I woke up practically drenched in sweat and hotter than I could ever remember experiencing. Moaning uncomfortably, I tried to roll over, only to be stopped by an arm around my waist.
Needing to know what was going on and terrified that the Shit Stains had found me, I tried to use the touch to figure out what was going on around me.
Unfortunately for me, the person touching me was fast asleep with their eyes closed, and all I could see was darkness.
Trying to shift into a more comfortable position, I jerked a bit when I heard Pride whispering in my ear. "I want to rip off the arms of those meat sacks who think it's okay to touch you and beat them with their own appendages," he hissed, and I could feel his fury licking my spine.
Smiling, I moaned as if I was enjoying the touch and not being cooked instead. This new, jealous side of Pride was completely unexpected, and it was loving every minute of it.
"But you need to get your sweet ass out of bed and away from the others before they become food," continued Pride, sounding more like himself. Having voices in your head was all well and good until they read your mind.
Pride, the fucker, was now smirking at me, no longer jealous.
"The dumb ones can't get upstairs," I reminded Pride out loud, and I felt a body on either side of me tensing for a moment. Huh, I guess I had two someones wrapped around me. Look at me go.
"But the smart ones are hunting and fuck stairs; even climbing up walls isn't outside of the realm of possibilities. They won't touch you; you smell like one of us now, and the smart ones are smart enough to keep away. But the rest won't be so lucky. They are hungry, and you are easy prey."
"I don't want to be easy prey," I cried out, my lip jutting out as I pouted. Seriously, would it kill someone to let me have a full night of sleep after all these years?
I was a good girl; surely, to God, good girls could get sleep once in a while.
"What are the voices saying?" asked Dimitri, and I felt him sitting up as he pulled me into his lap.
"Only one, and he said that the zombies are coming," I answered, pulling Teddy toward me. I had plans for today, and fighting zombies was tentatively penciled in for later this afternoon. First, though, I wanted to get my hands on as many supplies as I could.
"That's only a wish away, Little Bit," smirked Greed just as a voice I recognized as the calm one interrupted Greed. My demon really wasn't going to like that.
"The zombies can't make it up the stairs; stop fearmongering because you want attention and go back to sleep," said the human before I heard the rustle of fabric and the soft voice of a woman.
'I wish for every last supply in this fucking mall,' I announced, no longer in as good of a mood as I was. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on. Starting to plan his murder in my mind, I quickly stopped.
Why get my hands dirty when the smart zombies will do it for me?
Think smarter, not harder.
"How much time do we have?" asked Luca, not bothering to keep his voice down. There was something reassuring that he trusted what I said without question, even after my little breakdown in the bathroom.
"They're already here," chuckled Pride, and I could feel his pleasure in that statement.
"None," I repeated just as the first shot rang out around us.
----
Ronan had never felt fear in his life. In fact, he didn't feel a whole lot about anything, but he felt fear the moment the voice in his head woke him up screaming.
'Protect her!' bellowed the demon in his head, the two words echoing around in his mind as he went from dead asleep to wide awake in less than a second.
Rolling over, he grabbed his sniper rifle, bringing his eye down to the scope as he looked for the threat.
'I donna see anythin',' he snarled, the barrel of his gun scanning the open area of the food court under him. While above everyone, he wasn't on a different floor. Instead, he was perched in the rafters of the mall, spread over four beams running horizontally under him. 'Nows not the time to be keepin' your mouth shut, demon.'
'That's because you are looking in the wrong direction,' answered the voice, much calmer now that Ronan was awake. 'Look up.'
Shifting his gun so that it was more on level with him, all he could see was darkness. Moving away from the scope of his riffle just a bit, he flicked down the night vision goggles he had on top of his head before returning to the scope.
'Still nothin',' replied Ronan, controlling his breathing. 'Or are you tryin' to get me killed?'
The demon in his head sneered. 'If you think I am letting you die anytime soon, you have another thing coming. We finally found her, and you are going to keep her safe until we can get to her.'
'Then I be needin' a target,' sneered Ronan, tucking that bit of information in the back of his head for another time. If the demon said he wasn't dying today, then he wasn't dying.
'Ten millimeters to the right,' announced the demon. 'Don't hesitate, just fire. It won't kill it, but it should wake the rest of them up.'
'Body location?' asked Ronan, confused. However, he had never doubted the demon, not since the first time he had saved his life. Pulling the trigger, he watched something drop to the ground.
The only problem was that he couldn't actually see what it was, only something moving in the darkness. What the fucking hell were they facing?
'It was a headshot,' replied the demon with a shrug. 'But these zombies can't be killed by bullets. The only way to take them out is with a hot enough fire.'
'Do I want to know how you know that?' asked Ronan as he quickly rolled away from his original position. The shot would have exposed him to any other tangoes around.
'A new version of an old pain,' replied the voice. 'But at least they won't hurt the girl.'