Dead Heat: A Hollow Dead Novel

by Young, D. M.

  “Maybe,” Adam said. “I just don’t know. There’s no way of knowing that right now, but, if that is the case, this is going to be a lot harder to control.”

  “Someone dies of a heart attack in their sleep, and they turn and attack their family. A surgery goes bad, and they turn. Someone falls off a ladder or drowns or gets shot,” Edward said. His brow furrowed as he considered the possibilities.

  “So, where does it end?” Booger asked.

  “If that is the case – if everyone turns, then I’m not sure it does end.” Adam said quietly.

  CHAPTER 29

  The cabin had been quiet most of the evening. No one felt much like talking after such a tragic day. As night began to fall, Margaret suggested that they all turn in, “The lights could draw something to the cabin,” she said.

  It was a point none of them had considered before now. The windows were partially blocked by the planks, but there were gaps between the boards. The curtains were thin, and the light would be easily seen by anything passing.

  “I think we should have someone keep watch again tonight,” Edward said.

  “I’ll do it,” Adam volunteered. “You guys did it last night, and I don’t think I’d get much sleep tonight anyway.”

  “Well, if you wear out at some point, come wake me up,” Edward said as he climbed the stairs.

  “Let’s move this sofa in front of the door before we call it a night,” Booger said, looking at Adam.

  When it was done, Adam took his place in front of the window. Booger stretched out on the sofa. Upstairs, Melissa was sitting on the sofa bed. Gracie made her way to the chair she’d slept in the night before.

  “You don’t have to sleep over there again,” Melissa said. You can have the other half of the bed, or I can go to the chair, if you’d prefer. I won’t sleep tonight anyway.”

  Gracie sat down on the bed. “I’m sorry about your brother,” she said.

  Melissa wiped her eyes. “Yeah, me too.”

  Gracie began to cry softly. Sammy had been lying in the floor beside the bed. Now he sat up and laid his head in her lap. “I miss my brother, too. I miss my whole family,” she said, and the tears began to flow freely for the first time.

  Melissa realized what a huge amount of emotion the little girl had been holding back, and she was ashamed that it had taken a personal tragedy for her to realize it. She reached for Gracie and pulled her close, hugging her tightly. Together they cried for a long time. They cried for themselves, and they cried for each other. They cried for Alicia and Bill and all of the other lives that had been lost since this thing began.

  After a while, they were both out of tears. They sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally, Gracie spoke. “I know Matt was the one who went to my house and found my mom and sister.”

  Melissa was shocked by this revelation. “Who told you that?”

  “I heard Ray say it this morning. He and Matt were arguing.”

  Melissa’s sadness gave way to anger. Of course it was Ray. “That bastard,” she said.

  “It’s OK,” Gracie said. “I just want you to know that I understand why he did it. I don’t know what happened while he was there, but I know that they were already dead before Matt shot them. Josh knew it, too. Mom bit him while we were trying to escape. He’s the one who helped me get out. Before he sent me to Mr. Dennis’s house, he told me he was going to try to go back and kill them. He didn’t want them hurting anyone else, but he was bleeding really bad. I guess he never made it back.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Melissa said, “Josh was one of my students, you know. He was a great kid.”

  Gracie smiled sadly. “We fought a lot, but he was a pretty good big brother. He saved me. He tried to save Emma, but he couldn’t.”

  “Matt was a pretty good brother, too. We used to fight when we were kids, but he was all I really had after our parents died.”

  Gracie looked surprised, “I didn’t know your parents died. I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, we’ve got a lot in common, I guess,” Melissa said. This started a whole new wave of tears, and she pulled a fresh tissue from the box and wiped her eyes.

  They talked for a while longer, sharing memories about their lost family members. Eventually, Gracie began to get sleepy. Melissa was surprised to find that she was also tired. A few minutes after lying down, both of them drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  Thunk!

  Adam sat up in his chair. He realized he’d fallen asleep with his head resting against the plank that covered the window. Now he looked around for the source of the sound that had woken him.

  Thunk!

  Adam looked toward the window and saw a face pressed against the other side. Startled, he jumped backwards, and the chair threatened to tip over. He struggled to regain his balance. When the chair legs were settled firmly back on the floor, he stood up and rushed to the sofa to wake Booger. The thing outside continued to bang its head against the window.

  Adam shook Booger awake, and he sat up, wiping his eyes. “You need me to keep watch?” he asked.

  Thunk!

  Booger scrambled to his feet and hurried to the window. Adam stood beside him, “There’s only one out there, as far as I can tell.”

  “Yeah, but if he keeps making that racket, he’s going to draw more of ‘em,” Booger said. “Go get Edward up and tell him what’s going on. We need to figure something out or we’re fixin’ to have a big problem on our hands.”

  From Margaret’s bedroom, Plato began to bark. Booger muttered something under his breath and tossed a disgusted look toward the bedroom door. Adam hoped Margaret could get Plato under control quickly. The infected man at the window was making enough noise already. They didn’t need the dog adding to it. He hated to admit it, but that was one thing Ray was right about. He ran up the stairs and returned a moment later with Edward.

  “What do you want to do?” Edward asked Booger.

