Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place

by Char Robinson

  “Agreed,” Dave said softly as he looked over his shoulder toward the doors. “I don’t want to move everyone out until we absolutely have to. We have such a good setup here that I hate to lose this place.”

  As Mick started to reply, Cindy came through the doors. “Hi guys,” she said with a grin as she walked over to Mick and slipped an arm around his waist. “Thought I’d come out here to keep Mick company for awhile.”

  “I could use the company,” Mick said with a warm smile, drawing her closer and giving her a squeeze.

  “Well, then I’m going to go check on some things,” Dave said with a quick smile. “See you two love birds later.”

  “There’s ice cream in there,” Mick called after Dave, who waved a hand in response as he closed the doors behind him.

  Cindy looked up into her husband’s eyes, her smile fading. “Let’s sit down and talk, ok?”

  Mick frowned slightly as she led him over to the chairs and they both took a seat. The look on her face told him that she had more on her mind than simply keeping him company.

  Cindy stared directly into his eyes. “Ok, no more hedging. I want the truth and I want it now. What’s going on?”

  Staring back at her, Mick realized he couldn’t hide the truth from her any longer and told her everything he knew.

  ****

  “What is this?” Dave whispered fiercely, glancing from Mick to Cindy, and back to Mick again. Dave was shocked when Mick appeared with Cindy behind him. “This was supposed to be between just the two of us for the time being!”

  Mick shrugged helplessly before Cindy shouldered her way in front of him and hissed. “You should know better than to keep something like this from all of us. Besides, I’ve been married to him long enough to know when something’s not right and I made him tell me.”

  Dave’s shoulders slumped in a defeated gesture. “Ok, I understand that – but even Lilly doesn’t know!”

  “Well, I think it’s time you tell her,” Cindy said as she stepped back.

  Dave groaned when he saw Lilly standing behind them in the shadows. “Lil,” he began, holding his hand out to her. She came forward slowly with a questioning look on her face. “I would have told you – I would have told all of you,” he said in a sorrowful voice. “But I was hoping I could manage this myself and not worry anyone.” The sad expression on his face caused Lilly to smile at him sympathetically.

  “You’re always trying to do the right thing, but sometimes it’s not the best thing,” she said soothingly as Dave gave her a grateful smile. “We want to help and it’s time to let us do that.”

  Dave nodded vigorously, still looking at his wife. “Ok, no more secrets. Did they fill you in on what’s been happening?”

  “Somewhat,” Lilly said as she looked around the basement. “So where is this secret room?”

  “Over here,” Dave said as he drew Lilly along with him to the wall and grinned at the look of amazement on her face as he opened the door. “You look just like Mick did when he saw this,” he said lightly as he stepped inside and turned on the lights. After the others followed him in, he checked his watch. “Ok, it’s time to contact Bill.”

  Dave hurried to the computer and sat down, everyone silently gathered around behind him. He brought up a message program unfamiliar to Mick and as they watched, Dave quickly typed.

  “Now we wait,” he said, leaning back in the chair. They didn’t have to wait long, only a few seconds passed before Dave got a reply.

  “It’s Bill,” he said in a low voice while typing a reply.

  Dave and Bill corresponded rapidly. Mick winced when he saw what Bill had to say and quickly glanced at Cindy who had covered her mouth with one slender hand.

  “This is not good,” Lilly said quietly.

  “No, not good at all,” Dave replied slowly as he glanced up at his wife. “Not good at all.”

  Dave finished his conversation, logged off, and turned to face them. “Well, what do we do now?”

  “We start packing,” Mick said with resignation in his voice. He hoped that Bill would have good news for them and he was trying to wrap his mind around what he’d just read. “We don’t have much time, do we?”

  “No, we don’t,” Dave agreed with a shake of his head. He stood up and faced them. “At least we know it’s not the military we have to fear, but people who were working with the military.”

  Despite what they had just learned, Mick was relieved the military wasn’t involved, in fact from what Bill told them, they were trying desperately to save as many people as they could. “So these are mercenaries that are out of control, if I understand what he was saying correctly.”

  “Yes, that’s what I gathered,” Dave confirmed. “At first he thought it was the military, but he says they’ve been to his place and have helped his group out a lot. They’re going to try and stop this gang of thugs, he says they call themselves the “Connor Group” and that they’re nothing but a bunch of scientists and ex-military types who’ve banded together and decided to run things their own way.”

  “Yeah, we gathered that,” Lilly said in a strained voice. “So Bill wants us to evacuate as soon as we can?”

  Dave sighed heavily. “That’s what he says. They want us to leave and they’re going to send a small contingent of soldiers here to help us and to “welcome” this group when they get here. They’re hoping they can stop them before they do any more damage.”

  “So from what Bill said, we have anywhere from about three to ten days to accomplish this?” Mick asked. “That means the folks in Shady Oaks better get a move on and that we need to help them.”

