He stared down hard at her, as if taking in every feature. “You’re…you’re right. She’s the spitting image of us. If it’s true, why didn’t Mom and Dad tell us? Why did they keep her a secret?”
I let out a long sigh. “They gave her away when they were teenagers. She’s two years older than you.”
“Two years, huh? That makes her twenty-four.” He pushed the gun into his waistband and then ran a hand through his hair as emotion overwhelmed him. “You shoulda told me right off the bat.”
“Like I said, I just found out. Besides, I promised Mom I wouldn’t say anything. She wanted to tell you in her own way…later today.”
“So how did you find out?”
“I overheard Val talking to Mom. I couldn’t believe it.” I pulled out a vial from my black satchel; it contained the precious green serum.
“You stole for her too?”
“She’s not just any girl. She’s our sister. Should we give her some and see if it works? Doc seems to think it will do the trick.”
“It could kill her, like the last guy,” he snapped. “I don’t know what to say, what to do. I do know we’ll never make it to a city before she turns into a full-fledged monster. Wouldn’t that look great on the front of the family Christmas card? Yeah, she’ll make a lovely addition to the family reunion next year.”
“We have to do something. Like you said, we can’t just leave her to her fate.”
He crossed his arms. “You hold the possible formula in your hands, right?”
“Right.”
“So why haven’t you put it to good use already?”
“Well, Doc says it won’t work during the transformation. We can’t give it to her until she actually becomes a zombie. That’s how the formula works. The problem was, General Lofters planned to execute her right away, as soon as he found out she’d been bitten. And you know darn well there’re no exceptions.”
“So what do you propose? We wait, invite her to lunch, and then hand her a cup of tea? She’ll rip our heads off as soon as she turns. I’ve seen how these things work…and eat. They’re almost unstoppable.”
“She couldn’t wait to meet you,” I said. “You’re her little brother.”
“Yeah, right. You mean she couldn’t wait to eat me.” He shook his head. “Play the guilt card, why don’t you?” Then he swiftly picked up Val and cradled her close. “It’s not safe out here.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Well, what are you waiting for? I’ve got sister dearest, so let’s go.”
I nodded and swung the black bag of vials over my shoulder. “You’re going to love her when you meet her.”
“Maybe, as long as she doesn’t get hungry.”
Chapter 4
Nick and I took turns carrying Val. My arms clasped beneath her body to hold her in place. I struggled along the woody path, intent to keep up with Nick, even though he didn’t seem to want to make it easy on me. Granted, he was still pissed that I hadn’t told him about our sister right away, but knowing I had saved her life was my personal redemption and justification. I released a long, settling breath and moved the thicket out of the way; still, the deeper we moved into the woods, the denser the thicket became. To make matters worse, Val’s long hair almost trailed down to the ground, and I had to be mindful of it so it wouldn’t get caught in anything and hurt her. It seemed to me that she should have woken up already, but as the seconds and minutes ticked by, I began to worry that she might not ever wake up again.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked hesitantly after what seemed like an eternity. I noticed his worry lines straight away as his gaze shifted from Val to me then back to Val, as though he couldn’t make up his mind whether to forgive me for the sake of our sister or keep being a jerk about it. “Let me take her,” he muttered, grabbing her out of my arms.
I opened my mouth to thank him, but he’d already turned his back on me, leaving me standing in the middle of nowhere while he continued his march.
For the next hour, Nick carried Val without complaint. The bulging veins in his arms and neck told me his muscles were nearly at their point of fatigue.
Unable to watch his struggle any longer, I put my arms under her. “Hey, man. It’s my turn again. Take a break and let me carry her for a while.”
He jutted out his elbow, and ignored me as if I was nothing more than some pesky fly.
We spotted a trail and decided to follow it. It was a brilliant stroke of luck, because we soon came to a clearing, and our pathway ended at an overgrown dirt road. Nick was hopeful that there was a city nearby, so we started to walk off to the side.
I tried not to worry about Val, but it was difficult to put her failing condition out of my mind. “I wonder when she’ll wake up,” I said.
“Don’t go getting all worked up over it. This is completely normal.” He shrugged, as though he’d seen it all before—and he had. “During transformation, she’ll have these long sleeping spells.”
I nodded and then pointed at a green metal sign. “Next town’s just a mile away. We need to get our hands on some emergency supplies.”
“Yeah, especially food and water, but also a car and gas, if we can get our hands on any.”
“Guns and ammo too,” I chimed in.
“Right! A heck of a lot of ammo!”
A smile spread across my lips as my mind began to race, searching for ways we might get out of the predicament we found ourselves in. “If we can’t find guns and ammo, there’re always chainsaws. We could check garages.”
Nick shook his head. “Nah. They’re too noisy and might attract more zombies. Besides that, chainsaws weigh around ten pounds, compared to two-pound weapons like machetes, crowbars, trench spikes, or baseball bats. Remember, we’re looking for anything that can crush or decapitate a skull in one blow. If it can’t, there’s no use lugging it around.”
I was impressed; Nick sure knew his business. “Great tips, Mr. Zombie Hunter,” I said with a laugh.
