The Last Days (Books 1-3)

by Julie Cooper Brown

  A female infected was continually slamming herself into the floor length mirror mounted to the wall. I don’t know if she was trying to hurt herself or if she didn’t realize that she was looking at herself at all.

  It was sort of comical because every few slams she would stop and shake her head and look perplexed, then resumed slamming into mirror. I really had to go; I was crossing my legs at this point and doing the ‘I gotta pee’ dance.

  I was going to shut the door and find an isle to go in, but just before I could she saw my reflection in the mirror. She did not turn around like I thought she would. Instead she backed up a little bit and then ran at the mirror, thinking she could get at me through it I guess. When she hit it that time, she bounced of it onto the floor.

  I almost laughed, but controlled myself because if I laughed I was definitely gonna pee on myself and I also had to kill her.

  She didn’t make it off the floor before I pushed the door all the way open and put a bullet in her head. I then quickly ran into the stall and squatted over the bowl. I didn’t care if whoever sat there last was infected or not, I wasn’t going to put my ass on it. It seemed like I was peeing forever.

  Relieved that I got that out of the way, I tried the sink and it worked. I washed my hands and inspected my face in the mirror. I was a little dirty but other than that I looked okay. I left the bathroom questioning myself on why I even cared at that point. I took one more, quick look around the store for anything else I could find and went outside with Dave and Allen who had been popping the trunks of the cars that were there.

  They had found five gas cans in total and were syphoning gas out of a truck for the last one. They worked pretty quickly.

  “You guys did well, that should fill up Tank’s van.” I said.

  “Yea, at least we won’t have to stop here on the way back. Hopefully it’s enough to get us to another place we can get more.” Dave said as he tightened the cap. “Let’s go.” And we set out on our walk back to the van.

  Everyone was very happy to see us when we got back, well; everyone except for Kimmy. She ran up and stomped on Allen’s foot just for meanness.

  I wanted to stomp on hers but then I felt like that would be immature of me. I have just never wanted to slap a kid that bad. Allen mugged her away with has hand and she fell on her butt. No one said anything.

  We used a funnel that Tank already had and put the gas in the van. It almost filled it completely. We would be good for a while.

  We got back on the interstate and the following six hours were pretty much uneventful except that Barbie was now only a torso and Kimmy was chewing on the rounded stump that used to connect the head to the body. She saw me looking, stuck her tongue out at me and gave me the finger. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. We crossed into Georgia and Tank told us his gas light was on. He said we could probably make it another twenty miles before we were completely empty.

  THE HIDEAWAY

  “I know a bar called the Hideaway, just about three miles off the interstate, on Loch Laurel Road. Take the next exit.” John said. The few cars we had seen over the last few miles had been pulled over and abandoned, we assumed they were out of gas as well so we didn’t stop to check.

  “Since when do you know about bars in Georgia?” Tisha asked, “You don’t drink.”

  John turned around in his seat and faced her, he looked a little nervous and said; “I was an alcoholic once. It was hard to get sober, but I did it. I never told you because of how you talked about your ex and his drinking. I didn’t want to scare you off. Anyway, a friend of mine used to own it until he died; he left it to his nephew. I used to stop in from time to time to see how he was when my route took me through this area. I don’t even know if it’s still there but it’s worth a shot. Might be some supplies or something we can use. Maybe some cars to get gas from. There are no stations off the next three exits. ”

  “You used to drive a truck or something?”

  “Yes, Tisha. I did.”

  “I wonder what you else you haven’t told me. You want to tell me anything else I should know?” She was being just a little sarcastic, I don’t really think it mattered to her though; she still had a genuine smile on her face. You could tell she loved him by the way she looked at him.

