Deathly Contagious (10 page)

“Would you rather stay here?”

“No,” she squeaked, her body trembled. “I don’t want to get eaten.”

“Neither do I. But I’d rather face zombies than get raped.”

“They’ll stop once I’m pregnant,” she stated.

“That is so messed up and probably not true. Give me the keys before I force them from you!” I threatened, hoping it wouldn’t come to that. This poor girl had been through enough.

She whimpered again but pulled the keys from inside her dress. I unlocked the truck, jumped in and stuck the keys in the ignition. It was cold and the truck hadn’t been driven in a while. The engine sputtered.

“Come on,” I encouraged it, turning the key again. Finally, it revved to life. “Thank God!” I sped down the driveway, fearing that we would run into the returning hunters. They had turned left onto the road; I turned right. I hate that there was several inches of snow. It made us so easy to track.

The truck slid and fishtailed but I didn’t dare slow down. I was gripping the steering wheel tightly, so much adrenaline coursing through my veins that I didn’t even realize it was cold until Olivia turned the heater on.

“What do we do now?” she timidly asked.

“Get out of these fucking lame-ass dresses,” I bitterly spat. As if holding us hostage wasn’t enough, they had to objectify us with frills and lace.

“You certainly have a way with words,” she said, a faint smile evident on her pale face.

“Yep. I’m a fucking poet.” We drove in silence for several minutes. The country road seemed endless.   Snow drifted in front of us, challenging the old Ford truck. I didn’t let up on the gas and I kept throwing nervous glances up at the review mirror. The tire tracks in the snow taunted me.

I almost missed the turn; I spun the wheel sharply and the truck slid around in a complete circle. We skidded to a stop on the side of the road. I pressed the pedal down and the engine groaned. We were stuck.

“Come on,” I urged, putting the truck into reverse. I slowly rocked it back and forth, terrified of not getting away before Bart and his bastard, inbred children stumbled upon us.

“Should I get out and push?” Olivia asked, earning major points in my book.

“Possibly,” I replied honestly, though I knew I was the better candidate for pushing. We rocked back and forth one more time before we were freed. Going slower this time, I started down the remnants of a snow covered, two lane highway.

“Do you think they’ll come looking for us?” Olivia questioned, her voice full of fear.

“I’m sure.”

“What do you think they’ll do if they find us?”

“They won’t find us. I promise.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I just am.”

“That’s not very convincing,” she mumbled, picking at the hem of her dress.

“I’m not gonna let them find us. And if they do, I’ll kill them. Each and every one of them. I want to see my friends again, I’m not going to let some back-woods,
The Hills Have Eyes
family stop me from going home.” Olivia said something but I didn’t pay attention. As soon as the word slipped from my mouth, I knew it was true.

I had never considered the compound ‘home’. I thought it was odd when Hayden called it his home. But, that was what it was. Everything, everyone I had left was at the compound. Though it was far from ideal, the compound housed a few people that just happen to mean the world to me. It was home, and that was where I wanted to go.

We continued in silence for another twenty miles. Shops and restaurants dotted the highway. I eyed them, debating whether or not it was too soon to stop. We needed fuel. New, warm clothes and food would be nice, but we could survive without them for a while longer. And, most of all, I needed to know where the hell I was.

A motorcycle store loomed ahead. At the last minute I stopped, doing a donut in the parking lot. When the truck finally stopped sliding, I put it in park and opened my door.

“I’m gonna check it out, stay here and keep the engine running,” I told Olivia. Her green eyes held back terror but she complied. I peered into the backseat, looking for anything useful. Along with a lot of crap was a large flashlight. It worked, though I wouldn’t need the light just yet. It was metal and heavy and good for bashing in a brain.

The cold air stung my skin and was painful to inhale. I slowly approached the front door of the store. It wasn’t broken, but it wasn’t locked either. I pushed it open, making a stupid bell jingle. I reached up and yanked it down. Then I waited.

Nothing happened.

I waved for Olivia to open her window. Nervously, she leaned out of the truck.

“I’m gonna get us clothes and hopefully a map. Keep an eye out for zombies. Leave if it gets bad. I’ll catch up, ok?”

