I promised to rewrite the scene where Ali and Cole meet in Alice in Zombieland from

Cole's point of view, and today I'm delivering.

Are you curious to know what thoughts rolled through Cole's head when he first met Ali?
Read on!
**
I pull the brim of my baseball cap low over my eyes and lean against the bank of lockers
behind me. Im surrounded by seven of my closest friends. We are considered the
troublemakers of Asher High, with good reason. We are tattooed and pierced and loaded
with muscles that arent just for appearancesthey are weapons. Lucas and Collins wear
house arrest anklets. Add in the fresh bruises we sport every morning, proof of the violent
lives we lead, and youve got a recipe for badass.
Say the word and I will get us signed up for homeschool. Bronx moves in beside me. I
want out of this hellhole sooner rather than later.
Dude. Shut your stupid mouth hole. Frosty punches Bronx in the shoulder.
"Mouth hole?" I ask.
There are no chicks in homeschool, Frosty explains.
He means there is no Kat Parker, the girl hes panted after since junior high. He won her
over last year, only to lose her over the summer for reasons she would never understand.
To be honest, Im kind of glad the two have separated. No one outside our group can be
trusted, and Kat is at the top of the list. Girl has a mouth.
Im with Bronx, I say. Homeschool wouldnt be so bad. This is my last first day of high
school, and Im already over it. Im seventeen, but I havent been a kid for a long time.
Actually, Im not sure Ive ever been a kid. Since the day of my birth, Ive lived in the
middle of a war the rest of the world knows nothing about.
was kidding, I hear Haun say. You know I was kidding.
You still have to be punished. Lucas puts the guy in a headlock and grinds his knuckles
into the crown of his head.
The others point and laugh. I smile. We are always wound up as tight as a bow, so its
nice to let loose occasionally.
Uh oh, Bronx says, stiffening. Incoming.
Yo Kitty Kat, Frosty calls, and I rub the back of my neck, knowing the interaction will
not end well. It never does with those two. Come over here and give me a proper hello.
You know you want to.
What I want is for you to go to hell, Kat retorts from across the hall.
I glance over and see the summer has been kind to her, turning her from sexy girl-nextdoor to full on maneater. There is a tall, slender blond standing next to her, a girl Ive
never met who is astonishingly pretty but not even close to being my typeand yet, after
I give her an appreciative once over and return my attention to Kat, my gaze is pulled
right back to her, as if my mind is finally catching up with what my eyes have seen. Im
suddenly locked in place, unable to move, much less breathe. The blond isnt just pretty.

She possesses the kind of fragile beauty you expect to find in a fairytale princess, not in
the hall of your local high school, and she looks as if a gust of wind will snap her in half.
Ive always been drawn to strength. The strong survive. The weak die.
But this girl Im suddenly aware of her in a way Ive never been aware of another, not
even my harem of ex-girlfriends, as Frosty likes to call them. Every muscle in my body
tenses, and lightning flashes in my chest. Heat pours through my veins, blistering. My
lungs constrict, as if the little air Ive managed to drag in is too thick.
She hasnt noticed me yet, and Im grateful. It takes a lot to break through my calm, but I
suddenly need a moment to wrestle with my control. I want to go to her. I want to take
her in my arms. I want my hands on her, and my mouth to follow.
I dont like feeling this way about someone I've never met, and so quickly, so intensely. I
dont like it at allbecause I like it far too much.
Whoever she is, Im going to stay the hell away from her. Like Kat, she isnt part of my
group so she isnt to be trusted.
Aw, come on, Frosty says to Kat. Dont be that way, baby. You love me, cause you
just cant help yourself.
Kat glares at him. I hope Rina gave you an STD.
The guys surrounding Frosty snicker at him, but he maintains his easy grin. His
confidence is kind of hard to shatter. Thats harsh, baby. I was just teasing when I called
you by her name.
Both times? Kat flips her hair over her shoulder. Im not mad, though. You lied to me,
and I lied to you. Were even.
Frosty stops grinning, ice seeming to crystalize in his eyes. I know that ice. Ive seen it
beforejust before he slays an enemy. When did you lie?
Kat smiles the kind of smile every guy should fear. Every time we messed around. I
didnt actually enjoy myself, if you know what I mean.
Burn, Lucas says with punch.
Frosty shoves him, his gaze remaining on Kat. Dont be that way. The tone of his voice
has changed. He is desperate now, and Im surprised he doesnt care that we hear it.
Doesnt he know were guys? Anytime we show a softer side, we reveal a weakness we
cant afford to have. Girls pounce.
Dont tell me what to do. And by the way, Im not teasing when I do this. Kat shoots
him a double-birded salute, and everyone erupts in a fresh round of snickers.
Ill change your mind, and Ill win you back, Frosty says. Its just a matter of time.
Actually, its just a matter of time before I feed your balls to my dog. She turns slightly
to the right to whisper something to the blond.
I wont look. I wont allow myself to look.
I force myself to smile a hello at Katand d*** it, I look, my attention returning to the
blond. This time, shes peering back at me, her pretty, pretty mouth shaped into a small O.
Our eyes meet, and my instantly brain short-circuits. I curse as the lightning becomes a

