“Thanks, I appreciate it, but I’d rather have you stay here and keep an eye on everyone.”
Tiny nodded. “Yeah, I should probably stick around in case of other threats, as well.”
“Bryce,” said Paige. “You have to let me come with. She’s my best friend. Please!”
“Paige…” warned Kristie.
“I know you want to help, but it might make things harder for me if I have to worry about you. I’d much rather have you keeping an eye on Cassie’s sister, Allie. She’s going to be freaking out when she finds out Cassie’s gone.”
Paige’s lips thinned. “Fine. But you find her and drag her ass back here so I can bitch her out for not taking me with.”
“For the love of God,” snapped Kristie. “It’s not like she was going on spring break to Mexico and left you behind! This is a very dangerous situation she’s in. I still can’t believe she just left without thinking it through.”
They were in the restaurant and Bryce still couldn’t believe that less than twelve hours ago he’d asked Cassie to marry him, and now she was gone. It was maddening.
The door to the restaurant burst open and Billie stormed in. “I heard what happened. I’m coming with you,” he announced.
Bryce stared at him for a minute and then nodded. “Okay.” Cassie had told him about Nora and Billie’s budding relationship and it made perfect sense for him to come along. He’d actually been thinking about asking him anyway.
“Good,” said Billie. “Let’s go before they get too far.”
“Grab some extra clothes, food, and water,” said Bryce. “Don’t forget a weapon or two.”
“I’ve got rifle,” said Billie. “And a new set of golf clubs.”
“I don’t know if we’ll have time for a game, but you’re welcome to bring them. Meet me back here in twenty minutes and we’ll go.”
The door opened again and this time, Belinda hurried in. “Have you seen Henry or Luke?”
Bryce frowned. “No, I haven’t.”
“Luke might be with Allie and Kylie,” said Paige. “They’ve been hanging out a lot lately.”
“We stayed in Bryce’s suite last night, and I don’t think I even heard Luke get up this morning. That kid went to bed late and I just assumed he’d sleep in. Now I can’t find him anywhere. And Henry, he usually doesn’t venture far from my side when it’s yoga hour. He would never miss out on watching me do Downward Dog. It’s his favorite stretch.”
Bryce sighed. “Go check Allie’s room and see if they’re having some kind of powwow or something.”
“I’ll go,” hollered Paige as she scurried away.
“I’ll help you find Henry,” said Kristie. “I’m sure he’s around somewhere.”
Belinda smiled bitterly. “I just get so worried about that old timer.”
“Henry’s as tough as nails,” said Tiny. “Don’t worry about gramps.”
A knot started forming in the pit of Bryce’s stomach. Too many people were missing and something was up. A half hour later, his gut feeling became a reality when he found Kristie freaking out in the lobby. Tiny was trying to calm her down, but it wasn’t working.
“Shit, shit, shit!” hollered Kristie. “Those little shits!”
“What is it?” asked Bryce, setting down his rifle.
“They left,” she said, on the verge of tears.
“Who?”
Tiny sighed. “We found a note from Allie. I guess Luke is taking both her and Kylie to Minnesota. To find Cassie.”
“How is that even possible?” asked Bryce. “Luke is only fourteen. They don’t have a car, and he certainly doesn’t have his license.”
Kristie rubbed her forehead and then stared at him with tears in her eyes. “No, but we do. Our van is missing and I don’t think they’re worried about getting busted by the cops for underage driving.”
Bryce groaned. “Your van is missing?”
“It is. So are the girls’ clothing,” said Kristie. “All of the new outfits they’ve collected are gone. They’d never leave them behind if they weren’t in it for the long haul.”
“Goodbye, whirlpool tub,” muttered Tiny, knowing their stay in Atlanta was soon ending.
“So, Henry’s driving?” asked Bryce.
“I can’t imagine Henry taking those kids to Minnesota,” said Tiny. “He’d never do that.”
“Maybe he left with Nora and Cassie?” said Bryce.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” said Tiny.