She shyly nodded. I went back in the store. The first half was filled with motorcycles; some of them were really nice. I admirably ran my hands over chrome handlebars on a custom Chopper. I had an on-and-off boyfriend throughout most of high school that had a motorcycle. My mother hated it.

Past the motorcycles were accessories and parts that meant nothing to me. And past that were displays of clothing. There was only one small round rack of woman’s clothes. I ruffled through the leather pants to find one my size. I took off my boots and yanked then on. They were surprisingly comfortable.

I threw the ugly dress to the ground and put on a black, long sleeve tee shirt. I zipped a tight fitting, black leather jacket up over that and picked up my boots, set on lacing them back up when I heard scuffling behind me. I spun around, ready to use the heel of my boot as a weapon.

“Sorry!” Olivia cried, holding her hands up protectively over her head.

“It’s alright,” I told her, trying not to sound pissed. The girl reminded me of an abused dog; as soon as someone raised their hands, she assumed she was going to get hit. “What are you doing?”

“I got scared out there. I left the truck running though, just in case.”

“Oh, ok. While you’re here, quickly get something to wear. I’m gonna look for a map or something.”

I searched the whole store but didn’t find a map. When I returned to Olivia, she had put on a pair of dark jeans, a Harley Davidson hooded sweatshirt, and biker boots. She wobbled when she walked in the low wedge heels.

“Not used to wearing heels?” I stated the obvious.

“No. I’ve never worn them before,” she admitted. She tripped, nearly twisting her ankle.

“What shoe size are you?” I asked, thinking I couldn’t have her slowing me down any more than she was bound to.

“Eight and a half.”

“Try these,” I said, sitting down to unlace my boots. “They’re a nine, so they might be a little big, but it’s better than the heels. I need you to be able to run if need be.”

I exchanged my boots for another pair of motorcycle boots. They looked better with the leather pants anyway. I grabbed a pair of gloves for each of us before going back into the parking lot. A silver SUV caught my attention. I told Olivia to get in the truck and wait while I raced back inside the store. I emerged with tools and a devious smile.

“You’re kinda scary,” Olivia told me with just a hint of awe in her voice after I hotwired the SUV.

“Aren’t you glad?” I asked, straightening up. “Let it run for a few minutes before we get in.” I pulled down the visor and looked in the glove box. “Yes!” I said out loud when I pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

“You smoke?”

“Ew, no way. But this,” I held up the lighter. “Can come in handy.” We let the SUV run for over five minutes before turning on the heater. Another five passed and the car was filling with warm air. Declaring it good enough, I went back into the shop one last time.

I ripped the hem off of the horrible dress I was forced to wear and shoved it inside the gas tank of Del’s truck. I drove the truck into the middle of the road, got out, lit the dress on fire and walked away. I didn’t even look back when it exploded. Olivia gapped at me for the next thirty miles, unable to believe everything I had done.

“I feel safe with you,” she told me, her green eyes shining. Suddenly, an image of Zoe flashed through my brain. I pushed it away, but not before it could affect me.

No matter what, I was going to take care of Olivia.

I pulled into a parking lot of a grocery store. I assured Olivia that I had no intentions of going in. A few gummies milled about. I struck one in the head with the flashlight and he dropped, his mushy brains leaking out onto the pavement. I smashed car windows, setting off an alarm on two, in search for an atlas. I found it in car number six.

We were in southern Iowa and I judged our time away from the compound to only be eight hours or less. My heart fluttered and my stomach did that stupid flip-flop when I thought of seeing Hayden. Then I thought of Raeya and Padraic and how happy I was going to be when I saw them again.

After three hours of problem free driving, we ran into a pile up. Going on past experiences, I didn’t want to chance it. But, we were hungry and running low on fuel. If I could find something to eat or a gas can, then it would be worth it.

“Stay here and keep your eyes peeled, ok?” I instructed.

“Ok.”

“I mean it. If something comes, honk and I’ll come running. As soon as I’m in, drive. Got it?”

“Yes, got it,” she promised.

