Apocalypse Z (A Zombie Novel) (17 page)

Jeff lowered his rifle and said to her, “Put it back on. We’re not here to rob or hurt you.” Then he asked, “What are you doing here anyway?”

The man let out a sigh of relief and said, “We escaped from the compound south of Bakersfield and have been on the move ever since.”

Jeff said, “We saw it, what’s the story with that?”

The lady said in a shaky voice, “The zombies started breaking through the fence. The Army guys held them off for days until they ran out of bullets. There were thousands of them that came through the gate and broke down the fence.”

The man added, “Yeah, we just barely made it out before the planes got there and fire bombed it.”

Jet asked, “Were there more people with you?”

“Yeah, about fifty or sixty of us made it out. We stuck together for the first twelve hours and then we split up. Some of us came this way; a few others went south. We’re headed for Canada; I hear there’s a zombie-free zone up there.”

Jet sighed and asked, “How many people were in that camp?”

The lady said in a soft voice, “About 36,000.”

Jet closed her eyes and cringed. “Jeff, I need to go up to the room. I’m feeling kinda sick.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lisa ran over to the front doors and started going through the keys on the ring. Once she found the right one, she locked them so nothing could come in. Tami and Sheryl grabbed the bags and they all started for the stairs. Lisa drew her pistol and took the lead while Mark and Dedee brought up the rear.

When they got to the second floor landing, Lisa heard something a couple of floors up. She held her finger to her lips and pointed up. She quietly looked up between the flights of stairs. At first glimpse it was clear; she took a couple of more steps then saw a face peer over the rail, looking down at her. Most of the skin had been torn off the face and the muscle tissue had a dry black scaly look to it. They eyes were blue-white and one had started to wrinkle up more than the other.

She thought to herself.
This is definitely the fugliest rot-bag I’ve run across yet
. When it hissed, it sent chills down her spine. Dedee looked up to see what Lisa was pointing at. When she saw it, she shrieked and jumped back as she shuttered.

Tami looked up and said, “Oh my gawd, something ate its face off.”

They went up to the floor just below it. Lisa said, “No problem, one shot and its out of commission.”

Mark said, “No, Lisa, this is concrete and bullets can ricochet off the walls and stairs.”

“Fine, Dedee, give me your bat.”

She holstered her pistol and started up the stairs with the bat in her hands. When she was halfway up the last flight of steps that led to the landing it was on, she stopped. It stood there waiting for her and hissing. She swung at it a few times, but it always grabbed for the bat. She realized she had to be on the landing to hit it with the bat, but first she had to take it out so she could get on that landing.

She stood there for a minute thinking, and then had an idea. She took one step up and started to jab at it with the end of the bat. She hit the legs a few times before it was able to grab a hold of the bat. Making sure it had a tight grip; Lisa dropped to her knees and hugged the wall while she used her weight and strength to pull back on the bat.

This threw the zombie off balance and it teetered on the edge of the landing before falling forward. It hit the steps hard and slid down the rest of the flight face-first, bouncing over every step. Sheryl ran up and jabbed the blade of her shears into its ear. She pushed as she wiggled the handle and it made a wet squishy sound as she drove it in deeper.

Tami leaned over and started to dry heave. Mark quickly said, “Tami, please, don’t. We still have to walk on those steps.”

Tami covered her mouth with both hands and retched several more times before she stopped. With watery eyes and bile breath, she said, “Don’t worry, I swallowed it.” She fanned herself as she took a breath. “I need some water; I still have some chunks at the back of my throat.”

Mark felt the saliva in his mouth getting thick and his stomach tighten, but he held it back. They stepped around the corpse and made their way to the eighth floor. There were three doors in the hallway, so Lisa chose the middle one. She opened the door and she stepped in first. It seemed quiet and Mark stepped in behind her.

Everyone else stayed out in the hallway by the door and waited. Lisa went into one of the bedrooms to check it and immediately came running back out as she shrieked. Mark heard the commotion and brought up his rifle as it chased her into the living room area. She saw him and screamed, “Not in here! I don’t want zombie spatter all over the leather couch.”

