Todd pushed the hooded prisoner in front of him, trying to look brusque as he approached the sentries. The two Brethren sat in a huge riot vehicle, the Deathmobile, one at the wheel and the other manning a rooftop machine gun. The gunner trained his weapon on the approaching pair.
“State your business,” he called.
“This woman just surrendered to me outside. She says the Hellions won’t touch her.”
The driver sat up. “No shit? You know, there’s a bounty on Munies. If she’s for real, you get a promotion. Where’s your incident report?”
“Right here.”
The man barely glanced at the paper. “Why haven’t I seen you before?”
“I’m new. I’ve been assigned to the hotel.”
“You’re not one of those guys who rode in on bikes?”
“That’s right.”
“Cool. And you weren’t even anointed? No protection at all?”
“No. Can we get through this?”
“Be done in a sec. Whose side are you on, the Prophet or the Apostle?”
“The Prophet.”
“Bad idea, if you ask me. Odds are with the Living Saint, two to one. This is one horse race you want to be sure to bet on the favorite.”
“Amen to that, brother.”
The man at the gun seemed to be studying the prisoner closely.
Todd suddenly felt very stupid to think this plan could work. Sneaking a dress, a wig, and some cosmetics from the mall stores, Todd had watched as Ray tried to create a look that was feminine without being overly fussy-apocalypse chic. “That’ll work, that’ll work,” Todd kept muttering doubtfully. It was all a bad joke. At best, Ray looked like a soot-smudged female impersonator.
But it seemed to be good enough. The guard gave the okay, and Ray was allowed through the gate of the compound and released from his bonds. Todd was dismissed.
Peace, bro, he thought.
Unhooded, Ray found himself standing alongside a row of portable toilets. Straight ahead were ranks of brand-new recreational vehicles, dozens of them, with an open space in the center. In that clearing, he could see a group of women sitting at several picnic tables, playing cards.
Before Agent X, Ray had come here every Fourth of July. It was nice: Bands played and people brought beach chairs to watch fireworks over the State House. With the trailers and fences and huddled figures, it now looked more like a gulag.
The group at the table waved him over. There were about ten of them, anonymous figures with scarves wrapped around their heads. They looked like old homeless ladies, bundled in whatever the men supplied them with from Nordstrom’s, Macy’s, or Bed, Bath amp; Beyond. Heart hammering, Ray started over to them, wondering how he was going to pull this off.
From off to the side, a man’s voice called, “Ray…? Oh my God, is that you?”
“Uncle Jim!” Ray said.
He rushed to embrace the man and was held off by a warning look. In a low voice, Sandoval said, “No touchee. It’s the rules.” Looking askance at Ray, he asked, “What the hell are you wearing?”
Now it was Ray’s turn to lower his voice. “I know, I’m a girl, just go along with it. Call me Raven.”
“Raven. Right. Right, of course. What are you doing in here?”
“I came to see you. I had Todd pretend to arrest me.”
“You jackass! Don’t you realize there’s about to be a holy war? Dixon’s people are crazy!”
“Why do you think I came? I got your note-are you okay?”
“I’m all right, considering some nutball tried to stick a knife in me. I’m fine. You really shouldn’t have come in here.”
“I had to do something.”
“I know.” Sandoval spoke urgently in Ray’s ear: “Listen, if things go the way I’m hoping, we won’t have to be in here much longer anyway.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“You’ll see. Just play it cool.”
The women were fascinated and suspicious. “Who’s this, Jim?” one of them called. “You never told us you had a girlfriend on the outside. Why don’t you introduce us? And maybe fetch her a drink. She looks like she needs it.”
“She’s not my girlfriend, Chandra,” Sandoval said. “She’s my… niece. Raven.”
The woman looked unconvinced. “Raven. Really. Well, it’s quite the jolly little family reunion, isn’t it? What a fortunate coincidence that you both survived the plague!”
“Not such a coincidence. Raven and I both escaped on the submarine.”
