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

by Katz, Gayle

“That is a really bad idea,” said Stewart. “You might not make it back.”

  “I know, but my body has really been deteriorating over the past few weeks. Soon, there will be nothing left of me. Well, until I drank the whiskey, anyway. But I think that’s only temporary.”

  “Wait a minute. You drank whiskey and it reversed the process?” asked Stewart with great interest.

  “Yeah, it was this old kind, from the 1700s or something.”

  “I don’t think alcohol would last that long.”

  “No, but the recipe is from that era, and a shot of something.”

  “What was the name?” asked Stewart, eager to find out more.

  “Darn it. I can’t remember. Anyway, the bottle broke. But it had Founding Fathers or something on it, like from back when the United States officially declared its independence and became a country. I can send a text if I remember.”

  “OK, thanks,” said Stewart. “This is most interesting.”

  zzz

  “Why do you need me anyway?” asked Zan. She was tied to a chair. She didn’t know where she was being held.

  “Well, maybe I can get some of my things back,” said Rina. “And some of our people.”

  “Good luck with that,” said Zan. “I know everything was destroyed.”

  “Well, we’ll see, won’t we?” said Rina.

  zzz

  “Hey, check this out,” said Owen to Charlie. “Julian is going to go visit his grandmother.”

  “That’s nice,” said Charlie.

  “In Vancouver.”

  “What?”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” said Owen.

  “But that’s in another state. Who knows if he’ll survive the trip.”

  “I know,” said Owen. “But he only answered one of my texts. He said that if he was going to die, sooner would be better than later.”

  “That’s depressing, but I get where he’s coming from,” said Charlie.

  The teens had finally made it to the police station.

  Sergeant Jay Bourne was waiting for them on the steps. “It took you long enough!”

  “Hey, we didn’t have our vehicles,” said Owen.

  “Yeah, we were snatched right up,” said Charlie. “It was good that some of us managed to get away.”

  “OK, so while you took your time in getting here, I had a car check the factory. There is no one there.”

  “Not surprising,” said Charlie. “They’ve probably found a better hiding place by now.”

  “Get inside,” said Bourne. “Let’s figure this out.” He led the teens to one of the meeting rooms.

  “Do you need anything to drink?” he asked, but they shook their heads.

  “Have they initiated contact?” asked Charlie.

  “Yes, they have. They want us to release Clara Stokes. I think everyone else on their list is dead. Most were zombies, and well, you know they don’t live past a few months.”

  “Is that it?” asked Charlie.

  “No, they want all of Dr. Arora’s equipment, or similar. They also want any remaining injectables, so I’m having the rookies collect together measles vaccines. They also want a million dollars, but I can tell you, that’s not going to happen.”

  “Maybe send a million pennies?” suggested Charlie, laughing.

  “Oh, they’ll get a million something. It just won’t be legal tender. My men are working on it as we speak.”

  “You don’t think they would hurt Zan, do you?” asked Owen.

  Bourne shrugged. “They can’t turn her. She’s a zlayer. At least she has protection that way.”

  “So, are we just sitting here and waiting?” asked Charlie. “We sit here and do nothing?”

  Sergeant Bourne looked at Charlie, then at Owen. “No. I have a plan. This is something that no one is going to be in agreement with. And I certainly won’t be running it past our mayor, Jane Cote, at all.”

  Charlie and Owen looked on expectantly. They were onboard for any crazy scheme that he thought up.

  Bourne took a deep breath. “The whole reason for this zombie uprising is power. It’s for Dr. Arora to create her zinion army and take control of the city. Well, I for one am tossing down my hat. Let’s give it to her.”

  Charlie had a sharp intake of breath while Owen looked at him, wondering if he had understood correctly.

  Without further discussion, Bourne quickly left the meeting room to get his plans finalized.

  zzz

  “I really love you guys,” said Julian.

  “Wow, so mushy all of a sudden,” said Dad, driving the family car across the Interstate Bridge.