“This is serious stuff, Dean. Let your guard down once—just once—and you’re a dead man. Even worse, you might get others killed in the process. Got it?”
I nodded, even though Nick’s back was still turned on me.
We walked as fast as we could, remaining silent. My nerves were on edge, and my ears strained to pick up any unusual sound, but the only noise I could hear was the steady thump-thump of my heart, beating like a drum in my ears.
I broke the silence first. “So, we’re gonna get ourselves a cool set of wheels? I like that idea.”
“It’s not exactly a shopping spree. Going into town at all is risky. Our goal has to be to get in, get what we need, and get out—as quickly as possible. You got that?” Nick said without turning.
“Yeah, I got it.” His camouflage shirt stuck to his sweaty back. I wished he’d let me take a turn carrying Val.
We walked for another minute or so before footsteps thudded behind us. I swung around, ready to battle whoever it was. As I squinted against the glaring sun, I made out two figures in the distance, running straight toward us. My first thought was to run away, but then I came to my senses. Zombies can’t run that fast. Who could that possibly be?
“Quick, take Val!” Nick handed our sister to me and whipped out his pistol.
I could only make out long hair, so I figured we were being approached by women. “It looks like a couple of girls, running from something. Put the gun down, Nick!”
Ignoring me, Nick held his weapon steady. “No! One of them has a weapon. Don’t you know the first rule of survival out here in Zombie Land?”
“Huh? But—”
“Take no chances!”
“Don’t shoot!” a female voice shouted.
“Drop your weapon!” Nick shouted.
She dropped it on the ground and raised her hands in the air. “It’s a stun gun.”
I craned my neck to get a better glimpse as she inched closer. Fear mirrored in her wide, green eyes. Her dark hair hung over
her skinny shoulders in long, disheveled clumps. From the looks of her, she’d fallen in the mud while running. A pair of sandals dangled from her hands, and her bare feet were black and dirty.
“Please don’t hurt us!” she yelled again. “We’re already being followed by zombies.”
The cute brunette with blonde streaks was a teenager about my age. In spite of being sweaty and dirty, she still looked hot in plaid shorts and a black shirt that showed off her tan midriff and navel piercing. I tried not to stare, but she was gorgeous.
Nick refused to put his gun down. “Have you been bitten or scratched in any way?”
She gasped for air. “No! I swear we haven’t.”
He slowly lowered his arm, but hesitation was clearly written on his face. “C’mon then, we need to keep moving.”
The girl sighed relieved. “Thanks.” A frown appeared across her forehead as she reached down and picked up her stun gun.
Nick resumed his previous brisk pace.
The girl rushed to keep up. “I’m Jackie.”
My brother kept moving but shot her a glance. “Nice to meet you. I’m Nick, and this is my brother Dean.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, stepping carefully over a few moss-covered logs. If I took one wrong step, Val would fly right out of my arms.
Jackie stomped down on a large fern in her path. “It’s nice to meet you too. And this is my cousin, Claire.”
I turned my attention to the redhead standing behind her, wondering how I could’ve missed her before. The girl was in her early twenties. She wore a sundress with a low V-neck and was pretty cute herself. Though she didn’t speak, the look on her pale face told me all I needed to know: She was scared to death.
Nick broke through a patch of vegetation. “I wish we coulda met under better circumstances.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Claire said, pushing aside a dangling branch.
“Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay now,” I said trying to ease her nerves.
“Yeah?” she said. “That’s what the last group of people told me. You know what? They’re all dead now.”
“Really?” my brother mocked. He hated being underestimated. “Well, maybe next time, they should consider more powerful weapons than stun guns.”
As we walked, Nick turned to meet the redhead’s gaze. “How many zombies were on your tail?”
“A bunch—not sure how many, but there were a lot. It sucks so much. We’ve been safe for months. We had the perfect hideout, a mansion just south of here. We had food, clothes, supplies, everything, but they bombarded it yesterday.”
That explained why the girls weren’t wearing cargo pants and combat boots like Nick and I. Those sandals wouldn’t do them any good if they stepped in a puddle of blood or had to climb over a few dead corpses. They’d made the mistake of getting comfortable, something no one could afford to do in Zombie Land. The only safe place was in a sheltered city, with a military force backing it up—or even better, an island like the one I lived on back in Ohio.
Claire frowned as she peered from me to Val, who was still lying unconscious in my arms. “Who is she?”
“We survived a helicopter crash,” I said.
“That’s horrible,” Claire said. “I’m so sorry. I’m glad you were able to get out before it exploded.”
“That was you guys?” Jackie said as she briskly walked along. “We saw the flames and smoke at the bottom of the hill after we hiked up it, and then the helicopter—yours, I guess—burst into flames. We hoped nobody was hurt.”
“That crash is nothing compared to what we’re about to face,” Nick said.
We kept walking for a few minutes, following the road I hoped would lead to somewhere. Eventually, we rounded a bend and stopped to peek at a large, contemporary, two-story glass mansion. It seemed to catch the sunrays from every angle. Who did it belong to?
