About twenty minutes later, Chase comes walking back into my apartment carrying only a backpack, “Okay, I’m ready.”
“That’s all you’re taking?”
“Yep. It’s all I need. You ready to go?”
“Yep, I think so.”
“Okay, we’ll take my car, we’ll head over to my store because I get a discount on food and we’ll load up on junk food, water and soda.”
“Junk food, water and soda?”
“Oh, I forgot, coffee. Got to keep our energy up while killing Zombies.”
Chase has definitely gone mad, that’s all I’ve got to say. I definitely need to go with him to keep an eye on him. He’s seriously starting to worry me. “Sounds like a good diet.” I wink at him.
He bursts out laughing, “I know that it sounds bad, but this is the Zombie Apocalypse. Fuck nutrition. Eat what you want, you don’t know how much time you’ve got.” He winks at me again.
“You’ve got a point there. We should also load up on cigarettes and alcohol also, while we’re at it.”
“Now you’re talking, Candi. See, isn’t this going to be fun?”
“Actually, once you start thinking about it, it’s starting to sound kind of fun.”
“Okay, let’s get going.” Chase opens the door of my apartment as he peeks his head out, “Okay, it’s clear so far.” We’re both carrying a baseball bat, we each have a backpack, and I have a suitcase, as we’re walking out of my apartment towards his car.
Chase leads the way, scanning the parking lot as I’m following him. He turns towards me, “Okay, it’s clear, Candi.”
We get to the car as he unlocks the door, while we both open the back doors as we throw the backpacks and I throw my suitcase into the backseat. Then we both get into the front seat. He backs out, almost hitting a Zombie, “Shit! Did you see that?” He exclaims.
I turn around as I burst out laughing, “Oh, my God! I did! That’s hilarious!”
He speeds out of the parking lot as we’re laughing like two kids who just played a prank on somebody.
He pulls up into the parking lot of the convenience store he works at. We notice that there’s about a dozen Zombies roaming the parking lot while a couple of Zombies look like they’re knocking on the door.
Chase drives around the parking lot, shaking his head, “Damn! I should have stopped at the Pawn shop first to get that machete.”
“Why don’t we check the back door?”
Chase drives around to the back door, “Good, there’s no Zombies back here.”
We get out of the car, holding onto our baseball bats. He reaches for the door handle and the door opens. Chase slowly walks inside, holding the baseball bat up, ready to strike if needed, as I follow closely behind him.
As we approach the main part of the store, Chase notices his manager, Adam, standing behind the counter. Adam looks at us with a panicked look on his face, “Oh, my God! I’m so glad that you guys are here! I thought I was going to die in here!”
Chase and I look around as Chase asks, “Where is everybody?”
Adam shakes his head, “There’s nobody here today. Nobody came to work today and there really hasn’t been any customers. A few people stopping for gas, that’s about it. But then the Zombies began appearing in the parking lot and those two are banging on the front door, so now I’m trapped in here.”
Chase looks around, “Um…yeah…we came for some food and gas. We’re heading out on a Zombie killing adventure.” He says with an ear to ear smile.
Adam looks at Chase curiously, “A Zombie killing adventure?”
Chase gives him a cheesy smile, “Yeah! A Zombie killing adventure with Candi, my girlfriend here.” He says as he points at me, “We are heading out on a Zombie killing adventure. We are going to save the World by trying to kill all the Zombies.”
Adam looks at Chase like he’s crazy. “How do you plan on doing that?”
“We are going to head over to the Pawn shop down the street and see if they have any machetes, then we’re going to drive around the country and chop off Zombie heads. Then we’ll be the Famous Zombie Killers that saved the World!”
Adam is still looking at Chase like he’s crazy. “So, you’re going to head over to the Pawn shop to get a couple of machetes?”
Chase nods, “Yep.”
Adam looks like he’s thinking for a moment, “Hmmm…I was actually planning on heading over there too, for some guns and knives. How about we go over there together?” He looks around the store, “I don’t think that anything is going to happen over here businesswise, so how about we head over there together?”
