Zombie Slayer Box Set, Vol. 2 [Books 4-7]

by Katz, Gayle

  zzz

  “Hi, Zan. I hope you are doing much better than you were at the funeral,” said Sergeant Jay Bourne over the telephone.

  “Yes, thank you,” she said to him. “It’s not like I actually like my parents anyway. Say, how is that Ray Orzola guy doing? Is he locked up in jail still? Or out on bail?”

  “Ah, glad to hear you’re doing better,” he replied. “No, Ray will never be free. His bail hearing was denied. He’s still locked up in our cells, but soon he’ll be transferred to a state prison. Why?” He sounded a bit suspicious as he asked her.

  “Oh, I was just wondering. The others are going to start asking at some point. Anyway, for the real reason why I called you,” she started to explain. “When you guys were at the clothing factory, Charlie overheard that there might have been some sort of zombie vaccine.”

  “Right?” said Bourne.

  “So, if one of the zombie gang scientists, probably Dr. Arora, made a vaccine, where could it possibly be stored?”

  “Hmm. Well, we went over that factory with a fine-toothed comb, and there was nothing like that there. I’m guessing something like that would be stored at the hospital. Or maybe Dr. Arora’s home?”

  “Right,” said Zan. “Well, thought I’d ask.”

  “Glad to help,” he said. “Let me know if you need access to anywhere during your, umm, errr, investigations.” He emphasized the last word.

  “Of course,” she said and hung up.

  Chapter 4

  ________________________________________

  Stewart banged on the door. Mr. Warcola opened it. “Yes?” he asked.

  “I’ll get to the point,” Stewart said, barging in. “My student came by here last night to get her dagger back, and she hasn’t been seen since.” He stomped around the living room, peeked in the kitchen, and then headed for the back.

  “Sorry, I know nothing of this,” Mr. Warcola protested. “Last time I saw Charlie, she was at school.”

  There was only one bathroom and one bedroom at the back. Stewart peered in, but it was your average condo bedroom. He noted the cosmetics and jewelry.

  “So, you still haven’t gotten rid of your wife’s things?” asked Stewart.

  “No, it’s hard. I’m not ready yet.”

  Stewart headed back to the living room. “What did you do with her dagger?”

  “Um,” said Mr. Warcola. “I put it in the locked cabinet at school, like I said I would.”

  “I see,” said Stewart. “Well, let me know if you see her at all.” He headed to the door and walked out.

  “Yes,” he said, puzzled. He closed the door after Stewart.

  zzz

  “I don’t know where she is,” said Stewart. Owen and Zan were seated in his living room. “I apologize to you, Zan. You don’t need to be brought into this.”

  She shrugged. “Nothing to do anyway. Dad just mopes around the house all day. I’ll be glad when he gets back to work at the clinic.”

  “So, where was she last?” asked Owen.

  “I saw her last night at my place. She was heading to Mr. Warcola’s, while I headed to your house to check the protections.”

  “Oh, I forgot,” said Owen, scratching his head. “I saw another zombie last night. It was in the kitchen. But when I went to turn on the light, it disappeared.”

  “Hey, you doing some good drugs?” asked Zan.

  “No way,” he said.

  “OK, more sleepwalking,” said Stewart, brushing it off. “We’ll worry about your insomnia some other time. Right now, Charlie is missing. She was going to call me after she retrieved the dagger but didn’t. Gran said she didn’t show up at all last night, nor did she sleep in her bed.”

  Zan and Owen looked at each other, equally concerned about their zlaying friend.

  “Owen, I want you to retrieve her dagger from school. No sense in having that sitting out in public,” Stewart continued.

  Owen nodded. “No problem. I’ll do it before school.”

  “Should I do anything?” asked Zan.

  “Keep on trying to find that zombie vaccine,” Stewart replied. “I’ll notify Jay that Charlie is missing. He can access the video camera footage at Mr. Warcola’s condo and see if she really was there.”