“Oh, is that submarine of yours back in town?”
“Just long enough to drop her off, apparently.”
Ray said, “That’s right. They didn’t want any women on board, so they put me ashore.”
“Well, that’s just terrible. You’re certainly welcome with us.”
“Thank you.”
“Now there’s just one thing. As you can see, dear, most of us here are old enough to be your mother… or even your grandmother. That suggests that you have an unusual resistance to Agent X for someone your age. You can bear children-possibly immune children. This places you in a very select minority. Has Jim explained to you what that means?”
“Uh, well-”
Sandoval jumped in, steering Ray away toward a table of sandwiches and drinks. “All right, all right! Get your minds out of the gutter!”
The women cackled in their wake.
“Fucking biddies.” Sandoval poured Ray a glass of lemonade. “Unbelievable.”
The sound of women’s laughter almost made Ray weep. Taking a bite of a ham sandwich, he asked, “What did you mean when you said we might not be in here much longer?”
“My people are staging a coup against Chace. If all goes as planned, by this time tomorrow, we’ll all be set free.”
Ray swallowed. “Are you sure? It looked to me like Chace has the popular vote.”
“They’ve just known him longer; he’s a celebrity. People always like a charismatic yokel, but they’ll jump ship as soon as he stumbles. Which he already has. He thinks they’re all fired up for this war on Washington, but I guarantee you that most of them will bail out at the first opportunity.”
“What if he kills you first?”
“He doesn’t dare kill me.”
“Why not?”
“Because these women won’t permit it. They remember what these nuts did to them during the Agent X panic. Female survivors were almost exterminated. They’re not about to let that happen again.”
“But if Chace has all the weapons you mentioned, what’s to stop him from just marching in here and doing whatever the hell he wants? These women are helpless prisoners.”
“Are they?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, look around you. Who’s out there in the city doing all the grunt work, and who’s in here on the lawn, playing cards and drinking Margaritas?”
“I… don’t get it. Are you saying these women are somehow in charge?”
Sandoval grinned.
“But how?” Ray asked.
“Because the Evians hold the Sacrament. They are the Munies-the truly immune, not just resistant to Agent X infection, but actually counterinfectious, able to neutralize Xombies. Make them human. In fact, Xombies shun them-I hear you’ve experienced this yourself at one of Chace’s little demonstrations. Well, it’s a tincture of immune blood that makes it possible. That’s how I was restored to my humanity
… and how we will eventually restore the whole human race.”
“Oh my God.”
“At present, however, that goal of Xombie salvation is limited by the small number of available donors. The immunizing effect of the blood serum is temporary, which means there has to be a reliable supply. The living come first, and obviously the supply of vaccine can only increase if the number of Immunes increases. That means having immune babies-as many as possible, preferably females.”
“Hence your harem.”
“Now don’t jump to conclusions. I haven’t touched those girls. In fact, I can’t touch them-nobody can. Not without their full consent.”
“Why not?”
“You’ll see. As a presumed Immune, you’ll be staying with them.”
“I still don’t understand what’s to stop Dixon from marching in here and taking charge of the whole operation. Making the Immunes his slaves.”
“It’s all under control, trust me. Do you think I wouldn’t have it covered?”
“You? How could I doubt?”
“Damn straight.”
They talked for hours about old times, until the sun fell below the mall. A blustery wind kicked up, and the women stowed their cards and went inside their trailers. Finally, Sandoval said, “Phew, I hate to let you go, but I can tell you’re beat. Come on, I’ll take you to your trailer.”
“Can’t I stay with you?”
“I wish. The others would never stand for it. No, you have to bunk with the Evians. Don’t worry-you’ll like them. They’re some of the nicer people in camp.”
He took Ray to a fence within the fence-a smaller enclosure containing a single trailer. The gate was locked shut, but Sandoval waved at the camera, and they were buzzed in. He sighed. “Well, this is as far as I go.”
“Really? You can’t even just introduce me?”
