Dead Heat: A Hollow Dead Novel

by Young, D. M.

  Adam watched as Ray jerked the front door open and stepped onto the porch, Alicia behind him, still begging him to calm down and come back. Ray ignored her and marched quickly down the drive. Alicia hurried after him. Edward shut the door behind them and collapsed into the recliner.

  CHAPTER 27

  Ray stormed out of the door and down the porch steps, mumbling to himself. “Sons of bitches want me gone. Fine. The dumbfucks will probably get themselves killed before long anyway.”

  Behind him, Alicia was still pleading for him to stop and talk. He ignored her. There was no point trying to make it work here. He tried to tell Alicia that yesterday. He wanted to leave then, but she wouldn’t listen. That’s what he got for letting Matt convince him not to bring his own truck.

  None of this was really about Matt dying, anyway. They were already pissed at him before that. They were just looking for an excuse to get rid of him. Adam and Matt tried to keep him from going with them. Then that old bitch that owned the cabin started in just because he didn’t want that mutt yapping and drawing zombies to their door.

  Then there was the bullshit about him leaving them to die. Yeah, he fucked up setting off the alarm. He would admit that, but they had a car right there. In fact, it was closer than Matt’s car. They should have just run to it in the first place. Instead, they wasted a bunch of time, and then blamed him for the consequences of their stupid decision.

  Alicia grabbed his arm, and he pulled it away from her.

  “Ray stop! You can’t just walk out into the middle of those things. Give me a minute to get my bag and my keys, and we’ll leave together,” she said as she hurried in front of him and held out her hands to stop him.

  He was walking fast and didn’t bother to slow down. Instead, Ray swung his arm to push her aside, and Alicia stumbled sideways and lost her balance as her foot caught on a rock sticking out of the dirt on the side of the driveway. She cried out as she fell, and her head hit the trunk of a large oak tree with a loud thump.

  Ray stopped walking as he realized what he’d done. He hadn’t meant to push her down. He knelt quickly beside her. Her eyes were closed, and he shook her gently to wake her. Her eyes opened, but she looked disoriented. She raised her hand and pressed it to the side of her head, whimpering.

  “Hey, are you OK?” Ray asked.

  She looked at him but said nothing.

  “OK, let’s get you up. I’ll help you back to the cabin so the doctor can look at you,” Ray said, wrapping an arm around her back.

  Alicia took his other hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. She stood there for a minute, swaying. Ray kept his arm around her. She took a step toward the cabin and stumbled. Ray caught her and pulled her closer to steady her.

  Ray could see Edward standing on the porch. He guessed that Edward must have heard Alicia’s scream. Suddenly, Edward lifted his hand and pointed behind Ray. “Look out,” he said and drew his pistol.

  Ray spun around, and Alicia, still dizzy, lost her balance and stumbled toward the zombie that was emerging from the thick brush behind them. Ray reached for her and missed, and Alicia crashed into the zombie. Both of them fell to the ground. She tried to scramble away, but it grabbed her hair.

  “I don’t have a clear shot,” Edward yelled from the porch.

  Ray pulled the gun. His hands were shaking again as he pulled the gun up and aimed for the zombie’s head. He pulled the trigger. A spray of blood covered the zombie as Alicia’s head snapped backwards. Edward screamed in horror as Alicia fell to the ground, motionless. Blood began to pool around her body. The zombie looked at Ray, its hands still holding clumps of Alicia’s hair that were no longer attached to her head.

  Ray stared for a moment, unable to understand what he was seeing. Then his eyes focused on Alicia’s face. There was a hole just above her left eye. Ray stared at her face and then looked in horror at the gun in his hand. A small sound escaped his throat as he realized what he had done.

  He let the gun fall to the ground and raised his hands to cover his mouth. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. The world was closing in around him. All he could see was Alicia’s body – her dead body – lying there on the ground. He was powerless to look away.

