Running Wild (13 page)

“That boy doesn’t know how to fire a gun properly,” growled Henry as he slid back over to the driver’s side and turned the SUV around. “It’s up to you girl, fire your gun and make it count.”

Dale was pulling up his zipper when he finally noticed the zombies ambling towards him. He screamed in terror and began running towards the safety of his SUV.

Henry and I came to a halt right as the first zombie reached Dale. I pointed my gun towards him, exhaled and fired.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Jesus Christ Dale, what the hell were you thinking? Taking a whiz without a loaded gun?” barked Henry.

We all stood outside, staring down at the two dead zombies. I’d taken out the first one and Shane had actually made it out of his vehicle in time to butcher the second one with his new machete. From the look on Shane’s face, he was still recovering from the experience.

“I don’t know,” Dale replied in a shaky voice. “It’s been so long since we’ve run into any zombies, I just…I just wasn’t thinking.”

“You’re lucky we were paying attention or those fellows would have been snacking on your winky,” said Henry with a smirk. “And you wouldn’t have enjoyed it.”

Dale shivered. “Can we just leave? I’m feeling faint. I need to meditate.”

“Meditate?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Shane with an amused grin. “I drive and he meditates. In other words, he just sits in the backseat and hums.”

“There’s a lot more to it than that!” snapped Dale.

Shane rolled his eyes. “Okay, he releases “negative energy.”

I bit back a smile. “Does it really work?”

Dale nodded. “Oh, yeah, you should try it sometime. It really helps me to release all my negative energy, making me feel totally refreshed afterwards.”