Sandoval shook his head no, choked up with emotion. “But I’m really glad to see you, Ray. I should kick your butt for risking your fool neck like this, but I’m grateful you came. ”
“Me too.”
They hugged, clinching tightly. A nearby woman’s voice shrieked, “Get a room!” and they hurriedly broke apart.
As the fence shut between them, Sandoval called, “Don’t you worry, everything’s going to be all right!”
Ray went up the short walk and knocked on the trailer. When he looked back, Jim Sandoval was gone.
The door opened, releasing a torrent of music-Fiona Apple’s “Criminal.” A sour-faced young woman stood in the doorway, looking Ray up and down. She was wearing what looked like an orange life vest over a peasant skirt, army boots, and an oversized knit hat with dangling earflaps. “Who’re you?” she asked.
“Hi. Sorry to bother you. My name is Ray Despineau-uh, Raven.”
The woman ignored his outstretched hand. “What do you want?”
“I guess I’m staying here tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m immune. So they say.”
“Oh. Great. Well, c’mon in. I’m Fran.” The woman stood aside to let him pass.
“Hi, Fran. Nice to meet you.”
“Seriously?”
Ray stepped into a very cluttered room. Heaps of clothing, shoes, games, books, magazines, cookware, food garbage, and all manner of random electronic paraphernalia were scattered on the floor or piled on the furniture. The music was very loud. For a second, he didn’t realize there were people hidden amid the mess: two teenage girls, both wearing life vests similar to Fran’s. One girl was on the couch, and the other sprawled on the carpet. All three were pale to the point of translucence, with dark circles under their eyes. Cancer ward, Ray thought.
He introduced himself again.
“I’m Ashleigh,” said the one on the couch, who was decorating her huge artificial nails.
The one on the floor was reading an art magazine called Hi Fructose. She said, “Deena.”
“Hi, Ashleigh and Deena. Looks like I’m gonna be staying with you guys.”
“We heard,” said Ashleigh. “You can have Wanda’s room. It’s the one in the middle.”
“Thanks,” Ray said, “but doesn’t Wanda need it?”
“Not anymore. Shit happens.” Ashleigh went back to her nails.
Deena said, “Hey, is it true that Michael Jackson is back from the dead?”
“That’s such bullshit, man,” scoffed Ashleigh.
Deena said, “You’re the one who thinks Elvis is still alive!”
“Elvis is totally still alive-I saw him, bitch.”
“Why should Elvis come back and not Michael Jackson?”
“Dude, if you have to ask that, there’s nothing I can do for you.”
“Why? Michael Jackson probably sold more records in his lifetime than-”
“Stop-just stop it. Elvis is a classic, do you get it? He’s the King, the original.”
“You always do this.” Deena turned to Ray. “She always does this. Do you think Michael Jackson’s back?”
“Anything’s possible,” Ray said.
He went and found the empty bedroom. The dead girl’s things were still there, the bed unmade. A picture of Jesus was taped to the wall. As he stood looking at it, something moved under the wadded-up bedding, something not human. Part of its shin was exposed: pink gooseflesh with black hair. With a howl, it suddenly jumped off the bed and raced through his legs and into the hall. Ray half shrieked before realizing it was a dog, a very ugly, piebald mutt.
Ray jumped as someone touched him on the shoulder. It was Fran. “Sorry,” she said, “but I almost forgot to give you this. I’ll help you put it on.” It was one of the orange life vests.
“What is that?” he asked.
“About ten pounds of Thermite with a C-4 chaser.”
“What?”
“Don’t freak out, it’s actually very stable… unless you trigger the detonator by pulling this tab. Then you have five seconds to say your prayers. C’mon, don’t you want to be in control of your own destiny?” She helped him put the vest on and secure its fasteners. Aside from the bomb itself, Ray was nervous that Fran might take notice of his lack of cleavage, which he had concealed with padding, but she politely took no notice.
