by Ono,Garth
The gate opened, and a zombie stepped through. Kate was on him in a flash. She brought her machete straight down, splitting his head in two. He dropped to his knees as she pried her blade free of his chest, and then took off his head completely with the next stroke. Another zombie came through the gate, and Victoria attacked. Shea and Haley also charged in, so they were there when a third one came into the backyard.
The undead were decapitated quickly, but Kate heard the jangle of Rumpstead running their way. She slammed the gate closed threw lawn furniture against it, and then ran to the back of the yard.
"Over the top, ladies."
They climbed over the fence and into another yard. There was a German Shepherd there who went crazy on them. The women were forced to keep the dog at bay while running toward the front. Kate went over last, and the dog attacked with vicious snarls.
"Bugger," Kate gasped. "That bastard bit my bum."
They moved up to the front, looking around the house, up and down the street. Minions were seen in both directions, all running toward them.
"Stupid dog," Kate said. "Let's go!"
She led the way straight across the street and between two other homes. At least three minions shot at them. Kate didn't take the time to determine who the minions were. There were a lot of them. Some had guns. That's all she needed to know.
They came out north of the Frasier Mansion. Kate turned towards it. Her friends objected, but she continued.
"I have something to do," she said. "Head towards City Park. Lure them away from here."
"Where do we go?"
"Back to your bikes, and ride like the wind," Kate said. She assumed their motorcycles were still on Main Street. "Save yourselves. I'll call you if I succeed."
Shea and Victoria took off running. Haley stayed.
"I'm not leaving you behind," Haley said, tears in her eyes. "Don't even think about it!"
Someone starting shooting at them. Kate turned and ran for all she was worth. Haley was fast on her heels, firing back with her pistol.
A large figure burst out from between the homes. He was between them and the Victorian. It was Mongrel. Kate groaned, but continued running. Maybe she could juke him and get past the minion. She didn't think she could outrun him.
"I'll take care of him," Haley said. "I owe him an ass-kicking."
Kate knew that wasn't going to happen. She wasn't sure anyone could kick Mongrel's butt. The slayer veered toward him. Fancy footwork was her only hope.
"I'm out of ammo," Haley gasped out. "Do you have any to spare?"
"No."
Mongrel slowed and squared off on them, up on his toes like a football player ready to move in any direction. He had a pistol in hand. She remembered his master ordered them captured alive. Kate and Haley approached side-by-side, and cut in different directions at the last second.
Mongrel went after Kate. He plowed into her side, tackling her. They rolled across the ground, and he ended up on top when they stopped. She tried to bring Lupara to bear, but he wrestled it out of her hands. He shoved his pistol in her face.
"Halt!"
Kate slapped the gun aside. He pulled the trigger, right in her ear. Haley slammed into him and swept him away. And then she scrambled to her feet, snatched up the sawed off shotgun, and turned to the struggling pair.
Haley was on top, but he had his pistol in her face. Kate rushed towards them as Mongrel rolled her over, leering down at Kate's sister with angry eyes. She was afraid he was so mad that he'd kill her despite the vampire wanting them alive.
"No," Kate said, pressed her weapon to his back, right over his heart.
She pulled the trigger.
Mongrel stiffened, and then slowly fell over. Haley scrambled to her feet, twisted the pistol out of his hand, and moved beside Kate.
"I didn't want to kill him," Kate whispered. "He made me do it."
"It's okay. It's all over," Haley said.
Kate's breath caught. It wasn't over. There was only one way to end it.
"Come on," Kate cried, turning and running toward the big Victorian.
Minions and zombies began pouring out from between houses to their west. She spotted Daphne and Felicity, then Deputy Doge. By the time they reached the Frasier's property, even the sheriff and Rumpstead were chasing them. No one was firing, so she assumed they'd run out of ammo.
"What are we doing?" Haley asked breathlessly when they stopped next to the house.
Kate jumped up on the porch and looked in the window. She spotted Alexander pacing in the living room. He appeared to be talking to himself. Arguing with himself?
"We're killing a vampire. Hit the dirt."
Kate jumped off the porch and pointed the shotgun at the window. Minions ran up, pointing their guns at her.
"Stop, Kate!" Sheriff Coleman commanded.
Kate pulled the trigger and dropped to the ground.
Ka-Boom!
The living room exploded. That explosion knocked everyone down. Kate waited a few seconds, and then dragged herself and Haley to their feet. She took off running.
"Get out of here!" she shouted. "Run! Run!"
Everyone scattered. Kate ran across the street to City Park. Shea and Victoria were waiting. When she stopped, Kate discovered the sheriff, Deputy Rumpstead, and Daphne were all behind them. She tensed, watching the sheriff warily.