When everyone got back into their SUVs, I realized we were less than a few minutes away from seeing my family and friends. And of course, the conniving bitch Eva. I closed my eyes in the backseat and meditated.

~~~

There were hoards of zombies in Nashville. I tried estimating as we maneuvered our way around or through them and figured the numbers to be in the thousands. Fortunately for us, many of them already lay motionless on the ground, thanks to someone else’s bullets.

“Same shit, different town,” mumbled Billie, taking another sip from his energy drink.

“At least there aren’t too many vehicles blocking our way,” I said as we drove around a few scattered cars.

“Well, if you think about it, most of the people that turned into these things probably weren’t driving their cars when it happened. The virus made them pretty bedridden.”

“I feel like we’re in that movie with the island of dinosaurs. Just like when the scientists drove by, watching them feed on each other,” said Henry.

It
was
kind of like being at a strange zoo. The zombies were either wandering aimlessly or attacking each other with a vengeance. It was gruesome for anyone who’d never witnessed it before, unfortunately I was getting used to all the gore.

“Yeah, but don’t forget the part where the dinosaurs broke loose and were feeding on the humans.” said Billie.

“I don’t rightly recall that part. Fact is, I was with Veronica Baker and we were at the drive-in theater. She was stacked, by golly,” he chuckled deeply. “Of course I do remember touching those huge...”

“There!” I yelled, pointing. “That’s the warehouse where my father’s supposed to be waiting.”

We drove into the parking lot and around to the side of the building. As we pulled up to one of the garage doors, it opened up from the inside and my dad stepped out.

I hurried out of the truck and he gave me a big bear hug.

“Oh, thank God you’re okay!” he said holding me tightly.

Hot tears burned my cheeks and I could tell he was crying too. When he finally let me go, he wiped his face, which had aged even more since the last time I’d seen him.

“You okay dad?” I asked.

“I’m a lot better now that I have you back.”

“Come on, I have some people you need to meet,” I said.

I brought him over and introduced him to my new friends and he shook each of their hands.

“Thank you so much for keeping my daughter safe,” he said, in a husky voice.

“Keep her safe? We should be thanking her,” replied Billie, putting his arm around me. “This girl probably saved our lives ten-fold.”

“Cassie!” cried Paige, running towards me. “Thank God you’re okay. We were so worried about you!”

As she hugged me out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bryce coming towards us, with Eva not too far behind. He wore a sky blue nylon shirt that emphasized both his muscles as well as his deep penetrating eyes. His faded blue jeans hung low on his waist and as always, flattered his cute butt. The one Eva probably had her mitts on.

“Hi,” I said tightly.

He gave me a long searching look. “So, you’re okay?”

It hurt to look at him; he seemed so close but yet so far away. I longed to be back in his arms with his lips on mine. But instead, we both just stared at each like two people who’d shared so much in an earlier life, but were now just uncomfortable strangers.

When his blue eyes left mine, I could suddenly breathe again.

“Hi, I’m Bryce,” he said introducing himself to everyone.

“Look at you and your cute little dimples,” teased Shane. Both he and Dale began fawning all over him and Bryce’s face turned beet red.

When introductions were out of the way, I glanced at Eva, who had a swollen black eye.

I cringed. “Oh, wow! What happened to your eye?”

Before she could answer, Paige cut in, smiling sheepishly. “Oh, my bad! We were getting attacked by some zombies and I mistook her for one; it was dark. I keep telling her I’m sorry, but she just doesn’t believe it was an accident.”

Eva scowled at Paige.

I hid my smile; I didn’t believe it either.

“Well, we have to be going soon,” said Henry, pulling out a cigar. “My grandson will be expecting me.”

“We’d better leave too,” replied my dad. “First we need to find someplace safe to get gas.”

“Problem solved,” said Henry as he lit his stogie. “There’s a gas station up the road, and that’s where we’re heading. Just follow us.”

“Henry, you’re not going to smoke that thing in the SUV are you?” asked Billie.

Henry’s eyes narrowed. “Why? These cigars are Cuban. You should try one, might make a man out of you.”

“Henry, that’s not fair,” I said with a scowl. “Billie’s already proven he’s a better man than most out there.”

Billie smiled and kissed my cheek. “I could say the same about you, G.I. Jane.”

I giggled and punched him playfully in the stomach.

Bryce raised his eyebrows.

“Relax, Wild, you know I was just giving him a hard time. Just like I said before, it’s my way,” replied Henry through a cloud of smoke.

Eva stepped closer and smiled at me. “Cassie, I’m so glad you’re safe. I heard what happened about Austin. I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you.”

I grit my teeth. “There was
nothing
between us. I told you that before.”

“Oh, I only assumed since you left together…” she said, her eyes wide with innocence.

My face turned red. “I was kidnapped! I didn’t leave with him.”

My father raised his rifle. “Okay, girls…we don’t have time for this. Zombies, coming in fast!”

I limped towards the Denali where Bobbie, Sara, and Megan were peeking through the window.

“Cassie!” screamed everyone when I slid into the back.

“Hi everyone. Boy is it good to see you guys. ” I said.

Goldie barked and jumped on my laugh, licking my face frantically.

“Thanks for the kisses girl! ” I laughed. She was so excited I was afraid she was going to pee on me.

“I think she missed you too,” said Sara.

“Cassie!” hollered Bobby, jumping up and down in the front seat. “Yay… it’s Cassie!”

“Cassie,” smiled Megan. “See my new bear?”

