Love in the Age of Zombies (Book 3): Zombie Destruction

by James K. Evans

  Lee walked over to the beach chair she was in when Sammy spied on her. “This is kind of my spot,” she said. “This is where I work on my tan, or sit in the chair and read a book if it’s cloudy. Every summer I tell myself, you probably won’t find any Petoskey Stones here, you got them all last year! But every year I find a bunch. I have so many I don’t know what to do with them.” They began to walk south.

  Kevin stopped abruptly. “Oh, no!!” he moaned.

  “Kevin! What’s wrong?” Lee cried in alarm.

  “I just remembered. We packed in such a hurry to get Doc here, I never thought to pack my rocks! I left my Petoskey Stone collection in Ann Arbor!” Kevin was seriously distraught, and Lee completely understood.

  “Oh, Kevin, that’s horrible!”

  “I have some really nice ones, and they all have such sentimental memories! Like the first one I found on Old Baldy. Or the one I found in the beams of shipwreck Marinette.”

  “Nobody’s going to steal them, Kevin. You’ll go back to get them when the time’s right.”

  “Do you really believe we’re going to bounce back from this devastation?”

  “Yes, but I’m an optimist. For life is quite absurd, and death’s the final word, you must always face the curtain with a bow!

  With a laugh Kevin sang along. “Always look on the bright side of life!” Together they whistled the tune with a smile. They walked along, picking up occasional fossil suspects but finding no Petoskey Stones. Kevin found his second favorite fossil, a nice Charlevoix Stone, and was content. He also found some beach glass and some horn coral, but it wasn’t the same as finding Petoskey Stones. Before long his pockets were weighted down with stones. Lee noticed and said, “Isn’t this how things got started when we first met? Is that a Petoskey Stone in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?!” She asked, referencing the first time she’d noticed the bulge in his shorts.

  Kevin blushed and said, “No Petoskey Stone this time.”

  As they came to a point where the tree line came particularly close to the water, Kevin saw a fence cross the beach and lead into the water until it disappeared. “I never noticed the fence before,” he remarked.

  “That’s intentional,” Lee responded, “we wanted it to be as unobtrusive as possible. The fence goes up into the woods and surrounds our property. It doesn’t completely keep the zombies out, but we’ve only seen a few in the past six months.”

  They turned around and walked back. Petoskey Stones or no Petoskey Stones, Kevin enjoyed himself. His life had improved a great deal in the past month. They were surrounded by people, some of them already fast friends, and he now had his own home in paradise.

  Looking north, Kevin saw the southern wall of the breakwater where Betsie Bay was sequestered from Lake Michigan. To the east, Betsie River emptied into Betsie Bay. “How far is the dock from here?” he asked.

  “It’s about a half-mile,” Lee replied, “Do you have time to look for more stones?”

  “Probably not. I’d better paddle back to town.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to take you in the boat?”

  “No, I’d rather paddle. Most of my life I’ve enjoyed a lot of solitude. Paddling the canoe across the bay is one of my things to do.”

  As they climbed the steps, Lee explained how she met Jake and how they fell in love. They were children of the sixties, but just barely. Jake was seventeen when the Woodstock festival was held. He wanted to go, but his parents put the nix on his plans. By the time he was independent, Altamont had already happened. Free love, peaceniks, turn on, tune in, and drop out had left Haight Ashbury a free zone for addicts and the homeless. Then Time Magazine declared God is Dead on the cover, announcing an end to the naiveté so many had embraced.

  Yet Jake chose to adopt the hippie way of life. He believed in honesty, love, and peace. He believed in the peace pipe and treating people the way he wanted to be treated. He thought he was put on this earth for a special reason, but the reason wasn’t yet clear. He had just completed a Native American spirit quest in a sweat lodge when he met Lee. As he stepped from the dim light of the sweat lodge into the bright sun, he saw her. Not the Lee most people see, but the inner Lee, the spiritual Lee, the true, pure Lee nobody else could see. He didn’t see her body or her neuroses or her scars, he saw the bright spirit at the center of her core. At least, that’s what he had told her, and she believed him. She saw a love and acceptance in his eyes belying his age and experience. His spirit embraced her and her spirit responded in turn. They’d been inseparable since the moment their eyes met in the Sonoran Desert.

