by Gayle Katz
“So, you admit it then?”
Ray nodded.
“Well, it actually is illegal. It’s causing an indignity to a human body,” said Sergeant Bourne. “And, slave labor is illegal in this state, whether it’s dead or living people.”
“I’m sure that your customers would really like to hear about how you’re using zombie slave labor to make your jackets and vests too,” said Zan.
“Well, actually, that’s not a good idea.” Ray whipped out a small pistol from his pocket. “Drop that, Sergeant. Don’t be stupid.”
Sergeant Bourne dropped his gun on the floor and raised his hands. “Crap, outsmarted by a stupid man,” he grumbled.
“OK, everyone, get down there and into that office.”
“But that’s where the zombies are,” said Zan.
“Don’t care. Get in there.” He motioned with his gun.
Eventually, the three of them were locked into the office with the zombie-like humans. They heard footsteps walking away.
“Wait a minute. Shouldn’t there be more cops coming?” asked Zan.
“Nah,” said Sergeant Bourne, shaking his head. “I took that call and said I could handle one small break-in.”
Owen pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Stewart.”
“No, please pick that lock,” said Zan.
“Why don’t you do it?” said Owen, getting annoyed.
“I’ll do it,” said Bourne, running his hands over his pockets to find the tool he needed.
Up until now, the zombie workers had seemed pretty complacent. But soon they started fidgeting and making strange moaning sounds.
“Um, guys? I think the zombies are becoming active,” said Zan, getting worried.
“Hang in there, kids,” said Sergeant Bourne, down on his knees. “I’ll have this lock opened in no time at all.”
“So, that Ray guy was going to leave us in here as food?” she said, pulling out her dagger.
“Pretty much,” replied Owen. He watched as the first female zombie turned her head and looked at him. “Oh crap.” Her eyes glowed green and her lips drooped, revealing sharp teeth. She took a step toward him. “Is there any way to tell if they’re all zombies or if any are human?”
“Why?” asked Zan.
“So I can just go ahead and kill them all,” he said, raising his arm and taking his first swing at its skull.
Zan looked hesitantly at the zombies in the room. Now she doubted that they were all zombies.
“OK. If you’re human, say something,” said Zan.
“Something,” called out a person in the back.
“Hey! Where are you?” asked Zan.
A woman stepped out. For some reason, the other zombies ignored her.
“OK, I don’t know what is going on here,” said Zan. “Why are the zombies ignoring you but not us?” Zan watched as Owen took down another zombie.
“Oh, that’s simple,” said the woman. “I’ll explain later.”
“Well, if you can fight, then, here you are.” Zan handed her an extra dagger from her purse.
“Um, thanks,” she said. She walked up to a zombie, who was doing his best to ignore her. He’d move left, so she’d move with him, and then he’d move right. Zan was about to step in and take him down when the woman finally made a move. She plunged the dagger into his eye socket, and then let go. The zombie dropped to the ground, with the dagger still in there.
“Hey. You have to pull out the dagger quickly after the thrust,” said Zan.
“I gathered that,” she said, going to yank the dagger out.
“I have it!” called out Sergeant Bourne. The lock in the door clicked. “Ahhh!” he cried. “I’ve been bitten!”
“Oh no,” cried Owen. He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the door, leaving the women to deal with the remaining zombies that were alive.
“Quick, let me treat it,” said Owen, pulling a small first-aid kit from his bag.
“Relax, kid. I’ll be fine,” said Bourne.
Owen frowned. “These are the second strain zombies? The ones that can’t turn people, only eat them?”
“You got it,” he said.
“Right,” said Owen. “There are only first strain zombies in Seattle.”
“Yeah, still are,” said Bourne. “Those things are nasty.”
“Is it done?” asked Owen, as he watched Zan and the other woman come out of the room.
She nodded. “Good call asking if anyone was human, by the way.”
“Yeah, it must have been my truthsaying abilities once again,” he explained.
Since the zombies were gone, the group grabbed the chairs that were around the sewing station and sat down.
Sergeant Bourne got the conversation going. “So, why were you chained to the desks with the sewing machines?” he asked.
“Well, the factory was creating a special form of zombie, somewhere between human and zombie, so they could be used as slave labor to make the jackets, vests, and other products to sell,” said the woman. “By the way, I’m Anne.”
They quickly made introductions.
“So, Ray is implicated in this?” asked Bourne.
She nodded.
“I’m arranging for his arrest right now, along with the mayor.”
“Wait a minute. You think the mayor is involved?” asked Owen.
“Why wouldn’t she be?” he replied.
“But if we arrest the mayor, then we’re not going to figure out who the zleader wannabe is,” said Owen. “If it’s her, or someone that one of them knows, the trail is going to go dead.”
“Right,” admitted Bourne. “I was hoping to have this latest outbreak solved by now.”
“So, someone is turning more people into zombies?” asked Zan. “Ones that are smart enough to be trained to do things?”
“It sounds like it,” said Bourne.
“But, how come you’re not fully turned?” Zan asked Anne.
