“I heard it, too,” said Henry, frowning.
“I think I heard Allie screaming,” said Paige, looking frightened.
“And the other voice may have been Billie’s,” said Nora. She sighed. “What in the hell has gotten into him? I just don’t get it.”
There was another scream.
“Let’s go,” snarled Bryce. “Time for some heads to roll.”
“As long as you let me at Billie first,” Nora, trying to keep up with him. “I owe him.”
“I’m not promising anything,” said Bryce, leading the way towards the center of the mall. “Especially if he’s hurt one of the girls.”
“Understandable,” replied Nora.
As Bryce was about to round the corner, he froze and raised his hand in the air. “Hold up… what in the hell is that?”
They all stopped and stared in astonishment at the large, black hole.
“Are you kidding me?” gasped Paige, moving towards it.
“Whoa, hold it, girl!” snapped Kristie, pulling her back. “Don’t you dare get near that thing.”
“It’s that damn hole you were talking about, isn’t it?” said Tiny.
Henry raised his gun and began moving towards it. “You guys just stay back. I’ll go and check it out.”
“Henry, I don’t think you should go near that thing,” warned Kristie. “You could lose your balance and fall in.”
“Oh, I’ll be fine,” he replied. “Just let me check this out. If something happens, the oldest one should be the one to go.”
“The oldest one should also be the wisest,” she replied. “So don’t get too close, Henry.”
“Would you look at that,” said Henry, stopping near the edge. “In all my years, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s… unbelievable.”
Tiny walked over and stood beside Henry. “Wow, I feel like I’m looking down into space and the only thing missing are the stars.”
“How did it get here?” asked Nora, also moving to the edge.
“I don’t know. It certainly wasn’t here yesterday,” replied Justice.
“No, it wasn’t,” said Henry. “Damn, this couldn’t have been from an earthquake, either. Look at how perfectly round it is. And the edges, they look smooth.”
“This is really freaky,” said Nora.
“If it wasn’t an earthquake, what do you think?” asked Kristie.
“Hmm… Maybe it really is that portal you were talking about, Justice,” said Tiny.
“Wow, I can’t even see the bottom,” said Justice. He got down on his stomach and peered over the edge. “It looks like an infinite black hole.”
“That’s freaken wicked, man,” said Nora. “If there is a bottom, I hope to never see it.”
“Check this out, Bryce,” said Tiny, looking back at him over his shoulder. “Maybe you can give us a scientific explanation for this thing.”
Bryce sighed and moved towards the hole. When he reached the edge and looked down, he experienced an intense wave of vertigo.
“You okay?” asked Tiny, grabbing his arm.
“Yeah,” he said, stepping away from the hole. “Just don’t care much for heights.”
“Well, this is the mother of all heights, my friend,” said Henry. He pulled out a can of chew from his pocket and stuffed the remaining wad into his mouth. “Check this out,” he said, tossing the can into the hole.
They watched as the can dropped and disappeared into the darkness.
“What happened to it?” asked Paige, eager to get closer.
Nora laughed. “Don’t know. It’s probably still dropping.”
“You guys, get away from that thing. We need to find the girls,” said Kristie, looking uneasy
“Hey,” said Justice. “Do you see that?”
Nora’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, what is that?”
“What?” asked Paige pulling away from her mom.
“Paige, get back here,” snapped Kristie. “You don’t need to see.”
Justice stood up quickly. “Get away from the hole. Something’s coming!”
Tiny’s eyes widened. “Everybody move!”
Henry raised his rifle and aimed it. “I’ll take care of that damn thing. Looks like some kind of bat.”
“A mutant bat,” said Nora, backing away. “With five inch fangs.”
The large winged creature flew out of the hole and soared towards the ceiling, making an unearthly screeching noise.
Kristie gasped in horror. “What in the hell is that? A vampire bat?”
The creature swooped back down and flew towards her and Paige, its ragged jaws open wide.
“Tiny!” screamed Kristie, pulling Paige with her as she began to run. “Kill the damn thing!”
Tiny took off running towards them, his gun raised in the air. “I’ll get it.”
“Go into that store!” hollered Henry. “And get underneath something!”
Kristie made a beeline towards the woman’s clothing store and pulling Paige with her. The got on their knees and crawled under a long glass display table.
“Mom, it followed us in!”
“Oh my God,” she shuddered as the creature landed on the table and stared down at her with its blood-red eyes.
Tiny skidded to a stop and aimed it at the monster.
“Kill it!” screamed Kristie.
“Shit, my gun is jammed,” he hollered, trying to fix it.
Bryce charged into the store right as the winged beast took off flying again.
“What in the hell was that?” asked Kristie, as the thing flew to the back of the store and then out the doorway.
“It looked almost like a flying rat,” said Bryce.
“A rat the size of a Beagle,” said Justice as he and Henry stepped into the store.
“Where’d it go?” asked Kristie.
“It took off somewhere down the hallway,” said Henry.
Nora screamed.
“Oh my God, you left Nora out there all alone?!” hollered Kristie, crawling out from under the table.
