by Garth Ono
Deputy Rumpstead stopped and started shooting. Kate continued running toward them. She clubbed the first zombie down with Lupara, and then pressed the shotgun to the throat of the next one. The slayer blew away most of his neck and severed his spinal column with that blast. The zombie was back to just being dead before he hit the ground.
Sheriff Coleman came crashing out into the street. "Zombies!"
"We know," Kate said. "Watch out behind you."
More zombies poured out of the sheriff's office. Kate shot another rotter in the face, dropped Lupara, and pulled her kukri machete. Both the sheriff and deputy continued shooting the zombies, and doing virtually no good whatsoever.
"You have to chop off their heads," Kate reminded them.
"We don't have anything to chop with," Rumpstead said.
Kate whacked off the head of the zombie she'd first clubbed down. Then she spun and took off another rotter's arm, before the return stroke hamstrung him. Moving past the disabled monster, she decapitated another, before hacking off the leg of yet another. Her primary objective was to disable as many as possible, so she could deal with them later.
"I'm going to need some help here!" she cried. "There's too many."
There had to be at least a dozen. It felt like more than that.
"Hello, Kate, long time no see," a familiar voice said.
Kate's jaw dropped. "Mongrel?"
"I've come for you," he said, grinning with wicked glee. "We're going to be great together."
Her eyes dropped to the bloody mess that was his neck. The drac had recently fed off of him. Mongrel was a minion. He was now one of the bad guys. Her natural enemy.
"No!" she screamed, pulling her 9mm.
Mongrel ducked behind some of his zombies as she opened fire. Her shots knocked one rotter down, spun another around with a shoulder wound. Her target moved too fast, staying behind the cover of zombies. And then three rotters converged on her from different directions.
"Oh, lovely," she snarled, holstering the pistol. With the machete in both hands, she studied her closing opponents. "Time for you blokes to return to… Hell!"
Kate lashed out left and right, with machete and feet. She took one out right off, but two more replaced him. Downtown echoed with gunfire and a deep, throated rumble. Thunder?
"Hey, zombie, zombie, zombie!" Haley's voice shouted.
Everyone stopped and turned. Three big-ass Harley Davidsons were stopped side-by-side and blocking the road. A blonde, brunette, and redhead rode them. Kate smiled. Her sister and friends had arrived.
They slowly got off their bikes. Kate noticed none of them were dressed for slaying, all wearing tight jeans stuffed into stiletto-heeled thigh boots and crop-top tanks. Haley had her long dark hair pulled back in a braid, just like Kate's. The three zombie slayers pulled machetes out of sheaths attached to their motorcycles and started toward the fight in line.
"Who called in the Bimbos of the Apocalypse?" Sheriff Coleman asked.
"Shut up and fight," Kate cried, and immediately whacked off a head. "Haley!"
By that time half of the zombies were dead or crippled. Kate saw Sheriff Coleman snap the neck of a zombie. She disemboweled another, before sending a roundhouse into the head of yet another. That zombie was knocked into another, giving her an opening to escape.
"Hai!" Shea cried as she attacked a zombie, taking off both arms before removing his head. Kate watched her spin gracefully, and then take off another head. "Wahoo! Head hunter's paradise!"
Haley was off facing Mongrel, who also carried a machete. Kate raced to help her sister against the minion. She passed Victoria as the redhead took out two more zombies with one stroke.
"Shit," Mongrel cried, pulling an Uzi. "Die!"
Everyone scrambled for cover. He emptied a magazine while Kate knelt on one knee behind a car. She could hear bullets whizzing by overhead. The sound of glass shattering filled the air. And then silence.
"Where did he go?" Haley cried. "Get him!"
Kate jumped up to follow. There were just the two disabled rotters left. Victoria and Shea jumped on them first thing. Then everyone followed Haley around behind the sheriff's office. Gunfire erupted again.
Haley was crouched at the corner, pistol in hand. Kate dropped to a knee behind her.
"Hey, sister mine," Kate said. "Thanks for helping out."
"No problem," Haley said with her southern drawl. "Good times."
"Where's he holed up?" Sheriff Coleman asked as he joined them. "Rumpstead, go through Taylor's Hardware and we'll try to catch him in the crossfire."
