thumbs into my chest,
I'm alive still.

She didn't look entirely convinced, sliding off
her seat and looking at me while straddling the girl bar.

“What I mean is, do you think the pile will
collapse?”

I understood that but it brought to me a funny
thought.

“No. But, I guess we'll see what's what when the
zombies take care of some space issues.”

“Space issues?”

“Yeah, there's a tight spot in there just before
it opens up into the main room.”

Jade's black eyebrows rose, arching prettily on
that smooth forehead of hers.

Flicking
her hair over her shoulder she said, “So... let me get this
straight. The zombies are going to be a 'slave force' and if they
get,” she waved a smallish hand around, searching for the word,
“stuck, in there,” she pointed to the gate and the lair that lay
beyond, “they're already dead so zero loss?”

It sounded bad put like that.

“Ah, I haven't really thought about it that
much. Me and the Js,” Jade threw up her hands.

“What?”

“Tell me. Was it Jonesy?”

“Well, yeah.”

“His ideas always get everyone in trouble.”

“Sometimes,” I replied loyally.

“Usually,” she replied with accuracy.

“Alright,
I guess we'll just have to be careful with the zombies.”

“Let's get a girl with some brains in on this
too.”

“John and I have brains.”

“
But
somehow Jonesy comes up with all these,” she paused, “schemes
,
and
you and John bail everyone out with a shovel.”

Yeah, that was it.

“Okay, who's the smart girl?”

“Well, we're all smart.”

“Ah-huh.”

“I was thinking Tiffany Weller,” Jade said.

“Tiff... I don't know, sometimes things go
weird.”

“What if she can help? What if adults show up?”

I guess, besides her dad, we hadn't had a lot of
that. I didn't say it though.

“Okay, you pulse Tiff and see if she wants to
involve herself. She's already said yes to the haunted house thing.”

“Another Jonesy idea,” Jade said.

“Yeah.”

“It does sound pretty cool,” she admitted.

“Yeah.”

Jade walked toward the gate with me following. I
spun the numbers, and it clicked open smoothly, first time. We walked
in and I adjusted it in the fake lock position.

“We can't stop living just because the
government might be up-our-ass.”

“
Up
your
ass,” she said, smiling.

“Right.”

We walked together hand in hand until we came to
the pink fridge. Jade walked around the part of it that she was able
to, but the very back was more or less surrounded by pieces of cars,
with a whole car on its nose (scrunched down) all along the left
side. It was still bright daylight out but I knew it would be
gloomy-as-hell inside. That wouldn't work and I bent down, grabbing a
metal tool, about sixteen inches long, with two curved sides opposite
each other. I think Dad called it a crow... something. I used it to
prop the door open and explained the coffin theory. The look on her
face! Geez! I gave her a fierce hug, putting my hand on the back of
her neck, leaning her into me.

I'd never let anything happen to her.

She scared easy but she'd been brave with her dad.
Scared of being trapped?

“What is it?” I asked, brushing a wisp of hair
that had escaped her hair band and curling it behind her ear.

“I hate being trapped,” she said. Like I
thought.

“We won't be. It's just dark but we'll keep the
door propped and that will let in light.”

“Okay,” she said without enthusiasm.

“Listen, I'll stay next to you and I'm just
gonna say, it wouldn't be much of a hideout if it was easy.”

“I know.”

We went, me propping the door open behind me with
the bar. I sorta wedged it in and pulled on it to make it grip the
door jamb thing.

Satisfied, I turned and we traveled through the
whole tunnel the way the Js and I had. It didn't seem to take nearly
as long as it had yesterday. I came through the tight squeeze first
and was turning to help Jade out when she just popped right out no
problem. Huh.

I clicked the LED light on and let her just look
at it all.

“Wow. You're right, this is perfect. It's a
creep-factor, but it will be invisible to most adults.”

I was the MAN after all.

“Can you pulse?”

That
was a smart question, I thumbed the pad:
Pulse-signal
impairment.

“No, I can't get squat.”

“Me either,” she said.

We sighed in unison and I gave her a kiss on the
cheek, but she turned just enough and our mouths collided softly. I
hadn't actually had a chance to kiss Jade but had given it a lot of
thought. I used one hand to palm my pulse inside my jeans pocket and
folded Jade into my body as if she was always meant to fit perfectly.
I worked my mouth over the top of her lips, barely lifting off its
silky surface for even an instant. She tasted, wonderful. She stood
on tiptoe to reach me, winding her slender arms around my neck,
pressing her hand into the base of my skull as I clenched her body in
against mine.

I broke away and looked down at her, our bodies
just skimming each other. I watched her pulse thudding in the hollow
of her throat, mine a mirror.

All
I could think was she was
this
close to me, smelling great and this feeling of swimming need pressed
down on my chest, suffocating me. It was a new sensation. I backed up
a little, giving her some space.

“That was nice,” she said.