Zombie Slayer Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3]

by Katz, Gayle

  “Yeah, that could be him,” said Larry. “He looked kind of stoned.”

  “So did he approach you first?’ asked Zan.

  Larry nodded. “I was just going to dress up the models and apply makeup. You can see some of the posters we have around the theatre. It was after these were done that he showed up at my shop, saying he had a fabulous idea.”

  Charlie grimaced. “So, what did this cost you?”

  “Nothing,” said Larry. “He told me these guys were theater students, brand new actors. They wanted to learn so they wouldn’t be charging any fees, at least this time around.”

  She nodded. “Well, thank you for your time.” The girls turned to go.

  “Hey, I’m so sorry this happened,” said Larry. “It was not my intention.”

  “Nope,” said Zan. “I suggest you start cleaning up this mess, unless you want to lose your rental deposit from the theater.”

  She and Charlie walked to the stage and hopped down. They did a quick tour around the theater, but everyone was dead. If in doubt, Zan used her dagger.

  They went to the doors, but they were locked, just like before.

  Charlie soon had the lock picked. They entered the lobby, but there was no one around. Then they heard sirens in the distance.

  “I wonder what the purpose of this was,” said Zan.

  “Well, isn’t it obvious,” she said, as she led the way to her car. “Someone is trying to start a zombie uprising. It’s a lot easier to do it in an enclosed space than to send a zombie out at random on the streets.”

  Zan gave a wry smile. “That’s crazy. People need to stay home or something.”

  “Well, you got that right. Somehow this city isn’t safe anymore.” Charlie clicked the button on her keys. The doors unlocked. They got inside and left. “It looks like we’re going to have to visit John again, but let’s do it after we get washed up and the police have left,” she suggested.

  “Right. Maybe we can do it tomorrow night? I doubt the drug dealers are going to be attempting anything else tonight.”

  “This will also give us an opportunity to find out where the zombies came from. They may actually lead us to the zleader,” suggested Charlie.

  They headed for home. Once there, Charlie had to fill Stewart in. He was glad that they had followed up, otherwise, the situation could have been far worse.

  Chapter 19

  ________________________________________

  Charlie and Zan had no luck finding John or Stan. The guys had left town. Resigned, they decided to lay low. The good news was that it was the Halloween dance that night. They were at Charlie’s house getting ready.

  Gran had trimmed Charlie’s hair and was using the curling iron.

  “This brings me back to the olden days,” mused Gran.

  “Her hair looks great,” said Zan. “I’m next.”

  Both the girls had decided to go as zombie slayers, which meant they could bring their daggers and no one at school would bat an eye.

  “I heard that Principal Allan is back at school,” said Zan.

  “Is he now? We’ll have to keep an eye on him.”

  “Too bad we didn’t turn him over to the police,” said Zan.

  “Yeah. Well, we both thought he was dead.” She shrugged. “I’m over it. Hopefully, he’s learned his lesson. If not, next time we’ll teach him one.”

  “Yep, we’ll have all of our gear for tonight. Just in case there is another zombie incident.”

  “Yep, I could get used to this,” said Charlie. “It’s almost like each day I get out of bed in the morning, expecting a new fight. I wonder if I could really retire. Take a break.”

  “Don’t know,” said Zan. “I’ve never wanted to retire. Life is so dull without the zombie fighting.”

  Charlie’s grimace turned into a smile. “You know, you’re right. That’s a positive way to think about it.”

  Soon Gran had finished with their hair. They applied their makeup. They decided to add some bright red makeup to simulate blood splotches. They smeared some on their clothing. Each painted the ends of their daggers in dark red.

  “OK, Gran is going to drop us off, which means we can sip some vodka from our flasks if we want while at the party.”

  “Cool, did you tell her that?” asked Zan, tucking a black curl behind her shoulder.

  “Yep, she knows me well,” said Charlie.

