Zombie Games (Book 4): Road Kill (8 page)

He looked amused more t
han anything. “A real tough guy, huh?”

I nodded. “Yes, but I don’t need anyone’s protection. I can take care of myself.”

He put his foot on the bench and leaned against his knee. “I suppose you can, if you’ve survived this far. Truth is, I’m not a threat, so you can both just relax.”

“Everyone’s a threat,” said Nora.

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

“
Because we’ve both had our share of trouble in the last few weeks and they also tried giving us the same line of bullshit,” said Nora.

His eyes narrowed.
“Oh, is that right?”

“Yep,” she smiled coldly. “
Neither of us are naïve, defenseless, or stupid. So you can save yourself a lot of embarrassment and pain by taking what you need for food, and be on your way.”

Dwayne reached into his pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. “I think you have me all wrong.”

“Maybe, but I don’t really give a shit one way or the other. You’ve obviously been in prison and that tat near your eye, which you’re proudly displaying, speaks volumes. So, if you think you’re going to pull any wool over our eyes, you’re wasting your time.”

“I got that tattoo when
I
defended
myself in prison.”

“It’s one thing to defend
yourself, it’s another thing to go bragging about killing someone using a tattoo, Dwayne,” I said. “By the way, smoking isn’t permitted in the courtyard.”

He stared at me for a
few seconds and then put the cigarette pack back into his pocket. “Can’t believe I’m letting a couple of little girls like you bust my balls,” he sighed.

“We haven’t even started,” muttered Nora as he
turned and walked away.

“He gives me the creeps,” I said.

She nodded. “He’s dangerous too. I just hope they leave soon, so we can get the heck out of here and back to Minnesota. I feel like we’re wasting too much time, here.”

“
I know,” I said. Besides wanting to find my grandparents, my heart ached for Bryce along with the others. I just wanted to finish this mission and get back to the hotel. “But Henry is afraid those two men are a major threat to the nuns. We can’t leave until they’re gone.”

“Well, they’d better be gone by tomorrow or I’m going to run their asses out
of here myself,” said Nora, her jaw set. “And I’m serious, Wild.”

I wasn’t sure
how
she’d do it, but there was no doubt in my mind that she would.

That night we slept on the floor
of the church with the children, taking shifts to watch over everyone. Since both men had been in prison, we didn’t trust any of the kids alone with the strangers. Henry volunteered for the first shift, me for the second, and Nora for the final. When it was my turn, I wrapped a blanket around myself and hunkered down on a pew with the gun hidden underneath.

“Keep your eyes on those two,” whispered Henry
as we stared at the two sleeping men. “I trust them about as much as your lead foot.”

I smiled and shook my head
.

He smiled back and then his face became serious again.
“Don’t let them get you alone, Wild. I know you’re good with those karate moves and everything, but those two are giants compared to you. It wouldn’t be too hard for them to pin you down and hurt you.”

I pushed the horrifying
image away. “I’ll be fine.”

His lips thinned. “I’m serious. You didn’t see the way that dark haired fella’s been eyeballing you. For all we know he could have went
to prison for rape.”

My stomach clenched.
I hadn’t even thought of that. “He tries raping me and he won’t live long enough to unzip that fly of his.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure he won’t. Just remember to keep your
guard up.”

“I hear you.”

Henry walked to the back of the church, lay down with the pillow one of the nuns had given him and within seconds was snoring so loud I could still hear him where I was sitting.

Sighing, I stood up and stretched my legs, then walked over to where everyone was sleeping, to check on things.
It was early into the next morning and the children, all fifty-eight, appeared asleep. Two of the other nuns were also snuggling with some of the smaller children as they slept.

“
If you’re tired,” said Dwayne, who was sitting against one of the walls, watching me. “I can keep an eye on the kids for you.”

“No, thanks,” I said.

His eyes narrowed. “You’re just a young girl yourself. You shouldn’t have this kind of responsibility.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Well,” he said, standing up. “I’ve got to go and relieve myself. I’ll be back soon.”

I nodded and watched him as he walked towards the exit. “Hey, there’s a bathroom in the church.”

“I’ll go outside. I need a smoke anyway.”

I watched as he stepped outside
of the sanctuary, feeling uneasy. I didn’t particularly like him wandering around where I couldn’t see him.

“Cassie?”

I turned and found Kallie standing next to me, rubbing her eyes. 

“Hi honey. What do you need?”

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh, well, okay,” I said. I stood up and walked over to Nora, shaking her gently.

“My turn
already?” she mumbled.

“No, I just have to take one of the kids to the bathroom. Can you keep an eye on the others while I do that?”

She said up and yawned. “Sure.”

“Thanks.”

Nora’s eyes narrowed as she looked around. “Where’s Dweeb?”

“Dwayne? He stepped outside for a smoke.”

She sighed. “Great. Well, hurry back. Looks like I still have a couple of hours to sleep until it’s my turn.”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

“Hey, little girl needs to pee, she needs to pee,” she said, smiling at Kallie.

“We’ll be right back.”

I grabbed a flashlight and then took Kallie’s hand in mine. We walked out of the sanctuary into the hallway leading to the bathrooms.

“Do you need any help?” I asked as we stopped outside of the small bathroom.

“No, but it’s too dark to see anything,” she said.