“I guess I’m immune or something,” she said, shrugging. “I just played along. I thought that if Ray knew, then he’d kill me.”
“That makes sense,” said Zan. “There are people who survive Ebola, even though that’s one of the most deadly plagues out there. It stands to reason that some people would survive being injected with the zombie virus too.” She neglected to mention that zlayers were at least partially immune naturally, as they liked to keep that a secret.
“Did you see the mayor down here?” asked Bourne.
“Um, no,” said Anne. “I heard her voice upstairs a couple of times, but he’d always try and keep her from coming down here. And on the day of the opening, there were real workers down here. The zombies were locked up in the back, where we were locked in. I believe that the supervisor let them out by accident, hence that opening day panic. But it was Ray who injected us with something and made most of us turn.”
“That’s quite disturbing,” said Zan.
“Well, a warrant is now out for his arrest,” said Bourne. “I’ll give Jane the benefit of the doubt for now. What do you think about that Owen?”
Owen pondered the situation. “I don’t think the mayor has a financial stake in this business. I believe she was dating Ray though. But I am certain that she is somewhat aware that something is amiss here. I think she’s in it for the fun.”
“Wow,” said Sergeant Bourne. “Kind of like a psychopath. OK, kids. Let’s go home.”
As they headed up the stairs, Zan looked back at Bourne. “I can fix that up for you,” she said, nodding at his arm.
“Nah, I’ll do it back at the station.”
“Oh, and please stop calling us kids. Geez!”
“But you are just kids,” he said.
“How old are you?” she asked him, not looking at his eyes.
“I’m 28. Too old for you.”
“Oh no, I didn’t mean that!” she said.
“Relax, kid. I’m joking. Say, did you find what you were looking for?”
Zan grimaced. “No, I
totally forgot about that, what with all the excitement. But I really need to get going. This latest half-zombie, half-human thing is proof of that.”
“Well, I can drive you there, later, if you like.”
“Great, see you then.”
“Now excuse me, I’m taking Anne to the hospital to get checked out.”
She glared at him. But when they parted ways out on the street, she looked after him. She didn’t notice when Owen watched, frowning a bit.
Owen walked Zan back to her car.
“Well, that’s just great. Who made the new concoction to create a half-zombie, half-human?” said Zan.
“Well, it’s possible Dr. Arora made it before she died,” he said.
“I guess. Let’s go home and we’ll fill Stewart in on things on the phone.”
“OK,” said Owen. “And stay away from that cop. I don’t entirely trust him. He always seems to know everything. Remember that anyone can be a zleader wannabe.”
“Right,” she said. “At least if Ray is on the run, he won’t be making any more zombies for his factory any time soon.”
“That’s right,” said Owen.
zzz
Owen’s dad heard him as he came into the house. “Is that you, Owen?”
“Yes, Dad, just out late for work.”
“How’s it going?”
“It isn’t. The factory got shut down due to gang activity. I’m now out of a job.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
Owen hung up his jacket and put his car keys in his backpack. “Say, Dad, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Son, what is it?”
“When you were my age, you were also a truthsayer, right?”
His dad frowned.
“I know you don’t like talking about it.”
“It’s not so much the powers, it’s more the criminal underworld you get involved in. Being a truthsayer means you naturally gravitate to helping people. I’m guessing that in your instance, something happened and the illegal activities at the factory were discovered because you were working there.”
“I suppose,” said Owen.
“Well, let’s say that if you hadn’t been working there, would the factory still be open for business?”
Owen nodded. “Yes, you’re right. So, why are you so hesitant in talking to me about it?”
Dad sighed. “Because, I had to rat on my dad,” he said.
“Granddad? I never knew him. He died before we even left Uganda.”
“Yes, that’s true. My mom brought me up alone.”
“So Grandpa was involved in illegal stuff?”
“That’s correct. I don’t really like to talk about it, or admit it. It’s embarrassing.”
“So, what happened?” asked Owen.
“I found out that he was embezzling funds from the bank where he worked, and turned him in to the cops.”
Owen moved closer to his dad. “Did he know?”
Dad nodded. “He never spoke to me again.”
“And Gran?”
“She did. She was accepting of it and it made her happy that the criminal link had been broken in our family.”
“And he died in prison, right? I think that’s what you told me long ago.”
Dad nodded. “Yes, and that’s it. Crime doesn’t pay.” He looked at Owen.
Then they both burst out laughing, as that was what they did after dealing with stressful situations.
Dad left so Owen could do some reading. He was about to pick up his book, when he remembered something. He pulled out a slip of paper from his pants pocket. This was what he’d found at the reception area of the clothing business. Written on it was what looked like “_ / c” with some specks of blood surrounding it. He couldn’t think what that might be.
Chapter 6
________________________________________
Charlie smiled as she took the last exit to the hotel where she was staying. Even though she knew there were zombies in Seattle, this trip should prove to be much like a vacation. A few trips in and out of the underground part of Seattle to find the zleader, and then it would be done.
