“May I come in, Mrs. Traub?”
Her face fell. It wasn’t just his failure to reciprocate her greeting. He called her Mrs. Traub. It sounded too official for her taste. “Something wrong, Chief?”
Holbrook looked up and down the block. “I think I need to come inside.”
Marney backed away from the doorway, nearly tripping over her own feet. “Of course. Come in.” She looked concerned.
He entered the house, and she stepped into the living room, gesturing to the sofa. “Please, have a seat.”
Holbrook took his hat off but remained standing. “I’m afraid I have some terrible news.”
Panic struck Marney’s face. “Is it my dad? He’s been gone all morning. He took my daughter April fishing.”
Holbrook hated this part. “We found your father’s body on the beach.”
First Marney looked confused, then as if she wanted to speak, but her mouth opened and nothing came out. She began to tremble. “Body? You mean he’s dead?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Her eyes began to well up. She backed away, as if avoiding the news would somehow nullify it, stumbling over the arm of the love seat. She plopped down into it, tears streaming down her face. “Was it a heart attack?”
“No, ma’am. It appears he was attacked.”
“Attacked?! Where’s April? Is she all right?”
“We haven’t found April yet, but I have every officer in the Bay looking for her as we speak.”
“Who attacked him? Do you think she got away? Do you think she’s all right?”
“We found bite marks all over your father’s body. We haven’t ruled out a shark attack or some kind of wild animal.”
Marney looked incredulous, then angry. “Wild animal? Shark attack? He was fishing with April, not swimming in the ocean! What wild animal? What are you doing to find April?” She stood. “I need to go look for her.”
Holbrook produced his cell phone and started calling up the pics of Morty’s remains. “Like I said, Mrs. Traub, every officer in the Bay is looking for her. Since there was no body, we think she may have been frightened and ran away. She’s probably somewhere on the boardwalk.”
“Then that’s where I’ll be.”
“I understand. I’ll take you there myself. First, I need you to identify your father’s remains.” He offered her his cell.
She stared at it, reluctant to take it. “What about his body? Why are you showing me pictures?”
“We had to initiate Protocol Z, as a precaution.”
“Protocol Z? Are you serious?” Her eyes narrowed. “I fucking knew it. I told Dad he should’ve moved after the attack. He didn’t listen.”
Holbrook placed the phone into her hand. “The results came back negative, but there was quite a bit of brain tissue missing. We’re not completely ruling out a zombie attack.”
Marney glanced down at the phone. She gasped and placed her other hand over her mouth when she saw her father. She shuddered as her brain struggled to register the information. She looked at the torn face. “That’s my dad,” she whispered.
“His remains are down at the morgue. According to state law, they will have to be cremated.”
Marney stood, her mind racing, looking as if she didn’t know what to do first. “Why wouldn’t she run home? You would think she’d run home first, right? The boardwalk isn’t that crowded. Why hasn’t she been found? How come no one’s seen her? I have to call my husband.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Marney turned on Holbrook. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be looking for my April?”
“I was involved with handling your father’s remains, as per Protocol Z. A senior law enforcement officer has to be present.”
“According to state law.” Her tone was bitter. “And how did state law prevent my father from being killed? How will state law prevent another attack?”
“Ma’am, we are doing everything we can to anticipate another attack and contain it, if this is the case. The important thing right now is that we find your daughter. Hopefully she’s safe, and maybe she can tell us exactly what happened.”
“So what are you doing standing here?”
“Mrs. Traub, I need you to send me a couple of recent pics of April, close-ups on her face.”
Marney toggled through her photos on her phone. “I need your cell.”
“Send it to my email.” He gave her his email, and she sent two pics from a few days ago when they were on the boardwalk. He never gave out his cell. It was a small island, and he was harassed enough as it was. “What was she wearing this morning?”
