The Zombie Chronicles - Book 3 - Deadly City (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (3 page)

“
Yeah…so we noticed. I wonder what’s happening,” Claire said.

“
That’s why I’m here. I’ve got far too many questions about what happened to my sister and not enough answers.”

A horn beeped, and a military truck rushed toward her.

“
Hide!” Kate yelled. “You can’t let them see you talking to me.” Then she bolted into the trees on the other side of the fence.

Jackie grabbed my arm and led me behind some leafy vegetation. “She’s right,” Jackie said. “We can’t let them catch us snooping around.”

I dropped down close to the ground with Claire and Jackie. Peering through the thicket, we saw a group of military men jumping out of the truck to swarm the area.

“
Find the girl now!” a soldier yelled. “We need to contain her, or the nosy broad is gonna ruin everything!”

I had no idea if Kate was able to get away or not, but I feared for her safety. Clearly, she was a wanted woman—and I was pretty sure she was one of the good guys.

Chapter 3

We went back to the hotel to regroup and found the poor housekeeper tied up and gagged in the bathroom. I felt awful about it, but I knew it was only temporary—and absolutely necessary.

I ran my hand through my hair. “We’re so screwed right now. Val’s gone, we have no clue where Tahoe is, and we have a maid tied up in the hotel bathroom like some kind of dirty B-grade horror porno flick. I don’t see how this can get any worse.” I lifted my head to meet Nick’s gaze. “What about you? Did you guys get anywhere?”

His lips pressed into a grim line. “Nope. I talked to that strange hotel clerk and some of the other staff. I told them I thought I heard a zombie hissing. They weren’t rattled whatsoever, so at least we know Val made it out of the hotel unharmed. You guys find anything on your little fieldtrip?”

“
We did see something really strange,” I said.

Jackie nodded. “They were bringing zombies into the city, in a military truck.”

“
What? That is weird,” Lucas said. “Why would they do that? Especially after those nurses were so hyper about checking us for bites and scratches. I got the impression this was a no zombie zone.”

“
That’s exactly what we’re wondering,” Claire said. “We think they might be using them for testing in a government facility or something, but other than that, it doesn’t make sense.”

Nick lifted his chin. “If they’re collecting zombies for whatever reason, maybe they’ve got Val pinned up somewhere.”

“
Well, in any case, it’s a lead—and a pretty fantastic one,” Lucas said. “You guys get a gold star for the day,” he said to Claire, Jackie, and me.

Jackie rolled her eyes at him and continued, “So…how do we find out where? I’m sure none of the lunatics in this place are gonna volunteer that info.”

Lucas paced. “Hmm. Where do we focus our efforts? Do we look for Val or Tahoe?”

“
Good question,” I said, pondering. We didn’t have Val, and we didn’t have the vials. I was anxious, ashamed, and guilty for losing Val, and hopelessness was beginning to creep in. The entire mission felt daunting and overwhelming, but the one thing I couldn’t give up entirely was hope. It was all we had. I tried to escape from my thoughts by mentioning our encounter with the psychotic pool hustler. “We ran into that girl from the bar,” I said.

“
Lucy?” my brother said.

“
Yeah. She said her husband might be able to help us. I guess he’s not acting nuts yet because he just got back into town. She also told us this town has secrets worse than any nightmare we could imagine. Remember the missing girl from the flyer? Lucy said the townspeople killed her, but she wouldn’t elaborate. When I tried to get more info, she sped off in her car, acting like a crazy person again.”

“
Remind me, when we leave this town, to buy some stock in straitjackets,” Lucas joked. “Sounds like a pretty secure investment to me.”

I laughed. “Right.”

Jackie chimed in, “I think she took off because that girl who passed out the flyers back at the clinic was on the other side of the fence yelling for her. Lucy said she didn’t have the heart to tell her they killed her sister.”

“
Well, it didn’t help when that Army truck showed up. She took off running when she saw it,” Claire added.

“
Did they see you consorting with her?” Nick asked.

“
No, I don’t think so. We hid in the bushes the second we saw the military coming in our direction.”

“
We think they might be abducting visitors to use for secret testing,” Jackie said. “We’re not safe here, and spending the night is gonna make us sitting ducks.”

“
Why are we making this all so complicated?” Nick said, letting out a long, frustrated breath. “
We aren’t Mulder and Scully. It’s not our job to find the truth about this place, whether it’s out there or not. We just have to get Val, get the serum, punch Tahoe in the nuts for good measure, and get the heck outta here.”

“
If we live that long,” Lucas said. “These people are lunatics, with military backing to boot, and we have no idea what they’re up to.”

Claire stood. “I say we question the housekeeper. She’s bound to know something. This is a small town. There are no secrets in small towns.”

Soft groans filled the air, and I glanced at the housekeeper, who fluttered her eyes opened, as if she’d heard us talking about her.

“
She’s coming to!” Lucas said.

When Nick untied the girl, she looked terrified. He told her to sit down in a wooden chair while he removed her gag. “If you scream, it goes right back on,” he threatened.