  Kevin loved hearing her story but couldn’t help comparing it to his story of falling in love with Michelle. The collapse of civilization, flesh-eating zombies, mercenaries . . . there was no optimism, no sense of evolution, no faith in fellow man. There was only survival. He was envious of their experiences and continued faith.

  After they said their goodbyes, he paddled across the bay. The coolness of Betsie Bay, the pull of his muscles on the paddles, the Lake Michigan breeze on his cheeks, knowing Michelle and Doc were waiting for him: these things he believed in. There were no Disney happy endings, no happily ever after. Life was short and frequently difficult. Moments of happiness were few and should be cherished. Difficulty and confusion were the hallmark of most lives. We used to know this, he thought, but Hollywood made us believe good times are normal and hard times are unusual. Too bad the opposite is true. Hard times are normal; good times are priceless. Celebrate what joy you find.

  As he paddled along, his cynical feelings evaporated. He existed in the moment, a man paddling his canoe across a body of water on a bright, pleasant Michigan afternoon.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Sammy woke with a blistering headache, blinking painfully in blinding sunlight. In his drunken rage he’d torn down the blinds covering the window. Shit, when did I do that? he thought. His stomach cramped and he stumbled out of bed to the toilet, where he sat on the floor and puked into the porcelain chamber. His vomit tasted like bourbon and bile. Breakfast of champions, he thought. His vision swam and his stomach still churned. His bladder screamed at him as well, so he crawled out of bed to take a piss. When he finished he heard a noise coming from the basement, and it didn’t sound like the normal zombie chain-rattle.

  Still wearing his leather harness, he weaved his way back to bed. If that bitch is trying to escape, I’m going to kill her, he thought as he once again fell asleep.

  After he beached the canoe, Kevin headed to Stormcloud. He sat at the bar and enjoyed a cold beer while drooling over the food offerings. As they’d always done, Stormcloud offered flavored popcorn: chili lime, garlic parmesan, and cinnamon sugar. He finally broke down and ordered the chili lime, then sprinkled Zombie Blood on it. For a few minutes he was in capsaicin heaven. Tony walked in and declined Kevin’s offer of a beer. As Kevin finished the popcorn and licked his fingers clean, he saw Michelle walk into the bar. She looked quite pregnant.

  “Hey, doll!” he called out and waved. She saw him and smiled. As she walked to the bar, Kevin turned to Tony. “What’s the difference between a light bulb and a pregnant woman?” he asked. Rick overheard the question and sidled over.

  “I don’t know, what is the difference between a light bulb and a pregnant woman?” Tony responded as Michelle collapsed onto a bar stool.

  “You can unscrew a light bulb!” Kevin, Rick and Tony laughed while Michelle smiled politely. “Ready to check out our new house?” he asked her.

  “Can we wait about an hour? I ran into Doc and he wants to join us.”

  “Sure! How’s he feeling?”

  “He’s probably as tired as I am. We’re not used to being on our feet all day.”

  The manager of the guesthouse walked in and, spying Tony at the bar, walked over. Kevin offered her a seat, but she declined. “No thanks, I’m here on business,” she said. “Tony, have you seen the new girl in town? Name of Laura? In her late twenties?”

/>   “No, I don’t think so.”

  “New girl? I saw a new girl a couple of days ago. Came in here alone and drank a few beers with Sammy, then they left together.” Rick said.

  “I saw her, too,” confirmed Brian at the other end of the bar. “We even remarked on it.”

  “Why do you ask?” Tony asked her.

  “She checked in two days ago but hasn’t been in her room since and her bed hasn’t been slept in. Why would she check into the guesthouse but stay somewhere else? And why didn’t she come back for her stuff if she decided to stay somewhere else?”

  A look of dawning concern crossed Tony’s face. “Kevin, what did you say was in Sammy’s backpack?”

  “A drink, a few apples, the joints he stole, and . . . a pair of panties! Do you think they belong to the new girl?”

  “Only one way to find out. I’m going to pay him a visit,” Tony said. “If nothing else, maybe he knows where she is.”