Suddenly, the glass on the front door where the two Zombies have been hitting, begins to crack. As the glass begins to fall, a couple of more Zombies roam over there to join the other two Zombies. Adam looks at Chase and me as he declares, “Let’s get the heck out of here…NOW!”
The three of us run to the back of the store where Chase and I entered from. When we get to the door, Chase looks back at Adam and I as he holds his index finger to his mouth, “Shhh…I don’t know if there’s any Zombies back here or not.”
Adam and I patiently wait as Chase slowly opens the door to take a peek. As he slowly opens the door, a Zombie arms sneaks in. Chase tries pushing the door shut but the Zombie is strong as it begins forcing its way inside.
Adam and I take a step back in horror as we watch Chase try to struggle to shut the door. We look behind us as the other Zombies are slowly making their way inside the store. Adam leans in and whispers loudly to me, “We need to get out of here!” He grabs my bat out of my hands as he yells at Chase, “Get out of the way and let him in!”
Chase steps back, letting the Zombie inside, as Adam takes a step forward and begins bashing the Zombie’s head in with the baseball bat. Chase and I look at each other with fascination as we watch Adam beats the heck out of that Zombie.
After he’s done, he hands me the bat, “There you go. Sorry, I just had to do that.”
I look at Adam speechless, “That’s okay, you gotta do, what you gotta do.”
Adam nods, “Yeah, well I need to get out of here and home to my family.”
Chase nods in agreement, “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”
We stand there, holding our baseball bats, ready to attack as Chase opens up the back door again. We all scan the parking lot, but we don’t see any more Zombies. We run to Chase’s car and get inside. Adam gets into the backseat as he leans forward, “Can you take me to my car?”
Chase starts up the car as he drives around the parking lot. Adam points out his car, well, it’s the only car in the parking lot, but it’s surrounded by at least a dozen Zombies. Adam shakes his head, “How am I supposed to get to my car?”
Chase turns and looks at him, “How about we go to the Pawn shop first, then come back here and see if the Zombies have moved onto something else?”
Adam nods in agreement, “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
Chase pulls out of the parking lot as we head down the road to the Pawn shop. As we pull up to the Pawn show and Chase parks right in front of the door, there’s a couple of Zombies hanging out in front of it. The three of us look around the area. I look at Chase, “It doesn’t look like anyone is around.”
Chase gets out of his car, holding the baseball bat. He looks at Adam, “Hey man, there’s another baseball bat in the back seat.”
Adam looks down as he notices the third baseball bat laying on the floor. He picks it up, “Thanks Chase.”
Adam and I get out of the car, holding our baseball bats, ready to strike any Zombie who gets in our way. We slowly and quietly, walk towards the Pawn shop door. Chase gets there first as he grabs the door handle and slowly opens it. Adam and I approach the door, right behind Chase as we all enter.
We look around the store, but don’t see anybody in the front. Chase turns to us, “The door was open, so somebody must be in here.” Chase takes a couple of more steps in. “HELLO!”
We stand there quietly as we wait for somebody to respond. Adam begins looking at the guns. I walk up to Chase, “Do you think anybody is here?”
Chase shrugs his shoulders, “I don’t know. The door was unlocked, so somebody should be here. Somebody had to unlock the door this morning.”
Chase notices the machetes. He walks over to them, “Cool! They do have machetes here! I wasn’t sure if they would or not.” He picks one up and inspects it. “Wow! Look at this, Candi!”
He steps back as he begins swinging it back and forth. “This is awesome! Hey Adam! Look at this!”
Adam looks at him with a smile on his face, “Wow! That is awesome!” Adam walks over to him, “Can I see it?” Chase hands it to him. Adam inspects it, then steps back and swings it a couple of times. “Wow, this would really come in handy.”
Chase smiles, “Yeah, I thought the same thing. That’s why I wanted to come here today.”
As I’m looking around, I see a Zombie walking into the main part of the store from the back, “Um…Chase…Adam…there’s a Zombie behind you guys.”
