Val: Prequel to The Zombie Chronicles

by Peebles, Chrissy

  “There are just too many of them,” Sammy whispered.

  My breath came in ragged gasps as I pondered how we could get out of that nightmare alive. I stumbled on something in my path and felt it with my poker, only to discover that it was a body, a zombie we’d killed. It was then that an idea struck me. I wrapped my arms around the thing and hoisted it up, holding it in front of me as a shield. If another creature lurched for me, it would bite into the zombie instead of me. At the very least, the smell of rotting flesh would deter them, as it had back in the museum when we’d coated our armor with it. I hoped it would work, but I really couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. “Walk behind me, Sammy,” I said, hoping I wasn’t inadvertently leading her to her death, “and stay close.”

  I swept those awful thoughts to the back of my mind and listened closely for any footsteps, moans, and cries. The zombie was dead weight, but I carried it anyway, walking through the precarious room step by cautious step. I concentrated, trying to think back to the way I’d been led when we’d been blindfolded.

  Glass crunched from the left, and I walked more hesitantly. Sammy’s breathing rasped in my ear as something approached. I couldn’t see it, but I could definitely smell it and hear it. It was hauntingly unsettling. My mind raced as I swung the poker around in the air, clutched tightly in my sweaty palm while still trying to hold the corpse in front of me with my other arm. Like a blind woman with a cane, I felt around in front of us, trying to gage the distance to a wall, a door, a window, or an exit of any kind. As we continued our treacherous trek, the clumsy footsteps came closer ever so slowly, as if taunting me. I heard a moan, but I pressed on, keeping my poker stretched out in front of me. When I felt a body, something solid, I poked and slashed as hard as I could, hoping to rip the things brains out.

  My heart thundered against my ribs as we nervously crept along, inch by inch. I frantically pointed the fire poker in front of me, trying to feel for any solid figure who might be squirming around, longing to tear into us. Something shrieked from the left, and I gasped and pointed the poker that way, but when a low, raspy growl came from the right, I quickly jerked around. The air was thick with rot, death, and carnage, and I couldn’t easily take my enemies down because I couldn’t even see them.

  The footsteps shuffled closer, and the moans grew louder. I felt helpless without clear visibility, and I’d never been so rattled. I had to keep my composure, so I didn’t freak Sammy out worse, but I felt so compromised and vulnerable. My breath hitched when horrendous, throaty groans suddenly flooded the corridor. Something shuffled in the darkness. I shook the flashlight again; much to my surprise, it actually illuminated the area for a few split seconds. Dozens of milky, white eyes stared back at me. It sent a chill through me, all the way to my bones. For a second, I just stood there, paralyzed with terror and disbelief, as my mind registered the details, from drooping skin to exposed muscle. I snapped back to reality the second those nasty, greenish teeth clicked and snapped. I knew that one howl would spur a feeding frenzy, and that would be the end of us.

  “Turn around!” I whispered. “Back up slowly.”

  I was afraid to turn around, because it would leave my back exposed; the zombie in front of me would only protect any head-on attacks. Under the veil of darkness and covered by their scent, I actually thought they assumed I was one of them.

  I walked backward, dragging the zombie with me in slow, dragging steps. That eerie atmosphere tapped into my deepest, darkest fears. My breathing grew more and more labored, and I could feel sweat pouring down my back. A thud echoed, and I realized that the flashlight had slipped from my waistband; it was quite difficult to carry a zombie, a fire poker, and a flashlight.

  Sammy picked it up, tapped it three times, and it actually turned on again. “I see an exit,” she said excitedly. “It’s not too far away.”

  As I walked backward, Sammy walked normally, watching for any zombies in our path. A piercing shriek to the left made us both jump, as our nerves were beyond frazzled. I could have sworn my heart was about to explode right out of my chest.

  Suddenly, Sammy tripped over debris, and a zombie lurched for her. She whacked it in the head just as the flashlight went out again.