She held out a brown fuzzy bear wearing a karate outfit.

I gave the bear a small hug and handed it back to her. “That is so cute,” I said

“She named her Cassie,” said Sara.

“You did?” My eyes welled up with tears.

“Megan wanted to be near you and so we found her the karate bear.”

“That’s so sweet,” I said.

“What’s wrong with your ankle?” asked Sara.

“I twisted it. It’s getting a little better though.”

Sara touched my shoulder and smiled. “Well, we’re all glad that you’re back, safely.”

“Okay, let’s go kids,” said my dad as he jumped into the truck. “We’re following Billie so we can fill up, then we’ll be on our way to Atlanta.”

I looked out the window to see Bryce getting into the conversion van. His face looked angry and I could tell by Eva’s pout, that it probably had something to do with her.

“Hi!” I yelled towards Kristie as she waved to me from the passenger’s seat.

We tore out of the building just as the zombies were beginning to cluster around the parking lot. I watched in amazement as some of the zombie’s noses began to sniff the air, trying to catch our scent.

“Okay, that’s really creepy,” I said, rolling up my window. “Now they are hunting us with their noses? How do they even smell us through their own stench?”

“It’s okay,” whispered Sara into Megan’s ear. The child’s face was buried deep into her mom’s shirt and she was whimpering like a little puppy.

“Poor kid,” I said as I reached out and rubbed her back. “Don’t worry Megan. We’ll keep you safe. They can’t get inside the SUV.”

Bobby on the other hand, was adjusting a lot better than Megan. I watched in amazement as he pointed out zombies and begged my dad to “Get those suckers”.

“Nice, dad,” I said shaking my head.

“What?” he asked innocently. “It’s our game we made up. The uglier the zombie, the more points we get. Bobby here is my partner, he points out the worst ones and we run ‘em down. Isn’t that right buddy?”

“Yes. Extra points for the ones who try and attack us first!” hollered Bobby with a huge smile. “This game is my favorite!”

I shook my head incredulously and then relaxed in my seat. My dad always had this ability to make me feel safe, no matter what the circumstances. He was now having the same effect on Bobby, who really needed a father figure around; especially, if big brother Bryce was giving Eva all his attention.

Chapter Twenty-Three

We followed Billie until we reached the service station where he was supposed to meet up with Tiny. It was located near a short stretch of farmland where there wasn’t much more of anything else. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any zombies either.

The guys got out with their weapons and quickly cased the area for walking dead, but found nothing. Not even Tiny, Henry’s grandson.

“I’m going to see if I can get through to your mom,” said my dad, pulling out his cell phone. “She hasn’t contacted me in a while, and I’m starting to get very worried.”

“I’ll fill up the tank,” said Sara. “Anyone have a credit card?”

“Aw, shucks. Just press “Pay Inside,” and you’ll be fine,” said Henry.

“Good idea! Never thought I’d be involved in a “Gas and Dash,” before,” laughed Sara.

“Tiny will understand,” said Henry.

“When is he supposed to be here?” I asked.

Well,” said Henry, looking towards the empty freeway. “I’m sure he’ll be coming around soon. I’ll just find a way into the station and hold up here until he does.”

“Don’t worry,” said Billie, “I’ll stay with you until he arrives. It’s too dangerous to be on your own, even here.”

Just then Kristie and the girls got out of the van and hurried over. “Thank God, you’re safe,” she said, giving me a hug. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m fine; just a little sprained ankle.”

“What happened to Austin? Did you kill the bastard?”

“Mom!” yelled Kylie. “You know killing people is a mortal sin?”

Henry moved closer to Kylie and he smiled. “The bible never mentioned anything about zombies though,” he said, pulling out his can of chew. “But we know we have to kill those things, before they kill us.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. “Yeah but they’re already dead.”

“Smart little fox you have there, Miss,” said Henry, staring intently at Kristie. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been introduced…I’m Henry.”

Kristie shook his hand. “I’m Kristie and these are my two daughters; Paige and Kylie.

“Well, the apples don’t fall far from the tree, by golly. They take after their mama, a real beauty.”

“Oh, thank you Henry,” said Kristie, patting him on the shoulder.

Henry dropped his can of chew and Kristie reached down to retrieve it for him. I watched in horror as he glanced down her shirt and then it hit me, he’d dropped it on purpose!

“Here you go Henry,” she said handing it back to him.

Henry licked his lips. “Tell me, Kristie…do you like horses?”

“Um, Henry,” I said interrupting him. I knew where this was going. “Is there a bathroom around here?”

He turned to me. “Well, should be one around the side. It’s probably locked though.”

“I’ll come with you and open it,” said Bryce, who I didn’t know was standing right behind me.

“No, I can do it myself,” I replied, turning around to face him.

“You’re ankle is swollen and you can barely walk. In fact,” he said putting down his rifle, “you could probably use a lift.”

Suddenly, I was being lifted into the air and he was carrying me around to the side of the building.

“Bryce, put me down!” I hollered.

“Chill out, Wild,” he said. “I’m just trying to help.”

“I don’t need your help.”

He put me down and scowled. “You’re welcome? Isn’t that what you’re always hollering about? I guess you’re not good at it either.”

I glared at him. “How about, “thanks, but no thanks.”

He shook his head. “What’s wrong with you? It didn’t work out with your little boyfriend and now you’re mad at the world?”

My jaw dropped. “My boyfriend?! What in the hell are you talking about?”