Chapter Twenty-One
The man and the woman were blaming each other like it was a comedy routine. Darlene was starting to get a headache, not from using her powers, but because of their talking over one another.
“Shut up… both of you shut the fuck up. I’ll just shoot you both and be done with it,” Darlene finally said. She aimed at the man’s head because he was the only real threat right now.
He put up his hands and tried to smile, staring at the Desert Eagle.
“No need to kill anyone. I’m Keenan. I was minding my own business, trying to survive, when I ran into this chick. She lured me into the building and smashed me in the face with a chair. When I came to I was the one tied down.”
“He’s lying,” the woman said.
Darlene aimed the gun at her head. “You’ll have your turn. Quiet.”
“I managed to untie myself and turned the tables on her. She was going to put me on the third floor with the rest of the zombies. Did you see the one in the bathroom? It was wandering around because she keeps one as a damn pet,” Keenan said.
“What were you going to do with her?” Darlene asked, concentrating on the man as he spoke and monitoring the woman’s thoughts as well. She was getting the hang of this. Maybe she could jump out the window and fly for the finale.
Keenan shrugged. “I was thinking about giving her a taste of her own medicine and dragging her ass down to the zombie floor. I’m not sure I can let her live. Seen it too many times: she swears she’ll take off and I’ll never see her again, but then she sneaks back in and kills me in my sleep.”
“If you let me go, I really will go away. It’s a big world,” the woman said. She turned and smiled at Darlene. “I’m Michelle, by the way. Thank you for saving me. He was about to kill me.”
Darlene stared at Michelle for a few seconds and probed around in her mind. She hadn’t always been this twisted but things had happened to her. Many sick things. She just wasn’t right anymore.
“You do know she’s lying, right? She’s already wondering if you know about the basement entrance. She has an extra set of keys hidden in the lobby, too,” Darlene said.
Keenan shrugged his shoulders again. The man looked tired.
Darlene lowered the Desert Eagle and took a step back.
“Where are you going? You’re leaving me to die. You know it, right? Get back here you stupid bitch and save me,” Michelle screamed. She began struggling in the chair.
Darlene nodded at Keenan before she turned and walked away. She didn’t want to know what the outcome was going to be. She no longer cared what happened in this building or any building in this rotting town. She needed to find her son and get back to Daytona Beach and hope the Lich Lord hadn’t played her for a fool.
As she got back outside into the unrelenting sun and heat, she wondered if she would be able to read his thoughts when next they met. The Lich Lord hadn’t been able to read her mind but did it work both ways? Darlene needed to practice more and see what else she could do.
She opened up her mind to find her son but now his aura (or whatever she called it) was gone.
Darlene was confused. She’d been following it like a beacon, a slight tug in the back of her brain that pushed her along in the right direction. Now it was nowhere to be found no matter how hard she tried.
She wondered if she could do the same thing and mask her movements to other zombies.
Holy shit, other zombies? I’m not a fucking zombie, Darlene thought. She didn’t know what she was or where she fit in the grand scheme of things. She couldn’t worry about it right now.
Darlene concentrated on being invisible to anyone trying to find her. She didn’t know if it worked. She didn’t feel any different, either. She had a lot to learn and she felt like she was running out of time to get it all straightened out.
She walked a block back the way she'd come to the park, pushing through a group of zombies and finding a bench that wasn't covered in filth or blood.
There were birds singing in a tree across the park, their beautiful music calling to the twenty or so zombies standing under the tree and looking up, arms outstretched to grab the birds. Darlene wondered if they'd simply eat the birds if they could reach them, if the birds were oblivious to the threat below or mocking them, and if animals could catch the zombie virus or whatever it was that turned humans into monsters.
Was this God's plan all along? Let us get to a certain evolutionary point and then change all the rules? Darlene didn't know. She might never know, even though The Lich Lord was acting like he was figuring a few things out on his own.
Darlene wondered if she'd turn into The Lich Lord and focus on her thoughts instead of actions. She knew he had troubling things running through his superior mind and, if she focused even for a few seconds on something, she could see deeper into it than ever before.
Why shouldn't she?
Darlene closed her eyes and raised her arms, feeling foolish.
Her mind wandered and as her thoughts formed to video game ideas she got a grid pattern of the city and little red dots for anything breathing, blue dots for the zombies and yellow lines racing from each red dot to where they'd come from.
Could she... yes, each red dot had a name of a person above it, like a game. The scene became three dimensional but see-through, and she could figure out where each person stood and what they were doing in real time.
Darlene felt like she'd used a cheat code to see through walls and where all of the cool shit was.
Such as... the scene was stripped of the red and blue dots and lines and now, in glowing green, was the location of every weapon and all the ammo for a mile in any direction. Even down to a single discarded bullet in the gutter not ten feet from where she stood.
The scene could be swung like a first-person shooter and Darlene moved with ease, her body still in one place but now her mind racing through the streets at lightning speed, revealing every nook and cranny in the vast terrain.
