“See!” Charlie shouted as he pointed again. “Here they come!”
He whipped his shirt out of his back pocket and broke into a trot, whirling the shirt over his head as he went. The others quickly followed. A sudden gust of wind coming from behind them literally stopped Charlie and the others in their tracks. The air was so foul, Charlie’s eyes instantly teared up and he began to gag. He knew the zombies were close, but he didn’t think they were that close, the smell was beyond description. He now used his shirt to cover his mouth and nose. He could hear Megan retching and turned to his friends. All of them were bent over and struggling to deal with the stench.
“Cover your mouths and noses!” Charlie managed to gasp out. “Let‘s go!”
He began walking backward, keeping his eyes on the others. Darrell and Megan, hanging onto one another, managed to cover their faces and head his way. Dexter was another matter. He was on all fours on the ground, dry heaving. Charlie rushed over to him and grabbed him by a fleshy arm. Dexter jerked it away and shook his head. Charlie looked up and caught Darrell’s eye.
“Help me with him!” he yelled. He was beginning to feel desperate. The zombies were closing in and they had to get Dexter up and moving. If the wind gusted again, it could go very badly for all of them if they didn’t put some distance between them and the walking stink bombs. Charlie took a quick glance at them and felt his stomach roil again. Almost all of them had flies swarming around and maggots dripping from any open wounds. Charlie was certain he could hear the buzzing of the flies below the moaning and groaning sounds the zombies made. When Darrell reached them, he grabbed one arm as Darrell grabbed the other and together they managed to lift Dexter up to his feet.
“Come on Dex!” Darrell bellowed in his ear. “If you don’t get moving, we’re all gonna die!”
Dexter began moving slowly forward. Charlie and Darrell tightened their grip and hurried him along. Charlie glanced at Darrell over Dexter’s head. Darrell shook his head, his mouth set in a grim line.
“C’mon Dex, you have to move faster than this!” Charlie urged him again. Dexter moaned, but he did pick up his pace a bit.
Megan was several feet ahead, watching the white truck make its approach. She turned toward the three men. “Don’t think the truck will get here in time,” she shouted. “We really need to run and do it now!”
Charlie put his head down, gripped Dexter and propelled him at a faster rate. There was no way he would let Dexter get them killed.
“Charlie, maybe we should start looking for a place to hide out, at least for awhile,” Darrell said worriedly. “They’re way too close now.”
Charlie opened his mouth to reply, but a sudden loud bang and the sound of someone whooping cut him off. He swiveled his head to the left. “What in the world?”
He saw a small, dark shape dart behind an old blue minivan. With another whoop, the stranger lobbed what looked like a water balloon at the zombies. Another quickly followed. He was surprised when they struck the zombies and erupted in a burst of white powder. The zombies abruptly stopped - startled - and the ones behind them began to pile into one another. Several more of the balloons began raining down on the zombies, which covered them in a haze of white.
Charlie realized his mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it. From behind the van someone came sprinting toward them. Charlie didn’t know if he was looking at a man or woman because the figure was totally covered in black and wearing a helmet and padding. They were also carrying a wood baseball bat and Charlie could see a backpack. Before any of them could react, the figure stopped before them and tore off the helmet. A young girl, maybe sixteen at the most, stood before them. She had short, curly black hair that framed her face, but her eyes were the most striking blue and sparkling at the moment. She stuck out a hand toward Charlie.
“Hi! I’m Bitsy Jones, noticed you needed a little help!” she said in a husky voice which surprised Charlie even further. He expected her to sound like a chipmunk. She gave them all a brilliant smile then jerked her head in the direction of the zombies still milling aimlessly around.
“We need to get moving, that won’t keep their attention for long.”
Charlie gestured with a nod of his head. “What did you throw at them?”
Bitsy laughed and it sounded like the tinkling of half-filled glasses. “Oh that, it’s only flour, but it does the job! Saved me more than once, I tell ya.”
Megan walked over, shook Bitsy’s hand, and quickly made introductions. They all began walking fast as a group, still talking and trying to keep an eye on the truck and zombies at the same time.
Darrell pointed. “Finally, they see us!”
Charlie was grateful to see that sure enough, the truck was pointed directly at them and traveling at a fairly high rate of speed. The group picked up their pace as well, now trotting at a good clip. No one wanted to smell the zombies again.
The truck slid to a stop before reaching them and Charlie smiled with relief when Jenny jumped out of the passenger side.
“Dad!” she cried, rushing to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. He let go of Dexter and hugged her back.
“You don’t know how glad we are to see you!” he breathed into her neck. He raised back to look into her face. “What took you so long?”
Jenny frowned. “Those idiots came back and told us what happened, but neglected to even check if everyone made it out. When we realized you hadn’t, we jumped in the truck and took off. Looks like not a minute too soon, either,” she said with a nod toward the now approaching zombies.
“What’s the white stuff all over them?” she asked.