She nodded. “Got it,” she snapped. “My throat’s too dry to scream anyway,” she complained.

Jackie got up to get her a drink of water from the bathroom sink. She handed it to her and softly touched her hand. “Hey, don’t be scared. We’re not gonna hurt you. We just want to find our friend and get out of town.”

“
Who’s your friend?” she asked, massaging her wrists where the rope had left red marks.

“
The zombie that almost took you out,” Lucas said.

“
A zombie? Why are you helping a zombie?” the housekeeper asked. “There’s no help for her now! The best thing you can do is shoot her.”

I bit my lip hard. The words stung to the very core of my being. “What would you say if I told you we might have a possible cure?”

She cocked a brow, like a small child unsure of whether or not to believe a fairytale.

I continued, “It can’t be given until the person actually turns into a zombie.”

“
So, if you have this miracle cure, why haven’t you given it to her?” the housekeeper asked skeptically. “Because believe me, she’s already turned into a zombie.”

“
Someone stole it from us, and he’s in this town,” I answered. “His name is Tahoe. He has brown hair, a fluffy beard, and a mustache.”

“
Do you know anyone like that?” Claire asked.

“
No, and I’ve lived here my entire life. What kind of name is Tahoe anyway? Isn’t that the name of a city or an SUV or something? Next you’ll be telling me you’re looking for your uncle named Jeep Wrangler.”

I was tired of her sarcasm, but I continued, “We
know
he came into town, and he’s not staying at the hotel, unless the hotel clerk is lying.”

“
Jaime wouldn’t lie.”

“
Okay. Then where is he? Where’s Tahoe?” Lucas said.

She shrugged her shoulders and said nothing.

“
Look, lady, we
know
he’s here,” Lucas said. “Maybe he’s staying with an acquaintance.”

“
I don’t know!” she said in a huff. “I already told you that I don’t know anybody named Tahoe! Are you guys deaf or what? Maybe you’re all turning into zombies and your ears are rotting off first!”

Trying to maintain my composure, I asked calmly, “Are we the only new people in town within the last day?”

“
No. Sam came home today.”

I spun to face Nick. “Lucy talked about Sam too.”

“
Her husband, right?” Nick asked.

“
Yep,” I said.

Claire held up a hand. “Wait! When Nick was going to shoot Tahoe, he said he was married and had kids, remember?”

“
Yeah,” I said. “I thought he was full of crap.”

“
Do you know Sam?” Lucas asked.

“
Um…I gave you his name just now, didn’t I?” she said, still seething mad.

“
Right. What do you know about him?”

“
He’s my brother’s best friend. He’s about thirty. Been gone a couple months. Left with his uncle.”

“
And what’s this uncle’s name?” I asked.

“
Earl.”

Nick’s eyebrows shot up as my jaw dropped. When we’d met Tahoe, he’d been hanging out with an Earl. The connection was undeniable, and Tahoe was obviously an alias—and an awful one at that.

“
Some left to find family members who were stranded somewhere,” the housekeeper said. “He’s been gone a few months and was just reunited with his wife today. His girls though… The poor little things died when the outbreak first happened. Sam was just…devastated. We all were.”

Tahoe had talked as if his girls were still alive, so I could only assume he’d been in denial, and I wondered if he’d come to terms with it yet. As much as I loathed the man for his treachery and for endangering my sister’s life, I had to sympathize with the pain of a father losing his children.

The housekeeper continued, “When Sam didn’t come back after a few weeks, we feared the worst, so his homecoming was a blessing to everyone. We were so happy he was alive that we had a celebration lunch for him. I took pictures.”

Nick’s eyes widened as he turned to meet my gaze.

“
Where are those photos? We need to see them,” I said.

“
Down about five rooms, where I left my housekeeping cart,” she said. “In a black leather purse…and don’t you people lay a finger on my wallet!”

Lucas and the girls darted out the door to retrieve the camera.

While we waited, I noticed the girl grabbing at things in the air—things that weren’t even there. I nudged Nick. “Look.”

“
Yeah, that loon at the bar was doing the same thing, but I just thought he was drunk. Ya think Little Miss Clean and Preen here’s been saucing up on Ty-D-Bol?”

I laughed. “I doubt it. It’s gotta be something about this town.”

“
What are you grabbing for?” Nick finally asked the girl.

She let out an evil laugh and met our gaze with those same bulging eyes the receptionist had given us. “Wouldn’t
you
love to know?”

“
Great. She’s infected,” I said. “This entire freaking town has been compromised!”

“
Right. All except for us and this Sam. We’d better hurry and fly out of this cuckoo’s nest, little bro. We don’t have much time.”

I let out a sigh.
If everyone in town is going through a zombie morph, how will we ever find Val or the serum?
As irritated and frightened as I was, I felt so bad for those people, just trying to survive out there in Zombie Land. “They worked so hard to build walls and keep the virus out.”

The lines in my brother’s face hardened. “That virus can find its way in anywhere.”

“
Great. So there’s nowhere we can go to be safe,” I retorted. The thought of a world with no solace, no peace anywhere, made my stomach turn.