  I spun around and ran in the darkness with my poker out in front of me, hoping I could joust to death any wretched, wrinkled creatures before I collided with them. I debated dumping the dead zombie I was carrying, but I thought it might come in handy in the stairwell if there were a lot of zombies down there. Shuffling footsteps and bloodcurdling moans were echoing right behind us, and I knew the nightmarish creatures were in hot pursuit.

  Chapter 23

  Sammy shook the flashlight madly, threatening the cheap plastic thing, and it finally turned on again, allowing me to see the “Exit” sign. I reached the door, and as my fingers gripped the handle, I prayed for two simple things: God, please let the door be open…and please don’t let a horde be waiting for us on the other side. Much to my relief, the door opened. I rushed through, on the lookout for any possible attackers.

  A zombie hissed, and Sammy yelled as it wrapped its dead fingers around her boot. I kicked at it, smashing its hand to dust. I pulled Sammy inside and shut the door. The infected we’d left behind pounded on the door fiercely, furious that we’d gotten away.

  Sammy scrambled up to her feet and shook the flashlight again. It came back on, but I knew one quick movement might thrust us into darkness again. I went first down the stairs, holding the dead zombie in front of me. When I heard feet marching up the stairs, I gritted my teeth; it was a complication I wasn’t expecting. I motioned for Sammy to turn around, but it was too late. Marvin had already spotted us.

  I threw the dead zombie on him, knocking him into his men. They fell down like dominos, one bumping into the other. Since our descent was blocked, I grabbed Sammy and bolted up the stairs to the next floor. We didn’t know what was up there, but it was really our only option. “Time to take another gamble, Sammy!” I shouted.

  Bullets rang out and dinged past my ear, slamming into the metal railing, some of them ricocheting off. Marvin screamed for us to stop, but we ignored him and ran as fast as our legs could carry us. I threw open the next door, turned left, and Sammy pointed the dim flashlight down the corridor. There were only a few stragglers, and it was easy enough to dodge them. More gunfire rang out as chunks of plaster from the wall exploded.

  “Where’d they go?” Marvin yelled.

  “There are a million places they coulda gone,” one of his goons said.

  “Split up!” another ordered. “There aren’t that many zombies. We can handle it.”

  I could hear them opening and closing doors down the hall.

  “The doors aren’t locked up here,” Sammy whispered.

  My fingers wrapped around the door handle. When I opened it, I breathed a little sigh of relief. I shined the light around, searching the room for any zombies. Fortunately, the room was only occupied by supplies; it was obviously some kind of storage room. Still, I knew we had to exercise extreme caution, because zombies could be hiding anywhere.

  Suddenly, I heard Marvin’s voice again.

  Sammy let out a trembling breath. “They’re coming,” she said.

  I scanned our surroundings, looking for a suitable hiding spot. “C’mon,” I said and led her under a pile of electrical equipment and tangled wires.

  My plan was to take out Marvin and his team one by one, ambushing them in the dark. Once that threat was eliminated, we could run to freedom. Even if it didn’t work, I would go down fighting. I wasn’t about to just cower in the dark, begging for my life.

  The door clicked open, and footsteps approached.

  I waited, my heart beating a million miles a minute.

  “Girls,” Marvin said snidely, “I’d love to know how you got out of your jail cell. Why don’t you come out and tell me all about it?”

  Fat chance, I thought, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. It was almost impossible
to see, but the darkness would work to my advantage, and I knew I had to act. When Marvin’s friend inched closer, I held my breath.

  “Val,” the guy said, “it’s me, David. We shared some laughs in the sewer together, remember? You know I won’t hurt you, and I won’t let Marvin hurt you. Come on out so we can talk about this.”

  My heart raced faster, and I slowly stood as he walked closer. As soon as his crew-cut blond head came into view, I raised my fire poker and slammed it into him. His flashlight hit the ground hard and flickered off, rolling underneath a tangle of equipment. I had no idea where it went. I whacked him again, and his gun clattered to the ground. I shook our flashlight again, but it only flickered on and off, allowing me vision for only a second or two at a time. In spite of the strobe light effect, my adrenaline surged. I knew if I didn’t find Marvin first, he’d find me, and I had to get that gun.

