by Stephens, L.
How she got her money, what her daughter thought of her, why Mark didn’t respond to her messages and her own self-respect were the least of her worries now. At first it felt like an inconvenience, trivial and nothing to worry about, but when the fire alarm didn’t turn off after a few minutes Lynne started to get concerned. Ava’s eyes were wide, and she could see the worry in her mother straight away, so Lynne tried to play it off as nothing. Usually, Lynne would have done the dumb thing and waited till she saw or smelled smoke, but considering she had a six-year old child with her and she was twenty-five floors above the ground, she couldn’t take that liberty. She could hear the slamming of doors and commotion in the hallway, and she knew she couldn’t pretend it wasn’t happening any longer. Lynne pulled Ava out of bed and disregarded proper fire evacuation procedure by smashing everything they had brought with them into her suitcase. Just as they were making their way to the door, the fire alarm suddenly stopped.
“Typical,” Lynne whispered as she started walking back to the bed.
Lynne and Ava jumped as the sound of the fire alarm started again and then suddenly stopped.
“Make your fucking mind up!” Lynne yelled to the ceiling.
“Mommy!” Ava cried, pulling free from Lynne’s hand.
Lynne looked down to see Ava with her hands and Jenny the doll over her ears.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Lynne said sweetly. “Yes, ear muffs.”
“This is an emergency message. Guests of the hotel are advised to stay in their rooms at this time. Leaving your room may lead to serious harm or injury… This is an emergency message. Guests of the hotel are advised to stay in their rooms at this time. Leaving your room may lead to serious harm or injury…” The pre-recorded message boomed from the speakers in the ceiling fire alarm.
Lynne didn’t know what to do. Now it was very serious, and staying in the room was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Stay here, baby,” Lynne said to Ava with a quick kiss on her forehead.
She ran to the door and looked through the peephole. Guests were still running down the hallway, and Lynne looked to Ava who had started sobbing quietly, clutching her doll.
“Come on darling,” Lynne said as she casually walked over to Ava. “Let’s get out of here.”
It seemed insane to leave after being told not to, but, like seeing and smelling smoke before you act, you don’t exactly want to be at the mercy of someone else’s opinion. Lynne took Ava by the hand, led her towards the door and sheepishly opened it, but only enough so she could peek outside. The hallway was busy with activity: people leaving and people doing the same as Lynne, leaning out their door, not committing to leaving or staying. The door across the hallway opened and Rachel, the human slug from the pool, stepped outside.
“Rachel, are you leaving?” Lynne called across the hallway.
Rachel pulled her suitcase out of the doorway and let the door close behind her.
“Rachel!” Becca yelled. “Get your fat ass down here. Let’s go, already!”
Lynne looked down the hallway to Becca. She had already turned and was heading to the elevator. She was going whether her mom liked it or not.
“We’re getting out of dodge, hon,” Rachel said over her shoulder as she waddled down the hall after Becca. “And if you’re smart, you’ll leave too!”
“Rachel!” Becca commanded. “Move your fat ass!”
That had sealed the deal. There was no way she was going to follow the lead of that idiot and her painful child.
“I don’t want to go with them, mommy,” Ava whispered, tugging on Lynne’s leggings.
She watched Rachel and her other neighbors heading towards the elevator and closed the door.
“Ava,” Lynne said, getting down on one knee so she was face to face with her. “You are the smartest little girl I have ever met. I love you so much. You know that right?”
“Silly mommy!” Ava giggled. “Of course I do, you tell me every day!”
“That’s right, baby,” Lynne said in between kisses on Ava’s forehead. “And I will keep doing it forever and ever!”
Lynne quickly began to assemble a barricade. The bed was bolted to the floor, so she settled for using the couch, room service cart and anything that Ava could carry and dump at her feet. Lynne finished the makeshift barricade, brought Ava over to the bed with her and held her close as she looked for a local news channel that could tell her more about what was actually going on.