"Sheriff Coleman? Are you all right now?"
He looked at her, then back at the raging inferno that was the Frasier mansion.
"I'm fine. I guess you killed the vampire," he said. "We're free of his power."
Kate leapt into his arms, hugged him fiercely and kissed the sheriff on the cheek.
"Thank god!"
Daphne hugged her next, and said, "I was thinking more in terms of thanking you."
Chapter 30
The next day Kate went up to city hall with Haley, Shea, and Victoria. They'd already turned in their heads, and they were given credit for a vampire kill. Alexander Cray's body mostly burned up in the fire. All they were able to find of him was one foot.
Mongrel's body was never recovered.
"So, do you think Mongrel's going to hold a grudge against me for killing him?" Kate asked. "I mean, I freed him from Alexander Cray at the same time."
The sheriff might've been happy about them killing the vampire and so many zombies, but he was really ticked off about Mongrel. They should've chopped off his head before he could resurrect. Now there was another vampire running around. A really big, strong, and mean vampire, too.
"You should join us," Haley said. "Our way of head hunting is much easier and safer."
"Thanks, but no thanks," she said. "Your lifestyle sounds atrocious. I like going home to my apartment every night. My friends and family are here. Everything I love and cherish is here." She looked around. "I love this place. It's home."
"And someone's got to kill those damned zombies," Sheriff Coleman said as he strode up. He'd walked over from his office. "Are you girls ready?"
The sheriff was wearing his nice uniform. His boots were cleaned and newly shined. Kate heard the local paper was going to be taking pictures.
Kate wore her hair down, and actually put on makeup. She wore a pink Got Zombies? t-shirt, because a lot of eyes would see any pictures. It was an amazing advertising opportunity. Haley and her friends were dressed like biker chicks: Harley Davidson tanks, tight jeans, and stiletto thigh boots. They wore lots of shiny jewelry, too, mostly bangles and big hoop earrings.
The sheriff looked them over, shook his head, and turned toward city hall's entrance. They giggled and followed. Kate brought up the rear.
Mayor Gilbert, all of the members of the small city council, and some of the former minions were all waiting. That included a newspaper photographer, who was also the editor, publisher, and sole reporter for the local paper.
They all took pictures with the mayor and sheriff, shaking hands and all of that publicity stuff. Kate was kind of flattered, but mostly embarr
assed. It was all such a big deal to them. The state governor even called during the ceremony to thank them for their service to the community.
Yeah, they were called heroes quite a bit. Kate felt like anything but a hero. She was black and blue from head to toe, ached all over. It was a struggle to walk without a limp. And she was pissing blood.
"Now comes the best part," Haley said. "We get paid!"
Kate felt a little thrill, too. It was quite an impressive payday for her. Her biggest to date, and that was even after splitting the bounty four ways.
The State and Feds kicked in another $5000, to push their final payoff with all heads turned in at $25000. Or $6250 each. Haley and her friends grumbled about being paid with checks instead of cash, but Kate didn't care. She felt rich.
After the pictures were taken, and they each gave a short interview with the local paper, they headed back to Kate's apartment. They'd walked over, so had to walk back. Kate started regretting her decision to wear heels.
"Move to Memphis with us," Haley said. "We're all alone in that big club house not that everyone else is dead. You can stay there and be a slayer in Memphis while we're on the Glory Road."
They thought her a fool for staying there. There was more money to be made in the Zombie Lands, riding the Glory Road, or even working as a slayer in a large city like Memphis.
"Give it six months," Victoria said. "If you still want to be a small town girl, you can move back."
"Thank you, but no," she said. "I'm more than happy here. This is where I belong."
Kate couldn't have been happier. She felt as if she was finally a success. People, even city hall, valued her services.
"Hey, somebody's got to kill the zombies around here," Kate said. "Now do you want to argue my life choices, or do you want to go up to St Louis and go shopping?"
THE END
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You can contact me at:
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Check out these other stories by Garth Ono:
Lady Justice and the Zombie Apocalypse
Kate Brokenshire Zombie Slayer:
Stand and Deliver
Stone Cold Vengeance (Coming in early Oct 2016)
Master of the City (Coming in late Oct 2016)
About Garth Ono:
He served 7 years in the US Army (11th ACR Blackhorse Regiment, 2nd Armored Division, and 8th Infantry Division, in that order) as a Cavalry Scout. After the Army he went back to school and had a wide variety of jobs, all in the electronics field, but now he is a full time writer. He shares his life with his wife and their two dogs.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
The End
About the author
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