“I don’t know. They woke up before me…wait a minute! She set her clothes out on her desk in her room the night before. She knows my father starts out early, and she wanted to be ready.” Marney thought for a moment, desperately trying to pull the memory from the back of her mind.
“Take your time.”
She snapped her fingers. “Her pink shirt with dolphins, and her white shorts.”
“That’s good.”
Her angry expression faded and was replaced with determination. “I have to call my husband. Then I’m combing the Bay myself.”
“That’s a good idea. Would you like me to be here while you call?”
Marney pulled out her cell and called up her husband’s number. “No, that won’t be necessary.” She hit ‘Send.’
Holbrook saw this as his exit. “I’ll be in touch as soon as we find her.” He didn’t want to say ‘if we find her.’
Marney turned her back on him as she spoke to her husband. Holbrook saw himself out.
* * *
It was midday, and the temperature had climbed to a hot eighty-eight degrees. Vinnie strolled up to the Sunglass Hut. Dharma was behind the register, and her mother, Emily, was unpacking boxes. When Dharma saw him, she smiled. She stepped from behind the register, practically skipped over to Vinnie, and threw her arms around him. She kissed him sweetly on the mouth.
Vinnie blushed, and Emily did her best to ignore the public display of affection.
Dharma hooked her arm in his. “So, are you here to take me out to lunch?”
Vinnie, recovering from his embarrassment, looked over at Emily. “Hi, Mrs. Ross.”
Emily glanced up. “Hello, Vincent.” Then she continued to unpack boxes of faux designer sunglasses.
“So, where are we going?”
Vinnie was still pondering being called ‘Vincent.’ “Wherever you want. But first, I need you to help me with something.”
“Mom, we’re going to lunch!”
Emily kept at her work. “I heard.”
Dharma grabbed Vinnie by the arm and pulled him out onto the boardwalk, where they walked arm-in-arm.
Vinnie frowned. “I don’t think you mother likes me.”
Dharma pulled him closer, squeezing his arm. “What are you talking about? She loves you!”
“I don’t know. My mother calls me ‘Vincent’ whenever she’s pissed at me.”
Dharma shook her head. “My mother doesn’t like the idea of losing me.”
“Losing you? To what? I’m sure I’m not your first boyfriend.”
Dharma arched an eyebrow. “Watch it, mister. You’re treading on thin ice.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know. You are not my first boyfriend, but you’re the first boyfriend I’ve kept this long.”
“I’m honored.”
“I think she knows it’s serious, and it makes her a little nervous.”
Vinnie smiled at this. He liked hearing Dharma refer to their relationship as serious. He didn’t have many girlfriends prior, so this was special to him. He was glad Dharma felt the same way.
“So what was it that you needed my help for?”
Vinnie had nearly forgotten. “We need to speak to Marie Russo.”
“You look serious. About what?”
“Tyrell came into the pizza shop earlier. You know he’s been helping
her at her store.” Dharma nodded. “Well, she’s been pressuring Tyrell to talk to his mom about learning how to shoot. She even offered to give him lessons.”
“And I take it Tara isn’t exactly gun-friendly.”
“Right. I promised him I’d talk to Marie.” Vinnie was a fellow survivor of the attack two years ago, and survivors in the Bay had a connection, a comradery. He hoped he was going to be able to talk to her sensibly about this.
“Marie lost her husband and her mother-in-law to the attack,” said Dharma. “She was jailed while her children were out there in the chaos. She’s been through a lot, and although I don’t like guns, I can see that this is her way of taking control of a crazy situation.”
“I get that,” said Vinnie. “I totally do, but she’s forcing it on Tara and her son, and that’s not right. Tara had to kill her undead husband in front of her son. She’s no bleeding heart.”
Dharma nodded. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that Marie doesn’t ever want to feel helpless again. She means well. I’m sure she wants Tara and Tyrell to feel as able as she in case…” Tara’s voice trailed off.
“Go ahead,” Vinnie insisted. “Say it. In case it happens again.”
“That’s unlikely.”
