The Masquerade by Alexa Rae Page A

She didn't stand
    a chance with a fight against a human, much less someone like me.
    A snarl rippled out of my chest, before I pulled her head to the side and drove my teeth into the skin on her neck. Her high-pitched scream pierced my eardrums as my teeth tore deeper into her flesh. The blood seeped
    between my teeth while I swallowed the first chunk. I didn't bother chewing. I needed to fill my stomach. I continued to bite down and swallow whatever I could and eventually her screams dissolved into small lengthy gasps.
    "Her sweater is wearing your dinner, mate." Jesse said. My mind, no longer clouded, latched onto his voice. I pulled my head back, my bottom lip dripping with crimson.
    "Very attractive," Cam remarked, holding his
    thumbs up.
    I could feel the pieces of my face melding together, reforming the mask that caged the monster. I freed one of my hands to touch the corner of my mouth. A smooth surface replaced the decrepit skin, a process that
    modern medicine could never replicate. Within seconds of devouring the girl, I regained the godlike appearance every zombie attained from consuming human flesh. I was fully restored to blend within the living for a short time.
    I looked down to the limp body in my arms and dropped her callously. She fell face first into the ground. Her once silken hair, now tangled and clumped with fresh blood. Her neck craned to the side, exposing her
    open wound, the ends of what was left of her skin were stretched and torn.
    "This will look great in the papers." Cam put his hands to his hips, his scrutinizing eyes on the body. "What do you think?"
    "Shark attack," PJ said, his voice monotone. I hadn't noticed PJ behind me. He had a habit of disappearing and reappearing without anyone taking notice.
    "Funny," Jesse said flatly, his weary eyes on me.
    The back door screeched as it flung open. Max stalked out of the venue, his eyes narrowed. I could smell the rage, fuming inside of him. "You asshole!" He shouted at me. "What are we going to do about that group of fans in the first few rows? They're freaking out!"
    "Eat them." PJ blurted, injecting his dry sense of humor into the madness.
    Cam nodded, rubbing his stomach with his hand. "Sounds
    good to me."
    Max rolled his eyes. "This isn't funny! Do you have any idea who was at our show tonight?"
    "I'd like to answer that question for you, if you don't mind."
    Our heads snapped to the left, in the direction of the
    voice. A man walked from the shadows of our tour busses and into the light for our viewing. His eyes moved over each one of us, saving me for last. A tight smile formed on his face. My eyes narrowed in response. I didn't care who he was, but I knew what he was, and I already didn't like him.
    "Look man, you want thirty minutes come knock on the door like the other girls." Cam pointed to the door of our tour bus
    referring to the long line of female fans he had sex with. The Undead paid him no attention, his eyes on me.
    "We don't have many rules, Ben Sloane, but keeping your identity a secret is one of them." His smile grew sinister. "From the
    long life you've lived I'm sure you understand, we don't take this sort of thing lightly."
    "It was a mistake." Jesse told him firmly. "The press will never believe it and it won't happen again."
    "For the Undead, there are no second chances Jesse." He said.
    "So kill me." I retorted. "But I'm guessing that whoever taught you math, wasn't doing their job right." I motioned to
    my brothers and then to him. "You're at an obvious disadvantage here." Each of them snickered and moved closer to the Undead.
    The Undead smirked. "You think I'm alone?"
    I paused, holding my breath, tuning into the noises of our
    surroundings. I blocked out the incessant chatter of the fans fleeing the venue and pin pointed the sounds of footsteps moving quickly in the distance. My band heard them as well. They stilled to adjust to the noise.
    It took mere seconds and we were surrounded; thirty of the walking dead in