Author's note: Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful week! I'm so glad that I've actually had the time to get so many chapters out these last few days. The drama continues, because I can't help myself. In this chapter, Addison prepares to tell her parents the truth, and poor Zed continues to have a rough night.
As always, I live for your likes, follows and reviews! Stay awesome, and stay safe!
ZzZzZzZ
"Shhh," She said, stroking his hair in a gentle, soothing pattern as he cried. " It's okay. Everything's okay." Addison could hear the light hoarseness in her own voice, but she was far more worried about Zed.
"Addy, Addy, Addy..." He repeated, his breath hitching unevenly as he clutched her tightly against himself. Her name seemed to be the only thing Zed was capable of verbally articulating in his current distress. His thoughts were an equally jumbled mess, overwrought with grief and relief and adrenaline. It took her several moments to finally understand why he was so upset.
Addy's here, Addy's okay. I thought she was gone, I thought everything was over. I can't survive without her. His mind flashed to him and the other men, reacting to the fire and their false belief that Addison and the others were dead. Her heart broke as she felt his agony. Then, his thoughts messily switched to a violent fight, centered around an older man with white hair. I almost killed him.
At that thought, her eyes finally rose from staring at the top of Zed's head to look at the chaos unfolding in front of them. To her absolute shock, a battered and unconscious Charon lay sprawled on the large lawn, currently being rolled over and cuffed by several z-patrol officers. Next to them, Aruna, Wynter, Willa and Eliza were all offering frantic explanations to two more officers, who were staring at them with looks of complete confusion. Bucky seemed to be crying into a smiling Qamar's shoulder.
Next to Addison and Zed, Bonzo and Bree were laughing through their tears, staring at one another as they whispered sweetly back and forth in quiet zombie tongue. Behind them, Mayar and Wyatt seemed to be kissing passionately, and completely unaware of the insanity surrounding them.
"I'm right here, Zed." Addison continued, bringing her focus back to her nearly hysterical fiance. She lowered herself to the ground as well, so that she could look him in the eyes. "See? Hey."
She put her hand on his chin, gently leading his face to gaze directly at her. "I'm okay. Everyone's okay." As he looked at her, he seemed to rapidly calm. He took in a deep, gulping breath and winced. She felt her own tension ease as he settled slightly. She'd never seen him so upset or inconsolable, ever. Having believed her to be dead, even though it was only for a few minutes, seemed to have traumatized him deeply.
Addison couldn't blame him for losing it. She would have done the same thing.
"Shh," she repeated, continuing to soothingly stroke his hair.
"Addison," he whispered. "I love you."
Leaning in, he offered her a soft but arduous kiss. Tenderly, she kissed him back, momentarily forgetting that they were surrounded by people and that it was probably not at all appropriate. His cool lips and his hand cupping the back of her head were like a balm to her own frayed nerves. Everything else seemed to briefly disappear around them. After a moment, the kiss deepened. She loved him so much. She could feel his love for her, warming her skin like rays of sunshine on a summer day.
"ADDISON!"
At the sound of the familiar voice, both of them jerked their heads back and away, looking around in time to see Chief Dale sprinting towards them across the lawn. Addison's dad looked as though he had just stumbled out of bed. His hair was ridiculously disheveled, and he was wearing rumpled slacks and his z-patrol suit jacket over a mis-buttoned dress shirt. Addison felt a lump of anxiety forming in her throat. Of course he was here. Being the Chief of Zombie Patrol, her dad kept a police scanner in his room on his bedside table. He would have heard about the fire, and rushed there to make sure she was alright. With good reason, as it turned out.
Addison put a hand softly to Zed's face, and he gazed back at her, even managing to offer her the ghost of a smile. He clearly did not want to let go of her, and she was equally unwilling. Rather than completely disentangling themselves, Addison settled for pulling them both into a standing position, grasping his hand tightly. She watched his face take on a pained expression as he struggled to stand, and belatedly realized that he was injured.
"What's wrong?" She asked, feeling the corners of her mouth turn down in concern.
"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine." Zed said.
My shoulder snapped like a twig when I attacked Charon. Zed thought.
"Zed," she started, ready to remind him that she could hear his thoughts, and knew he was most definitely not 'perfectly fine.' Then, her dad reached them.
"Addy," he said, voice breaking with relief as he enveloped her in a tight hug. She hugged him back fiercely, though she still kept a tight grip on Zed's hand with her other arm. She could feel her father's fear, and his deep concern for her well being.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" He asked, kissing her on the forehead. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
"Dad, I'm totally fine. Really. Eliza smelled the smoke, and we all got to Bree's safe room in time. We're all okay."
He pulled back slightly, turning to look at Zed.
"Zed. Are you alright? You aren't looking so good."
"Fine." Zed lied, his facial expression poorly trying to mask the growing pain he was clearly in.
"He re-broke his shoulder. Pretty badly, I think." Addison said. "He's going to need to go to the hospital."
