by Katz, Gayle
“Do you see any yet?” asked Zan, peering down to the door.
“Yes, I see a few headed this way. Wow, everyone sure cleared out fast.”
“Good. But we need to figure out how to get this door open, otherwise, we’ll be stuck on the ramp with a bunch of zombies.”
“OK, you go on ahead. I’ll wave and attract their attention. Hey! Over here, losers!” She waved her arms.
Zan moved forward to the door. It appeared that it had a lock on it, which made sense. But looks were deceiving. She twisted the handle and the door opened. She pulled it toward her, and then peered out.
The hot summer air entered the tunnel. She looked below. It was about a ten-foot drop to the ground. There was no way they could exit that way. But she left the door open anyhow.
Frankie came running down the ramp toward Zan. “I have a horde coming! Did you get the door open?”
Zan nodded. “Yeah, but where do we go? I don’t want to break a leg jumping.” Zan looked around the enclosure. There was a large garbage bin on wheels.
“Quick! Give me your phone.” Zan handed it to her. She threw the phone out the door.
“What the hell?” said Zan. “That cost me twelve hundred dollars!”
“Relax. We’ll get it back later.” She looked at the phone way down on the ground. It was still playing an irritating pop song. “OK, jump in the bin!” she advised.
Zan hopped in the bin, and Frankie jumped in after her. They found extra plastic bags inside, so they quickly covered themselves up. By now, the moans were getting much closer.
“Shh. Stay quiet,” said Frankie.
They heard the zombies enter the tunnel. Their feet made shuffling and dragging sounds on the ramp. Then finally, they heard sounds of zombies falling out of the door and onto the ground below.
“I think we can look now,” said Frankie, tossing the garbage bags off them.
“Whew!” said Zan. “I can breathe again.” Both girls hopped out of the bin and looked out the door. “Hey, look! It worked!”
“Yep, and by now, many will have broken limbs and not be able to get too far. This is where we can shoot them and take them out.”
“Awesome,” said Zan, pulling out her gun.
There were loud sounds of gunfire over the next several minutes. The pair took a break and looked down at the mess below.
“Wow, that’s crazy,” said Zan. “Are they going to make this out to be a terrorist attack or something?”
“Maybe, or perhaps it simply will never have happened,” said Frankie. “Cleanup team is on the way. And that includes destroying any and all camera footage from the past day.” She pulled out her phone and texted.
“Hey! I think I saw an arm move down there,” said Zan, peering over the edge.
“Relax. Even if one or two are still alive, they’re not getting far with broken limbs.” She put her cell phone away.
“OK. So, my volunteer work is a bust today. Do we go home now?” asked Zan.
Frankie looked back down the tunnel to the passenger waiting area. “Not just yet. Let’s make sure we got them all first.”
Zan had another look outside. The stench of rotting bodies came up at her. Zombies seemed to decompose a lot faster than regular bodies, not that she was a hundred percent certain of that. Then something caught her eye. “That’s odd,” she said to herself.
“What’s going on out there?” asked Frankie.
“See that plane in the distance? It’s like one of those ones where you have to exit the gate and then walk across the field and up the ramp to the plane. But look, there are zombies coming down.”
“Wow,” said Frankie. “I wonder if that was the source of the infestation?”
“Possibly, if some of them managed to get inside the airport.”
“OK. We need to find a way out,” said Frankie, frantically looking around. “We have to do something about those zombies. I’m sure security inside the airport has things under control.” In the distance, they could hear the occasional gunshot.
“Yeah, stupid zombies,” said Zan, “they should have picked somewhere else to mess with.”
Frankie laughed. She peered behind the trash bin they’d hid in earlier. “Say, there is a door here, and there are steps leading down to the ground.”
“OK, but why didn’t you notice that before?” asked Zan.
“What? You didn’t!”
Zan just rolled her eyes. They pulled the garbage bin out of the way. Frankie opened the door and headed down the stairs with Zan following.
“See that supply truck over there?” said Frankie, nodding her head in that direction.
“Yep.”
“I think we should lure the zombies onto it, then take off.”
“OK,” said Zan, a bit puzzled. They avoided any zombie splatter on the ground. “Hey! Here’s my phone! The screen is smashed, but I think it still works.”
“Good. Hold onto it for just a little longer. We can draw any remaining zombies into the cargo hold at the back of the truck. You said you could drive, right?”
Zan laughed. “Do I drive? Hell ya!” She followed Frankie up to the truck.
“OK, here’s the plan. We’ll put your phone inside the truck and you get the truck started. We’ll get this show on the road.”
Chapter 5
________________________________________
Zan got into the cab of the truck. She was lucky enough to find the keys already in the ignition, and that this was a small supply truck, not a big tractor-trailer that she’d have no idea how to drive. She only had her learner’s permit, but under the circumstances that hardly mattered.
Frankie ran up and knocked on the window. Zan rolled it down. “OK, here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll run into the back of the truck and toss your phone.” She took it from Zan and worked the controls. “Then, I’ll climb out through this access window.” She nodded behind Zan.
Zan pushed the glass open.
“During this time, you drive to the border.”
“The border?” she asked, confused.