She laughed as she thought about Owen and Zan not having much to do while she was away in Seattle. Perhaps she’d give them a call later in the week to see how everyone was doing.
Finally, there it was, the Seattle Center Hotel. This was where they had all stayed the last time they’d visited Seattle for their school trip, which could have gone better. A zombie had bitten her while they were exploring the Seattle Underground. When it happened, she hadn’t realized that she wouldn’t be immune to these ancient, super-charged zombies that lived here. Fortunately, it had been discovered that Owen’s truthsayer abilities also included healing abilities, so she had lived. Now she was most definitely immune to their bites.
Nine times out of ten, Owen and Zan should be able to travel throughout most of the country and be relatively safe from zombie bites, but for some reason the zombie magic was extra strong in Seattle. For this reason, the zleader needed to be hunted down and killed.
Once the zleader was taken down and killed, all the other zombies would die with her. That was assuming it was a her. Most times, a zleader was female, but a smart zlayer couldn’t count on anything.
Charlie parked her vehicle in the underground parking lot, noted her stall number, and headed upstairs to check in.
She looked forward to getting some rest and relaxation in before she headed out on Monday morning. She figured she’d enjoy the break on the weekend, as this was the time when all the tourists and Seattle residents came out. They’d be walking downtown Seattle, and taking tours of the underground. She didn’t want people milling around all over the place, so she’d simply wait until the early hours of Monday morning.
She unpacked and watched two hours of TV before calling room service for a meal to be brought up. “Say, can you add a bottle of wine to that order?” she asked into the room’s telephone.
“I can’t,” the man explained. “It says that the room is only being occupied by a minor.”
“OK,” said Charlie, thinking. “If I tip you two hundred, can you bring up a bottle of wine?”
The guy laughed. “Nice try, but I’d need more than that to pay my rent if I lost my job over selling alcohol to a minor. Do you want a soft drink?”
It had worked for Zan. Oh well. “That’s fine. Just send up a bottle of soda then.” She sighed as she hung up the phone and picked up the TV remote.
Someone knocked on the door ten minutes later. She leapt off the bed to answer it.
“Thanks, just place it on the table here.” She rummaged around in her bag to find a few dollars for a tip. “Here.”
“Thank you, miss,” the waiter said, taking the cash and heading out.
She gobbled up most of her dinner, and then resumed watching TV. She was idly eating the last of her fries when one dropped onto the tray. She pushed aside her plate. “What is that?” she mumbled to herself. She pulled a small piece of paper out from under the plate and unfolded it.
It said, “I know what you did last spring.”
“Isn’t that a film franchise?” she muttered to herself. “Strange.” She carefully tucked the note away in her purse to look at it later.
zzz
Charlie didn’t have much luck for her first few hours in Seattle. She’d snuck down into the Seattle Underground part of the city, but there were no zombies anywhere. She guessed that the Seattle police had swept the area clean several times before allowing the tour companies to bring tourists down there again to see a part of Seattle’s interesting, and sometimes scandalous, history.
She was back at her hotel room again, trying to figure out what to watch, when her cell phone rang.
“Hi, Owen. How’s it going?” asked Charlie.
“Hey, pretty good here. You’re still alive! How is zombie hunting?”
“Oh, sadly, pretty dull. No sign of any zombies. Instead, I’m having a nice vacation.” She decided t
o leave out the part about the note.
“That’s too bad,” said Owen. “There are things going on here, but we haven’t reached the exciting point yet.”
“Well, I have three more days here, then I’m back at home.”
“Say, I have a concern,” said Owen.
“Oh relax. I’m not partying it up” she said.
“Oh no, I mean, about Zan.”
“Oh, I thought I told you to cool it on that, just be friends.”
“I know, but it turns out I put my foot in my mouth again, or something,” he explained.
“Oh, what now?” she asked.
“Well, I guess I acted a bit jealous when she was giving this guy some attention,” he explained.
She thought a bit. “Yep, that would do it. Did you apologize?”
“Of course,” he said. “Then she said she didn’t care.”
She laughed. “That sounds like Zan. With her, just keep your mouth shut and pretend you don’t even know what’s going on. That is, unless there is a zombie creeping up on her and she’s about to be killed. Then go ahead and act. Otherwise, stay quiet.”
He laughed. “Yep, that’s pretty much what I’m doing from now on. Say ‘hi’ to Mark for me,” he said.
“I will. We’re getting together tomorrow to exchange notes.” She hung up.
zzz
“Hi, Mark. It’s good to see you again,” she said, shaking his hand.
“Wow, it’s so good to see you again too,” he replied. “I miss my Portland friends but have little say where my parents go.”
“Let’s get a drink and sit down.” They placed their orders with the barista, then grabbed their drinks and took a table in the back, as far away from other people as possible.
“So, are you ready for your last year of school?” she asked him.
He shrugged. “It’s school. How about you?”
“The same. I’ll head off to the police academy so I have a career under my belt before my zlayer abilities wear off.”
His eyes opened wide. “What? Wear off?”