The Zombie Chronicles - Book 2 (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (15 page)

“
Whatever.” I playfully slugged him. “But really, do you think she’s transitioning into a zombie or something? That’s exactly how Val acted. Remember?”

“
Yeah, but her eyes were normal, no hint of white. Usually, when the virus has kicked in like that, you’ll see white pupils.”

“
Yeah, but the virus is always changing,” I said.

“
True,” Nick agreed. “We’ll have to be careful. The search for Tahoe is going to be a dangerous mission here in Kingsville, especially if people are turning into zombies.”

“
But their security is so strict. Why haven’t they put that woman down yet?” I asked. “Why is she still working?”

“
We don’t know for sure if she has the virus,” Nick said.

“
I’m not sure what to think. What if she comes after us in the middle of the night? She has keys to our room, you know.”

“
You’re being totally paranoid,” Nick said.

I let out a long sigh. “Maybe, but at least we know Tahoe didn’t check into the hotel.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, if she’s not lying.”

“
I don’t think she is,” I said. “I think Tahoe might have friends or family here in Kingsville.”

Nick nodded. “That’s a very good possibility. I say we sneak into the office when she’s gone and check out the hotel records to see if he checked in earlier today, just so we can rule that out if he didn’t.”

“
That, or we stalk every single hotel room.” I chuckled. “Hey, think he’d go to the local bar for a drink?”

“
Pretty likely. He seemed the type, and he’s got to have at least some shred of a guilty conscious to numb away. We can start there,” he said. “But we’ve gotta come up with a better cover story. We can’t keep getting kicked out of places, or somebody’s gonna get suspicious.”

I laughed. “Definitely.”

* * *

We walked around the main streets, looking for Tahoe. We stopped and questioned everyone we saw, but nobody had heard of him or seen him, at least based on the description we gave. We passed some shops that sold everything from Indian jewelry to antiques and dolls. All the shops had big “CLOSED” signs on the doors, and I wondered if they’d ever open back up again. A cool breeze stirred as I racked my mind, trying to figure out where the heck Tahoe would go.

Nick pointed. “Look! Let’s check it out.”

There was a bar to my right, with country music drifting out the open windows in all its twanging, cheating-man glory. If Tahoe was anywhere in Kingsville, that would have been his hangout.

Coughing from the cigarette smoke, I walked into the one-room tavern and took a table in the back. Men played darts and roared with laughter. Nick got us some free peanuts in a red bowl and two complementary shots and beers.

I couldn’t help but notice that the guy next to us was reaching for invisible things in the air.

Nick noticed it too. “Boy, that dude’s wasted.”

“
This is a great place for shots, beer, and a game of pool,” a cute blonde in tight jeans and a midriff top said.

I couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under her pretty blue eyes.

“
Name’s Lucy,” she said. “You guys new in town?”

Nick laughed. “Is it that obvious?”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

Her name rang a bell instantly, and I had to ask. “Hey, when we went to get a medical exam, there was this woman with blonde hair, looking for her sister. She said her sister was here visiting a woman named Lucy. That you?”

“
She was passing out flyers and everything,” Nick added.

She shrugged. “Nope. Not me, and I’m the only Lucy here,” she said nonchalantly. “So…how about it? Interested in a game of pool?”

I stood. “Yeah, I’m interested.”

“
Me too,” Nick said, taking a long swig of his beer.

“
Game on then, boys,” she said.

My gaze met hers as I wiped my hands on my jeans and headed to the closest
pool
table. I figured I’d approach her naturally, through small talk, over a friendly game of eight-ball. I didn’t want her to go off on us the way the hotel attendant had. “I’m Dean, and this is my brother, Nick.”

“
Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking our hands.

“
It’s very nice to meet you too,” I said.

Nick drew back the cue, then released the
shot, breaking the triangle and scattering the balls all over the green felt.

“
Good break,” she said. “You’re stripes. Go again.”

Nick made another shot.

“
Where are you boys from?” Lucy asked.

“
South Carolina,” I said. “Just passing through.”

“
It’s really bad out there, huh?”

I nodded. “Stay here. This is a great place to be, and you’ve got fantastic security.”

We made small talk and played for the next half-hour. At one point, she introduced us to the rest of the gang.

I looked at Nick for affirmation, then figured I’d slip in Tahoe. “Hey, we should find Tahoe. He said he knows this town well. Maybe he can show us around.”

Nick turned to Lucy and casually asked, “You ever heard of him? Tahoe?”

“
Nope,” she said and sank one in the side pocket like a pro.

I bit my lip. “Hmm. Weird. I think he has family here.”

She made another shot.
“I’ve lived here all my life, and I can tell you there’s no Tahoe in this town. What’s this fella look like?”