  “We also need to let everyone know what’s going on,” Cindy said as she gave Dave a firm look.

  Dave ran a hand through his hair before replying. “Agreed, we need to have a meeting first thing in the morning and tell everyone here what’s going on. Then we need to get hold of Charlie and spread the word.”

  Silently they exited the room and as Mick placed a protective arm around his wife, he glanced over her head at Dave, who looked back at him bleakly, which gave him no comfort whatsoever.

  Chapter 18

  “This road is gonna shake my guts out,” Sean complained as they rode over the washboard ruts in the narrow dirt road.

  “Quit bein’ a baby,” Scott grunted as he maneuvered the SUV over another partially washed out section of the road. “It’s getting us where we need to go.”

  “Yeah, maybe – but we’re not getting there soon enough.”

  Scott shot his brother an angry look before turning his attention back to the road. “Just chill will ya? You’re getting’ on my last nerve.”

  Jacob glanced at Mark and grinned. “You two sound like an old married couple,” he said with a chuckle. “Do you always go at it like this?”

  Sean turned around in his seat and grinned at the two men. “Of course. We wouldn’t want it any other way, would we Scott?”

  They all chuckled as Scott groaned and shook his head. “Oh yeah, I just love it,” he said with heavy sarcasm. “Day in and day out – it’s what I live for.”

  Sean grinned and held out his fist toward Mark, who bumped his knuckles against Sean’s.

  As Sean turned around in his seat, he let out a low whistle as he looked at the dashboard clock. Damn, it’s getting late – they were expecting us at Shady Oaks almost an hour ago.”

  “That’s not the worst of it,” Jacob said quietly. “I’ve been watching it getting dark out west of here, and I think we’re in for a storm. If it rains, it’s going to make this road a muddy mess.”

  Scott sat up straighter in his seat and took a quick look out the window. “Great, that’s all we friggin’ need, it does look dark over there.”

  “Guess that means you need to step on it a bit,” Sean retorted as he peered out the window.

  “It’s not safe to go any faster,” Scott grumbled. “Last thing we need is to get another flat or end up in the ditch, that thing’s deep.”
>
  Sean flopped back against his seat and turned his head toward Scott. “This is not fun anymore,” he complained. “I want to get there and kick some zombie ass.”

  Scott laughed out loud. “You’ll get your chance, just hang tight. I have a feeling we’re in for one helluva fight.”

  “Me too,” Jacob remarked from the back. “So I for one am in no great hurry to get there.”

  ****

  “Ok, we’ve rounded up another two trucks,” Charlie told Dexter as they sat inside the lobby eating a quick dinner of MRE’s. “We have twenty five people and that’s as many as we can spare. We have to leave some here to guard the place.”

  Dexter growled as he chewed. He swallowed, smacked his lips and said, “Yeah, I know. We even got a few new folks that we found hidin’ out in their homes, and when Sean and Scott get here, we should have enough.”

  “I hope so. Everything is ready; we’re waiting for them to show.” Charlie received a call from Dave telling him of the delay, but he was having a hard time getting Dexter to wait for Sean, Scott, and the two new guys. “We have to be patient and wait for them to get here.”

  Dexter glared at Charlie. “I don’t think we really need ‘em to tell ya the truth. There’s a storm comin’ and I want to get this over with before it hits. We need to be back here before then, those damn zombies could use the rain as cover to hit us and I believe they’re that smart.”

  Charlie bowed his head and stared at his plate while thinking of the right words to say. Looking up at Dexter, he spoke calmly. “Look, we need that key, but we don’t need to get a bunch of people hurt or killed. If it rains before they get here, we wait. If they get here before the rain, we’ll go – simple as that.”

  Dexter glared at Charlie then looked around the room. “Okay,” he finally said. “You’re probably right, no use hurrying into it.”

  Charlie briefly closed his eyes in relief, but it was short-lived. Travis burst through the door, his eyes wide and excited. He was waving a walkie talkie in one hand.

  “We just got word!” he yelled as he skidded to a stop before Charlie and Dexter. “Some of the guys were watching like you said to, and they’ve spotted Gordon! We know right where he is!”

  Charlie groaned inwardly as Dexter jumped to his feet. “Where’d they spot him?”

  “He’s with that group of zombies under the bleachers,” Travis cried as he thrust the walkie at Dexter, who took it and strode outside. “They’re saying there are no more than twenty or thirty of those things under there. We can take ‘em and get the key!”

  Charlie sighed and stood up. He knew there would be no more stalling. “Get everyone together,” he instructed Travis. “Looks like we’ll be heading out.”

  “Right-o,” Travis replied as he trotted off.

  Charlie watched him for a moment, and then scanned the yard for his daughter until he spotted her talking to another woman by one of the trucks. Catching her eye, he gave a jerk of his head. Jenny quickly excused herself and hurried over.

