Zombies. Dozens of them. All right outside.
“What the hell?!” Kenzie finally managed to stammer.
“This is not good,” Hayden affirmed.
Kenzie reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She’d programmed Paige’s number into it. At this point, if fairies really were responsible for what was going on, she’d need a witch to help.
She frantically dialed Paige’s number. She answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Paige, this is Kenzie. I need your help.”
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Uh...sure, except that there’s a crapload of zombies outside Hayden’s window.”
“You’re at Hayden’s house?”
“Yeah, do you know where it is?”
“Of course not. I don’t live here.”
“Oh, right. Well listen, these zombies are looking at us, and yes some are eating plants, but some are like clawing on the window. I’m very creeped out right now.”
“Give me the address. We’ll be right there.”
Kenzie gave Paige Hayden’s address and hung up. Hayden was gaping at her like she’d lost her mind.
“You do know I could take care of those things, right?” he asked somewhat caustically.
“Sure, but at this rate, we may need a witch’s powers to take care of this problem. Looks to me like we’re on the verge of a zombie apocalypse.”
“Just what we need.”
“Tell me about it. Paige thinks fairies are involved. You know more about supernaturals than I do – what do you think?”
“I think it’s possible, and I also think you better stay here where it’s safe.”
“Are you nuts? Hayden, we have to stop these zombies!”
“They don’t want us, they want plants. Just look at them tearing up my garden.”
“But...”
Suddenly, a shrill scream sounded outside. Kenzie and Hayden both peered out the window and saw something that made Kenzie’s blood run cold.
So much for the zombies only craving plants. It seemed they now had quite the hankering for flesh.
“Holy shit!” Kenzie screeched. Hayden bolted to his door and locked it.
“Great. This really is an apocalypse,” he said. “What the hell is that idiot doing walking outside tonight anyway?”
“Maybe she was seeing what was going on. I don’t know, but that doesn’t matter. We’re screwed right about now.”
“Stay behind me,” Hayden ordered. “I won’t let them get to you. They can’t hurt me, don’t worry.”
Kenzie cowered behind Hayden, perplexed as to why he was offering to help her. But then again, like Isaiah, he had a good soul. He didn’t want to see anyone get hurt.
At last, Paige and her coven (Miranda, Erika, and Sasha) arrived. They seemed oblivious to Hayden’s being a werewolf (or perhaps they already knew), but were able to cast some sort of charm on the zombies to revert them back to their previous forms. They were all humans, and they all became quickly disoriented, wondering where they were and why they could taste leaves (or, in one’s case, blood from biting the latest victim).
Hayden allowed Paige to come inside while her coven went to investigate any more zombies that might be around.
“Thank you,” Kenzie said to Paige when she saw her.
“No problem. Thanks for calling me.”
“So, did you find anything out? Is it fairies doing this?”
“Yeah, we’ve confirmed it.”
“How?” Hayden inquired.
“We had one of our familiars follow a tiny little pixel of light and it went into the woods. Then the light turned into a fairy. And yes, fairies can turn into tiny pixies, Kenzie. I can tell you’re surprised.”
“I didn’t think they did that.”
“Well, they do. Anyway, these fairies are playing Creator. Not all of them, but a small group of them are. They’re creating elixirs that are turning people into these zombies. We don’t know their motive, but that doesn’t matter. The fact is, they shouldn’t be doing it.”
“But how do we stop them? Call the police?”
Paige shook her head with a grimace. “Unfortunately, that won’t do any good. The police are humans. The fairies could easily turn them right into the zombies they’re trying to fight. We need some sort of higher power to deal with them.”
“Like what?” Kenzie questioned.
“Like my coven. We can stop them.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“But why were there so many zombies tonight? Last night there was just one.”
“It’s a full moon. More will come out because fairies have a greater supply of power tonight. But so do witches. We’ll take them down.”
Paige seemed so determined that Kenzie almost forgot to tell her the new fact she’d seen.
“There’s more,” she broke in. “These zombies weren’t just after plants. One actually bit a human. Your coven cured that one, but...”
“That means the elixirs are getting stronger. Or maybe more dangerous. Either way, we don’t need zombies running around anywhere. This ends now.”
“But there are only four of you against countless undead, and we don’t know what will happen if one of you gets bitten. How are you completely sure you stand a chance?”
“May I suggest a backup?” a new voice asked from the door.
Kenzie turned and nearly fell over again when she saw who was standing there.
Isaiah Cavanaugh. He stared into the room, seemingly to have appeared out of thin air. How had Hayden not smelled him, or heard the door open and close?
Oh, shit. Hayden. A werewolf.
“Isaiah,” Kenzie said nervously. “Uh...hi. What are you doing here?”
“You seriously thought I’d leave my girlfriend’s best friend here when she told me there was a zombie on the loose? I knew you wouldn’t leave, and Jillian would kill me if anything happened to you when I could have protected you, so here I am.”
“Jillian asked you to come?”
“No, she doesn’t know anything about this. I don’t want to worry her.”
“Okay...so you came to help me of your own volition?”
“Seems that way.”
“How did you even find me?”
“I was easily able to follow your scent. Speaking of which, I have to ask, how do you stand that stench?”
“What stench?”
“That dog standing right there. And I’m not talking about Sage.”
Hayden puffed out his chest as though he were exerting himself as the alpha male of the room.
“Watch it, blood sucker,” he growled. “Your smell isn’t too appealing either. Who the hell do you think you are, barging into my house and standing there like you own the place?”
Wonderful. The vampire/werewolf brawl was beginning already, and they were on the verge of a damn zombie apocalypse. When did Kenzie’s life become a teenage romance novel? And when did it become a cross between fantasy and reality with all the mythical creatures that turned out to exist?
Oh, right. When the supernaturals actually revealed themselves. And when she’d developed a crush on a werewolf when her best friend was dating a vampire.
Kenzie pinched her nose in disgust. They didn’t have time for this.
“Stop it!” she finally said. “We don’t have time for a stereotypical fictional character brawl. There are zombies on the loose, and they’re starting to bite humans. And if you’ve seen any zombie movies, which I’m sure you have, you know what that means. It’s only a matter of time before the bitten people turn into zombies too.”
“She’s right,” Hayden insisted. “We’ve got more important issues to deal with right now.”
“Yes, we do,” Paige interjected, “and I’m tired of these fairies causing all this trouble. It’s time to stop them once and for all.”
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