She ran out the door, followed by Mark as he kept his rifle aimed at it. When he stepped out into the hallway, he caught one of the bags with his foot, fell backward to the floor, and dropped his rifle. As it came up and leaned over him, he brought up his right foot and kicked in it the chest, pushing it back. Lisa said as he took aim, “Checkout time” and fired a shot. The zombie flew back through the air and bounced when it hit the floor.

She stepped in front of Mark and held her hand out. “Now just look at this, laying around when we have all this stuff to carry in.” She grinned.

Mark took her hand and she helped him to his feet. He grabbed two of the bags and Tami grabbed the third. Lisa took a look at the bedrooms as Mark and Tami set the bags down by the couch. She pointed to one of the rooms as she said, “That one right there is ours.”

Mark went in and fell onto the bed; he started to grit his teeth as he rubbed his thigh. He took some deep breaths and heard a knock at the door. Dedee went over and opened it, Jeff walked in and set the cans of food on the coffee table. Amy and Jet brought in some plates and silverware from the restaurant. The man and woman followed them in and sat on the couch.

Jet said, “Hey, this is Gary and Sharon. We found them down in the kitchen. They escaped from that burned out compound we saw and they’re on their way to Canada.”

Jeff held up a can of pork and said, “We got some meat with our veggies tonight.”

Tami shook her head. “No thanks, I’m not really that hungry right now.”

Dedee grinned as she looked at Jeff. “Yeah, she ate on the way up.”

XII

After they all ate, Gary told them their story about the compound and how they had gotten to the hotel. Jeff and Lisa checked out the suite next to theirs and made sure it was empty before Gary and Sharon went in. Mark gave them a set of car keys he had found in the room that belonged to the zombie they had killed out in the hallway. Lisa gave them a candle and said she and Jeff would see them safely to the car in the morning.

Mark and Jeff sat on the couch looking at a map, trying to figure out how much farther they had left to go. Lisa stood behind the couch and started to rub out some of the knots in Marks shoulders and neck. He grunted and winched as she rubbed. She told him that’s what happens when you beat the crap out of rot-bags with your bare hands.

Tami and Sheryl had already gone to one of the three bedrooms and were asleep. Amy and Dedee excused themselves and were on their way to bed, but Jet decided she wanted to spend some quality time with Jeff first. Lisa told Mark she was going to bed and wanted to know when he would be joining her. He looked up from the map and said he would be there in five minutes.

Not wanting to wait, she leaned over and whispered in his ear then kissed the side of his neck. A smile came across his face and he excused himself for the night. Jet didn’t waste any time moving over to Jeff’s lap and putting her arms around his neck. They waited until Lisa closed her door, then they started kissing.

The next morning, Lisa woke to the sound of squealing tires from outside. Running over to the window and looking down to the parking lot below, she saw a gray Cadillac racing through it and four zombies chasing the car. Even after the car was on the street and long gone, they still continued to run in the direction it went. Lisa smirked and shook her head as she watched them run.

She heard Mark ask, “What’s going on?”

“Oh, I think Gary and Sharon just left. I hope they find what they’re looking for in Canada.” She sat on the edge of the bed and asked, “Do you know when we’ll get to the cabin?”

“Best I can figure is a couple of days, maybe part of a third. That’s if everything goes right.”

Lisa lay back down and snuggled up to Mark. She ran her hand over his chest as she said, “A life free of zombies is something I’m looking forward to.” She smiled. “And sharing it with you makes it even better.”

He put his arm around her and gave her a kiss.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dedee woke up and looked around the room. Amy was asleep in bed next to her, but Jet wasn’t in there. She went out into the living room area and saw her on Jeff’s lap. He had his arms around her and they were both still asleep. She shook Jet until she started to wake up. With her eyes half open, she asked, “What?”

“Were you guys out here all night?”

“Yeah, I guess.” And she laid her head back against Jeff’s chest.

Dedee shook her again. “Come on. It’s time to get up.”

Jet started to get up and woke Jeff. He rubbed his face and looked around. “Is it morning already?”

Dedee said, “Yes, it’s time for you two to get up.”

