“Okay,” said Bones. “I’m in. Shit, got nothing better to do, anyway. Why don’t you go tuck Belinda into bed and then we’ll go hunting. If there are any bitches left in Atlanta, we’ll hunt them down.”
11
Paige
She didn’t know what hurt the most, the pain in her stomach or in her face. At least her nose had finally quit bleeding.
“Just remember what I told you, bitch. We own you now. Got that? We own you. So you’d better keep your mouth shut and show me some respect,” he spat with a murderous glare.
Paige stared at Marco with mutual hatred, the tool who’d tried to feeling her up after she’d all but passed out from the wine he’d offered her. She’d initially rejected it, but her thirst had gotten the better of her.
“Just one glass won’t kill you,” he’d said with an innocent smile. “Then we’ll see what we can do about finding your family and friends, doll-face.”
The white wine hadn’t been half bad and she’d guzzled the glass quickly. When he’d offered her a second, she’d obliged, feeling warm and fuzzy.
“It’d be a shame for this Moscato to go to waste. It’s a good year, too.”
“Just one more,” she’d slurred.
When her head began to spin, Marco had acted like her best friend, offering a pillow, blanket, and a quiet place to rest. Then, when she’d realized it wasn’t her hand squeezing her chest, she’d elbowed him in the face. He’d hollered bloody murder when his nose started to bleed and then pulled out a set of brass knuckles. Unfortunately, he’d gotten her a few times in the face before the other guard, hearing the loud commotion, arrived and pulled him off.
Blood splatters from both of them covered the pillow and she threw it across the room. “You’ll never own me, asshole,” she mumbled as he walked away.
***
After driving around the city for an hour without any clues as to where Paige had been taken, Tiny pulled into the parking lot of a small corner grocery store.
“I’m starving, babe,” he said. “Let’s just take a break and see if there’s any food left in this place.”
Kristie stared out the window, her face a mask of despair. “Fine.”
He touched her hair. “Why don’t you wait in the van with Kylie and I’ll take Henry with me. As soon as we get back, we’ll keep looking.”
She nodded.
“Come on, gramps,” said Tiny. “Grab your shotgun.”
“Okay,” he said and then cleared his throat. “Listen, Kristie, I just want you to know how horrible I feel. It was my fault she was taken, and I am truly sorry. I messed up.”
She turned around and looked at him incredulously. “Oh, Henry. Don’t go blaming yourself. Please?”
His lips tightened. “Easier said than done. I tell you what, though, I won’t give up until we find her, by golly. That’s my promise to you.”
She nodded. “We’ll find her, because I’m not giving up either.”
“Me neither, babe,” said Tiny. “And when I get my hands on the schmuck who took her, he’s going to wish he’d been eaten by a zombie instead of crossing us.”
12
Kris
The man the soldiers had been beating up seemed to have disappeared into thin air. They’d watched him run into an alley behind several businesses and followed, but when it led to a dead end, he was nowhere to be seen.
“We must have missed a door somewhere,” said Carly, backing out of the alley. It was now nighttime and hard to see much of anything, especially in a dark alley. “Did you see him?”
Kris tapped her fingernails on the door nervously. “No.”
“So, you knew him? Who was he?”
Before she could answer, Carly slammed on the brakes. “What in the hell?”
A large flower delivery van was blocking their path out of the alley. The lights were off and it was hard to tell if anyone was actually in it.
“Obviously that wasn’t there a moment ago,” said Carly, grabbing the rifle. “I wonder if I should lay on the horn or fire a bullet?”
Kris shook her head. “They’ve blocked us on purpose? What the hell is happening?”
Both women watched their side-view mirrors nervously, not knowing what to expect. There was nobody around, and the driver’s seat appeared to be empty.
“This is bullshit. I’m going out to investigate,” said Carly, her patience wearing thin. She shut off the lights and whispered, “We have to get out of this alley. Keep the doors locked and stay low.”
Kris nodded. “Okay, you just be careful.”
Allie crawled up to the front of the vehicle. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing yet, but stay close to your mom, Allie,” said Carly as she shut the door behind her and stepped out into the darkness.
Kris watched through her mirror as Carly crept toward the white van. The darkness seemed so ominous and she was almost certain that flesh-eating zombies were going to pounce on poor Carly at any moment. Obviously, they weren’t the ones who’d driven the van, however. At least, she hoped not. Now that there were zombies lurking the streets, her mind was open to almost any possibility.
Allie sighed. “So, where did Carly go?”
“She just went to go check on something, honey. Don’t worry.”
Allie’s eyes narrowed. “It’s more than that, mom. I can tell by your face.”
“Okay, we think someone is intentionally blocking our path.”
“What?”
A single gunshot made both of them jump, and Kris began to tremble. “Lord, help us.”
“Mom?” whispered Allie in horror. “Is Carly okay?”
Kris checked the mirror. “I… I can’t see anything.”
“I’m scared.”
Kris grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Looking into her eyes, she said, “Listen, honey, we may need to run. If Carly doesn’t return here in a few minutes, we’ll go back down the alley and look for a safer way out.”