They all rushed out of the store and froze.
“Hey guys,” said Billie, smiling. He stood next to the hole, his arm around Nora, who looked dazed and confused.
“Billie!” hollered Bryce, looking up towards the ceiling uneasily. “Long time no see.”
“Nora,” called Paige. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t answer.
“Nora?” called Paige once more.
“Something isn’t right,” said Kristie, under her breath. “Nora’s not responding. Not even a smart-assed comment.”
“Something is definitely wrong,” whispered Paige.
Tiny stepped forward. “Hey, did you happen to see a large winged creature flying around out here?”
“Why, yes as a matter of face I did,” he replied, still grinning.
“Uh, where did it go?” asked Kristie.
“I think it may have flown back into the hole,” he replied.
“Where’s Kylie, Allie, and Adria?” asked Tiny moving towards him.
“Not really sure, actually. Somewhere in this building. They can’t get too far without me being alerted.”
“What’s going on with you?” asked Henry. He lowered his gun and walked over to them. “You doing okay, son?”
“I’ve never been better,” replied Billie.
“Nora,” said Henry. “What about you, you doing okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said in a monotone voice.
Billie released her. “She’s a feisty one, I’ll give her that. Good thing I calmed her down or she might have knocked us both into the hole.”
“Nora,” said Paige. “Didn’t you have something you wanted to say to Billie?”
She turned to him. “Yes. I’m so happy to see you again.”
Paige arched her eyebrow. “That’s it?”
Nora smiled. “I’ve missed you.”
“I can tell,” he replied. “And I’ve missed you.”
Bryce sighed
. “Okay, it’s great that you’ve been reunited, but where are the girls?”
He scowled. “Like I said, I’m really not sure.”
“You haven’t seen Cassie either?”
He shrugged.
“Look, Billie, we heard you arguing with her. I also heard Allie screaming. You’d better come clean and let us know what the hell is going on here before I lose my temper and kick your ass.
“What is going on is that I need you people to find the girls and bring them to me. If you don’t obey my orders, you will all get to watch Nora’s flesh burn to a crispy black while she screams out her undying devotion to me.”
“I’m leaning more towards kicking your ass and then holding you down for Nora,” replied Bryce, setting down his gun.
Billie sighed. “Somehow I knew you people weren’t going to play nice. Very well.” He raised his hands in the air and a ball of fire appeared. “Bring me the child and I will allow all of you to live. If you refuse, then death will be merciful after I’m done making each one of you suffer a most unimaginable pain.”
Henry quickly raised his gun. “Nora, move away from him.”
She didn’t respond.
“Tiny, grab her,” said Henry.
Billie looked at him, his eyes glowing a yellowish orange. “Stay where you are and lower your gun, old man.”
“Can’t do that,” he replied.
Billie smiled coldly. “I think you can. You do remember the children at the church? Their frightened cries when they realized that their precious refuge was on fire?”
Henry scowled. “Oh, I remember and that’s why you’d better stop all of this before someone gets hurt, mainly you.”
“I don’t mind pain. I don’t mind giving or receiving it.”
“You’re one twisted sonofabitch,” mumbled Henry, cocking his gun.
His face darkened. “At least I’m not a pathetic excuse for a man, like you, Henry. Bragging to everyone how you were some kind of stud your entire life when you couldn’t even get a woody. Tell us, what kind of a cowboy are you, when you can’t even get your own gun loaded, Henry?”
Henry glared at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, but I do. I know everything about you. Remember Mary?” He grinned evilly. “You were always trying to act like you could make that woman happy. She laughed at you, even when you weren’t looking. Felt nothing but pity. Good thing she wasn’t interested in your pruny old ass, or you would have left another woman frustrated and disappointed in life. ”
“Now that’s enough!” hollered Tiny, stomping towards Billie. “Nobody talks to my grandfather like that!”
Billie’s eyes narrowed. “You’d better stop right there or I’m going to make you holler in such a deep voice that everyone will mistake you for a man.”
“Forgive me, God,” muttered Henry under his breath as he pulled the trigger. “For not killing this bastard all the way the first time.”
The impact of the bullet from Henry’s gun knocked Billie backwards, sending him into the black hole.
Nora’s eyes closed and she collapsed to the ground.
“Nora!” hollered Kristie, rushing to her side. She bent down and checked her pulse. “She’s okay. She’s breathing.”
Henry walked over to the edge of the hole and looked down. “Oh, hell. What did I do?” he whispered in horror. “I think I just killed one of us.”
Justice walked over and stood next to him. “That was Travis, not Billie.”
“He right,” said Paige. “Billie would have never acted like that. Plus, you saw what he did to his hands.”
“He would have killed one of us,” said Justice. “You did what you had to do.”
Henry removed his hat. “Well, I reckon you’re right. I just couldn’t stand listening to his lies anymore. And then when he threatened Tiny… well that broke the camel’s back.”
Bryce put his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Henry. Something was really off about that guy.”
“Like he was possessed,” stated Paige. “You saw what he did to his hands.”
Bryce sighed but didn’t answer.