"Don't worry about it," Shea said. "Listen."
Kate cocked her head. She could barely make out an engine starting. It took her a second.
"He's escaping!" Kate cried, jumping up and running around the corner. She just caught a glimpse of a blue sedan turning out of the far end of the alley. "Dammit! He got away!"
"Don't worry about it, sweetie," Haley said, suddenly wrapping Kate up in a fierce hug. "Good to see you, little sister."
Kate greeted Shea and Victoria with lots of hugs and kisses. Then they turned all business, going back to Main Street to access the damage and do an accounting.
"Alright, I saw Shea and Victoria each kill three rotters," Kate said. "So I killed all of the rest."
There were twelve bodies. That meant Kate was going to collect another $300, on top of the $400 the sheriff owed her from the previous night. It was a good week.
"Um, I'm assuming Mongrel is the drac's minion, so these are all part of the vamp's horde," Haley said. "And we have an agreement to split four ways…"
With those words Kate's share dropped from $300 to $150. Her jaw dropped just as fast. Haley wagged her brows, and the other girls just smirked. Kate shook her head.
"Fine. Even split," she said. Turning to the sheriff, who was looking around at all of the blood and gore, a cigarette hanging from his lips, she caught his eye. "So, Sheriff, can we get paid now?"
Chapter 8
After they collected the heads in plastic bags, Deputy Rumpstead hooked up a water hose to wash the blood and gore away. Dead zombies on the street didn't rate a police investigation anymore. As long as no living people died, no one really cared. They were already dead, after all. The sheriff would file a report about it so the state could keep track of the zombie problem. Also, he'd file charges against Mongrel.
Minion or not, Mongrel would be held accountable for his crimes. That was not always true. Kate didn't know why some were prosecuted and others not. After all, Mongrel was helpless to do anything but obey his master. Yet, he just tried to kill the sheriff.
"Hey, deputy, help a girl out," Victoria purred as she approached Rumpstead.
Kate was speaking with Haley outside the office door. Victoria and Shea were coming back from parking the Harleys in more appropriate spots. The blonde and redhead had scary sultry looks on their beautiful faces. She worried that Deputy Rumpstead was out of his league.
"Sure," he said, looking uncertain.
Kate noticed his gaze dropped. He licked his lips as he watched their swinging hips, and their bouncing boobs. Neither one of them wore a bra, and their crop-top tanks were super tight.
"Can you hold the hose while we wash the blood and gore off of our bodies?" Shea asked in the sexiest voice.
Kate looked at Haley with alarm. Her sister was watching with amused eyes. She shook her head, remembering all three of them used to be strippers. Acting sexy and teasing men was ingrained into their personalities. She wasn't sure they even realized what they were doing, or if they could even turn it off.
"I live here, Haley," Kate said. "Y'all have to play nice and don't mess with my friends."
"They're just having some harmless fun," Haley said. "Besides, they are splattered with blood. And most important, the deputy is enjoying himself."
Kate was blood-splattered, but she wasn't about to put on a show like that. Shea and Victoria had Rumpstead hose down their tops first thing, a
nd really showed the world they weren't wearing bra. The deputy's eyes almost bugged out. The two zombie slayers did scrub the blood off their bare arms and midriffs, but mostly just made sure the water hit them in the chest.
"That's good enough," Kate called. "Can we go inside and get paid now?"
They giggled. Shea kissed the deputy on the corner of his mouth, and then they joined Kate and Haley. Victoria looked Kate over.
"You should go over and clean up, too."
"I'll wait until I get home," she said.
"Don't you want to work on good relations with the police," Haley teased.
"Sure, but I don't want a drunken Rumpstead knocking on my door at midnight," Kate said. "He drinks a lot and might get ideas."
They laughed, so Kate led them inside. Both Shea and Victoria sucked in sharp breaths. Kate grinned. Wet clothes and 65 degree air conditioned offices did not mix well.
"Holy Moses, I just found winter," Shea grumbled.
Sheriff Coleman was behind his desk, typing away furiously. Kate stopped in front of his desk, with the girls spread out to either side, and politely waited for him to acknowledge them. When a few minutes passed, Kate cleared her throat.