I handed her the flashlight, grateful that there were a couple of lit candles in the hallway. “I’ll wait out here.”

“Okay.”

She closed the door and I leaned against the
opposite wall with my arms crossed, my mind wandering back to Bryce again. I smiled as I imagined him tucking Bobby into bed, maybe reading him a story. Then I felt guilty for leaving my little sister the way that I did and sighed. She was definitely going to freak out on me when I made it back to Atlanta.

A loud crash from one of the roo
ms down the hallway made me jump. It sounded like glass shattering.

Crap.

Swallowing back a wave of fear, I tightened the grip on my gun and began walking down the long cool hallway, which seemed more ominous with every step.

“He
llo?” I called, raising the gun in front of me.

Nobody an
swered and I had to force myself to keep moving.

Maybe it was a cat?

I’d seen a couple of them prowling around
the hallways, earlier.

“Here
, kitty!” I whispered, loudly.

The sound of books or something heavy being dropped onto a hard
wood floor stopped me cold.

“Sister Theresa?”

Silence.

With my heart ha
mmering in my chest, I willed myself forward until I stood outside of the room where I thought I’d heard the noise.  It was dark but from the shadows in the room, it appeared to be an office.

“Hello?” I whispered, trying to adjust
my eyes to the darkness.

I heard the creak from the bathroom door opening
back up and turned to see Kallie stepping out into the hallway. “Cassie?” she called.

“
I’m down here,” I said, lowering the gun.

She aime
d her flashlight at me and then let out a shrill scream.

Before I could turn around to see what
had frightened her, someone grabbed me around the waist and clamped a hand over my mouth.

The rain and hail pelted the SUV loudly as
they drove to the other side of town trying to locate Cassie’s grandparent’s home.

“
Turn right at the next street,” ordered Kristie, staring at the road map. “We should be passing a lake soon and then they’re only a few blocks from there.”

“I can barely see the streets,”
said Tiny, turning up the windshield wipers. He leaned forward and squinted. “It’s pretty bad and I don’t want to hit anymore zombies in this thing. Maybe we should pull over until it dies down?”

“We’re almost there,” said Kristie
, biting the side of her nail. “So keep driving”

“At least the rain is
normal
,” said Paige, staring out the window. “Nothing to indicate that it’s the ‘End of The World’. Thanks, by the way, Tiny.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Scaring the heck out of everyone by talking about the ‘End of The World’. I’m not ready for that. I mean, seriously, I haven’t made it to college yet, partied until I’ve puked my guts out, or even made it past third base with a guy. I’m only eighteen and have too much living to do before actually dying.”

“Seriously,” said Bryce. “That’s your ‘Bucket List’?”

Paige raised her eyebrows. “What’s a Bucket List?”

“The
list of things you want to accomplish before you die,” he said.

“Obviously, you’ve already marked at least one of those off of yours, Romeo,”
smirked Paige. “But maybe
I’d
like to sleep next to a toilet one night, making promises I won’t keep or… reject scary, drunk-assed men who hit on me at a bar. Hell, even to feel the euphoria of getting a single line on a pregnancy strip before I’m engaged. There are just too many things I want to do before I die.”

Kristie
closed her eyes and rubbed the area between her eyebrows. “Thank you, Lord, for making my children so dramatic, cynical and stubborn. If mom was here, I’m sure she’d say ‘paybacks are a bitch, Kristie’.”

Paige l
eaned forward and patted her on the shoulder. “Hey, you set the standards. I’m just trying to say that I want to enjoy at least the same things in life that you have, before I leave this place.”

“
Okay, fine, I plead the fifth,” said Kristie, with a humorless smile. “But seriously, honey, you should strive for better.”

“Better isn’t always as fun though is it, babe?” asked Tiny.

Kristie punched his shoulder. “You’re not helping. I’m supposed to be setting examples.”

“
Mom, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m an adult now and can make my own decisions- zombie apocalypse or not.”

“Well,”
said Billie. “You’ve certainly earned your right after everything we’ve been through. Hell, we all have.”

“You got that right, brother,” said Tiny.

They drove for a while in silence, listening to the echoing thumps from the hail mixed with occasional cracks of thunder. When they reached the lake on the map, Tiny swore and slammed on the breaks.

“What
?” gasped Kristie, gripping the dashboard.

Tiny pointed ahead towards the beach. “Tell me I’m wrong but doesn’t the water look pink?”

“Pink? No, that’s ridiculous,” said Kristie, trying to see through the wipers and rain.

Tiny put his foot on the gas and drove into the parking lot leading to Willow Lake’s Public Beach. He then drove over the grass
to the edge of the sandy beach.

“
Well, yeah, it does look like an odd color,” said Billie.

Tiny
grabbed an empty glass from the cup-holder and opened the door. “I’m going to check it out,” he said, jumping out into the rain. “Hold tight.”

“Is this really necessary?” asked Kristie.

“I’ll be back,” he said slamming the door. He then sprinted through the sand to the end of the beach and filled the glass with lake water. When he returned to the SUV, they all stared in horror at the contents of it.

“It
is
pink,” said Paige in a strangled tone. “What does it mean?”

Tiny wiped the rain from his forehead. “I don’t know.”

“Relax you guys. It could be a number of things,” said Bryce. “Bacteria growing in the water, too much iron, dead fish or even zombie contamination. Don’t jump to conclusions.”