Zombie Decimation

by Max Lockwood

  Melissa was afraid. She had seen how temperamental Callum could get if provoked. Last time they spoke, he seemed downright violent. He had the means to torture them in the basement without anyone caring.

  Quick footsteps descended the stairs. Melissa held her breath, waiting for the first blow.

  “Turn on the light,” a high-pitched voice complained. “Ugh, it smells down here.”

  Melissa yanked the cord, illuminating their guest. Ariel stood in the center of the room with her arms crossed.

  “What are you doing down here?” Bobby Dean asked. “Did Callum send you? If so, I’d like you to send him a message back. It’s my boot up his—”

  “Callum didn’t send me,” she said breathlessly. “He doesn’t know I’m down here. He’s not going to find out, either.”

  “How did you manage to get past the guard?” Alec asked.

  “There was no guard. There was just a key hanging on a little hook beside the door. Everyone is too busy with the new shipment of outsiders to notice. A family of seven was brought in just now. I think a couple of them might be infected.”

  “Poor guys,” Bobby Dean said. “So, Ariel, what brings you to our lair? Did you come to rub this in our faces?”

  She scowled. “No, you idiot. I came to save your asses. You have no idea how much stress you three have caused me. I’ve done my best to keep my distance, but pretty soon, people are going to start talking about me. I don’t want that to happen, so I’d rather help you guys get out of here. I know that’s what you really want, anyway.”

  “You’re—you’re going to get us out of here?” Melissa stuttered, in disbelief that Ariel was capable of doing anything helpful. For a minute, she feared that Ariel had been coerced by Callum to fool them.

  “Don’t act so shocked,” she retorted. “I’ll have you know that I don’t plan on joining you. I like it here, and I think I’d like it more if you three left.”

  Alec frowned. “It’s not safe here,” he said. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave, too?”

  She shook her head. “The only reason it’s not safe is because people like you try to ruin a good thing. I’ve had the time of my life here. It feels so good to just relax for once. Once you three leave, I’ll have my own hotel room with room service delivered whenever I desire.”

  “Haven’t you seen the zombie people wandering around, though?” Bobby Dean said, concerned about his friend.

  “I know whom you’re referring to, and it’s not nice. Yeah, they’re a little slow and strange, but they wouldn’t hurt a fly. I think you’re being prejudiced against those guys.”

  Bobby Dean rolled his eyes. “Whatever. So, you’re really going to let us out of here?”

  “Yes, but you can’t just burst out of here and cause a scene. Since we have new visitors, I heard that the supply truck is going to make a late-night haul. If you guys get in the back of the truck and hide, I think you could probably just jump out and run away when it stops.”

  “That’s brilliant,” Bobby Dean gasped, picking Ariel up and spinning her around. She looked smug as she shoved him away.

  “Bobby Dean, we are over,” she said. “As much as it hurts to lose a friend, we just don’t work well together anymore. I need to remove all toxic people from my life. That’s why I’m setting you free.”

  “Oh,” Bobby Dean said, looking a little glum. “Sure, I get it. I still appreciate what you’re doing for us.”

  “It’s just best for everyone involved. I know that Callum wants you locked up down here, but I think his life will be easier when you’re no longer trying to ruin his plans.”

  Melissa felt the need to warn Ariel about Callum’s true character, but she could tell that it was a lost cause. Plus, as far as she knew, maybe Ariel could have a good life in Safe Haven.

  “Is the coast clear now, Ariel?” Alec asked, eager to go.

  “I think so. I’ll go first to make sure. Then, you need to run out the door before anyone notices. It’s dark, so once you get outside, you should be fine. The truck is parked out to the right of the exit. Last time I checked, it was empty, so you should get in and lie low to the floor.”

  Ariel looked at the other three and their perplexed expressions.

  “Well, what are you waiting for? Get out of here.”

  They tiptoed up the stairs after Ariel, carefully checking to make sure no one could see them. When Ariel started running, they followed until they were safely outside. Ariel opened the truck and gestured for the others to get in.

