by Grivante
“Well, that was easy,” Judas said.
Jonah opened the window as far as it would go, then leaned through the opening. He could put his head in but the solid shoulders of his body armor caught in the frame. He glanced around, heard something moving inside, and slid his head out.
“I can’t climb in that way. I don’t see anyone, but I could hear movement from somewhere.”
“What are we gonna do, Jonah? Wanna go around back?”
Jonah pulled a flashlight from his pocket, shining the light near the corner of the house. “Probably gonna have to.”
“Wait,” JJ spoke up. “I’m a lot smaller than either of you and I don’t have any body armor on. I bet I can squeeze through.” She set her pom-poms down in the rocks.
Jonah sized her up, then nodded. “Ok, just be quiet, there might be more than one in there.”
“I got it, Sugar,” JJ said, patting the butt of her gun and walking over to the open window. She put her hands on the sill before noticing the dust and dirt there. She turned to Jonah, a sly smile on her face. “Excuse me, would you boys mind helping me in? I don’t want to get my costume icky.”
“Ok, how do we do that?” Judas asked.
JJ’s grin widened. “Well, one of you picks me up by this side.” She tossed her hip in his direction. “The other,” she bumped it back at Jonah, “grabs me on this side and you kinda slide me through.”
“Ok.” Judas joined them next to the window. “I can do that!” His grin matched her own.
Jonah shook his head but grinned a little.
“On the count of three,” Jonah huffed.
Both he and Judas had their arms wrapped around JJ’s body, ready to lift her.
“One, two, three!”
They picked her up and she giggled as she left the ground, putting her hands back on the sill to steady herself.
“Be gentle. I know I’m smaller than you, but I’ve gotta get the girls through before the rest of me will fit!” She reached down and clutched the front of her cheer top, pulling her breasts to the sides as far as they would go to make herself thinner. “Ok, I think we’re good.”
The brothers slid her forward, getting her chest in and almost to her waist when the back of her skirt caught on the top of the window frame.
“Uh oh.” She wiggled her backside. “Maybe I should lay off the peanut butter cups, huh?”
“You want us to give you a slight shove?” Judas asked.
“No, not yet,” JJ called back. “You two just enjoy the view while I try to grab hold of something.”
They smirked at each other, then watched as JJ struggled.
While the three humans continued their breaking and entering attempt, Xanadu observed the scene from the porch with his typical ambivalence until a sound caught his attention. A black van pulled to a stop on the opposite side of the road about a block down. The hair on his neck rose.
“I can’t reach anything.” JJ wiggled half in and half out of the opening. “Go ahead and give me a shove. See if you can help my plump rump get in here.”
The brothers laughed and each grabbed a leg.
“Ok,” Jonah said, locking eyes with Judas, “on three.”
They gave her a soft push as she squirmed and struggled to get inside. For a moment nothing happened, until the skirt inched right over her cheeks, freeing up enough room for her lower half to pass through.
“Ah!” JJ cried out as her butt went through the window, moving too fast to stop herself. She flopped onto the floor, landing with her ass up, bright red cheeky panties on display.
They watched the whole thing, powerless to prevent it or even look away. Somehow, the skirt ended up in Judas’s hands. “Hot damn,” he said, staring as JJ flipped her head up and shook the hair out of her face.
“Are you okay?” Jonah asked.
She laughed and turned to smile at them. “Have I ever told you boys how much fun you are to hang out with? There are few men who could get me out of my pants that easily!”
“We enjoy hanging out with you, too!” Judas nodded energetically, cheeks as rosy as apples.
JJ grinned at him, gave her butt a wiggle, then got to her feet. “I know you do, sugar. I’m a dynamo!”
She adjusted her somewhat disheveled-self and walked toward the front door, pausing as her hand grabbed the knob. A low groan and the sounds of shuffling came from the hallway. She snapped the deadbolt, turned the lock and swung the door open with a bow. In a whisper, she looked up and said, “Welcome to Burt’s. I think we’ve got company.” She motioned with her head to the hall behind her.
