The Horror Squad: The Mini Series 2 (Stories 8-14)

by Weeks, TJ

  Tasha was screaming inside of the truck and sitting on her knees in the seat looking out of the back window. Shianne scanned the parking lot looking for others and quickly made her way back into the truck. Tasha backed up against the passenger side door and stared at the person that just sat down in the truck next to her not sure she saw her as the same person.

  “Who are you? You are not the Shianne I know. You just stomped that kids head into the ground!” Tasha reiterated the situation.

  “Well, what the hell was I

  supposed to do? The kid was trying to eat me Natasha!” Shianne told her wanting an answer.

  Tasha shrugged and pulled herself back to sit normal in the truck seat and sat next to her friend that just saved her own life.

  “You sat here and did absolutely nothing, didn’t even warn me. I turn around and there is some damn kid standing there and it comes at me. Was I supposed to just give her my arm?” Shianne yelled at Tasha.

  “Sorry.” Tasha muttered. Shianne moved the truck to park in front of the store. The two quietly peered into the store. There was no movement, but lights were still on at this point so Shianne wondered why and how the zombies were present here but power was on and wondered if cell service was working.

  “My phone, where is my phone?” Shianne questioned. Tasha handed Shianne her phone from the seat, Shianne pushed the button to call her mother and placed it on speaker. Ringing came from the phone and Shianne began bouncing in her seat with excitement and closed her eyes, hoping her mother would answer. The ringing continued three more times and then went dead in the middle of the fifth ring. Shianne looked at her phone and shook it.

  “NO!” She screamed at the phone. “Dammit!” Shianne threw her phone onto the dashboard and ran both of her hands through her long dark hair.

  “Okay, food. We need to get something to eat and something to drink.” Shianne said to herself.

  Shianne moved her head to look around the reflection of the sun off of the store window to be able to see the whole inside of the small convenient store. Shianne looked in the rearview mirror, out of both side windows then turned to check directly behind the truck. She reached over and searched for the door handle before turning back around.

  “STOP!” Tasha screamed. Shianne jumped and turned back around to see a bearded man standing at her window.

  “Oh shit!” Shianne shouted. Shianne looked around the truck to find something to use at a weapon. “Get the knife out from under the seat.” Shianne told Tasha calmly. Tasha reached under her seat and felt around, found a knife and pulled it out. Shianne unsnapped the black holster the knife was in and pulled it out.

  “When the hell did you get that?” Tasha asked. “My dad gave it to me before I left to Colorado.” Shianne threw the holster up on the dashboard with her useless cell phone.

  She held the serrated blade up and grasped the handle tightly with her hand trying to decide how to do this. She had to get into the store but had to get rid of this bearded zombie from beside her truck. The man kept slamming his hands into the window. His once handsome beard was now stringy and filled with red stringy pieces of guts from a previous meal he had.

  “You have to switch me spots.” She told Tasha.

  Tasha stared at her for a minute in confusion.

  “Are YOU going to kill this

  asshole?” Shianne asked. Tasha stood up and let Shianne scoot under her to her side of the truck and Tasha sat in the driver’s seat. Tasha pulled her face away from the window since the man seemed to be coming at her as he placed his open mouth on the window and growled. Tasha thought she knew what Shianne’s plan was and knew that she needed to somewhat keep his attention on her. She placed her hand to the window but jumped as the man hit the window again. Tears began streaming down her face in horrified fear. Tasha kept moving from side to side watching the man follow her with his head to try and keep him focused on her. Shianne opened the door as quietly as she could to not draw the attention of the man. She ducked down immediately and pushed the door to but did not close it. She snuck around the side of the truck behind the tailgate and sat on one knee for a moment readying herself to take out this man that was much larger than her. She took in a deep breath, stood and ran up behind the man when she realized that even with her being five foot eight, she could not touch his head. She thrust the knife through the nape of his neck jumping to push up toward the top of his head, pulled the knife out and let the man fall. Shianne stepped back and peered down to make sure that he was not going to be getting back up.