"I see you," he said. "Give me another sec."
"Seriously?" Victoria whispered. "Maybe you're used to being ignored by men, Kate, but not me."
Sheriff Coleman sighed gustily and sat back in his chair. He looked at the women, careful to keep his eyes above their shoulders. Then he scowled at Kate.
"Why did you call in the Bimbos of the Apocalypse?"
"Hey, we're right here," Haley said.
"We can hear you, moron," Shea said. "And seriously, why does every friggin cop we deal with us call us that?"
The sheriff grinned. He pointed to his monitor, "It's right there in black and white. Shea Trahan. Female. White. Twenty years old. Affiliations… Bimbos of the Apocalypse."
"What? No way," Shea cried, hurrying round the desk. She leaned over the sheriff, her large boobs just inches from his startled face. "Oh my fucking god! He's right! We've been tagged by some cop as the Bimbos of the Apocalypse!"
Kate's jaw dropped as the other two rushed around to see. The sheriff didn't stop Victoria and Haley from checking their files, either. All three listed their affiliations as "Bimbos of the Apocalypse."
Haley and her friends were not happy campers.
"Can you tell who tagged us with that name?" Haley demanded.
"No," Sheriff Coleman said. "And before you ask, I cannot remove it, either. Once you are identified with a person or group, it's on the record forever."
He shooed them away and back to the other side of the desk. The sheriff told them to learn to live with it. There was nothing anyone could do to change it.
"Why do you think they tagged us with that name?" Victoria asked.
"Are you serious? You're strippers, covered in tattoos, dressed all sexy and riding Harley Davidsons while you hunt zombies for the bounties," Sheriff Coleman said. "Bimbos of the Apocalypse sounds pretty damned accurate to me.
"Furthermore, now that I have your attention," he continued, turning to Haley. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Poor Kate adores you more than anything. She idolizes you, her zombie slaying sister. So she started hunting zombies to be like you. And that worries her poor parents to death."
"Sorry," Haley said, then turned to Kate. "Not sorry."
"Ah, Jesus. Get out of my office."
Kate stepped up before any of the others could speak. God only knew what they'd say, and it would just get her into trouble by association.
"We need to get paid, sir," Kate said. She handed him her voucher from the previous night. "And twelve zombies this morning."
"Vic and I helped with this morning's kills," he said.
Kate grimaced, fidgeted. She was afraid he would balk and bring that up.
"Yeah, well, y'all did help. And a lot, too," Kate said. "But, um, did either of you actually killed a zombie? Shooting them doesn’t kill them."
He glared at her. Kate felt her face heating up. She knew he killed at least one. Finally, he took the time to light another cigarette, blow smoke at her, before pulling out his cash box. The sheriff counted out $1000 in fifties. Kate snatched it up fast, since all three of the other women reached for it.
"Thanks!" Kate said. "You're the best. Anything new on the drac?"
"Yes, he just sent his minion and a dozen rotters to kill me," he said. "Nothing important. When are you girls planning to take him out? Soon, I hope."
"We’re on it, Sheriff," she said, starting to back away. "Come on, guys. Let's get you settled in and then figure out what we're going to do. We'll be in touch, Sheriff."
Kate turned and hurried out before her friends could get her in trouble. Deputy Doge had joined Rumpstead in the clean up, as well as a few city workers. There was still a lot of blood in the gutters and the stench of death in the air.
Returning to her truck, Kate started disarming. She cleaned the blood off her shotgun and machete. Her top was splattered with blood, but she'd managed to not get any on her jeans. So she pulled a red polo over her tank.
"What's up with that cop?" Victoria asked. "He definitely doesn't like us."
"The sheriff's okay," Kate said quickly. "He acts like a mean old grizzly so people don't figure out he's really just a cuddly teddy bear."
"He's big as a grizzly," Shea said. "I'll reserve judgment about him being cuddly."
Kate slanted a worried look at the blonde. What did that mean? Haley's friends could be pretty bold and aggressive toward men. The sheriff hadn't gotten over the loss of his wife in the Zombie Apocalypse. He might be vulnerable to a beautiful young woman's charms, and anything that happened would mean a lot more to him.
