Zombie Games (17 page)

“Behind you, Bryce!” I yelled as dead and rotted Mr. Hendrickson appeared behind Bryce.

Bryce snapped his head back, hitting the zombie in the forehead. He turned around, kicked it in the stomach then blew off Mr. Hendrickson’s slackened zombie face. Bryce scowled and brushed off the back of his head, trying to remove zombie brain particles.

I shuddered. “That was…so nasty.”

“To your left!” hollered Bryce.

The old crazy lady from up the street was snarling and coming right at me. She’d always been a cruel and hateful woman, screaming at anyone who’d ever gotten too close to her yard and
God forbid
if you should accidently kick a ball onto her lawn. She wouldn’t just keep it; she’d destroy it while you watched. Smiling smugly and daring you to say anything. Needless to say, my mom had weathered many heated arguments with the old broad and I still couldn’t stand her, dead or alive.

“Sorry Hazel,” I said raising my gun, “but your days of being a
bitter old bitch
are now over.”

Hazel growled angrily and then fell backwards as the bullet entered her rotting skull.

We killed the last two zombies trying to get into the garage, then closed it and jumped into the SUV.

“Those things smell awful! God, I could smell them from inside the truck,” complained Eva.

“That reminds me,” I said pulling out the small jar from my pocket. “Vick’s anyone?”

~~~

Zombies must have been waking up all over the city because even the rural areas were plagued with them.

“I had no idea,” whispered Sara, staring out the window in horror.

The streets were like obstacle courses and it was difficult to navigate the SUV around both the abandoned cars and zombies. Fortunately most of the zombies ignored us, staggering aimlessly with no real apparent destination.

“Watch out!” said Bryce as a zombie stepped in front of our moving vehicle.

Kristie cringed in revulsion as the zombie bounced off the front grill and over the hood. “That was… unpleasant,” she muttered, grasping the steering wheel a little tighter.

We drove passed the karate studio and noticed the large plate window in the front was smashed. Zombies wandered around the entire mini mall, shuffling through broken glass…paper debris… and other dead zombies.

“I hope Master Jordan survived,” I said.

“Well, I know he didn’t get the vaccine,” replied Bryce. “Neither did Mae, both of them are into natural herbal remedies. I’d bet anything that he’s alive somewhere. He’s definitely one guy who’s not going down easily.”

“He’s a great guy. I hope you’re right,” I said.

Sara’s place is located in a newer development where many of the homes are still under construction and thankfully, we didn’t run into any zombies.

“Listen, Kristie and Eva; honk if you see any zombies approaching.”

“Okay,” replied Kristie. She picked up the Smith and Wesson and placed it on her lap.

“Can’t I come with?” asked Eva. 

“No, it’s too dangerous. You’re much safer in here,” he replied.

It wasn’t the answer she was looking for. “Fine,” she sniffed.

“Let’s go, I can’t wait anymore,” said Sara. She opened the door and jumped out of the SUV. Bryce and I got out and followed her to the front door.

Sara pulled out her keys, but the door was unlocked. “Kevin?” she called opening it. “Kevin, it’s me, Sara!”

The house was eerily quiet when we entered. Like my house, it was a split level but much larger and newer.

Sara tossed her keys onto a new granite counter and turned to us. “The bedroom is upstairs. He’s probably sleeping,” she said.

We followed Sara upstairs where there were three bedrooms and a bathroom. One of the doors was shut and that’s where she headed.

Bryce grabbed my arm. “Be ready,” he said into my ear.

I nodded as we followed her into the master bedroom. The room was huge with a built-in fireplace and cozy chenille chaise off to one side of the room; a private bathroom with a built in whirlpool bath on the other. It was the nicest bedroom I’d ever been in considering its current state. Discarded clothing, used tissues, and empty food containers lay scattered all over plush carpeting.

“Oh God,” moaned Sara, staring at the bed.

Chapter Twenty-One

We followed Sara to the large maple sleigh bed where Kevin lay. As we gathered around the bed, she let out a sigh of relief.

“He’s just sleeping,” she said quietly, brushing the sandy brown hair from his eyes.

I turned to look at Bryce, who was frowning. He pulled me aside.

“Do you smell that?” he whispered.

I nodded; it was a smell I was getting all too familiar with.