“Why?” insisted Vinnie. “How do we know it won’t happen again? That’s like saying after 9/11 that there will never be another terrorist attack again.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it? How? Wanting something not to happen again won’t prevent it from happening again.”
They passed a bunch of police officers on foot looking around and down at their cell phones.
“There’s an awful lot of police presence for the end of June,” said Dharma, momentarily changing the subject, but Vinnie didn’t pay attention.
He was watching a bunch of children at the Shoot the Zombie Freaks booth. They were laughing as they popped off paintball rounds at a man dressed in a heavily padded outfit and a rubber zombie mask. He was pretending to lurch towards them. One small child squealed in delight as her father aimed the gun and she pulled the trigger.
Vinnie wondered how everyone made light of the devastation and carnage that occurred two years ago. He didn’t just think it in poor taste. He found it completely sick and disrespectful. Two years ago, the Bay was at war with the dead. People died. Between the zombies and the superstorm, the town was nearly destroyed.
He knew what Dharma would say. It was the town’s way of coming to grips with what happened. But, Vinnie wondered if it was a way of moving past it. Could they move past it when the threat of another attack loomed over them?
The popping of the paintball guns reminded him of the popping of the National Guard’s rifles as they slaughtered the dead when Vinnie was up on top of the Blackbeard’s Pier Arcade. Suddenly, Dharma, the boardwalk, and the shooting booth were no longer there as Vinnie succumbed to an unwelcome flashback…
*
Two Years Prior
Vinnie was last to climb down the ladder back into the arcade. Dharma, Mike, Nancy, Alessandra, Salvatore, and Holbrook were down there waiting for him. Vinnie heard the moans of the dead on the beach outside through the yawning chasm the storm created in between the staccato pops of rifle fire outside on the boardwalk.
An officer approached Chief Holbrook. “I’m Sergeant Miller of the Tenth Mountain Division. Are you all okay?”
Nancy answered for them. “Yes, thanks to you.”
Holbrook stepped in, extending his hand. “I’m Chief Holbrook of the Bay Police.”
Sergeant Miller shook it. “Glad to meet you. We’ve taken back the bay side of town. There’s a perimeter on Neptune St., and we’ve set up a staging base in the Ocean’s Gate Motel. We’re in the process of taking back the ocean side and boardwalk.”
“What can I do to help?” offered Holbrook.
“Nothing,” replied Miller. He looked around the crumbling arcade. “This structure isn’t safe. Once we’ve cleared a path, I’m having a squad take you to the Ocean’s Gate.”
Vinnie was relieved at having been rescued from the rooftop, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. According to Sergeant Miller, they were in the thick of it. He kept using lingo like extraction, firing corridors, and safe zones. Chief Holbrook appeared to understand what he was saying.
Mike placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay, Vin?”
“Fine,” he answered a little too quickly, his tone almost defensive.
Mike smiled. “It’s okay. I’m terrified, too.”
Both of them startled when they heard a military chopper hover over the beach sideways behind the arcade. Bolts of light shot out from the side, pelting the dead below with bullets.
Sergeant Miller signaled for them to follow him. He was shouting something, but Vinnie couldn’t hear what he was saying over the gunfire and chopper blades…
*
Vinnie’s flashback faded back to the present, the sound of chopper blades lingering, but becoming more distant. He looked over at Dharma, who was shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand as she looked at the sky over the beach.
“That’s weird,” said Dharma.
“What’s weird?” asked Vinnie.
“There’s a copter.”
“Yeah, so?”
Dharma put her hand down and saw more police walking in groups of three, scanning the crowd and consulting their cell phones. Dharma’s and Vinnie’s cell phones chimed simultaneously. Dharma consulted her phone. “It’s an Amber Alert. Someone’s missing.”
Vinnie was looking at his phone. “Amber Traub. Do we know her?”
Dharma shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Vinnie squinted in the sunlight. “Already? We’re not even in season yet.”