Kristie scowled. “Looks like Paige is getting that road trip she wanted. Dammit.”
“It’ll be okay,” said Tiny, rubbing her back. “We’ll find all of them, hon.”
“I hope so,” she muttered as reached under her shirt and ripped off her nicotine patch. “Because, this isn’t helping my Z.S.S. Someone had better find me a damn cigarette before I lose it completely.”
Belinda held out a pack of smokes. “Here you go, hon. I suffer from that shit, too.”
“Good Lord…” muttered Paige.
***
“Do you know how to get to Minnesota?” asked Allie, who was sitting shotgun next to Luke.
He smiled. “Does a bear shit in the woods?”
“That’s gross,” she replied, but was still smiling.
“My dad used to say that all the time,” sighed Luke.
Allie laughed. “Mine did too.”
“Actually, he has a map,” said Kylie from the backseat. “Tiny left the map in the glove compartment.”
“Well, anyway, thanks again for driving us,” said Allie.
“No problem. Maybe, after we leave the city and find a place not so crowded with zombies, I can teach you how to drive this beast.”
Allie nodded. “That’d be great. How long have you been driving?”
Luke straightened up. “Oh, today was the first day. But it’s not that difficult.”
Kylie started laughing. “That explains a lot.”
They’d had a rough start. Luke had put the key in the ignition started the van and thrown it into reverse, almost hitting a wall.
“What did you girls bring for food?” asked Luke.
Kylie opened up the paper bag. “We have a couple bags of chips, a six pack of soda, and three bottles of water.”
Allie nodded. “Yeah, and don’t forget the jar of almonds.”
“Yeah, that should tide us over until we get to Minnesota,” said Luke.
“Did anyone else bring weapons?” asked Kylie. “I grabbed Paige’s bat.”
“I grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen,” said Allie, taking it out of her overnight bag.
Luke nodded. “Good. I grabbed a gun.”
Allie’s eyes widened. “You know how to use a gun?”
He snorted. “Yeah. It’s a piece of cake.”
“This is going to be fun,” said Allie. “I’ve always wanted to travel across the country. My parents never seemed to take vacations.”
Luke nodded. “Yeah, mine either.”
Allie smiled at Luke. “We have so much in common.”
He smiled. “I guess we do.”
Kylie noticed the way Allie stared at Luke, it was pure adoration. It was certainly going to be a long ride back home to Minnesota.
“Oh, brother,” mumbled Kylie as she stared out the window.
***
End of Book Three
Road Kill
Prologue
He waited anxiously in the crook of the tree, wondering how he’d escape the three zombies lingering down below. He was pretty sure they were aware of him; in fact, he was positive they could smell him from the way they continued to sniff the air while making those nasty, gurgling noises.
I have to get out of here.
Rubbing the sweat from his brow, he decided it was time. There was no way he could wait any longer. It had been at least two or three hours since he’d left Allie and Kylie, and they were probably freaking out, thinking he’d totally abandoned them. In a few hours the sun would b
e down and it would be harder to find his way back through the woods. Now, he’d have to return with his tail between his legs, knowing he hadn’t accomplished anything but hiding out in a tree like a scared little wuss.
I may just as well have the word ‘fail’ embedded in my forehead, he thought. What a waste of time.
Releasing a sigh, he reached into his jeans and took out the pink rubber ball he’d found the day before at the rest-stop. It was a longshot, but he had to cause a distraction and hope the zombies moved away to investigate. More than likely, however, they were just far too stupid and would completely ignore it. As he raised the ball to throw it into the woods, a movement in the woods caught his attention.
A pig!
The young Yorkshire was snorting happily as he stopped and began eating something on the grass which, honestly, looked like cheesy-rice or puke.
Luke shuddered as the zombies moved toward the pig, hoping that Wilbur was enjoying his last meal.
