Running Wild

by Kristen Middleton

Bobby on the other hand, was adjusting a lot better than Megan. I watched in amazement as he pointed out zombies and begged my dad to “Get those suckers”.

  “Nice, dad,” I said shaking my head.

  “What?” he asked innocently. “It’s our game we made up. The uglier the zombie, the more points we get. Bobby here is my partner, he points out the worst ones and we run ‘em down. Isn’t that right buddy?”

  “Yes. Extra points for the ones who try and attack us first!” hollered Bobby with a huge smile. “This game is my favorite!”

  I shook my head incredulously and then relaxed in my seat. My dad always had this ability to make me feel safe, no matter what the circumstances. He was now having the same effect on Bobby, who really needed a father figure around; especially, if big brother Bryce was giving Eva all his attention.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  We followed Billie until we reached the service station where he was supposed to meet up with Tiny. It was located near a short stretch of farmland where there wasn’t much more of anything else. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any zombies either.

  The guys got out with their weapons and quickly cased the area for walking dead, but found nothing. Not even Tiny, Henry’s grandson.

  “I’m going to see if I can get through to your mom,” said my dad, pulling out his cell phone. “She hasn’t contacted me in a while, and I’m starting to get very worried.”

  “I’ll fill up the tank,” said Sara. “Anyone have a credit card?”

  “Aw, shucks. Just press “Pay Inside,” and you’ll be fine,” said Henry.

  “Good idea! Never thought I’d be involved in a “Gas and Dash,” before,” laughed Sara.

  “Tiny will understand,” said Henry.

  “When is he supposed to be here?” I asked.

  Well,” said Henry, looking towards the empty freeway. “I’m sure he’ll be coming around soon. I’ll just find a way into the station and hold up here until he does.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Billie, “I’ll stay with you until he arrives. It’s too dangerous to be on your own, even here.”

  Just then Kristie and the girls got out of the van and hurried over. “Thank God, you’re safe,” she said, giving me a hug. “I was so worried about you.”

  “I’m fine; just a little sprained ankle.”

  “What happened to Austin? Did you kill the bastard?”

  “Mom!” yelled Kylie. “You know killing people is a mortal sin?”

  Henry moved closer to Kylie and he smiled. “The bible never mentioned anything about zombies though,” he said, pulling out his can of chew. “But we know we have to kill those things, before they kill us.”

  Kylie rolled her eyes. “Yeah but they’re already dead.”

  “Smart little fox you have there, Miss,” said Henry, staring intently at Kristie. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been introduced…I’m Henry.”

  Kristie shook his hand. “I’m Kristie and these are my two daughters; Paige and Kylie.

  “Well, the apples don’t fall far from the tree, by golly. They take after their mama, a real beauty.”

  “Oh, thank you Henry,” said Kristie, patting him on the shoulder.

  Henry dropped his can of chew and Kristie reached down to retrieve it for him. I watched in horror as he glanced down her shirt and then it hit me, he’d dropped it on purpose!

  “Here you go Henry,” she said handing it back to him.

  Henry licked his lips. “Tell me, Kristie…do you like horses?”

  “Um, Henry,” I said interrupting him. I knew where this was going. “Is there a bathroom around here?”

  He turned to me. “Well, should be one around the side. It’s probably locked though.”

  “I’ll come with you and open it,” said Bryce, who I didn’t know was standing right behind me.

  “No, I can do it myself,” I replied, turning around to face him.

  “You’re ankle is swollen and you can barely walk. In fact,” he said putting down his rifle, “you could probably use a lift.”

  Suddenly, I was being lifted into the air and he was carrying me around to the side of the building.

  “Bryce, put me down!” I hollered.

  “Chill out, Wild,” he said. “I’m just trying to help.”

  “I don’t need your help.”

  He put me down and scowled. “You’re welcome? Isn’t that what you’re always hollering about? I guess you’re not good at it either.”

  I glared at him. “How about, “thanks, but no thanks.”