Finishing up, Fran said, “Now, the only time you really want to take this off is when you’re taking a shower or during our designated sleep periods. Everybody sleeps at different times so we don’t have to sleep in these things-it’s too uncomfortable. Now that you’re here, we’ll have to readjust to a four-way schedule, but it’s cool. Well, that’s about it. If you need anything, I’m right in the next room.”
Ray closed the door and wept.
Later, over dinner, they talked some more. Canned food had been dropped off at the gate, and Fran heated it on the propane stove. Ashleigh said grace.
“So what do you girls make of all this?” Ray asked as they ate.
“You sound like my mom,” said Ashleigh.
Deena affected a robotic grin, and squawked, “ ‘What do you girls make of all this?’ ”
“Just wondering,” Ray said.
“Are you a man?” asked Deena.
He almost choked. “Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. Just something about you.”
“Does it help you to hurt my feelings, Deena?” he asked.
“Kind of, yeah.”
“It really does,” said Ashleigh.
“Now, girls… ” Fran said.
Ray said, “If I was a man, I wouldn’t be in here, would I? The only reason you’re all here is because you can still bear children, right? Without that, there’s no other hope for mankind.”
“Like Eve,” Ashleigh said.
“I thought Eve was a dirty word around here.”
Fran said, “Depends on who you talk to. We’ve been hearing rumors that Eve may be getting a reprieve. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Raven?”
“Maybe so.”
All attention turned to Ray. Deena said, “Oooh. Sounds like she does know something.”
“Just that a lot of people are fed up with the God Squad out there. You girls may want to start thinking about where you’re going to spend your golden years.”
Ashleigh bristled at the words “God Squad.” “You’re an unbeliever.”
Rolling her eyes, Fran interrupted, “Where else is there to go?”
Ray said, “They say there’s some kind of refugee base down around Washington, DC. Supposedly it’s pretty nice. They’re calling it Xanadu.”
“How do you know that?”
“Just rumors. But that Dixon character is prepared to go to war against it, so he obviously believes it’s true.”
Ashleigh erupted. “Well, he is the Living Saint, so he must have a good reason.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Ray said.
“How dare you! He’s doing God’s work, and if you could see how he suffers to obey our Savior’s will, you would keep your stupid mouth shut!”
“I saw his men killing women, Ashleigh.”
“You saw them saving women! You saw women being sent to Paradise rather than eternal torment. It’s a blessing! Women bear the burden of God’s anger, and it is our duty and our privilege to sacrifice ourselves for the good of Man! It is the only way to expunge ourselves of Eve’s sin.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I will not stand here and have godless witches like you tell me what-”
Fran stepped in. “Okay, that’s enough, Ashleigh. This kind of thing gets us nowhere, so let’s just all agree to disagree and move on.
They finished eating in silence.
Ray was awakened by someone banging on the door of the trailer. When he tried to get up, he almost fainted from a rush of dizziness and nausea. His left arm hurt, and when he rubbed it he found a bandage in the crook of his elbow. The whole thing felt bruised. Dragging himself into the hall, he heard Fran answering the front door.
“What is it, Elaine?” Fran asked, yawning.
“There’s someone outside the fence asking to talk to a Raven Despineau.”
“Outside? Who?”
“I don’t know; I’ve never seen him before. A new guard. He says he’s a friend of hers.”
“What’s going on?” Ray asked.
“Someone wants you outside. A man.”
Deena and Ashleigh now appeared. “What the hell’s going on?” Deena asked.
“Some man outside is asking for her.”
The girls were very intrigued.
Shivering with cold and fright, Ray put on his vest and shoes and wrapped a comforter around his shoulders, then he and the others trooped along the frosty path to the main gate. The girls whispered among themselves. The moon was bright, silvering the State House dome on their right and downtown on their left. Straight ahead, the shopping mall was a high, dark cliff. As they entered its shadow, no one spoke, their breaths puffing from their hoods like empty thought balloons. There was someone at the fence, just a hooded black shape.