“I want to go home, mommy,” Ava whispered. “Can we go home?”
“We are, baby,” Lynne said, clutching Ava to her chest. “Just not right now.”
“This is an emergency message. Guests of the hotel are advised to stay in their rooms at this time. Leaving your room may lead to serious harm or injury… This is an emergency message. Guests of the hotel are advised to stay in their rooms at this time. Leaving your room may lead to serious harm or injury…” The pre-recorded message boomed from the speakers in the ceiling fire alarm.
Lynne looked up to the ceiling. This was the last thing she needed.
CHAPTER 45: A WOMB WITH A VIEW
It was 12AM and Jessica was still watching TV. She had been waiting for Brad for the last 4 hours. It seemed nowadays she was always waiting for Brad, be it to call, to come over or to cum. It was a bye weekend for his team, and he was at a club downtown, hanging out with megastars and their entourage. She would have liked to have gone, but she knew he couldn’t invite her. There was no way they could be seen together, so she offered a sexier solution, and they had arranged to meet afterwards. So, here she was, waiting for him, while every bottle rat in Los Angeles threw her cervix at him.
She heard a car pull up and some movement coming from the hallway. The note on the front door and the trail of petals had worked. Jessica quickly turned off the TV and assumed her sexiest pose. She knew this kid wasn’t experienced. He was basically a virgin, and he hadn’t even eaten vag before she had thrust his head between her legs. To add some spice to this tryst, some extra habanero sauce to this good boy’s taco, she had slipped on some handcuffs that she had attached to the bed frame. She was now on all fours and cuffed to the bed. She was his reward.
Brad’s dark figure filled the doorway and stopped immediately. He must be in awe, she thought, and that thought made her even hornier.
“Baby! I have been waiting for you, forever!” Jessica said in a sexy voice while she rattled her handcuffs. “Come get your present!”
Still shrouded in darkness, Brad leaned against the architrave.
† The doorframe for those playing at home. †
“Brad?” Jessica whined, concern entering her voice.
Brad stepped forward. He was pale and covered in blood, and Jessica sat up, forgetting she was still handcuffed to the bed. She knelt like a meerkat and ushered him over. Her handcuffs quietly chimed, and she started to wish she had gotten the play cuffs instead of the real ones.
“Are you okay, baby?” Jessica asked. “What the hell happened to you?”
Brad sat down on the bed next to Jessica. He was holding his neck, rubbing it back and forth.
“We went to this club downtown,” Brad said slowly. “I was waiting for the valet to bring my car around, when all these guys came out of nowhere and started attacking us.”
“Who attacked you?” Jessica asked, her eyes growing as large as her tits. “Why would they do that? You’re hurt!”
“It’s not all my blood. A security guard shot this guy who had jumped on me,” Brad whispered. “The guy, he, he bit me!”
“He bit you? What the hell is going on?” Jessica demanded. “You might need a shot. He could have rabies or something. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
“I can’t go to the hospital with you! What would I tell my wife?” Brad said, turning to her. “Besides it’s just a graze. I’ll be okay. I’ll just get someone on the payroll to stitch it up, tomorrow.”
Jessica was hurt, not only by the mention of Brad
’s wife but by the way he had snapped at her and the contempt he had for the thought of being seen with her in public. She had prayed he would get over it, love would conquer all and all that other shit, but right there and then, she knew this wasn’t a man who was intending to leave his wife for her.
“Oh, look at you!” Brad said almost in slow motion. “You look fucking hot, babe.”
“Brad, I’m worried about you,” Jessica said. “You look terrible and you don’t sound too good.”
“I’m okay. Just let me have a shower, then we can have some fun,” Brad said with more energy in his voice.
Brad stood up gingerly and headed into the bathroom.
“Babe, can you throw me the keys to the cuffs?” Jessica called after him. “They’re just on the nightstand.”