  Shianne opened the door and pulled Tasha out with her free hand. Tasha tripped on the dead man falling to her knees. Shianne dragged her over him and to the sidewalk across the front of the store, not concerned if she was hurt. Tasha finally caught her feet, gained her balance and Shianne let her go. Both stood at the door and scanned the inside of the store. There was no sign of movement, but

  Shianne was sure there was something in there.

  “This is too easy.” Shianne

  whispered pushing the door open. Tasha glued herself to Shianne’s back as they entered. As the door closed behind them, Shianne turned and came face to face with Tasha.

  “Tasha, you have to toughen up, get off of me and keep an eye out. Can you get off of me and let me lock the door?” Shianne requested of her.

  She turned the deadbolt on the door then turned back to Tasha who seemed to be waiting for instruction.

  “Go find something to eat and drink.” She told her friend. “By myself?” Tasha questioned. “Yes, by your damn self. I am going to check shit out and make sure we are safe.” She turned to leave Tasha on her own.

  Shianne walked behind the counter to check for anything alive…or dead. She walked down the small hallway underneath the sign that directed to the bathrooms. A door stood open at the end of the strangely orange painted wall. Shianne reached for the door that led outside to a small fenced off stock area and slowly began to pull it to her as an arm slipped inside and grabbed her wrist. Shianne peered up and came eye to eye with a woman. She appeared to have been roaming around the fenced back stock area and looked hungry. She leaned her head into the door and opened her mouth at Shianne’s face. Shianne pulled the door toward her as hard as she could, held the woman’s face steady between the door frame and door and guided the knife easily through the middle of her forehead. She never made a noise and the zombie woman just dropped to the floor. Shianne pushed the woman’s head out of the way with her foot and quickly closed and locked the door.

  “Find anything?” Tasha asked rounding the corner to the hallway. “Just one so far, I think we are good.” She told her. The two rummaged the aisles, gathered food and placed it on the front counter. They both found drinks, opened them quickly and downed the entire bottles of water. They gathered more to keep them hydrated and Tasha bagged all of it up in the small plastic bags that were behind the counter. Shianne roamed the store looking for things they might need during their journey to her parents. She grabbed a six pack of Bud Light and hurried back to the counter.

  “Umm…you don’t drink beer.” Tasha picked it up looking confused. “Dad does.” Shianne left it there and went to the door. She looked out to the parking lot and back at Tasha. “Let’s go now!” She told her.

  Tasha hurried around the counter with the bags and fell in line behind Shianne. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, slowly still scanning every bit of their surroundings. She held the door open, pushed Tasha toward the truck and then rounded the front of the truck herself. The two got in safe from zombies and quickly got away from the parking lot that she was sure would soon be inundated with the dead. She drove like a bat out of hell with the full tank of gas. She dodged cars and zombies that blocked the road. New Mexico was ending and Shianne squealed when she saw the ‘Welcome to Texas’ sign.

  “My parents are here, only a little while longer.” Shianne hoped. Tasha stared at her friend praying that she was right. Shianne drove on until night fell and she wa
s so tired that the yellow lines became blurry. A blue sign came into view telling her a rest area was six miles ahead. Shianne pulled in and quickly turned off the lights. We have to get some sleep. Shianne leaned her head back on the head rest and closed her eyes. Tasha watched their surroundings wondering if one of them needed to stay awake to watch for the wandering flesh eating monsters before finally dozing off with her head on the window.

  Light filled the truck and Shianne’s eyes popped open, she didn’t move, fearing that zombies may see them. She looked right, left, forward then straightened her body to be able to see in the mirror.

  “Tasha, get up.” She said. “I think we are okay to move on now.”

  Shianne stated.