With his heart pounding, he waited until the creatures were about twenty feet away from his position and only then did he begin to descend the tree. Just as he was about to reach the bottom, however, the entire tree began to tremble and shake. Stunned, he jumped to the ground, which also rumbled under his tennis shoes.
An earthquake?
Frightened and worried that the earth was going to open up and swallow him whole, he ran back toward the dairy farm. It was the last place he’d left the girls and he hoped they were still okay.
1
Cassie
“I can’t take it anymore,” groaned Nora. “If I have to listen to one more song by ‘Wailing Jennings’, I’m going to shoot myself in the head.”
“It’s ‘Waylon Jennings’,” corrected Henry, “and you need to show him a little respect, God rest his soul. Jesus, I had to listen to ‘Shityeah’ and lost two hours of my life that an old-timer like me can’t afford to waste.”
“It’s ‘Hellyeah’, and they freaken’ rock,” said Nora.
“Rock? Sounds like the main singer had something stuck in his throat,” said Henry. “It’s amazin’ what you kids listen to these days. Why, back in the day –”
Nora rolled her eyes. “Oh, here we go…”
“Artists like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry knew how to entertain their fans.”
“Well, even I can appreciate Elvis, so why don’t you just stop while you’re ahead,” said Nora.
He went on. “That there Elvis, by golly, he made the women-folk crazy with his gyratin’ hips and velvety, smooth voice. I remember this gal I dated in my early twenties, Barbara Jean Crawford, she got so worked up listening to Elvis on the radio on the way to dinner during our second date, that she jumped my bones right there in the parking lot of the restaurant. I saved myself five dollars that night, man, ‘cause,” he cackled, “we never made that reservation.”
“Oh, for the love of God,” sighed Nora.
“I purchased every one of his records after that and always kept an eight-track in my truck, just in case I was feeling a little frisky.”
“Wow, you, frisky? That’s odd.”
“Yep, went through a lot of shocks in those days, but,” he smiled, wistfully, “them were some mighty good times.”
“Okay, we’re even,” said Nora.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I just lost minutes of my life that I’ll never get back, either.”
Having heard enough, I sat up and stretched my arms. “Where are we?”
“Oh, look who’s finally woken up from the dead,” replied Henry, glancing back at me in the rearview mirror. “I’m surprised Shityeah didn’t scare you awake, Wild.”
“Hellyeah,” grunted Nora.
“Nope. I must have really needed the rest,” I yawned. “I didn’t wake up until I heard you two bickering.”
“I’m surprised you could even sleep through this twisted country twang,” said Nora.
Honestly, I wasn’t that crazy about it either, at least not the older country music, but when I saw the look Henry gave her, I changed the subject. “Nora, did you happen to find any of your dad’s CDs?”
She began fiddling with the black leather wristband that Billie had given her. “Yeah.”
“Why don’t you pop one in?” I asked.
“Later,” she replied.
After only a few hours on the road, we’d found a music shop and had stocked up on some CDs for the ride back to Minnesota.
“Your dad’s a musician?” asked Henry.
Nora stared out her side window. “Yep, he’s the lead vocalist for Death Row.”
Henry scratched his whiskers. “Death Row? Sounds like one of those heavy-metal bands. Your dad doesn’t bite off the heads of bats or urinate on his fans, does he?”
Nora turned to him and scowled. “No, but he does smoke too much, tell tall tales, and thinks he’s God’s gift to women. Like someone else we all know.”
Henry was silent for a minute and then his face turned red. “You talkin’ about me? I’ll have you know that I’ve never told a lie. I’ve had me a life filled with experiences that would knock your socks off, young lady. In fact, if I don’t survive this zombie apocalypse mumbo jumbo, I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. I’ve had no regrets in life, and as far as I’m concerned, every day from here on out is a gift from the man above.”