  “I’ll go with you,” added Kevin.

  “It shouldn’t take long,” Tony added.

  Kevin gave Michelle a peck on the cheek. “If Doc gets here before I’m back, you two go on ahead and I’ll meet you at the house.” As the two men left Stormcloud and headed into the late afternoon sun, their shadows cast an angle before them on the sidewalk. “Let’s take the cart,” Tony said.

  Sammy woke up, dismayed to learn he’d slept the day away. At least my headache is gone, he thought as he crawled out of bed. I hate hearing a woman scream when I’m hungover! He headed for the basement.

  Tony and Kevin made quick time to Sammy’s house. The electric cart could move along at a pretty good clip. “What do you think the odds are she’s with him?” Kevin asked as they rode along.

  “It’s hard to say, but I wouldn’t want to be alone with him after what happened. He looked like he was ready to explode.” They pulled into the driveway just as Sammy unlocked the basement door and headed downstairs. The cart made so little noise he didn’t hear it. As it rolled to a stop, Tony pulled his firearm from the holster.

  “Take this. Just in case.” He held it out to Kevin, grip first.

  Kevin nearly refused to take it, but decided not to argue when Tony said, “Don’t worry, I have another.” He pulled a small .22 out of his pocket and Kevin took the revolver. They walked to the front door and knocked. When nobody answered, they decided to look around.

  The zombie instantly reacted to Sammy’s presence, rasping and trying to get to him. The chain around its waist had rubbed a wide gash in its abdomen and entrails bulged out.

  “Motherfucking assholes,” he muttered to himself, still thinking about Kevin, Jake and Lee. Then he remembered the noise he’d heard when he got up the first time. “What the hell has she been up to?” he mused. His hangover had left him impatient and angry.

  Laura could sense his anger and stayed quiet. Her broken arm was causing a lot of pain, and her muscles ached from being tied to the bench for nearly two days. She was hungry and her mouth was dry. She kept licking her split lip, occasionally wincing as her back muscles twinged.

  Tony and Kevin walked to the back of the house. They could see a bottle of tequila on the back porch along with a shot glass. Kevin quietly tried to open the screen door but it was locked.

  “I’ll walk around the other side of the house. Maybe I can look through the windows,” Kevin suggested.

  “I’ll check out the garage,” Tony said. He followed the bare sand track where tires had worn down the grass over the years and peered through the garage door windows. Then he moved to the side door, hoping it was unlocked.

  Sammy walked around the bench, staying out of the zombie’s reach. He saw nothing amiss and walked over to the table, once again thinking about the humiliation he’d endured yesterday. “They think they can treat me like shit? Like I’m some kind of dirt they can walk on? Goddamn motherfuckers!!” He picked up the paddle and without saying a word struck Laura hard in the ass. She never saw it coming. Her body jolted in pain and she screamed a long, terrified wail.

  Kevin was walking past the basement window when he heard her scream. He dropped to his knees and peered through the dirty glass. It was so dim he couldn’t see much, but what he saw filled him with horror. A naked woman was tied to a wooden frame, her ass in the air. Her body was bloody and bruised. Beyond her a zombie writhed and pulled on chains which kept it tethered to the wall. Something moved out of sight into the darker recesses of the room, but Kevin couldn’t tell what it was. He jumped up and ran around to the front of the house.

  When Kevin stooped down to peer into the window, his body blocked the light. Sammy instantly stepped back into the shadows. When he realized who was looking through the window, his heart began to race. It was Kevin!

  Sometimes wishes do come true, thought Sammy. He waited until Kevin moved away from the window, then grabbed the ball gag and section of lead pipe from the table. He strapped the gag over Laura’s head. “Open your fucking mouth!” He hissed. When she didn’t move fast enough he brought the pipe down, hard, on her upper back. She felt a sickening snap! as a couple of ribs cracked. When she opened her mouth to scream, he shoved the ball between her lips and past her teeth. He was about to hurry up the stairs when he heard a splintering crash. He stepped back down into the shadows of the basement, breathing hard. He was practically getting an erection thinking about what he would do to Kevin.