  Julian took a deep breath. He watched the city of Vancouver come up. It didn’t look any different than Portland, except that it was an entirely different city, according to the map, bylaws, the compass, and the Columbia River.

  He let out his breath. He was still alive! Could he reach his nana in time to say goodbye?

  “Hey, Dad, step on it a bit,” said Julian. “I’m getting a feeling, and we need to get to Nana as soon as possible.”

  “On it,” said Dad. “But I’m trying to do the speed limit.”

  zzz

  “You know you’ve been going about this all wrong,” said Zan. “Just look at all the wasted lives. Look at all the zombies you made, only for them to be killed by my team, or to have them die a natural zombie death.”

  “Shut up!” said Rina, slapping her hard in the face.

  “Wait until Jay gets hold of you! He’ll rip you to shreds,” said Zan in a threatening tone.

  “D-Don’t hurt. Don’t h-hurt,” stuttered Rina. Her body started to spasm. “Don’t hurt the teen. Bad Rina.”

  Rina reached out a hand and started slapping her face. “Stop! Stop! No, Dr. Arora! Stop!”

  Zan looked on, puzzled at the turn of events. “Hey, Rina is having a seizure or fit or something,” she said to the zombie goon. But he stood there staring into space.

  “Grrrr!” cried out Rina. “Dr. Arora is trying to take over my mind. I won’t let her! I am still me!”

  Zan looked up at her in pity. “I thought that was the whole point?” said Zan. “To let Dr. Arora come back to rule Portland?”

  “Noooo!” cried out Rina. “I said she could inhabit my body and get me out of prison. She did. Then she was supposed to go away, go back to the ether. I would control things from there.”

  Zan laughed. It actually was kind of funny. She had a smile on her face. “Hello? Dr. Arora? Are you there?”

  “No! Stop, girl, stop!” She slapped Zan again.

  “Hey, I’m on your side,” said Zan. “Dr. Arora? Come out, come out wherever you are!”

  “Nooo,” said Rina. “I can’t deal with this. Can’t.” Rina smashed her head against the wall.

  “No!” cried out Zan, as Rina fell to the ground.

  zzz

  “Death is coming soon,” said Julian in his mind. They had arrived.

  A small white house loomed up in front of him. He didn’t even bother grabbing his bag. He ran up to the door and knocked.

  “Julian!” cried out Nana, giving him a hug.

  “Nana! I’m so glad you’re well. But why are you out of bed?” Julian helped her back inside and to the couch.

  For the next hour, Julian totally forgot about how he was supposed to die.

  Chapter 17

  ________________________________________

  “What are you saying exactly?” Owen asked, still not fully understanding Bourne’s plan.

  “We should just play along, and let Rina and her gang think that they are taking over Portland,” said Bourne on Owen’s speakerphone. “Pretty simple, right?”

  “How is Jane going to like that?” asked Charlie, sitting next to Owen in the car.

  “Don’t worry about her. She’ll be fine with it,” said Bourne.

  Owen hung up the phone.

  “So when does this happen?” asked Charlie.

  “Bourne wants us at City Hall in
an hour. They should be bringing Zan along. He is getting a team together to lie in wait.”

  “Creepy,” said Charlie. “Well, it comes down to this. We’ll soon know how many zombies are really out there.”

  “You think the zombies will all come out?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “I wonder if this has something to do with that fog outside.”

  “Probably,” said Charlie. “It’s actually kind of warm outside. No reason for fog or smog.”

  They looked out the car window at the dense fog hanging over the city. It wasn’t even sundown yet.

  zzz

  After Rina had hit her head on the wall and gone down, she’d quickly gotten back up again. “Well, that was dumb.”

  “That was really dumb,” called out Zan from her chair.

  Rina or Dr. Arora, was lighting several tea light candles and placing them in the shape of a pentagram. There was a human hand in the center. It wiggled and moved, so it must have been removed from a zombie still living. In the middle, there was also a dead mouse, some herbs, and a bottle of whiskey.

