I guess my lack of fear finally got to her. She paled. “Perhaps you’d like to change your tone. I’m the only person capable of helping your friend Kat.”

“Don’t say her name! Don’t you dare even think her name!”

Unperturbed, she said, “We were able to acquire and preserve her body, and we’re now holding her spirit. Her zombie spirit. Yes. She was infected. If this treatment proves successful, we’ll be able to bring her back to life. So do yourself—no, do your friend—a favor and don’t fight me.”

I—

Stopped. Thoughts raced through my mind. Hope flickered to startling life.

Bring Kat back to life? Yes, please. I’d give anything. Absolutely anything to make it happen.

But some of the flickers quickly dimmed. Could I do this? Could I willingly help Anima? I’d blasted Ethan for doing it. Hated Justin and Jaclyn for it. Took Camilla’s memory for it. And yet, here I was, desperate to believe Ms. Smith was telling the truth. That Kat could be brought back. That dead wasn’t really dead.

But that wasn’t the natural order.

And if this was successful—that was a big if—would Kat even be Kat? The girl I knew and loved? Or would she be something else entirely?

My struggles renewed, and Ms. Smith sighed. “Very well, then. We’ll do this the hard way.” She jabbed the syringe into my neck.

Sharp pain. A cascade of fire, causing my blood to boil in an instant.

My back bowed, and I screamed. I’d been thrown into the fires of hell, was melting from the inside, my organs liquefying. Any second, I would ash. Ash just like a zombie.

An eternity later, the burn cooled. I sagged against the gurney. Sweat poured from me, soaking my hair and clothes. I was panting, couldn’t quite catch my breath.

Ms. Smith could not contain her glee. “You survived round one, just as I’d hoped.” She smoothed her hand over my brow, and I jerked away. Unaffected, she said, “Now, let’s get you comfortable. You’re going to be here awhile, and I don’t trust you in a room of your own. I won’t take any chances with my prize.”

She moved away, and three men in lab coats came over to cut my clothes away. Everything. Bra, panties. Gone. I fought, but they managed to insert a catheter between my legs and an IV needle in my vein. It was humiliating, absolutely degrading.

A few seconds later, I was too pumped with sedatives to care, my eyelids becoming too heavy to hold up, my limbs too heavy to move.

Going to be so strong after this...hurt...kill...

My head lolled to the side, my thoughts losing focus, darkening... I drifted away....

“That’s two injections she’s survived,” Ms. Smith said. “Two more and we’ll be ready to test her.”

“She’s even more powerful than we realized.” Hodad. “We’ve never been this close to a cure. Just think what we could have accomplished by now if Helen hadn’t taken her.”

“Helen,” Ms. Smith scoffed. “She almost brought this company crashing to the ground. There’s a perfect irony about her daughter being the one to build it back up.”

Their voices faded....

The volume gradually increased....

“Who should we allow to bite her first?” Hodad asked.

“The girl, Kat,” Ms. Smith said. “If all goes as I suspect, Ali will switch to our side. Then she won’t fight when my father takes his turn.”

Kat...a zombie... They were going to feed me to her. Let her munch on my spirit, taking my life bite by painful bite.

“Smith...hate you,” I whispered, drifting away again.

* * *

“Miss Bell.” A hand tapped at my cheek. “Miss Bell. We need you awake for this. Zombies can eat a sleeping spirit, yes, but it’s not as powerful. It’s like a lightbulb that hasn’t been turned on.”

I blinked open my eyes.

“Good girl.”

Bright light streamed into a room...no, into another cage. I wasn’t strapped to a gurney anymore. I was chained to the back wall, a metal ring around my neck, and I was now wearing a hospital gown. Still no bra or panties, though. I jolted upright, a wave of dizziness sweeping through me.

Hodad backed away from me and slammed the cage door, locking me inside—with a zombie.

Not just any zombie. Kat.

Instant game changer. My worst nightmare—my greatest hope.

A Hazmat outside the cage. He held a remote control, and she wore a collar. Her skin had a slight grayish tint. Her hair was tangled, her eyes pink rather than red, with dark circles underneath. Her collarbone was broken, still sticking out of her skin. Her leg was twisted at an odd angle.

Was any part of my friend in there?

Grunting and groaning, she reached for me. I hopped to my feet, swayed.

“Now,” Ms. Smith said.

Kat tripped forward.

I couldn’t bring myself to fight her. I just...couldn’t.

As her teeth sank into my neck, I stumbled backward, hit the wall. Sharp pains, a fire burning through my veins. Rather than push her away, I wrapped my arms around her, holding her closer.

“Take whatever you need,” I whispered. Tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Enough,” Ms. Smith said, impatient. “The barest amount should be plenty.”

Kat was wrenched away from me. Her teeth took a hunk of my flesh with her.

I dropped to my knees, praying, waiting. Hoping.

“It’s working,” Ms. Smith exclaimed. “It’s actually working. They’re both healing from the infection.”