Zombie Day Care (3 page)

He pushed off and pedaled around the store three times. He looked up and down the roads. All he saw were small houses and buildings, lined up side-by-side, with overgrowing lawns. Something crept up through his spine as he stopped back in front of the store. A large chunk of broken glass was crumpled on the ground. His heart jumped as he heard rustling coming from the inside, and that’s when he saw her. She was wandering the aisles and knocking things onto the floor.

“
Jeanine!” he yelled. No response.

He backed away, still straddling the bike.
Now what?
He got off the bike and walked inside. He poured more soda into a large cup and set it on the ground. She lumbered towards the cup and kicked it over, spilling the contents onto the floor. She kneeled to the ground and licked it up like a dog, every bit, giving Nate a disturbing feeling.
I can’t believe this.
He wanted to cry. She grabbed the cup and tried to eat it. Nate had a crazy idea.

He poured a path of the soda along the floor and outside. He set the bottle at the end of the path. She lapped it up as she crawled on her hands and knees. He took out his smart phone and recorded her.

He held the phone high in the air. He got two green signal bars. He uploaded the file on Who Tube reading: “ZOMBIES LIKE FOUNTAIN DEW! MUST WATCH!”

He posted a tweet: “FOUNTAIN DEW WILL STOP THE ZOMBIES!”

His smart phone died.

CHAPTER 5

A dog was barking somewhere, followed by more barks and howls. Nate hadn’t heard them before. Now they seemed to come from everywhere. Even cats were darting across the abandoned streets.

He left Jeanine behind at the store. As he pedaled around the small town he noticed a Sheriff’s detachment and came to a stop. He dismounted the mountain bike and limped to the door. It was open.

“
Hello?” he said, waiting. He clutched his bat as he stepped inside.

It was a small red brick building with a teller window inside.
This is where they pay taxes and fines I bet.
A small waiting room was enclosed with three hard plastic chairs illuminated by glass block windows. Another heavy duty door waited before him.

He pressed his ear along the steel door and closed his eyes. He heard nothing. He turned the knob, but it was locked. He kicked at the door, but it didn’t give in, it just made his leg hurt even more. He grabbed one of the chairs and tossed it through the teller window with a loud crash, shattering glass all over the floor.

He sat up on the counter, careful of the glass and slid to the other side. There were a couple of offices in the back that he searched around. He looked in a small break room with a table, chair, fridge and coffee pot. He checked the phone on one of the desks. There was a dial tone. He called 9-1-1. It was busy again. He slammed the handset to the ground saying, “Damn!”

He headed down a dim lit hallway. There was a pair of small holding cells big enough for a few people. Handcuffs and keys were hanging from the wall. He clenched his fists and shook them.
This is good.
The shotgun rack was empty.
That’s bad.
He stepped inside the jail cell and pulled a soda from his backpack. He twisted off the cap, sitting down on a metal cot anchored to the wall, and took a long drink. He took another swallow, set the bottle down and closed his eyes. He thought about his next step. Maybe he could find power in the town somewhere. He froze with fear as he heard the sound of scraping glass.

His heart was racing on the inside. Someone or something must have heard him break the glass. He exited the small cell with his bat gripped in two white-knuckled hands. Something was following him. The sound of the crunching glass ate at his soul. Was it another zombie? Would he dare to peer through the small square window in the door he tried to kick in earlier? He wiped the sweat from his eyebrows.
Here goes.

He peaked and screamed, “Gagh!” He dropped his bat and clutched his chest.

It was Jeanine’s face pressed along the window.
How did she get here so fast!?
He heard more scraping of glass as she drug herself over the counter. He couldn’t move. He looked down at the bat.
Grab it idiot!
It seemed like he was in slow motion as he picked it up and began to back pedal deeper into the corridor. He felt the cold cinder block wall on his back … a dead end.
Sonuvabitch!
Only one other cell remained. He heard her coming, and saw her long gashed leg cross into the light. Her head poked around the corner followed by the rest of her full body. She slowly came his way.

“
No Jeanine! Please stop!” he cried, stepping inside the barred door.

He began to pull the door inward the further she came. He felt like a coward now. He had a weapon, but he couldn’t use it. Not on her. And what would happen if he didn’t kill her … she would eat him.

“
I won’t be eaten! I won’t be eaten!”

She was passing the first cell and he could hear here say, “Num-Num. Num-Num.”

He could not make out her drooping face. She was a creepy silhouette of a woman with a dipping shoulder and dangling arm. For someone that moved so slow it seemed to be happening awfully fast. Nate realized he didn’t grab the keys. If he locked himself in the holding cell he would starve. He could see the keys hanging on the wall at the beginning of the corridor.
Idiot!
Now Nate wasn’t sure which fate would be worse, being eaten or starving to death.
Why me?

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

“
Why me!”

Jeanine shuffled closer his way as Nate pulled the barred door further inward. Jeanine stopped, turned and entered the other cell. He stood transfixed as she looked through him.
Huh?
The light from the small window in the back of the jail cell displayed the scene as she reached over for his soda bottle sitting on the cot. He couldn’t feel his legs as he watched her pick it up.
Shut the door idiot!

He didn’t remember what happened next, fear and adrenaline wiped out his thoughts. Something slammed shut with a loud bang. He had her trapped inside. She didn’t seem to notice a thing.

“
Num-Num ….”

CHAPTER 6

The other side of the phone line rang again and again. If it wasn’t ringing, it was a busy signal. Everything in the town was dead except for the phone lines. Nate sat in a recliner, propping up his aching leg. A dead television screen sat before him. A breeze billowed through the sheer curtains in the small home he occupied near the jail. Days had passed since he had locked Jeanine in the cell. He wanted to leave the town, but couldn’t. He was too scared and his leg wasn’t getting better.

