Val: Prequel to The Zombie Chronicles

by Peebles, Chrissy

“Nothing good about those Samaritans, mister. You haven’t heard the complete story.”

  “So tell me,” he said.

  “Look, Kyle, that wasn’t just a hospital,” I said. “It was basically a barn, a human cattle farm, and you and Jennifer were next on the menu.”

  He raised an eyebrow, stunned. “What? I can’t remember any of it. It’s all a blur.”

  Rob turned to meet his gaze. “The good townspeople back there have big appetites,” he said, “but they gotta make sure their entrées aren’t diseased. Once they deem people safe for consumption, they drug them to a comatose state and haul ‘em to the basement, where they sleep till they’re ready to hack off a few sirloins.”

  “What?”

  “Yep. Meat cleaver city,” Sammy said. “Luckily, my IV came out, and I woke up. I took down Val’s and Rob’s IVs, and Rob took down his friend’s.”

  “Mindy,” he added, pointing to the blonde, who was still out cold.

  “When we heard them coming back in the room, we lay back down and pretended we were still unconscious. We heard them talking about you and your daughter and what they were going to do to you.”

  Kyle ran a hand through his thick, black hair and looked at me. “How do you know our names?”

  “They read them off their clipboard,” Sammy said, “just as they were wheeling you out to slice you up in the operating room.”

  “We left right behind them, but when I passed the operating room where they were about to give you a lethal injection—” I started, but Sammy interrupted me.

  “That was when Val stormed into the room and took out the guard.”

  I looked into Kyle’s striking green eyes. “I wanted to get out of there, as you can imagine, but I couldn’t just let them kill you two.”

  “Jenny,” he said.

  “Val saved your lives,” Sammy said, “and we carried you outta there.”

  Kyle pondered for a moment, taking it all in. “Oh. I’m so sorry for being so…rude. I was just confused, disoriented, and it’s hard to know who to trust these days. Truly, I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Do you remember the doctor?” Rob asked.

  Kyle scratched his chin, as if he was in deep thought. “Yeah. It’s all coming back to me now. I overheard the nurses talking about my roommate. They said he didn’t have medical clearance, so they had to…euthanize him or something like that. I’m not sure, because everything was getting fuzzy, not making sense, but they wouldn’t let us leave. They hooked up my IV and told me it was just saline, but I started to feel really tired. As I was dozing off, I thought I heard one nurse talking to the other about some kind of butchering process, like she was new and was being trained or something. I had a funny feeling about the place, and I’d tried to leave the previous night, but the doctor said I needed to rest.”

  Rob suddenly looked at me. “I’m not sure I woulda stopped to help two unconscious strangers, especially if I had to take on three people. I’m not that brave.”

  “You didn’t stop,” Sammy said. “You ran off like a whipped dog, with your tail between your legs. But Val, here, has a heart of gold.”

  Kyle looked at me with gratitude all over his face. “It’s nice to meet you, Val. Thanks for saving me…and my little girl.”

  “I couldn’t let them hurt you,” I said.

  “What about the others?” Sammy said. “We can’t just leave all those people to that cruel fate…or plate.”

  “What choice do we have?” Mindy said in a daze as she slowly sat up.

  “Mindy!” Rob said, happy to see her alive and well. “You know we’ve gotta help them if we can.”

  “Yeah, I know, but this is about survival, Rob. We can’t go back. I have to get you back to your brother alive.”

  “I wish I could’ve saved them all,” I said.

  Rob blinked. “We can.”

  “So now he wants to help?” Sammy asked. “Big change of heart there, huh, Robby?”

  “Listen, you were crazy to help them with no backup or weapons. You’ve gotta think about your own life first, then others. Now that I’m out, I can use my military connections. I can get my brother and his friends to help.” He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “I’m not a coward. I just believe in making a plan. It’s a lot easier to storm the castle with a well-trained military team.

  “They’ll go out of their way to help strangers?” Sammy asked.

  He let out a long breath. “Maybe not, but they’ll do it for those stockpiled weapons.”