  The zombie was making its way to its feet, but Ray barely noticed. He squeezed his eyes closed for a minute and let out a scream that was stifled by his hands. Edward fired from the porch, and Ray heard the zombie fall to the ground in front of him. He opened his eyes and turned his head toward the porch. Adam was now standing beside Edward, staring at the bloody scene.

  As Ray watched, Adam turned and disappeared back into the house. There was a growl from the direction of the road. “Pick up your gun!” Edward yelled.

  Ray obeyed, but, instead of turning to fight, he began walking back toward the cabin in a daze. Edward fired several times and then lowered his own weapon. Ray looked him in the eyes as he neared the cabin, “I—I didn’t mean to…I was just trying to – ”

  Adam returned to the porch. In his hand was a large duffle bag. He threw it at Ray’s feet. Then he tossed a set of keys on the ground in front of him. “Go,” he said.

  Edward said nothing as he turned and stepped back into the cabin. Adam followed, slamming the door behind him. Ray stared down at the keys for a moment. He couldn’t force himself to move. A voice inside his head told him he should pick up the keys and leave. All the gunfire was bound to draw more of those things, but his feet seemed cemented in place.

  He heard a rustling in the trees surrounding the cabin. Ray saw several figures shambling toward him from the right. He looked to the left and saw several more. It was enough to at least get him moving. He bent and picked the keys up from the ground. Then he grasped the handle of the duffle bag and hurried to Alicia’s car. Ray started the car and sat behind the wheel, numb, as the zombies drew closer.

  Eventually, he put the car in drive and drove toward the county road, careful to keep his eyes straight ahead as he passed Alicia’s body. At the end of the driveway, he turned back toward the highway. Ray had no idea where he would go. His mind returned to Alicia, to what he’d done. It didn’t matter where he went. He was sure she would follow.

  At the intersection, he turned onto the small state highway, and headed north.

  CHAPTER 28

  Booger watched as Edward and Adam stepped back inside the cabin, leaving Ray outside alone. Adam locked the door behind them. Then he walked to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. He popped the top and took a deep drink as he dropped into a chair.

  “What just happened,” Margaret asked.

  Adam looked at Edward, “I didn’t see the whole thing.”

  Edward let out a deep sigh and told them what Ray had done.

  Margaret gasped. “He shot her?”

  “Sure did,” Edward said.

  Margaret sat down at the table and dropped her head into her hands. Plato sat on the floor beside her and leaned his weight against her leg.

  “What are we going to do with her body?” Rose asked.

  “Not much we can do,” Booger said. “Even if those things clear out of here, we can’t stand out there digging a grave. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Should we tell Melissa,” Rose asked Edward.

  “Not right now. She’s dealing with enough already. If she asks later, we’ll tell her then,” Edward said.

  Booger looked out the window. The last few zombies were disappearing into the bushes at the end of the drive. “Looks like all of those things followed him away from the cabin, but he’ll outrun ‘em soon. When he does, I’m afraid they’ll come back here.” Booger said. “We need to make sure the windows and doors will hold if they decide to try and get in.”

  “Margaret, you got anything we could use to board these windows up?” Edward asked. She didn’t answer. “Margaret,” he said again.

  She looked up at him. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  “I asked if you had anything to board these windows
up with.”

  She thought for a minute. “Not really. I had Booger haul off all of the extra building materials after he updated the cabin a few years ago.”

  “Yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” Booger said as he looked around the room for anything they could use. His eyes fell on the wall shelves in the kitchen. They were wide hardwood planks. He could work with that. Thank goodness she’d gone for the rustic look instead of cabinets.

  “I know you ain’t going to like this,” he said, “But those kitchen shelves would work just fine. They’re solid.”

  “Go ahead then,” she said. “They won’t do me much good if I’m dead, will they?”

  Booger grunted in agreement. “Alright then. You care to start clearing them off?”

  Margaret did as he asked, and Rose and Edward helped her. Booger went to get the drill and the screws out of the closet. He knew they were there. He had used them last week to fix a squeaky plank on the porch.