The brothers nodded.
“Give her the skirt back,” Jonah waved toward JJ. “You’re gonna need your hands free for the catch pole.”
“Here you go, JJ.” Judas handed it over, cheeks still burning red.
“Thanks, sugar. Hope you enjoyed the show.”
“Oh, you know—”
“Judas,” Jonah growled.
Judas looked from JJ to his brother, then to the ground. “Sorry.”
“Oh, c’mon, Jonah.” JJ spread her arms out. “You were looking, too.”
“No. It’s not that, it’s him!” Jonah pointed behind them.
Coming around the corner from the hallway was a tall lanky man in flannel pajamas, his face painted in bloody bits with a visible wound oozing from his arm.
“Oh!” JJ spun around, eyes widening as she stepped out of the entry, backing up into Burt’s living room. The zombie shuffled toward her.
“C’mon, Judas, time to put that catch pole to use!”
“I’m green, bro!” Judas moved the lever on the pole which cinched and un-cinched the loop on the end. “Let’s get him!” Jonah stepped before the lifeless man and taunted him, while Judas stepped in behind it.
“This way big guy,” Jonah said, leading him toward the broken back door. The zombie stumbled after him.
“Grrag—”
Judas slipped the loop over its head and tightened it. “Got him!”
“Good work, Judas. Let’s take him out back and deal with him there.”
“Sure thing, bro.” Judas used the pole to shove the dead man forward and through the shattered slider.
JJ watched them lead the zombie away and then walked to the front door where she heard Xanadu growling. She found him facing out into the darkness, a low constant rumble emitting from his throat. Her eyes scanned the street, seeing little but the cars parked here and there. She noticed the van and studied it for a minute, trying to make out the faint symbol near the back. It felt familiar. A rustling of leaves sounded to her right. She jumped and stared toward the corner of the house where shadows danced.
“Get in here, boy. There could be more of them.” She rested her hand on the butt of her gun and scanned the area as Xanadu padded indoors.
In the van, the zombie faced woman studied a monitor filled with the green and white night vision image of Xanadu, disappearing into the house.
“I want those traitorous brothers torn limb from limb.” Her voice was a raspy growl. “And I want that damn dog back. I will not let it escape me again.”
The two large men in front nodded. The one on the left, looking over his shoulder, asked, “What about the woman?”
“Capture her if possible. I’d enjoy experimenting on her, but it’s of no concern if she’s alive or dead.”
Part VII - Squidilicious
Inside the house, JJ waited for the brothers to return from out back. She couldn’t hear anything besides the music playing in the distance. She found herself drawn to the recliner and scattered pill bottles on the table. Picking one up, she read the label. Doxorubicin Hydrochloride. Next to it were ones labeled Methotrexate and Olaratumab. A quick glance at the rest showed similar names. All of them, she recognized, were cancer treatment drugs.
An image on the computer screen caught her attention, her eyes widened, and she sat in the chair as the brothers re-entered. Xanadu curled up at her feet.
“
Any sign of more in here?” Jonah scanned the room, looking for any threats.
“Huh?” JJ glanced up from the screen. “Uh no, not that I noticed but I haven’t searched. Xanadu was growling at something out on the porch, so I brought him in. I didn’t notice anything though.”
She leaned in, peering closer at the computer screen. “Your buddy, Burt, isn’t doing very well.” She pointed at the pills. “Cancer meds.”
“Damn.” Judas frowned. “That’s awful.”
JJ nodded, her attention back on the screen. “Ew! He also appears to be into Tentacle Porn.
“What’s that?” Judas cocked his head and blinked rapidly at her.
“Yeah,” JJ turned the screen so the brothers could see it. The screen showed a naked woman with her body held captive by and also embraced by purple tentacles. She clicked play on the video. The small tentacles gripped the woman's wrists and ankles as she struggled. Large menacing ones ran across her skin, the suckers pulling at her flesh as the tips of the slithering appendages probed her body.