  Tank pulled off the exit and it didn’t take long to get there. The Hideaway was a good name for it, the driveway leading to it was at least a half mile long and the bar itself was surrounded by dense woods on both sides and the back. In the parking lot in front of the building there were three cars and one SUV. The door to the SUV was open and as we rounded the lot we could see a man slumped over in the seat. Tank stopped and Dave got out to approach the vehicle and an able infected shot out from under the SUV and grabbed Dave’s’ leg.

  Tank got it with his shotgun and it splattered its head all over the ground. It was like popping a balloon. Its hand opened up and twitched before flopping to the ground.

  A little of the carnage dotted Dave’s right boot and cuff of his pant leg. Dave then shot the man slumped in the seat just in case. I looked at Angel and she was looking at Dave with a worried expression. I think I even saw a tear, but if I did; she wiped it away very quickly.

  “I’ll walk to the door; I don’t want to get this on anything in the van. I’ll clean it up when we get inside.”

  Tank parked the van directly in front of the door and we all got out. Allen kept his distance from Kimmy since she liked to abuse him so much.

  Unfortunately Angel had to pass her to get out of the van, and Kimmy grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her down hard.

  My first thought was to slap the kid but Angel quickly recovered. She was up off the ground and slapped Kimmy herself before I knew what was happening.

  Kimmy was holding her hand to her face staring at Angel in disbelief. Suddenly her expression changed and she started screaming at the top of her lungs. Tisha promptly clamped her hand across Kimmys mouth to muffle the screams.

  Angel then stood back and smoothed her crooked ponytail, saw her one remaining purple ribbon on the ground and picked it up. She handed it to me and I put it in my pocket. I would put it back in her hair later. I took her hand and we went through the doors. Tank and Dave were already in and looking for other Infected. There were none. There was still a little daylight left and we took advantage of that and searched for supplies to take with us.

  We did get lucky in not finding anymore infected, and lucky in finding more goods. There were sodas, candy bars, chips and pretzels. The bar had a very small kitchen, but there were canned goods on the shelf. The cooler was full of warm bottles and cans of beer. I had offered one to Tank but he declined saying that he would wait until he got home to his own bar before he was going to drink. I gave a bottle of Pabst blue Ribbon to everyone else, including myself. No one had any more than one beer.

  Tisha and I sat at a booth with the two girls and Tank, Allen and John sat on stools at the bar. Dave disappeared for a moment, I assumed to clean up his boot and pant leg, and to make sure that none of it hit his skin. He returned and sat in a chair at a table close to the door. Angel no longer seemed to be afraid of Kimmy and the two sat across staring at each other across the table. Kimmy was making faces as usual and sticking her fingers in the arm sockets of what was left of Barbie. The men at the bar were talking amongst their selves and Dave sat and watched the door. I wondered how Tisha ended up with someone as old as John. So, I asked her how they met.

  “I used to work at a small lunch café called Noah’s Ark. He came in for a Rueben every Thursday. We chatted here and there during his visits and became friends. He started going out of his way to come in on Tuesdays as well. Then one day he just started coming in with flowers or something I might’ve mentioned wanting. I grew fond of him. I knew he was much older than I was. It didn’t matter to me though because I really was taking a liking to him. I had never been given gifts from a man before, well; not from anyone that didn’t expect something in return. John didn�
��t want anything. He was being his self. He didn’t even ever ask me out. I was the one who approached him for a date. So, we went to a festival they were having downtown and had a great time. The rest is history.”

  She started picking at the label on her bottle of beer and looked over at him. He must’ve felt it because he looked back at her and smiled. “I love him more than I can even explain.”

  I thought of Jillian and Evan and I became saddened. I pulled Jillian’s phone out of my pocket and hoped it was still working when I opened it. It still held a charge. I told her who they were and about the notes I found and how it ended for Jillian. Her eyes welled up with tears while she was looking at the pictures and listening to me talk about them.

  “So you think that their minds are still functioning while their bodies decay?”

  “Yea, I do. But there’s nothing we can do to help them other than give them a final death.”

