Nick took a second to make sure no one could overhear them. “What are the odds that one of the Were-Hunters made a bad time jump and that’s what brought out our ugly giant plague doctors?”

“Sadly, the young Weres do that all the time. No. Something much more treacherous is going on here.”

“Like…”

“No idea. But it has to be bad. I’ve only heard of zeitjägers appearing in number right before something catastrophic.”

And given the fact she was a warrior who’d been killed during Armageddon and sent back in time to stop it from happening, that basically said it all.

They were screwed.

Sighing, Nick looked up at the ceiling. “I swear, if I survive this, I will never, ever say that a day is going good again in my life. Lesson learned. All days suck from now on.”

As the adult Squires began to arrive to evacuate the school, Nick saw Bubba Burdette come in among them. At six foot four and being a former college football linebacker turned zombie-survivalist, Bubba tended to stand out even in a crowd. He was a strange combination of horror-movie buff and redneck, complete with a well-trimmed beard and black hair.

But the one thing everyone knew about Big Bubba Burdette, he hated mornings with a burning passion. The fact that he was awake and here at this ungodly early hour more than anything else confirmed that the end of the world was upon them.

His heart pounding, Nick met Kody’s gaping expression. “What new hell-monkey wakens?”

Bubba snorted at his sarcasm. “After all the weirdness of the last few days and what with this storm moving in like it did and throwing down hailstones the size of baseballs, me and Mark wanted to make sure you and your mom were safe. I left him with Cherise and promised her I’d see you home.” He scowled as he saw the blood on Nick’s arm from where Mason had taken a bite out of him. “What happened? Do we need to get you to a hospital?”

That mixture of raw fear and concern in Bubba’s blue eyes caught Nick off guard. When Nick had been sucked into an alternate universe, Bubba had been his real, natural father there. A part of him he didn’t want to acknowledge had kind of liked it. Since his own dad had spent the majority of Nick’s life incarcerated or trying to kill him, Bubba had been the only real father figure Nick had ever known.

At least until two years ago when the immortal Dark-Hunter Kyrian had saved his life and given him a part-time job. Now Kyrian was like a second dad to him, which, while annoying at times, was also kind of nice.

There was nothing Nick wouldn’t do for either man.

“I’m fine. Just a flesh wound.”

Bubba narrowed his gaze on him, then looked at Kody. “Is he lying to me, Ms. Kody?”

She flashed a playful grin. “Doubtful. You know Nick. If it was really bad, he’d be whining like a baby and begging for his mom, and a lollipop and sticker.”