“I’m Nick,” my brother said. “That’s Dean, Val, Jackie, and Claire. Give us back our weapons…now!”
Tuning them out, I headed for the side door, pulling Jackie with me. I wanted to see if the zombies were starting to come around to the front of the house. Unfortunately, we didn’t get far before a flat, metallic click warned me of danger. I turned on my heel slowly, my gaze focusing on Earl’s rifle, which was now pointed at me again.
“Stop, or I’ll shoot you both dead in your tracks.”
My automatic response was to touch my holster, but then I remembered that Tahoe had disarmed me, so I remained frozen to the spot. “I figured that much,” I said dryly. “But I thought you said we need to work together.”
“We were just trying to get a position on the zombies,” Jackie said. “Do you think we’d leave our friends behind?”
My gaze became harder and colder, signaling I wasn’t scared of him.
Earl narrowed his gaze. “We are working together. You help me ward off any zombie attack, and I’ll spare your lives…for the time being. Sure sounds like cooperation to me.”
“Right. Sounds like a great deal…for you.” I snorted. “What makes you think we’ll have your back the moment those zombies barge in here?”
“What makes you think they’ll barge in here at all?” Tahoe said, speaking for the first time.
For some reason, the younger gruff one seemed to feel safe, as if the zombies were no threat and couldn’t possibly get inside the glass house. I wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t a military fortress. I marveled how young he seemed. On closer inspection, I realized beneath the facial hair hid a wrinkle-free face.
He stepped closer as he stared at us. “You have yet to answer my question. What are you all doing in our house?”
Val picked up a family portrait and ran a finger across the dust. “Funny. You don’t look like these happy people, and pictures like these are plastered all around the house.”
Earl’s mouth twitched at the corners, as though her sarcasm amused him. “They’re all dead. Zombies got ‘em. So we figure since they don’t need the place anymore, and we were the first ones to get our hands on it, it’s our house now—at least as of two days ago.”
His eyes sparkled, making me wonder as to the validity of his story. Did zombies really get the poor inhabitants, or was it these two? I bit my tongue hard so I wouldn’t comment and risk their wrath. After all, they were still the only ones holding weapons.
“We’re not monsters,” Tahoe said, reading my disgusted expression. “We didn’t kill ‘em. They were dead long before we arrived. Can’t you tell from all the dust in this place? Nobody has been here for ages.”
He had a valid point, and I hoped they weren’t murderers. Just because they didn’t kill the inhabitants of the house didn’t mean they wouldn’t kill us.
“Fine. You’ve claimed the house,” Val chimed in. “Just let us go, and we’ll be on our merry way. You can have your home sweet home all to yourselves.” Of course she forgot to mention the part about us loading up all their food and water in their vehicles.
“Sure. You’re welcome to go, as soon as the zombie threat is over,” Tahoe said. “Don’t worry. We got four strong men here. Besides, they’ll never break in.”
I was almost inclined to believe him when a loud thud echoed through the room, startling us. Urban legends about zombies touted their slow reaction time and their inability to form coherent plans, but they were just that: legends. No one knew for sure whether they still had any morsel of humanity in them. For all we knew, their brains retained some ability for reasoning and possibly for their own survival. If they did, which was pretty obvious from their attempts to get in, then we were screwed; it would only be a matter of time before they would double and triple their efforts and succeed.
“We have to go, even if it’s on foot,” Nick said with a glance toward the hall. “Trapping ourselves in this house is suicide. I don’t know about you, but we’re leaving.”
“And going where?” Claire yelled. “Zombies will rip us to shreds!”
Nick shrugged and shot her a hard look. “I don’t care. I’d rather die trying than to sit around in here doing nothing.”
“I’m sorry, Claire, but I’m with him. The faster, the better,” Jackie whispered.
For a second, I felt like hugging her. I was so proud of her for standing up for herself, even if it meant defying her cousin’s wishes.
“You don’t know anything for sure,” Claire said. “None of you do. Maybe we should hole up here until those things leave. They’ll get bored and go eventually, and we can leave in a few hours, once the coast is clear.”
