Zombie Games (Uncut) Boxed Set

by Kristen Middleton

  “So, you’re really a priest?” asked Allie.

  Father Brambati smiled again. “Yes.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Israel. Well, I’ve lived there for the last fifteen years. I’m originally from California.”

  Kylie’s eyes widened. “Israel? But you’re a priest. I thought most of the people there were either Jewish or Islamic.”

  He nodded. “Yes, but there are also those who are practicing Christians as well.”

  “Were you in Israel when the zombies first showed up?” asked Allie.

  He nodded and began coughing. “Sorry,” he said, pulling out a tissue. “Yes, I was in Israel when the epidemic struck. Fortunately, I was able to fly back to the United States with a couple members of my church right before they shut down the airports.”

  “Was it as bad there as it was here?” asked Kylie.

  “I left before it became too bad, but yes, the zombies have infested every country in the world. There is no escaping them.”

  Allie studied the priest intently, wondering why he had decided to come back to the U.S. “Why did you come back here? For family?”

  Father Brambati glanced at Billie and smiled. “You could say that.”

  “Are you okay, Billie?” asked Kylie.

  Billie, who was obviously agitated, forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

  “Would you like some water?” asked Father Brambati, now looking concerned. He leaned forward and grabbed a bottle out of the small refrigerator. “It might help.”

  “We just need to get to the damn mall,” he said, eyeing Adria.

  “You don’t look so good,” said Allie, noticing that he was now as white as a ghost and beginning to sweat.

  “Here,” said Father Brambati, handing him a box of tissues. “You’re sweating.”

  Billie blotted his forehead. “What’s taking them so damn long to get us there?”

  “We should be there soon,” said the priest, glancing out the window. “I suppose with the rain, it’s making it harder to see.”

  Billie turned around and knocked on the window separating them from the driver.

  The window opened. “Yes?” asked the driver.

  “Step on it,” ordered Billie. “Nobody’s going to give you a ticket.”

  “It’s not easy maneuvering this thing with the rain. The abandoned cars and zombies aren’t making it much easier either,” replied the man, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

  Billie scowled. “I don’t want to hear the excuses. Just get us there as fast as possible.”

  “Yes, sir,” he replied.

  Billie turned back around and loosened the collar of the white dress shirt he wore under his black suit coat.

  “Are you going to be okay?” asked the priest.

  “I will as soon as I get out of this tuna can,” he grumbled.

  “Have you ever gotten carsick before?” asked Allie.

  His eyes shifted back to Adria. “No, but something tells me it’s not the car making me ill.” He turned and rolled down the window next to his seat. Some of the rain made it into the car, but Billie ignored it. “Just need some fresh air…”

  Allie and Kylie looked at each other and then to the baby, who was still sleeping contently.

  A few minutes later, they arrived at the mall and the driver pulled into the parking lot, where another couple waited.

  Billie got out first. “Bring them to the hole,” he ordered the strangers.

  “What hole?” gasped Kylie.

  Billie didn’t answer. He walked into the mall, muttering under his breath.

  “Don’t worry,” said Father Brambati, smiling reassuringly. “From what I hear, your families will be arriving soon and you can all be reunited. For now, let’s go visit that amusement park you kids seem to enjoy. The one at the center of the mall.”

  “It’s closed,” mumbled Allie. “I doubt there’s anything enjoyable about that place anymore.”

  “It depends on who you ask,” replied the priest with a glint in his eye.

  9

  Cassie

  The guys had entered the police station apparently without any difficulty. In fact, they walked right into the back door, which made me wonder if we were just wasting our time.

  “I wonder if they’ll find any guns or ammunition,” said Paige, staring into the darkness. We’d switched places with Kristie and now both of us were sitting in the front and she was in the very back, smoking a cigarette. She’d found one in the glove compartment and was blowing out the smoke through the broken window.

  “If there are any survivors left in the city, then surely they’d be confiscating guns from the police departments,” I said, putting my head back on the driver’s seat.

  She stared at her toes, which were on the dashboard and sighed. “My nail polish looks horrible. Does anyone have any polish?”

  I tilted my head. “Seriously?”

  “What, worried that Justice will think your chipped piggy toe is ugly?” taunted Nora.

  Paige turned around and frowned. “No, I don’t care what Justice thinks. I’m just… bored.”

  Kristie put her cigarette out. “Most guys don’t look at anything below your chest anyway, Paige. Ask Henry.”

  I glanced over at Henry. He was still snoring softly.

  Paige’s face was red. “Oh, my God. Would you guys just stop already? I don’t care what Justice thinks.”

  Her mother smirked. “Right.”

  Paige glanced at me and lowered her voice. “Do you think he’s been looking at my chest?”

  I burst out laughing.

  “He’d better not be,” said Kristie, moving behind us. “Or I’ll slap him silly.”

  Paige rolled her eyes. “God, mom… I can pretty much guarantee that he’s not checking me out. He probably sees me as a younger sister or… something.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” I said, twirling a piece of hair around my finger. “I saw him checking you out earlier today.”

  Her eyes widened. “You did?”

  I’d actually seen him staring at her a few times, but with everything going on, I’d forgotten to mention it. “Oh yeah. I think he likes you.”