  “I dunno. We got to shut it up somehow before more of ‘em show up. Besides, I’m afraid it’s going to break the window,” Booger said.

  “We could sneak out through the backdoor and come up behind it,” Adam said. “We’d need to kill it quietly, though. Do you have a hammer in your tool bag?”

  “Sure do,” Booger said.

  “That could work. Someone would need to stay here at the window and keep it busy,” Edward said.

  The others had heard the noise by now, and they began to stir. Sammy descended the stairs and joined the men. He looked at the thing standing on the other side of the window and growled softly. Adam shushed him, and he fell silent.

  “OK,” Edward said, “Booger, you stay here at the window. Adam and I can move the cabinet away from the back door. If that thing doesn’t come running toward the sound, one of us can sneak out and kill it.”

  “I’ll go,” Adam said.

  “I’m not going to fight you for the honor,” Edward said with a grim smile.

  Edward dug the hammer out of the bag and handed it to Adam. They made their way to the kitchen to move the cabinet. Before they could begin, Sammy ran to the other living room window and placed his paws on the bottom plank. He peered through the window and growled. Edward and Adam exchanged worried looks before going to investigate. Adam gently pushed Sammy down, and leaned toward the gap in the planks. Through the window, he could see another of the infected, a woman, making her way toward the window.

  Edward saw her, too. “Well, that complicates matters.”

  “Yeah, there’s no way we can sneak out the door with her over here. If we could lure her to the other window somehow –” Adam said.

  “Wouldn’t matter. You don’t want to try to take on two of ‘em without a gun.” Booger said.

  “So what do you suggest?” Edward asked.

  Booger looked around the room before answering. “We’ve got some stuff we could block the windows with. The kitchen table would work for one of them if we stand it up on its end. There’s a bookshelf over there that
we could use for another.”

  “So you’re thinking what? Just block it off where they can’t see us and hope they get bored and go away? Does it work like that with them?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Gracie answered. Adam looked up and saw her standing at the railing of the loft. When he looked at her, she continued, “That’s how it worked with my mom. We blocked the doors and stayed quiet. Eventually, she gave up and went away.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Edward said as he began clearing the table.

  “We better make it quick,” Booger said. There’s two more of ‘em headed this way.

  They used the kitchen table for the biggest window and moved shelves and other furniture in front of the others. In Margaret’s bedroom, they used a heavy wardrobe to block the window. The front door was reinforced with the bed slats from the upstairs bed. They had nothing for the kitchen window, but it was higher than the rest and harder to access from the outside. Booger thought it would hold. He hung a blanket over the window to block the view.

  By the time they were finished, everyone was awake. They all made their way to the living room. They could still hear the dead beating on the windows. Plato was no longer barking. He’d apparently decided that the he had sounded the alarm long enough. He still growled occasionally, but he was quiet about it. Sammy made no sound, but his ears occasionally twitched when one of the dead hit the window particularly hard.

  “Don’t sound like they’re letting up,” Booger said quietly to the group.

  “No, it actually sounds like there’s more of them now,” Edward said. “I guess it might be different if there was only one. It might get distracted and move on along after a while. With that many of them out there, I think their own noise might be what’s drawing them.”

  Rose looked at Edward, “How long will it hold?”

  “Oh, I don’t think that’s the problem. The planks on those windows are solid hardwood, and we attached them real well. With the shelves and stuff there for support, I don’t think we have to worry about anything getting in, at least not in the short term,” he said.

  Margaret picked it up from there. “Yeah, I’d say the real problem is that we can’t get out. We’ve got food enough to last for a while. As long as the well is working, we’ll have water, but we won’t be able to leave the cabin.”

  “So, what now? Do we start shooting? I mean, we didn’t want to draw more to us, but it looks like that’s going to happen either way.” Melissa asked.

  “We could shoot from the upstairs windows and clear a lot of them out,” Margaret said.

  Booger shook his head. “Nah, that’ll waste a bunch of bullets, and I imagine there’s plenty more of those things out there to take the place of any we kill. They’ll just keep a-comin’.”

  “We can try to call someone for help. I’m sure they’re trying to get this under control, but they’ll probably focus on the area closer to town. It might take a while before they make it out here. We need to try to let someone know where we are,” Adam said.

  “Yeah, that’s probably our best option right now,” Edward said. He picked up the phone and dialed 911, but the calls still weren’t going through. “Do you have an actual phonebook around here? I need to see if we can get through on one of the non-emergency numbers.”

  “No, I never thought about needing one,” Margaret said.

  “I could call Grandma,” Gracie offered.

  “I don’t think we should do that quite yet,” Rose said, imagining how helpless she would feel in that situation. “Let’s see if we can get ahold of someone closer first.”

  “Can I have the phone for a minute? My dad isn’t that much closer, but he is an attorney in Little Rock. He knows a few people. If there’s anyone who can get us some help, it’s probably him.” Adam said. Edward handed it to him and he dialed a number from memory. “Mom, can you –” Adam waited as a woman’s voice spoke on the other end of the line. “Yes, I’m fine. Can you – ” He paused again, annoyed. “Yes, I told you that when I called the other day.” He waited. “Well, you may not have believed me, but I did try to tell you. Yes. Now, put…Yes, now put… Mom, please stop talking and put Dad on the phone right now,” he said exasperated.

