Stella the Zombie Killer

Stella the Zombie Killer Part 13

Jared's eyes flicked open. The nightmares receded, the glare of the lasers faded, the faces of old friends grew smaller, the cries of pain quietened. The cries for help he just tired to ignore, but he knew he would never sleep so long again.

'What's happening?' he said to Gregor. He had shuffled through to the rotunda, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

Gregor looked up from the angels' parts on his workbench and shrugged. 'Not much. Stella and Vine are out to get another refugee and Hook's sulking.'

'About what?'

'The usual.'

'Stella,' said Jared, nodding. The Cynosure was at the centre of everything.

'They've been like it since the start.'

'You okay?' Jared could see the older man's hands were shaking.

'Had a trip out,' said Gregor, trying to shrug it off and failing. 'Didn't go too well.'

Jared nodded, not knowing what to say, so said nothing. He let his gaze rise away from Gregor, who had bent his head back to his work. Jared stared at the blue and green of the chandelier. The afternoon, he assumed it was the afternoon, sunlight flooded through it, seeming to move it as it burned its course as a flashing stream of chemical flames.

He looked away, reminded as he was, of the previous day and his attempt to stare at the sun, to burn his vision and eradicate the memory of his group's final moments. But he was lost, lost then and lost now, suddenly living with people that he didn't know.

Sean's face rose to fill his vision and he swayed on the spot, a heavy weight and dizziness spreading through him, making his body feel like a diseased tree ready to fall. Sean's face, dogged, strong, so alive, so alert. So dead. Sean had been Jared's reason for so long that he hadn't ever allowed himself to see it, had never cared to admit it.

Jared didn't fall. His right foot shot back and planted firmly on the tiled floor, his knees bent, but held. He looked at Gregor, who nodded approvingly at him, and let the blanket slip to his elbows. Balling it, he walked into the desk's circle and sat next to the other man, dropping the blanket on a spare shelf beneath the desk. 'Can I help?' he said. 'I never got that close to the angels but I might know a few things.'

'Help yourself,' said Gregor, spreading his arms along the piles of parts. 'I need ocular parts for Stella's eyes and Hook's back support is failing - though he won't admit it.'

Jared looked carefully among the components, knowing that Gregor could find the pieces easily on his own, but grateful for the chance to help. 'What does she need?'

'Night vision. Zoom'd be useful but not essential.'

'Two?'

'Just one. She's half and half in the eye department.'

Jared nodded. He searched through the ocular spares, discarding anything that was too blue, too robotic.

Gregor saw what he was doing. 'Beggars can't be choosers,' he said. 'If she ends up with a blue eye, she ends up with a blue eye.'

'Okay,' Jared nodded. 'Then there's plenty to work with. There are targeters too. Would she want those?'

Gregor shrugged. 'She's never been one to use guns. And I don't know how we'd link it to anything we could get hold of anyway. They're designed for the angels' arm lasers.'