  “Um, how did you know I was interested in the zombie vaccine?” she asked.

  “Jay told me. He tells me everything.”

  “Oh, I see. He’s your new best friend.”

  Stewart shrugged. “We get along.”

  zzz

  Charlie had no idea where she was. The world was surrounded with mist. She expected that if she moved forward or backward that she would eventually hit a wall, but she didn’t. Was she dreaming? She didn’t think so.

  She did know that if she’d been moved into some magical realm that she should stay put. It was tempting to explore, even if she couldn’t see anything, but if the door or portal were nearby, she shouldn’t move a foot.

  She pulled a small flashlight from her pocket and shined it around. All it did was light up the mist. She still couldn’t see three feet in front of her. How puzzling. She’d heard of different realms but hadn’t realized how simple it would be to enter one.

  “Hello?” she called out. “Mr. Warcola? Are you there? I think you’ve moved me somewhere I shouldn’t be.” But there was no reply.

  Charlie put the flashlight away. She swung out her arms, and bent her hips and legs to try and reach out. But she touched nothing. She was about to stomp on the floor when she heard a strange sound.

  It sounded like something was talking through a large hall. There were moaning sounds.

  “Hello?” she called out. “Is someone there?”

  “Hellllppp meeeee,” cried out a moaning female voice. “I’m stuck here.”

  “Yeah. You and me both,” said Charlie. “I don’t know where I am.”

  “Yoooou don’tttt belonnngg heeerree,” the voice replied.

  Charlie looked around, trying to see if she could see where the sound was coming from.

  “Zombieessss,” said the voice. “Looook to the booook,” she wailed.

  “What book?” asked Charlie. “A spell book?”

  “Yassss,” said the voice. “A spell twisted. Zombieeesss coming back from the dead. Look out.”

  Then, just like that, the mist cleared. Charlie had a brief glimpse of a dark-haired woman wearing a crocheted sweater with her hair up in a bun.

  “Just what the hell are you doing in my place?” yelled Mr. Warcola.

  “What the?” exclaimed Charlie. “Where am I?”

  Mr. Warcola pushed her in the direction of the door. “Out! Now! If you wanted your stupid dagger back, all you had to do was ask.” He pointed.

  “Sorry,” she said, stumbling in that direction. She exited. She decided for now to keep her mouth shut on what she’d seen and heard. But she couldn’t help noting that as she left, she saw a photograph on the mantelpiece that matched the image of the woman she’d seen in the ether.

  Charlie had just pulled into her driveway when her cell phone rang. Now what? “Hello?” she said, not recognizing the number.

  “Hey, Charlie. It’s me, Paulo. I thought we could meet after school.”

  “Oh yeah. That would be great. Umm, but I have to get ready for school now,” she said, wincing as she saw the time on her watch. “I’ll see you at 4 pm at the coffee shop?”

  “That sounds great,” he replied. “See you then!”

  Charlie hung up. Just how long had she been in the ether? It was like hours had passed, but it had only felt like minutes.

  zzz

  Owen had retrieved Charlie’s dagger from school. The school had been unlocked for summer school classes, so he’d been able to easily get in. When he walked past the security camera he muttered, “Invisibilia.” He quickly headed to the storage case near the entrance. Here was where they displayed trophies and various items of interest. Sure enough, there was Charlie’s dagger on display.

  Ow
en shook his head in concern. It would have been bad if the wrong people had gotten their hands on it. He quickly removed a slender, small screwdriver from his pocket and used it to pop open the display case lock. He quickly grabbed the dagger and put it into his bag. He closed and locked the case and was on his way.

  As he was leaving the school, his phone rang. “Charlie! Where are you? We’ve been looking for you.”

  “I have no idea,” she said on the other end of the phone. “But something’s up with that Mr. Warcola.”

