Dead Endz (12 page)

I smiled sadly. “I’ll try.”

“Wow Billie,” said Nora. “That was inspiring. Let me guess, you were a youth counselor before the shit hit the fan?”

He turned back to her and smiled. “No, not at all; I was a drag queen.”

Nora’s jaw dropped. “No shit?”

“Shit,” he replied.

“So you like boys?” she blurted out.

I gave her a horrified look. “Wow, that was… smooth.”

She had the sense to look embarrassed and started rambling.  “I mean there’s nothing wrong with that. I like boys. Shit, I mean I
love
boys and men so I can understand if you do, too.”

Billie sighed. “I like boys but not romantically. I’m not gay, Nora.”

“Really?” she said.

He nodded. “Really. I like girls and everything about them. Just because I rock as a Christina Aguilera impersonator and look sexy in a Versace gown, doesn’t make me gay. It just makes me a shit load of money. Or, rather, it used too.”

She bit the side of her lip. “Well, you have to admit, it’s not the kind of job most straight guys choose.”

“I know but I’m not an average straight guy.”

She nodded. “That’s cool because I don’t consider myself an average
straight
girl, either, so I respect that.”

He smiled. “Somehow I figured you might.” 

She smiled back at him.

Billie started the engine and then frowned. “You know what? We need gas and pronto. We’re almost empty.”

“There’s one up the street,” said Nora. “I need some smokes, too.”

“Let’s hope the gas station hasn’t been ransacked yet,” said Billie.

“They probably still have gas, though,” I said.

“You’d think,” said Billie.

We drove to the station that Nora had pointed out and everyone got out.

“Keep your eyes peeled for zombies or other… enemies,” said Billie.

“I’m going inside,” said Nora, raising her gun. “It looks pretty empty from out here.”

“We should go in together,” said Billie.

“Someone might steal the SUV though,” said Nora. “After you fill it, let’s go inside and see what’s available.”

Fortunately, Billie was able to fill the truck up with gas while Nora and I kept watch.

“Here they come,” snapped Nora.

Two zombies staggered towards us, panting like dogs.

“You take the left, I’ll take the right,” said Nora.

The one on the left was so rotted that I could no longer tell if it was a female or male. It wore baggy jeans and a gore covered sweatshirt that said, “Zombies Hate Fast Food.”

“You’re kidding me,” I giggled, approaching it with the windshield cleaner from the gas station. I slammed it into the zombie’s eye and then kicked it in the stomach.

“Told you those shoes would work pretty well,” smiled Billie as he closed the gas tank cover.

I curled my lip in disgust. “Yeah, but now my shoe has something on it.”

He handed me a wet wipe.

“We’ll need ammunition again and soon,” I said, watching as Nora pummeled her zombie in the face with a metal flower pot she’d found and emptied.

Billie nodded. “Yeah but try and save your bullets for marauders if at all possible. Zombies can’t kill you from a distance, but humans certainly can.”

“I’ll do that,” I said as Nora smashed the zombies face against the pavement.

“Wow, she’s a pretty good fighter too,” said Billie.

“Yeah, Nora’s always been a brute. Don’t let her small frame fool you.”

Nora walked over and dunked her hands in the windshield wiper water, which was disgusting enough. Billie handed her a wet wipe.

“Thanks. So, let’s check inside the station for something to use against the zombies,” said Nora. “Maybe there’s a baseball bat or something else we can use to hit ‘em.”

“You did pretty well with the flower pot,” said Billie.

“Not practical to carry around, obviously,” she said.

Billie nodded and then held up the truck keys. “Cassie, you wait inside of the SUV and I’ll go with Nora into the station.”

“Okay. Be careful,” I said as he threw me the keys.

I hopped into the truck and watched as they jogged inside. It was now dark and there were no lights anywhere in the station. I couldn’t see any movement from Billie or Nora and it was making me tense.

I yawned.

I should have asked them to find me an energy drink,
I thought.

With my focus on the station I didn’t notice that someone was opening my door until it was too late.  As I turned a pair of large hands pulled me into the darkness and slammed me to the ground. As soon as my head hit the pavement, I screamed. 

