As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3]

by Frater, Rhiannon

  Jenni could see the two zombies who had fallen off, closing fast. Not far behind them was an enormous crowd of the undead from the schools.

  After jumping into the truck, she slammed the door shut. Jack licked her face with relief. Katie drove on at top speed, her gaze flicking toward the gas gauge.

  “How far?”

  “An hour, but just back roads from this point out,” Jenni answered, trying to get the map turned the right way.

  “We’re close.”

  “He’s alive, Katie. Jason is alive. I know it.” She did not add that she needed to save him to make up for her failures as a mother. Katie wouldn’t understand.

  “We’ll save him,” Katie assured her. “We will.”

  Jenni believed her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  1.

  Frayed Edges

  Katie was still unsteady from the episode at the schools. Leaving that poor man behind was bad enough, but seeing the torrent of zombified families coming out of the school buildings had left her feeling sick to the very pit of her stomach.

  Maybe they were being foolish for thinking Jason was still alive. Hell, it was sheer luck that she and Jenni were both alive. Right place at the right time. She didn’t want to dwell on it too much, but what if she hadn’t slipped free of her coat when that horrible undead thing had tried to drag her from her car? What if Jenni’s zombified son had made it out the window just a little faster?

  Up to this point, luck had a lot to do with the fact they were still alive. Now it would be keeping their wits about them in situations like the one they had just experienced that would dictate if they survived or not.

  So far, so good.

  Katie glanced at Jenni, who was staring straight ahead. Her lips were pressed firmly together and her brow was knotted. Jenni was desperate to rescue her stepson, Jason. Even if he wasn’t Jenni’s flesh and blood, Jason was all she had left, the only living connection to her past. To her previous life.

  Katie was envious of that. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, left of her former life except for a picture of her wife in a cell phone. Soon the battery would run out. She didn’t have a charger—and there was no way of knowing how long there would be power.

  She looked at the gas gauge again. It was dropping faster than she liked. She hadn’t told Jenni yet, but they had blown one valuable part of their plan when they escaped from the hunting store. The extra jugs of gas were still sitting in the back of the beat-up white truck. In their panic to get safely on the road, they had forgotten to load them into Ralph’s truck.

  Now, what was in the tank was all there was. Pure and simple … and terrifying. The needle was dropping far faster than she hoped.

  “We’re close,” Jenni uttered in a frightened voice. She was pale as a ghost.

  The trees were growing taller and more numerous. They had turned onto a logging trail, where they’d seen large patches of freshly hewed stumps, but so far, no undead. They were a mere five miles from the interstate and had to consider this entire area a danger zone.

  “Katie,” Jenni said in a hushed tone, “I’m scared.”

  Katie took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Just keep breathing.”

  Finally a sign appeared directing them to the back entrance to the camp. Jenni drew out the shotgun and laid it next to her.

  Katie could feel her chest tightening and stomach fluttering. Please, God, please, let Jason be alive.

  Dry red dirt flew up in a cloud as they drove along the winding unpaved road. It hadn’t rained in a month, and the earth was cracked. At last, they could see the cabins used for youth camps through the trees. There was no sign of anyone.

  Jenni was close to hyperventilating and her hands fluttered around her face.

  “Jenni, calm down. Breathe. Jason needs you to be calm,” Katie said firmly.

  Jenni gulped air, trying to steady her nerves. “Yes … yes … yes…”

  The whitewashed mess hall—the main meeting space for the campers—came into view, and Katie slowed the truck to a stop. From where the truck sat idling, they could see the long road to the front entrance to the camp. One lone van sat in the gravel parking lot.

  The scream of the zombie girl as she hit Jenni’s window made both women jump. The girl, her face a mask of blood, guts, and a gaping mouth with no tongue, slammed her hands against the window.

  “They’re here,” Jenni whimpered.

  Jack barked furiously at the zombie.

  Katie reversed sharply, making sure not to end up in a tree. The zombie girl stood right in front of them, confused for a moment at their sudden disappearance. Then she realized where they were and charged. Katie stomped on the gas pedal, and the truck roared forward. When they hit the girl, her head hit the deer guard, and blood, bits of brain, and grayish fluid spewed across the hood.

