“You really like your cat, don’t you?”
“I really like my cat,” she nodded.
“He seems pretty chill.”
“He’s a good dude,” Velvet told her. “What about you?”
“I don’t have a cat. A long time ago, I had pets.”
“What kind of pets?”
Eshe shook her head and paused, like she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to say. Finally, though, she did.
“I had a chicken,” she said.
“No.”
“Yep.”
“How is that even a thing?”
Eshe shrugged. “My mom brought it home one day. Her coworker had spotted it for sale at a feed store and couldn’t bear to leave it there. She thought my mom might want it.”
“So, you just had a pet chicken.”
“I just had a pet chicken,” Eshe agreed.
“I bet that was interesting.”
“I’ll tell you all about it sometime,” Eshe pushed herself off the wall and headed toward the door. “Right now, though, I think we have a kid to rescue.”
The moment they pulled the door open, it was clear there was going to be trouble on floor number six, and it was clear that there was something terrible going on. Right away, the stench of the undead flooded their nostrils.
Velvet wished she’d thought ahead to bring petroleum jelly. She’d learned long ago that placing a little bit of Vaseline beneath your nose was a great way to prevent yourself from smelling the rancid odor of the undead.
Now, they had nothing, so she got the full force of their smell. In addition to her note being completely assaulted, Velvet also realized why the kid was trapped. There were zombies here.
The little lobby area was clean. It was clean, as in tidy. That was the thing she noticed most. Someone had been living here: many someones.
Now, they were dead.
“What the hell happened here?”
“I’m counting three zombies,” Velvet said in response.
The staircase opened to a large, open sitting area. There were apartments all along the exterior walls, but the center of the room was a lobby of some sort. There were three zombies sitting in the center of the room, which looked like it had, until very recently, been some sort of safe house or safe haven.
“There’s a fourth one in the far right corner,” Eshe pointed out.
Sure enough, there was. It was sitting, but not moving. It almost looked like it was guarding the door.
“Is that the room the kid is in?”
“I think so.”
“Hey, kid!” Velvet called out. “We’re here to help you!”
They heard a muffled yell in response, but couldn’t make out what she’d said. At least she knew that the kid was alive. That much was good.
Only now, they had to fight their way to her. They still had their bat and their crowbar, and luckily, for this child, Eshe and Velvet loved to fight.
“You ready for this?” Velvet looked over at Eshe, who raised her crowbar. “I’m ready.”
Together, they headed toward the three zombies who were in the center of the room. The zombies stood up quickly and started walking toward the two girls.
“These ones are fresh,” Eshe pointed out.
“I think this was a safe house,” Velvet said. “Look at all of the supplies.”
The room was nicely organized. Everything looked neat and tidy. In the center of the room, the couches were clean and there were boxes of supplies, but there was also blood on the floor.
“How were they getting in and out, though?” Eshe asked. “The stairs were blocked. They weren’t going that way.”
“Look to the right,” Velvet said.
There was an open window there that led to one of the fire escapes. Maybe they’d been going in and out of it. Despite the fact that the fire escape hadn’t been accessible for Velvet and Eshe, it could have been used in other ways. Maybe they’d used ropes to get up and down, or perhaps they’d even had some sort of real ladder they’d used to access the fire escape.
Either way, it was clear that they hadn’t planned on getting trapped up here.
“What do you want to bet that one of the survivors came back from a hunt infected and got everyone killed?” Eshe swung a crowbar at a zombie that looked like it had once been an adult man. The zombie had a button-down shirt and jeans, which strangely didn’t look torn or ripped.
“Those are designer jeans,” Velvet pointed out. “Why the hell would you wear those?”
“Why not?” Eshe shrugged. “It’s the end of the world. If you can wear a tuxedo while you walk around killing zombies, why not do it?”
“Mobility,” Velvet said.
Plus, it still felt strangely wasteful. Once upon a time, clothes like that had been an incredible way to show off what was important to you.
Now, zombies wore them.
The zombies in the lobby area were fresh, which meant they moved with sloppiness, but speed. Velvet dodged as one of them lumbered toward her, arms outstretched. It felt like she was living in a damn cartoon.
“Careful,” Eshe told her as she swung at a zombie in a gingham dress. “These ones are uncontrolled, but they’re strong.”
“So, I see,” Velvet frowned as she swung her bat at the zombie in front of her. She hit it once, connecting with its shoulder instead of its head. This seemed to make the infected creature mad, but it didn’t bring the thing down.
“One down,” Eshe called out, moving toward another infected.
The yelling from the apartment with the kid increased. Velvet frowned. The poor thing was probably really scared.
“Hang on!” Velvet yelled to the kid. “We’ve got three more to go.”
The kid fell silent, as though she was mentally doing the math to figure out what was happening and where they were at. Velvet hated that they were killing people who had once known the child they were trying to save.
What had gone wrong?
Had someone come back from a hunt with a scratch?
A bite?
Had someone come back and knowingly infected their friends?