He loosened the bandages around his knee.
That’s bad.
The gash was infected, swelling his leg. His gout had flared up, making things worse. His barefoot was fat like a pillow. He shut the recliner, grimacing at the jolt, and slipped on a red flip-flop he had taken from the convenience store. He grunted as he stood. Using the soft ball bat as a cane, he hobbled over to the front door, opening it into the rising morning sun.

The sounds of birds chirping filled the air.

“
Huh.”

No dogs lay at the door. The bowl of food he set out was empty.

“
Time to feed my girlfriend, I guess,” he said, hobbling back down the street.

The ball bats head echoed off of the concrete sidewalk as he went. He never felt so alone and trapped. Things were perfect a few months ago. There was a good job waiting for him once he finished his masters. He had a fine looking wife lined up too. Now she was a zombie, along with the rest of the world. He wondered if he was the last man on earth and if he’d ever have Taco Shell again.

He had patched his leg up the best that he could, but the pain was a constant reminder his purgatory wasn’t over yet.
What did I do to deserve this?
He didn’t have it in him to search for more medicine, and the town pharmacy was bare. Despair addled his brain as horrors lived in his sleep. He searched for a vehicle, but all he had was a bike. He couldn’t bend his leg now, and could barely stand the pain. His entire purpose was to feed Jeanine her Fountain Dew, and hope somebody from the living swung by on a golden chariot. Anything would do.

The sheriff’s depot was in sight just a couple blocks away. It would take forever to get there. He was looking inside the window of a bank thinking he could rob it. There was a pawn store too, no guns and no ammo. He moved on.
Why am I doing this?
He tried to think of things he didn’t like about Jeanine. Being a zombie was the main thing, that and beating him at foosball. Her snorting laugh was annoying, but her giggles were cute.

“
This time I’m gonna do it. I can do it. I can kill her. I’ll — kill — it!”

He tried to think of the last thing he killed. His face was a knot of concentration.
I killed a squirrel with a pellet gun once. Oh …

“
Yeah, I killed zombies.” Those zombies had been friends and family. He could see their ghoulish faces coming after him. He killed them … so why couldn’t he kill Jeanine? Maybe it was because the bat seemed like such an inhumane device. It was also a symbol of the best times they had together on the softball field. He kept moving and began to sob. For all he knew, the last one he ever loved was inside the building. He sighed just before he walked inside.

He entered the front door stepping over the broken glass. The crackling underfoot stirred the hairs on his back. He didn’t hear anything as he closed his eyes. He pictured Jeanine inside the cell as she had always been. He saw her standing there, a smiling tomboy with freckles and a nice body for a tall girl. If God had a woman in mind for him, it was Jeanine.

He exhaled and stepped inside the dim corridor. He made his way down the hall, breathing heavy. He wiped the sweat from his face with his shirt. There she stood standing in the middle of the cell, facing the sunlit window in the back. Her dark hair flowed down over her neck. Her jean shorts were riding up inside of her full rear.
Is that cellulite?
He shook his head. Her shadowed figure seemed perfect. His heart pounded.
Can it be?

“
Jeanine,” he whispered.

The figure turned in slow motion. Her gored shoulder and dangling arm stopped his heart. The sunken black eyes were like deep wells, and the drooping jaw seemed to hang near the floor.
No–No–No!
It was all the same, only the day had changed. He looked down at the floor and all he could hear was a raspy breathing sound. A half-filled bowl of green soda lay on the floor.
That’s interesting.

The bowl was filled when he left yesterday. Another full bottle sat on the cot.
She didn’t drink much.
Lost in thought he didn’t notice she crept up to the bars.

“
Num-Num.”

He leaped back, almost falling to the floor. A fresh burst of pain lanced through his foot and leg. It was killing him.

“
Geez Jeanine, you scared the shit out of me!” he yelled back, swinging the bat into the bars.

“
Num-Num.”

“
Go get your num-num! Dumb! Dumb!”
Oh, that’s funny. Idiot!

Her face was lost like an abandoned child’s. The glassy black eyes were widened, without understanding. She backed away from the bars and began to kneel at the bowl. As Nate watched in disgust something pricked at his ears. He moved back down the hall.

There was a different sound in the distance. He heard dogs barking from somewhere as he tilted his neck and shut his eyes. He looked back at his girlfriend who was making loud lapping and slurping sounds. He headed toward the front door and stopped again. The sounded grew louder and more distinct in his ears. Whatever it was, it was coming his way. A burst of energy empowered him.

He made his way into the bright sun and looked above. The noise seemed to be coming from the sun itself. He cupped his hand over his eyes looking around. Louder and louder, the sound came. He saw a black speck appear in the sky. It got bigger with each passing second. He loved Vietnam movies and he knew that sound.
Is that a helicopter?

“
I can’t believe it’s a freaking helicopter!” he yelled as he hopped up and down, crossing his arms and bat high in the air. He was frantic with joy. It soared over his head bringing a whoosh of air, almost knocking him to the ground. He could see heads peering down at him from two hundred feet above.

“
Come down! Come down!” he shouted.

The helicopter looked like an enormous bird of prey. It rounded over the town a of couple more times and lowered itself to the street.

…
THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! THUWMP! …

The noise was music to his ears. It might as well have been angels that came out of it once it landed. It was people, people in uniform and Nate couldn’t believe his eyes. An impeccable man in a blue Air Force uniform with silver stars on the shoulder shouted over the roaring helicopter.