  Gran was waiting for them. “Both you girls look like fabulous zlayers. Let’s hope there are no zombies at the party. You both deserve a break.”

  They both smiled at her.

  Along the way, they picked up Owen. He was dressed up as a zombie.

  Both girls frowned.

  “But what else would I dress up as?” he asked. “I’m between two zlayers.”

  They all laughed.

  Soon Gran had them at the high school. She drove around to the back and let them off near the gym where the dance was being held.

  “Just call me when you’re done,” she said.

  “Yes, we will,” said Charlie, exiting the vehicle. She followed after Zan and Owen, who were already at the door.

  “This is going to be fun,” said Owen. “What could possibly go wrong on dance night?”

  Charlie had a good laugh. “Well, we haven’t fought any zombies at the school for a bit, and certainly not at a dance.”

  zzz

  The friends headed into the gym, handing their tickets to the people manning the table at the front. Inside, the gym was about half full.

  “I hope more people show,” said Zan, disappointed.

  “Relax,” said Owen. “The party is just starting. I’ll get us some drinks.” He headed over to the beverage table.

  Charlie and Zan made their way out into the crowd, critiquing and gossiping about people’s costumes. There was a fair share of vampires, pumpkins, ghosts, and superheroes.

  “Hey, I don’t see anyone else dressed up as zombies or zombie slayers,” Zan commented.

  Charlie smiled. “Good, we aced it then.”

  “So, do you think there are any zombies here?” she asked.

  “Don’t know. Hey, thanks for the drinks, Owen.” It was too early to add vodka, so they sipped their drinks and enjoyed the music and costumes.

  Much of the music was from the 80s, lively and upbeat. She encouraged Zan and Owen to hit the dance floor. She took some pictures of them with her cell phone.

  “Enjoying the dance?” asked Stewart.

  “Oh, hey, Stew…I mean Mr. George. Why yes, I am. Too bad you got stuck with teacher duty.”

  “Oh, I don’t mind,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye on things to ensure that nothing goes wrong.”

  “It seems fairly quiet,” she said. “I expect more students will arrive later. So, any more leads?” she asked. Might as well ask now so that she didn’t have to call or text him later.

  “None,” he said. “Unless John and Stan come back to the city.”

  Zan and Owen were done with their dance and came back to her. Stewart waved and then went back to chatting with the other teachers.

  By now, more people drifted into the gym so the dance songs picked up the pace. It was now time to add the vodka to their punch. Owen got them more drinks. They drank half, and then Zan and Charlie used their flasks to fill up the cups.

  Once they had their alcohol, they smiled more often and all headed onto the dance floor to pick up the beat.

  zzz

  It was nearly time for the close of the dance. Nothing unusual had happened. The teens had a great time at the party. Some slipped outside to have a smoke, or to drink. A few cuddled with their boyfriends or girlfriends. The drink table ran out of chips and punch, but they had already worked their way completely through the flasks.

  Zan stumbled a bit as they crossed the room.

  “Hey, be careful there,” Owen said.

  “Well, I think it’s time I call Gran to pick us up,” said Charlie, slurring her words. She pulled her cell phone out
of her pocket. “It’s time,” she texted.

  “Be right there,” Gran texted back.

  “We should go meet her out front,” said Charlie. The three of them headed out to the main door. They were about to leave when they heard loud screams coming from the back of the gym.

  zzz

  The three friends removed their daggers from their clothing and raced to the back. There were many screams and cries. Some students fled the gym. The teachers moved in, trying to figure out what was happening.

  “Wahhh,” cried one of the female students, dressed up as a princess. “He bit me!”

  Zan and Charlie looked at each other.

  “This is it,” Owen replied.

  They told people to go home and that they’d handle it. At the very back were two zombies and the girl who was dressed up as a princess.

  She held out her arm. It had indeed been bitten.

  “Hey, someone get a first-aid kit,” called out a teacher. Someone ran to get one.