Sara sat on the bed. “Kevin? Sweetheart, wake up. It’s me Sara,” she said softly. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

I took a step closer to the bed and noticed that Kevin’s face was gaunt, his lips pale and dry. There was movement under his eyelids, as if he was dreaming.

“You’re so cold,” Sara mumbled, touching his forehead. She stood up and lifted a goose down comforter from the floor that must have fallen. She spread it around him on the bed and tucked the edges under the mattress.

My heart was hammering in my chest. To me he didn’t look like he was sleeping, he looked stiff and white, like a corpse. I cleared my throat. “Sara, maybe you should step back.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No, I know what you’re thinking. He’s just sleeping Cassie. He…he’s… fine.” She glanced at me and I could see that her eyes were brimming with tears.

“What’s that?” I asked grabbing a piece of paper from the nightstand. At the top of the page were the words
Vaccination Side Effects.
It listed the typical side effects of a regular flu shot. I showed it to Sara, who turned very pale.

“No…he didn’t get the vaccination. I don’t understand,” she said scanning the flyer. She looked up and shook her head. “This just doesn’t make sense.”

Bryce took it from her and examined it. “Didn’t you mention the military was sending someone from their medical staff to check on him? They could have given it to him then.”

A deep moan escaped Kevin’s lips and his eyes slowly opened.

“Oh God,” I whispered, putting my hand over my mouth. Kevin’s eyes were blood-rimmed, cold as death. They stared emotionlessly at Sara, who appeared oblivious to the truth.

“Hi,” she whispered, smiling down at him. She stroked his hand.

“Sara, don’t touch him,” demanded Bryce, pulling her away.

Kevin sat up and began making deep guttural noises. He started flailing his arms around and greenish red foam bubbled from his mouth.

“No, Kevin,” she moaned, trying to reach out for him. “I’m here for you honey.”

Bryce grabbed Sara and pulled her away just as Kevin lurched towards her, making hideous smacking noises with his mouth. When he noticed that he’d missed her, he let out an alarming screech that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

“Leave me be, Bryce!” Sara screamed as he tried to push her out of the bedroom. She eventually broke free and then rushed back towards Kevin, who was beginning to growl at her, like rabid animal. She took a step back and stared at him in horror.

“He’s a zombie now, not Kevin,” I said.

Tears streamed down her face as Sara stood staring at the man she’d fallen in love with. He was now just an animated corpse, devoid of any human emotion. Shaking her head in sorrow, she raised her gun and pointed it at his face. “Oh, God,” she cried, her hands trembling. “I…I…can’t do it.” I watched in horror as she dropped the gun, leaving herself vulnerable to the zombie, who was prepared to leap at her.

“Watch out, Sara!” I yelled, raising my gun.

Kevin lunged towards her, his mouth open and arms outstretched. Before he reached Sara, there was a loud explosion and he was blown backwards by the impact of Bryce’s bullet.

“No!” screamed Sara as he fell to the ground, blood streaming out of the large hole in his skull. She rushed over to him and lifted his hand to her cheek.

I knelt down next to her. “Sara, it wasn’t Kevin anymore,” I said softly. “His soul wasn’t there. He was gone before we even got here.”

She looked at me, her eyes full of misery. “Do you think that makes it easier? Two days ago, I left him here to die, alone. If I would have listened to my heart and stayed with him, he’d still be alive.”

Bryce stepped towards her and touched her shoulder. “No, if you would have stayed here with Megan, both of
you
would have been killed. You didn’t even know about the side effects of the vaccine until it was too late. Kevin would have probably still received it and you’d be dead, along with Megan and your unborn child.”

Sara touched her belly and lowered her eyes. “Maybe, but he’s still gone and I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself,” she said huskily. Sara stood up and took one last look at Kevin before she hurried out of the room.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The ride to the St. James Hospital was very solemn. Kristie didn’t ask any questions and even Eva had the sense to keep her mouth shut.