  “Then let’s do it,” I said. “How many guys?”

  “About a dozen.”

  “Perfect. We can easily take them out.”

  “That’s the plan. I say we march back in there, get the victims out, then blow the place to kingdom come.”

  “They’ll just rebuild,” Mindy said.

  “When my boys hear about this, I doubt they’ll allow it.”

  My head was still pounding, and everything began to spin. I was sure it wasn’t just from the head-butt, but I didn’t want to alarm anyone. The next thing I knew, everything faded to black.

  Chapter 16

  When I woke up, I glanced around and again found myself in a dimly lit room. Flashlight beams wavered all around me as people fought and argued. “What’s going on?” I asked, trying to sit up.

  “Val,” Sammy said, rushing over, “are you okay? You scared me to death when you passed out. I think you have a concussion.”

  I slowly stood. “Huh?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry. We’re safe, at least for the moment, and we’ve secured the building. Everyone is looking for us,” she said. “The main streets out of town are blocked, but I’m sure they won’t stay that way forever. For now, we’re just hiding and trying to wait them out.”

  “They’ll see the car,” I said.

  “Nope. We hid it,” she replied.

  “Good thinking.”

  Her turquoise hair fell over her shoulders. “See? It happens every now and then.”

  “Want some beef jerky?” Jenny asked, handing me a long package.

  “You’re awake.”

  Her green eyes shone in the dim light. They were just as green as her daddy’s.

  “Do you want some?” she asked. “I’m too sick to eat it.”

  “Uh, sure,” I said.

  “I’ve got water too,” she said, holding up a bottle. “I found it in the office.”

  “You drink it,” I said. “Maybe it will make you feel better.”

  She nodded. Her dark, curly hair was sweaty and glued to her face.

  “Val,” Rob said, rushing over, “you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

  “Like somebody hit my head with a hammer.”

  “Well, you head-butted that guard like a champ.” Before I could answer, he continued, “I’ve got a map. I’m looking for other escape routes as we speak.”

  “Look for obscure back roads,” I said.

  When Kyle realized I was awake, he also came over and asked me how I was feeling.

  “What’s this?” I said, eyeing his chainmail ensemble. “You playing dress-up?”

  He smirked.

  “It’s okay. I don’t judge. It’s just that I thought I was the knight in shining armor around here.”

  He grinned. “I just don’t wanna get bitten by a zombie.”

  “Is there more, so I can play too?”

  “There’s plenty.”

  “Great.”

  “How are you feeling?” Kyle asked.

  “I’m okay,” I said.

  “That’s good,” Jenny said. “I was scared you wouldn’t wake up.”

  “I’m more worried about you, honey,” I said, looking closely at the girl. She was pale, and droplets of sweat beaded on her face from a high fever. I knew she needed to rest. “Would you like to lie down?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I feel like I’m on fire.”

  “You need rest,” I said.

  Kyle looked at me. “Let me g
et her settled, and then we can discuss our next step.”

  I glanced around. “Somebody wanna fill me in? For starters, where are we?”

  “Well, milady,” Sammy said, “be prepared to be carried away, back to medieval and renaissance times.”

  “Is this some kinda theater?” I asked, confused by the strange surroundings.

  “Nope. It’s a small museum,” she said.

  “Can I see your flashlight?” I asked.

  She handed it to me. “Keep it. We found another one in the office.”

  I slowly began to walk around, staring at the vast collection of Dark Ages armaments, armor, and art. Beautiful red and purple tapestries and elaborate arrangements of gleaming swords, maces, arm poles, and shields covered the stone-sculptured walls.

  A loud scraping sound caught my attention, and I swallowed hard. It sounded like millions of claws digging around in the walls. I grabbed a sharp blade out of a wax knight’s hand; I definitely needed his weapon more than he did. As I was following the sound, I felt a tug on my arm. I jumped, startled, and almost took Mindy’s head clean off.

  “Oh! Sorry,” she said.

  “That’s okay. You just shouldn’t go around scaring anyone who’s carrying a sword.”