  Rina came up to her, grabbed a chunk of her hair and chopped it off.

  “Hey, bitch! Get your own hair!”

  Rina just cackled. Then she dropped the hair in the middle of the pentagram.

  She sat in the center of the circle, and then uttered some words.

  Zan was uncertain, but thought they were something like, “Dona mihi conversus est ad patres potestatem hominis o founding. Et immortui maledictionem cunctis libera sit, abstrahe.”

  Zan ran the Latin through her mind. She hadn’t kept up with her Latin studies like Stewart wanted her to, but believed that Rina was calling to the Founding Fathers to banish the zombie curse and turn them free.

  She shook her head. That couldn’t be possible.

  “Supputabitur numerus filiorum Shredders causam meam,” Rina added.

  “Enlist the Shredders? What the hell?” said Zan. “Nooo!!!” Zan screamed. “Do not let the Shredders out! Do not let the Shredders out!”

  There was a loud buzzing sound in the damp underground location she was being held in. She felt, more than saw, the Shredders.

  They filled the air surrounding her. Zan shook her head. How to fix this mess? She looked over at Rina Orzola, but Rina had her own struggles with the Shredders.

  “Oh shit,” said Zan. “How do I get out of this?”

  zzz

  “So, what’s up?” asked Stewart, as he met Owen and Charlie in the parking lot of City Hall.

  “I think we’re supposed to connect with Sergeant Bourne before going in,” said Charlie, staring at the other cars in the lot.

  “Who are all these people?” asked Owen. “I don’t think any of them are zombies.”

  “I think they’re members of the press,” said Stewart. “They must have gotten word of what is going down.”

  “I don’t see Zan anywhere,” said Owen. “Do you really think they’ll bring her here?”

  Stewart stood up and slammed the door of his car. “Yep. That’s the deal.” He looked in the distance. Sergeant Bourne was running up to them.

  “Stewart! Kids! Any sign of Zan yet?”

  Stewart shook his head. “But don’t worry. That’s the deal. The zombies take over City Hall in exchange for Zan.”

  “Good, good,” said Bourne. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything were to happen to her.”

  “Same here,” said Stewart. “As her mentor, I’m obligated to keep her safe.”

  Owen and Charlie had now come out of the car and joined the adults.

  “Do we stay out here until the zombies arrive?” asked Charlie.

  “No, I want everyone inside,” said Bourne. “I have cops hidden all over. You won’t even see them unless you know where to look.”

  “Shouldn’t someone stay outside and keep an eye on things?” asked Stewart.

  “I already have men on duty,” said Bourne. “Let’s go in.”

  Owen and Charlie looked nervously at each other. They followed Bourne up the wide white steps of City Hall and into the main hallway.

  “That mask face is still there,” said Charlie.

  “Creepy, but kind of sad,” said Owen.

  “Don’t worry about the mask,” said Stewart. “That’s a project for another day. It’s imperative that we get Zan back safe.” As soon as he spoke the words, he turned and looked at Charlie.

  “What is imperative,” she whispered back at him.

  Owen’s hairs stood on end. “What’s happening?” he whispered.

  zzz

  Julian had a great visit with his grandmother. She was actually doing better and assured her family that she’d be around for Christmas.

  “Let’s go home,” said Julian’s dad.

  He followed his parents back to the car. He looked down at his arms and his legs, but they were still functional, the skin bright and healthy. “OK,” he said.

  He gazed in fascination out the window as the scenery flew past. He knew he’d die at any moment. And when that happened, he’d leave behind a grieving family.

  Julian was grateful that the zombie virus had given him extra time with his family. He smiled. But soon, there wouldn’t be happiness, and there was nothing he could do about it.

  “Hello, Julian. Earth to Julian,” called out Dad.

  “Huh? What is it?” Julian asked.