“What happened?” mumbled Nora.
“You don’t remember?” asked Kristie.
She stood up slowly. “No… I remember something flying out of the hole… and then seeing Billie. But that’s it.”
“He wasn’t Billie anymore,” said Justice.
She turned to him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“He’s gone,” said Kristie. She put an arm around her shoulders.
Nora’s eyes widened “As in dead?”
“Yeah. But he’s finally at peace. At least, I hope,” said Kristie, glancing uneasily towards the hole.
Nora paused and then sighed. “Well, I guess there’s nothing more to say.”
Paige’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh my goodness! Survivors!” hollered a voice. “God has truly answered my prayers.”
They all turned to find a priest rushing towards them. He stopped in front of Tiny. “My name is Father Brambati. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to find you people. This is surely a blessed day.”
“Where did you come from?” asked Bryce.
He turned to Bryce. “I was upstairs when I heard the noise.”
“No, when and how did you get to the mall?” he asked.
“By car, earlier today. I came to Minnesota to search for my family. My grandson used to work here… I thought I’d see if he’d somehow survived.” His face fell. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t find him. Nothing here but zombies and death.”
“And that hole,” said Paige.
He nodded. “Yes. It’s incredible, isn’t it?”
“What do you make of it?” asked Kristie. “Do you think it has something to do with the supernatural?”
The priest walked over to the hole and stood there for a minute, not saying anything.
“Father?” asked Tiny. “What do you think?”
He looked up. “Actually, it’s a bridge.”
“A bridge, huh? Where does the bridge lead to?” asked Bryce, frowning.
“You’ve heard of the End of Days, have you not?”
Bryce grimaced. “Well, yeah. Lately, I’ve heard a lot about it. Are you saying that we’re really at the end of our rope here?”
“Some of us are,” said the priest. “But not all.”
“I don’t get it,” said Henry. “I’ve never heard of a black hole in the bible. What has this got to do with the prophecy in Revelations?”
Father Brambati smiled. “This is the bridge between Heaven and Earth.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cassie
I left Nordstrom’s in search of Kylie and Adria, but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There were so many stores and hallways… plus, I couldn’t risk calling either of their names out loud. Not when Billie was undoubtedly searching for me.
Billie, aka, Travis.
The fact that he was now possessed by Travis scared the living crap out of me. I had no idea how to stand up to a supernatural being, let alone one who could start a fire with his bare hands. The fact that he could also leap into someone else’s body was no less terrifying. If I could just find the girls and get back to Bryce. That’s all I wanted…
Frustrated but not beaten yet, I searched every store I came across as well as the bathrooms. Then I saw something that made me want to toss in the towel and head back to the bar for another shot.
“No freaken way,” I gasped when the giant bat thing swooped down from the ceiling, screeching something crazy.
Frightened, I ran into the nearest store and grabbed a long metal clothing pick-stick. With my heart pounding, I held the metal grabber in front of me and crept back out into the hallway. This time I found myself alone in the hallway with something familiar and less daunting - a zombie with most of his facial skin missing as well as his pants.
I cringed.
; Fortunately, he ignored me just as the others had.
I relaxed slightly and started down the corridor again. Before I made it to the end of the hallway, the flying creature made another appearance. With its enormous black wings flapping loudly, it flew at me again, glaring at me with red eyes.
I raised the stick and slammed it against the beast’s face with everything I had. Fortunately, it tumbled to the ground and then lay motionless.
Finish it off.
I started towards the animal, wondering what the hell it was. It was much larger than a bat and like nothing I’d ever seen in any school text book.
Noticing me get closer, it screamed in rage and flew back into the air.
Fortunately, the naked zombie was close. Grimacing, I pushed him in front of me and used him like a shield as the flying beast attacked. The creature opened its mouth and impaled the zombie in the forehead. The zombie fell to the ground, with the creature still attached and I stabbed it with the end of the pick-stick, twisting until it was finally silent.
As I backed away with the bloody stick, I heard the sound of a baby crying.
Adria!
I began running towards the noise and when I rounded the next corner, I saw the couple from earlier with Kylie and Adria. The man had Kylie by the arm and the woman was bent over Adria, who was sobbing in terror.
“Let her go,” I said firmly, stepping towards them.
Kylie shrugged off the man’s hand and rushed to Adria. She picked her up and moved towards me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, eyeing her.
“Yeah,” she replied, her eyes full of tears. “No thanks to them.”
Sneering, the man pulled out a gun and aimed it at us. “Why don’t you just put that stick down?”
I glared at him.
“Do it, or I’ll just shoot you. I have no problem with that.”
Sighing, I did what he asked.
The blond woman smiled triumphantly. “Good. He’ll be so happy with us.”
“What is wrong with you people?” I snapped. “Treating babies and children like this?”
The man smirked. “This isn’t your ordinary baby.”
“Oh come on… do you really think that this baby is the ‘Chosen One’? I mean she can’t protect herself, let alone the world.”
“You’re just trying to protect her,” remarked the woman with a sneer.
Zombie Games Book Five (End Zone) Page 11