  “Are you all right?” asked Charlie warily.

  She nodded. The two zombies just stood there.

  “Hey, you a zombie,” asked Zan, punching one in the arm. No response.

  The girl was helped away to have her arm treated.

  The lights in the gym were dimming. The music stopped and the disco lights turned off.

  Charlie went to raise her dagger, but someone knocked it out of her hand.

  “Look!” cried Zan. “They aren’t zombies.”

  Charlie had a closer look. They were merely kids dressed up as zombies. But they were so stoned out of their minds that they just leaned against the wall.

  “OK, so they just bit her?”

  Zan shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “OK, let’s get out of here,” said Owen. “I’m done with tonight.”

  Charlie had a quick look at the girl as she headed out.

  “False alarm,” confirmed Stewart.

  “OK, let me know if you hear of anything else.”

  Gran came, picked them up, and drove everyone home.

  Charlie was looking forward to having a nice hot bath and then sleeping. The weekend would be spent doing homework.

  They entered the house. “Nice evening, dear?” asked Gran, holding the door open for her.

  “Yep,” she said.

  “Did everyone get pissed?” Gran asked.

  “Gran!” she said in protest.

  “Relax, dear. We did the same when I was a teen. As long as no one got hurt.”

  Charlie dumped her bag and jacket near the door. “No, it was fine. There was a false alarm, but nothing weird happened. I hope I can take a break this weekend.”

  She headed up to her room and collapsed.

  zzz

  Her phone pinged. She woke up and picked it up. “Good news, sort of,” read the message. “I’ve tracked down John and Stan. They’re back in town. Go to their place and find out what’s going on.”

  “Great, I guess the weekend is gone,” she said, getting out of bed. She quickly had a shower and got dressed. She grabbed a waffle on the way out the door. She got into her car, and then called Zan and Owen. Owen didn’t answer, but Zan did.

  “We have a lead,” she said and then hung up.

  Zan met her at the curb outside of her house.

  “Where’s Owen? I tried calling him.”

  “He has a hangover,” Zan explained.

  “Really? I didn’t think he drank all that much.”

  Zan shrugged as the car left the driveway. “He must have a delicate constitution.”

  They drove to the drug dealers’ residence. First, they drove past. Then they drove two blocks away and parked the car. Charlie used the Parking Kitty app to pay for parking. The pair hopped out of the vehicle and moved in.

  “Do you have your weapons?” asked Charlie.

  Zan nodded.

  As they walked down the alley, there was a terrible stench about the place. They were both used to it, but just noted that it shouldn’t reek this bad.

  When they reached the main apartment door, Charlie did her usual lock-picking trick.

  Zan smiled. “You have to teach me how to do that sometime,” she said.

  “Sure, it’s not that hard. What is hard are the newer deadbolts. Or those locks with the PIN codes. Those are hard to crack without a device.” She opened the door and they walked in.

  The smell was stronger inside. They walked up the stairs to the drug dealers’ apartment.

  This time, Charlie didn’t have to pick the door. It was already ajar. Inside, it was chaos. There were dead bodies all over the place.

  “Hey, you took your time,” called out Stan.

  “What the?” exclaimed Zan, entering the room. She looked down at a body on the ground. “Is that John?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Yep, our zombie business got a bit out of hand.”

  Acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary, Charlie flopped down on the couch. “So, what’s up?” she asked. She looked around the room, but it appeared that the six dead zombies on the floor of the apartment were actually dead.

  “Well, see here,” began Stan. “My partner and I thought we’d continue Eli’s zrug business. But without zombies, we can’t make zrug. So, we sourced some out. But things got crazy. One bit John. I couldn’t stand it, so I killed the rest of them.” He sat down at the other end of the couch. “I guess I’m going to have to get a real job now.”

  “Wow,” said Zan, joining them on the couch. “That’s something. Maybe you could join our zombie slayer cause. Usually a civilian can barely tackle one, let alone six.”