  When he returned, he handed the drill to Edward. “Start taking those shelves down. I’m going to run to the Jeep. I’ve got an old handsaw in there that I can use to cut ‘em down to the right length,” he said as he picked up his shotgun. Adam stood and followed him to the door, to keep watch. He scanned the woods near the house but saw nothing moving.

  Booger returned to the cabin carrying the saw and a small bag of tools. He would measure and mark the boards, and the three men would take turns sawing the planks. There were five downstairs windows in all. Four were small, but the one by the front door was a bit larger. It would take all of the planks to cover them.

  They started with the kitchen window. When they finished, they moved to the living room. Booger heard pans rattling and turned to the kitchen to see Margaret setting a bag of frozen chicken on the counter. A clean pan sat on the stovetop. “You cooking dinner?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I thought we’d better try to use up some of the frozen food and perishables first. I don’t know how long we’ll be here, but, if we lose power, it will ruin. The other stuff will last either way,” she answered while pouring cooking oil into a heavy cast iron skillet.

  Gracie joined her in the kitchen. “Can I help?”

  Margaret poured some flour into a large mixing bowl, dumped some seasonings in, and scooted it toward Gracie. “You ever battered chicken?”

  “Yes, ma’am. My mom used to let me help her,” Gracie answered.

  “Well, I’ll sure let you do it then. Wash your hands,” Margaret said filling a smaller bowl with water and cracking two eggs into it and mixing them into the water.

  “Here you go. I’ll watch you do the first few to be sure you’ve got it,” she said sliding the egg and water mixture toward Gracie. Soon the smell of fried chicken filled the cabin. Rose stepped from the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her. Margaret was battering frozen corn on the cob, and Rose joined in.

  “How’s she doing?” Margaret asked nodding toward the bedroom.

  “About as good as you can expect,” Rose answered. She drifted off to sleep a little while ago, but I’m sure that won’t last long. I don’t want to hover too much, though, so I thought I’d come help you with supper.”

  Gracie laid the dinner rolls on the pan as Margaret instructed and placed it in the oven. “Do you need anything else?” she asked.

  Margaret smiled at her. “No ma’am, I think that’s it. Just need to finish frying this corn and we’ll be ready to eat.”

  Gracie wiped her hands on a towel, and left the women to finish the meal. Sammy and Plato lay snuggled together on the floor near the bedroom door, and Gracie slid down beside them. Sammy laid his head in her lap as she scratched his ears. Plato rolled his eyes toward her and wagged his tail before drifting back off to sleep.

  A few minutes later, Margaret informed them that dinner was ready. “Let’s finish this window,” Booger said. “We’ll do the bedroom window after we eat. I hate to bother Melissa at all, but it’s gotta be done.”

  When dinner was finished, Booger knocked softly on the bedroom door, and Melissa told him to come in. She was sitting on the bed with her back against the wall hugging a small pillow. Her eyes were still red, but she was no longer crying. As Booger entered, she pulled her hair back and secured it in a messy ponytail.

  “I hate to bother you, but we need to put some boards up over that window. We don’t want to take any chances on something getting in here tonight,” Booger said apologetically.

  “No, it’s fine,” Melissa said. “I think I’ll head up to the loft and lie down anyway. I don’t want to hog Margaret’s room all night.” She stepped into the living room and looked around. “I heard Ray leave. Did Alicia go with him?”

  They all looked at each other, unsure where to begin. She looked at them silently, waiting for an answer. Adam stood up from the recliner, “Let’s go upstairs and talk for a minute. I’m sure they can finish the last window without me,” he said looking at Booger.

  “Yeah, we’ll get it,” Booger said, relieved that he didn’t have to explain what had happened.

  It didn’t take long to secure the bedroom window. When they were done, Booger said, “We need to do something about that backdoor, too. We can use that big ol’ heavy cabinet to block it. We won’t block the front one, yet. If we need to do it later, we’ll use the couch to block it. I’ve moved it a few times, and it’s heavy. Nothing’s going to move that thing.”