The animated form of the woman on the screen moaned in arousal even as she tried to escape.
“Whoa,” JJ hit pause. “That’s kinda hot.” Her cheeks were lightly flushed as she looked up to find both Jonah and Judas staring at her. “What?”
Jonah raised an eyebrow. “We’ve got a job to do and you’re watching porn?”
JJ nodded. “Tentacle Porn, technically. Sorry, never seen that before. It’s fascinating.” She stood. “So, where is this Burt, anyway? I’m curious to meet him.”
Judas’s face twitched at her comment and he looked down the hallway of the small home.
Jonah removed Brutus from his holster and nodded in that direction. “Let’s sweep the rest of the house.”
In the houses on either side of Burt’s, the deceased residents lumbered aimlessly, then froze in their tracks. Their eyes flashed from white clouds to black pits with fiery centers, like suns going supernova. They stayed there, unmoving as the back doors to their homes opened and one of the black-clad men entered. In each home, the men left the doors open and walked past the frozen zombies, clearing any obstructions between the exit and the dead as they went. Not even a growl or a groan escaping the zombies. The men left through the front, closing the doors behind them. The bright fire in the deceased eyes faded, replaced by a glowing green haze. They shuffled toward the openings and the noise outside, low groans escaping their throats. This same scene repeated at each home the men had visited earlier in the evening.
Inside the van, the woman’s disfigured visage grinned.
The brothers led the way down the hall, JJ close behind. Jonah and JJ both had their weapons drawn, Judas had the catch pole at the ready. Two closed doors on the right, an open one on the left. Jonah pointed at his eyes and then toward the open door. Judas nodded and held back as Jonah crept along the hall and peered around the corner.
It appeared to be Burt’s bedroom. A small unmade bed pressed against the wall on one side. A bright blue dresser rested against the other. The room had a lingering musty smell that made Jonah’s nose twitch. Dirty clothes lay on the bed, the dresser, and the floor, including a large pair of women’s underwear.
“Well, at least it looks like Burt has been getting some,” Jonah said, glancing back over his shoulder at the others and nodding toward the bed where the panties hung from the end post. To his left, a set of mirrored closet doors, smeared with bloody handprints, stood closed. He turned back and whispered, “Those handprints are probably from the one we exterminated. No one else is in here. Let’s check the other doors.”
They moved to the first closed door. Jonah put his ear to it and listened, hearing nothing. He pointed Brutus and the flashlight at the door and nodded at Judas. “Green.”
Judas grabbed the knob and swung the door wide. The flashlight revealed a dark and grungy bathroom. A pair of Pests B’ Gone overalls lay on the floor. Jonah swept the light around the space, more brown prescription bottles littered the counter near the sink. These gave Jonah pause. Although he wasn’t a fan of Burt’s, he didn’t wish him ill either.
“Nothing but a bachelor’s bathroom,” Jonah said, the flashlight dipping down and illuminating the stained toilet. “In need of a few gallons of bleach and a good flush.” He stepped out of the small room.
“Ew,” JJ crinkled her nose.
“Go ahead and close it, Judas.”
The final closed door had blood-stained handprints all over it, just like the mirrored closet doors.
Jonah listened at it, again hearing nothing. He raised his revolver and flashlight. “Be ready. If Burt was bitten, he may have got away and hid in here, only to end up turning himself.”
“Just give the word,” Judas said, hand on the knob.
To their right, JJ stood at the ready, her pink revolver clasped in her hands.
Xanadu sat at the end of the hall, near the living room, sniffing at the carpet. A sound from the kitchen grabbed his attention and he rose, trotting off to investigate.
“Green,” Jonah nodded at his brother.
Judas opened the door, but it hit something and stopped halfway.
Jonah shined the light up and down, then left and right. Stacks of boxes teetered from floor to ceiling. Some closed, many open with random objects, toys, guitars, and other items sticking out. More dirty clothes hung from the boxes and were piled in the path between them.
“Check behind the door, Judas. See what’s blocking it and look for a light switch.”
