Free A Plague on All Houses by Dana Fredsti Page B

large closet, it currently contained Matt and three other zombies, all male. The way they all focused on me, teeth gnashing, hands clutching between the bars, pupils what I'd come to recognize as Corpse Dead White—the latest Crayola crayon color—well, his point of not humanizing them seemed like a good one.
    The Zombie Formerly Known as Matt stared at me with those dead eyes, no recognition whatsoever. Every bit of personality that had made him Matt had left the building.
    And yet … even though his only expression was mindless hunger, Matt still looked enough like himself that it hurt my heart to see him.
    It .
    Shit, I couldn't do this. No way I could let what remained of Matt end up on one of those cold metal tables. There may not be anyone home in his body, but what had been there had died trying to save me.
    As though he read my mind, Gabriel suddenly leaned in close and spoke quietly in my ear. “It's not true, Ashley.”
    I looked up at him, startled. “Huh? What's not true?”
    “Matt wasn't coming back to save you.” He kept his voice low so no one else would hear him.
    “What do you mean?” My volume rose slightly and Gabriel's hand tightened on my arm, eyes flicking back towards the General by way of warning. I lowered my volume and continued, “I heard him call my name when he was running back towards me.”
    “Ashley, the only reason he was heading back in your direction was a half-dozen zombies were blocking his escape route.”
    “You're lying.” Even as I said this, I knew Gabriel had no reason to lie to me, at least not about this. But I didn't want to believe him.
    “Stay back from the bars,” Gabriel said loudly. “They can reach through if they try hard enough.” He dropped his voice back down. “I'm not lying. And you shouldn't think badly of him for running away. Not everyone can handle having his or her world turned upside down. He panicked. Wasn't thinking clearly. Otherwise he wouldn't have left you.”
    I don't know if Gabriel really meant those words, but I'll never forget the moment because it showed me without question there really was a feeling human being underneath his gorgeous, self-righteous exterior. Something clicked over inside me; I could no longer dislike him—and no longer wanted to try.
    “Why are you telling me this? I mean, what's the point?”
    He looked at me. I mean, actually looked into my eyes, not at every other point on my face or beyond. “You deserve to make a decision this big based on the truth, not on lies and emotional blackmail. And the thing in this cage … it's not your boyfriend anymore. There's nothing left of him but a rotting shell. It won't know you, or thank you for saving it from being vivisected.”
    I searched those denim blue eyes for any sign of hidden agenda or lies, but found only sympathy and sincerity. Either Gabriel was the world's best liar or he was being straight with me.
    “Is it vivisection if they're already dead?” The words came out without thinking. Weird, the things that pop into one's head in times of stress.
    Gabriel took it in stride. “Now you're getting into philosophy. But we'd be up shit creek if a zombie right-to-unlife group sprang up out there.”
    I couldn't quite summon up a smile at his joke. I looked at Matt again, wondering if I'd have gone back for him if the situation had been reversed. I think I would have. Did that make me braver than Matt or just stupid? Either way, I still knew what I had to do.
    “Well, Miss Drake? Like what you see?”
    “Now that you're here, no.”
    General Heald, obviously possessing the patience of your average two-year-old with ADD, had basically snuck up behind us, no doubt trying to catch me in tears so he could twist his blackmailing knife in a little bit more. Never mind I'd told him to stay the hell away from me; the asshat couldn't wait. Over his shoulder I saw Simone, who gave an apologetic shrug. Like she could have stopped him.
    “Get used to my face, missy,