“Shut the fuck up,” growled one of the men, covering my mouth with his hands. I tried biting him but he hit me in the head with his other one and I saw stars.

“She’s a fighter, better tie her up,” said a deep voice.

Before I knew, my hands were behind my back and my mouth was taped shut. Then I was tossed into the back of Billie’s SUV and the door was slammed shut.

“Meet you back at the hotel!” hollered one of the men and the truck started moving. I could hear gunfire in the distance, probably from Nora and Billie, but it was too late. We were flying through the night and I was scared to death.

Chapter Twenty-One

It didn’t seem like we drove very far when we screeched to a halt. The back door opened up and three men stood there, staring at me with guns.

“She’s a little skinny,” said one of them, rubbing his chin.

“And a little young,” said one of the other ones.

“Doesn’t matter. She’ll do,” said the third with a merciless grin.

The men were all tall, dark and very dangerous looking. They were dressed in expensive clothing and one of them, a big brute of a man, had rings adorning almost every finger. They kind of reminded me of mafia, if there still really was such a thing.

“Tony says we’ll draw more audience if we use women. This is just a slip of a girl, though. The last one we used was stacked and they seem to like that better. I’m not sure about this one.”

“She’s a looker, though; you know what I’m saying? Better than nothing and we have to keep the audience interested,” said one of the others.

I didn’t know what they were talking about but it sounded like really bad news for me.

“Let’s get her with the other bitches,” replied the man with the rings, grabbing me. He tossed me over his shoulder and we were soon entering the Ritz Carlton. Obviously, whoever they were had expensive tastes.

A half a dozen armed men were talking amongst each other in the lobby of the hotel, which was lit up. When they noticed us coming they all stopped and stared.

“Whatcha got there, Donnie?” said one of the thugs. He was short with a very round belly.

The guy holding me answered. “Another player for the game.”

“Nice ass,” replied the man.

My face burned. The dress I was wearing had ridden up and away from my rear when he’d picked me up.

The guy holding me chuckled and smacked me on the butt, making me scream into the tape. I tried to struggle, kicking and wiggling my body, to try and make him drop me. But it didn’t seem to do much against the giant man.

“Feisty little shit, isn’t she?” chuckled another guy as we walked passed.

“Yes, good entertainment” said my captor. “It’ll be more fun to watch.”

We walked pass the lobby and through a door that led down a long hallway.  At the end of it was an armed man sitting outside of a double door marked “Banquet Room”. Donnie stopped there and I was set down on the plush carpet.

“Hey Rico, how are they doing in there?” asked Donnie.

The guard, who was shorter with a large belly, snorted. “Frisky bitches, that’s for sure. Johnny and Marcus are in there with them now, keeping the girls under control.”

“Marcus is still in there?” said Donnie. “He was eyeing that blonde from yesterday and I warned him to keep his distance. Tony’s going to be pissed if Marcus puts his hands on any of these girls, again. We need them in good form for the events.”

Events?

“Hmm…this one’s a looker, too,” said Rico, touching my cheek before I had time to react. “Maybe we should get Marcus out of there. He did time for rape, you know.”

Donnie nodded. “Yeah, but he’d Tony’s nephew. He’ll put up a big stink about it. He volunteered to watch the girls and he isn’t going to walk away from that. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll behave himself from now on.”

The guard nodded in agreement and opened the door. “Let’s just wait and see if there’s a problem before we try fixing it.”

They hustled me into the room and I noticed there were several other women being held captive. Most of them were just lying around on couches or sitting on the ground, staring into space and looking completely hopeless.

“What do we have here?” asked a short muscular guy with a goatee. His eyes traveled up and down my body and it gave me the creeps.

“Another player for the game, Marcus,” said Donnie.

Why did fate always throw assholes my way?

Marcus walked up to me, ripped the tape from my mouth and smirked while I squealed from the pain.

“Yo Donnie,” called a tall blond guy who was sitting by at a bar in the back of the room. He was reading a girly magazine and drinking a beer.

