Dead Endz (13 page)

“Destroy the brain,” I finished.

She nodded.

I looked around the room at the other women. Most of them were in their twenties or thirties and looked pretty healthy. I imagined that if they had weapons they’d be decent adversaries against the undead.

“How long have you been prisoner?” I asked.

“Couple days. I’ve only witnessed one of their shows and that was yesterday. The next one is going to be soon and I’m sure my time is running out.”

I looked over at Johnny and Marcus again, who appeared to be snorting something. Marcus looked up and wiped his nose.

“Maybe they’ll get too high and we can escape,” I said. I really didn’t know that much about drugs.

“They’ll probably get more strung out,” she answered. “If we’re lucky they’ll snort too much and have a seizure or heart attack.”

Just then Marcus walked back over and I could tell by the look in his eyes he had something on his mind that wasn’t in my best interest.

“What’s your name pussycat?” he asked me, rubbing his nose.

I raised my chin. “You’re worst nightmare.”

Marcus laughed out loud. “That’s cute. You must watch too many movies. Tell you what, if you’re a nice kitty, I might be able to extend your stay with us.”

I crossed my arms under my chest. “A nice kitty?”

“A nice “friendly” kitty. I think you know what I mean,” he said now totally undressing me with his eyes.

“Let me see if I have this right; if I let you put your hands on me then you’ll let me live a little longer?”

“Or you can put your hands on me.”

I wanted to puke. “Both sound pretty disgusting to me.”

His face darkened and he took a step forward. “You’d better watch it or you’ll end up like the last little bitch who gave me lip.”

“Leave her alone Marcus,” said my new blond friend. “She’s just a young kid.”

“Mind your own business, Carly,” snapped Marcus. “Or you me and this little bitch here will go into the next room and I’ll teach you both a lesson.”

“Everything okay over here?” sniffed Johnny as he strolled over to us. His pupils were dilated and he looked twitchy.

Marcus glared at me again and then turned back to his partner. “It’s fine, just a couple of insolent bitches trying to get a rise out of me. I think we should teach them a lesson and make sure both of them are in the next show.”

Johnny shrugged. “Your call.”

Marcus gave us a satisfied grin and then walked away.

“So, what
did
happen to the last gal that gave him lip?” I asked under my breath.

Carly motioned towards the back corner of the room where a girl was sleeping underneath a blanket on the floor.  “He practically beat her to death. She wouldn’t let him touch her either and told him off. He beat her up pretty bad and now she can barely move. Hate to say this but she’s going to be easy prey for the zombies when they put her in the game.”

“That Marcus is a real prick. Nobody deserves getting beaten, except him. Is she okay now?”

“To be honest, I don’t know.”

“I’m going to check on her,” I said.

“Here,” said Carly handing me a bottle of water. “See if she’s thirsty.”

“Thanks.”

I walked over to the girl who wasn’t making a sound. I kneeled down and touched her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Cassie?” murmured the girl, turning over to look at me. Her left eye was black and blue and there was dried blood just above her bruised lips.

“Paige?” I whispered in horror.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“How did you get here?” she asked, trying to sit up. “Is my mom or Tiny here?”

I shook my head. “Just me. Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better. Where have you been?”

I gave her a rundown of what I’d been doing the last three days. “So, obviously, I haven’t seen anyone in the group.”

“We were separated from your dad and Bryce a few days ago when someone opened fire on them. Tiny took off to save us and when we returned to see how you guys were doing, nobody was around. I guess they must have survived since you’re here right now,” she smiled. “Thank God.”

“Well, how did you end up here?” I asked.

Paige cleared her throat. “We went to the C.D.C. and parked outside. Mom and Tiny went into the building to search for everyone. I suddenly had to pee. I mean, I just couldn’t hold it anymore. Anyway, I crept behind an abandoned car and as I was coming back, someone grabbed me. They put a blindfold on me and brought me here.”

“You went outside to pee by yourself when there were zombies around?” I asked.

“Had my bat but the asshole surprised me from behind.”

“What you bitches talking about over there?” hollered Marcus from across the room.

Paige glared at him but neither of us answered.