“
He’s in his late twenties and has a really thick beard and mustache,” Nick said. “You can’t miss him.”

“
Well, I haven’t seen anybody like that lately.”

I tossed down a few peanuts and sank the red five in a corner.
“Anybody come into town within the last two days besides us?”

“
Just my husband, Sam. He dropped me off here to hang out with friends while he runs some stupid errand.”

I hung my head, wondering where that weasel, Tahoe, could be.

Nick made the winning shot, and his opponent seemed shocked.

“
I…lost?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“
It’s just a game,” I said, trying to make light of it.

“
Are you making fun of me?” she snapped.

“
No,” I tried to reassure her.

“
You cheated!” she said, her
voice rising
to a
crescendo that attracted the attention of the other patrons.

I knew I had to defuse the situation; she was obviously a sore loser. “I declare you the winner,” I said, smiling.

“
Pay for the beers!” she roared. “We don’t hand freebies out to cheaters.”

I looked at Nick, and he shrugged. He obviously didn’t have a dime on him.

“
Uh, we’re gonna leave now,” I said. “It was nice to meet you.”

A cold steel blade pressed against my throat. I contemplated elbowing the guy, but starting a fight wouldn’t have been wise, so I decided to keep my cool and see if I could talk my way out of a barroom brawl.

“
Our Lucy has
never
lost a game of pool before,” the man behind me hissed. “Obviously you cheated, you filthy piece of slime.”

The man held tightly to my arm as a few guys tackled Nick to the ground. The situation quickly grew out of control. A shot fired, and the bartender pointed his rifle straight at us.

In all the commotion, that was my chance. I jammed the dude with my elbow as hard as I possibly could, causing him to gasp and take a wavering step back.

“
Let the boys go!” the bartender said. “You know we need them alive.”

I gulped.
Need us alive? For what? What’s that supposed to mean?

“
Hey, Mike,” said the enraged man, b
reaking a pool
cue
in half over his knee,
“nobody holds a gun on me. Nobody! I’m gonna break your arms in ten different ways.”

The bartender didn’t even blink as he let out another warning shot. I gasped as the man called for his buddies, who all jumped to his defense, while five strong guys rushed in to help the bartender. One of them sucker-punched another and the dude landed on a table that collapsed underneath his weight. A blond man retaliated by grabbing a chair and pounding it over somebody’s head, and in minutes, the entire bar erupted into a warzone.

My eyes locked on a man barreling toward me with a wooden barstool. With lightning reflexes, I dodged to the left, and the man took out the light that was swinging
over
the pool
table. Another man came at me, swinging a chair leg in the air like a bat.
I punched him in the gut, and he dropped and crashed to the ground while glass shattered somewhere behind me.

“
Let’s get out of here,” Nick muttered.

In that moment, I wished our guns had not been taken away from us at the gate.
A guy lunged for me, and pain exploded in my jaw when he caught me with a powerful punch. Out of instinct, I landed a left punch that connected squarely with his jaw, returning the favor, then Nick broke a wooden chair over his back. Another came at my neck with a broken beer bottle. I slammed into the idiot and head-butted him. Dancing amoebas flooded my vision as I tumbled to the ground.
Wait…just how did we end up in a bar fight?
I asked the little birdies that seemed to be chirping and flying in a circle around my head, but they had no answer for me.

Nick held out a hand. “Get up!” he yelled through all the shouting and confusion.

After I scrambled to my feet, we raced toward the door.
I stumbled over a broken chair and overturned table, then opened the door and hurried outside into the fresh air. Nick grabbed my arm and motioned me down the sidewalk, and we briskly walked away. I raised my hand to my throbbing cheek as we went.

“
You gonna live, little brother?” Nick asked, slapping my back.

“
I’m fine.” I didn’t dare comment on my splitting headache or how much the sunshine was aggravating it.

Chapter 17

“
Tahoe’s here somewhere,” I said, walking as fast as I could away from the bar where we’d unintentionally started a brawl. “We gotta find him…and quick. He must be visiting an acquaintance, so maybe the residents here don’t know him.”

“
Is it just me, or are all these people off their rockers?” Nick asked. “That guy came at you with a knife because Lucy lost a game of pool. Have they been cooped up here too long or what?”

“
I’ve got no idea. And what did that bartender mean when he said they need us alive?” I asked.

“
It’s all part of a mystery I’m not even sure I want the answer to. What do you think?”

Before I could answer, a Boston terrier lunged at me, latched on to the leg of my jeans, then shook its head, snarling and growling.

Nick laughed. “Today’s just not your day.”

I smirked. The dog’s teeth hadn’t quite penetrated my skin yet, but as an avid dog lover, I didn’t want to kick the poor thing. I tried shaking my leg, but that didn’t work.