Jackie shook her shoulder. “No, Claire. Waiting is a horrible idea!”
“You’re safe here,” Tahoe said. “There are a lot of them, but they can’t bust through these walls. And like Claire said, they’ll get bored after a bit and move on for easier prey. I’ve seen it a million times before.”
“I agree,” Earl said. “It’s best to hide out here until they leave. It’s stupid to engage them, but if they break in, of course we’ll fight with everything we have.” Earl shot me a look. “You owe me for saving your lives.”
“What?” I asked. “If you would’ve let us leave, we would have been long gone already.”
Earl gave me a cocky grin. “Wrong, my boy. What you’d be is dead. I’m offering you protection here, and when this is all over and done, I expect to be paid for it.”
“Paid? With what? We don’t have any money,” Claire said. “We only came with the shirts on our backs.”
Earl smirked. “Who said anything about money? I just want one of you cute gals to keep me company tonight. Is that so much to ask for the price of saving your lives?”
Nick’s hands balled into fists. The vein on his forehead throbbed so hard that I prayed he wouldn’t do something stupid, like try to hit the guy. Fortunately, he either came to his senses on his own or the rifle pointed at his face made him reconsider.
I grabbed my brother’s arm, just in case, and hissed, “Don’t let him rile you up. We gotta leave with our heads still attached to our shoulders.”
Claire scowled at Earl. “Our lives are on the line! How can you blackmail us like this?”
“Mmm. Feisty. And I love redheads.” Earl looked her up and down, then inched closer. “I bet we could have a lot of fun, you and me.”
“You’re sick!” Val shouted but didn’t inch closer.
I glared at Earl. The man was a disgusting sleaze ball and an absolute idiot. Zombies were literally knocking down our doors, but all he could think about was bedding down with a helpless girl. Maybe we can find a car in town, I considered. Zombies were prowling out back, but I was willing to take my chances if it meant keeping all three of the girls as far away from Grizzly Adams as we could.
Nick straightened his stance. “No deal, jerk! Move out of my way because we’re leaving.”
“Fine. You boys can go,” Earl said.
“We boys?”
“Yep, but we’re keeping the women. You owe us for all the dead corpses I’ll have to clean up in the front yard tomorrow morning.”
Jackie gasped.
“What do you need us for, huh?” Val spat. “Let me tell you, mister, if you come anywhere near me, I’ll bite just as hard as those zombies will. You might lose something really valuable if you go waving it around at me!”
Tahoe cleared his throat, as if he was trying to stifle a laugh.
Val took a step toward him, her eyes darting in my direction, signaling something. She was trying to get their attention so we could devise a plan.
Nick must’ve realized it, too, because he nudged Claire. “You still got that stun gun?” he whispered.
She nodded, wide-eyed, and touched her pocket.
Nick bobbed his head slightly. “Good. On the count of three, stun Earl while Dean and I tackle the other guy. Then stun him too.”
“And then we run,” Jackie said.
I moistened my lips and signaled that I was ready.
Claire wrapped her fingers around the stun gun just as the zombies from the back of the house moved onto the front lawn. They were shuffling everywhere. The scratch of their cracked, yellowed nails raked against the glass. There were so many that I had no idea how we’d get past them without being attacked. We had lost our precious opportunity, thanks to Earl and Tahoe.
Nick grabbed Claire’s arm and whispered into her ear, “Wait! Hold off. The house is surrounded now. There’s no way can we just walk out the front door.” He glanced at me. “If zombies break in, we’ll need the mountain men to help us fight them off.”
I nodded, and Claire slipped her stun gun into her pocket. Our plan was ruined, and it was too late for us to make an escape. We all knew we should have run the second we saw the zombies entering the back yard, but the two sasquatches had foiled that little plan. We could’ve been in the Jeeps, long gone before the zombies had come around to the front of the house, but that chance had slipped away. Now Nick was right: We needed the mountain men conscious so they could help us battle the undead. On our own, we might not make it out alive.