  He shook his head. “What’s wrong with you? It didn’t work out with your little boyfriend and now you’re mad at the world?”

  My jaw dropped. “My boyfriend?! What in the hell are you talking about?”

  He snorted. “Austin? The one you left with!”

  “I didn’t leave with him, he kidnapped me! God, what is wrong with everyone!”

  “Eva said she watched you leave with him, very willingly. And what about the note you left?”

  “What note?” I asked incredulously.

  “The one we found. In the note you claimed that I was interfering with your relationship with Austin. That you two wanted to be together and you’d be traveling to Atlanta together to meet up with your mother.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” I hollered. “I never left any note! Fine, where is it? I want to see exactly what it is that I supposedly wrote!”

  The blood drained from his face. “Eva threw it away.”

  “Listen,” I shouted, jabbing my finger at his chest. “I didn’t write any damn note and there was nothing going on between me and Austin! Ever!”

  “Is everything alright?” asked Billie coming around the corner, with his chest puffed out.

  I was so angry I wanted to kill something. Instead, I unclenched my shaking fists and took a deep breath. “Everything is fine, thank you Billie.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Really? It didn’t sound fine a minute ago.”

  I lifted my chin in the air and limped away from both of them, still seething with anger. It was quiet when I rounded the building and all eyes were watching me warily.

  “Are we done filling up yet?” I barked.

  “Almost,” said Kristie, watching me curiously. “Do you need to talk?”

  “No, maybe later,” I said. “Thanks.”

  “You and Eva are switching vehicles,” said Paige. “We have so much to catch up on.”

  Eva glared at Paige but didn’t say anything, which was a good thing because I would have punched her in the other eye if she would have opened up her yap.

  The rumble of an engine broke the tension in the air and we all looked up to see the Harley coming at us in the distance.

  “Well, there he is,” smiled Henry.

  As the driver got closer I recognized the wrestler right away; closely cropped hair, thick neck, and biceps the size of grapefruits under his tank top.

  “Would you look at that tall drink of water,” breathed Kristie, licking her lips. “And am I parched. What I wouldn’t do for a sip right now…”

  Tiny waved to Henry as he passed, then parked next to the front entrance of the station. When he stood up, and removed his sunglasses, I thought Dale and Shane were going to faint. He not only had wrestler arms, he had a movie star smile.

  “Henry,” said Shane fanning himself, “so um that’s Tiny?”

  I smiled. “Obviously you’re not a wrestling fan.”

  “Oh, I like to wrestle,” he replied, his eyes appraising the tall stranger. “Unfortunately not the kind “The Rock” over there prefers.”

  “He’s not “The Rock”,” barked Henry as he shuffled towards his grandson. “That there’s the one and only, “Tiny The Tank.”

  “Bullshit,” whispered Dale with a wicked grin. “Aint nothing tiny about that guy, I guarantee it.”

  Tiny walked over to his grandfather and all but picked him up off the ground as he hugged him.

  “Am
I glad to see you, Tiny. I was getting a little worried, I have to tell you,” said Henry as Tiny put him back down.

  In a voice that rivaled Mike Tyson’s, Tiny laughed and said. “Are you kidding me? All I have to do is look at a zombie and they curl up into a ball, screaming for their mommies.”

  It took every part of my being not to burst out laughing when I saw all of the crestfallen faces. Apparently Henry and I were the only ones aware that Tiny had a lisp and that his voice was as high as Megan’s, thus the wrestler’s original nickname “Tiny”.

  Kristie, who’d also been surprised but undeterred, sashayed up to him and stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you Tiny, I’m Kristie.”