“Well, that’s where Bitsy comes in,” Charlie said with a chuckle.
“Who?” Jenny asked with a puzzled look.
“Me!” chimed in Bitsy with a big grin. She leapt like a little deer into the back of the pickup and held out a hand to Megan to help her up.
“We can all talk later,” Dexter grumbled as he hauled himself into the truck bed. “Let’s get outta here.”
“Dex has a point,” Charlie conceded. He climbed in beside Bitsy and Jenny returned to her place in the truck.
Once everyone was ready, Megan gave the back window two sharp raps. “Let’s go!” she shouted.
As they drove away, all eyes in the back of the truck were glued to the flour-covered zombies who were still following them at a slow but steady pace.
****
Mick was up early, along with everyone else. Lilly was like a woman possessed, she wanted those kids safe and she wanted that to happen immediately. From what Cindy told him, he knew she was on the balcony with the bullhorn trying to get them to answer her. So far no one had seen either child. After grabbing a quick cup of coffee, he started to walk over to the balcony door when the kids came bursting in, all seemed to be talking and laughing at once. Mick watched them for a moment with a smile on his face. A sudden thought popped into his head, causing his smile to grow even bigger. He hurried over to the balcony door and quickly slid it aside.
"Lilly! I've got an idea!" he called out excitedly. Lilly lowered the bullhorn and slightly narrowed her eyes.
"Really? What's your idea?" she asked.
"Pretty simple idea, actually," he said in a rush. "The kids won't respond to us because they're probably scared to death and don't know who to trust or what to do, but what if we get some of our kids to call them out and talk to them?"
Lilly grinned at him. "That may work! Ok, so grab a couple kids and let's see what happens."
Mick nodded, spun around and headed back through the doors. He quickly scanned the group of children and spotted Heather. Walking over to her he gave her a big smile and said, "Want to come help granddad with something really important?"
Heather tilted her head and smiled. "Important? What is it?"
"You heard about the boy and girl that are alone at the other warehouse?" At her nod, Mick continued. "Well, we want to help them, but they don't want to talk to u
s because they're scared. They might talk to other kids though, so I need you and someone else to come outside and talk to them." He glanced at the other children again and gestured. "Who else can help us?"
"Rory," she responded immediately, pointing at Jeff and Lindsey's son. "He knows what's going on, too and he's not shy so he can help."
Mick chuckled. "Why don't you go ask him and I'll check to make sure it's ok with your parents. Then we'll meet back here, how does that sound?"
Heather nodded solemnly. "That sounds just fine, granddad," she said seriously. Mick wanted to chuckle, but refrained. "I'll go ask him now."
Watching her scamper toward Rory, he grinned and hurried off to get permission for the kids to come out and help them. He was sure no one would have a problem, but at the same time he didn't want to step on any parental toes. There were few things any of them had control over anymore and being able to monitor what the children were exposed to was a big consideration.
Mick made a mental note to make sure the children stayed near the door, he didn't want them to see the carnage in the street below. The smell out there, he couldn't do anything about right away. Hauling bodies off was in store for them again in the next few days. At least Mick hoped they could get away with it, certainly might be a lot more dangerous to travel very far from Dave's Place anymore.
He quickly found Scott and got his ok, he found Jeff and Lindsey going over inventory and after a quick explanation, they also gave their consent for Rory to help. Jeff decided to tag along and followed Mick back upstairs. Everyone was waiting for them when they returned. Once again, Mick explained what they were going to do. Finally, he turned toward Heather and Rory, who were standing next to him.
"You two ready to go out and talk to the other kids?"
At their nods, he started toward the balcony. The two children followed, with Jeff bringing up the rear. As soon as they were outside, he quickly turned.
"Heather, honey, you stand right here," he said softly as he positioned her to the left of the door. He motioned for Rory. "And you - young man, right next to Heather, ok?"
Rory hopped over to Heather, who gave him a quick grin then they both looked up at Mick. Jeff had retrieved the bullhorn and handed it to Mick, who in turn gave it to Heather.
"Ok Heather, say hello to them, ask them to come to the window so you can talk to them - then give the bullhorn to Rory and let him do the same thing."
Heather took the bullhorn and after Mick showed her how to use it, she quickly lifted it to her lips.
"Hey! You kids!" she yelled. Mick grinned at Jeff, she was definitely not afraid to use the horn. "My name is Heather; can you come to the window and talk to us? This is my granddad Mick, and Rory is my friend, this is his daddy, Jeff," she said while pointing at each one of them. "That's Parker over there with the gun. He won't hurt you, he's just watching for the bad zombies."
She lowered the horn and looked at Mick. "Am I doing ok?" she whispered.
Mick squatted down. "You're doing great," he reassured her. "Let's give Rory a try now."
She handed her friend the horn. "Your turn Rory," she said sweetly. Mick gave her a quick hug then stood and looked at the boy.
"Go ahead, Rory. Tell them you're name and anything else you want, but try to get them to come to the window."
