She laughed, then snuggled into me, ignoring my pessimism.
The fire felt so warm. For a minute, everything seemed right with the world. If I tuned out everything, including how close we still actually were to Z’s lair, it really did feel like two pals just chilling out and keeping warm. We talked and laughed and didn’t even worry about zombies, since I’d already checked the house thoroughly. “I haven’t laughed like this in a long time,” I said.
She leaned her head on my shoulder. “Me neither.”
Chapter 7
After a while longer, I stood. “We gotta go. Z’s men could find us here. I know Z said we could leave, but I don’t trust him. He could’ve seen the smoke from the chimney and change his mind. Not only that, but the snow’s really starting to come down. We gotta get back before we get snowed in, and I don’t wanna be walking around in the dark. We’ve gotta let Max know what a sicko we’re dealing with.”
“Hey, Dean...thanks,” she said.
I slid my black boots on. “For what?”
“For getting me all warmed up and making me laugh, for helping me forget about the dreadful world we really live in, if even for just a few minutes. It was a nice fantasy.”
“We’ve been through so much. It feels good to feel...human sometimes.”
She slipped on the big, black fur coat I’d found for her, then slid her feet into four pairs of socks and the furry boots that were a size too big. It was good that she had them, because if the old car broke down, we would have to brave the frozen tundra to get back to town.
I handed her an empty vinyl bag.
“What’s this for? My wet stuff?”
“Yeah and for the stuff in the bathroom.”
“The bathroom?”
I smiled. “Go see.”
She grinned, then darted up the stairs. When she screamed, I knew she’d found the little toiletry stash. “Soap, shampoo, perfume, and razors!” she yelled, delighted. “Oh my gosh! You really know how to pamper a girl, Dean!”
“Wow. This must be a messed-up world when somebody gets so excited over razors,” I retorted.
She laughed. “Hey, have you seen my hairy legs? I could French braid my shins, for goodness sake!”
I chuckled at the strange visual of a big pink ribbon hanging from her legs.
“Dean, this is a goldmine! There’s all kinds of stuff.”
“Well, pack it up and let’s go.”
We put out the fire, grabbed everything we could carry that might be of some use, then trampled through the snow and climbed into the car. Fortunately, the drive home was far more uneventful than anything we’d been through the last few days.
***
Back at the apartment complex, Max happened to be in the parking lot.
I beeped my horn and waved him over.
“Dean!” he yelled. “You’re okay.”
“Yeah, well, we’re breathing.”
“New wheels?” he asked. “Where’s the Mazda?”
“History. I hotwired this car to get back.”
“How very MacGyver of you,” he joked.
“We’re fine,” Claire said, too cold to laugh at his very outdated joke. “I’ve gotta see Nick though.”
“The others are out looking for you and the others,” Max said. “I’ll send word that you’re alive and kicking. What happened though? Where’s the crew I sent with you?”
“Huh?” I said, confused. “Jared and the others aren’t back yet?”
He shook his head. “No, and we haven’t seen hide nor hair of their car.”
“Z kidnapped us,” I said.
Max gasped. “Z? How did you escape?”
“Long story,” I said. “I’ll tell you everything once we get inside. It’s freezing out here, and Claire needs to warm up.”
“Yes, of course. Meet me in my office as soon as you get settled. I’ll get some of my men, and then we want to hear every single detail.”
I parked the car and hurried inside the apartment. Sparkles greeted us and Claire picked her up as she wagged her tail and licked her face. The first thing I did was get a fire going to warm up the living room. Claire and I drank lots of water and gobbled up a couple cans of tuna and kidney beans.
“You stay here and rest by the fire a while,” I said.
“No way! I’m coming with you,” she insisted.
I smiled, glad she was feeling better and was back to her old stubborn self. The thought of losing another good friend had been almost too much for me to deal with.
We waited for Max in his office and sat around the table with others to discuss our kidnapping.
Max rushed inside. “The others are back!” he said.
“Are they okay?” a woman asked.
“They’re traumatized, and there are a few injuries, but most are okay. Darrin started bleeding pretty badly, so they had to hole up until they got it to stop.” Max looked over at Claire and me. “They told me everything. I’m so, so sorry.” He quickly went on to tell the others what had happened, and they were just as horrified as he was when they found out we’d been captured. “What did the fiend do to you?”
“Well, he hung me upside down over a bunch of decapitated zombie heads, and he made Claire walk out onto a frozen swimming pool that she fell into, with zombies chasing after her. She was attacked by the freaks on top of the ice while the ones underwater attacked her legs, all while almost freezing to death.” I purposely left out the part about her being bitten, as I was worried they might throw her out of town.
“So why’d he let you leave?” asked a thin man named Harvey.
“Because,” Claire retorted, “he wanted us to bring a message to all of you. He wants you to know how sick of a psycho he is and that he is not someone to be trifled with. If we don’t leave the city, he says he’ll kill every single man, woman, and child in a similar deranged way.”
I let out a long breath. “It’s...psychological warfare. He thought if we brought the message to you, we could convince you to leave without a fight. Otherwise, he’s vowed to wage war on this town and everyone in it.”
