Author's note: Thanks for your continued patience as to the very slow updates. I promise I'm trying my best! I love y'all, and will continue to update as I am able! In this chapter, our mermaid gang splits up, and the werewolves make an unsettling discovery.
Stay safe, stay awesome!
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Addison's mind was reeling as she stared up at the statue. The bronze sculpture of herself and the others gazed serenely past her, looking outward and towards the dark waters from which they had just emerged. She glanced back down and re-read the plaque, which cryptically stated 'THE HEROES OF SEABROOK.'
What in the world was going on?
She was clumsily slipping on the pink cotton shorts up and over her legs and hips, shivering violently against the bitterly cold night air. She pulled the oversized white t-shirt over her soaked cheer uniform top as well, eager for more warmth. As she dressed, a few snowflakes began to fall silently into her face and her hair, which was probably starting to freeze. Next to her, she could hear Wyatt's teeth chattering.
Cold as she was, Addison struggled to make sense of her surroundings. They were clearly at the right beach, but somehow it was all wrong. Aside from the obviously shocking silvery sand, it looked and felt like it was the middle of winter. In the distance, she could see snow continuing to fall lightly across the parking area and the trees behind it.
There were no cars in the parking lot, and the entire area was eerily silent aside from the softly lapping waves and the chattering of Wyatt's teeth.
Addison turned to face the others, who were all now dressed in various lifeguard garb as well. Bree was shaking, and little flakes of snow were now sticking to her shimmering silver hair. Even with the dry clothes Wyatt had pilfered, they were all freezing. Whatever was going on, they needed to get out of the cold weather.
She opened her mouth to speak, only to remember that she couldn't.
Wyatt seemed to be trying to talk as well, but was clearly not having any more luck than she was. They were going to have to find a way to communicate.
Addison thought frantically, and looked around for some kind of stick or tool to use to write in the sand. But apparently, even with it's new, glittering appearance, Seabrook's beach remained clean and pristine. She didn't even see any seashells that she could use to write with. Sighing, she kneeled down, and began etching letters into the sand with her finger.
They needed to get somewhere indoors quickly.
Addison's primary concern was to find Zed, and then her parents and Bucky.
"Z-O-M-B-I-E-T-O-W-N" She scrawled quickly into the sand, looking back up at the others.
Bree instantly nodded enthusiastically.
Addison wasn't surprised. She was sure that Bree wanted to find Bonzo as much as she wanted to find Zed.
But to her confusion, Wyatt and Eliza both shook their heads.
Addison was a bit taken aback by their disagreement.
Why not? Addison mouthed, looking up at their faces with slight exasperation. If not to Zombietown, then where?
Crater. Wyatt mouthed back.
Then she understood. They were all eager to find their significant others, of course. She was willing to bet that Eliza's first stop would be to the wolf's den, if she had it her way.
Addison was equally determined to go and find Zed, but she hesitated at the thought of their little group splitting up and going in different directions. What if they ran into trouble, or were seen by someone before they reached they respective destinations? It wasn't like they could explain themselves, thanks to their apparent inability to speak above water.
Not to mention, if the current weather and giant statue of them were any indication, they had clearly been gone much longer than a day. Addison felt a little ill as she considered this. If this was really so, and they had been in the water for weeks or even months, their friends and families surely thought that they were all dead.
Her insides twisted as she realized that this was almost certainly the case.
If they weren't careful, someone was going to see them and think that they were ghosts or something. And whatever Addison had become, she was certainly very much alive. And if they all wanted to stay that way, they were going to have to stop standing around in the cold and silently arguing about their destination.
At that moment, there was a loud, metallic snapping sound.
Addison's eyes abruptly turned to look at Eliza. In her slightly trembling hands was a twisted line of metal.
She had snapped her z-band clean in half.
They all stared in alarm from the broken z-band to Eliza, as though waiting for her to go feral. Of course, nothing happened. Eliza was staring wide eyed down at the metal band, which looked as though it had been pulled apart right down the center of its now broken screen. She looked up, meeting her friends' eyes almost guiltily.
Oops. She mouthed, a slight grimace spreading across her face.
Reaching over, Addison gently took the band out of Eliza's hand and examined the damage. Eliza had somehow pulled the band apart as easily as if she had been snapping a twig. This shouldn't have been possible, since z-bands were made out of some of the most resilient components technology had to offer.
Maybe Eliza's band had somehow been weakened during the moonstone explosion. Or, considering their physiology had completely changed, it was very possible that they were much stronger now. Even stronger than a zombie, it seemed.
If that was the case, they'd all have to be extra careful.
Addison lowered the hand holding the destroyed z-band, and gently placed the broken device onto the concrete base of the large bronze statue. It was of no use to them now, she supposed.
She jumped slightly as Bree gently touched her upper arm, which was still mostly exposed to the snow and bitterly cold breeze wafting in from the sea. A small part of Addison yearned desperately to be back in the safety of the ocean, and she found herself inwardly battling against these new instincts.