storm, the heat an inferno. Ive been with my fair share of girls, not harem numbers but
close, and not a single one of them has ever made me feel like thisas if I'm melting
from the inside out.
Ive got to get out of here.
Then the world around me shifts. One moment we are across the hall from each other, the
next
we are pressed against each other, my arms wrapped tightly around her, her arms
wrapped just as tightly around me. We are kissing, and its a good kiss. The kind I like
best: dirty, a prelude to more. I cant get enough of herIm not sure Ill ever get
enough.
Ali, I say. Her name is a prayer.
Cole. Her fingers tangle in my hair, knocking off my cap.
I angle my head to take her mouth deeper and harder, and I feel like an animal. Like Ive
been trapped in a cage for years but have finally been set free. Like Ive been starved and
have finally been offered a meal. You taste good, I tell her, and its the truth. She is
sugar and spice and everything nice, and I want more. So much more.
Ill have it, too.
Talk later, she says. Kiss now
Kat steps in front of her, blocking her from my view. A moment passes as I realize I
never actually moved from my spot at the lockers. I simplyimagined what had
happened?
What the hell? I take a step toward her as she gently pushes Kat out of the way and
searches for me. Our gazes meet a second time and I stiffen, pressing my heels into the
gold and black tile, wondering what the hell will happen if I go to her. Wanting it,
dreading it.
My hands tingle, as if they miss the silk and heat of her skin, and I realize I cant have
simply imagined that kiss. The sensations are too real, and lingered still. Soif I didnt
imagine itwhat?
Whatever the answer, I know shes to blame and I snap my teeth at her in warning. Her
eyes widen. Thats right, little girl. Im the big, bad wolf, and I bite. Be careful.
Come on, man. The bells about to ring. Lucas tugs on my arm as our friends scatter in
different directions. Play time is over. Weve got to go.
I dont want to leave the girlAli. Is that her real name?but I allow my friend to tug
me away, anyway. If I approach her now, I might say something Ill regret. Might do
something Ill regret.
Mind telling us what that was about, my man? Lucas asks as we turn a corner. You
checked out for a minute.
Dont want to talk about it, I say. Not now. I know my friends will believe me. We
have abilities we dont understand and consider nothing impossible, but if I admit Id just
mind-molested a strange girl, theyll go after her, might scare her.

Do I want to see fear in those ocean water eyes? Hell, no. Not while I so vividly
remember seeing passion
My hands curl into fists. I come to the door of my first period class, but bypass it,
heading for the back door.
Cole, Lucas calls.
I wave without turning to let him know I heard him, but I keep going, shouldering my
way outside, into the heat of the bright, shiny day. A few kids are running late and rushing
into the building as I climb into my Jeep. I dont drive away but sit there, staring at the
trees painted black and gold, our school colors.
I have to find out what the girl did to me, and how she did itwhy she did it. Maybe
shes working for Anima, the company that likes to threaten my friends and me with
disaster if we fail to stop our extracurricular activities. Maybe not. Maybe shes as
surprised by what happened as I am, maybe not. Maybe nothing happened to her, only to
me.
I need answers, and Ill get them. Someway. No matter how I slice it, shes a mystery, one
I plan to solve quickly.
Suddenly the thought of attending class is no longer such a burden. Its wrong of meI
know its wrongbut I smile. Ready or not Ali, here I come.
**
If you're wanting to pre-order The Queen of Zombie Hearts now's the time! We're at 2100
pre-orders, but if we get to 2500 pre-orders by September 29th, I will ---select one winner to video conference with me and ask all the questions she/he desires
about the White Rabbit Chronicles, as well as upcoming books (not lasting more than an
hour.)
--post a scene from Frosty's point of view about life after The Queen of Zombie Hearts.
I humbly ask for your help spreading word about the book and the pre-order campaign.
An exclusive edition with deleted scenes (sold no where else):