Goaded ahead by the others, Ray walked the last fifty feet alone. “I’m Raven Despineau,” he said warily. “What do you want?”
“Ray? It’s me, Todd!”
“Todd! Thank God. What’s going on?”
“I can’t talk long. Did you find Sandoval?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you what’s going on?”
“He said there was going to be a rebellion against Dixon.”
“That’s right. There’s going to be a surprise attack on Chace Central, and Barnstable want us to run our diversion to draw Chace’s disciples into a trap.”
“When is it all happening?”
“Sometime before dawn. All the Prophet’s forces are involved, so just be ready to pitch in as soon as the gate goes down. Everybody’s pretty high on this plan, but I just want to let you know that if the whole thing falls apart, and it looks like we’re about to eat major dirt, I’m busting you out of here, and we’re running for it.”
“Running where?”
“I thought we’d head south, see if we can give a heads-up to those people at Xanadu.”
“How are you planning on us getting there? The roads are impassable.”
“Same way we got here-by bike.”
“Oh, Jesus. All right, is that it?”
“That’s it. Just go inside and wait for my signal.”
“What’s the signal?”
“You’ll know it, trust me.” Then Todd was gone.
Ray went back to the others and explained the situation.
Fran and Deena were excited, but Ashleigh was silent. The one named Elaine, an older, heavyset woman with the title of Night Matron, said, “Even if this guy’s telling you the truth, which I doubt, we would be fools to do what he says. We have a good thing going here, everything we need, and I’m not about to just abandon it for some wild-goose chase. We wouldn’t last five minutes out there on our own. This isn’t a prison; these fences were put up to protect us! You Munies might not care about that, but the rest of us do.”
“Oh, I agree,” Ray said. “It’s a stupid idea.”
“What?” Fran exploded. “Are you serious? You’re the one who said we were going to get the hell away from here, and now you’re just going to wimp out like that?”
“I’m sorry, Fran. I was just daydreaming; I didn’t think anyone would take it seriously. Of course we can’t leave.”
“That’s fucked up, dude,” said Deena.
Elaine said, “Girls, you should listen to the advice of your new roommate. It’s a nice fantasy, but the truth is, a man will say anything to get into your pants.”
“Men,” Ray said, shaking his head.
“Men,” Elaine agreed.
“Elaine, do you by any chance happen to know my uncle Jim?”
“Of course I know the Prophet. He’s the one who asked me to come get you.”
“Oh… cool. Well, say hello to him for me, would you? And please tell him that Barnstable says hello.”
“I certainly will.”
Elaine returned them to their trailer. As soon as she was gone, Ray jumped into action.
“All right, ladies,” he said, rifling through the kitchen drawers, “we have to arm ourselves and be ready to fight our way out of here. I need your help-move!”
“What are you talking about?” Ashleigh asked.
“Obviously, nobody’s going to help us, so we have to help ourselves.”
Disconcerted by the abrupt mood swing, the three were wary of believing anything Ray said, but Fran and Deena reluctantly went along with it. Ashleigh sulked, praying for their souls.
The trailer held very little in the way of weapons, so Ray hoped no one would dare interfere with them as long as they were wearing their vests. And since Xombies couldn’t touch them either, they should be able to simply walk out of the compound once the electrified outer fence was down. As the hours passed, exhaustion set in, and they dozed.
They were awakened by a burst of gunfire, then a series of explosions.
“Shit, it’s time,” Ray cried. “Everybody up, it’s time!”
Throwing a mattress over the inner fence, they boosted each other over and hurried to the main gate. All the other women were out and about, chattering anxiously, but there was no sign of Sandoval. Along the street, generators chugged into action; electric wires fizzed; sirens blared. Spotlights swept the field and beamed across the dome of the State House. From inside the building there were muffled alarms and gunfire. For a moment, the shooting increased… then just as quickly it petered out. Skate-troopers zipped purposefully up and down the street, then simultaneously changed direction as their radios crackled instructions to report for an emergency security inspection. As they skated away, they killed the generators, leaving silence and dark in their wake.