  “We were wondering if you wanted to go to Big Burgers.”

  “Um, yeah. Sure, but isn’t that in Portland?” He looked frantically around him.

  “Yeah, we crossed the bridge and are back home,” said Mom.

  “What the?” Julian turned and looked back at the bridge he had just crossed.

  He was still alive! How was that even possible? By all the zombie laws, he should be dead. Those were the rules. Why would he be exempt?

  zzz

  “Absolutely not!” said Mayor Jane Cote to Sergeant Bourne. “You get these people out of here right now!” She frantically waved at all the people who were heading to the boardroom of City Hall.

  “Sorry, no can do,” said Sergeant Bourne. “We have a plan and it involves dealing with the zombies once and for all.”

  “Yeah, so you can get your girlfriend back,” she said to him.

  “Friend. Zan is my friend. Like brother and sister.” He glared at her.

  “Yeah sure, whatever. Well, I’m not hanging around here for the zombies. If you need anything, then Marta can help you out.”

  A large rumbling sound was heard in the building.

  “What was that?” Jane asked.

  “Too late,” said Sergeant Bourne. “The zombies are already here.”

  zzz

  “I’m still alive,” said Julian, frantically texting Stewart, then when there was no answer, to Owen.

  “That’s fantastic! But how is that possible?” Owen texted back. “You crossed lines?”

  “Yep.”

  “Something else must be at play,” said Owen. “Will get back to you.”

  “Hey, Stewart,” said Owen, tapping him on the shoulder. He and Charlie were seated behind Stewart in the boardroom.

  “What?” asked Stewart, taking in the proceedings. The press was setting up cameras and lights at the front of City Hall.

  “Julian crossed border lines, but is still alive.”

  “That’s odd,” said Stewart, checking some notes on his smartphone.

  “Oh crap,” said Charlie.

  “What?” asked Stewart.

  “Think back to when we took that zombie across the state line to kill it in Vancouver Park. Remember?”

  “Oh yeah,” said Owen.

  “What?” asked Stewart.

  “It didn’t die. We killed it. If we hadn’t killed it, it might still be alive.”

  “You’re right,” said Owen. “Oh, and can you explain to me what happened earlier? Why you both looked at each other that way?”

  “Huh? Oh. Both Charlie and I remembered som
ething from the past.”

  “Yeah,” said Charlie. “It was something about the Founding Fathers of America.”

  “Yeah,” said Stewart. “I’d told her about some research I’d done. I’d been trying to decipher a passage in the spell book. I hadn’t realized that the translation was related to the Founding Fathers.”

  “Yes, and I remembered that he had told me the spell book likely had something about zombies from the past in it,” explained Charlie.

  “OK, but that doesn’t really help us here, does it?” asked Owen.

  “OK, so what about Julian?” asked Charlie.

  Stewart thought for a bit. “Julian is a good zombie. I’m guessing that because he is a good zombie, not out to harm people, that he can safely cross to wherever he wants.”

  “Um,” said Charlie. “So since most zombies are bad, they have to obey the border lines, otherwise, they’ll be killed?”

  Stewart nodded.

  “Great, so we killed a zombie that wasn’t going to hurt us,” said Charlie, thinking back to when the three of them had grabbed the zombie from Zan’s basement and put it in the trunk.

  “Well, most likely it was going to harm you,” said Stewart. “Don’t worry about that.”

  Charlie peered at her watch. “Is anything going to happen?” she asked.

  “I need to go to the liquor store,” said Stewart, suddenly getting up.

  “Hey, get me something,” said Charlie, calling out to him. “Geez, he could have brought a bottle in,” said Charlie, annoyed.

  “Um, I don’t think he’s doing it to get something to drink,” said Owen. “I think this is also related to Julian.”

  “Well, what a time to try and figure out puzzles, when the zombies are upon us.”

  Owen looked up. The zombies were entering the boardroom.