  “I’ll make a mental note of that.”

  “What’s that weird noise?” I asked, focusing my gaze straight ahead. “Tell me the place just has a mouse problem, nothing a little D-Con won’t take care of.”

  “Do you really wanna know?” she asked.

  I nodded.

  “They’re…multiplying.”

  I raised a brow. “What?”

  Her finger trembled as she pointed. “Go see for yourself.”

  The uneasy tone of her voice had me wishing I had my .45, my .22 rim-fire pistol, and my twelve-gauge shotgun. My pace quickened as I followed her out of the huge room and into the entryway, where there were huge, vertical windows. I gasped when I looked out through them.

  Hundreds of zombies were shuffling around, pounding on the glass and scraping their decrepit fingernails against it. Red smears and bloody handprints were strewn across the large windows.

  My eyes were wide as I stared at a rotter pressing its slimy face against the glass; when it pulled its face away, a big chunk of its greenish-black skin tore off and stuck to the glass. My heart began to pound at a feverish place. How long can glass keep them out? Who picked this hideout anyway? With that on my mind, I rushed back into the room. “We can’t stay here. This place is a death trap.”

  “I know,” Rob snapped, “but I didn’t expect them to surround the place.”

  “You boxed us in?” I said, anger flooding my voice. “Some military tactical expert you are! While I was passed out, you managed to get us trapped. I would’ve never picked this location.”

  “Where else were we supposed to go?” Mindy chimed in.

  “I don’t know, but anyplace would have been better than here. All these windows? We might as well put a neon sign out front that says, ‘Free Brains!’”

  “The glass is still intact,” Mindy argued, defending her friend. “They obviously haven’t gotten in since the outbreak.”

  “Yeah, till you led them here.”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “Excuse me?”

  “They’ve seen us, caught our scent. This is a piss-poor job of hiding.”

  “Well, I don’t see the cannibals on our butts, do you?”

  “Not the living kind,” I snapped. “The only difference is that those things out there will gladly eat human tartare rather than stir-frying us, and now that they know we’re in here, they’ll break in any minute. Where’s the back exit?”

  “We’ve already checked,” Kyle said. “It’s worse out back.”

  “I say we wait stay in here and wait them out,” Mindy said. “Once they realize they can’t get in, their appetites will get the best of them, and they’ll move on.”

  “Wrong. Meals are hard to come by, and they know it. They’ll keep pounding on that glass till they break through and storm the place,” Sammy cut in.

  I pondered. “If we can get to the car, then we can drive away and get outta here.”

  “And how do suggest we do that?” Mindy asked. “It’s suicide to even try.”

  “Well, it’s equally suicidal to wait in here to be devoured.” I looked around and I peered up at the six-foot, full-sized medieval suit on a brown museum mount. I wasn’t sure if the idea brewing around in my head would work, but I didn’t see why it wouldn’t. “Ya know, if they can’t smell us, then they can’t find us,” I said.

  She blinked. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

  I pointed to the armor on the invincible shining knights. “It means it’s time for a little costume party,” I said.

  Rob let out a long breath. “Val, I don’t think that’s gonna—”

  “You got a better idea for walking through them to get to the car?”

  “We take the weapons from the knights,” Rob said, “and we fight.”

  “Seriously?” I asked. “A whole herd?” I shook my head. “Look, I’m just as much a fighter as you are, but ignorance and cockiness will get us killed in ten seconds flat. The one advantage we’ve got over those things are our brains. We have to outthink them. Sheer force isn’t gonna get us outta here. We just don’t have the firepower, the manpower, or the explosives we need.”

  “These swords aren’t going to cut it,” Kyle said. “No doubt we can take down some of them, but we’ll die in the end.”

  “See?” I said. “Even he agrees with me.”

  Rob crossed his arms. “They’ll just grab the armor and tear off the metal plates, like opening a can of beans. When that happens, we won’t be able to run, because we’ll be all weighed down by the heavy equipment. It’ll restrict our movement, and we won’t be able to fight.”