She knew where she was going to end up: at the stadium.
The parking lot was immaculate. It had been cleaned. She could see the details in their finest form: someone had taken great care to sweep the dirt and debris from the area. The fences had been repaired. Cars in the parking lot were in neat rows and none of the abandoned cars had so much as a dent in them.
To Darlene it was like a crime scene had been staged. Her mind wandered to the nearby river, and she could see the submerged damaged cars and ruined fencing, tossed into the river to hide.
And then... there was a presence inside, an awful and vengeful spirit who wanted nothing more than to destroy both Darlene and her baby. It wanted her powers. It wanted to rule the world.
It knew Darlene was nearby.
She pulled her mind back just as the first tentative prodding came and Darlene shut down her mind and thoughts, shutting heavy iron gates in front of her to block out anyone and everything. Nothing was going to get inside her mind unless she wanted it to, and she didn't see a reason for it.
Darlene smiled when she opened her eyes and saw the zombies in the area, all standing at attention and staring in her direction.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hayden and the baby were gone.
Bri had been dreaming of flowers, a vast field of them. She'd been running from the grinning baby, playing a fun game. Only the baby was full-grown now and looked just like his father.
Just as the scene had turned dark, with the baby appearing in front of Bri in the field wielding a bloody axe, had she woken.
She ran to the window, hoping they hadn't left too long ago. The street below was empty and, by the position of the sun, she'd overslept. It would be dark soon. Why had she taken a nap anyway?
Hayden had a few hours to leave. He doesn't sleep and neither does the baby, Bri thought. He could've left hours ago, as soon as I fell asleep.
Bri tried to think where Hayden would take the baby, and why.
He'd been very quiet once they'd separ
ated from the couple looking for toys.
She'd tried to talk to him about going to the stadium and facing the female zombie but he'd told her it was too dangerous and he couldn't protect her.
Maybe he'd hidden the baby in a safe spot and gone to fight her alone?
It didn't make sense but most things Hayden did were mysterious to Bri.
She put her shoes back on and went through her inventory to find a couple of weapons, wondering what she was going to do. It would be dangerous to wander around the city at night, especially when the zombies made no sounds unless they kicked debris or tripped over something.
Bri couldn't wait until the morning, though. Hayden already had too much of a jump on her.
With no idea of a direction or destination, she headed down to the street, hoping a pistol with three bullets and a piece of bent metal would suffice to keep her safe.
At the next intersection, she stopped short and held her breath, throwing herself flat against the nearest wall.
The first zombie came into view but hadn't seen Bri. It was joined by several more.
Bri looked back to make sure nothing was sneaking up behind her. The street was empty so she took small steps back the way she'd come, being as quiet as she could.
The zombies were shuffling along, a large pack of them, more than she'd ever seen together. Luckily they had their dead eyes ahead and were ignoring her.
Bri knew all it would take was one zombie to glance in her direction and change course, bringing fifty of its friends with it.
She got far enough away she knew even if she was spotted she could easily escape. Bri turned and ran up the street, expecting to see another line of zombies at the next street, but it was quiet.
Where are you, Hayden? Bri tried not to panic but she had no idea where he could be. If she circled the city, would she find him?
Three blocks down she encountered another line of zombies, filling the streets and sidewalk on either side and heading on a crash course with the first group she'd seen.
She'd never known them to be this organized. It didn't make sense but her curiosity got the better of her and Bri used a parallel street to get ahead of the pack, running as fast as she could but watching so she didn't trip.
They were heading towards the middle of the city. Why?
Bri followed at a distance but more were coming up from behind her so she ducked into a building and followed the stairs up to the roof, keeping an eye out for zombies and debris she could get hurt on.
She was winded and the sun was beginning to go down as she peeked over the side to see a mass of zombies, all packing into the center of the city near the library. She was too far to see all of them but she knew there were hundreds. Maybe more?
Hayden could read her thoughts so she tried to project them over the city, feeling foolish but not knowing what else to do. She walked to all four sides of the roof carefully, the wind picking up in gusts.
I'm sorry for whatever I did. I miss you. I love you. Bring the baby back and we can be a family, Bri thought over and over.
If Hayden was listening, maybe he'd hear her plea to return.
Bri tried to think of what had set him off to run away from her, and where she'd gone wrong. She didn't want to think about it after a few different fights and demands from her came to mind.
"You've been a royal bitch," Bri said quietly. She had been. She'd driven Hayden away from her and torn them apart. She'd nagged until he couldn't take it anymore. He might be a zombie but he was still human in there somewhere and he had feelings.
She felt like she'd lost him forever.
Ever since they'd met and had the crazy idea to steal the baby, for its own good, and head North, Bri had felt complete. Hayden made her feel special and loved.
After all of the horrible people she'd met and sights she'd had to endure, Bri had finally found someone she could trust and spend the rest of her life with.
What had she done? Acted like a teenager and pushed the love of her life away.