  Melissa couldn’t believe it. After so much worry, all they had to do was simply walk out of the hotel and get in the truck headed out of town. It was all so simple and it was Ariel’s plan. Melissa didn’t give the girl enough credit. As ditzy as she was, Ariel was capable of coming up with a plan in a crisis. Though it was just as much for her benefit as it was for the others’, it was still an incredibly helpful risk to make.

  Before Ariel closed the door, shutting them inside the dark truck, she exchanged a meaningful glance with Bobby Dean. He opened his mouth, searching for the right words to say. After all, there was a good chance that he’d never see her again. She had caused him so much grief but had ultimately put him on the right path to freedom.

  “Save it,” she said bluntly before he could get the words out. “Good luck. Try not to get yourselves killed,” she said before shutting the doors.

  Melissa, Alec, and Bobby Dean lay still, in stunned silence. They were so close to escaping Safe Haven. Melissa’s heart pounded as she waited for something, anything, to happen. After what seemed like an hour, the front doors opened and two men got inside the vehicle.

  “Where are we going tonight?” one voice asked the other. “The dollar store?”

  “Callum isn’t going to like that very much,” the other one said. “He specifically requested new clothes. I say we take a look at the outlet mall.”

  “That’s over an hour away.”

  “That’s an hour I don’t have to spend at home, listening to my wife complain. Callum said he wants us to fill the truck with Infected, but I’m tired tonight. Let’s try to pick up one or two, then call it good.”

  They drove for about thirty minutes before slowing to a stop. Melissa listened for some kind of signal that they should jump out and run.

  “Excuse me,” the driver said, calling out the window, “are you in some trouble?”

  “We don’t mean any harm,” a weak voice said from outside. “We just want to go somewhere safe.”

  “We can help you with that,” the driver said, almost too enthusiastically. “Hop in the backseat. Are either of you infected? You have some nasty cuts on your arms.”

  “I–I don’t know,” the woman said. “Please don’t hurt us.”

  “We won’t,” the driver replied. “We just need to pick up some supplies, then we’ll be on our way back to town. Don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”

  Melissa waited impatiently for the next stop. She was so eager to get out that she considered just jumping out of the moving truck. But they were traveling so fast that she would be seriously injured. That, and she didn’t think the other two would follow.

  “Uh, sir, can we stop?” the woman’s voice said. “My brother isn’t feeling well. If you pull over, we’ll just get out and you can let us go on our way. We don’t want any trouble.”

  “He’s got the virus, huh?” the driver said sympathetically. “We have a cure at our camp if he can just hang on a little longer. We’ll just turn around now and head back.”

  “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said frantically.

  “Nonsense, it’s not a big—”

  With a terrible screech, the car skidded to a stop as chaos ensued in the front of the vehicle. Melissa covered her ears so she wouldn’t have to hear the terrible screams coming from the recovery team, the woman, and the Infected. She was about to reach for the handle to release them while the Safe Haven employees were occupied, but Alec pulled her han
d away. For whatever reason, he wanted her to wait.

  It was awful to listen to healthy people being attacked by a man experiencing rage symptoms. A few shots went off, but they must not have mortally wounded the Infected because the carnage continued. After some time, the growls turned into whines, which finally turned into silence.

  “Stay here,” Alec whispered, getting out of the truck. Melissa listened to the sound of his slow footsteps as he walked around to the front of the vehicle. A single shot went off. Then, four thuds in the grass.

  “Come on out,” Alec called. “Let’s get moving before anyone sees us.”

  When Melissa got out of the truck, she could see trails of blood from the car seats to the side of the road. She didn’t want to see the victims. She was better off not knowing exactly what happened.

  Melissa got in the passenger’s seat and put the bloodstained seatbelt on. Bobby Dean climbed in the back and Alec started the car. He pulled out onto the road and punched the accelerator.

  “It feels good to be in control again,” Alec said, smiling as they cruised down the road.