  Outside the front of the house, Kevin heard Laura scream when Sammy clubbed her with the pipe, a scream that was suddenly cut off. Shit, he’s killing her! he thought. He rushed to the front door and kicked it, hard. It didn’t open. He stepped back then plowed into it, shoulder first. It gave partway. He slammed into it again and the doorjamb splintered open with a crash. He rushed inside, pistol first, and looked around for the basement door. He rushed through the living room and into the kitchen, then saw the basement door hanging partially open. He flung it wide and rushed down the stairs.

  C’mon down and join the party, Kevin! Sammy thought as a grin spread across his face, I’m sure you’ll have a good time! He crouched behind a rusty old file cabinet near the stairwell, a few steps away. The heavy pipe felt good in his hand. It’ll feel even better when it’s covered with Kevin’s blood! he thought.

  Laura heard Kevin break through the front door and then heard Sammy hide. When he’d forced the ball gag into her mouth he’d reopened her split lip and blood began to flow freely. Her side ached from where he’d broken her ribs with the pipe. She heard Kevin rush down the stairs and tried to warn him, but her voice was muffled and unintelligible through the gag.

  The zombie saw Kevin and became even more agitated. As Kevin rushed down the steps it stretched out, rasping.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Kevin’s nostrils flared at the stench from the rotting zombie and Laura’s blood and vomit. He descended the last step and quickly turned, expecting Sammy to be hiding beneath the stairs. Sammy stepped out from the file cabinet behind Kevin and raised the pipe in the air.

  The pipe slammed down on Kevin’s wrist, breaking it with a snap. The gun flew from his hand and discharged, the slug striking the wall harmlessly. Before Kevin could react, Sammy shoved him, hard, toward the zombie. Kevin crashed against it, knocking both of them back against the wall. As it fell, one leg got tangled under Kevin. Kevin was smeared with dark rotting zombie flesh.

  Tony had been checking the garage when he heard Laura scream, then the sound of Kevin smashing through the front door. What the hell? he thought. He rushed toward the house, shouting Kevin’s name. A moment later he heard the muffled report of a gunshot. Holy shit! he thought as he raced around the house and through the battered front door.

  Sammy leapt for the gun where it had skittered to a stop against the spanking bench. Laura was struggling and trying to shout. I’m going to teach her a lesson she’ll remember the rest of her short life! he thought darkly as he grabbed the gun. He stood between Laura and Kevin, blocking her view. Kevin was still trying to get
untangled from the zombie’s legs.

  Seeing how Sammy was distracted by Kevin and the zombie, Laura thought this might be my only chance! She began to rock the bench as hard as she could. It teetered from side to side.

  Sammy pointed the gun at Kevin’s head and laughed. “Like I said, you don’t know who you’re fucking with!” He was about to pull the trigger but paused with a smile, and instead watched the zombie.

  It reached out with its rotting hands and grabbed Kevin’s arm. Kevin screamed when he felt the zombie’s teeth tear through his shirt and into his shoulder. It tore away a chunk of flesh; Sammy cackled with glee.

  A few blocks away, Doc, Michelle and Carolyn waited for Kevin, then began to explore the house. There was a perfect room for a nursery, the standalone house in the back, and a recently renovated kitchen.

  “Kevin’s going to love it!” Michelle said.

  Tony heard Kevin scream and rushed to the basement door. Holding his gun steady, he dropped onto one knee and peered into the dim basement. Inside he could see Kevin in a perversely intimate embrace with an unclothed zombie. It chewed Kevin’s shoulder as blood gushed out of its jaw and down Kevin’s shirt. Kevin was still screaming and writhing around, trying to escape. Sammy laughed as he watched the zombie, his gun pointed at Kevin’s head.

  Sammy was still wearing his leather harness and nothing else. With his pudgy body and hairy back, the look was grotesque. Tony couldn’t see Sammy’s head; it was blocked by the stairwell. Behind Sammy was a nude woman tied to a wooden frame, a gag in her bloody mouth. Her face had been beaten. Blood flowed down her legs from Sammy’s brutal violations. She had bruises on her back and ass, and red stripes and blisters on her ass from the cane. She was struggling to escape and the contraption rocked back and forth on its legs.