Adam, who’s still holding the machete, turns around, as the Zombie is walking towards him. Chase nudges Adam, “Chop his head off, Adam.”
Adam looks at Chase, then gives him a smirk, as he takes a step forward, swings the machete, even with the Zombie’s neck, then pulls back and SWISH…as the Zombie’s head goes flying!
We all stand there, staring at the headless Zombie as he falls to the floor. We all look at each other, dumbfounded, then we burst out laughing.
“THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!” Chase exclaims.
Adam nods his head in disbelief, “Yeah, that was fucking awesome!”
I shake my head in disbelief, “Wow, we definitely need a few of those.”
Chase looks around, “Well, I wonder if that was the store manager.”
Adam looks around, “There doesn’t seem to be anybody else around.”
Chase nods, “Yep, I have to agree with you.”
“So, then what do we do?” I ask curiously.
Adam looks at me as he responds, “We take these. We take all the machetes, what are there, four or five?”
Chase responds, “I see five.”
Adam nods, “Okay, we take the five machetes, take some guns, some ammunition, maybe a few long bladed knives.”
Chase and I stare at Adam and nod, “Okay.”
Adam smiles, “Then we’ll go check on my car and we’ll be on our way.”
Chase and I go behind the counter and grab some bags as we load them up with items that we think we’ll need.”
After we’re all done looting the pawn shop, we run out to our car and while Chase and I throw most of our stuff into the trunk. Adam puts his share into the backseat. Then we back out of the parking lot and drive back to the convenience store as we check on Adam’s car.
When we get to Adam’s car, the Zombies are pretty much gone. Chase looks back at Adam, “Hey, why don’t you come with us on our adventure?”
Adam shrugs his shoulder, “I don’t know. I have a family. My wife and two kids.”
Chase nods, “Well, what are you guys going to do? Hold up in your house till this is over?”
Adam nods, “I’m not sure what we’re going to do. I haven’t really talked about it with my wife yet.”
I look at Adam curiously, “How old are your kids?”
“A.J. is seventeen and Amber is fifteen. Why don’t the two of you come to my house tonight and have a nice, home-cooked meal and stay the night, before you head out on your big adventure?”
Chase looks at me and smiles, “Yeah, that’ll be fun. One last hurrah before we head out.”
Adam smiles, “Yeah, it’s starting to get late now anyway, morning will be better for you two to begin your adventure.”
Chase looks at me, “What do you say, Candi?”
I nod, “Yeah, that’ll be nice. It is starting to get a little too late to start on our Zombie killing adventure.”
Adam opens his car door, “Okay, follow me to my house.”
Chapter 10
Blake and Lynda & Sally and Parker
Lynda
I open my eyes, look at the clock, shit! I have a Doctor’s appointment in an hour! I need to get going!
I roll myself out of bed as I waddle towards the bathroom. I quickly brush my teeth, then I take a quick shower.
When I walk into my bedroom, I look over at the clock, as I think to myself, do I have time to eat breakfast? Ugh…I guess I’ll grab a granola bar to eat on my way there.
I waddle from my bedroom to the kitchen as I make myself an instant coffee to go instead of my regular pot of coffee.
I grab my purse, cell phone and keys as I head out the door, with my instant coffee and my granola bar.
About ten minutes later, I pull into my Doctor’s parking lot. I look at the time in my car, wow, I have five minutes to spare. I probably could have brewed myself a pot of coffee.
I open my car door as I struggle to get out. I cannot wait until this baby is out. Just a few more weeks to go.
I waddle to the office door. When I’m inside, I waddle my way to the receptionist desk as I give her my name, “Hi. I have an appointment for Lynda Ryan.”
The receptionist looks at her computer, then back at me, “Okay, Lynda. Just take a seat and the Doctor will be with you in just a few minutes.”
I nod as I smile at her, “Thank you.” I turn around and sit down in the closest empty chair I could find.
A few minutes later, my Doctor’s nurse comes out, “Lynda.” She calls out.
