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  I wiped a layer of dust off my face. “Boy, that was a close one.”

  “You’re telling me,” Buddy said, rubbing his head. “I still say we shoulda—”

  Val cut him off. “Frankly, Buddy. You’re out, you’re safe, so please shut up about it. Mission complete.”

  He nodded, then went over to sit on the grass.

  Jackie jumped in my arms, and I spun her around. No words were needed between us. We just clung to each other, happy that we’d escaped death, beaten the odds yet again. We dropped to the grass and lay on our backs, gasping for breath. The sun and fresh air had never felt so good.

  Jackie turned her head to look at me. “Never a dull moment, huh?”

  “Never,” I answered, brushing the hair out of her face. “I can’t believe you went in there.”

  “I had to. If there’s even the slightest chance we might get our world back, it was worth it, unstable building or not.”

  “You’re amazing,” I said.

  She cupped my face. “So are you.”

  “We’ve got company!” Lucas said, pointing and breaking up our reverie. “I don’t recognize the vehicle.”

  “Take cover,” Nick ordered.

  Jackie and I quickly ducked behind a red pickup, and Asia hid behind a blue Mazda and pointed her weapon.

  “Could be the gang,” Buddy whispered. “This might be the perfect chance to take ‘em out.”

  We all aimed, pointing our guns at the car from our respective vantage points.

  “Wait! It’s just Max!” Val shouted. “They musta snagged a new car.”

  Max hopped out, and my sister ran over to give him a hug. He wiped the dust off her face, then cupped her cheeks. “What the heck happened here?” he asked in a worried tone.

  “The place caved in, but we got out.”

  “You’re a true survivor.” He hugged her tightly and let out a long sigh. “What were you thinking, Val? You were supposed to be with Team Four.”

  “I know, but I switched when you left. I couldn’t let my brothers go in there without me.”

  “I told them just to check out the perimeter,” Max said. “I never ordered anyone inside that hellish place.”

  Val squeezed his hand. “You know Nick. Nobody’s gonna stop him when he’s got his mind set on something. I had to go in with him and Dean.”

  “I don’t want you taking risks like that.”

  “I had to help,” she said.

  Suddenly, Buddy ran up to Max to tattle. “Why the heck are you working with an imbecile like that Nick for?” he complained. “The kid’s crazy. He and that Lucas almost got us killed! He’s insane and oughtta be locked up. He knew the building was caving in, and he had no regard for our safety or anybody else’s.”

  Max cocked a brow in confusion and glanced over at Nick and then Lucas.

  “You’re still alive, aren’t you?” I asked. I then held up the bag Lucas had given me to carry. “Not only that, but we got what we came for.”

  “Really?” Max asked, flabbergasted, his eyes widening. “You got the notes, the research?”

  Nick nodded. “Yup. Humanity finally has a real glimmer of hope now. We just have to get this to the right people.”

  “How can we ever thank you?” Max said. “Had you not went in, we wouldn’t have these notes. It was a huge risk, but it paid off. You’re heroes, all of you. Your names will go down in all the history books.”

  Nick’s gaze narrowed. “No, that title belongs to the scientist who created the cure, back in Ohio.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, he’s the true hero. None of this would be possible without him.”

  We all nodded in agreement, knowing that Doc had made the real difference in the battle against the zombie virus.

  “There couldn’t be better news,” Max said.

  “What about the gang?” Asia asked. “Are they still messing with you?”

  “Nope. We wiped most of them out,” Max answered. “There are a few left, but we’ll regroup tomorrow and come up with a plan to get rid of them. For now, I think a celebration is in order.”

  We hurried into our vehicles and drove back to the apartment complex, excitedly rehashing our victory stories and enjoying the music someone was blasting from a CD player. There was laughing and crying, and we all had a few battle scars inside and out, but it was a day no one would ever forget. In the end, every bruise would be worth it, because we had, for all intents and purposes, saved humankind. It was only a matter of time before the world would be healed.

  Chapter 7

  We sat outside at picnic tables, ready for a celebratory feast.

  Max walked toward us, carrying a lopsided cake. “Today isn’t just about our victory,” he said. “Today is all about Dean.”

  Heat rose to my face, and my cheeks burned red. I didn’t want the limelight, and certainly not when we had so much else to celebrate besides my eighteenth birthday.

  Max began lighting the candles. “Happy birthday, Dean,” he said. “You’re a man now, and not just because Uncle Sam says so. You’ve proved it in every way.”

  “I really thought everyone would forget,” I said sheepishly.

  “Not a chance,” Asia said, smiling. “How could we, when cake is involved?”

  Kate hugged me. “We’d never forget your birthday.”

  Val kissed me on the cheek. “Happy birthday, little brother.”

  I smiled. “You guys shouldn’t have. But how’d you manage to make a cake?”

  “I made it!” Grandma said, giving me a big hug. “Can you believe I actually found some vanilla frosting at the market? Sorry ‘bout the candles,” she said, pointing at them. “They only had a few, and none of them matched.”

  “Thank you,” I replied. “You’ve really outdone yourself.”

  “It even surprised me,” Max said.