  She pondered on this for a few minutes and then said, “What about you, Kate? Was there anyone special in your life?” She looked over at Dave who seemed to be caught up in his thoughts.

  “No, no one special in a long time. The last guy I was with was an alcoholic, and a mean one at that. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I left.”

  “What about Dave? I think he’s a little sweet on you.” She said.

  “He’s not sweet on me,” I laughed “I’ve known him for many years. I’ve known him since high school.”

  “Oh, I thought you two had something going on. My bad. But I know for sure Allen is sweet on you. He told me so.”

  “That’s so nice, but I am gonna have to break his heart. He’s way too young for me. He doesn’t need to think about girls right now anyway. And he’s only crushing on me because I’m the only other warm blooded female here besides you and the girls. Hopefully we’ll all survive long enough for life to become normal again, but I don’t think that is gonna happen. Have you always had custody of Allen?” I asked.

  She looked down and tears were forming in her eyes again, her chin started to tremble and I felt bad for asking.

  “I’m sorry, Tisha. I am just being nosy. I shouldn’t ask personal questions.

  She wiped at her face and sniffled. “No, it’s okay. Allen belongs to my little brother Calvin. He didn’t make it. He was attacked at work before we all knew what was really going on. I went to claim his body and it was gone. Later that night, he showed up.

  John shot him. Allen didn’t see him and he doesn’t know that his dad came back. He thinks his dad died from a head wound caused by a fall at work. I couldn’t tell him the truth. I don’t want him to know.

  Of course at that time everything got worse and we had to run. I was going to tell him but he made a comment about being happy that his dad wasn’t around to have to worry about him (Allen) being eaten by a zombie. His dad worried about him an awful lot.

  He was over protective, ya know. And Allen was just as protective of him. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him after he said that. So, when you said that they were still aware inside… I wondered what my brother was feeling when he came back.”

  She broke down in loud sobs and John came over from the bar and wrapped her in his arms and rocked her. A few seconds later Allen was holding them both and crying as well. Nothing was said of why she was crying. They all knew. . I felt sorry for them. I had not yet lost anyone close to me, well not that I had to witness.

  I took the last sip of my beer and looked at Angel. She was leaning on my arm fast asleep, and Kimmy was still staring at her. Tisha regained her composure and John and Allen returned to the bar. John has his arm around Allen and Allen laid his head on John’s shoulder. He wiped the tears from his eyes.

  I gently moved her off my arm and got up out of the booth and laid her down in the seat. I asked Tisha to keep the demon child away from her thinking that a task would distract her thoughts.

  She laughed at the demon child reference and said “Absolutely.”

  I saw a door by the restroom that I hadn’t noticed before and it opened up into a small room with a full size bed and two comfy looking chairs. I closed the door and I went into the bathroom. I propped the door open with the waste basket so I could see what I was doing, did my business and went back out to the main room.

  “How long do you think that Angel’s father was down before he got back up, Kate?” Dave asked me. They had obviously been talking about how we found Angel. I had forgotten about him rising for a second time.

  “It was somewhere around five, six hours, maybe seven. We sure didn’t expect that to happen.” I said as I looked over at the booth and Angel and Kimmy were both sleeping now. Tisha had gotten up to sit at the bar with John. Everyone was turned in their stools looking at Dave. I took a seat in the chair next to him.

  “Well, we haven’t seen anyone else get back up after being shot so, maybe it only happens to the ones who go through the abled stage. It could be some kind of genetic anomaly. We just have to be more careful. I thought I’d let you guys know so if it happens it won’t be a surprise. You have to decapitate them. The bodies can’t get to you without the head and vice versa.”

  Everyone had become silent and it was getting dark outside.

  “I found a room with a bed and a couple chairs, and we have a long trip tomorrow if the cars out there have gas to syphon. I’m gonna grab Angel and take one of the chairs. I assume you want to keep watch, Dave?”