  “You can say that again,” Bobby Dean whooped. “Thank you, Ariel, you psycho woman! Have a nice life with Callum. We’ll be on our way to freedom now.”

  “Are we going to the border now?” Melissa asked.

  Alec smiled. “We certainly are.”

  24

  “Will, come here,” Mark said, opening the door a crack.

  Will scrambled to his feet and slowly left the cell. Bethany peeked out the window to watch what was happening. If the officers decided that Will was full of crap, then she would be in trouble, too.

  “Take this,” Mark ordered, handing over a leather case.

  “What is it?” Will asked, pulling at a cord.

  “It’s a satellite phone,” Mark said impatiently. “We need you to confirm your story. Call Elaina Morgan.”

  “What?” Will sputtered. “I don’t know how to reach her. What do you want me to say?”

  “Talk to her about her cure,” Mark said. “I really don’t care what you talk about. I was just ordered to ensure that Dr. Morgan is still alive and that you know her well enough to hold a phone conversation.”

  “Is this going to be recorded?” Will asked. “I don’t know if she’ll talk to me if it is.”

  Mark tapped his foot and groaned. “No. We’re just making sure you’re not telling fibs. Now, call her.”

  Will looked back at Bethany with a nervous expression on his face.

  “Mark,” Bethany said quickly, trying to stall for time, “Can you let me out of here for just a second? My legs are cramping up. I need to walk around. I promise I won’t go out of your sight.”

  Mark checked his surroundings. He was inside a slightly larger room with various cells attached to the atrium. She wouldn’t be able to escape while he was watching her.

  “Fine,” he said. “You can walk up and down this little hall, but you’re going back in when the call is over.”

  “Thanks,” she said in a drawn-out response as she stood next to Will and pretended to stretch out. Will didn’t look any more prepared than he did before she’d stalled for him.

  “Go ahead,” Mark said. “Call her.”

  With a shaky hand, Will began to slowly punch numbers into the phone. Bethany watched apprehensively, hoping that he would get in contact with someone. Their lie hinged upon this moment of proof.

  Will finished dialing and pressed the receiver tightly against his ear so Mark couldn’t hear.

  “Hi, you’ve reached Hot Girl Hotline,” a woman’s sultry voice answered. “What do you want to call me today, handsome?”

  “Elaina,” Will said breathlessly. “This is Will.”

  “Hi there, Will,” the voice cooed. “Did you have any role-play ideas in mind?”

  Bethany caught that last sentence and put her head in her hands. It was all over. He was tasked with finding Elaina Morgan, and Will had called some sort of R-rated hotline. She started pacing back and forth, too nervous to stick around.

  “I was wondering how the virus cure was going,” he said shakily. “How’s everyone doing?”

  The hotline woman seemed to have a difficult time coming up with ideas for this strange request, but she tried her best anyway. While she began to whisper sweet nothings into the phone, he continued talking as if he were speaking to the real Elaina Morgan.

  “Are you in New York?”

  “I can be wherever you want me to be.”

  “Good. I’m glad you’re safe. Listen, I got myself into a bit of trouble. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it out there on my own. I’m sorry I got separated from you guys. I have to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it. Bethany is with me. Yes, the one you injected with your cure. Yeah, she’s doing fine, but if you want her, you’re going to have to work with the New Militia. They’re perfectly safe, but you’ll have to cooperate with them. Bethany belongs to them, so if you need her for your research, then you’ll have to come to an agreement.”

  Will looked up at Mark and gave him the thumbs-up. Mark wrenched the phone away.

  “Who is this?” he growled into the phone. Will and Bethany looked at each other in horror.

  “This is Elaina. No one told me I’d be talking to anyone else,” the operator said, getting frustrated with such an odd phone call.

  Mark handed the phone back to Will with a scowl on his face. “Sorry about that, Elaina,” he covered, giving Mark a reproachful look. After all, he did warn Mark that Elaina wouldn’t be pleased to talk to anyone else but him.

