People in the corridor shouted, and I rushed out to see what’s happening. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Our tires were slashed!” a woman shouted. “How do we leave now?”
Nick, Val, Lucas, Jackie, and I raced to the opening in the window. Braving the rain and wind, we ran outside and bolted to the cars in the driveway. Every single tire was flat.
“Did zombies really do this?” I asked.
“Somebody did it,” Nick said.
“That’s crazy!” one of the men shouted. “How do you know some thugs didn’t do it? Maybe they’re pissed we’re in their territory.”
“Zombies want to keep us here,” Jackie said. “We’re their food source.”
The thought made me cringe, and we headed back to the lounge to discuss it further. It was a new horror for all of us, even for Nick and Lucas, who’d seen just about everything. I watched Lucas run a nervous hand through his hair while Nick paced back and forth as he tried to make sense of it all. Val sat at a table and loaded handguns and rifles with ammo.
I looked at man who wouldn’t believe us. “I know it’s hard to imagine, but zombies lured us in with a baby doll, ambushed us, and then climbed out the window to the roof. Old-fashioned zombies can’t do that. Ask your friends who survived if you won’t believe me.”
“He’s right,” Larry said. “They have intellect, and if they got their grimy hands on a knife, I’m sure they could’ve slashed our tires. They’re smart, and they’re stalking us. We on their turf, and they’re making us pay some hefty fines for trespassing—with our lives.”
A woman burst into the room, gasping for breath and as pale as a ghost. “My friends and I tried to leave on foot. We were attacked. They’re….they’re all dead now!” She burst into tears as soon as the words left her mouth.
Larry ran over to her. “Mary? Is she—”
The woman sobbed and shook her head. “Gone, Larry. They all are.”
“They planned this!” he shouted. “They knew some of us would be so scared from the slashed tires that we’d try to leave on foot. And they even let one person live from the group to tell the tale. That takes brains.”
“That’s it. Nobody else tries to leave,” Nick said, “until we figure out what’s going on. The safest place is right here in this room.”
“We should all sleep right here tonight,” the woman said. “We’ll grab blankets and post guards everywhere.”
Larry looked at Nick. “Surely we can’t stay the night here.”
“If you leave right now,” the woman said, “you’re as good as dead.”
“We can’t go out there blind,” Nick said. “We need to send a scouting party and figure out the best escape route.”
“I’m on it,” Val said.
Lucas touched her shoulder. “I’m sure we can find a weakness in their perimeter.”
She cocked a gun. “Got that right—or else we’ll create one.”
I didn’t want to stay, but I didn’t want to leave either, knowing those things were waiting for us and not knowing what had happened to Claire. Nick was right, as usual—at least from a tactical standpoint. It was best for us to stay put and not to panic. We needed to stay calm, think straight, and look for the best way out instead of just running blind, right into their trap. I hoped we could find Claire in all that mess, but deep down in my heart, I was afraid it was too late for that, and that bothered me more than anything. My heart broke for Claire and for Jackie, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
Jackie started to cry and I was going to go over and comfort her when I saw Kate walk over. I sat down in a chair nearby and decided to give Jackie some time with Kate.
Kate wrapped her arm around Jackie. “If anyone understands what you’re going through, it’s me. When I found out my sister was killed in such a violent fashion, I was hit by the most unbearable grief. We both have had loved ones murdered, and I know the gaping hole it leaves in your heart.”
“I feel like I was struck by lightning,” Jackie said.
Kate tucked strands of long, blonde hair behind her ear. “I screamed and cried but it didn’t take the hurt away.”
“I know the feeling,” Jackie whispered, gasping between sobs. “My world is shattered and it doesn’t make sense. I’ll never know what happened to her, even though I’m sure she died in a zombie attack. I couldn’t even give her a proper burial.”