  They made plans to meet.

  zzz

  Charlie called her friends to let them know she was safe. It had felt like only minutes that she’d been gone, but they told her she’d been gone overnight. She promised to tell Stewart more later but for now needed to meet with Owen.

  Owen showed up at the coffee shop. “Thanks for meeting with me.”

  “Hey, glad you’re OK!” he said, putting his hot chocolate on the table. “You need anything?”

  She made a small waving gesture with her hand. “I was at Mr. Warcola’s place when I got sent into another world.”

  “Another world? That’s bizarre. You should be talking to Stewart about this, not me.”

  She nodded. “I know, but I need you to talk to him. Because, I think something happened to his wife. Like, he was responsible for her death or something.”

  “Oh, that’s disturbing,” he replied. “In what way?”

  “Not sure, but in this other plane or dimension, she mentioned zombies. She said she was stuck in that plane and that zombies were coming back.”

  He laughed. “That’s accurate. It’s been zombies for nearly a year now. OK, so you want me to chat with Mr. Warcola before our next class? Find out about his wife, or something?”

  “I guess. He should be honest with you, after all, you’re a truthsayer.”

  He nodded. “OK, I’ll see you at class later then. Bye!” he said, picking up his bag. “Oh and have a good date!”

  She grimaced. “How did you know that?”

  He laughed as he left.

  A few minutes later, she saw Paulo walk in. He waved at her, and then placed an order. He brought two hot chocolates and some treats to their table.

  “Thanks for meeting with me,” he said. “It’s always great to have someone nice to chat with.”

  “Thank you! For the treats and that nice comment,” she said.

  They spent an enjoyable hour together chatting about school, their plans for after graduation, and special interests.

  “Oh, I still owe you a martial arts class,” she added.

  “That’s great, just let me know the time.”

  “I will. I might be getting a bit rusty. I think we all need a refresher.”

  “Say, do you mind if we hold hands or something?” he asked, blushing.

  “Oh, OK.” She reached out for his hand and took it.

  They both giggled.

  “I’m not used to this,” he said.

  She shrugged. “I know. Relationships are not my priority at the moment.”

  “Oh, I know,” he said. “School is going to be crazy busy our senior year, but some of my friends are bragging about their girlfriends and boyfriends.”

  “Oh, well, they’ll be broken up in a few weeks,” she said.

  He laughed. “Well, I hope not us. I would like to know you for a long time.”

  She smiled and held his hand a bit more tightly. He was rather cute. He was short and he dressed casually, and was certainly not ripped, but she didn’t really go for the big muscular types anyway.

  They had an enjoyable date, and then she explained how she had to get her homework done before her make-up history class. He looked sad, but they parted at the door.

  zzz

  Owen had forgotten his books so he went back home to grab them. As usual, the house was quiet. His parents were lawyers and often worked late. He grabbed a quick sandwich and milk, then headed upstairs to find his books.

  “What the?” he exclaimed as he turned on the lights. “Crap!”

  There was a zombie lying on his bed. It turned its head to look at him, then sat up.

  Owen grabbed his bag and searched through it for his dagger. He grabbed it, and then was ready when the zombie stood up and raced at him. Owen raised the dagger in the air and aimed for its skull.

  The dagger slid smoothly through its skull, a little too smoothly. Owen backed up, pulling the dagger away. The zombie then vanished into thin hair.

  “How the? What happened?” He looked at the bed, but there was no blood or gore, nothing.

  He immediately grabbed his phone and called Stewart.

  “What’s up?” asked Stewart. “I was about to sit down to eat dinner.”

  “Sorry, but there was a zombie in my bedroom,” explained Owen.

  “But that’s impossible,” said Stewart. “Did you kill it?”

  “Well, sort of. I used my dagger, then it vanished into thin air.”

  “So, there is no zombie then?” asked Stewart.

  Owen sighed. “I know it sounds stupid, but there is no zombie body. But there was a zombie here. It’s like it was a ghost or something.”

