Free No Mere Zombie: Deathless Book 2 by Chris Fox Page A

gulf was wider than any lifetime. The corridor sloped down as they passed the first row of antechambers.
    “So can I confide something?” Liz asked, slowing until he could walk with her.
    “Of course. After the things we’ve shared? You can tell me anything,” Blair replied, adjusting the weight of the crates.  
    “I’m having trouble sleeping. I haven’t been able to since that day we woke up naked. The day I, well shit I can’t even say it,” she finished lamely, quickening her step again.
    “The day you killed that man when we were on the run,” Blair finished for her. He quickened his pace to match. “Liz, you’re a doctor. A healer. You’re kind and everything I’ve seen you do is aimed at helping the people around you. I get why this is hard for you, maybe better than anyone.”
    “Do you?” she asked, eyes sharp. “Blair, I wanted to heal people. Make the world a better place. Now I kill. Relentlessly. I’m a death machine, the ultimate warrior. That’s my lot in life now, to slaughter every day. To fight. It isn’t me, Blair. It isn’t fair. This isn’t who I was supposed to be.”  
    He didn’t have an answer. They walked in silence until they reached the eastern wing. Then he cleared his throat, finally sorting out his thoughts enough to speak. “Liz, neither one of us wanted this. I was a teacher. You were a healer. We can still be those things. For you? Cleanse the land, Liz. Just like you said you wanted to. Kill the zombies. Wipe out the undead. Help a new and better world rise from the ashes. That’s your purpose now.”
    “How can you accept it so easily?” she asked, setting down her crates as they finally arrived in the mess. She turned to face him, ponytail swishing across her shoulder. “I just can’t get my mind around it. I can smell blood. Hear heartbeats. But what’s worse? I want to hunt, Blair. I want to kill. I want to let it out and slaughter everything around me. How do you reconcile that with the teacher in you? Because the doctor in me is horrified.”
    “Because I’ve come to understand that the world we lived in only existed because some had to sacrifice to make it so,” Blair explained. It was something he’d thought long on. He set down the crates before continuing. “Soldiers fought to secure oil so America was wealthy. Our standard of living was paid for in their lives. We’re safe from fires because firemen put themselves in harm’s way. We don’t have the luxury of being doctors or teachers anymore. We’re soldiers now. Either we take back this world or the zombies snuff it out. Does it suck? Sure. But we don’t have a choice. I square the beast in me, because I need it to fulfill my role. To do the things no one else can.”
    “I hadn’t looked at it that way,” Liz admitted, moving to sit on the edge of the long table. “We really are necessary. I think about what would have happened without this place. What if Mohn had won and the werewolves were stopped? Where would the world be? Overwhelmed by zombies and out of power. You saw what those fast zombies did and the Mother says that’s just the beginning."
    Her expression softened and his mouth went dry as he stared into her eyes.
    “Listen, Blair. I wanted to talk to you about Bri-,” Liz began, trailing off as he whirled to face the corridor.  
    “We’re not alone,” Blair said, peeling off his shirt and dropping it to the marble. He shucked out of his pants as well. They were comfortable and he didn’t want to replace them. Again. “Someone is accessing systems in the central chamber. I can feel it, like something whispering in my ear.”
    Only one of the Mother’s near progeny could access the Ark. There is another champion within these walls, perhaps from the secondary rejuvenation chamber.
    “It’s another werewolf, someone like us,” Blair explained, turning to face Liz, who was also stripping. He tried not to stare. Focus. “I’m going to go delay her so she doesn’t