Zed turned his head to face her, wincing as he did, looking as though the hospital was the last place he wanted to go. I'm not leaving you. He thought, stubbornly.
"I'll come too, don't worry." Addison said.
"What are you..." Her dad trailed off, finally taking in the scene before him now that he was certain his child was safe. "Is that..." Her dad stared pointedly at the unconscious man cuffed on the turf. "Is that Charles Moon, from city council?"
"Ah... yeah." Zed said, and they both watched Chief Dale's eyes darken as he glared down at the white-haired male. Addison was instantly sure that, whatever her parents tried to pretend, her dad knew exactly what Charles Moon had done to his wife so many years ago.
"Dad," Addison said, desperately wanting to communicate what had happened. "He's the one who started the fire. He was trying to kill me and my sis—" She suddenly realized what she was about to say, and instantly clamped her mouth shut. Zed's eyes widened as he met her's.
Addison glanced over to Mayar, who was now looking directly back at her as she held both of Wyatt's hands. Mayar nodded, and Addison realized what had to be done. Oh, no. She was going to have to tell her dad. Tell him everything. About the Lunites, and about Charon and the moonstone. Even about the parts that he and her mom had spent almost two decades trying to forget about.
"Dad," She said, suddenly feeling more nervous than the day she'd tried out for the cheer squad. "We need to talk... Mom too."
His brows dipped down, as he glanced from her to her assorted group of friends. His eyes froze on Aruna, Qamar and Mayar. While Qamar may have been dressed as a human, Aruna and Mayar were in traditional Lunite garb, and stuck out like a sore thumb. She knew he was taking in their clothing and white hair. Hair that was the exact color of his daughter's. He turned back to look at Addison.
"Zed," he said, glancing towards him. "Walk back to the ambulance and get checked out. I'm going to have a quick word with Addy, and then she'll go with you to the hospital. That shoulder needs medical attention."
"Yes sir." Zed nodded, seeming barely able to move his head due to the pain. Everything will be okay, Addy. Zed thought, making quick eye contact with her. She nodded, and watched as his hand slipped from hers as he trudged back towards the rescue vehicles. She felt worry twist her insides, but she knew he'd be alright for a minute.
"Addy, what really happened here tonight?" Her dad asked, his voice going quiet.
She met his eyes, feeling nervous but resolved.
"Well, like I said, Charon set the fire. Charles Moon, I mean. He's been trying to kill Mayar and I for a couple of weeks now. Ever since the moonstone crashed."
"Who? The what?" He asked, clearly completely lost.
Addison bit her lip. This was going to take forever. She glanced at Mayar again, and sighed. Mayar, she said. Go get your elders, and all of you meet us at the hospital in an hour. I'd rather not have this conversation more than once.
At this, Mayar nodded her head, pulling at Wyatt's hand and whispering into his ear. He looked back at her and nodded in silent agreement, and they both instantly turned and fled into the trees without further conversation.
"Dad," Addison said, turning back to face her father. "I'm going to explain everything, but I need you to trust me. I'm going to go with Zed to the hospital. Go home and get mom, and meet us at Seabrook Medical in an hour. Get my friends there, too. Then we can all sit down and talk. There's a lot to explain. In the meantime, make sure Charles Moon is somewhere secure, where he can't hurt anyone. He's dangerous."
He stared at her for a moment, feeling conflicted. She was asking him to go against standard incident protocol, and she knew that was not something that would be easy for him to do. Especially since she was telling him to imprison a high-ranking Seabrook official without any actual evidence. But she was his daughter. And to her slight surprise, he trusted her. After a short moment, Chief Dale nodded.
"I'll see what I can do, sweetie." He said, reaching out to hug her again. "Go take care of Zed. I'll be there with your mom and the others as soon as I can."
"Thanks Dad." She paused. "I love you."
He froze for a moment. Her family rarely ever said the "L" word to one another. They were too prim and proper for that kind of show of affection. He looked away, glancing to where her assorted friends were giving their statements to other officers.
"I love you, too. Addy." Her dad said, not looking at her.
She smiled, and turned to jog into the woods to where she had seen the ambulances outside on Bree's street. It was just a short jaunt through the trees to reach the house, as the miniature forested area was only about fifty yards deep. As she jogged, she felt a lightness in her chest that she hadn't anticipated. Her hair glowed a soft white blue, shimmering against the gloom of the night.
Things were looking up. Miraculously, aside from Zed's shoulder, no one had been seriously hurt tonight. Charon was in custody, where he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. And soon, she would no longer have to worry about keeping secrets from anyone. In an hour or two, her parents would know everything, and the Lunites would be revealed to the public. She wasn't exactly looking forward to the conversation, but it would be a relief for everything to finally be out in the open. No more secrets. She could just be herself, and so could everyone else.