  He gave her an appraising glance then took her hand in his. “Very nice to meet you as well, pretty lady. Tell me, do you like horses?”

  ~~~

  It was time to go and I still hadn’t used the women’s bathroom. Instead of announcing it this time and encouraging the kind of company I wasn’t prepared to deal with right now, I quietly slipped away. It really wasn’t difficult, however, since everyone was fawning over Tiny, the “Celebrity”.

  The bathroom wasn’t locked, which seemed a little odd to me. I took out a mini flashlight from my pants, my newest necessity in an electricity free world, and then kicked the door open, prepared for trouble. Fortunately, it was empty.

  I locked the door from the inside and did my business, thankful for some private time all to myself. As I washed my hands, I thought about the strange argument with Bryce. The whole story with the note was still pissing me off, especially since I knew someone had to have forged it. It was either Eva or Austin, obviously. Either way, I was bound and determined to find out the truth.

  A loud crash interrupted my thoughts. I limped over to open the door to see what was happening outside when an explosion rocked the entire station. I screamed and fell to the ground, smacking my head on the concrete.

  “Where’s Cassie?” I heard my dad’s muffled shouts from somewhere outside.

  My mind was in a fog and I felt something warm and slippery dripping from the top of my head, down the side of my face. I touched it and stared in confusion at the warm blood. When it dawned on me that it was my blood, I began to panic.

  Got to get out of here, I thought.

  I raised myself up to leave; trying to move faster, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate with my muddled thoughts. Then, miraculously the door was kicked open and somebody grabbed me. They picked me up, tossed me over their shoulder and I closed my eyes in relief as I passed out.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I was weak and my head was throbbing, all I wanted to do was continue sleeping, but someone was mumbling, and it wasn’t me.

  “Mine,” the raspy voice repeated near my ear, over and over.

  “Wha?” I murmured, trying to open my heavy eyelids.

  Someone was carrying me over their shoulder, through tall rows of cornfields, away from the sound of the explosions. As I looked down, I recognized the clothing and a sickening wave of terror welled up in my stomach. Austin!

  “Austin, put me down,” I said, my tongue thick.

  He ignored me and picked up his pace.

  “Please!” I begged again.

  When he continued to ignore me I began beating his back with my fists, only angering him in the process. He swore and then dug his fingers into my thigh, squeezing the tender flesh until I began to scream in agony.

  “Stop screaming, or so help me, I will kill you,” he growled.

  I’ve been trained in martial arts to protect myself, to never give up. But right now, I wasn’t thinking clearly. My head was on fire, my ankle hurt, and at any moment I was ready throw up. My choices were limited as far as I was concerned. As I weighed my options, he stopped abruptly and reached into his pockets for something.

  “Put her down!” barked Bryce.

  Austin began to chuckle and turned around to face him. “Just retrieving what’s mine,” he said.

  “She’s not yours. Now, put her down before I put you down.”

  I hadn’t even noticed Austin’s gun until I heard it click. “Better idea, toss me your gun, before you’re the reason she dies.”

  Bryce hesitated and then tossed his rifle.

  “Good,” said Austin, as he placed me on ground. He then moved behind me and pointed his gun towards my temple. “Now, this is how it’s going to be, you leave and I allow both of you live or you continue to interfere, and I’ll make sure you both spend eternity together.”

  Bryce’s face was pinched tightly. “Jesus, leave her alone, she’s just a kid.”

  Austin chuckled and began fondling my chest. “Doesn’t feel like a child.”

  I stiffened at his touch and tried not to scream out in terror.

  “I thought you cared about her?” yelled Bryce, taking a step forward. “You’re taking her from her family, setting off explosions; putting her life in danger. That’s not the actions of someone who cares!”

  A low growling noise in the cornstalks somewhere behind Bryce, surprised us all. I watched in horror as a zombie staggered through the corn and tried grabbing him with its gnarled dead fingers.

  Bryce quickly outmaneuvered the zombie and began kicking him in the face.

  “Move!” snarled Austin, shoving me with the gun.