  She blushed. “Shut up!”

  “Yeah, shut up,” said Kristie. “The last thing I need is to worry about Paige and Justice.”

  “God, I’m eighteen years old,” said Paige. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

  Kristie leaned over our shoulders. “Sorry, but I’m a mother, and the worry doesn’t stop when your kids reach eighteen.”

  “I think we have a lot more things to worry about than Justice, you guys,” said Nora from the back.

  I looked out the front window, but didn’t see anything. Not even a zombie.

  “Behind us,” said Nora.

  “Oh shit,” muttered Kristie.

  I turned around and was surprised to see a policeman walking toward us, his gun raised.

  “This is good,” said Paige. “Right?”

  “You’d think,” I whispered.

  The cop, a tall, thin man with a dark moustache, stopped behind us, on the other side of the fence. He had on a blue uniform and a hat. “What are you people doing out here?” he hollered in the rain.

  “Looking for help!” yelled Kristie.

  He looked around the block and then turned back to us. “You all here alone?”

  “No!” said Kristie. “We have some friends who are in the station, looking for help. Can you help us?”

  Before he could answer, a pair of headlights turned the corner behind him.

  “Oh, shit,” muttered Nora.

  It was the truck that had been following us!

  It stopped several feet from the cop and our SUV, lighting up both of us with its high-beams.

  Scowling, the cop turned toward the truck and motioned for the driver to turn off the headlights. Instead, whoever was inside, revved up the engine, and ignored his request.

  Kristie frowned.
“What in the hell?”

  The police officer raised his hands in the air again, waving at the truck, but the driver continued to ignore him, clearly annoying the cop.

  “Dammit,” muttered the cop. “This is ridiculous.”

  Paige turned to me. “Uh, maybe you should honk the -”

  Before she could finish, the driver of the white truck punched the gas. Its tires squealed as it launched toward the cop and our SUV while we all watched in stunned horror.

  “No!” screamed Kristie as the truck slammed into the man, pinning him to the fence, right behind our SUV. The force of the impact made the SUV lurch away from the fence.

  Henry’s eyes flew open. “What happened?!”

  “Help me,” choked the cop, whose lower body was now crushed and bleeding.

  “Oh, my God,” cried Kristie, crawling into the back of the SUV. “Let him go!” she screamed, waving her fist at the truck. “You piece of shit!”

  Henry raised his shotgun, and aimed it out the back. “I’ll take care of this.”

  She pressed his gun down. “No, Henry, you might shoot the cop instead.”

  I picked up Bryce’s revolver and jumped out of the SUV. Deep down, I just knew that the person driving the truck was evil and demented. There was no doubt in my mind that he wasn’t going to stop with the cop. We were next.

  “Cassie!” screamed Paige. “What are you doing?”

  Ignoring her, I aimed the gun at the driver and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the window but nothing happened.

  I stared at it in shock. Not even a dent.

  Paige laid on the horn as I raised the gun again.

  The driver of the truck rolled down his window, and although I couldn’t see him through the tinted glass, loud music blasted out of the cab. It was a song by a band called Drowning Pool and it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

  Let the bodies hit the floor…

  Let the bodies hit the floor…

  Let the bodies hit the floor…

  A song that had always freaked me out.

  Now, this psycho was taunting us with it.

  Clenching my teeth, I aimed the gun and pulled the trigger a second time. Just like before, it did absolutely nothing to the glass.

  The driver turned up the song and began to back the truck up.

  “Get in the SUV!” screamed Kristie from the open window.

  I ran around the fence to try and shoot the driver through the side window, but he backed up quickly and I couldn’t get a good position.

  “Cassie!” hollered Henry, shuffling toward the cop’s mangled body still caught on the fence. “Get your ass in the SUV!”

  The truck stopped moving about two hundred feet away and began revving its engine again.

  “Hit this, you pile of shit!” yelled Nora, who was now standing next to me, flipping the truck off with both hands.

  The stereo system on the truck was like nothing I’d ever heard before. The creepy song seemed to fill the streets as the driver continued to rev the engine, threatening and mocking us.

  “He’s dead,” said Henry grimly, as he stepped away from the cop at the fence. “Poor feller.”

  “Cassie!” hollered Bryce, running out of the police station. “Get away from there!”

  The pickup’s tires started squealing again as the driver punched the gas and took off toward us.

  “Shit!” yelled Nora, turning to run.

  In a split-second decision, I turned and headed for the fence. I jumped and pulled myself up several feet just as the truck hit the metal underneath me. Filled with adrenaline and rage, I jumped down onto the hood and ran until I was on top of the cab. As the driver threw it into reverse, I shoved the gun over the side and into his open window and pulled the trigger, aiming blindly.

  “Cassie!” yelled Bryce as the truck backed up with me still clinging to the top, my bullet apparently not hitting my desired target.

  Unable to hold on anymore, I slid over the top and into the bed of the truck, landing hard. Ignoring the pain, I scrambled back up and tried shooting into the open window again. This time, the gun clicked.

  Shit.

  The driver slammed on the brakes once again and I flew backwards, hitting my head on the back corner of steel tailgate protector.