"Stay away from the sheriff," she said. "He's a close family friend."
Shea and Victoria looked at her like she was trying to chase them away from her man. Kate was going to set the record straight, but her sister claimed her attention.
"Are you going to pay us?" Haley asked. "Don't forget we're greedy, money-hungry bimbos."
"Aren't we all?" Kate said with a grin. She peeled off three fifties for each. "The rest is money he owed me from last night's bounties."
"Really? Sounds like business is booming," Shea said. "Maybe I should setup shop here, too."
"Ah, don't make me shoot you," Kate said, and they all laughed. "Besides, you're a city girl. Small town America would suck your soul dry."
"Wow, business must be really good if she's trying so hard to discourage you," Victoria said. "Speaking of, if we killed twelve zombies today, that means the drac's horde is cut in half. It's going to be even easier."
"And I killed eight more last night," Kate said. "Maybe we should strike tonight, before he has time to Call up more rotters."
"And we have to make sure Mongrel dies, too," Haley said, hands curling into fists. "And take his head before he rises as a vampire. I don't know about you girls, but the last thing I ever want is to face an undead Mongrel."
Chapter 9
Alex paced. The room was small, but it afforded the best protection from sunlight. He still had to wear very dark sunglasses. There was little left of that early 20th Century sawmill. The main structure burned down decades ago. Of the few buildings still standing, most were roofless.
"I can't believe I am reduced to living like this," he muttered, eyes filled with fury.
The Urban Fantasy books he adored for so many years painted a much more glamorous life. In his favorite series vampires were feared and respected, treated like the kings they were. Fictional vamps wore the finest clothes, lived in the most luxurious mansions, and feasted upon the most beautiful women.
"I got Mongrel," he said. Though, earlier he did enjoy his newest conquest. Mayor Gilbert was an extremely attractive forty-five year old. She also had a wonderful mane of naturally blonde hair. The stylist within begged to sink his fingers into her silky locks. "One day."
Mongre
l dragged Nicole, her three beautiful daughters, and a son-in-law before the vamp earlier that morning. He feasted upon all five, forcing them into eternal servitude. And then he enjoyed a rousing session with the good mayor, who proved how wicked she could be in bed.
Mayor Gilbert went to work at city hall, to be his mole and ordered to do whatever she could to cripple the police's search for him and his horde. Nicole swore she had no control and little influence over Sheriff Coleman, since he was county, not town law enforcement. But she'd do what she could.
In the meantime, two of her daughters drove Mongrel into town with twelve zombies. That left Alex with just a handful of zombie sentries, Nicole's eldest daughter, and that ne'er-do-well son-in-law. Even as a minion Simon was proven an inept and lazy bastard. Alex was ten seconds from feeding him to the zombies.
The daughters – Mercy, Felicity, and Prudence – were delights. One and all were blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful. And oh so obedient and eager to please in any and every way imaginable. Mercy knelt next to the wall in all of her naked glory, watching his every move, waiting to serve his every whim.
Mercy was eldest at twenty-five. She was also Simon's wife of three months. She was almost a clone of her mother, with a glorious main of blonde hair, large breasts, tiny waist, and flaring hips. He'd already had his way with her twice, and she looked eager for another tryst.
Felicity was second born, at twenty-three. She'd cut her hair to shoulder length, and she was slimmer and smaller in all ways. Still beautiful, but obviously took after her father's side of the family. As did the youngest, Prudence. The twenty year old was the only one he hadn't slept with.
Alex couldn’t think of a better way to occupy his time and mind than sex. Becoming a minion made sex better, but that was nothing compared to the glory of being undead. Orgasms were ten times more intense, and he had amazing sexual stamina now.
"Mercy." She perked up, rising up on her knees. "Crawl to me."
"Yes, master," she whispered.
He noticed her nipples became erect. She flushed with excitement as she moved to all fours and began crawling. Slowly, sensuously, Mercy crawled to her master. Alex swallowed the lump forming in his throat. It was going to be so great, but he didn't know what excited him more: the prospect of drinking her hot blood again or screwing her brains out.