He ignored her and walked into the bathroom. It took him a moment to realize he was standing in the dark before he reached for the light. After a couple of failed attempts, he just smashed at the switch, turning the light and the exhaust fan on too. Jessica hated the exhaust fan. It was loud and didn’t really do its job, but then Brad took off his shirt off and she forgot all about its shortcomings.
She loved how his back muscles looked, so strong and powerful. He used the shirt to wipe up the blood and suddenly hope overrode her sense of dread. He was wounded, he was hurt, but he still wanted to fuck her. Brad unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants. He bent over and pushed them to his knees where he paused. Jessica stared at his perfect ass. She was going to lick that asshole tonight, introducing him to the rusty trombone. Brad resumed undressing, releasing his feet and ankles from his pants, and then slowly walked to the basin and leaned over it, taking a closer look at his neck wound in the mirror. His back muscles bulged, and Jessica couldn’t stop thinking of their future together. She was wetter than she had ever been.
“I think you’re right, babe,” Brad called over his shoulder. “I might need to go to the hospital.”
Before Jessica could word a response that would stop him from leaving and thus failing to inseminate her, he fell sideways onto the floor.
“Brad!” Jessica screamed.
Brad lay motionless on the bathroom floor. Jessica tried to get free from the cuffs but it was futile. She eyed the nightstand and tried to reach the key with her foot, but out of the corner of her eye she saw movement coming from the bathroom.
“Brad,” Jessica said in a soothing voice. “I’ll take you to the hospital. Everything’s going to be fine. Just pass me the key on the dresser.”
Brad looked drunk and uncoordinated, and after a few attempts he got to his feet.
“Babe?” Jessica called. “You’re scaring me!”
Brad burst out of the bathroom. He was moving quickly, and his movements were erratic. He stumbled and bumped into the wall. Posters and photos clattered to the ground.
“Brad!” Jessica yelled.
Brad froze as he leaned on the wall, and he turned his face to her. It was white as the proverbial ghost, and his lips had a gray tinge to them, but it was his eyes that were especially horrifying. The pale blue color that reminded her of tropical vacations was missing, leaving a large onyx black pupil in a pool of milk.
“Brad, this isn’t funny!” Jessica screamed as he staggered towards her.
Jessica tried to move away, but the cuffs held strong, keeping her on the bed. Brad came straight for her. None of the gentleness or shy Southern boy qualities that made her heart turn to goo could be seen. This monster lunging through the air was not the man she had fallen for and that she was planning the rest of her life with. Brad landed on her like a Rottweiler on a prowler who had just jumped over the fence into the wrong backyard.
“Honey, not so rough!” Jessica squealed.
She had hoped this was some sort of bizarre game, some sort of kinky sex thing, and her eyes darted to one of the hidden cameras. This wasn’t the plan but it was something like it. His jaws opened wide then clamped shut on the side of her neck. Jessica screamed in pain, but not in her Hollywood B-grade horror film scream. This time it was all real and the cameras were all rolling. It wasn’t a love bite either. It was like no pain she had felt before. Blood spurt all over the end of the bed and between her breasts.
“Help!” Jessica screamed, looking around at the all the hidden cameras. “If you can see this! Help me!”
Jessica’s struggling only intensified Brad’s hunger. She bumped the remote with her elbow, accidently pressing the power button among others, and the TV flashed to life in the middle of a commercial.
“When he’s not throwing that game winning pass or lifting the Super Bowl trophy, Brad Green’s hair shines in more ways than one,” the voiceover boomed out of the speakers.
Various shots of Brad in the shower, lathering his hair with the brand shampoo intercut with Brad throwing a football appeared on screen. Zombie Brad heard and saw the action on the TV and released Jessica’s neck from his mouth and stumbled over to it. It was him. He saw himself, his true self, smiling at the camera, hair shining in the sunlight, and something registered.