“Yeah, the border between Oregon and California,” said Frankie.
“OK. I’m confused but gotcha.” Zan turned the key to the ignition.
Frankie ran around to the back of the truck and hopped in, but she left the access doors open.
Zan soon heard the starting sounds of a pop song. She slowly pulled away from the building. Occasionally, she’d peer in her rearview mirror. She adjusted it so she could see Frankie in the back of the truck. Frankie was near the doors, waving the phone, and trying to capture the interest of the zombies.
Zan decided to drive closer to the airplane that had the zombies. Several looked in their direction. Zan stopped the truck, giving them enough time to reach it.
Frankie had set the song on replay and just happened to choose the most annoying song of all. Zan groaned. As soon as she could, that song was being deleted permanently off her phone.
“Are we waiting for all the zombies to get on the truck?” she yelled out to Frankie.
“Yeah. We can clear these ones from the airfield. We also don’t want any to run away and infect others. I’m not so concerned with the zombies inside the building, as it’s harder for them to get away. But we really need to deal with these outdoor guys first.”
“OK, just yell when you want me to go.”
Zan nervously watched as Frankie backed away from the zombies entering the truck. First three were onboard, then ten. At least they moved slowly. But soon Frankie was flat against the back of the truck.
“Feel free to jump inside the cab any time,” called out Zan.
“Not yet,” said Frankie. “I estimate there are about twenty more to come onboard.”
“OK,” replied Zan, watching as the zombies picked up their momentum and several more hopped onboard the truck. They pushed at the zombies in front of them, so they had no choice but to get deeper into the truck. She guessed that zombies didn’t have much intellige
nce, as they didn’t realize that they were basically falling into a trap.
Frankie pulled at a thin rope and the door magically snapped shut. She rolled in her rope and tossed it in her bag. “Let’s go!” she called out. She started climbing through the window and into the cab. “That’s all of them.”
“That’s great,” Zan mumbled. If the door had remained open, the zombies would have likely fallen out. She started up the engine again and headed for the freeway. Good thing traffic was clear this time of day, otherwise they’d be stuck in gridlock with a big load of zombies in the back.
Zan drove faster than the speed limit.
“Hey! What’s up?” asked Zan. “Why aren’t you back in yet?”
“One of them is holding onto my leg! Darn it!” cried out Frankie.
“Kick ‘em where it hurts,” said Zan, trying to pay attention to her driving, rather than someone she didn’t really care about.
“Just drive. Don’t worry about me. Remember that even if I get bitten, I am immune. Though I’d like to keep my leg, if I can.” Frankie’s head and shoulders were in the cab, facing downwards. Her left knee was bent and on the edge of the window frame. She kicked out with her right leg. “Got him!” Finally, she pulled herself into the cab. “There! Easy peasy!”
Zan laughed and shook her head. “OK. I just took the exit to the California freeway. We should be there in no time.”
“That’s great. Good thing traffic is moving.”
The truck sped up. “We’ll be at the border in no time.”
“Awesome,” said Frankie.
Zan quickly gave her a look. “Why again, are we headed to the border?”
Frankie laughed. “There is so much you don’t know. Soon, you’ll see.”
Zan jumped when she heard a sound behind her. “Say, shouldn’t we close that window?” She saw zombie faces peering out at her. They were trying to shove themselves through the small open window to reach them.
“Good idea. Darn it! The window is stuck. Well, I don’t think they can stick their heads through and bite us at least.” She tried one last time to fully close the window, but it wasn’t budging.
Zan shrugged. “Can’t we switch to another song?”
“Why? I like this one.” Frankie smiled, singing along with the lyrics or what she thought were the lyrics.
“Ugh. That’s awful.”
“Holy shitskies,” said Frankie.
“What is it?” asked Zan, looking around. “Traffic? Zombies?”
“Zombies. It appears we have a zleader onboard. This is even better than I thought!”
“What’s a zleader?” asked Zan.
“Seriously, Zan? I already told you earlier. A zleader is a zombie leader. If you want to be a zlayer, you really have to pay attention.”
“OK, then,” said Zan. “No need to be rude.”
Frankie looked at her. “You know what?” yelled Frankie.
Zan looked in the rearview mirror. “Shh,” said Zan. “You’re agitating them.”
“We’re a bad match. When this is done, you can find another mentor,” she said, losing her cool.
“Whatever,” said Zan. “I didn’t sign up for this shit anyway. I can hunt zombies on my own.” She smirked.
“Ahhhh!” screamed Frankie.
“What the eff?” said Zan, trying to navigate the twisting freeway with a small truck, and trying to get a look at why Frankie was screaming.
A zombie had its hands wrapped around her throat. Somehow, it must have pushed through the window when they weren’t looking.
“Oh shit,” said Zan. “What do I do?”
“Get the gun!” said Frankie.
“Dammit!” Zan pulled the truck over to the side of the freeway and turned on her hazard lights. She quickly rummaged in her bag.
“Ahh! It bit me!” Frankie cried out.
“Good. I mean, damn,” said Zan, finding her gun. “But you’re immune.”
Frankie managed to pull out of its grasp.