“I never got to bury my sister either. When I went to investigate her murder, I was thrown into the arena and forced to fight zombies. Knowing my sister went through that tears my heart. I can’t imagine how she died and it haunts me to this very day.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jackie said.
“We can help each other get through the pain. And you have so many people who care about you.” She looked up at me. “Dean here is an awesome guy. You’re so lucky to have him.”
Jackie wiped her eyes. “I don’t know why he puts up with me.”
“Because you’re a beautiful person inside and out. And you can’t give up on life because that’s not what Claire would want.”
“What hurts the most is that I couldn’t help her. I should’ve been there to fight and save her life.”
“It’s not your fault,” Kate said. “Don’t blame yourself. Life’s not fair and bad things happen to good people. Her sudden death has left you shaken and unsure.”
“I never got a chance to say goodbye.”
“I never got to say goodbye to my sister either.”
“Claire’s all I have,” Jackie said, her voice quivering.
“I’m here for you and so is Dean, Nick, Lucas, Asia, and Val. We’re all here for you. So if you want to cry, just go ahead.” She handed Jackie a tissue. “Just let it all out.”
Jackie hugged her and sobbed into her shoulder.
I quietly left the two of them alone so they could talk in private. And that’s when I noticed Nick wasn’t anywhere in sight.
Where the heck did he run off to?
Chapter 14
I looked around at everyone who was there and didn’t find Val, Lucas, or Nick anywhere in sight.
“Dean!” Sam called.
Sam was the last person I wanted to talk to. He was Larry’s friend and had done nothing to stop him from ending Mike’s life when we could have tried to save it.
“I know you’re still mad,” he said, “but I’ve got a message from Nick.”
I cocked a brow. “Where is he?”
“He left.”
“Without me? Again?” my voice thundered. “Where’re Val and Lucas?”
“They went with him.”
I shook my head as anger flooded through me.
“Nick said he needs you to stay here to watch the others and Jackie.”
The jerk left without me. He took Lucas and Val but not me. What’s with him anyway? Does he think I can’t fight as well as him? As well as them? I’m the best sharp shooter we’ve got, and Nick knows that! After all, he’d seen me nail targets countless times in the shooting range. The only thing he had on me was more knowledge and experience in the zombie epidemic, and I was tired of him holding that over my head and leaving me out.
“I can catch up with him,” I said, pushing past Sam.
He shined his flashlight in my face. “We have orders not to let you out.”
“Orders? What are you, a lieutenant or something? We’re not in the Army, Sam.”
“Listen,” he said, “I like your brother.”
“Yeah, well, he’s got this charm,” I said, seething. People always loved Nick and mindlessly did whatever he told them, and I had no idea why.
“Going out there by yourself is a death sentence. We both know that. We could use your help with the hourly security checks around here.”
“Fine,” I said. I stared at him, still pissed from the last incident.
“That glare you’re giving me…I know it’s not about Nick.”
“Oh, it’s about Nick all right, but it’
s about you too.”
“How did you think we’d get Mike out? He was tall, all muscle, close to 250 pounds. Even if I’d thrown him over my shoulder, there would have been no way I’d have made it back with him. Think about it. How would we have gotten him through the neighborhood undetected?” He looked me straight in the eyes. “I don’t know about you and your girlfriend, but we had to hop fences, climb a tree, and hide under a car. We barely got back here alive, and we wouldn’t have if we’d have had to carry big Mike in that condition. And what if he had turned when he died?”
I stared at the floor and shook my head.
“He was killed so he wouldn’t suffer. Would you want your loved ones to suffer?” He shifted his stance. “You’re nothing like your brother.”
“Why? Because if you’re saying I’m not some heartless, selfish show-off who goes around bossing everybody, I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said, not sure why the words slipped out. I was just so mad at Nick. I loved him because he was my brother, but I was so pissed at him. Sneaking out and leaving me behind was an all-time low, even for him. I wanted to be out there fighting. I had the guts and the courage, and I’d taken down loads of those brain-dead freaks already.