“He’s a real piece of work,” I said under my breath.

She nodded. “He needs his ass kicked. I tell you what, if I still had my metal bat I would have given him that home-run he wanted.”

I smiled. “I’m glad to see that he didn’t beat your spirit.”

She snorted. “If I’ve survived this far against the zombies, one pervert with short-man syndrome isn’t going to be my demise.”

“Don’t worry,” I said, gently touching her shoulder. “We’ll get out of here, somehow.”

Her eyes widened. “So, you have a plan?”

I bit the side of my lip. “Actually, I’ve got nothing, yet, but the good news is I’m feeling alright and nobody knows of my martial arts training.”

She nodded. “Well that is
something
. Unfortunately I can barely move and I’m next in the pool of horror. I don’t think I’ll fare well with the zombies.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover your ass,” I said, standing back up.

She stared at my dress and smiled. “You’re barely covered yourself. What’s up with the hooker outfit?”

I looked down and made a face. “I know but I had no other choice. It was either this or hospital gown with my rear sticking out. You should see Nora’s outfit, it’s even worse than mine.”

“That must have been a sight.”

I smiled. “Oh, yeah and she was less than thrilled.”

She closed her eyes again. “We have to get out of here.”

Before I could reply the door opened and Donnie stepped through with another man who looked important in a mafia kind of way. He was dressed in some kind of expensive designer suit, had very dark hair and a thick belly. It amazed me how these guys were strutting around with monkey suits and perfectly coifed hair in the middle of a zombie war.

“Nice group,” he said, cracking his knuckles. He, like most of the other thugs, had several rings on his fingers that I imagined may have broken a few noses along the years.

“That’s the head guy,” whispered Paige. “Tony.”

“Time to play a fun game, lovelies,” hollered Tony, now clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “I like to call this zombie game, “Survival”, you against a few brainless undead pieces of shit. You win, I let you go, you lose…well I think you understand.”

“What if we don’t want to play?” asked Carly.

He smiled sadistically. “Sorry, babe, but you have no choice.”

“Nothing fair about this game,” mumbled Paige.

“So,” he continued. “We need five volunteers or we pick the players ourselves.”

I cleared my throat and stepped forward. “If we survive are you’ll let us go?”

Tony stepped closer to me and smiled. “Sure, why not? You can walk away and I’ll even give you a free meal to celebrate your victory; just because I’m a nice guy.”

“If that’s a real promise, I’ll play your game,” I said. “But I do have one request.”

Tony’s stared at me in amusement. “Okay, I’ll bite…what is your request, honey?”

I pointed to Paige, who was now standing but clearly in pain. “That you keep her out of the game and she gets released if we win.”

“That bitch. If she’s ain’t playing, she certainly ain’t leaving,” interrupted Marcus.

Tony’s eyes narrowed and he turned to Donnie. “So is this the blonde you were talking about? The one Marcus apparently smacked around?”

“She certainly didn’t arrive this way,” I interrupted.

Tony frowned. “Marcus, I told you to leave the players untouched.”

“She was getting lippy Ton,” he said. “What, you want I should just ignore her mouth? She was disrespectful.”

“You inform me next time,” demanded Tony. “I need players that are healthy and they’re getting scare these days. We have no players, we have no game. Capisce?”

Marcus looked down and nodded.

“As far as your friend goes,” said Tony, looking at me. “If you volunteer for this next game, I can leave her out of it. She’s too banged up right now, anyway.  If you win, I’ll even let you both go, because like I said before, I’m a nice guy.”

From the expression on his face I could tell he didn’t think there was a even a chance of me winning.

“Okay, than I volunteer,” I said.

He nodded. “Good girl. Anyone else?”

Nobody else volunteered so he picked four more girls, Carly being one of them.

“The game will begin in an hour. Rest up,” said Tony before he stepped out of the room with Donnie.

Marcus looked at me and shook his head. “Should’ve taken my offer earlier, pussycat, and been nice to me. I mean, I could’ve sheltered you from the game and we would have spent some quality time getting to know each other. Now, you’re going to be torn apart and even volunteered for it. Not too bright.”