  Katie felt sickened, yet satisfied at the same time.

  Jenni sobbed, wringing her hands.

  “Jenni, calm down!” Katie ordered, but she feared that Jason was gone. Gone, like the rest of the world.

  The mess hall shutters were all down and smeared with blood. Definitely not a good sign. The door cracked open and someone stepped out onto the front step, shading his eyes to see who was in the truck.

  “Jason!”

  Jenni was out of the truck and running before Katie could even try to grab her. Jenni’s gun remained on her seat. Jack bounded out of the truck at her heels. Katie cursed, reached over and yanked Jenni’s door shut, tucked Jenni’s gun into her waistband, grabbed the shotgun and the keys, shoved her door open, and raced after them in an astonishingly short amount of time.

  Jenni had almost reached the figure when she cried out in anguish, “You’re not Jason!”

  Katie was right behind Jenni, shotgun cocked and ready in her hands. A zombie came screeching around the corner, hands out, and Katie didn’t hesitate to blast him in the face.

  The boy on the doorstep grabbed Jenni and pulled her inside.

  2.

  Unraveled

  “Jenni!” Katie screamed, terrified, aiming the shotgun at the shadowy figure.

  Jack ran into the building, growling.

  “Get in,” the boy called out.

  Human! She barely kept from pressing the trigger. Katie jumped through the doorway and the door slammed shut. Instantly, there was banging on the door. Oh, God! There had been zombies right behind her and she hadn’t seen them, she had been so panicked.

  Jenni stood nearby, sobbing, with her hands over her face.

  Katie clutched her arm. “Don’t do that again! We can’t afford to screw up!”

  Jenni looked at her, stricken, and Katie grabbed her, holding her close. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I thought … I thought…”

  Katie became aware that they were standing in a hallway that led to a kitchen. At the end of it stood a tall, good-looking boy with masses of straight brown hair that fell into his eyes. An expression of shock fell over his face as he recognized Jenni.

  “Jenni?”

  “Jason?” Jenni’s voice rose to a scary pitch. She ran into the boy’s arms. He was almost as tall as she was. “Jason! Oh, Jason.”

  “Jenni, where’s Dad? And the kids?”

  Katie glanced at the other boy standing near the door. His pale blue eyes were swollen and his freckled cheeks were stained with tears. Running both his hands through his blond hair, he stared at her with such sorrow, it made her wince.

  “Hi, I’m Katie. We’re here for Jason.”

  “I’m Brian.” His voice was raw with fear as his eyes darted toward the kitchen and the loud crashing noises coming from that direction.

  “What is that?” Katie asked, trying to identify the steady thumping.

  “The other zombies. In the mess hall,” Brian said simply, pointing at another set of doors. “They won’t hold for long.”

  The doors were vibrating under the heavy onslaught from the other side. Kitchen equipment was piled in front of the doors, b
ut Katie knew the boy was right. The barricade wouldn’t withstand the zombie bombardment for much longer.

  “Jenni? Jenni? Where are Dad and the boys?” Jason asked again. “Please, answer me, Jenni.”

  Jenni was bawling so hard that she couldn’t answer the handsome teenager who was cuddling her close. All she could do was shake her head no. Jason’s face crumpled as he fell against her and started to weep.

  Katie collected herself, forced her fear down, and regarded Brian. “What’s the situation here?”

  His gaze remaining on the shuddering doors, Brian answered, “All day yesterday, people were showing up to pick up kids. Me, my sister Vicky, Jason, and a few other kids ended up here all alone last night after the counselors bailed. They just left, saying our families would get us. Around midnight, a family showed up to get one of the other kids. The mom had a bite from one of those zombie things. We didn’t know that. We thought the mother was just asleep. We were all sleeping in the mess hall … you know … to stay together and safe. When we woke up, she was eating one of the girls—the one you creamed outside. Jason hit the zombie over the head with a chair and kept hitting her until she was really dead. We ditched the girl out the door before she could … come back.”