  My fingers nervously drummed along the floor, feeling for cold metal. I hoped the darkness hadn’t swallowed it up like David’s flashlight. When I found the gun, I smiled in victory. I picked it up, cocked it, and held it straight in front of me. I had some firepower now, and that put us on a more even playing field, even if we were still outnumbered. The flashlight cut out again, leaving me in a blanket of darkness. My heart drummed fiercely inside me. I knew I had to be careful not to shoot Sammy, but I’d lost track of where she was. I couldn’t call out for her and risk being heard by Marvin or his other cohorts.

  Something shuffled to the left. I wondered if it was Sammy, Marvin, or an undead freak. I shook the flashlight, and it cut on and off. I wasn’t able to leave, because Marvin’s men were in the hallway, just outside our door and checking all the other rooms one by one. I knew there was no way I could singlehandedly take down Marvin’s military-trained squad who followed his orders without question. Our only choice was for me to cut the head off the snake: to take down Marvin so we could get the heck out of there.

  A sudden burst of pain exploded in my head, and I fell to the ground. I blinked and saw a big boot kicking the gun away from me. The light was so dim, and starbursts spun in my vision. A shadowy figure appeared, looming over me, and when my eyes finally adjusted, they locked on Marvin’s.

  He aimed his gun directly at my head. “Get up!” he demanded, “and tell your little blue-haired friend to come out.”

  “Sammy, stay wherever you are!” I said.

  None too pleased that I’d disobeyed his direct orders, the sadistic sergeant slapped me hard, his big, calloused hand connecting with my lip.

  Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing how bad it stung, I glared up at him and wiped my bloody lip, then grinned.

  “I said to get up!” he said.

  Realizing it was neither the time nor the place to be insubordinate, I slowly stood, assumed a submissive posture, and held up my hands. I planned to take him down, but my timing had to be spot on. One wrong move could mean a quick pull of the trigger.

  “I’m sorry it has to end this way, Val,” Marvin said. “I truly, truly am.”

  “Me too.”

  Adrenaline gave me a burst of energy, and I instinctively moved out of the line of fire. I gripped the top of the gun, grasping the hammer with my thumb so he couldn’t possibly shoot me. I twisted the gun and pushed the barrel upward and back, stepping toward the idiot. I grabbed his wrist and pressed down hard, inducing as much pain as possible, then delivered a blow to his gut with my knee.

  Heaving, Marvin dropped his weapon, and it clattered to the floor.

  I kicked his knee out from under him, and he crashed to the ground. Without a second though, I rushed over and knocked him out with the butt of my gun before he could call his minions.

  “Marvin!” one of the men shouted. “Where are you?”

  Sammy grabbed my shoulder, then pointed to the heavy shelves. “Block the door!” she whispered.

  We scooted two huge shelves in front of the door, hopefully enough to hold them off so we could get a head start. We began prying the wood off the windows with our fire pokers, creating a gap wide enough for us to slip through.

  Marvin’s men began kicking the door, screaming and shouting.

  With my heart pounding, I kicked out the screen. We quickly tied our sheet rope to a pillar. I squeezed out and noticed that we were at the back of the building, and none of Marvin’s men were anywhere to be seen. “All clear,” I said.

  I clambered down four stories. My hands shook, but I kept moving swiftly and efficiently, until my feet hit concrete.

  When Sammy jumped down, we raced across the back parking lot and into some scraggly hedges that were in major need of a gardener’s clippers. We didn’t stop or even dare a glance over our shoulders. When we came across zombies, we made quick work of blowing them away, then kept moving. We zigzagged and ran in the direction we figured they’d least expect us to, hiking deeper and deeper into what seemed to be an endless stretch of overgrown plant life.

  Finally, we emerged from a thicket of trees and stopped to catch our breath and look around. Still alive, I thought, the words dancing through my heart like a victory parade.

  Sammy blew a strand of blue hair out of her eyes. “When it comes to putting zombies back in their graves, I think we go above and beyond.”

  I gave her a fist-bump. “Yep. We kick butt.”