  He waited, rubbing his forehead to ease the headache that was beginning. When his father came on the line, he explained the situation. He listened for a minute as his father spoke and then looked at Margaret, “What’s the address of the cabin?” he asked.

  She told him, and he repeated the information to his father. They spoke for a few more minutes before he hung up. “Alright, Dad is going to see what he can do. He’s going to call back in a while to let us know,” He handed the phone back to Edward.

  CHAPTER 30

  As they sat waiting for the call from Adam’s father, they searched through radio stations, pausing whenever they came across one with information about the situation in Hollow Springs. The reports were conflicting. One station claimed that residents of Hollow Springs had reported seeing soldiers killing the infected. Officials denied the reports claiming that the National Guard had not even begun operations in the town. Furthermore, they assured the public that no one would be coming in killing anyone.

  The infection was spreading, though. That much was clear. It had spread to all of the neighboring counties. There were a few confirmed outbreaks in Missouri and a suspected case in Oklahoma.

  Booger turned the radio off as the commercial break started. “So, what do you make of it? Still think they can get ahold on this thing?” he asked Edward.

  “Dunno for sure. Hard to believe they would be taking this long to respond. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re already there. Most likely, they just don’t want to admit that they’re shooting citizens down in the streets,” Edward said.

  “Those citizens are already dead, though,” Margaret said.

  “We know that because we’ve seen ‘em, but the rest of the country hasn’t. It’s a mighty hard thing to believe, even when you’re looking at one,” Booger said.

  “Whatever’s happening, I don’t think we’re likely to get the whole story for a while. Maybe never,” Edward said.

  “Yeah, but this isn’t something they can just sweep under the rug. People post everything online these days. Someone has to be filming this. I can’t believe for a minute that there aren’t already dozens of videos out there online, maybe hundreds,” Melissa said.

  “Maybe so,” Adam said, “but those videos are going to take a while to verify. I doubt any news agency wants to be the one to break the news of the zombie apocalypse just to find out it was a hoax. Plus, if they really want to keep this quiet, they’ll have sites pulling them down as fast as they’re uploaded. A few of them might be overlooked, but, let’s face it, most people are going to believe the official story over a video some kid posted online.”

  “People need to know what’s happening, though. Why hide it?” Melissa asked.

  “I don’t think it’s so much about hiding it as it is about controlling the narrative,” Adam said. “I’ve never cared much for politics, but my dad has a lot of friends in the game. In a situation like this, they’ll want to give people just enough information to protect themselves without giving them so much information that they panic.”

  “Or riot,” Edward said. “A lot of people won’t believe these things are zombies. All they’ll see is sick, unarmed citizens being shot down by soldiers.”

  The phone rang, and Adam answered. He listened for a moment, thanked the caller, and hung up smiling. “That was Dad. He said to sit tight. He made some calls, and help is on the way.”

  Melissa smiled at Adam, “Thank God! So, does he know how long it will be?”

  “No, he didn’t give me a lot of details. They may not have given him any details, for that matter. If I’m guessing, he just called one of his high-powered friends and set the thing in motion. He just said they have someone nearby who can help us out. He waited for confirmation before telling us. At any rate, they know w
e’re here, and they’re coming to get us.”

  “You’re sure they can’t get in?” Gracie asked Edward.

  “We should be fine. The doors are secured well, and windows are pretty high up off the ground. The dead can reach them, but that’s about it. They might crack the glass, I guess. I don’t think they’ll be able to do much more than that.” Edward said.

  Margaret addressed the group. “I don’t know how long it will be before they get here, but I think we need to pack up our stuff. I’m sure they won’t give us much time to do it, but they might let us take our bags if we already have it packed up and ready to go. Make sure y’all throw some food in. We don’t know where they’ll take us or what we might need. Besides, I doubt we’ll be back out here any time soon, and it will just go to waste.”

  The others agreed and began collecting their belongings and filling empty bags with food. They moved through the cabin as quickly and quietly as possible. When they were finished, they settled back down in the living room to wait. Suddenly, something hit the front door hard, and they all jumped.

  Plato began barking loudly, and Sammy joined in. The thing hit the door again, and it rattled in its frame. Gracie and Margaret tried to calm the dogs while Melissa grabbed Adam’s hand and headed for the stairs. “We need to see what’s going on out there,” she said pulling him toward the window that looked out over the porch.

  From there, they could see a huge man standing on the porch. His head was obscured by the porch roof, but they could see that most of the zombies around him stood no taller than his shoulders. As they watched, he drew his fists back and pounded on the door again. “He’s got to be, what? Six foot six or so?” Adam asked Melissa.

  “At least, and he’s not skinny, either. You think the door will hold with him doing that?” Melissa asked.

  “I don’t know. We didn’t expect Goliath to come knocking,” Adam said.

  They returned to the living room to tell the others what they’d seen. The dogs continued to bark with every hit. Adam watched as the door rattled again, and one of the slats came free on one end. It swung uselessly to the side.