  “Nah,” he replied. “I’m done. I’ll try and figure out how to make a living and get a job tomorrow.”

  “OK, so we have a question for you,” said Charlie. “Where did you get the zombies from?”

  “Oh, that’s easy,” he said. “I got them from— Hey! Look out behind you!” he yelled.

  Charlie quickly turned, wondering what could be behind her, as the couch was close to the wall.

  A gunshot rang out. Zan looked horrified. She looked at Stan, who held a smoking gun in his hand. Then she looked at her friend, who had been shot.

  She was about to go for Stan when he dropped the gun. “I was aiming for the zombie. I swear!”

  It was true. There was a zombie behind Charlie with its head propped up against the back of the couch. It had a bullet through its skull.

  Chapter 20

  ________________________________________

  The bullet had sliced through Charlie’s left shoulder and gone right through the zombie’s eye socket.

  Zan floundered around, looking for something to cover the wound.

  “Here,” yelled Stan, tossing the first-aid kit at her.

  Zan quickly tore open the box and applied dressings to both sides. “I think you’ll live,” she said to Charlie. “It didn’t hit a major artery, and the bullet went straight through.”

  “Still,” said Stan, “you’d better seek medical care. There is a hospital right down the street.”

  “Great,” said Charlie. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I’ll take her,” Zan said. “Probably better than calling 911, otherwise, the police will be here and ask questions.”

  “Hey, that’s great. Thank you for thinking of me.”

  “Well, only because you’re going to tell me where to find your zombie supplier.”

  “Fine,” said Stan. He told her the information.

  Zan supported Charlie out the door. Stan helped them walk the two blocks to her vehicle. They got her safely inside the car. Stan waved goodbye while Zan drove the car to the hospital.

  “Hey,” said Zan to the emergency room check-in desk clerk. “I found this girl on the street, shot. She needs help.”

  An orderly rushed in with a wheelchair.

  “Geez,” said Charlie. “Talk to you later.” But Zan was already gone.

  They wheeled her into the ER. She f
rowned as they cut her favorite top away from her skin. A doctor came and examined her, proclaimed that she would live, but needed stitches. A nurse came by next to clean up the wound. The doctor stitched her up and gave her a shot of antibiotics.

  Her body spasmed immediately. “Dammit!” yelled the doctor. “Allergic reaction! Need epi now!”

  The nurse handed the syringe to him. He injected it into her arm. Charlie’s spasms stopped. She looked up at him, a worried expression plastered on her face.

  “We’re keeping you here overnight,” he said. “Just to make sure you’ll be OK.”

  “Well isn’t that just great,” Charlie said. She was greatly annoyed that she was missing out on all the fun.

  zzz

  “1207 West 30th Street,” said Zan to herself. “It should be around the hospital. This doesn’t make sense. Maybe Stan made a mistake.” She sat in Charlie’s car, looking at the hospital.

  “Oh shit. The source is the hospital! I need my fellow zlayer!” Zan drove the car back to the hospital’s parking lot. She rushed to the emergency check-in counter. “Where’s Charlie Warner?” she asked the clerk.

  “Let’s see. Charlie has been admitted. She is in room 3A.”

  Zan raced around the counter and down the hallway. “3A. 3A. 3A,” she said frantically. She found it and threw open the door.

  “Hey, Zan,” said Charlie. “How nice of you to come by for a visit,” she said sarcastically.

  “Hey, sorry for bailing. I wanted to find the zombie suppliers as quickly as possible.”

  “Any luck?”

  “Why yes! Wait, what’s happened to you? I thought they’d release you today.”

  “Nope. It turns out that I’m allergic to the antibiotic. They want to keep an eye on me for today. I’ll be out tomorrow morning.”

  “Whew,” said Zan. “That’s good news. Now, I have some news too. I’ve got the address where the zombies are being held and created.”