  “Yeah, we’re master zombie-slayers all right, but I’m a little sick of being covered in green guts,” Sammy said, pulling at her wet clothes.

  “Hey, nobody said staying alive in a post-apocalyptic world would be a bed of roses.”

  She laughed.

  “Let’s just keep walking.”

  When we stopped to rest, Sammy pointed to a house. “How about there?” she said.

  “I’m not sure it’s safe. We should just keep going.”

  “But my ankle’s killing me. I think I twisted it or something, because it’s all swollen.”

  “We don’t have enough weapons to secure a whole house,” I said. “We have no idea who—or what—is inside.”

  “Resting out in the open is just as bad. Besides, it’s a little house.”

  “Any enclosed space is dangerous,” I said. “You know we can’t afford to be boxed in.”

  “I don’t see a car. Maybe nobody’s home.”

  “Don’t count on it.”

  “I’m at least gonna take a look,” Sammy said like a stubborn little girl. She limped over and walked up on the porch, then peeked into one of the windows. “Looks pretty vacant to me,” she said.

  “Get back,” I said, then banged on the door.

  Nothing stirred, so we made quick work of breaking the lock and headed inside. I swept my gun around each room, securing the small domicile the way I’d been taught. There was no basement or attic, and the windows weren’t boarded up, so I wasn’t sure it would make a good hideout, but we were glad it was vacant.

  The sun was just starting to peak in the sky. I peered out but didn’t see anything. Shutting the curtains, I let out a long sigh. “Okay. We can stay…for a while.”

  Sammy smiled. “I knew you’d come around,” she said, dusting off a “Home Sweet Home” cross-stitched design that hung on the wall.

  We moved furniture in front of the doors to barricade it, as well as to alert us if anyone tried to get inside.

  “Do you think Marvin will find us here?” Sammy asked, plopping down on a green, floral chair.

  “Well, there are hundreds of houses to search. It’ll take them days to find the right one, if they even try. For all they know, we just kept running and are miles away by now. Let me have a look at that ankle,” I said, patting the sofa.

  “Not yet. I wanna get cleaned up first. I’m buried under three layers of filth—dirt, slime, and zombie guts. I can’t even stand the smell of myself.”

  “All right. Just be careful,” I said.

  While Sammy was washing up with a gallon of spring water she found in the small laundry room, I searched the place for supplies. There
was absolutely no salvageable food; all that was in the refrigerator were some soy sauce packets and something green that probably used to be a lasagna, and the cupboards were bare. However, I did find some clothes, towels, soap, and shampoo upstairs.

  Sammy peeked out the back window and squealed when she saw a swimming pool filled with rainwater. “Look! I can take a real bath! Let me just lather up with that soap first.”

  “Sammy, that’s not a good idea.”

  “Look, I have to take a bath before these zombie guts dry on me. If I hear anything, I’ll rush right back in.” Before I could object, she opened the door and hobbled out, then started stripping off her clothes.

  “Wait!” I said, grabbing her fire poker. I ran out behind her and poked around in the pool with the fire poker, just to make sure no zombies were taking a swim. “We can never be too cautious,” I reminded Sammy when she rolled her eyes at me.

  She covered herself with lavender-scented soap, then jumped in and washed up. “Mmm. This feels so good, Val! Look! I’ve actually got my own skin under here!”

  I laughed.

  She looked up at the sky. “I feel a ray of hope.”

  I threw a sponge at her. “That’s a beam of sunshine on your face.”

  She grinned. “I feel like a true survivor. And I have this little song bouncing around my head.”

  “Yeah?” I said with my back turned to her, giving her some privacy and watching the vegetation for any trespassers.

  “Yeah.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  “I have to keep my footing, catch my breath, and keep walking the twisting path ahead. There are many huge hurdles to face. I don’t know what life holds for me, but I will survive as long as I can, and I won’t go down without a fight.”

  “I love it.”

  “Every now and then I surprise myself. But that’s how I truly feel.”

  “Those are beautiful lyrics.”

  “Maybe I was meant to be a natural born song writer.”

  “I bet you were. I can’t wait to hear you sing the entire song with that pretty voice of yours.”