I just ignored him and walked back over to Paige. “See, I told you we’re going to get out of here.”

“Hope you have a plan for when you’re in the pool,” she said, “because the zombies aren’t easy to kill when you have no weapons.”

“Oh, but I have two weapons,” I said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Where?”

I looked down at my high heels, which I was glad to be still wearing, and smiled. “Did you ever get a chance to watch the “Jerry Springer” show?”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Donnie and a couple of his stooges arrived for us about an hour later. We were taken to the hotel’s large indoor pool in the garden atrium, which was actually pretty breathtaking. Lush flowers, waterfalls, and Greek statues surrounded the outer area of the atrium. It would have been a beautiful place to relax under normal circumstances.

“Sick bastards,” I said, looking around. “I’m surprised they didn’t have this event catered.”

“Oh but they did,” said Carly. “We’re the food and the zombies are the honored guests.”

“Hope they choke on my big toe,” I replied.

I noticed that there were several tables and chairs set up that surrounded the pool, giving spectators a great view of the carnage that would soon take place. Large cameras and lights also surrounded the pool and I felt a shiver go down my side when I thought of the circus that would soon take place in such a lovely setting.

“Ladies,” said Donnie, when we all lined up by the shallow part of the pool. “Drop your clothes and get in.”

We all stood staring at him in horror.

“Come on, chop chop,” he said, clapping his hands.

I stepped forward. “Nobody mentioned anything about being naked,” I snapped.

His smile was smug. “New game, princess; one I like to call “Naked Babe Zombie Games”. The fans requested more skin and we aim to please.”

“More skin? Those sick fucks!” hollered one of the girls.

She got that right, sick fans and even sicker promoters. “Sorry, but I can’t do that,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

He scowled. “I’m not asking you to do it, I’m
telling
you.”

My mind raced for a way to get out of this. I’d never been completely naked in front of anyone since I was a baby. I was still pretty modest considering the short dress I was currently wearing.

“Well?” he said. “You gonna take off your clothes or do you need help? I know Marcus would love to volunteer.”

I’d kill him before he touched me
.

“You think I’m joking?” prodded Donnie.

I bit the side of my lip and tried to summon up some kind of tears. I thought of my family and Bryce, who I missed desperately. “I’m only seventeen…I’m still under-aged,” I said, feeling my eyes filling up. “It’s immoral to have me remove my clothing.” Okay, so everything they were doing was immoral but I had to try.

Donnie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re under eighteen? Seriously?”

I nodded and brushed away a tear. “Yes and if I’m not correct, this would be considered child pornography. You guys aren’t into that are you? I didn’t figure you to be into kiddie porn.”

His eyes traveled up and down my body. “Bullshit. You don’t look like no kid.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Girls younger than me are far more developed. So what you’re saying is that if I was fourteen and still looked like this it would be okay to make me run around naked? That’s definitely child pornography.”

I sniffled. “I mean it’s twisted enough be feeding us to the zombies, but having us do it naked, too? And I’m still considered a child in most states. Do you have kids, Donny?”

He let out an exasperated breath. “Fine, I’ll talk to Tony. We don’t condone no child porn. That shit’s immoral.”

Are you kidding me?
I thought.
Where did they draw the line?

“That’s a relief,” snorted Carly
.
“And I thought you guys were sick perverts.”

He pointed at her. “Watch it Carly. Keep your yap shut!”

Carly glared at him but didn’t say anything else.

Then Donnie stormed off, leaving us with a couple of guards who seemed to be quite amused with the exchange we’d just had.

Fifteen minutes later, he returned with a bewildered expression on his face. “You’re lucky that Tony likes your gumption, kid,” he said pointing to me. “And he thought up a new way for us to make a little more profit. You’re all going to keep your bra and panties on. We’ll negotiate a better deal from the fans the next show if they want to see more skin than that.”

“In our underwear? But…” I sputtered.

He clenched his fists. “Shut up before I lose my cool with you. The show will start in fifteen minutes and I don’t have time for this shit. Now undress down to your underwear and shut the fuck up.”