  “This is not a fight-or-flight situation. We can’t fight or run. Our only choice is to walk.”

  “Just like that?” Mindy asked.

  “Just like that,” I echoed. “Like I said. If they can’t smell us, they won’t attack. The key is to remain odorless.”

  “Do you know for a fact that this will work?” Mindy questioned.

  “Oh sure,” Sammy said sarcastically. “I mean, as we speak, Val and I are working on a patent for extreme clinical-strength, full-body deodorant, but until Secret signs off on it, we’re gonna have to rely on the armor.”

  I wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t the time for jokes. “It’s a risk,” I said, “but nowadays, we’ve got to take gambles.”

  “Well, I just don’t know if—”

  Sammy cut in again, “Listen, lemme give you a recap.”

  “Your recaps are too long,” I reminded her with a smile. “Maybe I should just give her the Cliff’s Notes.”

  “Feel free,” Sammy said.

  “The dead have risen,” I said. “They’re huddling outside in masses, pounding on the glass with their bloody, decaying hands. If we don’t leave, we’ll become the main dish in a zombie buffet. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t run away from one dinner service just to become the main course at another.”

  Kyle had already dismounted and disassembled one of the knights standing proudly on display, and the others began following suit.

  “This is pretty cool,” Sammy said, disassembling a chest-plate so she could put it on. “I never did dig that princess thing. I’d much rather get myself out of trouble rather than waiting for Prince Charming.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’m afraid all those hoop skirts and petticoats would just get in the way.” I strapped on the ankle plates, then the leg plates. After she slipped into the chainmail, I strapped on the chest piece and secured it at her shoulders like a belt buckle. Then I put on her arm pieces and tied the straps. I followed with the shoulders, then the steel hands. By the time I was done, not an inch of Sammy’s skin was exposed for a rotter to sink its infected teeth into. The final touch was the shiny h
elmet. “All done,” I said, looking at her and trying not to laugh.

  “Just get me the sharpest sword you can find.”

  “I know the perfect one.”

  It didn’t take us long to garb ourselves with the medieval gear. After Kyle got Jenny squared away, he helped me. I wasn’t sure if Mindy was onboard, but she really had no choice but to comply.

  Kyle walked over to me and held up a paintbrush he’d dipped in a bucket of black and green slime. He started brushing me with the disgusting mixture.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “It’s zombie guts.”

  “Ew! I think I’m gonna puke,” Sammy said.

  “Where did you get it?” I asked.

  “I had to field-dress a zombie security guard that was wandering around.”

  I about gagged as he lathered me up in the stuff, painting my shiny armor with infected juice. I wasn’t fond of the splatter, but we had to do whatever we could to stay alive. An awful aroma rose from the suits of armor once everyone was properly painted from head to toe, and it was difficult to keep our beef jerky down.

  “This is so gross and heavy,” Jenny complained.

  “I know, honey,” Kyle said, “but Daddy’s gonna get you out of here, and then you can take it off.”

  “There’s so many of them,” Sammy said, looking out the window.

  I met her gaze. “Just stick with the plan. If all else fails, start mowing them down with your sword.”

  She nodded, her lips trembling.

  “Keep fighting,” I said. “Always fight.”

  “I’ll fight with everything I have until Hell freezes over.”

  “Even then, you kill the ones that come at you on ice skates.”

  She let out a nervous chuckle. “Gotcha.”

  As we discussed the best possible escape route, glass shattered with a boom.

  “Oh my gosh!” Mindy squealed in a muffled voice from beneath her helmet. “They actually got in!”

  Chapter 17

  My heart thundered as the snarling things sprinted toward their quarry. I gripped my sword, ready to fight if the need arose.

  Much to my jaw-dropping surprise, though, the decaying walkers stumbled right by us.

  I turned my head to make sure Jenny was all right. It was a relief that she wasn’t screaming, because that would have alerted the zombies to our presence and screwed us over, but I wasn’t happy to find her dangling from her father’s arms, passed out cold from her fever.