“Well, whatever kind of warfare it is, it’s working,” a woman said. “I don’t wanna see my babies killed that way, by some self-proclaimed homicidal tyrant. Still, I have no idea how we’ll survive past the perimeters.”
“What he did to Claire was sick and twisted. Why would Z torture a poor girl the way he did?” a woman asked.
“It was to prove a point,” I said, “to show that he’ll kill women just as easily as he’ll kill men. Gender makes no difference to him.”
“He left us in that warehouse before to be devoured by zombies, then lit the place on fire when he thought we were still in there,” Claire said. “He just doesn’t care, and that’s what makes him so dangerous. There’s no way to reason with someone so insane.”
“I’m just surprised he’s even giving us a warning and time to leave,” said a redheaded woman with hair a shade darker than Claire’s.
“He’s only doing that so he has less people to fight,” Max added. “It was certainly not out of the kindness of his heart.” Max stood. “I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I have no intention of leaving, so it looks like I’m gonna have a war on my hands. I say we gather up any soldiers who want to fight, men or women, as well as any weapons we can find, then start strategizing and making a military game plan. We’ll attack in a week.”
“No!” a man said. “We should take them right now.”
“That’d be foolish,” another said. “Max is right. We need time to formulate a plan and gather troops and weapons. Then we’ll deliver payback to them for terrorizing people from our city.”
“We’ll fight with all we have,” Max said, “with our hearts, with spirit, with pride. We’ll do it to protect our friends, our families, our children, and the functioning society we’ve built here. I swear to you, Fairport will be victorious, and it will remain ours!”
The group cheered and clapped, inspired by their fea
rless leader, and I was happy to see it.
“I’ll get started right away,” Max said, then left the room in a hurry.
Claire and I talked with the others for a few more minutes. Everyone had his or her own opinion, but it was good that, for the most part, we were all on the same page.
***
After the meeting, we headed back to the apartment. I had no idea where Nick, Lucas, and Val had gone to look for us, and I knew if we headed out to try to find them, we’d probably miss each other, so it was probably best to just stay put. I only hoped Max’s men had gotten word to them that we were all right and had warned them about the impending war.
Asia was eating tuna on the couch with her feet propped up, and Kate was taking a nap. “Hey! What’s up?” she asked.
“We were here earlier, but I guess you were sleeping,” Claire said.
“My hands keep shaking. I think I’m still suffering the after-effects of those drugs they gave me.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll eventually make Charlie pay for all that,” I said, anger consuming me.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream startled me.
I grabbed my Glock.
“Kate!” Claire said, grabbing her gun and running toward the bedroom.
Droplets of sweat ran down Kate’s face, and her hair was glued to the sides of her head. “Put the guns down.”
“What happened?” Claire asked.
“Just...it was only a bad dream,” she gasped out between breaths.
Claire ran over and hugged her tightly.
Kate was pretty shaken up. Poor girl, I thought, knowing it was only the beginning of a lifetime of nightmares. I didn’t know exactly what they’d done to her, but whatever it was, I knew it wasn’t good. When I realized Claire and Asia seemed to have things under control, I turned to leave to give the girls some time to themselves.
A few minutes later, Asia came out. “So...how’d you wreck your face?” she asked.
“Z’s men kidnapped us. They aren’t exactly the most hospitable hosts.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Nick and the others are out looking for me. Max knows we’re okay, and he sent men to go out and reel the others back.”
She arched a brow. “What the heck’s going on?”
“It seems World War III has begun,” I said grimly.
The door opened, and Val rushed in and hugged me so hard I almost couldn’t breathe. She then stepped back and slugged me in the arm. “Dean! What the heck were you doing?” She then hugged me again and asked, “Are you okay?” She shoved me back, stomped her foot, looked at me, and shook her head, then crossed her arms like she was about to ground me; every single gesture reminded me of our mother. “You’re all cut up.”
“Just a few battle scars,” I said, almost proudly. “I’ll live, sis.”
“Quit playing macho. How do you feel?”
“Well, I hurt everywhere, and I’ve got a horrible headache.”
“Max told me everything and I can’t believe it. Let me help you into bed You need to rest.”
“Can’t. No time. There’s too much going on right now.”
Nick hugged me, then loosened his grip. “Where’s Claire?”
“Kate had a nightmare,” I said. “She’s in there with her, trying to calm her down.”
He nodded, then clapped my shoulder. “How are you holdin’ up?”
“I’m fine.”
“We found your car in the ditch,” he said. “I was pretty worried there for a minute especially when I found Claire’s gun on the ground. I’m just glad you two are okay.”
My brother hugged me again.
“Claire will be glad to get her gun back,” I said.
Nick looked at me as emotion consumed him.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m fine.”
“Max told me what they did to you and Claire,” he continued. “I’m gonna kill Z! The second I get my hands on that as—”
“Language, Nick!” Val scolded.
“That...jerk, he’s a dead man. He tried to kill you in that warehouse and now this? After you risked your life to save his people? I’m gonna make him suffer and show him no mercy.” With that, Nick stormed off to the bedroom to check on Claire.