  “What’s up?” she asked as she approached.

  “Pretty sure we’re heading out. Travis got word that now is a good time, Gordon was spotted and they think we can get to him without too much trouble.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Jenny replied as she narrowed her eyes. Charlie looked anything but happy. “What’s got you so worried, Dad? We’ve had no real problems so far.”

  Charlie nodded. “That’s what worries me, honey. We all know there are a lot of those things out there, but they seem to be avoiding us. Why is that, exactly? I’ve seen these things really go after people at Hudson Place and then they would suddenly disappear, although we knew they were out there because we could hear them. Something’s not right.”

  “What does Darrell or Dexter think?”

  Charlie snorted. “Dexter doesn’t think - that’s his problem. Darrell is pretty much in agreement with me, these things are evolving or changing in some way and we need to be really careful.”

  “We will be careful,” Jenny said soothingly as she reached up to rub his arm. “I promise to stick close so you won’t worry, ok?”

  “You better,” Charlie growled and then grinned at her. “Whatever you do, stay away from Dexter.”

  Jenny laughed. “Oh, no problem there. He’s a walking zombie magnet and I plan to stay as far away as possible from him.” She glanced over Charlie’s shoulder. “Looks like everyone’s loading up, guess we should too.”

  Charlie turned his head, watching Dexter climb into the SUV. “Yeah, guess so.”

  They climbed into the cab of their pickup and Charlie glanced in the rearview mirror to watch Travis and two other men join him in the pickup bed. He started the engine and fell in behind the line of vehicles headed for the school. As Charlie said another silent prayer, he realized he’d been doing a lot of praying in the last few days and he hoped that the good Lord above was hearing each and every one of them.

  ****

  “Damn!” Scott shouted over the sound of hail hitting the roof of the SUV. “I can’t see a thing!”

  Sean leaned forward in his seat, trying to squint through the deluge of rain and hail pouring down from the sky. “Me neither. Just take it slow, bro,” he quipped with a small grin at his brother.

  Scott frowned in response and slowed the SUV to a crawl. “At this rate, we’re never gonna get to Shady Oaks,” he grumbled. “For days it hasn’t rained, and then when we really need to get somewhere, it pours.”

  “That’s the way it goes,” Sean chirped as he settled back against his seat. “Murphy’s law and all.”

  “Well damn Murphy and his cruddy, stinking law!” Scott grumbled. “I have my own law, and I say we’re going to keep moving until we get to Shady Oaks!”

  As if in reply, the full fury of the storm descended upon the slowly moving vehicle, obscuring Scott’s view completely and forcing him to stop on the muddy road.

  “This is freakin’ unbelievable!” Scott roared as he slammed the shifter into park and plopped back against his seat. “We’re not going anywhere until this lets up.”

  Scott jumped slightly when he felt a large, warm hand on his shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder to see Jacob smiling calmly at him.

  “We’ll wait it out,” Jacob said, his voice slightly raised so he could be heard over the racket the rain and hail made on the roof of the SUV. “I imagine that the people in Shady Oaks are waiting it out too.”

  Scott rubbed his forehead with both hands. “I guess so, after all they wouldn’t want to take on a bunch of zombies when they can’t see their hand in front of their face in this storm.”

  Jacob patted Scott’s shoulder and withdrew his hand. “That’s right, and from what you all told us about Charlie, he’ll know better.”

  Scott chuckled halfheartedly. “Yeah, Charlie would know better, but Dexter wouldn’t. Dexter would go in if a tornado was blowing through right in his path, and that’s got me worried.”

  Sean nodded in agreement and turned to face the two men in the seat behind him. “Charlie’s as level-headed as they come, but Dexter could get you killed – he’s like a bull in a china shop.”

  Jacob nodded thoughtfully before replying. “Well, let’s hope that Charlie’s the one that those people listen to.”

  As Sean was about to reply, Scott exclaimed, “Hey! I think it’s letting up!” He shifted into drive and began to inch forward. The others were silent but watchful as they continued slowly on their journey.

  ****

  When the first raindrops splashed on the windshield, Charlie slowed a bit and stuck his head out the open truck window. He didn’t like what he saw. Turning to Jenny he said, “Take a good look all around and let me know what you think.”

  Jenny nodded and rolled her window down. After a quick look she turned to Charlie. “Dad, it looks really dark to the west. I don’t think we’re going to get this done before the storm hits.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking
too,” he said softly as he glanced again at the approaching storm. “I’m thinking we should turn back and wait for this to blow over. I’m going to radio Dexter.”

  Without taking his eyes off the vehicles in front of him, Charlie fumbled for the radio at his belt. He finally managed to free it from the clip and pressed the send button. “Dexter, this is Charlie, do you copy?”