I slowly picked my way through the cars, looking for the one that seemed the most promising. Dead bodies scattered the road, most of them gnawed to the bone by zombies. I opened the door to a minivan and nearly retched when I saw the car seat in th,e back. Something really terrible must have happened to make the parents leave their baby.

Moving on, I thought luck struck when I climbed up the steps of a school bus. Coolers had been packed and stashed in the front seats. The cold kept the smell of rotten food to a minimum. I dug through it, looking for something edible and hopefully not full of E Coli or other horrible germs. I pulled out a jar of peanuts. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get us through the next few hours. A case of water had tipped over, the bottles rolled all over the bus. I grabbed four and jogged back to the car.

We devoured the nuts and drank all of our water within the hour. I should have known my luck would run out. The low fuel light was sure to come on within the next few miles. I knew I’d be able to find gas and even a way to get it relatively easily. But when the SUV suddenly started shaking and the engine overheated, I had no idea what to do.

“Piece of shit!” I cursed, hitting the steering wheel.

“What do we do?” Olivia whimpered.

I looked around us; we were on another stretch of country road with nothing ahead of behind us. “Get out and walk until we find another car.” I gathered up the map and the flashlight and got out. Olivia nervously gripped the shotgun.

“What’s the compound like?” Olivia inquired as we walked.

“It’s…it’s nice. And safe. It used to be a bomb shelter so most of it is underground. There’s food, water, medicine and clothes. And even heaters and warm water for showers.”

“Is it like a big room with cots set up?”

“Not at all. You’ll have a roommate, or two or three maybe. The rooms look kinda like dorm rooms. And there’s a cafeteria and a couple of game rooms.”

“Is it run by the government?”

I almost laughed. “No. Well, maybe you’d call them that now. It’s run by American soldiers.”

“Oh, that does seem safe.”

“It is. It’s the safest place I know of, or can think of.”

“So,” she said quietly. “Why aren’t you there?”

“We go on missions. To look for people or get supplies. I got separated from my…my friends,” I explained, though I didn’t consider Alex a friend at all. Along with reuniting with my real friends, I couldn’t wait to punch Alex in the face.

A high pitched scream echoed behind us. Olivia froze in fear. I spun around, taking a defensive stance. The crazy had a piece of a metal pipe through his leg but he raced toward us as if it was nothing. He wouldn’t have been a problem. There was only one S1.

But there were a shit ton of S2’s behind him.

“Motherfucker!” I yelled, really hating the way S1’s were zombie magnets. My eyes darted back and forth from Olivia to the zombies. She was defenseless. Yea she had the gun but I doubted she be able to hit the broad side of a barn, besides, it wouldn’t be long before it was out of ammo. I couldn’t count on her to help me out or take care of herself.  I took her hand. “Run!”

We raced down the road, across a field and into the woods. The zombies would eventually catch the S1 and hopefully he’d be enough of a distraction for them to lag behind. All we had to do was get to another road with a pile up, a town with cars, or even a safe place to be bunkered in for a while.

Olivia couldn’t keep up with me. She wheezed and gasped for air, putting her hands on her knees and bending over. I had to really work to keep my patience with her, especially when I realized she had dropped the shotgun while we were running. I pushed her forward yet again, not feeling safe enough to slow down. Finally, when the trees became thinner, I slowed to a walk. She had just caught her breath when we emerged from the forest into an over grown field. A large building that looked like an old hospital loomed ahead.

“Can we stop and rest?” she asked, pointing to it.

“Sure,” I agreed. “But only for a little bit.” Without speaking, we crossed the field. I pulled open a heavy metal door, turned on the flashlight and stepped into a graveyard.

Chapter 5

“What the fuck?” I said to the darkness. The door shut behind us. I moved the flashlight around the room. Light reflected off of tombstones and a coffin lay open in front of a crypt. Olivia tripped over a grave. It snapped under her weight.

“Oh,” I said as I helped her up. “Right.”

“What’s r-right about this?” she stuttered.

“We’re in a haunted house,” I explained.

“And that’s right?!”

“A
fake
haunted house,” I continued. When she still didn’t get it, I went on. “The virus struck in October. The world is frozen in a permanent Halloween Town.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Can we get out of here? I hate haunted houses.”