Ray and the girls waited by the fence, shivering. It seemed to get colder as the sun came up.
“Is that it?” Fran asked.
“I think that’s it,” Ray said miserably.
“Damn.”
Deena said, “Well, let’s go inside, I’m freezing.”
“You go ahead,” Ray said. “I’m going to wait a few more minutes.”
Fran and Deena left, leaving Ray alone with Ashleigh.
“There’s no need to wait for me,” Ray told her, trying to control his voice. If Barnstable’s coup had failed, then Todd was probably dead… and Sandoval would be next. “Go back inside. I just have to give it a little while longer.”
“There’s no point,” said Ashleigh.
“You never know.”
“No, I do know. Your scheme didn’t work because I warned them about it.”
“What?” Ray’s brain fumbled for purchase. “What are you talking about?”
Ashleigh held up a small walkie-talkie. “I told them-with this! I told them, and I’m glad I told them! Yes! That’s right! Because those men are trying to do the Lord’s work, and it’s our job to help them, not sell them out to Miska!”
“Oh my God… ”
“You might well pray for Eve’s mercy, because you’ll have none from me!”
“Oh my God, you crazy bitch… ”
Ray felt boiling-hot tears running down his frozen face, and before he knew what he was doing he slapped the girl. The instant he did it, he regretted it. Ray had never hit a girl in his life, and hitting a misguided teenager was just wrong. But there was no taking it back.
Ashleigh immediately returned the blow, clawing Ray’s cheek with her long, painted nails and attacking like a wildcat. Stunned by the furious assault, he fell back, ducking and dodging the girl’s clawed hands. Ashleigh was clearly experienced at catfighting, a natural street brawler. Ray hadn’t been in a fight since grade school, and he didn’t want to be in one now, but the girl was all over him, punching and scratching and kicking as hard as she could-which was very hard.
“Stop it, stop it!” Ray cried, defending his eyes from those sharp nails.
Ashleigh drove even harder, her baby-doll features twisted into a mask of rage, spittle flying from her mouth. The left side of her face was bright red from his slap. In panic, Ray suddenly realized that no one was going to save him; that if he surrendered or showed weakness, this maniac might kill him, so he started fighting back with all his might. Pinwheeling his arms, he landed a lucky blow to the girl’s jaw-crack!-and just like that, Ashleigh went down.
She went down hard, looking pitiful and frail, just a kid really. Ray knelt to help her and found she wasn’t breathing. Oh God, he thought. Not this. Please not this.
“Help!” he cried. “Somebody help! We need medical attention here-it’s an emergency! Anybody, please help!”
No one seemed to hear, and Ray decided to try CPR. He remembered there was some song you could use to time chest compressions-was it “Stayin’ Alive”? Suddenly, something hit him like a wrecking ball. The force knocked him a good ten feet. Stunned, he looked back to see a strange figure straddling Ashleigh’s helpless body.
It was the girls’ dog-the ugly pig-dog.
Only now the animal looked almost human. It had human hands and a childish human face, its skin mottled pink and black, and its eyes two dark marbles. Those bulging, manic eyes fixed on Ray, and he shrank in horror to realize he was alone, unarmed, and trapped in a fence with this grotesque hybrid monstrosity.
But the thing was not interested in him. As he watched, it cradled Ashleigh’s limp body in its hands and leaned down as if to kiss her. To Ray’s horror, it did kiss her, the dreaded Xombie kiss. Black demon lips cupped pink human ones and proceeded to suck face… but then something unusual happened:
Instead of collapsing, Ashleigh’s chest swelled with air. At once the girl coughed to life, not as a hellish Maenad but as a normal human female. Her attacker let her go and spit something on the ground: Ashleigh’s bubble gum. The creature had saved her from choking.