  Shianne turned the key, started the truck and began to back up. She turned her head to make sure nothing was behind her, she saw something fall under the truck, felt a large bump as the truck fell back to the ground. She looked at Tasha, put the truck in drive and pushed the gas to go

  forward. She kept moving but

  whatever was under the truck lifted it up again and let it fall. Shianne kept the vehicle moving forward and away from whatever was stupid enough to get behind her. Tasha looked back and watched a zombie rise from the ground, fall again then reach out toward the truck.

  “It was a zombie.” Tasha said quietly with tears filling her eyes. “Yep, they are going to be

  everywhere all the way home.” Shianne warned.

  They drove down the crowded highway watching the zombies clumsily walk and still dodging the cars that were abandoned. She came to the turn off for the lake.

  “Please let them be here.” Shianne said to herself. She pulled past the lake, across the bridge and into the long driveway lined with pine trees. She pulled up to the small house and sat outside, just knowing that she would see someone inside looking out. She revved the engine and tried to decide if she wanted to get out and make her way inside. No such luck arrived. A man rounded the corner of the house and both girls tried to scoot down in their seats. They watched the man stagger across the pine cones laying on the ground and make his way to the garden her dad had planted, knock over two of the fold out chairs that were nearby, before moving on to the open field of the neighbors.

  “They aren’t here.” Shianne

  dropped her head. “Maybe they just aren’t running out since there are obviously zombies around.” Tasha expressed.

  “You don’t know my mom, she would have looked out of the window as soon as she thought she heard a vehicle. She is nosey as hell. They aren’t here.” She told her.

  Shianne began to back up and make her way back across the bridge. Tasha and Shianne scanned the lakefront with tents set up and zombies

  swarming them. Back on the main highway, Shianne headed towards the next town over. The truck began to sputter, Shianne looked down and the needle was just going into the red space showing a big fat E.

  “Oh shit, we are empty! There aren’t any gas stations for about fifteen miles.” Shianne told her.

  Shianne let the truck roll on whatever fumes it had left. “We need to get out , search any of these cars for keys and see if they will start.” Shianne told Tasha.

  “There are zombies out there or have you forgotten?” Tasha

  exclaimed.

  “Nope, but I sure am not going to sit here in an empty truck.” Shianne got out and began walking grasping tightly to the knife in her hand and a bag of what they had gotten from the store in the other.

  The first car was a red and black Shelby Mustang, she peered into the window and saw a man sitting in the car. His hands and face hit the

  window at the same time she peered in which made Shianne jump back.

  “ARE YOU OKAY?” Tasha jumped from the truck and ran to her. “Yeah, that is an old friend of mom and dad’s. Let’s move on.” She said. They moved on to a blue four door sedan. Shianne peered in at a man that had been stabbed in the head with a sharp stick and was lying in the driver’s seat.

  “The keys are in the ignition!” Tasha exclaimed from the other side of the car.

  Shianne dropped her head back and looked at the sky thinking of course there are keys in with the dead guy.

  Shianne lifted the handle to the door, allowed the man to fall onto the door; she pulled it open quickly with all of his weight on it and jumped backwards allowing him to fall to the ground. She gripped the one leg that had hung in the car, threw it onto the pavement, jumped into the driver’s seat and pulled the door closed. Tasha knocked on the window pointing to the lock on the door. Shianne leaned over, as a man was approaching fast from behind Tasha.

  “Behind you!” Shianne screamed. She quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open. Tasha tried to jump into the car as the man fell and grabbed onto her leg she was pulling in before she could close the door. He pulled hard and Tasha’s ass slipped out of the seat onto the floorboard. The man pulled himself under the car door chomping his jaws at her as he came closer and closer. Tasha kicked at the man and screamed. Shianne covered Tasha’s mouth and swatted at the man searching for her knife with her eyes. Shianne pulled on Tasha’s head with the one hand she had over her mouth.