There was a screech of tires. Kris looked back into the mirror and noticed the van had left, but there was no sign of Carly.
“Where is she?” asked Allie.
Before Kris could answer, the back door of the ambulance opened up. Apparently thinking it was Carly, Allie hurried back to greet her.
“No, Allie!” yelled Kris as rushed to catch her daughter.
Allie shrieked loudly, and when she saw the figure holding her daughter, Kris broke down and cried.
***
Carly stared angrily at the two men who’d abducted her. They were smoking cigarettes and acting as if it they were some sort of corporate bigwigs on a smoke-break without a care in the world. Both wore expensive suits, had perfectly gelled hair, and sported shiny Italian shoes. They were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and these guys didn’t seem to realize it.
“Tony’s going to like this broad,” said the heavyset man. He was short and squat, his round stomach reminding her of a meatball.
The taller man leered at her and licked his lips. “Yeah, she’s a looker.”
She was furious with herself for being caught off guard, especially by a couple of boneheads. They’d gotten her when she’d stuck her head inside the back of the flower van. The taller man had grabbed her from behind and she’d fought back, almost getting away. It wasn’t until the shorter guy took her gun and fired it as a warning that she knew she was screwed. The only good to come out of it was that they hadn’t bothered to check the ambulance.
“Why have you done this?” she asked them, rubbing her wrists. They’d handcuffed both her wrists and ankles tightly before shoving her into the van. She was surprised when they took the restraints off immediately upon entering the hotel. Apparently, they didn’t feel she was a threat anymore.
The taller man smiled, his eyes sparkling. “Because we can.”
“Charming,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Why don’t you just sit here quietly so we don’t have to tape your mouth shut,” said the taller guy.
<
br /> She ignored him. “Who the hell are you people?”
The meatball guy stepped closer to her and blew a cloud of smoke toward her face. He smiled. “We’re with the Boy Scouts of America, doll.”
Carly snorted. “You look more like someone who swallowed a boy scout.”
The taller man burst out laughing.
Meatball pointed to him. “You shut the fuck up, Donnie,” he growled and then turned to Carly. “And you, you’re gonna learn real fast not to open that trap of yours unless I say so. Capiche?”
Before Carly could fire back with a snide comment, another group of well-dressed thugs stepped into the lobby.
“Hey, Tony,” said Meatball. “You need this one for tonight’s game?”
A tall guy, meticulously dressed with an ample belly of his own, stared at Carly and then smiled. “No, we’re good tonight. We’ll save her for the next one. Nice catch, by the way, boys. She’s good-looking; almost a shame to waste such a nice piece of tail.”
Carly glared at him. “Seriously? Piece of tail?”
“Look out, everyone,” hollered someone coming through the entrance. “Zombies coming.”
“Dead men walking,” snickered Donnie.
Everyone backed up and Carly watched incredulously as five zombies were ushered into the hotel in a metal cage secured onto a long flatbed cart.
“Jesus, those things stink,” mumbled Meatball.
Stink was an understatement. Rotten eggs and horse manure is what the horrific smell reminded Carly of.
“Nice,” smiled Tony, cracking his knuckles. “Now, get those zombies into the pool and bring me some bitches.”
13
John Doe?
The woman was snoring loudly as the three men left in their pickup truck. He waited, watching her as she slept for a while, before he felt satisfied that she was really out. Then he went back into the basement for Luke. The look in the boy’s eyes was of sheer terror when he opened the cabinet door.
“Hey, it’s just me. You okay?”
Luke nodded but was visibly shaken.
“Listen, we’ve got to get out of here,” he whispered. “I’m gonna grab some food, load up the truck, and then we’ll find another place to crash.”
Luke nodded.
He grabbed Luke’s arm before he moved toward the steps. “One more thing – there’s a woman upstairs, sleeping. I want you to watch her as quietly as possible, and if she wakes up, come and tell me right away. I don’t think she’ll wake up as long as we’re quiet, but you never know.”
Luke raised his eyebrows. “She’s sleeping? Where are the others?”
“They left, but they’ll be back.”
“Shoot, and I really liked this place,” muttered Luke.
He nodded. “So did I, kid.”
Luke went upstairs to watch Belinda while he started filling a large empty container he’d found with food from the pantry. When he couldn’t get any more into the container, he lifted it up and started walking out of the kitchen.
“Hey, asshole – where in the fuck do you think you’re going with that?”
He sighed and turned around to find Belinda holding a gun toward the back of Luke’s head. The boy’s face was as white as her overly-bleached, straw-like hair.
He put down the box and raised his hands. “Okay, let’s just relax here. Please, lower your gun. You’re scaring the kid.”
She snorted. “Do I look like I care?”
He paused for a second then said, “You should. He’s your nephew. Walt’s son.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Walter’s?”
He nodded with a straight face. “Yeah. Walt just found out he was a father to this boy before all the zombie shit.”
She lowered the gun slightly and turned Luke around. “You really Walter’s kid?”
Without a beat, Luke nodded. “Yeah, but I never got a chance to get to know him.”