Having done its good deed, the dog-thing now came for Ray. From its maniacal face, he knew there was no such benevolence in store for him, and he scrambled to escape, slip-sliding on the dewy grass. Dead I’m dead I’m so dead.
Just before the weird thing reached him, a pinpoint of red light skittered across its body, and it started coming apart. Ray hit the ground, thinking, Snipers! Whatever that laser sight touched magically exploded as if spring-loaded. Chunks flew from the dog-boy’s head and torso; its legs snapped like twigs. As the creature went down, incendiaries pelted the grass, flaring white-hot. It writhed in the fire, curling backward and inside out as it tried to flee its own burning flesh.
Suddenly a voice yelled, “Come on!” and a hand jerked Ray to his feet. It was Todd. He ran for the main gate, pulling Ray with him. There was an EMT vehicle there, a gleaming white ambulance with Sandoval at the wheel. He was holding a laser pointer.
“Wait!” Ray cried. “I have to get Ashleigh!”
“You can’t!”
“Yes!” Ray yanked free and ran to Ashleigh. She was sitting with her head down, hugging her legs. As gently yet urgently as he could, Ray said, “Ashleigh, we’re leaving now. Come on, get up.”
“No,” she said dully.
Suddenly, dozens of men began pouring out of the State House as if roused by an alarm. They rounded the building and took shooting positions on the hillside, preparing to unleash a hail of death upon the field. Ray knew he was as good as dead, trapped in plain sight.
“Ashleigh, please!”
“No! Stop!”
The guards were well drilled, adjusting their gun sights for perfect accuracy. They didn’t want to waste any ammunition-that stuff didn’t grow on trees. As they focused all their attention on their targets, they didn’t notice the earth itself rising around them.
A profusion of weird black spores uncoiled from the mud, spreading and growing, branching outward to form a web of vines that encompassed the entire hill.
For weeks the black sludge had been migrating underground, creeping through soil and pipes and groundwater as it converged on the capitol. This living tar was the pure Maenad essence-the boiled-down lees from a million cooked Xombies. Impervious to fire, these tough, long-chain fibers formed wormlike tendrils, exaggerated fingers tipped with rudimentary sense organs that spread faster than the most pernicious weed.
The snipers were oblivious to the wild activity around their feet. As the strands of dark matter proliferated, they also thickened and toughened, pulsing from within with vital juices. Fat globules formed at their junctions, splitting open like fibrous gourds to release vertical shoots that expanded to resemble hideous giant mushrooms, vaguely humanoid blobs that rose amid the oblivious snipers and jostled them for space.
Some of the men began noticing that they had been infiltrated by a second army, a gray, faceless corps, but before they could speak, the net contracted and engulfed them. Such contractions were happening all over the field, shloop! shloop! shloop! like coral polyps snapping shut, until the siege became evident to all, and wholesale panic broke out.
Scores of men disappeared, and for a moment the State House lawn was a garden of heaving human pumpkins, fast turning from red to blue. Then the vines relaxed, and all the new Xombies emerged.
Witnessing this, Ray said, “Ashleigh, come on.” He tried to bodily lift her, but she was like a rag doll, deadweight. Todd joined him, and together they picked her up. As they carried her toward the truck, Ashleigh suddenly looked at Ray with clear eyes. Her expression was so challenging that he searched for some cause… and instantly found it. She had torn the fail-safe tab from her vest. The detonator cord was in her fist; all she had to do was pull.
The instant she knew he saw, Ashleigh yanked the cord.
Ray dropped her, and screamed, “TODD! RUN!”
Taken by surprise, Todd was slow to react, but this time Ray grabbed him, and together they bolted for the gate. They could hear Ashleigh laughing behind them, her voice cut short as the entire face of the mall turned white and a wave of scorching heat blasted their backs. Blinding fireballs rained down on the truck as Todd and Ray dove for cover inside. Fran and Deena were waiting; they hauled the boys up and slapped out their burning clothes as the truck lurched into motion.
“Woo-hooo!” Sandoval howled. “I loves me some fireworks!”