“He’s not heartless,” Sam retorted. “When I stood guard with him, we talked. That man has lots of emotion. He just keeps it all bottled up inside so he can function. He’s all about survival. He does what he has to do to survive, even if that means making the tough decisions that aren’t always popular.”
“Right. I know all about his tough decisions.”
“Larry and I had to make one of those back there. Mike didn’t want to live through the nightmare he was about to face, nor would he have wanted to be the reason we didn’t get out of there alive. I hope you understand.”
“I get why you did it,” I said, walking back toward the lounge. “I don’t condone it, but I get it,” I said over my shoulder. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I wasn’t accustomed to leaving friends behind, and I hoped I never would be.
Everyone made beds in the large carpeted area. Jackie was wrapped up in a green quilt, sound asleep. She looked like a sleeping angel with her porcelain skin, full lips, and long, dark hair with blonde streaks trailing around her. She’d made a spot for me next to her. I smiled and reached for my pillow, then slipped it softly under her head.
A lady with short gray hair looked at me. “She’s devastated, the poor thing. Said she most likely lost her cousin. I held her and comforted her as much as I could, but I don’t think it did much good. She cried herself to sleep.”
I swallowed hard. The grief of losing Claire would be far too much for Jackie to bear. I understood, because I couldn’t imagine losing Nick or Val, even if they did piss me off sometimes. In the end, they were my brother and sister, and I didn’t want to lose either of them. The mere thought made me shudder, I knew they were tough and that Nick knew what he was doing.
“Dean!” one of the men called from the doorway. “We need you.”
I walked over and met them. “What can I do?”
“Can you stand guard here, outside these double-doors?” asked the man. “The rest of the place is covered.”
“Sure.”
The men shut the doors and walked down the hall. My gun was in my holster, and I shined the flashlight up and down the corridor as shadows danced on the walls. It was so dark, and I couldn’t see any further than the beam of my light. I had to admit, the place gave me the creeps. The thought of knowing something was stalking us really put my nerves on edge; I was four-cups-of-coffee jittery. People were being dragged away one by one by some unseen invisible force, and I couldn’t fathom that Nick would have thought it was safer for me to stay there than to go with him. The only good thing about it was that I was able to protect Jackie as she slept. If she hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have thought twice about bolting past Sam and going to catch up with my runaway brother and sister. Jackie was there, though, and I needed to protect her at all costs.
Chapter 15
I was standing guard when Jackie came out the door. “Paul says he’ll take over now,” she said.
I pulled her close and embraced her in a long hug. “How are you doing?”
“I’m surviving, but…well, as you might have guessed, my heart’s broken,” she said between sobs.
I wasn’t much better at handling the sentimental side of things than my brother was, and I had no idea what to say or do to make her feel better. Really, there was nothing I could say. I couldn’t promise her that Claire was alive, and deep down, I assumed she’d been devoured by zombies. We’d seen no sign of Claire or her body, though, so the questions still loomed. Even if they are feeding on people, there’d be…bones, wouldn’t there? So where are the corpses and bones? Are they taking them to some kind of nest, a lair to feed on them? “Let me get you a glass of water,” was all I could think to say.
“We’re out of water. Let’s go to the kitchen and get some more jugs for the group.”
We walked down to the corridor and into the kitchen. I aimed my gun as I walked in. Jackie set the lantern on the steel table while I scanned my surroundings, checking every corner. When I was sure it was all clear, I put my gun in my holster and set my flashlight down.
We reached down and started to grab jugs of water to take back to the others when I heard a rustling sound, followed by a crash and sudden darkness. My heart raced, and I reached for my gun, then my flashlight. My fingers felt the cold, steel table but my flashlight was gone. I was pretty sure something had knocked over the lantern.