  Katie winced. Behind her, Jenni and Jason were crying together, holding each other, mourning. She cast a wary glance toward the shaking doors.

  “We didn’t know that others had gotten bit in the scuffle. Jason, Vicky, and I had come in here to get some food when the screams started. We looked in and saw this guy—he was a football player before—attacking people. We just slammed the doors shut and bolted them. But—” Brian showed Katie his hand. “—I got bit.”

  Katie looked sharply at the boy, then at Jason.

  “He’s fine. We were going to try to escape when my family got here. But … the girl outside … she bit my dad. He’s over there with my mom. He dropped his car keys somewhere outside. I … didn’t … We couldn’t leave. …” The boy’s miserable eyes looked at Katie again. “I know we’re dead. I know the bite is what makes you a zombie. Please, take my mom and sister, okay?”

  Katie looked at the doors behind her that were being systematically tackled over and over again, trying to organize her thoughts into an escape plan. Jack sat in front of the door, growling low in his throat.

  “We need to leave now,” she asserted.

  “Kill me and my dad first,” Brian urged her.

  Katie regarded the boy with compassion, but also reluctance. She hated the idea of ending his life, but wasn’t it at an end anyway?

  “Please, I don’t want to be … that.” Brian looked at the doors to the mess hall, his lips quivering .

  Unable to gaze at his face, Katie walked into the kitchen. In one corner, she saw a man and a woman locked in a tight embrace. Sitting on the floor near them was a young girl around ten with the same coloring and features as Brian.

  The woman looked up at Katie with glassy eyes and said, “Who are you?”

  “I’m Katie. I’m here with my friend Jenni to rescue Jason.”

  “Oh,” the woman said, her chin trembling. “You need to help us, too.”

  Katie walked over and studied the man. He definitely didn’t have much time left. The man was sweating hard and his face looked grayish-green. He had multiple bites on his neck and shoulder. Blood was streaming down his chest. He was fading faster than his son, who just had one little bite.

  The dying man looked at Katie’s gun, then at his wife. “Take my wife and daughter with you. Do me and the boy a favor,” he said in a breathless voice, gesturing at the gun. “You better go soon.”

  Katie hesitated, feeling numb and overwhelmed, but nodded. “I will.” Ralph was right. In this world, she was going to have to learn to kill both the infected and the walking dead. She laid down the shotgun on the counter and drew Jenni’s gun.

  “I’m not leaving them! I’m not leaving them,” the woman shrieked. She was the classic soccer mom—blond, short, bob haircut; slightly pudgy; dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.

  Katie ignored her and walked over to the big stainless steel sinks. If her memory of the outside of the mess hall was correct, she ought to be able to see the outside door through the high window over the sinks. Hoisting herself up, she peered out. To her relief, just one zombie was banging on the outside door. But that didn’t mean there weren’t more out there.

  After jumping down, she strode over to Jason and Jenni. “Listen. Now.” Her voice was so authoritative that to her own ears, she sounded like her father. “We’re leaving. I need both of you to stop crying right fucking now!”

  They both blinked rapidly. Jason immediately understood and rubbed his tears away. Jenni reluctantly let go of her stepson and stood beside him, shivering.

  “Brian is bit. So is his dad. The mother and sister are fine. Those who are not bitten are leaving now before the zombie football player busts through those doors.” Katie turned to look at the man, who was looking more and more dead with every passing second. “Sir, I’ll take your wife and Vicky.”

  The young girl didn’t seem to notice that Katie was even there, staring at her father with huge tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Brian’s father nodded, his fingers pressed tight to his bleeding throat. “Finish me. And my son. Don’t let us … don’t let us…”

  Katie gave a short nod of her head. “I won’t.”

  Brian hoisted Vicky to her feet and drew her to their parents. The man kissed his wife and daughter, and his son threw his arms around both his parents. The family clung together as Katie approached.

  She felt sick. She felt shaken. She felt anger. She felt sadness. Brian’s father looked kind, despite his terrible pallor, and he looked up at her with eyes the color of his son’s. The thought of killing him made her stomach quiver, but she didn’t want this self-sacrificing man to die like the man back in that town. As Lydia had.