Good job, kid, he thought, biting back a smile. “Yeah, this kid’s had a rough life. His mother abandoned him and Walt didn’t really want him either.”
Luke’s face fell, as if it really rang true and he was brokenhearted.
Belinda bit the side of her lip and then nodded. “He always was a son-of-a-bitch. You don’t do that to your family.”
“Poor kid doesn’t have anyone now,” he said.
She tilted her head. “Yeah, now that I look at you, I’ll bet you’re Janine’s kid. You look just like that woman. She was always sniffing around Walt’s heels. He must have knocked her up finally.”
“Appears that way,” he said.
Her eyes eyed him appraisingly. “So, who are you?”
“I used to work for your brother until the zombie shit hit the fan.”
She stood up straighter, sucking in her stomach and pushing out her chest. “So, what’s your name, good lookin’?”
Surprising even himself, he opened his mouth and answered, “Bryce.”
14
Paige
It was after ten o’clock by the time they’d circled back to the CDC. They hadn’t had any luck driving around the city, so they decided to start back at the place she’d disappeared, just in case Paige had somehow escaped and was in the area.
“My poor baby,” mumbled Kristie, staring absently at the flame of her lighter as she flicked it on and off. “She must just be terrified, wherever she is.”
“Paige is a survivor,” said Tiny. “I mean, obviously I don’t know her that well, but I can certainly see it in her eyes. She’s going to put up a good fight. Hell, she’ll probably escape.”
“It’s… it’s just so hard. I mean, what do they want with her? We’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse for Christ’s sake!” cried Kristie.
“Maybe they’re just lonely and want company?” asked Kylie.
Henry took off his hat and scratched his head. “That might be true, young lady. Zombie apocalypses do crazy things to people, even brings out the loneliness. Maybe they just wanted someone to talk to. Or maybe they thought Paige was alone and in danger, so they took off with her. You know, to save her from the zombies.”
Kylie smiled. “Yeah. Maybe it was someone who really did think she was in trouble. There were zombies nearby.”
“Hey, we’ve got company,” interrupted Tiny as he stared into his rearview mirror.
A pair of headlights moved toward them from out of the darkness. It slowly drew up next to them then came to a stop, as they all stared in disbelief.
“Would you look at that?” chuckled Henry.
“Someone put in a call for help?” smiled a familiar face in the driver’s seat of the ambulance.
“Are you shitting me!?” hollered Tiny. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”
Dave’s lips curled up. “Well, I ran into a little trouble along the way. Speaking of trouble, here comes more. Why don’t you follow me for a safer place to catch up?” he asked, rolling up his window.
Their voices had caught the attention of a small group of zombies wandering across the street.
“Oh, crap,” grumbled Kristie.
Tiny started the engine right as the four zombies stepped into their direct path. “Get out of the way!” he yelled, laying on the horn. “Or I’m going to run your asses over!”
Kristie snorted. “Get out of the way? Like that’s really going to work.”
Incredibly, the zombies did step out of the way and began gravitating toward the CDC, as if they had a purpose.
Kristie frowned. “That was odd. I guess whatever’s going on in there is more entertaining than us. I wonder if we should check it out again.”
“Come on, there’s nothing happening in those buildings,” said Tiny. “Those zombies are probably familiar with that place and are drawn to it. Shit, maybe they used to work there in their previous life.”
“Actually, mom, I think the zombies really understood Tiny,” said Kylie.
“Honey, I doubt they have any thoughts at all, let alone rational ones,” said Kristie
.
“I don’t know,” said Henry. “What do we really know about these things? Maybe they can understand simple instructions.”
Kylie giggled. “I wonder what they’d do if you asked them to lie down and play dead?”
Henry smiled and patted her gently on the head.
Tiny started the engine and followed Dave as he drove for several blocks until they reached a newer abandoned furniture warehouse. Dave sounded the horn, and within a few minutes, a large garage door opened near the loading area. As they followed him into one of the garages, several people watched their arrival warily from inside.
“At least we know we’re not the only ones in Atlanta,” said Kylie.
When Dave parked the ambulance, they watched as he got out and spoke to a tall thin, man with glasses. After several seconds, Dave motioned for them to get out of the van.
The man’s eyes widened when he saw Tiny approach.
“Hey, brother, how’s it going?” asked Tiny, holding out his large paw.
“Let me introduce you, Dan, this is Tiny, Kristie, Henry, and Kylie,” said Dave.
“Nice to meet you,” said the man, shaking all of their hands. “I’m Dan Schultzenheimer.”
“Dan’s actually a scientist from the CDC, the one who’s been working on a cure for the zombie virus. I stumbled upon him the other day as he was sneaking back into the CDC building to collect some of his files.”
“Working on a cure, is that so? Have you found one yet, Doc?” asked Henry.
He shook his head. “No, unfortunately not quite yet,” said Dan.
“So, Dave, where’s the rest of your gang?” asked Kristie as she glanced around. There were several clusters of people from every shape, size, and nationality camped out around the warehouse, talking quietly or playing cards. They’d set up several sofas and chairs using lanterns to light up the dark building. Almost everyone was armed with some kind of weapon and looked very much on edge.
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