No, she couldn't return to the water now. Her soulmate needed her. And whatever else had changed about Addison, her love for him never, ever would. He was the center of her universe.
Turning to face Bree and the others, she squared her shoulders. She was going to Zombietown to find Zed. The others had their priorities, and she had hers.
Wyatt was watching her face, and seemed to understand what she was thinking.
He looked to Eliza and jerked his head towards the treeline in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
Eliza glanced back at Addison and Bree, seeming to silently ask if they would be alright. Addison and Bree both nodded, huddling closer together as they shivered.
Then, Wyatt and Eliza nodded to one another. Together, they turned and began to sprint through the sand and toward the trees. Both of her friends were clumsy in their movements as they continued to adapt to walking on two legs again.
Addison imagined that this must be particularly annoying for Wyatt, who was used to having the speed and dexterity of a werewolf. Super strength probably didn't seem that helpful, when coupled with having to relearn how to walk.
Looking back to Bree, Addison found her friend gazing up again at the bronze statue of the four of them.
She turned to look back at Addison, sadness and worry clear in her eyes as snowflakes continued to settle atop her hair and face. Addison reached out and held her best friends hand briefly, wishing that she could tell her that everything would be okay.
Addison didn't know what the future held for them, nor did she know what they would find when they entered Zombietown.
But whatever awaited them, they would face it together.
Pulling Bree along with her, Addison turned from the statue and began running clumsily up the small hill. From there, they would be able to reach the road that lead to Zombietown.
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The snowflakes were beautiful, but increasingly annoying.
Willa was warm enough, in her black and gray furs and extra insulated boots. But this entire hunting trip seemed increasingly pointless. No animals were going to be out in this weather. And the snow was just increasing in intensity.
Wynter was walking at her side, sticking out her tongue to catch the tiny white crystals. Willa almost felt a grin cross her face as she looked at her friend and packmate.
At least one of them was having fun.
She hadn't wanted to leave the den, content to lay on the floor and stare up at the ceiling. But Wynter had coaxed her out, insisting that the snow and cool air would do them both good.
Wynter jumped high into the air, catching a particularly large snowflake in her mouth and snapping her jaws shut with an audible clicking sound.
"I bet I can catch more than you." Wynter jeered, elbowing Willa in the arm.
Willa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I bet you can, too. Especially since I'm not playing."
Wynter sighed, and Willa could see her shoulders slump slightly.
Guilt gnawed at Willa's conscience.
She knew that her packmates were worried about her. Wynter in particular had been doing her best on a daily basis to keep Willa fed, active and out of her bed. She also knew that she hadn't exactly been making it easy for Wynter and the others, who were mourning their friends just as much as she was.
Well, maybe not quite as much.
Willa rubbed her thumb gently over the black stone ring that rested on her left ring finger, feeling the little white diamond that rested at the top. This ring would forever be her most cherished possession. Her reminder of her sweet, annoying brother Wyatt and her beautiful, intelligent mate Eliza.
"Thanks for coming out with me to hunt," Wynter said after a moment of silence. "I know you didn't want to."
Willa seemed to notice for the first time how tired her packmate was looking. There were circles under Wynter's eyes, and far less bounce in her steps than normal. Guilt tugged again at her insides as she realized just how little support she had been giving her friend recently, so lost had she been in her own pit of grief.
She needed to do better for her packmate.
"Nah, you were right." Willa replied, trying her best to sound lighthearted. "We needed to get out of the den for a bit."
She glanced around the wintery woods, shaking snow from her hair.
"Though honestly," Willa said with a clipped laugh as she looked up at the night sky. "Hunting tonight was a fairly terrible idea."
Both girls laughed at this, and Willa felt one of the only real smiles she'd had in months spread briefly across her face. The cold, biting air made her face ache at the movement, despite the warm layers of clothing.
"It's good to hear you laugh, alpha." Wynter said, looking forward as a large smile of her own graced her lips. The braided buns atop her head were covered in ice and snow.
They had been meandering around the forest for a while now, making a large, sloppy circle around the outskirts of town. Now, they were almost to the far edge of the cove, where the forest abruptly gave way to the ocean. Willa liked to walk along the glittering beach, though she'd never gone for a stroll while it was snowing outside.
"Let's go to the beach." She said. "I want to visit them."
Wynter sighed, but said nothing as the snowfall increased.
Willa knew she visited the statue too often. Sometimes even daily.
It was the only place she could go. There were no graves for them to visit their friends at, as no bodies were able to be found after the explosion. Teams had search for the site of the wreck for days, with no luck.
The statue had been made both to honor the four heroes, and to memorialize them. She quickly brushed the thought away, not wanting to dwell on those first few horrible days after Shore Day.
"Come on," Willa said, nudging Wynter and trying to sound more upbeat. "We're right here. Besides, we've never seen snow on Moondust Beach before. I bet it looks bizarre."
Wynter cast her a small, sad smile.
"Sure," she said with a shrug. "Why not?"