Lucas laughed and shook his head. “Man, Dean, you’re always putting him in a mood,” he said, “but it’s good you’re okay.”
“Thanks, man,” I said sheepishly, hating all the fuss.
“Um...can somebody please fill me in?” Asia asked. “I’m totally in the dark here.”
I explained the entire story to everyone from start to finish, in vivid, gory detail.
Val was horrified and swore revenge, and Lucas and Asia were ready to sneak into Z’s lair and slice his throat.
Finally, Claire and Nick returned to the living room, and Claire was instantly pulled into a hug by my sister.
“We gotta get that Z,” Lucas said, seething.
“We can’t do anything foolish,” Nick said. “I think Max has a pretty good idea about making a plan and attacking in a week. We’ll get our revenge, if it’s the last thing we ever do, but we gotta be smart about it.”
“We’re coming with you,” Asia said.
Nick nodded. “Fine. Let’s all go.”
And with that, we headed out the door, eager to plan Z’s destruction.
Chapter 8
Max had been scheming for a couple days about the most effective way to take Z down. His goal was to neutralize him without harming the women, children, elderly, and any men who refused to fight. He wanted to spare as many lives as possible, to come out victorious with very little bloodshed. He knew cutting the head off the snake would cool the tempers of the others, and he wanted to help the survivors after Z’s demise.
To boost the arsenal, we offered many weapons from the back of our U-Haul. Max graciously left some for us, as he knew we wanted to get back to Ohio and would need firepower for that journey. In his heart, he hoped we’d stay, but he knew Nick was dead set on getting home eventually.
To drum up some extra support, more to fight for our cause, Max traveled outside the city. He promised the would-be soldiers a safe place to live if they’d help take down the gang, and several joined up after his motivating speech and all the promises he made. He housed many of them down the hill from us, and they were very grateful to be granted lodging in our special, very unique city that so many had worked so hard to rebuild and secure.
Max assigned us to scavenge for supplies, and we all went except for Claire and Asia, since they’d already gone with another team to scavenge for guns, weapons, and useful items in a nearby town that hadn’t yet been pillaged. Nick, Val, Kate, Lucas, and I had to go a little farther out, because everything around the city had been depleted; we drove for about an hour outside the city border. We were pretty lucky, even though it started to rain, because the weather was warmer than normal for winter, a balmy fifty-five instead of the twenty-five degrees we’d been dealing with. We made sure to pack a couple gas cans in the back so we wouldn’t have to look for fuel. The only part of the trip that bothered me was that we would be returning at night, but I figured we’d be pretty safe in a moving vehicle.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared as the rain poured down. The windshield wipers swished at top speed, but even that didn’t give us a clear line of sight.
“This is crazy,” Kate said. “We can’t drive like this. It’s like a monsoon out there.”
No sooner than the words left her mouth, the SUV jerked, and the right side fell into a huge pothole. The ground rumbled, and I knew we’d hit more than a regular bump in the road. Was that a tremor...like from an earthquake? I could see the ground falling away, and dirt, rocks, and chunks of asphalt pelted the windshield as the road collapsed beneath us. It was as if the Earth had opened up to swallow our vehicle whole, nose first, as if we were being devoured. Kate screamed and my stomach lurched as we were submerged in a small crater. In a matter of seconds, the whole road collapsed
, swallowing us up like a black hole. Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The eroding pavement and water made me nervous. What if we sink deeper? What if another car falls in and lands on top of us? What if... I had to stop myself from that train of thought, because the what-ifs were almost too frightening to consider.
“The road caved in!” Val said, stating the obvious in a shriek.
The SUV sank lower and lower and began to fill up with water. I didn’t want to go any deeper into that horrible pit, and I imagined our SUV and us being incinerated in the fiery, hot core of the Earth.
“We’ve gotta get outta here!” Lucas said.
Kate threw her shoulder into the door. “We can’t! The doors are jammed!”
“The hatchback!” Nick commanded.
With my heart pounding, I crawled to the back. “Nick, are you okay?” I asked when I saw my brother wince.
“I think I dislocated my shoulder.” With a groan, he tried one more time to open the hatchback, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s stuck,” he said with a huff. “Let’s try together.”
I grunted and pushed with all my strength, and we got the stubborn thing open a narrow gap, just enough for us to squeeze through. We frantically began pushing rubble and debris out of the way so we could open the door wide enough for everyone to get out.
“Okay, that’s good,” Nick said.
The door opened halfway, and I moved out. My feet stood on rocks and pebbles and sharp, jagged concrete. I glanced up through the sheets of cold, pouring rain and saw that we’d plummeted ten feet into a massive crevice in the ground. Fortunately, it appeared we’d be able to climb back up the metal grating and on blocks of concrete, a makeshift ladder. I didn’t know what we were going to do about the car, as it would have taken a crane to get it out of there, but for the time being, we had to be concerned with ourselves. As I started to help the others out, a loud boom of thunder echoed in the air, causing me to shiver.
Val, ever the ingenious one, converted her black sweater into a splint. She blinked the rain out of her eyes as she tied it in place, with Nick grumbling and complaining all the while. “There. That oughtta help some,” she said, proud of herself.
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