Brad was a pretty guy, and he knew it. He was humble in public, but in private his superficial traits would often betray him. Jessica had noticed the lingering glances in the mirror as they had sex, not looking at them, or Jessica, but himself. She didn’t care that he loved looking at himself while he fucked her, as long as she was the one he was fucking when he did it.
“Why?” Jessica asked as she started losing consciousness. “I loved you!”
Jessica collapsed on the bed, her elbow again landing on the remote and its tractor-beam-like power button. The TV turned off, leaving Zombie Brad face to face with a blank screen. He looked back at Jessica. She had no life left in her, and she gave him no urge to attack her, to eat her. He looked around the room for something he was missing in his world. Then he saw it. It had only been a few seconds, but there was the love of his life, standing right in front of him: his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Zombie Brad reached out his hand and moved towards the mirror. He got closer as if he was coming to embrace himself. It wasn’t the same guy from the TV, but it was still someone he wanted, someone he could spend an eternity looking at.
CHAPTER 46: THE SHIT THIEF
He had lost the zombies when they had poured through the broken glass door of the lobby, but he wasn’t sad for the screams of terror he heard. Fuck those assholes, he thought coldly. They should have let him in, even though he would have been in there with them getting eaten alive. As the screams faded, he thought he was home free, and Jake slowed to a brisk walk. Whatever was going on behind him was way beyond his comprehension, and he was in no fit state to try to remedy that. He pulled out his phone and tried to call Daryl, but he got no answer, just a voicemail.
“Daryl! What the fuck is going on man!?” Jake whispered as he looked back over his shoulder. “You weren’t fucking kidding, the dead have risen! I’m trying to get to you, bro, but there is a boatload of those fucking things between me and you right now. I’m going to try and go around them, but bro, if you can get out of here, do it, ‘cause, I think I’m probably going to have to jet, myself.”
He ended the call and went straight to the text message app and texted Daryl something similar to what he had just said in the voicemail. He knew he had let his friend down, but he also knew this wasn’t like he had flaked on meeting up for a drink, it was literally the zombie apocalypse.
Jake stopped for a second and looked around to make sure the coast was clear before he went back to his phone and pulled up the phone app, pressing the “Voicemail” tab and then on to record a custom greeting.
“You’ve reached Jake and he’s busy right now with the zombie apocalypse,” Jake said in a jovial tone. “And just so you know, I’m probably dead, so don’t come to my funeral, cause I’m gonna fucking eat you if you do!”
Jake ended the recording, and sniggered. He was pretty happy with himself. It wasn’t the best time to be joking about death and zombies, but
when was the right time for such a thing? He continued walking and pulled up Twitter on his phone, and his feed came to life. There wasn’t an abundance of people tweeting about zombies in L.A. Even the Twitter handle @LAScanner was quiet. Jake started writing a tweet as he turned a corner. He was Johnny on the spot after all. His voice needed to be heard. His jokes needed to be heard, but he didn’t expect in that very moment to come face to face with two zombies, a man and a woman.
The woman zombie kind of looked like Meryl Streep in Ironweed. Her weird hat come beanie was askew, but it reminded Jake of that boring ass film. Her beau looked like Tim Curry in Clue: his dapper suit, toothy grin and large eyes sparked fond memories, despite the fact that half his face had been chewed away and he was missing an ear. Jake couldn’t tell if they were old or young. Their bloodstained clothes were kind of old fashioned, but they could have been hipsters. He stood there for a second analyzing them, not registering what was going on. He could almost touch them, and even scarier they could almost touch him. They seemed drunk, their eyes rolling in their gray sockets as they swayed. Maybe they were drunk when they turned, Jake thought before he realized the situation at hand and pulled his patented Scarecrow spin move and got the fuck out of there. Zombie Meryl Streep and Zombie Tim Curry gave chase as Jake headed back towards the hotel. Running back to a scene of carnage and terror was definitely not Jake’s modus operandi, but he had seen a parking structure in between the hotel lobby and the corner he was now running from.