53

R emy

The zombie gorilla that Harlow had called the King was perched on the roof of the old church, like some kind of postapocalyptic gargoyle. Behind him, the dark smoke appeared red, reflecting the firelight back down on Emberwood. The King was looking right at us. One of his eyes was normal, while the other was bulging and full of zombie blood green veins.

"I don't mean to rush you, Remy," Boden said beside me. "But I am fairly certain that the monstrous monkey over there can jump to this roof and squash us all, so I think it's best that we get the hell out of here."

"Rushing is probably for the best right now," I agreed and got to my feet.

"What was your plan to get into the church alive?"

Instead of answering him, I wound up my arm with the sledgehammer before letting it loose. My aim was good, and the hammer crashed dead center through the large circular stained-glass window above the choir balcony. The glass shattered, creating a big opening to jump through.

The King was apparently upset by the sound, and he let out a demonic bellow before angrily pounding his chest with his fists.

I started running across the garage roof toward the old church, picking up as much speed as I could on a slanted surface. I jumped and dove forward and went straight through the window.

Ripley followed right after me, both of us crash landing on the balding carpet and shattered glass in the old choir balcony.

"Ah, shit!" Boden shouted, and I could hear the gorilla thundering across the church roof above me.

I scrambled to my feet in time to see Boden come tumbling through the window. Ripley was shaking the glass out of her fur, and I took Boden's hand and helped him up.

"That thing is right behind me," he warned breathlessly, and I looked over his shoulder in time to see the King charging across the garage roof to make the same jump we just had.

"Is he smarter than the other zombies?" I asked, and Boden pulled me out of the way as the gorilla came crashing in through the window. His shoulder clipped the window frame, and it cracked the wall and broke the remaining glass.

He had come in much faster than we had, so he went skidding across the balcony and careened through the railings before falling to the empty main floor below.

Ripley didn't hesitate to jump after him, and she pounced on the massive gorilla's back, digging her claws into his flesh.

I glanced around the balcony until I spotted my sledgehammer. I grabbed it and raced down the stairs to the main floor sanctuary. Ripley was a skilled fighter, but she had never been up against a zombie gorilla, and I didn't want her to face him alone.

While she attacked his back, I swung for his face. His bulging eye exploded underneath my hammer, splattering green goo everywhere, and one of his enormous fangs broke in half.

The King tossed his head back to let out another demonic howl, and that left his neck exposed. Ripley saw her opportunity, and she seized it. Her wide mouth wrapped around his throat, sinking her fangs deep within his flesh and muscle, and she tore it open with her powerful jaws.

He must've been a very old zombie, because I could hear the gelatinous squelch of his bones as Ripley bit straight through his spine. It had only taken the lioness a few moments, and she had chewed the gorilla's head clean off.

"I guess lions really are the king of the jungle," Boden said as he joined me in watching Ripley finish off her kill.

"Do you hear that?" I asked.

"I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. Why are all the zombies so quiet?" I asked.

And then Ripley seemed to notice too. Her ears tilted this way and that. Fire was crackling, and far away, a baby was crying. But no more groans or howling. The stained-glass was covered in red and green imagery depicting figures on the cross, so the windows blocked our ability to see what was happening around us.

It was only Boden, Ripley, and I standing in the empty sanctuary, and I had no idea what we should do with the eerie silence.

The double doors at the front of the church opened, and standing there was Stella. She was unharmed, but her auburn hair was wild, and her dress was damp.

"Stella?" Boden rushed to her. "What are you doing? How did…"

As he trailed off, staring out beyond her, I came over and looked past him, and then I saw it too.

The zombies hadn't gone anywhere. They were all still here, but they were standing still and not making a sound. They had parted enough that there was a straight pathway down the middle, a path that Stella had apparently walked to get to us. None of the zombies tried to hurt her or bite her or even move at all.