I slowly stand up as I make eye contact with her to let her know I’m here and I heard her. She smiles at me as I waddle my way towards her.
“How are you today, Lynda?”
“Tired and ready to have this sweet baby.” I say with a chuckle.
She laughs, “I completely understand. Been there, done that.”
She tells me to step on the scale, as she writes down my weight. Then I follow her into the examining room. She takes my temperature, blood pressure, and asks me a couple of personal questions. Then when she’s done, she says, “Dr. Warner will be with you in a few minutes.”
I smile at her, “Okay, thanks.”
I look around and read some of the posters on the wall. The posters which I’ve practically memorized because I’ve been here so many times over the past few months, waiting for Dr. Warner to come into the room.
There’s a knock on the door. Dr. Warner comes walking in with a cheery smile on his face, “Lynda! How are you this fine morning?”
I look at him with a smile, “Fine. Just tired.”
Dr. Warner nods, “Yes, that’s to be expected when you’re pregnant.” Then he asks me a few questions, the asks me to lay down so that he can examine me.
Then, in the middle of my examination, he gets a phone call from the examining room phone, he looks at me curiously, “Sorry, Lynda, I’m going to answer it, okay?”
I look up at him and nod.
He takes off his gloves as he picks up the phone, “Dr. Warner speaking, can I help you?” Then after a couple of ‘uh huh. Uh huh. What? Okay.’ He looks at me with concern, “Okay, Lynda. I think we’re done here.”
I look at him confused as I slowly struggle to sit up as he looks at me with a sort of panic look on his face. “Um…is everything okay, Dr. Warner?”
“Um…that was the Margaret, my receptionist. I guess there’s some kind of Nationwide Alert out, and they are warning everybody to go home and don’t travel anywhere. So, I guess we’re closing the office down until the Alert is over. So, go straight home and please be safe.”
I just look at him dumbfounded, “Um…go home?”
Dr. Warner nods, “Yes, Lynda. Go straight home. Please, be safe.”
“Um…okay.” I slide off the table, grab my purse and cell phone as I walk out of the room. I walk through the waiting room, and out the front door, leading out into the parking lot.
&n
bsp; As I’m approaching my car, I notice someone at my driver’s side car door. I walk closer to my car as my heart starts beating fast, “Um…excuse me, that’s my car.”
The person turns towards me, but…it’s not a person. I begin to back up a little as it starts moving towards me. I feel panic set inside of me with unsureness on what to do next. So, I take my purse as I try to hit it with my purse, then it grabs at my arm and takes a bite. I manage to push it off me, as I make a run for it towards my car. I quickly get into my car as I start it up, backing out, knocking the creature down. I speed out of the parking lot in panic as I begin driving home. As I’m sitting at a red light, I look down at my arm, which has a big, bloody bite mark on it.
About ten minutes later, I pull into my driveway. I grab my purse and cell phone as I walk towards my house. I get inside, set my purse down as I try to call Blake on his cell phone. But, there’s no service. I begin to feel tired and flushed. I go upstairs into my bedroom as I lay down for a nap.
**********************
Blake and Lynda & Sally and Parker
As Sally and I run out of Ms. Conrad’s room and into the hallway. We look both ways, there’s people running in all directions, as Zombies are walking out of rooms and making their way down the halls. I look at Sally as I grab her hand, “Come on, let’s go this way!”
We begin running down the hall, trying to make our way towards the stairs. As we reach the stairs, I open the door and peek my head inside. I turn towards Sally, “It’s clear!” We both run down several flights of stairs until we make it down to the first floor. I turn back towards Sally, “Okay, we need to make our way to a car.”
Sally takes a peek outside, “I can see my car right over there.” She points to a red car.
I look around, “I think I parked on the other side.”
She nods, “We’ll take my car.”
I look at her, “Do you have your keys?”
She points to a key bracelet on her wrist, “I keep them with me at all times, just in case of an emergency situation like this.”
I nod and smile at her, “You’re a smart woman.”
She smiles, “Thanks, I try.”
Zombie Havoc (Book 1): In The Beginning Page 8