“Hey Johnny,” he answered. “Got you another one. This one’s young and feisty, so watch her.”

Johnny nodded and then went back to reading the magazine. Obviously he wasn’t too worried about me.

“I think we can handle her,” said Marcus, smiling at me lasciviously. “She looks like a little pussycat to me.”

My stomach rolled and I took a step back from him. He noticed this and smiled even wider.

“Listen Marcus,” said Donnie, pointing a finger at him. “Just keep an eye on her but don’t get too friendly, you know what I’m saying?”

Marcus folded his arms under his chest and looked a little pissed off. “No, as a matter of fact I don’t.”

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean,” said Donnie.

“Excuse me; can someone untie my hands?” I interrupted. “The rope really burns.”

Marcus took out a knife and stepped behind me. His hand brushed against my rear, not once but twice, as he cut the rope. I turned around and glared at him.

“Angry little pussycat,” he said with a knowing grin.

I looked at Donnie who actually appeared almost apprehensive about leaving. “Don’t leave me with him,” I pleaded.

“Don’t worry doll, you’ll be fine,” he answered and then turned back to Marcus. “Because nobody’s gonna bother you.”

Marcus snorted and then asked, “So, when’s the next game?”

Donnie started walking towards the door. “Soon. We’re rounding up more zombies. Not easy though, bastards are getting harder to control.”

Marcus cracked his knuckles. “That’ll just make it more entertaining.”

What in the hell were they talking about?

“Johnny,” called out Donnie. “I’m leaving. Watch the girls and make sure nothing goes down until we come to collect them.”

Johnny nodded but didn’t look up from his centerfold.

After Donnie left the room, Marcus pointed towards the other girls. “These are your roommates but don’t get too friendly. You won’t be seeing them for very long. You need a friend, see me.”

Like that was going to happen.

He stared at me for a minute and I glared at him.

“Okay, then,” he said, nodding. “I’ll be over there if you need me.”

Then he walked back towards Johnny and poured himself a drink.

I rubbed my wrists, which were sore and moved towards an attractive blond woman who appeared to be somewhere in her twenties. She was sitting in a club chair with her eyes closed and a hand at her forehead. When I sat down next to her she opened her eyes and mumbled, “Welcome to the jungle.”

“What are they doing with us?” I whispered.

She stared at me for a minute and then sighed. “Using us for entertainment, hon.”

Entertainment?

“What do you mean?”

She looked at our captors and then back to me. “I’ve heard a lot of talk going on between these guys, they love to hear themselves. Anyway, from what I understand, these guys used to be heavily invested in the drug trade business. After the zombie shit went down, well it hurt it as you can imagine.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I said.

“Anyway, these assholes are now using us to get drugs from some of their suppliers living in Colombia and other countries. Apparently flu shots weren’t on their “to do” lists and many members of the cartel escaped zombie transformations. Now with money meaning shit in our world right now, these dickheads are putting on live entertainment and using us as the main attraction to work out deals with their suppliers.”

A shiver went down my spine. “How can they do that?”

“I guess they can still access the internet somehow and broadcast over it.”

“Great,” I mumbled. “So, what exactly are we doing as the entertainment?”

“We’re being thrown to the zombies to see how long we can survive before they tear us apart. It’s like a wrestling cage match, only it’s us against the undead.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

I stared at her in horror. “That’s pretty sick. Have you seen them do it?”

She smiled grimly. “Oh yeah and it’s far worse than anything you could possibly imagine. They’ve drained the indoor pool and that’s where the excitement takes place,” she said angrily. “A few girls against a group of zombies; it’s sadistic as all hell and they make the rest of us watch the whole sordid thing.”

It definitely was horrifying but to tell you the truth, it was better than what had originally crossed my mind. I thought for sure they were raping us or making some kind of snuff films. I had to admit that zombies didn’t scare me as much as desperate drug dealers.

“What happens if you beat the zombies?” I asked.

She snorted. “Hasn’t been done yet. Weapons aren’t allowed and the only way to kill a zombie is…”