“What the…” Earl said, locking the door. “We’ve never had to fight this many before.”
“I tried to tell you!” Jackie said.
Earl rubbed his chin. “I thought there might be a group of them running around, but I never would have imagined anything like this…and it’s all your fault!”
“What!?” Val screamed, furious.
“That’s right. Y’all brought them here to my doorstep! Look at all those corpses in my front yard. I bet you idiots used a gun, attracting them from everywhere!”
The banging and scratching sounds made my stomach churn. Twigs snapped under their rotting feet as they shuffled around the place, hammering against the glass in various locations with various body parts. Something began to shatter, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure whether the sound was coming from the walls or the door. I even heard muffled footsteps somewhere at the back of the house, or maybe it was the basement. They were fighting their way in, and that meant only one thing: We had to fight our way out, and the front door was out of the question.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a zombie licking and clawing at the glass in front of me. His decomposed face with black and brown muscle wrinkling over the skull stared at me as though he had already chosen his main course for the evening. I didn’t want to be trapped while those monsters fought their way in, but just walking out there and hoping for the best wouldn’t work either. I looked out the glass wall of the living room and saw zombies dotting the entire front yard. Earl’s right. I bet the gunshots we fired off earlier attracted the herd. We’ll have to be way more careful next time…if there is a next time. The dead army surrounded the entire house, like some kind of scene straight out of Night of the Living Dead. The only thing that kept us safe from them for the time being was a towering sheet of glass. I shuddered and vowed to never set foot inside a glass house again; that was one nightmare I wouldn’t soon forget. “I need a weapon!” I shouted.
Earl thrust my gun into my waiting hands, then handed Nick and Jackie their weapons.
“Hey, girl, catch! You look like you know how to use this,” Tahoe called out a moment before he tossed Val a rifle.
My sister caught the gun in midair and wore a proud smile.
My rifle was already packed in the Jeep, but I still had my handgun. My grip tightened around it, even though I doubted it’d do any good against an entire herd of zombies.
A crack echoed in the air a moment before the door splintered and the hinges burst. I froze in place as countless zombies fought with each other to get first pick.
Chapter 9
The penetrating howling noise outside the house grew to ear-splitting levels. My finger found the trigger of my weapon as my gaze steadied on the door. Recklessly determined to sooth their constant hunger, I knew the zombies would find a way in. The fact that we were having such a near encounter with so many in such a confined space wasn’t exactly confidence-boosting, but I vowed to fight until my last breath.
My gaze focused on the door a moment before it splintered open from the weight of countless zombies leaning and pushing against it. Some of them fell headfirst on the floor, gnawing and thrashing. Horrible odors of rotting flesh seeped into my nose, making me want to bend over and puke my guts out. Their unearthly moans echoed in the air, and I shivered at the thought of them tearing through my flesh, devouring me little by little.
I waved my arm, beckoning the others to follow me upstairs. “C’mon! This way!” My voice reverberated from the walls, but it didn’t quite manage to drown out the zombies’ hungry calls.
Without waiting for an answer from the others, I bolted up the spiral staircase, jumping two steps at a time, faster and faster. My boot glided on the smooth surface, and I tripped. Crap! This is not the time to panic and lose your cool or your balance, Dean! I scrambled to my feet but stumbled again, nearly losing my grip. As I hung on to the railing, I peered down. No flipping way! The door had been broken in completely, but the opening was too narrow to fit them all through. The zombies who had managed to squeeze in had gathered in front of the doorway in a messy heap, pushing and pulling and attempting to get up, while the ones coming from behind kept tripping, making any ascent impossible. I gawked at the way they had buried themselves, thankful for the tiny distraction that might just buy us a few minutes to get upstairs and find the safest room.
“Come on, boy! Move!” Earl yelled. “You’re in my way. If you don’t move your butt, I’ll personally shove you down there to get acquainted with those things.”
I didn’t need to see his face to know he meant every word he said. The edge in his voice betrayed his sincerity. So, my legs rose under me as I pushed up the stairs, focusing on my feet so I wouldn’t trip again.