  “Vicky, Wendy, go with them. Get to safety,” the man urged, pushing them away.

  Brian grabbed hold of his mom by the waist with one arm and dragged Vicky back by her shoulder.

  “No, Simon, no!” his wife cried out.

  Simon gave Katie a nod, closing his eyes.

  Katie fired a single shot.

  Blood spray didn’t affect her anymore, she realized dully.

  Brian looked up at her, crying, covered in fresh blood, then also nodded … ready.

  In that instant, the mother launched herself at Katie, screaming, “ Murderer!” and slashing at her with a knife she must have been holding. Katie had no time to dodge, but Brian tackled his mother, driving her into Vicky. The girl let out a sharp cry as they all three tumbled to the floor.

  “Shit!” Katie uttered, her eyes wide, watching mother and son struggle on the floor.

  Vicky rolled away, the knife buried in her chest. The little girl let out a soft, shuddering sigh as she died. Wendy rose, screaming, and charged at Katie again. Brian crawled over to his sister, crying out in despair.

  Jenni stepped forward and smacked the mother upside the head with a frying pan, sending the crazed woman sprawling. Wendy immediately tried to get to her feet, but her son grabbed on to her, holding her down.

  “Go!” Brian shouted.

  Wordlessly, Katie handed the revolver to Jenni, picked up her shotgun, and headed for the exit. Without hesitating, she whipped open the door and shot the zombie outside in the head before it could react. She ran for the truck while reloading the shotgun, with Jack, Jenni, and Jason close behind.

  Brian’s mother came out of the building behind them, still screaming incoherently. Howls rose in the forest. It was obvious that there were zombies out there and that they’d heard the woman and were now alerted of their escape.

  “Fucking bitch!” Jenni shouted in anger.

  “Just run!” As Katie ran, she could see figures emerging from the woods, moving fast. It would be close. Down to seconds.

  She automatically hit the unlock button on the key
less remote, and the truck whistled in response. Ripping the driver’s-side door open, she turned to cover those behind her with the shotgun. Knowing the drill, Jack hurtled into the cab. Jenni raced around the truck, Jason in tow, heading for the passenger side. As they disappeared, two sharp cracks of Jenni’s revolver let Katie know the zombies were getting closer.

  Wendy was almost on top of her, screaming wordlessly. She wasn’t infected, but her mind was gone. Her son had followed her out of the building, one hand clutching the knife his mother had accidentally killed his sister with.

  “Mom! Mom,” he cried out.

  Behind him, in the doorway, appeared a large, looming zombie. Katie could see others milling behind him.

  Football Zombie guy—and his entourage—had arrived.

  The first blast of Katie’s shotgun took out the crazed mother.

  Brian recoiled, stopped, and stared at Katie. Then, obviously resigned, he leaned forward, his hands on his knees.

  Feeling numb and tired, but determined to do as the boy had asked, Katie fired. The boy fell back just as the football player zombie hit him.

  Katie leaped into the truck, slamming the door. Jason sat with Jenni crammed between him and the passenger door. A zombie was banging on the passenger-side window.

  “That went well,” Katie said sardonically as she turned the key. She made a sharp U-turn and sped down the dirt road away from the camp.

  3.

  Return to Hell’s Highways

  The next few minutes were rough. Jason slid between the front seats onto the back bench, where he found himself with a lap full of dog. Jenni turned around in her seat, held his hands, and recounted her story in a tremulous voice.

  It hurt Katie to hear Jenni’s account … and she’d lived through much of it with her. Jason’s sniffles told her how much his stepmother’s words devastated him.

  At times, Jenni’s voice vanished into anguished sobs of despair, and Katie would reach out, eyes still on the road, to touch her shoulder.

  Jason whispered, “No, no, no,” as his stepmother spoke, but Katie could hear the beginning of acceptance in his voice. His family was gone and he had probably known that this was most likely what had happened since the outbreak reached his camp. He seemed so young, no older than fifteen, and he would have to grow old quickly to survive.