  “You know the drill. Blow ‘em out and make a wish,” Claire coaxed.

  Nick wrapped his arm around her. “Yeah...and make it good.”

  Asia grinned. “Make it count.”

  “Wait,” Lucas said. “Aren’t we supposed to sing to the birthday boy first?”

  Embarrassed, I shook my head. “Lucas, you really don’t have to—”

  Grandma held up a hand to stop me. “Definitely! I’ll lead. I used to be a Broadway singer, if y’all can believe that!”

  Jackie squeezed my hand. “C’mon, baby. You deserve a proper birthday song.”

  “He does,” Lucas said. “He kicked butt out there today.”

  “We skipped my birthday last month,” Nick said. “We’re not skipping another one.”

  Lucas nudged me. “You’re just lucky they don’t have party hats and noisemakers at the market, or I’d really embarrass you.”

  I laughed. “I would’ve killed you!”

  “He wanted to walk around in his birthday suit in honor of you,” Kate said. “I wouldn’t let him.”

  “Aw, babe, c’mon,” Lucas joked.

  “Cake or not, I think I’d lose my appetite,” I said. “Guess I owe you one for putting a stop to that, Kate.”

  She winked. “I’ll take you up on that sometime.”

  Everyone chuckled.

  “Come on, everybody!” Grandma said, then led them in a very off-key chorus of “Happy Birthday to You.” It seemed a bit corny at first, but when I looked into Jackie’s happy eyes, I realized that for that brief moment in time, everything seemed normal. I remembered saying on the island that I hated normal, but I now hungered for it, and it felt good to experience it, if only for a few seconds.

  I looked around at my smiling friends and family, the people who always had my back. We didn’t have the luxury of too many happy, unworried moments, so I tried to take it all in and enjoy every second of it, every out-of-tune note they sang. When I finally blew out the candles, I wished for the same thing any post-apocalyptic survivor would wish for: to get our world back.

  “No telling now, or it won’t come true,” Jackie said, winking at me
.

  Everyone clapped and cheered.

  “I’m so proud of you,” Nick said. “You never quit and don’t whine like some people,” he said, glaring over at Buddy. “You fight to win, and your uncompromising integrity never ceases to amaze me. Above all, you definitely have character, and I think you got that from Mom. It takes a special breed of warrior to combat the hell we fight every day.”

  It took a minute for me to compose myself. Nick’s heartfelt words really made me emotional. “Thanks,” I said. “I actually lived to see my eighteenth birthday. I really wasn’t sure I would, considering all the lame mistakes I’ve made in the past.”

  “You’ll live to see lots more. I promise you that. You’ve come a long way, grown up so much in such a short time. I couldn’t ask for a better brother.”

  “I feel the same way,” I said, my voice wavering.

  I looked around at everyone again. “Look, I’m not good at speeches or anything, but I want you to know that I really couldn’t ask for better friends or better people to spend my birthday with. Thanks for this...and for everything.”

  Grandma handed everyone a cup and poured soda pop in them. She then passed out forks, napkins, and plates.

  Kate’s blonde hair swirled in the breeze, her blue eyes blazing. “Let’s raise our plastic glasses to Dean, to friendship, and to birthdays,” she said, wearing the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face.

  “Cheers!” everyone said, smacking their Solo cups together.

  “Well? How does it feel to be an adult?” Lucas asked.

  “You would have to ask,” Val chuckled.

  I laughed. “I really don’t feel any different.”

  Nick handed me a box wrapped in blue and silver paper and tied with a big bow. “Here. This is for you.”

  “Wow,” I said, shocked. “Did you wrap it yourself?”

  He playfully punched me. “Do I look like freaking Martha Stewart? Val did that part.”

  Val smiled. “Guilty as charged, but the gift is from everyone.”

  I smiled at them all, then opened the package. “Whoa!” I said, happily looking down on a fancy pocket knife. “Now this is something I can really use.”

  “Yeah, they do come in handy,” Nick said.

  “We searched the empty, depleted stores until we found the perfect birthday present,” Asia said.

  Claire grinned. “You’re lucky I went shopping with them. Kate wanted to give you a really girly one with a pink abalone shell acrylic handle.”

  “Hey! It was just...pastel,” Kate said, scrunching up her face in disapproval, “and I loved it.”

  “Not so manly,” Claire said. “I made her put it back.”

  I looked at everyone and smiled. “Thank you. I love it.”

  We talked for a while and ate some cake. After all the laughter died down, the topic suddenly switched to the notes we’d obtained and what we planned to do with them. I was hoping all that could wait till the next day, as Max had said, but we always had survival and saving the world on our minds, even while licking vanilla frosting off our forks.

  “We have to get those notes to some competent scientists ASAP,” Nick said.

  “Agreed. You should leave immediately,” Max responded. “Everything has thawed out, so the roads will be easier to travel. The weather’s getting better every day. I’ll gather a good team to go with you and make sure you get to where you need to go. Where are you heading?”

  “It won’t just be me,” Nick said. “The people I came here with will go with me, and that includes my sister.”

