Deadland Rising (part 3 of the Deadland Saga)

Prudence (Chapter 13)

"Stop," A man jumped from the darkened corner and stood between Clutch and the two zeds. "They won't harm you."

I frowned, my gaze flitting between the man and the pair sitting on the bed.

"They're not violent," The man continued before turning back to the two and stroking their hair. "But, they are special. Very, very special."

The zeds watched us with droll stares. The younger girl cocked her head, but no sign of emotion flickered on her face. They weren't like us, but they also weren't like the other zeds. They were something different.

"They're like Henry," I said softly. "Zen zeds."

The man frowned and eyed me. "You've found another survivor of the infection?"

I watched him for a moment. A sense of familiarity niggled the back of my mind. I raised the candle to illuminate his features. "Dr. Gidar?"

He blinked. "You know me?"

I nodded. "You were in Doctors Without Borders with my father, Dr. Ryan. I met you in Nigeria."

His mouth slowly parted before a smile crossed his face. "Mia? My girl, you're all grown up now. I didn't even recognize you."

"I was twelve during that trip," I replied drily. It had been the best summer vacation I'd ever had.

"Your name is Mia? Seriously?" Griz asked with a smirk. "Like Mama Mia?"

I smacked his arm. "No, like Mia Farrow. My mom loved scary movies."

"We can swap stories later," Clutch growled. "Right now, I want to know why this guy has two zeds in a building with the rest of us with no security to keep them from us."

"I told you," Dr. Gidar said. "These children aren't zeds. The virus didn't take over completely. I'd thought it was something miraculous about their genes since they are siblings, but you said you found another. Tell me about him."

"Later." Clutch pointed to the kids. "Once you secure those two, you're going to come out and tell us what you've been hiding in here."

Without waiting for an answer, Clutch motioned for us to leave, and I found my feet hustling from the room. Too many months of being chased by zeds made me skittish around them. And those two zed kids had haunted too many of my dreams already.

They were the first zeds we'd come across that had a spark of intelligence in their eyes. They were also the first that hadn't tried to eat us when they'd seen us. Instead, they'd stood there, holding hands, and watched us.

That happened before summer hit. Later, Clutch and I had racked our brains trying to figure them out, until we finally gave up. I'd done a decent job at not thinking about them again since we hadn't come across any other zeds like them. Until we'd come across Henry.

Once we reached the hallway, Jase blew out a breath. "Man, Cash. Those kids threw me. They remind me of the pair you and Clutch talked about."

"That's because they are the same kids," I said.

Jase frowned. "But you said you saw those two back near Fox Park. How'd they get all the way out here?"

"I have no idea."

When we emerged from the hallway, the rest of the squadron was waiting for us, armed and spread out across the open area.

"What'd you find?" Marco asked, nodding toward the hallway.

"They've got two Henrys back there," Griz said.

Marco frowned briefly before his eyes grew wide. "No shit?"