  Realizing that I may never see Bryce or my family again if I left with Austin, I found the courage I needed to fight back. I surprised him by twisting my body around and quickly hitting the inside of his wrist with everything I had, knocking the gun from his hands.

  “Crazy bitch!” he yelled, scrambling to pick it up.

  I turned to run just as Bryce flew passed me and kicked Austin in the chest, knocking him backwards. He lost the gun again but instead of being angry, he howled with laughter and clapped his hands.

  “Glad this is amusing for you,” said Bryce.

  “Oh, it’s hilarious,” he said, standing up. “I can tell how much you love this shit. Being a hero.”

  “You’re psychotic,” I snapped.

  He turned to me with a sad smile and said, “love will do that.”

  “It’s over,” said Bryce, picking up the gun. “Just leave her alone. Don’t give me a reason to kill you, because believe it or not, I really don’t want to.”

  Austin shook his head and took a step towards me. “Sorry, I can’t do that. She’s mine. You sure in the hell don’t deserve her.”

  “Please Austin!” I cried, trying to back away. “Stop doing this!”

  “Back off dude,” said Bryce, pushing me safely behind him. “Come on, last chance before I really hurt you.”

  “Fuck you,” snarled Austin as he leaped towards Bryce, his hands raised up to grab his throat.

  Bryce kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking him to the ground again. He sighed and looked at me. “Let’s just go, okay? He’s not going to last very much longer anyway, look at him.”

  In my terrified state, I hadn’t noticed how really ill Austin appeared. His gaunt face was so gray; he looked deader than some of the zombies I’d faced. The mottled patches on his face, which had been faint before were much more pronounced and his eyes were bloodshot. “Oh God,” I said covering my mouth in horror. “You were bitten?”

  Austin smiled humorlessly. “No, the little zombie girl scratched me, remember? I haven’t been bitten. But whatever she did, sure fucked me up.”

  Bryce grabbed both guns and motioned for me to leave, but before I could do anything, I heard Austin growl angrily and charge Bryce, this time with a hunting knife raised high in the air.

  I screamed just as Bryce’s rifle went off, and watched as Austin was riddled with bullets. When it was all over, he lay motionless on the ground.

  Bryce dropped his gun and took me in his arms while I sobbed.

  “It’s okay, Wild. Shh…”

  Although Austin was a certifiable lunatic and had kidnapped me more than once, my emotions were more than a little complicated. I definite
ly felt anger, there was no doubt about that, but an even bigger part of me pitied him, especially knowing that he’d been attacked by a zombie. That had been the beginning of the end for the cowboy.

  “Shit,” said Bryce, shoving me behind him, “more zombies coming.”

  I backed away as two zombies moved through the stalks, towards us. Just as he raised his gun to take them out, something grabbed my leg and I lost my balance. I stumbled to the ground and screamed in shock as Austin leaped on top of me, growling. From his cold, lifeless stare, I knew he was gone, forever. Austin was now, officially, one of the undead.

  “Bryce!” I hollered, trying to push Austin away, but he was much too powerful. He clutched me like I was his prize and he wasn’t about to let go.

  Then Bryce was there, tearing me away. He shoved me behind him and then did a roundhouse kick, sending Austin flying.

  “Bryce?” gasped Eva, appearing through the cornstalks right behind Austin. Her gaze drifted to Austin, who jumped up and tackled her to the ground. They began to wrestle and she screamed in horror when she saw that he was now a Zombie.

  Bryce, now armed with the gun, rushed over and shot Austin in the head. I cringed as his blood splattered all over Eva’s face and neck.

  “Oh, God!” sobbed Eva, spitting out blood. “His blood got into my mouth!”

  “Shit, zombie blood. Keep spitting it out!” demanded Bryce.

  As usual, Eva whined and Bryce coddled her. I shook my head and started back towards the smoke, but not before I took one last look at Austin. I began to shake, thinking about his demise. He’d turned into a zombie with just a small cut, what did that mean for my little sister?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Eva, although still as pale as a ghost, had calmed down by the time we’d gotten her back to the gas station, which was now burning to the ground in a cloud of black smoke. The station as well as Tiny’s Harley had been destroyed in the fire. Luckily, everyone else had gotten their trucks away from the flames before being engulfed as well.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered, staring at the tall flames still burning.