Zan looked at the zombie. It was different. This one wasn’t as decayed as the others. Its eyes still glowed green, but they held intelligence.
“Bow down to the zleader,” it said.
“You can talk?” asked Zan.
It nodded.
“Keep it occupied,” said Frankie, frantically patting herself down to find her weapon.
Zan aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit the zleader right in the skull, but nothing happened.
“I am immune to your bullets,” it said in a voice that was deep and almost digitized. Her skin was a silvery gray, rather than the usual zombie gray. “Just like you are immune to my bites.”
“Hey, Frankie. That didn’t work,” said Zan.
“Zan, get this truck going again! We must reach the border!”
Zan got the truck started up. The zombies at the back of the truck became extremely agitated and made loud moaning and groaning sounds.
Frankie punched the zleader in the head. Finally, she found her dagger. She grabbed onto the zleader’s arm.
“No you don’t!” called out the zleader, knocking it aside.
“Dammit!” Frankie dove for her dagger. Fortunately, it only fell on the seat. She picked it up.
“Hey! Can you zombs keep it down back there?” called out the zleader. The zombies suddenly fell silent.
Frankie used her dagger, but it got stuck in the zleader’s shoulder. It whipped around and glared at her. It then pulled out the dagger and tossed it in the back of the truck. “Now what?” yelled out the zleader.
“Now this!” yelled Frankie, with another dagger in her hand. She took it and plunged it deep into the zombie’s eye socket. It went down. “Hah! Done!”
“We’re almost in California,” called out Zan.
“That’s great. I think I need a break,” said Frankie. “Whew!”
“Why did that dagger work but not the other one?” asked Zan.
“Really, Zan?”
“Yeah, I’m not paying attention. Blah, blah, blah,” she said in a mocking manner.
“That was a special enchanted dagger that can kill a zleader.”
Zan rolled her eyes. “When will I get the hang of this?”
Frankie laughed. “Someday.”
“But we still have a boatload full of zombies. Are we going to take them all down?” asked Zan. She watched as Frankie closed the glass window. A few zombies tried to reach for them, but most were still obeying their zleader’s final order.
“Nah, you’ll see,” said Frankie.
Half an hour later, they were at the border. They rolled past the sign.
“Hey! Pull over. Now!” yelled out Frankie. She ended the music on the phone.
Zan pulled over and stopped the truck, then took the phone from her.
“Look!”
They watched as the zombies inside the truck slowly dropped to the ground.
“Wow,” said Zan. “Are they dead?”
“Yep. No zombie can get past the border.”
“Why is that?” asked Zan, quite impressed.
“Magic,” explained Frankie.
“But look, one is still alive,” Zan said, peering through the window and pointing.
“What the hell? Shit. That must mean it made a new zleader.”
“What?” asked Zan, following Frankie outside of the truck and around to the back.
“Pee-yew!” said Zan. “It sure stinks back here.”
Frankie jumped onto the truck. “Hey, you’ll soon get used to the smell and not notice it much. It’s part of being a zlayer. You’re right. This one is still alive. Curious. Sometimes this happens and I don’t get it.”
The zombie just sat against the wall. It didn’t even look at them.
Frankie pulled out her knife and plunged it into its skull. It soon collapsed onto the floor, finally dead. “No, just a normal zombie. Well, I don’t have all the answers all the time.”
“Well, that’s done,” sai
d Zan. “Now what?”
Frankie seemed to just be staring at the wall of the truck.
“Frankie? Hello?” asked Zan. She tapped her shoulder.
Then Frankie swung around, her eyes glowing green. “I am the new zleader,” she called out. “You shall obey only me!”
“What the hell?” said Zan.
Zan still clutched her gun in her hand so she opened it up and let the bullets drop to the ground. Then she reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out the magic bullet. She didn’t even know what she was doing. The bullet somehow found its spot inside her gun. The gun closed. She aimed and shot.
Frankie dropped to the ground.
“Oh my god! What have I done?” cried out Zan.
Frankie’s body shook.
Zan tried to hold her still. It was like she was having one long seizure.
“Can I help?” she called out. “I didn’t mean to shoot you!”
Frankie’s body stopped shaking, and then she spoke. “It is a zlayer’s prime directive to kill the zleader. You had no choice.” Then, her head collapsed to the ground.
Zan frantically tried to find a pulse and heartbeat, but there were none. She did CPR, and called for 911 on Frankie’s phone.
As she heard the sirens get closer, she abandoned the CPR. She grabbed both of Frankie daggers and was about to leave, when she had a second thought. She pulled two syringes out of her purse. She took one blood sample from Frankie, and one from one of the other zombies.
Before the ambulance reached the truck, she was long gone.
Chapter 6
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PRESENT DAY
Charlie was jogging on the treadmill at the gym when her phone rang. She considered not answering it, but she hadn’t heard from Zan yet. She should be back from Florida by now.
“Hey, Owen. I was hoping it was Zan. How are things going?”
“Hey, Charlie,” said Owen. “I really need to talk to you but not over the telephone.”
“Sure,” she responded to one of her best friends. “But I’m at the gym now.”
“I know. Oh, and I forgot, but Zan and her dad have invited us over to their house later.”