  Max’s gaze narrowed. “Are you so sure about that?” he asked, looking over at Val. “I thought she said her place is here. Maybe you two need to have a long talk.”

  My brother turned to face Max. “You know I like you, but I’m not leaving my sister here!” Nick said, slamming his fork down on the table.

  Suddenly, I was overcome by that familiar out-of-control feeling. “Val comes with us,” I said.

  “Hey! I’m right here,” Val chimed in. “Please don’t have a conversation like I’m not here.”

  Max turned toward her. “You’re right, sweetheart. Are you planning to leave with your brothers?”

  She blew out a long breath. “I haven’t told them I want to stay, but thanks for letting the cat out of the bag.”

  At that point, my birthday party took a sudden turn for the worst. I knew an argument was going to ensue, and things were quickly spiraling out of control. “But Val...” I said, looking questioningly at her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I truly am. I know it must be hard for you two to accept, but—”

  “But what?” I interrupted, since her words hit me to the very core. “How can you not come with us? Why?”

  She clung to her oversized coat. “I’m sorry, but there’s really nothing on that island for me. My life is here now, with Max.”

  “Nothing on the island?” I retorted. “How can you say that? Our mother, father, and grandmother are there. They’re your family too.”

  “We don’t even know if they’re still alive,” she whispered. “I could go with you and fight more zombies, only to find out they didn’t make it and then be arrested for being some kind of a freak. If I get caught on that island, they’ll just put me outta my misery with one of their supposedly humane shots. I can’t risk losing my life, losing Max and this wonderful community who treats me like family...and for what? To be executed or maybe even killed on the way back, with all those zombies and raiders?”

  “Don’t say that,” I said. “You have to come.”

  “I haven’t been happy in a long time. Here, I’ve got Max and plenty of friends. I’ve got a safe place to live and a great apartment. The zombies can’t get me here, and for the first time in my life, I feel content, maybe even normal.”

  “There’s no normal in this world,” Nick said.

  “Then let me rephrase that. Here, I feel as normal as I’m gonna get. On that island, I probably won’t feel anything but a firing squad,” she clarified sternly.

  “Val,” Nick said, “you’re our sister, and we love you.”

  “And I love you and Dean. You’re the only family I know for sure that I have left.”

  “Then come with us,” he begged.

  “Just go take those notes to the right people, people who can create a reliable cure. This isn’t a final goodbye. I know we’ll see each other again.”

  Speechless, I just looked at her, battling tears of my own.

  She continued, “I understand why Claire wanted to stay in that compound when we left. She wanted a happy, safe life, and that’s what I want too.”

  Nick looked at Claire. “So what about you? Are you coming with us?”

  “I still want the same thing Val does, but I won’t be separated from you, not ever again. I love you, Nick, and I’ll go wherever you go. I don’t see any point in surviving unless I know you’re safe as well. We’ll fight together, and I’ll always be by your side.”

  Nick gave her hand a squeeze and was too choked up to speak, entirely uncharacteristic for a tough guy like him.

  “I’m coming with you guys too,” Jackie said. “The first day you met me, Dean had to convince me to go, but I don’t need any convincing now. I’m in this for the long haul. You guys are my family, and I love you.”

  I hugged her, and she squeezed me tight. I remembered that first day. Back then, I never would have dreamt that she would be my girlfriend or that I would fall in love with her. Now, with Jackie at my side, I knew anything was possible.

  “I can’t leave my family,” Asia said.

  “Me neither,” Kate said. “We’re coming too.”

  Lucas wrapped his arm around Kate. “Thanks for sticking with us.”

  She smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Nick looked at Val, still shaking his head in disbelief, his voice wavering. “So we’re really losing you?”

  “Not permanently, Nick. I’m so sorry,
but I have to do what’s right for me. I’ve been through so much pain and heartache. I just can’t take any more of it.”

  “I can’t believe you’d choose a man over your own family,” Nick said.

  “My heart was torn out when Travis died. I fell in love with Kyle after that, and he was ripped away from me too. I refuse to lose yet another love of my life. I have to stay with Max.”

  “But we’re your family,” he said.

  “I love him, Nick.”

  Nick pulled her aside, closer to where I was.

  I looked over at Max. “We need a minute alone, if you don’t mind,” I said.

  “Uh...sure.”

  “What about Sammy?” Nick asked Val. “The girl you traveled with to the island, the girl who was ripped from your arms when they booted her off the island? Lucas told me how awful it was, that she kept screaming your name as they dragged her away. She left thinking you were dead. So did Kyle and his daughter.”

  “I’m sure they moved on and have already grieved my loss. There is no sense in opening old wounds.”

  “They’d want to know you’re okay. We can go and find them and—”

  “And what?” she retorted. “For all we know, they’re dead too. I’d rather not know.”

  “Is that what you’re afraid of? You just don’t want to hear about another tragedy? You’d rather stay here and pretend they are alive and well, spending some fake happily-ever-after in Never Never Land? If they are alive, I’m sure it’s not all unicorns and marshmallows for them. It would do them good to know you are okay, too, for them to see you again. It would be best for you.”

  “And what makes you some kind of shrink?” she snapped. “What do you know about what’s best for me?”