Gena Showalter - Intertwined

A CEMETERY . No. No, no, no! How had he ended up here?

Clearly, wearing his iPod while exploring a new town had been a mistake. Especially since Crossroads, Oklahoma, perhaps garden gnome capital of the world and definitely hell on earth, was so small it was practically nonexistent.

If only hed left the Nano at the D and M Ranch, a halfway house for wayward teens where he now lived. But he hadnt. Hed wanted peace, just a little peace. And now he would pay the price.

This sucks, he muttered, pulling the buds from his ears and shoving the shiny green distraction into his backpack. He was sixteen years old, but sometimes he felt like hed been around forever, and every one of those days had been worse than the one before. Sadly, today would be no exception.

Immediately the very people hed been trying to drown out with so-loud-your-ears-bleed Life of Agony clamored for his attention.

Finally! Julian said from inside his head. Ive been screaming for you to turn around for, like, ever.

Well, you should have screamed louder. Starting a war with the undead was not what I wanted to do today. As he spoke, Haden Stoneknown as Aden because, as a kid, he apparently hadnt been able to pronounce his own namebacktracked, removing his foot from the graveyards property line. But it was too late. In the distance, in front of a tombstone, the ground was already shaking, cracking.

Dont blame me, Julian replied. Elijah should have predicted this.

Hey, a second voice said. It, too, came from inside Adens head. Dont blame me, either. Most times, I only know when someones gonna die.

Sighing, Aden dropped his backpack, bent down and palmed the daggers he kept anchored in his boots. If he were ever caught with them, hed be tossed back into juvie, where fights erupted as regularly as lunch was served and making a trustworthy friend was as impossible as escape. Deep down, though, hed known carrying them was worth the risk. It was always worth the risk.

Fine. This is my fault, Julian grumbled. Not like I can help myself, though.

That was true. The dead had only to sense him to awaken. Which, like now, usually involved Aden accidentally placing his foot on their land. Some sensed him faster than others, but they all eventually rose.

Dont worry about it. Weve been in worse situations. More than leaving the iPod at home, he mused, he should have been paying attention to the world around him. Hed studied a map of the town, after all, and had known what areas to avoid. But as the music had pounded, hed lost track of his surroundings. Hed been momentarily liberated, seemingly alone.

The tombstone began to rattle.

Julian sighed, the sound an echo of Adens. I know weve endured worse. But I caused those worse situations, too.

Fabulous. A pity party. This third, frustrated voice belonged to a womanwho also took up prime real estate inside his head. Aden was only surprised his other guestas he sometimes thought of the souls trapped inside himdidnt pipe up, as well. Peace and quiet were not something any of them understood. Can we save the festivities for later, boys, and kill the zombie before it emerges all the way, gains its bearings and stomps our collective butt?

Yes, Eve, Aden, Julian and Elijah said in unison. That was the way of it. He and the other three boys would bicker and Eve would step in, a formidable mother-figure without a finger to point, but a formidable mother-figure all the same.

If only that mothering were enough to fix the situation this time.

I just need everyone to zip it, he said. Okay? Please.

There was grumbling. And that was as quiet as things were going to get.

He forced himself to focus. Several yards away, the headstone teetered back and forth before tumbling to the ground and shattering. Rain had fallen this morning, and droplets sprayed in every direction. Handfuls of dirt soon joined them, flying through the air as a disgustingly gray hand poked its way free.

Golden sunlight poured from the sky, highlighting the oozing skin, the rotting muscleeven the worms slithering around the enlarged knuckles.

A fresh one. Great. Adens stomach rolled. He might puke when this was over. Or during.

Were about to smoke that fool! Is it bad that Im hot right now?

And there was Caleb, voice number four. If hed had a body of his own, Caleb would have been the guy taking pictures of girls in their locker room while hiding in the shadows.

As Aden watched, waiting for the right moment to strike, a second oozing hand joined the first, both straining to heave the decayed body the rest of the way from the ground. He scanned the area. He stood on a cemented walkway, high on a hill, lush trees helping to form a path and block him from prying eyes. Thankfully, the long span of grass and headstones looked deserted. Beyond was a road where several cars meandered past, their engines humming softly. Even if the drivers were rubberneckers and failed to keep their attention on traffic, they wouldnt be able to see what happened below.