  “You assume right my friend. Allen will keep me company, won’t you Allen?’

  “Yea, I’ll stay up with you.” He left the bar stool to take the seat across from Dave.

  “I’m ready for a little sleep, too.” Tank said as yawned and stretched. Tisha picked up Kimmy and walked up to John.

  “I’m gonna stay out here with them for a while. I’ll be in shortly, Tisha. I love you.” John said.

  “I love you, too.” Tisha kissed him on the lips and followed us into the room.

  I am standing in the middle of an amusement park. I didn’t know how I got there. The multicolored lights gave me an ominous feeling. I had lost my key and didn’t know where it could be. I could see and hear the band of undead clowns on stage singing.

  It’s the one and only boogie man! He creeps, he hides, he sneaks, he slides! If your little feetsies are hanging off the edge of the bed, you’ll run on STUMPS motherfucker!

  I saw an entrance to a ride, the flashing lights above the door said it was the Tunnel of Terror. I didn’t want to go through the doors but I was being pulled in. As I neared the doors they swung open and I could see the dead lining the tracks of the tunnel, I could see the overhead lights illuminating the platforms ahead on each side. The brakes of the ride released with a loud clanging sound that echoed throughout. The chains on the track began click clacking as I moved forward; I looked down and was strapped into the seat of the ride, my arms down at my sides unable to move.

  The reanimated corpses of Jillian and Evan were in the first platform to my right. Evan’s disfigured face dripping blood and muck onto the seat as leaned over the rail and blindly swiped at me. The drops hissed and bubbled as they sizzled and burned into the upholstery of the seat.

  Jillian did not try to harm me, only turned her back to me. Her long beautiful hair flowing down her back, it was moving in waves and seemed to be alive.

  On the left, Dave was walking back and forth with his MP5 in hand and when I passed he screamed and put it in my face and pulled the trigger. I was shaking from fear and relief. The gun did not fire and he laughed at me. He then gave me a salute and turned the gun on himself. I squeezed my eyes shut just a millisecond before he pulled the trigger because I didn’t want to see my old friends brains splatter against the wall. I heard the thump of his body hitting the floor. I could hear the band outside louder than ever.

  Little Jimmy, Jimmy…GOT EM!

  Driven by death itself, only the satisfaction of slaughter will cause it to return to the Darkness from which it came.

  The ride con
tinued and before I reached the platform I could see Kimmy all covered in tiny specks of blood, laughing and slashing angrily at something that I could not yet see. As I approached she looked at me and held out her little left hand and she was holding my key! It was gold and attached to a shiny, purple, heart keychain. It glistened even in the dim lights of the tunnel.

  I started to reach for it, but realized my arms were still chained down and now I could finally see what she had been doing. A life size Barbie doll was chained to the wall stripped of all her clothes.

  There were many cuts and slashes across Barbie’s body and Kimmy had a pair of scissors in her hand. Though Barbie bled from her wounds and tried to pull away from oncoming blows, her face remained waxen and expressionless. Kimmy ran to the giant doll and scaled her body with one jump to latch onto Barbie’s waist and began making quick jabs to her face with the scissors and ripping her hair out with the other hand. Barbie tossed her head from side to side. And the band played on.

  The Worlds’ Greatest Boogie Woogie Wu will come to you. Slumber party sleepovers, intimate nights! Whatever the occasion of the midnight hour, he will gladly come and fuck that shit up!

  I could now see the end of the Tunnel. A huge cross in front of me was glowing bright yellow and Angel appeared on the track crying for me to help her. The cross then turned blood red and began melting. A huge black figure came from behind Angel and folded her into its arms until her cries became muffled and she disappeared. I began struggling in my restraints and instantly broke free. The ride was over and I was outside in front of the gruesome band and a female with long, blood matted hair and a missing arm was now singing…

  Please don’t let me fall asleep, cause the boogie man will creep. Through my window in my room, stab me with a broken broom.