Or had someone passed away, turned, and then killed everyone?
They might never know, but they’d keep fighting anyway. They’d do whatever it took to save little Susie or Sally or whoever the hell was in that apartment. Every kid deserved a chance to live, and they were going to do whatever it took to make sure this kid got that chance.
The zombie Velvet was fighting lunged toward her and caught her by the arm. Stumbling back, Velvet tripped over a pile of books and fell, landing hard on her ass.
Fuck.
Pain radiated throughout her spine and settled just at the base of her neck. She needed to focus, but she wanted to scream. She wanted a minute to recover.
She couldn’t take it.
She rolled out of the way as the infected threw itself at her, and somehow, Velvet managed to get to her feet. She glanced over to see Eshe was still fighting that second zombie. The first one was dead at Eshe’s feet.
The last zombie, though, the one by the door, hadn’t moved. It still sat in the exact same place. It wasn’t standing, nor was it paying attention to Eshe and Velvet. In fact, it almost seemed like the zombie hadn’t even noticed they were there.
Why hadn’t it moved?
It was strange that the infected zombie had been loitering near the door without moving. Most of the time, if a zombie even got a whiff of a human, they’d take off and do whatever it took to kill. This one wasn’t doing that.
“What’s going on with that one over there?” Velvet asked.
“We’ll kill it last,” Eshe said. “I have no idea.”
Velvet turned back toward the zombie who had pushed her.
“You aren’t going to get the better of me!” Velvet ran forward and used the last of her energy to swing the bat. It connected loudly with the zombie’s head, which made a large cracking sound and rolled back. Velvet’s stomach turned, but she
waited and watched as the zombie fell to the ground.
Yeah, it wasn’t getting back up.
She turned back to Eshe.
“All done?”
Velvet had taken down one monster. Eshe had taken down two. Plus, there was still the one by the apartment door. It still hadn’t moved. It was still sitting.
“What the fuck is going on with this one?”
They headed over to it and looked at it a little more closely. It was definitely a zombie woman. She was probably in her mid-60s, and her hair looked matted and worn. It was hard to tell what age people actually were anymore. Everyone handled the end of the world a little differently.
“Eshe,” Velvet whispered, placing a hand on Eshe’s arm.
“What?”
“Her hands...they’re bound.”
Chapter 22
When Eshe realized that the infected woman’s hands were bound, she knew there was more going on than met the eye, but she had a pretty good idea of what had happened.
“The three in the center of the room turned first,” Eshe whispered. “This lady was locked up with the kid. She’s the mother. The two of them survived as long as they could, but it wasn’t enough. They must have run out of food or something.”
“Why wouldn’t you and your team have noticed them, though?”
Eshe shrugged. “If they weren’t yelling, I wouldn’t have known they were there. Besides, sometimes we go out hunting or exploring. If we weren’t going out at the same time, it’s possible they were discreet enough that we didn’t notice.”
“It’s hard to believe their safe house was only a few buildings away from yours and you didn’t notice,” Velvet whispered.
“It sounds like you’re judging me,” Eshe said. “There are other people in the city, though. There are other players. We don’t all know each other. We just keep to ourselves. Besides, most people stay indoors. If they weren’t wandering out a lot, which it looks like they weren’t, then we might not ever have seen them.”
“I’m not sure I buy it,” Velvet said again.
“Drop it,” Eshe hissed. Then she jerked her head toward the mother zombie. “What are we going to do about it?”
Velvet sighed, and Eshe felt like shit.
They had to kill the zombie. There was no other way. Eshe had learned long ago that you couldn’t let your heart melt when you saw something like this. You had to be strong and determined. You had to do whatever it took.
“We have to kill her.”
“I know, but...” Eshe jerked her head once more, this time toward the door of the apartment. “...the kid.”
“It’s okay,” a voice from inside the apartment said. “I couldn’t kill her myself, but you can.”
“You sure about this?” Velvet called out.
“I’m sure.”
Velvet shrugged, motioned for Eshe to step back, and then she swung her bat. The mother zombie rolled to the side, head splattered. Eshe opened her mouth but closed it quickly. She didn’t want to say anything about the fact that they’d each now killed two zombies, so it was even. That sounded shitty.
“Let’s get the kid,” she said instead, and she reached for the door.
It was unlocked, which was a little surprising, but zombies weren’t exactly known for their ability to open doors. When they pushed it open, they found that this room, unlike the main space, didn’t smell like rotting flesh.
There was an open window with a little bucket in front of it. That was why the room didn’t smell like human waste, Eshe realized. The kid had used the bucket and tossed it outside. Smart.
The room seemed to be a studio apartment with a little kitchen, a sitting area, and a bed. Long ago, it had probably been a pretty cozy place. Eshe knew these apartments had been heavily marketed to college students, and she could see why. It really did have everything someone might need to stay comfortable.
Then, right by the window where they’d seen the girl the day before, was someone looking outside of the window. Her face barely peeked over the bottom part of the glass. From down below, their friends could probably make out the top part of this person’s face.
