Page 47 of Grave Danger

Cody’s phone buzzed on the desktop and he leaned over it to look at the name. “Great, more from Queen of the Damned.”

“Who?” Demetrius tipped his head to read the display. “Lucia? Again? Jesus, what now?”

“Let’s both find out.” Cody accepted the call and put it on speaker. “I hope you need a critter caught.”

“If I did I wouldn’t be calling you,” Lucia snapped back. “Get out to 118 between the Hollow Leg and Harriettville.”

“Our connection is a little spotty, I didn’t catch all of that,” Cody said. “I think word ‘please’ got cut off.”

“Asshole.” Lucia disconnected.

“That must be ‘please’ in a different language.”

“What do you think she wants you out there for?” Demetrius said.

“Oh, not just me. No no. You’re definitely coming along for the ride.”

Demetrius sighed. “Yeah, all right. Let me get something from the fridge to take with us.”

“Good idea. We have a bottle of vodka in the freezer?”

“No. And it’s probably best we don’t.”

Demetrius entered their small break room and opened the refrigerator. Take away cartons of leftovers or to go orders held suspicious looking lumps in different colors. He grabbed a trash bag from beneath the sink and tossed it all. There were some plastic bottles of tea, some sodas, a dozen bottles of water, and a package of string cheese. Grabbing the bag of string cheese, he stepped out into the small hallway and looked toward the front where Cody sat at his desk looking at his phone.

“Hey, Bonker.”

Cody glared. “Don’t call me that.”

“Catch, footballer.” He tossed the bag of string cheese sticks underhand, and Cody rolled back a bit, stretching his arms up to snag it.

“This is lunch?”

“Part of it.” Demetrius held up the trash bag. “This is going into the dumpster out back.”

He walked past the bathroom and tiny, phone booth sized utility closet to the back door. Pressing the release bar, he stepped out to the paved backside of the strip mall. The dumpster was situated behind the door, and as he walked out of the office, a strong, foul odor hit him, making him gag. He held a hand to his face to cover his nose, and the door swung shut behind him with a loud thump.

The sound attracted the attention of a man crouched beside the dumpster. He hovered over the body of a large rat. When he snapped his head up, Demetrius saw the dark stain of gore around his mouth and chin, as well as the places it had hit his gray mechanic’s coveralls.

With a ravenous snarl, the man stood and lunged at Demetrius. The only thing he had for protection was the trash bag. He held it up, practically shoving it toward his attacker, and the man’s fingers tore through the plastic into the flimsy containers. Food splattered onto Demetrius’s shins and feet as the force of the attack caused him to stumble backward. He lost his balance and went down on his ass, the shredded remains of the trash bag flapping in his grip.

The man came at him again, crouching low and reaching with hooked fingers. Demetrius reacted without thought. He scuttled backward, the man crawling after him, moaning and gnashing his bloody teeth. Demetrius could see bits of fur stuck between some of his teeth, and he had to fight to keep from vomiting. His hands went out from under him, and he fell flat on his back. The man crawled along his body and loomed over him. The only thing Demetrius had for a weapon was the limp remains of the trash bag, so he grabbed it in both hands and held it up, pressing it against the man’s face. He’d splurged for the reinforced variety, and he hoped like hell it lived up to its claims.

“Cody!” His shout didn’t sound loud enough, so he cleared his throat and tried again, going higher pitched to get his voice to travel farther. “CODY!”

Plastic tore as the man bit through the trash bag. Enough remained, however, to press against his throat and keep him back. He reached for Demetrius, trying to grab hold of him, and discolored drool and bits of rat flesh dribbled from his mouth onto Demetrius’s neck and chest. The man’s breath was horrible, a wash of fetid flesh. Demetrius turned his face away and gulped in air as he struggled to keep away from him.

The back door opened. “Demmy? What’s… What the fucking hell?”

“Don’t let him bite you!” Demetrius shouted. “Zombie!”

“Fuck!”

Something struck the back of the zombie’s head and his eyes fluttered and mouth twitched. Cody struck again, and the man’s face went slack. He slumped to the side, suddenly dead weight. Demetrius rolled the man off him and dropped his head back on the asphalt, panting as his limbs trembled and a cold feeling went through him.

“Demmy, talk to me. Did he bite you? Are you bit? Are you scratched? Demmy!”

Cody knelt behind his head, big hands hovering an inch above him as if afraid to touch him, afraid to hurt him.