  From there, everything went black…

  10

  Allie and Kylie

  As the girls were ushered into the mall, they were horrified to find that it was now infested with hordes of zombies.

  “Oh, my God, they’re going to eat us!” cried Allie as she turned to run back out of the entrance.

  “No, no, no. They will leave you alone,” promised Father Brambati, grabbing her arm. “Just ignore them.”

  She stared up at him in surprise. “Why would they do that?”

  “Just trust me,” he said, smiling warmly. “Their interests have been… diverted. You have nothing to worry about, young lady.”

  “Diverted? I don’t understand,” replied Allie.

  “You don’t have to,” said the priest. “Just ignore them and they’ll ignore you.”

  Seeing the gruesome zombies staggering throughout the hallway, Adria began to cry.

  “I don’t care what you say… we’ve got to get out of here,” said Kylie, bouncing the baby on her hip to try and calm her. “This is totally insane.”

  “Girls, seriously, you have nothing to worry about,” repeated the priest. “I’ve walked past them twice already today without any problems. They mean no harm to you.”

  “Right,” said Allie, her stomach clenching in fear as a zombie stumbled toward them. At the last minute, the creature turned away, its attention distracted by something else. Something evidently, only it could see.

  “Not only that, but it smells horrible in here,” said Kylie, her lips curling in disgust. She looked down at Adria, who’d grabbed a lock of her hair like she was clinging to dear life. “Even worse than a dumpster full of old smelly diapers. No offense, Adria.”

  “The zombies are dead and decaying,” said the priest. “They can’t help how they smell.”

  “You sound like you actually feel sorry for them,” said Allie.

  He stood up straighter. “Of course I do, I’m a man of God. Think about it, they were just like us a couple of months ago. Now they’re just empty shells.”

  “Full of hunger,” said Allie, stepping out of the way as another zombie dragged its upper torso along the floor next to her. It paused for a second, stared up at her, and then continued on its way. Allie shuddered.

  “You’re right,” said Kylie, wrinkling her nose as the legless zombie left a slimy trail across the marbled floor. “They were. Once. But now they look at us like we’re nothing but food, and I don’t feel any sympathy for them. Not even the legless ones. Not anymore.”

  He nodded. “I understand. You’ve been through a lot and have every right to feel these things. But I assure you, they will leave you alone because you’re with me. Now, come along.”

  Both girls hesitated.

  “Girls, if you can’t trust me, who can you trust?” asked the priest, his eyes wide.

  “What else can we do?” asked Allie.

  “Not much, I guess,” she replied.

  Sighing, they began to walk with Father Brambati again, followed by the other two strangers, who remained aloof. As they were led down the corridor, they noticed that many of the shops had been looted or just destroyed. Merchandise was strewn everywhere, mannequins tipped over, and broken glass littered the carpeting.

  “Not quite what you remember, hmm?” asked the priest, nodding toward a coffee shop that had been trashed. Coffee beans, shattered glass, and dried blood were all that remained of what had been one of the most popular stores in the mall.

  “No,” replied Allie, feeling sick to her stomach. Not at all. For years she’d taken special trips to the megamall with her grandparents, especially during the holidays. Now, gone were the days of holiday lights, Christmas trees
, and colorful decorations. Sadly, there would never be another overcrowded line of children waiting to see Santa or people caroling in the background. The magic was gone, and in its place was nothing but ruin, destruction, and the filthy undead loitering in the hallways.

  She looked at Adria and felt sorry for the little baby who would never get to experience the same types of joys she did growing up. She reached over and touched her soft head. “If we ever get out of this mess, I’m going to make sure that you learn about Santa Claus, though. And Christmas trees.”

  “And presents,” said Kylie.

  “Yes,” said Allie.

  Most of the zombies shuffled by, not paying them any attention while they continued walking. Others, however, stared at them in confusion, as if they didn’t know quite what to make of them.

  “Where are we going?” asked Allie, watching the zombies closely.

  “You’ll see,” replied Father Brambati. “We’re almost there.”

  “Billie said that he was taking us back to our families,” said Kylie.

  “I’m sure he’s arranged to have them pick you up here,” said the priest.

  “I think I’d prefer waiting outside,” muttered Allie as she stepped over a dismembered hand.

  The priest laughed. “Come on now, we’re almost there. Hey, I’ll bet you’re excited to see the theme park?”

  “Are you kidding?” replied Allie. “This place is dead, just like the freaks walking by us. I’m not excited about anything but getting the heck out of here. Oh gross.”

  A zombie with one eye hanging from her cheek by tendrils stared at Allie as they walked by.

  “And the nightmares just keep getting worse,” she whispered, trying not to gag.

  “Think of Adria,” mumbled Kylie. “And the nightmares she’s going to have.”

  Allie stared down at the baby. “If we get out of this, she’s definitely going to need some kind of therapy.”

  “We all will,” said Kylie as they rounded the corner.

  “We’re almost there,” said Father Brambati, smiling eerily. “I can’t wait for you to see it.”

  When they made it to the outside of the park, both girls froze, unable to comprehend exactly what their eyes were seeing.