Judas set the catch pole down and leaned in, pulling out his own flashlight and shining it behind the door. A pile of tangled fishing poles rested in the corner, surrounded by a pair of life jackets. On the wall, he found a switch and clicked it. A single dusty bulb cast a pale light over the room. “Just a few fishing poles back there,” he reported.
“Ok. I’m going in.” Jonah pointed the flashlight and Brutus straight ahead and down a little. He whispered as he moved deeper, “Burt? Are you in here?” He inched toward where the boxes formed a corner in the path. “It’s Jonah Zee.”
No response.
Jonah peered around the corner, finding more boxes, dirty clothes and knick-knacks. No Burt, no zombies. He swung back to his brother and JJ, shaking his head. “There’s no one here.”
“Where do you think Burt went?” Judas asked him.
“I don’t know. It's strange. Maybe he ran out the backdoor or got bit, turned, and wandered away. We’re going to need to go door-to-door and deal with the dead. See if we can figure out what’s causing this.”
Near the door to the room, JJ dug through a box, pulling out a stack of comic books. “Hmm, these are worth big money.”
“What are?” Judas asked.
JJ tilted the comic covers toward him. “These are. Incredible Hulk #180 & 181, the first appearance of Wolverine and, oh,” she smiled. “These are the original Uncanny X-men books that contained the Dark Phoenix saga by Chris Claremont, including the first appearance of Emma Frost, the White Queen. Did you know she walked around in lingerie and heels all the time and was part of a group called the Hellfire Club? Life imitating art, I imagine.”
Judas looked at her with raised eyebrows. “In kids’ comic books? How do you know so much about them?”
“I used to buy and sell collectibles, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” Judas nodded, stepping out of the room, hand on the door knob.
“No Burt and no zombies. Let’s go,” Jonah said walking from the back of the room.
JJ placed the books back in the box with a frown and followed Judas out. “Do you think Burt’s interested in selling any of that? I saw some vintage Star Wa—”
A crash sounded from the main room, accompanied by a series of sharp barks.
JJ tore down the hall, gun out, Jonah and Judas close on her heels, even as Xanadu, still barking, shot past them into the bedroom.
In the living room, ten zombies charged forward, more pouring in through the open back doo
r. The curio cabinet that stood next to it lay toppled over on the floor, its contents scattered and smashed.
Shots rang out from the Pink Lady as JJ took aim, missing with the first few in her panic over Xanadu. Two of the dead fell, then her gun clicked empty as Jonah swung his gun up and took in the situation next to her.
“Fall back!” he shouted, realizing quickly that the dead outnumbered them. “There's too many.” He pulled JJ back and blasted the nearest zombie with Brutus. “C’mon!”
JJ hustled as they followed Xanadu into Burt’s bedroom.
Jonah slammed the door shut and studied the rooms scant furnishings. “Judas, move that dresser over here. Let’s use it to block this.” He pressed his back against it as the sounds of the smashing hungry dead clamored from the other side. “I can’t believe we’re playing zombies at the door again!”
Judas struggled with the dresser and JJ assisted him after first clearing a path through the mounds of dirty clothes.
“Here, sugar, let me help you with that!”
Xanadu, meanwhile, jumped up on the bed and sniffed at the pair of panties hanging there.
They pushed the dresser across the floor until Jonah could move out of the way and then barricaded the door with it.
“What now?” JJ panted.
Judas shrugged, looking up at Jonah, who scanned the room anew.
“The windows maybe,” Jonah said, stepping to the end of the bed and scratching Xanadu behind the ears.
“They’re pretty small, don’t you think?” Judas asked.
Jonah nodded as he looked at them closer. “And they don’t open. We’ll have to bust them out. Look for something we can use.”
“Guys,” JJ put her hands on her waist, “after just squeezing through the front window, I can tell you, I might be able to get through there, but no way either of you could.”
“Better one of us than none of us,” Jonah said, bending to look under the bed.
“I’m not going without you two.” JJ crossed her arms over her chest.