“Your friends are still fighting,” she said, turning around. “That was kind of you to go to all this trouble for me.”
Velvet and Eshe stared at the girl in front of them. She had long hair that was pulled back in a neat braid, bright eyes, and a sad smile, but there was something else.
“You aren’t a child,” Velvet said, sputtering. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, as if to get a closer look.
“Nope,” the girl said. “I’m not a child. Just in a wheelchair.”
So, she was. The woman in front of them was probably around Velvet and Eshe’s age. Maybe she was a little younger. She could have been 25. She was a wheelchair user, which was why they’d wrongfully assumed she was a kid: they’d thought she was tiny. From the ground, it was impossible to see her face clearly, so they hadn’t been able to tell that she was, in fact, a fully grown adult.
“How...how are you here?” Eshe asked, staring at her.
“Never seen a person who uses a wheelchair before, huh?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just that...”
“Most people in wheelchairs died because they couldn’t run away from the zombies?”
“I...”
Eshe didn’t know what to say. She thought that anything she said next was going to sound callous, and she didn’t want to.
“Mostly, I’m surprised that you’re such a badass that you’re still alive,” Velvet found words when Eshe couldn’t.
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“Did you hear us talking?” Velvet asked.
“I did.”
“And how close were we?”
“Quite,” she nodded sadly. “The three people in the main group were our scavengers. We’d only been here two weeks when the guy in the jeans came back with a scratch. He didn’t think anything of it, but my mom and I did. She started squirreling food away in here when nobody was looking. It actually took a couple of days for him to turn. The wound got infected first. I don’t think it was actually a zombie that got him.”
“What was it?”
“Maybe an animal?”
“So, what did you and your mom do?”
“Mom said we needed privacy, and we started spending more time in this apartment instead of the main lobby. When Jason turned, he turned the other two people with us right away. Mom came in here and locked the door, and we’ve been in here for a few days now.”
“How long have you been in town?” Eshe asked.
The girl considered this for a moment before she answered. “Three, almost four weeks. Not more than a month.”
“See?” Eshe turned to Velvet. “It’s not so strange that I didn’t know they were here.”
“I’m so sorry for the trouble,” the girl said. “I’m glad you came, though. Mom died two days ago. She knew it was coming and made me bind her hands. Then, when she passed, I managed to haul her body out there.”
“How?”
“It wasn’t easy,” the girl admitted. “I got it, though. Then I quickly got back in here before the others noticed.”
“And that’s why you called for help.”
“My mom starved to death. Either that, or she died from dehydration. Usually, I don’t think it happens so fast, but she wasn’t exactly in the best of health to begin with. We were only here for a couple of days before she died. I thought it was supposed to take longer,” the girl whispered. “I thought we had more time.”
“She was probably sick,” Eshe whispered. “That happens sometimes.”
“It’s not like I can request an autopsy,” the girl whispered. “I’ll never really know what killed my mom.”
“What’s your name?” Velvet asked.
“Genevieve,” she whispered.
“That’s a pretty name. “I’m Velvet. That’s Eshe.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Listen, I really appreciate you coming for me. I know I can never repay you,” Genevieve said.
“You don’t need to repay us,” Eshe said, “but let’s get you out of here, okay? I have a feeling you need some hot food. We’ve got plenty.”
Genevieve looked like she was about to tear up. She nodded.
“I can’t believe this,” she whispered.
“Why not?”
“I’ve been praying for a miracle for days,” she whispered. “I never really thought one was going to come.”
Eshe and Velvet exchanged looks.
“I didn’t believe in miracles, either,” Velvet murmured quietly, “but sometimes, good things happen when we least expect them to, right?”
“I guess so,” she nodded.
Eshe walked to the window, pushed it up a little higher, and leaned out. She looked down to see her friends. Sure enough, they’d cleared almost all of the zombies. There were still two left, but Ambrose was fighting them by herself, so it seemed like everyone else was just relaxing while she finished up.
“Hey! I found the kid!”
Winchester looked up.
“Good job. She okay?”
“Yeah, but she’s not a kid. She’s a woman!”
All four people looked up, but luckily, Ambrose looked back down quickly enough to punch the zombie she’d been dealing with in the nose.
“Care if I bring her home?”
“Not at all,” Grey said. Even from so high up, Eshe could see his smile. She ducked back inside and turned to Genevieve and Velvet.
“All right, new friend, let’s get you out of here, okay? Everything’s going to be all right.”
When she said the words, she was speaking to Genevieve, but she looked over at Velvet. Everything was going to be all right. She wasn’t sure how, and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but together, Eshe and Velvet had managed to do something indescribably beautiful.
They’d saved someone, and they’d given her hope, and now, no matter what came next, they could live knowing that they’d done something good in the world.
And they’d done it together.
Epilogue
A few days later
WINCHESTER SAT IN THE tiny apartment he called his home, and he looked around the space.
Beautifully Undead | Book 1 | The Chasing of Zombies Page 10