Bri wondered if Hayden had planned this all along. What if his goal was to get help stealing the baby, only to deliver it to the zombie at the stadium? He was, after all, now a zombie. With powers of manipulation. Maybe he'd set her up and now he didn't need her anymore.
Was it a coincidence he talked to the couple looking for toys? Maybe he'd gotten some information from them before Bri had joined the party. The wheels had been set into motion and Bri was no longer needed.
Sonofabitch.
Bri needed weapons. Powerful ones, too. Hayden had found a few rifles and pistols and put them in a box at the building they stayed at. He said it was for safekeeping, in case they really needed them.
She felt like she needed them now, especially with the streets packed with zombies. She had no doubt she'd have a Hell of a fight on her hands to get to the stadium with hundreds of zombies trying to bite and violate her.
Bri felt like she'd sworn to protect the baby and she'd let the weird little bugger down. She already missed his creepy looks and the intelligence in his eyes as he watched everything she did.
She remembered a day not too long ago when she'd woken on the dirty floor to see both the baby and Hayden, both never sleeping, just staring at her. It was a little odd.
Now she missed them both.
Bri flew down the stairs, not worrying about noise or stealth. In her mind, every zombie in this city was gathering for something huge. A party she wasn't invited to. Something of great importance not only to the undead but to her own future.
What if the zombies had figured out Hayden had the baby and that's why they were congregating?
Bri didn't know and right now she didn't care. Her only goal was to get back to the building in one piece and get to the weapons.
Then fight across town with a limited amount of ammo.
She hoped the rest would work itself out.
Chapter Twenty-Three
"Stop looking at me. Say something. I know damn well you can talk. Fuck... when you were alive you never shut up. You rambled on and on about your characters in the games and your fantasy world online because you had no life outside of it. You barely ate if I didn't remind you. When was the last time you brushed your teeth?" Tosha wanted to break something but couldn't risk the noise.
Mathyu, silent as usual, stood in the corner of the room and stared.
Tosha had found a child's bicycle, pink handlebars and yellow fringes adorning it. A bike she would've loved as a small child but hated once her angry teen years had arrived. She remembered the sleek black mountain bike she'd stolen from a guy she liked in high school. She'd ridden it for months before it was in turn stolen from her, probably back by the guy who was too afraid to ever talk to her.
She'd been able to ride for miles, enjoying the sunshine and the breeze as she pedaled faster and faster away from the mall and the scene she'd run from.
Tosha was tired, her legs hurting, but she'd found this outbuilding near the river at a coffee factory. The room still smelled like coffee and she had a funny vision of lying on the ground licking at the floorboards to get a taste.
"I'd kill for a cup of coffee. Shit. Even decaf right now. Why can't you be a cool fucking ghost and lead me to a secret stash of ground coffee, a coffee pot, a nice mug and some cream and sugar? Huh?" Tosha was about to say something else when Mathyu turned and walked through the wall, gone.
"Well... holy shit. Are you leading me somewhere or just being an asshole?" Tosha waited a few minutes to see if she came back. When it was obvious she wasn't, Tosha had no choice but to see where she'd gone to.
She walked outside and looked around. The sun was going down and a nice breeze was coming off of the river behind her, which was a nice change. She wasn't a big fan of Florida weather.
There were no zombies she could see, which was a nice change of pace. Even though they weren't much of a threat individually, the bastards sometimes hunted in packs.
"Where did you go, sis?" Tosha whispered.<
br />
She walked the grounds, careful not to attract attention, but Mathyu was gone once again without a trace.
Except... Tosha kept looking across the I-95 exchange, where several exit and entrance ramps converged. In earlier times, this area must've been crazy busy with vehicular traffic and angry rush hour drivers. Now it was just another place where a battle had been fought, abandoned cars and bloodstains.
And the football stadium in the background.
Tosha was about to turn away but she thought she saw her sister in the distance, standing on one of the ramps to the stadium. She turned but Mathyu was gone again.
"I know I saw you. What are you doing over there? Why do you want me to suddenly follow you, after all these months of staying out of my shit?" Tosha didn't get it.
She also had no choice but to follow her sister and see what was going on at the stadium. Maybe there was a game going on. Maybe the stadium was filled with hot food and cold beer or super hot dudes who just wanted a redhead to wait on hand and foot.
A girl can dream, Tosha thought.
She made her way across the road with minimal interaction with zombies, easily dodging them as she moved as quietly as possible. She was getting really good at moving fast and quiet now.
Her only concern was getting to the stadium and the sun going down and her being trapped in no man's land between the safety of the coffee factory and the stadium, which she was sure was locked down tightly, especially if someone lived inside.
A group of zombies appeared, coming across a parking lot near the stadium. Tosha stopped, ready to hit and run, taking a couple down before getting away.
At least two looked in her direction before turning their heads away, never missing a step as they kept going in the same direction.
Tosha thought maybe they were smart zombies, but they moved and acted like all the rest.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Tosha thought, one of her mother's stupid old sayings. Mathyu would say it every now and again just to piss Tosha off, especially if they were arguing about something.
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