She heard a door open and saw Sheryl come out of her room and put some towels in the duffle bags. Jet stretched as she rubbed the back of her neck and said it felt a little stiff. Dedee suggested she go check with Tami and Sheryl to see if they might have something that would help. Jet went in their room to talk to them while Dedee sat on the couch and waited.

When all the bags were packed, they sat waiting for Mark and Lisa to come out. After ten minutes, Dedee became impatient and knocked on their door. Lisa answered it as she put a band in her hair and told her they would be out in a minute and for her to be ready to go.

On their way down to the lobby, they made sure they used a different stairwell than they did coming up. Mark took the lead when they went outside. Two zombies across the street spotted them as they went out the door. They ran to the van as quickly as they could and threw the bags inside. Mark rolled the dumpster toward them to try to slow them down. It missed the first one, but the second just stood there as it slammed right into her.

Lisa started the van and Mark jumped in the passenger side. The zombie was able to grab the door and hold on as Lisa peeled away. Mark pulled out his knife and started stabbing and slicing at its elbow. The sharp knife cut through the rotting flesh quickly and the elbow joint separated with a pop.

As the zombie hit the road, it rolled right under the wheels of the van and its mid section blew out. Guts shot out of it like snakes launched from a cannon, covering the pavement. The hand on its arm flexed wildly, like it was still trying to grab onto something as Mark pushed the door open and tossed it out.

As Lisa approached the on-ramp, she made a hard stop and everyone slid forward. Mark looked out and saw a girl with short red hair standing in front of the van, running in place. She just stayed there, looking in through the windshield at them, and screaming with a terrified look on her face. They watched as four zombies ran up to her and started taking bites out of her arms and chest.

Dumbfounded, they looked at each other and then back at her. They were stunned; they couldn’t figure why she would stand there and let them catch her. A fifth one came up and bit into her face, it pulled back and tore part of her cheek away so that one of her blue eyes now dangled from the socket. The zombie stepped back, chomping and smacking as her flesh hung from its rotting lips, flapping around as it chewed. It stared at the van for a moment and then lunged at them.

Lisa punched the gas and they flew forward. There were thuds as they plowed the girl and all five zombies down. They could still hear her screams and the zombies hiss as they were dragged under the van. Lisa drove about fifty yards before the screaming stopped and the mangled bodies dislodged from the undercarriage. Bumps and bangs were heard as they came out from under the back, twisted and tangled together, in one bloody heap.

Once they had gotten back on the freeway, Lisa kept it at a comfortable sixty miles per hour. Three hours into the trip, Mark pointed to a sign that said the Oregon boarder was five miles ahead. Lisa gave him an excited smile and he stretched back in his seat.

Gray smoke started to billow out from under the hood and the engine sputtered. He watched as Lisa frantically looked over all the gauges in the dash. It let out one last sputter before they heard a loud bang, and coasted to a stop. Lisa looked at him with panic in her eyes and said, “I swear, I didn’t do it. It’s not my fault.”

“No, it’s not your fault, Lisa. This thing was in the maintenance shop for a reason, and we’re lucky it got us this far.” He looked in the back and said, “Okay, everyone, we’re on foot from here.”

There were moans of disappointment as everyone got out and grabbed the bags. On foot, those five uphill miles seemed like ten, but they finally made it to the border. Just on the other side was a very small town, consisting of a few homes and several businesses along the street, nestled under the tall trees. As they walked, Amy pointed out an extremely slow rot-bag wearing a yellow dress with pink flowers that followed them.

Mark picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it. It hit the zombie in the forehead and disappeared on impact as it sank into the skull. A nasty yellow puss, with strands of black mixed in, ran from the hole and down its face. They stopped and watched as the puss continued to run out and the top of the head slowly began to sink in.

In less than a minute, the top of the head was flat like a deflated balloon. Mark walked over to it and gave it a little push. It fell over and hit the ground with a thwack. The thin outer skin popped and tore open. A liquid that looked like runny oatmeal and molasses, shot out in every direction.

He quickly stepped away and they began walking again. Looking at the trees and hills, everyone was beginning to get an idea of what it must be like at the cabin. Just before they left the little town, Mark stopped. He saw the last building on the right was a camping surplus store. He said, as he pointed to it, “We’ll get some supplies from here before we get too far into these mountains.”