As she reached the street, Addison turned her head from side to side, searching out which ambulance Zed had walked to. After a moment, she saw one with it's back door hanging open. Inside, she could see two lanky legs stretched out in a laying position on the cot, maroon hightops hanging of of the edge. Weird. Why was he lying down?
As she approached the back of the ambulance, she was met with the extremely nervous expression of a young EMT. The man looked only maybe a year or two older than her, and had shaggy blonde hair that stuck out from the corners of his hat. He made eye contact with her, and worriedly glanced behind him at the still form of Zed. He was radiating stress. This made alarm bells begin to go off in her head. What had happened?
"What's wrong?" She asked, trying to stay calm as she attempted to look past him and into the back of the vehicle. She could hear Zed's brain, but it was... Off. Fuzzy. Like a radio with poor reception.
"Are you his fiance, mam'm? He said you were on the way here and to wait for you..." He gulped.
"Yes, I am." She said, now getting annoyed as he once again blocked her view into the tiny ambulance interior.
"Well, first off, I just want you to know that he's going to be completely, one hundred percent okay." The EMT said, voice shaking slightly at the end of the sentence. "And also, I feel like I should mention that this is my first week as a emergency technician, and also that I've never had a zombie patient bef—"
"What is wrong with my fiance?" Addison nearly shouted, and to her surprise, she saw Zed's feet twitch in reaction.
"Ads...?" A low voice slurred from the cot.
"Zed!" She gasped, pushing past the nervous EMT and practically flying into the ambulance.
Zed was lying haphazardly across the cot, limbs dangling uselessly at his sides. His arm had been splinted into place with multiple bandages, so that he couldn't move it. His eyes were half closed, but he struggled to focus on her face as she leaned in to examine him.
"Zed, baby? What's wrong? What happened?" She asked, feeling slightly panicked. He'd been fine just two minutes ago, other than the anxiety and the obvious discomfort he had clearly been experiencing.
"Told them I couldn't have any meds..." Zed mumbled, slowly shaking his head back and forth. "But they didn' lissnn..." At that, Zed stopped speaking. Then, to her horror, he stopped breathing, too. His eyes were staring blankly in her direction. The tiny machine that had been quietly beeping out the rhythm of his heart grew suddenly silent. He looked... dead. She was half a millisecond from screaming for the EMT, when Zed's Z-Band sent a powerful jolt through him, abruptly restarting his heart.
"Ow." Zed said softly, eyes closing.
Addison whirled around, her hair partially obscuring her vision.
"What did you do to him!?"
"Nothing!" The EMT said defensively, raising both hands in a placating gesture. "I just gave him morphine for the pain! That shoulder is in bad shape, mam'm. He told me that zombies weren't supposed to have any pain meds, but I thought he was just playing tough, so I gave him a shot anyway."
"You WHAT?" Addison hissed viciously, causing Zed's limp form to startle again. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of course he had reacted badly to human medicine. They were an entirely different species! It was common knowledge (or so she'd thought), that zombies never took anything stronger than a tylenol. Any narcotic level medication could lead to pretty severe reactions, such as coma-like symptoms or even respiratory arrest. Zed was clearly displaying the latter side affect.
She was going to strangle this EMT.
"I swear, I didn't know that they couldn't take the same medications as humans. Like I said, this is my first time treating a zombie. And his Z-Band has a standard safeguard that will restart his heart if it stops, like a built in defibrillator."
"A what? You know what," She huffed angrily. "It doesn't matter. Just get this ambulance moving so he can get to the hospital. If he didn't need to go before, he definitely does now, thanks to you!" Addison leveled the young man with a menacing glare. She didn't know if she'd ever been more angry in her life.
The EMT had the decency to look ashamed, but quickly jumped down from the cab to tell the driver to head to Seabrook Medical. As he rounded the side of the vehicle, Addison quickly turned back to Zed, still lying unmoving on the cot.
"Zed?" She said softly, watching with worry as his eyes opened halfway again.
"Oh. Hey, Ads..." He murmured, offering her a goofy half grin. Even amidst her extreme stress, she couldn't help but note how absolutely adorable he was.
Poor Zed. He was definitely having a bad night.
"Hey, zandgrome. Everything is fine. Don't worry about anything, okay?"
It seemed to take him a few seconds to process her words, and then he nodded slowly. Each of his movements looked like he was trying to move through water.
"You're my favorite person." He sighed, eyes closing again. "We should get married."
She couldn't help but huff out a quiet laugh.
"Yeah, we really should." She replied, gently kissing his temple as the ambulance started to move. Apparently, the idiot EMT was too scared of her to ride with them in the back. Which was probably for the best. Her rage towards the young man flared up, as Zed's heart briefly stopped again. As she watched his Z-Band shock him once again, she felt a lump form in her throat. He groaned in response to the shock, his head rolling in her direction to face her though his eyes remained closed. The muted wails of the ambulance's sirens resounded through the small space. She grasped Zed's hand tightly.
This was shaping up to be the longest night of her life, and it wasn't even over yet.