"Ok Mr. Carter," Rory said with a nod.
Mick stepped back and picked up the binoculars. The warehouse they had last seen the children in was only a few buildings away, but he hoped he could see movement beyond the black interior of the windows. Rory began to talk, repeating almost everything Heather had said previously. To his surprise, the older child, the boy, suddenly appeared in the window. Mick waved at him and after a moment, the boy waved back then disappeared inside.
Without looking away he told Rory, "Keep talking to them Rory, I saw the boy."
Jeff turned and stared for a moment. He pointed. "Look, there are both of them," he said.
Rory lowered the horn and the two groups stared at each other for a few seconds. Mick slowly reached over and took the bullhorn.
"Hi, I'm Mick, Heather's granddad," he said slowly and clearly. "We want to help you get out of there. We want you to come over here to stay with us. You would be safe and you could play with Heather, Rory, and all the other kids here."
At the mention of even more children, Mick saw their eyes widen. "Yes, that's right; we have lots of kids here. We have lots of fun things to do and if you're hungry we have plenty of food." Mick's heart broke when he saw the little girl lick her lips. He knew they must be terribly hungry and thirsty.
Mick glanced down and around the area. Other than the bodies below, there was no sign of anything moving. "If we come over to get you, will you go downstairs and wait at the door?" The children seemed to confer together for a moment before the boy raised his head and nodded. "Great, when we knock on the door, like this - he demonstrated the shave and a hair cut knock to them - you come out and we'll all run back here. How does that sound?" Once again the children put their heads together and the boy nodded.
"Great! We need to get ready and it will take us a little bit. When we are done, we'll come back out here and let you know when to go down, ok?" They both nodded this time and Mick smiled. "Ok, sit tight and we'll be back soon."
Mick turned to Jeff and let out a deep breath. "Now the fun begins," he muttered under his breath so Heather and Rory couldn't hear.
"And how," Jeff agreed. Leaving Parker to continue his watch, the group returned inside.
"I'm going with you," Lilly said with a nod of her head as she followed them. At Mick's dubious glance, she frowned. "None of that now! I think it will help to have me with you so they won't be so scared." She raised a finger and shook it. Mick grinned and Lilly rolled her eyes before chuckling. "Ok, I know I'm being a little overly dramatic, but I want to help these kids, I feel like I need to do this - ok?"
Mick could hear the pleading in her voice and realized these kids may be what Lilly needed, indeed. "No problem Lil, but it's not going to be pretty down there and it could get downright dangerous."
"I know, trust me, I've already thought this through," she said with a small smile. "I am willing to take the chance."
They were still standing at the door and Jeff peered over Mick's shoulder. "Ok, can we all move now? Getting kind of cramped behind Mick here."
Everyone laughed and the tension in the air evaporated. "I'm going to let Cindy in on everything," Mick said with a wave as he turned to go find his wife. "Should we all meet downstairs at the door in about 10 minutes?"
Lilly and Jeff agreed, so Mick hurried off to find Cindy.
Chapter 33
Someone built a fire outside the apartment and several people were gathered around, listening to Bitsy Jones weave her rather fantastic tale. Charlie sat back in his chair, stuffed from dinner, very comfortable and half asleep with his hands behind his head. He was quite amused by Bitsy's story and he could tell several others were as well. When she finished, there was silence for a moment. Then Travis spoke up.
"Wow, Bits - that's some story," he said lamely. Charlie almost laughed out loud when he saw the boy's smitten, puppy dog eyes glued to Bitsy. "I'm not sure I could have done half that well."
Charlie started to chuckle, but when Jenny gave him a look, he choked it back. He stuck his tongue out at her and she crossed her eyes, causing him to choke back another laugh. She smiled and winked at him before glancing back at Travis and Bitsy.
Apparently in Bitsy's world, she was quite the superhero, able to leap over hoards of zombies with a single bound. None of them could catch her, or trick her, or even get close to her. She had been hiding out on the other side of town and thought everyone was either a zombie or gone. Her parents had left her alone with the promise that they would return with her Aunt and Uncle, but none of them ever came back.
So, according to Bitsy, she snuck around and managed to gather everything she needed to survive. At first for fun, she followed t
he zombies around and took them out when she could. Then there were more and more of them, and they seemed to be getting wise to her, so she opted to stay out of sight most of the time.
Bitsy tried to study them closely; she was very interested in how they were changing. This careful observation told her it was getting too dangerous to stay where she was. She was so excited when Charlie and his group passed right by her hiding spot, which was on the second floor of a small apartment building. Bitsy had removed most of the stairs inside in case zombies found their way in, and used a collapsible ladder to climb in and out of a window that faced the main road.
Charlie had enough. He also wanted to see Judith before retiring for the night. He stood and stretched slowly. "Well folks, I'm headed to bed." He nodded toward the group and started toward the apartment when he heard a high-pitched yelp.
Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place Page 21