“Oh, stop talking about death, old man. You’ll probably outlive every damn one of us,” said Nora.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tin of chew. “Not if I can help it. Why do you think I decided to tag along with the two of you? It wasn’t because it sounded like a fine plan. Hell no, I’m here because someone’s got to keep you reckless young girls from getting yourselves killed. But, I tell you what – if I die because of it, I know in this here ticker,” he said, pointing to his chest, “that it certainly won’t be in vain.”
I reached forward and gently patted his shoulder. “Come on now, Henry, we’re not going to let that happen. None of us are going to die on this trip.”
“Speaking of which, I think we should focus on getting gas right now,” said Nora, motioning toward the gas gauge. “Before this van dies.”
“Damn these gas-guzzling-mommy-mobiles,” he muttered.
“It’s still better than that gas-hog we left Atlanta in,” I said.
We’d been on the road now for two days and were somewhere in Illinois. After almost running out of gas the day before, we’d traded the truck in for an abandoned Honda Odyssey, because Henry said it would have better gas mileage.
Henry looked at the fuel level and frowned. “I hope we can find something soon. You said you know how to siphon gas, Nora?”
“Yeah,” she said, pulling her dark hair up into a ponytail. I stared at the blue fairy tattooed on the back of her neck and wished I would have gotten something before everything had gone to hell. My dad, who was pretty old-fashioned, would have never allowed it, however.
“So, how did you learn to siphon gas?” I asked.
“Don’t ask,” she answered with a smirk.
“There’s another town coming up, about ten miles,” said Henry. “Let’s just hope the zombie situation is manageable.”
“We need more food, too,” said Nora, slipping a piece of spearmint gum into her mouth. “I’m freaken’ hungry and gum just isn’t doing it anymore.”
“I’m hungry, too,” I said.
She handed me a piece of gum.
We drove the rest of the way in silence as I stared at my engagement ring, wondering what Bryce was doing at that particular moment. More than likely, he’d thrown quite the fit after reading my note and was probably debating on whether or not to track me down. Although I had to agree that it had been a reckless decision on my part, I still stood firm on it; my grandparents’ as well as Nora’s dad’s lives were at stake. If they were still alive, I had to go back for them. Besides, if I could survive the nightmare back in Atlanta, this would be a piece of cake.
“Heads up, girls, the town of Baylor is coming up,” said Henry.
I stared out the window as we entered the rundown little town. Just like most of the other places we’d passed through, it was empty and barren, except for the familiar sight of the dead that shuffled in and out of broken entryways or around street corners.
“Gross,” groaned Nora, rolling up her window.
Yes, the stench of death and decay greeted us like old friends. Baylor, however, held a little something extra for us.
“Crap,” I pointed up the street. “Check it out.”
“Oh, my God, are those nuns?” gasped Nora.
I watched in wonder as three women, all cloaked in black habits and yielding sharp weapons, stood outside of an old drugstore, fending off a group of overzealous zombies.
“Hurry, pull up to them,” I said, picking up the ax I’d set down by my feet.
“Already ahead of you,” said Henry, picking up speed as he steered toward the group.
When we stopped, Nora and I both got out and advanced on the zombies that were threatening the women. Fortunately, they were so transfixed on the nuns that they didn’t pay any notice of us until it was too late.
I moved behind a tall, gangly walker, whose head was bent at an unusual angle, and swung the ax with everything I had. As it fell to its knees, I dislodged my weapon from its skull and kicked the limp torso to the cement.
“Watch out, child!” hollered one of the nuns, a heavier-set woman with red curls poking out of her hood.
“I got it,” said Nora, delivering a roundhouse kick to the zombie rushing toward me. It fell to the ground and she quickly finished it off with her newest bludgeoning device – a long wrench we’d picked up in the last town. I cringed at the horrible crunching noise it made as she slammed it into the zombie’s skull.
“Thanks,” I said.
From there, I beheaded two additional zombies while Nora experimented with different ways of using her new weapon, delighting mostly in the “ram and twist” method. When we’d finished off the rest of the zombies, the nuns thanked us profusely.
Zombie Games (Uncut) Boxed Set Page 48