“We can hide in there, right?” Claire anxiously headed in that direction.
Nick darted after her. “Wait. I need to know exactly how many of those things were after you. ‘A bunch’ doesn’t cut it. Can you give me a more specific number? Five? Fifty? If it’s a herd, hiding in that house would turn out to be a suicide mission. We’d be trapped with no way out.”
“There were about four or five of them,” Jackie called back to him.
“Cool. That’s not a problem at all. I can definitely handle four or five,” Nick said, sounding sure of himself.
“Good thing we ran into you then.” Claire smiled shyly, her eyes taking him in. Clearly, had circumstances been different, she wouldn’t have hesitated to make it clear that she liked him, but flirting days were over. In the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the very hungry undead, there was little time for exchanging phone numbers. It was more important to tell each other how to avoid a zombie bite.
If Nick did notice the girl’s rising interest in him, he certainly didn’t show it. His commanding voice barked at them, “Just in case more come, can you girls fight?”
“Fight? Who do we look like? I’m not going anywhere near those nasty things!” she shouted.
My brother let out a long sigh and then met my gaze. “Wait here. I’ll check out the house.”
“I’m coming!” I argued.
“No! I need you here to watch Val. She’s out cold, in case you didn’t notice. Do you want something to start nibbling on her leg like a piece of fried chicken?” He clapped my shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
He headed off into the house, and my stomach clenched; I didn’t like him going in there alone.
“We can’t just wait out here forever,” Claire said. “Those things are coming!”
I shot her a look. “Aren’t you wondering why that door’s not locked? You want to run into a house full of zombies that’ll eat your brains?”
I could almost see a light bulb flickering to light above her head as realization struck her. “You’re right,” she said eventually.
Jackie met my gaze. “Thanks for looking out for us.”
“Not a problem.” I craned my neck to the left and right, spinning in a circle as much as the added weight of Val weight would allow me; though Val was thin, she was a dead weight. My gaze focused in the distance, taking in every detail that might give away a possible pursuer, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The sky was blue, and the birds chirped away like they didn’t have a care in the world. It was hard to believe I could be facing a zombie at any given moment. It all sounded like some bad dream—like something I’d read in my comic books as a kid.
A few minutes passed, and my brother’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “The house is clear, but there aren’t any good weapons. Let’s head into the garage.”
“Sure,” I said.
Nick nodded. “Look, I need you out here to help me fight. You up for it?”
“Sounds like a plan.” I’d always wanted to jump into the action, especially when my brother came back and told me all about his zombie-fighting adventures. Finally, I was going to get that hands-on experience I’d been longing for. My heart pounded as realization kicked in.
“Let’s get Val inside where it’s safe,” I said, shuffling into the mansion. I didn’t have much time to check the place out, but it was pretty clear that the former residents had been loaded. If the place truly had been abandoned, we’d surely find some useful supplies to take with us.
After setting Val down on a yellow sofa, Nick motioned for us to go.
I turned toward the girls as I set my black bag down beside the couch. “Please watch Val and my stuff…and lock the doors behind us!”
“Got it. And don’t worry. I got your girlfriend’s back,” Jackie said.
Nick yelled for me to hurry, so there was no time to explain who Val really was.
“Wait!” Claire said. “Do you want my stun gun?”
“What good is that going to do?” I just sprinted out the door, calling the girls to make sure they’d lock it behind me, just in case the
y’d already forgotten or misheard my first instructions. I didn’t know them all that well yet, so I naturally didn’t feel like I could trust them with my sister’s safety. At the moment, all I could think of was protecting her so no one would get to her in the first place.
With one hard yank, Nick opened the sliding garage door. It was as loud as a flippin’ freight train, and I only hoped it didn’t draw any attention. Once it was open, I dashed into the garage and stumbled over a few bicycles that had fallen backward against some white wicker patio furniture. I caught myself by hanging onto a monster-sized grill.
“You okay, klutz?” My brother rolled his eyes.
“I’m fine. Missed a step, that’s all.” I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and regained my balance. Tools hung neatly on hooks along a giant pegboard attached to the wall next to a large workbench. Wrenches were hanging in order of size. The owner had certainly been organized, and I felt almost bad even considering messing up his neat little display by taking a wrench, but then something better caught my attention: a sledgehammer, sitting right there on the table, begging to be used. Granted, it wasn’t the most lethal weapon, but I figured it was better than a screwdriver.
“Good choice,” Nick said, “but remember, a zombie with a broken collar bone is still a zombie. Smash the skull and kill the brain.”
“Yeah, I know. Stab, smash, penetrate, crush, or puncture the skull. It’s pretty simple if you ask me.”
Nick frowned. “Don’t you dare get cocky! And never underestimate those freaks. Do you understand? The minute you do…you’re dead.”
“A little confidence never hurt anybody, Nick. It’s worth its weight in gold in any arena.”
He glared at me. “Dean!”
I could tell my brother wasn’t keen on involving me in an episode of Man Vs. Zombie, so I tried to reassure him. “I can do this, Nick. Really, I can.”
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