Zombies were everywhere and they were getting more violent. Older and newer ones wrestled each other, trying to feed. It was maddening to watch. I closed my eyes to block out as much horror as I could as we drove. I’d seen enough in the last couple of days to give me nightmares for the rest of my life.

As we neared the hospital I prayed silently that my mother was alive. She’d been armed with a gun but I still didn’t know if she’d been attacked by the soldier she’d been trying to save or someone else. I was tearing my hair out to know the truth, and soon I’d be closer to it.

When we finally approached the hospital’s parking lot, it was crawling with zombies. Most of them wandered around in a muddled state, not doing much of anything. Others, who appeared more grotesque and rancid from decomposing, acted like rabid dogs. I watched in horror as they also attacked each other.

“This is totally revolting,” whispered Eva turning green.

I couldn’t agree with her more; it was worse than any horror flick I’d ever watched on television, and it was real. Blood and body parts covered most of the pavement of the hospital parking lot. It was like a bloody aftermath of an explosion, only this devastation was much more than any of us could have ever imagined.

“Careful on the left,” pointed Bryce. A group of zombies were snarling and tearing each other apart. Thankfully, they hadn’t quite taken notice of us yet.

“Jesus,” mumbled Kristie as the SUV struck a zombie who’d stepped into our path. The sound of the zombie’s corpse crumbling under the tire made me gag. “Sorry, this isn’t easy, driving through this shit.”

“Kristie, you’re doing fine,” reassured Bryce.

He was right. There really was no way to avoid driving over the gore in the parking lot. The sound of bones crunching and loud thuds was enough to drive me mad. “Do you have any music? CD’s?” I asked Kristie.

“Hey, great idea! In the back under the seat,” she said.

I pulled out her CD collection, which consisted of a lot of older bands. I pulled out a CD of Metallica, which seemed appropriate for the moment.

“Haven’t heard this one forever,” she said. She stuck it in and the sound of heavy metal blared through speakers.

Eva scowled “Don’t you have anything else?”

“It beats the sound of bones smashing under the tires,” I said.

Eva scowled and looked out the window.

We were going very slowly towards the hospital entrance and some of the zombies were starting to take notice. Before I could say anything, two zombies rushed the side of the SUV and started scratching at the darkened windows.

“Can’t you go faster?” cried Eva as one of them stared at her through the window. It let out a horrendous screech and Eva practically jumped out of her seat.

“Sorry, I wish I could,” said Kristie, her hands tight on the wheel.

We were going very slowly, in fact some of the zombies were staggering faster than we were driving. 

“Shit,” muttered Kristie as more zombies began surrounding the truck.

“Can’t you shoot them?” whined Eva.

“No, we aren’t wasting our bullets on hundreds of zombies too stupid to even find a way in here. We need ammunition for when we’re on foot,” I said.

“Bryce, how in the world are we going to get into the hospital when they’re following us this close?” asked Sara.

“Look,” I said pointing to the emergency entrance. “There are some people with guns getting ready to do something.”

As we got closer about five military soldiers ran outside of the emergency doors and started picking off the zombies that were following us. As we got closer, one of the men motioned us over to a separate ambulance entrance, big enough to drive the SUV into. Once inside they closed the door and approached us cautiously.

“Have any of you been vaccinated lately?” asked a tall humorless looking soldier holding a gun.

“No sir,” replied Bryce raising his hands in the air. “None of us have.”

The soldier nodded and then introduced himself. “I’m Captain Brent Lufkin. Does anyone here need medical attention?” he asked looking specifically at Sara who’d stepped out of the truck holding a hand over her protruding belly.

“No, not yet anyway,” said Bryce. “We’re here to try and locate a couple of people.”

“Really, who?” asked the Captain.

I spoke up. “Veronica King, the news anchor, and my mother, Kristen Wild.”

“Well Veronica King left a couple of hours ago to help pick up some survivors who’d radioed in. She should be back within a few hours. Got to say, that woman surprised the hell out of me. She’s as tough as nails.”

“What about Kris Wild? Have you seen her?” interrupted Bryce. “She’s fairly tall, light brown hair, somewhere in her forties. She would have arrived with a wounded soldier.”