“Speaking of which,” said Dharma, her hands already on her hips. “You know I’m dragging you to the bonfire tonight.”
“I don’t know…”
“C’mon, Vin. It’s solidarity with your fellow Bay residents.”
The bonfire was started the first June after the superstorm by the mayor as a way for townies to kick off the summer and blow off some steam. It was comprised of a large pit of burning shipping palettes and a local folk singer playing acoustic guitar. It was tame, even by Vinnie’s standards.
“The last thing we need is another townie tradition.” Even Vinnie knew that it was a weak excuse when he said it.
Dharma leaned into him, pressing her lithe body against his. “You don’t want me going by my lonesome, do you?” She batted her eyelashes for effect. When he hesitated, she gave him a shot in the arm. “C’mon, what else are you going to do?”
A smirk crept across Vinnie’s face. “I dunno. I was thinking of a little Netflix and chill.”
Dharma shot him an exaggerated demure look. “Why, Vincent, you animal. We can do that after the bonfire.”
Vinnie’s smirk fell into a frown. “The ‘chill’ would only work if my parents were at the bonfire and we were home alone.”
Dharma’s smile was sympathetic. “Aw, poor Vinnie. We’ll just have to change our venue.”
“No, not the Sunglass Hut again,” Vinnie protested.
Dharma feigned insult. “Why, what’s wrong with the Hut?”
“It’s weird in there.”
She threw up her hands in exasperation. “What do you mean? It’s all tiki’ed out. It’ll be like we’re in Hawaii. We’ll lay a blanket down and everything.”
The truth was, this had been their only option since the beginning of June. As Bay merchants, Vinnie’s parents took vacations in the Autumn and Spring. Summertime was prime time, so once June came, there was no more empty house.
Dharma started hula dancing, waving her hands rhythmically, humming Aloha-Oe. Vinnie’s face cracked into a smile, mostly in reaction to how ridiculous she looked.
She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close, smiling. “There’s my Vin.”
Chapter 4
As the morning passed, the warm
sun crossing the sky, little April Traub crept around the Bay in a haze, careful to remain in between buildings and businesses, but she wasn’t exactly sure why. Her normally racing child’s mind had slowed, becoming dull with thoughts of hunger and violence.
She re-emerged for brief moments, tracking down unsuspecting passers-by, placing a bite on a dangling adult’s hand and running away. Sometimes she bit a child lost in the lights and sounds of the boardwalk. When a parent yelled at her, her blood boiled with rage, and she threw such a tantrum, growling and screeching, that they immediately pulled their children close and backed away, cursing under their breath.
She couldn’t explain it, but she was filled with rage and hate. It was a sensation she had never experienced before, even when denied something she wanted on impulse by her parents. It was exponentially worse that the resentment of being correct publicly by a teacher or her mother. Hell, it made the Terrible Twos seem like a vacation. She didn’t know why, but she just wanted to watch the world burn.
She no longer thought about her parents, her grandpa, school, or television. She was becoming a murderous blank slate devoid of thought, morality, or self-control.
As pedestrians passed by on the boardwalk, she didn’t see people. She saw walking meat bags of flesh and blood, and her mouth watered. Her teeth chattered from a combination of barely suppressed animal appetite and the drop in her body temperature as her body died, the virus coursing through her system, more rapidly than it would have two years ago, transforming her into something less than human.
Something wrong.
April’s transformation to reanimated dead was quicker than it would’ve been two years prior. The virus was maturing, adapting to the need to spread rapidly, to outpace the slaughter by the living so that it might increase its numbers and eventually overwhelm any resistance.
* * *
Vinnie and Dharma walked over to Marie’s clothing and apparel stand. They saw Alessandra arranging shorts on hangars. When she saw them, they exchanged smiles.
“Hey, Ali. Whatcha doin’?” asked Dharma.
The Creeping Dead: Book 2 Page 6