Willa's eyes scanned the forest ahead of them, looking for the approaching treeline. She lifted up her fingers, feeling the cold sting of each snowflake as they began to fall in earnest. It was really coming down now. Were it not for their warmer-than average body temperature and layers of furs, both girls would have been freezing.
After another minute or so of silent walking, the two werewolves reached the edge of the trees. Willa gazed out across the silent, snowy seascape before them. There was no one out, but that wasn't too surprising. Between the cold air and encroaching snow storm, the beach wasn't a particularly hospitable place to be at the moment. Even the two wolves would probably get cold, if they stayed out in the open long enough.
Clearing the woods, they strolled easily across the darkened road and parking area, where the snow was now beginning to stick to the ground.
"Looks like we're gonna get a snow day tomorrow." Wynter said, smiling as she watched the flakes accumulate around them.
"Tomorrow's the weekend." Willa replied.
They reached the sand and began walking in the direction of the statue, which was about a football field's length away from them. The moondust glittered dimly as they padded across it. Aside from the incessant crashing of the waves, all was cold and silent.
The wind was stronger out here on the beach, since there were no trees to protect them. Willa gathered her capelet closer to herself, covering her neck and chin with the warm gray and black fur.
To her side, she watched as Wynter pulled out her rabbit-skin gloves and hastily put them on. The weather out here was pretty inhospitable even for them. Zombies also had a high tolerance for the cold, but a human or Lunite would have been pretty miserable.
Willa decided that she would keep their visit brief. She could always come back in the daytime tomorrow, when the sun would be out to warm the air around them.
As they approached the stone, Willa noted at there was something small and metallic sitting on the base of the statue. This wasn't that unusual, as people were always leaving flowers, notes, and trinkets there in memory of the heroes. Every week or so, though, the city of Seabrook would remove the items and give the statue a good cleaning. After all, Seabrook couldn't let anything stay cluttered or imperfect for long.
Willa rolled her eyes as they got closer.
"What is that?" Wynter asked. Something in her friend's voice made Willa feel slightly on edge.
Willa tilted her head to the side as they approached.
"I don't know." She replied.
"It looks like a bracelet, maybe." Wynter said. "Or maybe a watch. Or…"
"A z-band." Willa gasped, sprinting the rest of the short distance to reach the base of the statue.
"What?!" Wynter yipped behind her, rushing to catch up.
Leaning in , Willa examined the metal band with growing alarm. The band itself was completely broken. It looked as though someone of incredible strength had ripped the thing right in half.
"Wynter, we need to call Z-Patrol." Willa said authoritatively. "There's no z-alarm close to us. And if there's a broken z-band here, that could mean that there's a feral zombie somewhere."
"Holy moonstone." Wynter gulped, as she began digging for her cellphone in her vest pocket.
Willa continued to study the band as she listened to Wynter dial the Z-Patrol hotline.
It was in pretty bad shape. The screen itself was dark and split into two sections, and the metal around it looked warped and dented. It looked as though it had been squeezed until it had snapped. But that couldn't be right. The bands were supposed to be close to indestructible.
But, thanks to her friend Zed, she knew that even the z-bands could be tampered with or broken, especially if the person wearing it really wanted it off. In the background, Wynter was describing the band and their location to an officer over the phone.
Gently, Willa reached down and picked up the broken band. As she did, she shivered.
She had no idea why, but this band looked and felt… familiar. Like she had touched it and seen it a hundred times. Which obviously couldn't be, because the only zombie who's z-band she had ever been that physically close to was…
"Eliza's." Willa whispered.
Wynter was hanging up the phone as Willa spoke.
"Huh?" Wynter asked, as she walked over to stand next to Willa.
Willa ignored her, and frantically flipped the band on it's side as she searched for what she knew she would not find there.
The day after they had started dating, Willa had used a claw to carve a tiny heart onto the bottom side of the band, next to Eliza's inner wrist. It had been a cute little moment between them, and it was a memory she thought of often. Sometimes with fondness, and sometimes with an overwhelming sense of grief.
But in any case, this couldn't be Eliza's band. It was gone, along with the rest of her.
Steeling herself, Willa flipped over the band.
She almost dropped it.
There, in the twisted metal of the band, was a faded but distinct heart. Even creepier was the fact that the band was covered in a thin layer of ice. As though it had recently come out of the water.
"That's impossible." Willa breathed, grasping the metal tightly enough to make her knuckles turn white. A shiver ran up her spine as she stared down at the little heart.
"What?'' Wynter asked, looking up as she hung up the phone. "Z-patrol is on their way to examine the band, and they're instituting a lock down until they can find the rogue."
In the distance, Willa heard the shrill sound of distant Z-alarms beginning to sound closer to town.
"Willa?" Wynter said, eyebrows pitching down in concern as the snowfall continued to increase. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Willa tore her eyes away from the band, looking up and into the eyes of Eliza's statue.
"Maybe I did." She said, as the snow swirled around them and alarms blared distantly.