Page 103 of Grave Danger

“Me, too,” Dave said.

Lucia let out a breath as they watched the three of them hurry off down the hall.

“I know you’ve had a lot on your plate today,” Demetrius said. “But have you seen Amelia or Otis since the funeral?”

She looked even more depleted. It was as if she compressed in on herself as Demetrius watched.

“I haven’t seen or heard from anyone at Parson’s Pines. We’ve been patrolling the streets and fighting these fucking zombies all day. Haven’t had a chance to get a team out that way.”

“Well hallelujah,” Cody said. “You actually said the zee word. I don’t think you’ve said werewolf once even all these years later. I call that growth.”

“Fuck off, Bower.”

“Can you send a car out there?” Demetrius asked.

“If I had a car to spare,” Lucia said. “Phone lines are down all over town. And the cell network has been flooded with calls and data, so it’s difficult to connect with anyone around town.”

“I understand,” Demetrius said. “But if the opportunity comes up, could you have someone check on them?”

“I will.”

“How’s Deputy Zellmer?” Cody asked.

Lucia fixed him with a hard look. “Deputy Zellmer didn’t make it.”

Cody’s expression shut down. “Oh, shit. Oh, no. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She looked off down the hall as she continued. “He turned three minutes after taking his last breath, so when his mother arrived, she got to see her son as a raging zombie. And then we had to discuss how to put him down for good and get her permission to do it.”

“Jesus,” Demetrius whispered.

“Lucia, I’m… I’m sorry.” Cody started to reach out, but checked himself at the last minute. “I am truly sorry.”

“Thanks. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to organize another sweep through town. The storm earlier seems to have brought more of them out of the woodwork, and I need to make sure they don’t leave Parson’s Hollow.”

They watched her walk off. Demetrius looked in at Jugs, watching his chest rise and fall to the machine’s rhythm. He turned to Cody and saw him watching Jugs as well.

“Think the Cadillac would make it through town again?” Demetrius asked.

Cody met his gaze. “You want to head out to Parson’s Pines?”

“Yeah.”

Cody looked back at Jugs and gave a single nod. “Abso-fucking-lutely. Let’s go.”

They weren’t prevented from leaving the hospital, but a couple of state police officers strongly suggested they remain. Demetrius explained about Amelia and Cody’s grandmother, Felicia, out at Parson’s Pines. The officer opened a map application on his tablet and had Demetrius point out the location.

“We haven’t gotten to that area yet,” the officer said as he tapped a note on the tablet. “But I’ll have cars start moving that way. No guarantee when they can get out there though.”

They thanked the officer and left the hospital. Outside, the night air was deceptively pleasant. The storm had washed the air clean, and the clouds had cleared out to allow the stars to shine. A half-moon gave some light to the shadows gathered between streetlamps as they walked the streets around the hospital in search of the Cadillac.

“Would be nice to be able to click a panic button on a fob and listen for the horn,” Cody said.

“Yeah, that would be. Or for someone to know where it was parked.”

“Hey, we’ll get out there soon, okay? I’m sure Amelia is okay.”

“Yeah, I know. Deep down I know it. But right now it feels like everything we try to do is taking an extra long time.”