  Mark was trying to catch more of the phone call, and it was making Bethany nervous. Thanks to Will’s quick thinking, at least the operator was throwing in keywords about the virus to satisfy Mark’s disbelief. Of course, this woman didn’t know the first thing about the science behind the virus, but to hear her talk about symptoms added a little realism to a completely bogus phone call. Bethany would have to ask Will how it was that he’d remembered that phone number and where the idea came from. It was reckless, but admittedly, pretty brilliant.

  When he leaned in to eavesdrop, she noticed his electronic key fob hanging from his pocket. As she paced back and forth, she nonchalantly tripped and pretend to catch herself on her brother’s waist.

  He was startled, but it didn’t take him long to figure out what she was trying to do. Bethany was a fairly graceful woman. It wasn’t common for her to trip over her own feet. Key in her hand, she started to run, but Mark quickly grabbed her, causing her to crash to the ground.

  Will leapt forward, phone still in hand. He ended the call, then wrapped the cord around Mark’s neck, leaning back to generate more force. Mark continued to fight Bethany, but his face was turning red and he was gasping for breath. Will pulled tighter and tighter around the cord until Mark wheezed for air, ultimately crumpling to the ground, the cord still tied tightly around his neck.

  “We need to go,” Will said, dropping the phone.

  “What about Mark?” Bethany squeaked. “I don’t think he can breathe.”

  “He probably can’t,” Will noted. “That’s the whole point.”

  “What if he dies?” she asked, unable to look at his purple face.

  “He very well may die,” Will said without emotion. “Either him or us. Let’s go.”

  Bethany whimpered. Mark had caused her so many problems, but she wasn’t ready to lose him altogether. She hated what he had become, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. He had been brainwashed, after all.

  “I’m leaving,” Will said. “Are you coming?”

  “Yes,” she cried. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait,” he said before she reached for the door handle. “We need a disguise. You’ve tried to get out of here twice, and it hasn’t worked. Put on this uniform,” he said, pulling off her brother’s camouflage jacket and pants. “Tuck your hair up underneath this hat.”

  “I can’t put on his uniform,” Bethany said. She cring
ed, thinking about wearing her dying brother’s clothes. “That’s sick.”

  When she noticed that Will was staring at her, unmoving, she put his clothes on over hers. She pulled her hair up into a high bun and put his cap on.

  Will took a finger and smeared her eye makeup to the point that she just looked a little sleep deprived. “Honestly, you kind of look like your brother if he hadn’t eaten or slept in a few days. I think we can do this.”

  They left room and marched toward the briefing room, keeping their heads down. There was so much chaos around them that amazingly, no one noticed that the two most wanted people were casually walking down the hallway as if they were heading into work.

  “Where are we going?” Bethany said under her breath. Her stomach churned as she remembered all of her other failed escape attempts.

  “Straight into the belly of the beast. I told you it does no good to sneak around. They’re expecting that. What they aren’t expecting is for us to walk right into plain sight. Trucks are constantly going out to pick up more people to test on. We’re going to hop right into one and book it when it stops.”

  “Seriously?” Bethany asked. “No one is going to buy our disguises. I look ridiculous. My pants keep falling down.”

  “I guess we’ll have to find out if they buy them. My guess is that everyone is too busy to take notice.”

  They strode right into the briefing room where other soldiers stood, waiting for further instructions. Bethany and Will tried to keep a low profile, attempting not to draw any attention to themselves.

  “Okay, we’ve got two trucks out there,” the captain said as he entered the room. “I’m counting ten of you, so split up into two groups of five and get out there. We’re looking for any large groups of naturally Infected. Shoot who you can and save the others. I know things are turbulent around here at the moment, but we want you to work hard today and we’ll discuss it once you return. We’ll see you later.”

  The soldiers walked out toward the trucks, chattering about all the excitement. It appeared to Bethany that no one had informed the newest soldiers of their leader’s assassination.