I couldn’t see anything in the pitch dark. Shooting blind and wasting my ammo would have been a dumb idea, because I could have hurt Jackie with a stray bullet. Soft moaning echoed in the air and started to come from the direction of the exit. We had to get out of there, but I didn’t know how. We were in real, genuine trouble. Something was in there with us, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t friendly. My throat tightened as I struggled to breathe. Jackie gripped my arm, not saying a single word. Footsteps came closer, and my heart pounded. I backed up slowly, aimed my gun, and readied myself to shoot blindly into the darkness, aiming to kill.
The thing was smart, like the others we’d recently encountered. It knew somebody would eventually visit the kitchen for food or drink. It had taken out our lights and blocked our exit. It was exhibiting intellectual behavior. A zombie that could think was coming for us.
My heartbeat doubled, then tripled in rhythm, practically bruising my ribs from the inside.
The zombie hissed, and the hairs on my neck stood on end. Footsteps drew closer. I pointed and let off four consecutive shots, but the hissing didn’t stop. My breath froze in my throat.
“Hello, Dean,” a deep voice straight from the pits of hell said.
A cold chill shot through me. What the heck? It…talks? But how? And how does it know my name? I held the gun tight as my hands trembled in the darkness. I decided I’d let it get closer before I’d waste another shot. Ammo was precious, and we had too little of it.
“Jackie,” the voice hissed. “I bet you taste divine.”
“I can see it,” Jackie whispered. “It’s coming around the table to the right.”
I stared straight ahead and saw nothing but pure blackness.
“Shoot!” Jackie said. “Pull the trigger now, Dean!”
Holding my breath, I aimed and pulled the trigger.
“To the left! Over there!”
I fired again, my heart racing.
“To the right this time!” Jackie yelled.
I pointed to the right, but she pushed me back and fired four shots of her own.
It was dark, and I couldn’t see what was going on. Again, my stomach lurched. “Jackie!” I shouted.
“It’s down!” she said. “Let’s get out of here!”
I felt around for her. “How’d you see it?” When I looked up, I saw green eyes shining. Another zombie? “Get down!” I shouted, aiming my gun. Just before I releas
ed a shot, the thing wobbled toward me and knocked me to the ground. I could feel its weight on me, so I took aim.
“Hold on! It’s just me, Dean,” Jackie screamed. “Put the gun down. What’s wrong with you?”
I looked up into green, glowing eyes and swallowed hard. “It’s…you?”
“Yes.”
“But, Jackie, you’re…your eyes are glowing,” I whispered.
There was an edge of fear in her voice as she asked, “They’re what?”
“They’re glowing,” I said, dumbfounded. “I thought you were a zombie.”
The kitchen door opened, and a group of people came flooding in, flashlights beams bouncing wildly all over the place.
“I heard shots!” a man yelled. “Are you okay?”
“I shot a zombie!” Jackie yelled.
The men hurried over and examined the body.
“We found the freak who’s been killing our good people,” a man said.
“You kids get out of here,” another man said. “We got this.”
Jackie and I left the kitchen and went back to her room. She carried the lantern into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. “Dean, I don’t know what you were talking about back there. My eyes are brown, just like they’ve always been.”
I was so confused, because I could have sworn they were green and glowing, like some kind of neon ooze from a nuclear power plant. I recalled that I’d seen the phenomenon in total darkness, so the idea struck me to turn off the lantern and every light in the room. As soon as I did, she looked into the mirror and saw her glowing green eyes.
She gasped. “Wh-what’s happening to me, Dean?”
“I don’t know what’s happening to anyone, Jackie. I don’t even know what’s happening in the whole freaking world.”
Chapter 16
Guilt flooded through me. I’d almost mistaken my girlfriend for a zombie and shot her. I couldn’t explain what was going on with her eyes, and she had no idea either. I turned the lantern back on and focused my attention on her.
She gripped my shirt. “What’s happening to me?”
The Zombie Chronicles - Book 4 - Poisonous Serum (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) Page 13