Zombies Vs Aliens: Respawn

Chapter 16.1

Chapter 16

"You can get off me now."

"And have you go She-Hulk on us? No thank you."

"I'm telling the truth!" Ginger squirmed, kicking her feet like toddler mid tantrum. In spite of her thrashing, she couldn't dislodge Fred from his perch on her backside.

"Really? You've proved so trustworthy," said Fred. He sat with his legs crossed, leaning forward so he could keep her forearms locked down to the small of her back. The radio to the face knocked her down, but not out. She barely hit the floor before she started rising up like an avenging Fury. There was no time to properly restrain her. I wasn't even sure Fred could hold her for long.

The red head huffed, pressing her cheek to floor to glare at us from across the room. "She's not the only one they took."

"So you've said," J.D. matched her surly expression. He stood braced against the crumpled wood stove, an imposing figure in his torn bloodied fatigues. His dog tags clinked when he moved, drawing her eye each time.

Seeing she could make no leeway with the soldier, Ginger's gaze wandered in my direction, darting over the greatly altered Bert. He leaned heavily on my shoulder after his tussle with the evil woman. His right arm hung at an odd angle and his newly formed nose was tweaked sideways. I tried to set the bones straight, at the very least.

It was hard to tell from her position, but she appeared to wince at the sight of him. Not exactly a repentant expression. She knew attacking one of us didn't do her any favors.

"Why did they take Princess and Wolf Girl but not you?" I asked. Like staring down a caged tiger. Her gaze continued to shift around the room. It solidified the impression Fred's hold on her was tenuous at best. She let herself be pinned. "Why not nab you while they're at it?"

She visibly flinched at the question, closing her eyes to rest her forehead against the floor.

J.D. squinted at her. "They were after you, weren't they?"

Ginger gave the barest nod.

"Why?" He pushed. She started shaking her head, keeping her eyes shut tight. "Why take Wolf Girl? Is she alive?"

Ginger kept shaking her head. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know." The mantra was soft, broken by hiccupping sobs.

"Why did Princess lie about the humans?" J.D. remained a few feet from her now, his hands clasped behind him. Her answer didn't change, but the pitch went higher, whining, drilling into my ears. I slid out from under Bert, dropping to a crouch by her head.

"You need to give us something." I said, her eyes focusing on me when they snapped open. "You obviously have secrets, ones you can't share, but if we are going to help you, you need to give us a reason to listen to you."

Ginger held my gaze for so long I thought she was about to throw Fred off and go for my throat.

"They're still alive. There is information they want from Liv."

"And Wolf Girl? She can't talk. What could they possibly..."

I trailed off, knowing something was off. Now she wouldn't look me in the eye. It hadn't made sense, really, not until I took a step back and thought WWWGD, my crafty, conniving, little human. 

"Fred, what would Wolf Girl do?"

His eyebrows rose. A grin lit his face. "She wouldn't get caught, that's for damn sure."

"Too sneaky," J.D. added. His lips twitched. "Never mind capture her, they'd never see her coming."

Ginger sighed. "I don't know how she did it, but I think she snuck on their ship." She lifted her face to me. "They were preoccupied with Liv; she threw an almighty shit fit to draw their attention. Your girl was hiding next to me. Next thing I knew she was darting up the gangway as the ship was taking off."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," said J.D. gently shrugging off Bert trying to lean on his shoulder. He did a double take at the Muppet's face. "Li, you can't set bones for shit," he grumbled as he reset Bert's nose.

"Not a medic," I retorted. Leaning closer, I ignored Ginger's wary expression. I had a feeling Bert heard and understood everything we said now. I was afraid to ask this question. "Did you see what happened to Ernie?"

An unreadable expression crossed her face at the mention of the missing Muppet. With a twinge of dread, I feared we lost one of our own after all.

"Your pet followed her." She nodded to Bert. "That one might have too, but the ship took off."

It was the most we'd gotten out of her yet. I still had more questions than answers. Despite her plea for our help, Ginger was possibly more uncooperative and tight lipped than our first interaction with her.

"Fred, I think it's time to let her up."

"You're kidding right? They tricked us, stole our stuff, and sent you on a suicide mission. Plus, she tied me to a tree, with a car bumper!"

Ginger smirked, "You didn't seem to mind too much at the time."

"Shut it. You also broke our radio."

"You smashed it across my face," she hissed at him, renewing her struggle against him.

The remark drew my attention to her smooth unblemished face. "Gentleman that he is, I don't think he held back either. Except, you don't have a scratch on you."

Ginger froze, her lower lip trembling at the implication.

Fred whistled. "How many aliens did you-"

I pressed my palm against his face. "You shush. That's why she protected you, right, because you aren't like the rest of us."

She swallowed, nibbling at her lip. "Put your fingers on my throat, right under my chin."

That was a strange request. I took my hand off Fred's mouth, tentatively placing two fingers against the pale peach skin of her neck.

"Careful, there might be poisonous barbs," Fred muttered.

What was there startled me more. "Shit!" I yelped, yanking my hand away.

Ginger had a pulse.

***As the next scene is rather long, I split this chapter up into two parts. Chapter 16.2 will be up this evening. Expect more aliens, more mayhem, and some interesting reveals about our sarcastic punk princess.***