  “Keep kicking!” Shianne told her in her ear. Tasha still screamed under

  Shianne’s hand. Shianne kept pulling at the man’s hands that grasped her friend’s leg. She pulled them away and tried to pull Tasha into the car. The man pulled harder the more Shianne pulled. He hoisted himself to his knees, then to his feet and was now standing between the door and the car. He leaned into the car and bit Tasha on the arm that she tried to block his chomping teeth with. Shianne hit the man with her hand and he backed up with a bite of flesh but kept a hold on Tasha and turned to walk away pulling Tasha.

  “SHIANNE!” Tasha screamed.

  Shianne sat up looking for her knife to take on the one that was taking her friend for a meal. The knife had fallen to the floorboard near the gas pedal. Shianne picked it up and took a step out of the car. When she was able to stand outside of the car, a swarm of them gather around Tasha and began pulling her extremities from her body. Shianne could hear Tasha’s screams and tried to decide if she should take on the horde that had come out of nowhere, as another of the creepy children approach her from behind and made itself known by tripping over the man that had fallen from the car. Shianne grabbed the little boy, that looked no older than her little brother, by the hair and gouged her knife through the top of his skull and sat back down into the car. She closed her eyes and covered her ears as they took her friend away. She finally reached over and closed the passenger side door and with tears streaming down her face, tried to turn the keys. The car started right away, but only showed a quarter of a tank of gas. Shianne stepped on the gas pedal and headed down the small highway. Her eyes blurry from the tears, she drove on.

  “Where would they be? What would dad do?” Shianne asked herself aloud.

  She looked around and could not figure out where she was and didn’t recognize anything. The car suddenly cut off and rolled to a stop. Shianne knew it was coming and was not surprised, however was confused that she was on some highway and lost. Shianne sat for a moment and stared out of the window and watched the area for the dead approaching. The sun was setting and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to go or stay in the car. To the left was a drop off into the woods, to the right was the flat land of a field and off in the distance Shianne could see steam bellowing through the air. She sat up straight in her seat trying to see what it was. With it being so far away, she could not tell what it was.

  “Not a fire, what the hell is it?” She said to herself. “A factory! Dad!” Shianne knew that if there was factory smoke, someone was there; she knew her dad would go

  somewhere like that. She gathered a bottle of water and a small bag of chips along with the six pack of beer that her and Tasha had got from the store, put in a plastic bag and made her way out of the car. She began to walk toward the field and down the small embankment into the grass. Bag i
n one hand and knife in the other, her walk became a trot. She knew that the crunching of sticks and leaves would draw attention to her and needed to make it to wherever this smoke was rising from and fast. She made it almost halfway across a field before the sun set. She crept through the field as quiet as she could until the sun rose back up. Shianne began to run across the field finally seeing asphalt she could get on that looked as though it led straight to the smoke, she stopped for a moment and downed the bottle of water she had brought sure that the factory was not that far off. She took the last swig of water and heard a crunching behind her. Shianne turned and swung her knife at whatever was making the sound not caring what it was. She sliced the face of a young woman that was coming at her fast. The cut didn’t faze the woman and Shianne had to drop the bag. She could hear the beer spew as the hot cans exploded as she glided the knife into the woman’s head before it could make any more headway towards her. The woman fell to the ground and Shianne retrieved her knife as she scanned the rest of the area. She could see two more zombies headed her way. Shianne ducked low in the tall grass and ran through it to the road up ahead. The zombies were staggering through the tangled grass and getting caught up, Shianne was getting a long lead and finally made it to the road. She looked toward the smoke and realized that she was at least four huge hills away from it. She looked around and could still see the zombies falling down and getting back up trying to make ground to get to their next meal. Shianne wished at that point she had not drank the whole bottle of water and was sad that she had wasted the beer she had gotten for her dad. She began to run down the road. The sun baked into her pale skin and she knew that soon she would start to feel the blisters forming on her shoulders. After the first hill she ran across a big stick that was lying in the middle of the road and thought it might make a good poker to push them away if she ran into any more of them. She could see the fence in the distance, the smoke cloud was getting bigger and floating over her head now.