Page 44 of Zinnia and the Zombie
“Zealots,” she whispered, remembering Jaxx’s words.
They weren’t here for profit or revenge. They were on a holy mission.
The Grorn procession cut a direct path toward the crash site, moving with eerie synchronicity. No hesitation, no caution—just relentless forward momentum. They passed beneath a towering archway, and her pulse quickened. That was the location of their first trap.
She held her breath, focusing the binoculars. The lead Grorn passed beneath the crumbling stone, then the second, then?—
A flash of golden movement at the base of the structure caught her eye. Jaxx. He triggered something, then vanished into the shadows.
For one terrible moment, nothing happened. Then the archway shuddered, ancient stone groaning as centuries of stability gaveway. The structure collapsed in a thunderous cascade, dust billowing upward in a choking cloud that obscured her view.
Her heart pounded as she strained to see through the haze. Had it worked? Had they eliminated the threat?
The dust began to settle, and her hope withered. Five Grorn emerged from the cloud, including the leader with his totem. Three of their number lay crushed beneath massive blocks of stone, dark fluid pooling around their remains. But the survivors didn’t pause to mourn. They simply adjusted their formation and continued forward, stepping over their fallen comrades without a backward glance.
“They didn’t even check to see if they were alive,” she whispered, a chill running through her despite the morning warmth.
As she watched, the two Grorn at the rear broke away from the main group, each taking a different path. They were flanking, she realized—adapting their strategy after the ambush.
One headed toward a narrow alley where she and Jaxx had set several snares fashioned from the tough vines of the arboretum. The male moved more cautiously now, testing the ground before each step. He paused at the alley’s entrance, head tilted as though sensing danger.
She held her breath. She’d watched Jaxx position them and she knew they were well hidden. The Grorn took a step forward, then another.
A sudden whip-crack echoed through the city as one of her traps sprung. The vine snare caught the Grorn’s ankle, yanking his body upward with surprising force. He hung suspended, thrashing violently as he tried to reach the vine with his clawed hands. His frantic maneuvers attracted the attention of one ofthe security drones Jaxx had reprogrammed, and she had to turn away when it attacked, blades flashing.
The other flanker had also encountered one of the security drones. She swung the binoculars toward the confrontation just in time to see the spider-like machine launch itself at the Grorn. Metal legs flashed in the sunlight as they tore into grey- scaled flesh. The Grorn roared—the first sound she’d heard from any of them—a deep, reverberating bellow that sent birds scattering from nearby ruins.
The creature and machine grappled in a vicious tangle, crashing through the remains of what might have once been a storefront. Glass shattered, metal screamed against stone, and then silence fell once more.
She shuddered and panned back to the main avenue. The leader and his two remaining acolytes had reached a large plaza halfway to the crash site. This area was thick with traps—trip wires connected to falling debris, more drones lying dormant in hidden alcoves, a section of flooring rigged to collapse into the sewers below.
Yet somehow, impossibly, the three Grorn navigated through it all without triggering a single trap They moved with uncanny awareness, stepping precisely where the ground was solid, ducking at exactly the right moment to avoid a triggered collapse. It was as if they could sense the danger before encountering it.
How are they doing that?
Frustration filled her as she zoomed in on the leader. His eyes never left the wooden totem he carried. As she watched, the symbols carved into its surface pulsed with a faint, sickly light.Some kind of technology disguised as a religious artifact? A detection device of some kind?
Whatever it was, it guided him safely through the gauntlet of traps. One of the acolytes also made it through, but the second one veered off course just enough to step onto a section of flooring that collapsed beneath his feet. He disappeared with a muffled cry but neither of the other Grorn looked around or made any attempt to help him
Within minutes, the remaining two reached the crashed flyer. The acolyte took up a defensive position while the leader approached the wreckage, still clutching his totem. He circled the ship slowly, head low, as though reading signs invisible to her eyes.
He found the panel that she’d used to drag Jaxx free after the crash and bent over it. He touched the panel with his free hand, then brought his fingers to his snout. Scenting. Tracking.
Her blood ran cold. Jaxx had been right. They weren’t hunting blindly. They were following him specifically, tracking him like an animal. The ship crash was merely confirmation they were on the right trail.
The leader straightened, turning in a slow circle. For one terrible moment, he seemed to look directly toward the building where she hid, as though he could sense her watching. She instinctively pulled back from the edge, heart hammering against her ribs.
When she dared to look again, he had returned to examining the wreckage. He pried open what remained of the storage compartment, removing the few items they have left behind and examining them before discarding them in a growing pile.Looking for something specific. Or confirmation of something he already suspected.
A soft sound behind her made her whirl around, adrenaline spiking—but it was only Jaxx, materializing from the stairwell like a golden shadow. Relief flooded through her as she rushed to him, keeping her voice low.
“They’re at the wreck. Two left—the leader and one other. You were right. They’re not just looking for survivors. I think they’re looking for you specifically.” She handed him the binoculars. “The leader has some kind of symbol. I think it’s helping them avoid our traps.”
His expression darkened as he observed the Grorn’s methodical search. “It’s a Navek totem,” he said quietly. “A sacred object they believe connects them to their gods. But it’s also a sophisticated piece of technology.”
“But why you?”
His jaw tightened. “I’m not certain. But I remembered a few more fragments from the attack on my ship. The Grorn priest shouted something about ‘the golden key.’ Apparently they believe my people possess something they need.”