The moment I reached the top step, Earl jammed his elbow into my stomach, making me double over, then made room for Tahoe to hurry past. “Blow the staircase up, Tahoe!” he yelled.
“Blow it up?” I asked. “With what?”
“Don’t you worry about that!” Earl said.
Tahoe motioned to his friend, then they took off down the hall and disappeared through one of the doors I hadn’t inspected before.
My brother raced past me, shouting over his shoulder, “Dean! Come on, man! Don’t just stand there! Move it!”
“Coming!” I yelled, taking off after him. By the time I reached him, Nick was already pushing a large oak dresser toward the door, leaving scuff marks across the shiny wooden floor. “What are you doing?” I asked, stopping in my tracks.
“Help me roll this thing down the stairs,” he said.
“Why bother? I thought we were gonna lock ourselves in a room and then climb out the window.” I peered at him from under raised brows. Granted, my grand plan seemed a lot more fascinating inside my head, before I spoke it out loud, but it still wasn’t as bad as the expression on his face made it seem.
“Right. We’re just gonna let those things slither up the stairs after us while we pick a random room, lock ourselves in, hear them bang on the door, and then jump out the window to the million zombies waiting for us below? Sorry, bro, but that’s a dumb plan. We’ll be even more trapped and screwed than we are now.”
“I didn’t think of that,” I said, but he was right. Creating a blockade gave us extra time to find the perfect window to jump from. It would also help us save ammo, since we’d be out of bullets in no time. Our piddly little arsenal was no match for the number of zombies waiting to devour us.
“Come on, Dean,” Nick said, unable to suppress a tiny sneer. “We don’t have time for discussing it. Just trust me and do what I say.” With that, he dashed past and turned his back on me, signaling the conversation was over.
We hauled the heavy dresser to the top of the landing, and then I kicked it until it tumbled down the stairs. It crashed into some zombies on t
he way down, knocking them to the ground like bowling pins. When I turned around, the girls were sliding a fancy antique couch toward me. With a last heave, I pushed it down the stairs toward a zombie who was heading toward us. I let out a few choice words. Of course it wasn’t the most mature thing I could have done in front of Jackie, but I couldn’t help myself. The adrenaline running through my veins was making me say things I wouldn’t usually say. Besides, every single triumph—no matter how tiny it was—counted when death was lurking savagely around the corner in the vacant eyes and slimy mouths of those things.
Val had dragged an enormous chest of drawers to the top of the stairs. Jackie and Claire began slipping out the drawers and throwing them down on the zombies, hitting them on their heads. Finally, the two girls gave the furniture a final shove, and it flew down, taking out a couple more of the hissing creatures. Nick threw a box spring, followed by a mattress tossed by Val. Our furniture onslaught wouldn’t last forever, but we hoped it would grant us enough time to find a spot where we could safely jump from a window into a smaller crowd of zombies that we could fight off.
“Watch out!” Earl called from behind. I moved out of his way as he lit up a stick of dynamite and threw it down the stairs.
I watched the fire eat through the cord, slowly but steadily flying through the air in what seemed like slow motion. It all happened so fast, yet I felt as though a million years must have passed.
“Get down!” Earl yelled as it landed with a dull thud with uncanny precision, right in the middle of the gathered zombie herd.
I ducked and threw my body over Jackie and Claire as a loud boom echoed in my ears and smoke swirled all around me. Raising my head, I coughed and peered through the blanket of fire at the gap between the upper and the lower levels of the house. The stairs had evaporated into a huge mess of wooden splinters, interspersed with blood and gore. My stomach protested at the sight, but I didn’t have time to digest the image because the next wave of zombies was already gushing in.
I peeked over the banister. There was absolutely nothing left of the stairs, so our only way back down was gone. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or pissed off that the guy didn’t consult us before doing something so bold and irrevocable. What if Nick’s plan fails? What then? He blew up the freaking stairs! We’re stuck up here! “Where did you get the dynamite from?” I asked, miffed.
Suspending Reality (Five Fantasy Stories) Page 12