  “I’ve never heard of a zombie ghost. That can’t be a thing,” said Stewart. “Perhaps you were dreaming.”

  “I don’t think I was dreaming,” Owen explained.

  “Well, maybe you smoked something?”

  “No drugs,” he replied.

  “Well, let me finish eating, then I’ll check the spell book.”

  “Sure thing,” said Owen, hanging up. “OK, no one believes me.” He shrugged. He grabbed his things and headed to school. He hoped he’d have time to chat with Mr. Warcola before the other students showed up.

  Chapter 5

  ________________________________________

  Zan and Sergeant Bourne were seated in his unmarked police vehicle outside of Dr. Arora’s townhouse. There was a FOR SALE sign in front.

  “We have to stop meeting like this,” he said jokingly. “Say, how old are you anyway? Twelve?”

  “Stop,” she said to him. “You make me miss my brother.”

  “Sorry,” he said. “Just trying to take your mind off things. How did your brother take your mother’s death?”

  “Oh crap!” she exclaimed. “I don’t think he knows.”

  “He wasn’t at the funeral?”

  “We haven’t had one yet.”

  “Oh, sorry. I think you’re going to have to deal with this.” He reached over and patted her arm, but she glared at him.

  “OK. Since my pep talk is failing, let’s get this done. You shouldn’t even be here.”

  “Right,” she said. “But you may not recognize a zombie vaccine.”

  The two of them got out of the car and headed to Dr. Arora’s front door.

  Jay unlocked the door and they stepped inside. The lights were already on.

  “Maybe you should stay back. It appears someone is already here,” he said, warning her. He crept forward to the kitchen. “Why, hello,” he said to someone.

  Zan hung back but had her hands on her dagger, just in case. “Who is it?” she called out.

  Jay walked back into the living room with Mr. Warcola and the mayor. He was angry.

  “I’m getting so tired of this, Jane. You seem to constantly be involved in shit and you don’t tell me anything.”

  Jane looked a bit contrite. “Hey! I’m trying to keep Portland safe here. Maybe you should do YOUR job.”

  “OK, guys. Stop arguing,” said Zan. “Why are you two here?”

  Mr. Warcola looked guilty. It appeared that he had put something into his jacket pocket. Zan was about to tell Jay, but Jay had already noticed.

  Jay walked up to him and pulled his hand out of the pocket. Then he reached inside and pulled out a small glass vial. “What is this?”

  “Umm,” said Mr. Warcola.

  “Look, it’ll go better for you if you don’t lie.”

  Jane s
ighed. “I was trying to help him with his wife.”

  Mr. Warcola explained. “My wife is turning into a zombie.”

  “What?” said Zan. “She should be in the hospital. Are you trying to say that you’ve been treating her?” Suddenly it all made sense.

  He nodded sadly. “Jane told me about some zombie vaccine that Dr. Arora had made. We’ve been coming here the past week or so. I thought one or two vials would be enough, but it hasn’t.”

  “Wait a minute. You’ve been injecting your wife with this?” said Jay in horror, holding up the vial.

  He nodded.

  “But you don’t even know what it contains!”

  “It says right on the bottle: zombie vaccine,” explained Mr. Warcola.

  “Yeah, but there are no guarantees that it works!” said Zan.

  “I was willing to give it a try. What have I got to lose?” said Mr. Warcola.

  Jay was still angry. “So Jane here has been giving you access to Dr. Arora’s home? Everything you’re doing here is illegal. Breaking and entering, possession of a hazardous substance, practicing medicine without a license, and those are just the violations off the top of my head. Would you like me to go on?”

  “Relax, Jay. The family gave me a key to look after her place,” said Jane.

  Jay’s face squeezed into a bunch of angry parallel lines. “That’s mighty convenient. Zan, search the house for the rest of the vaccine and put it in my car.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said, rushing into action. When no one was looking, she put one of the vials into her jacket pocket for further study later.