  The rest of the evening passed quietly with everyone lost in their own thoughts. Edward and Margaret took the dogs outside for a break before the last of the light faded from the sky. Booger stood on the porch until they were finished. Other than that, no one dared to venture out. Adam stayed in the loft with Melissa for a long time. When he came down, Booger could see that he had been crying.

  He watched as Adam dug through the first aid kit and pulled out some ibuprofen. After he’d swallowed them, he sank onto the sofa. Booger sat down in the recliner across from him. “Your hands OK?” he asked.

  Adam looked at them as he flexed them. “They don’t feel great, but I doubt anything is broken.”

  “Good,” Booger said. “I know Edward and I pulled you off of that bastard, but that don’t mean I didn’t approve of what you did. I wanted to hit the son of a bitch myself, but I’m too old to be fighting.”

  Adam gave Booger a tight smile. “I’m actually glad you stopped me. I really think I might have killed him. I’ve never been much of a fighter, but I lost it today.”

  Booger stood up and walked to the kitchen. “Well, you’re welcome then, but it wouldn’t have been any great loss if you had. Some folks just need killing.”

  He plugged the little radio back in and scanned through the channels listening for any information about their situation. There were more reports of rioting and death now. Several new towns were mentioned, but the information was vague, and there was no official word on how they planned to fix the mess. They did confirm that the governor was aware of the situation. “Well, yip-tee-do,” Booger mumbled, “Now tell us what he’s going to do about it.”

  Edward heard the radio and came to join Booger at the table. “Try the AM stations. There’s a bunch of those fellas that love crazy stuff. If any of them have gotten wind of it, they’ll be talking about it non-stop.”

  Booger flipped the switch to AM and listened. Sure enough, he heard them mention Hollow Springs, and turned the volume up. The man was talking loud and fast. He sounded like he’d had about six cups of coffee too many, but, so far, everything he’d said was correct. After running down the facts for listeners who were just tuning in, he began taking calls from people in the area.

  The first caller claimed to be from Hollow Springs. He said he was barricaded in his house and that the streets outside were crawling with zombies. He hadn’t been out there, but, throughout the day, he’d heard screams and gunshots. When the radio host pressed him for information, he provided few details. His answers were so vague that Booger began to wonder if he was in Hollow Springs at
all.

  The next caller claimed to be a nursing home worker from Jericho Hills, a town about thirty miles away. She said that it had all begun for her around noon today. One of the elderly female residents had passed away, and the family was sitting with the body until the coroner arrived. All of a sudden, the resident sat up and attacked her daughter. It had spread quickly from there.

  The radio host stopped her, confused, “Wait, when was this resident bitten?”

  “That’s just it. She wasn’t,” the caller said. “She was in the end stages of dementia. The family was called in two days ago, but she held on until today.”

  Adam sprang up from the sofa and joined them at the table, listening closely.

  “And you’re certain she wasn’t bitten?” the host asked.

  “Absolutely. We would have seen the bite. Besides, she hasn’t left the nursing home.”

  Adam dropped into an empty chair as the host ended the call and discussed the possible meanings of this new piece of information. “That’s it. That’s what’s been bothering me,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” Edward asked.

  “Remember when the truck hit us?” Edward nodded, and Adam continued. “They both turned. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that they had been bitten, but it seemed odd. Then, at the gas station, a man ran past me and knocked me down. There was no sign that he’d been bitten. Sure seemed healthy when he knocked me down. Then the car hit him, and he turned anyway. I haven’t really had time to think about it since then so I’d sort of forgotten about it.”

  Edward leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “So, what does that mean? How are they getting infected if they aren’t bitten?”

  Adam stared down at his hands for a minute before answering. “I don’t know. I mean, we don’t even know what this disease is or how it works. Maybe it’s airborne. Maybe it’s in the water. Who knows?”

  “So, what? You’re saying anyone who dies from anything turns?” Booger asked.