The Good, The Bad, And The Undead : A zombie Apocalypse (The Wild Wild Midwest Book 1)

by Gill, Bonnie

  "Yeah, I agree. But I can't rest without a weapon," I say.

  Joey reaches into a duffle bag and pulls out a pistol and a few magazines. "Here. Now go back to bed. We'll wake you if anything happens."

  I take the magazines and stuff them into my robe pocket. I see a lawn chair off to the side and sit. Just that small motion sends shards of pain into my ribs.

  "What are you doing?" Ben asks.

  "I'm going to watch you guys," I say.

  "Oh, you are, are you? Not if we have anything to say about it," Joey says in a teasing voice.

  "Sure I am."

  "Your sister is going to kill me."

  18

  "Star is sleeping. She won't know if I’m moving around," I say. What I don't say is that for some reason, I don't feel safe alone. There's this gnawing pain in my gut that won't go away, and it's not the bruises. Seth sure did a number on me, and he brought back those feelings of sheer terror.

  "I'll get your coat," Ben says. He hands the drone to Joey and runs into the house. Ben's a really sweet guy. If his mom was anything like his grandmother, I can see how he’s turned out so well.

  "When I find Seth, I'm going to feed him to the gabbies," Joey says. "I'll put a Kevlar vest on him and let them gnaw on his limbs so he can watch them."

  “Can we hit a motorcycle shop and grab a few suits? Those gabbies won't be able to gnaw through that stuff.”

  “Good idea. I have no clue where one is though.”

  Ben comes back outside with a mink coat. He drapes it over my shoulders. Adding the sudden weight makes my ribs flare. "I found this in the hall closet. It should keep you warm. Sorry, it smells kind of weird."

  I sniff the coat expecting to smell zombie stench, but it only smells like mothballs. "It's fine. Thank you." It reminds me of a joke from my high school days. "Hey, have you ever smelled mothballs?"

  Both Ben and Joey say, "yes."

  "How'd you get their little legs apart?" Giggles burst from my lips, causing more stabbing agony, and I immediately wish I didn't laugh.

  "Haha. That's got to be one of the stupidest jokes I've ever heard. If you weren't all bruised, I would nudge you in the shoulder," Joey says. He's smiling and shakes his head. "You know, sometimes I wonder about you and your sister."

  "I don't get it," Ben says.

  Joey and I chuckle some more.

  Ben spins the propellers, checking the drone. "Shall we take this for a spin?"

  Joey opens the garage door, and the cold air slams into us like a runaway bus. I can't wait for spring to come. Winter seems to drag on and on.

  We follow Ben outside, Joey carrying my lawn chair.

  Ben places the drone on the ground and looks at my phone. I'd forgotten I'd given it to him a while back. The drone rises into the air.

  "Turn it on infrared," Joey says.

  "Okay." Ben pushes some buttons on the screen.

  I want to see what's going on more than anything. I rise from my chair and look over his shoulder. Gabbies are shambling up and down streets, and they're congregating in the front yard of someone's house like they’re about to have a block party. "How far is that from us?" I ask.

  "It's a few streets over. I wonder what they're doing?" Ben asks.

  "It looks like they're waiting for a bus or something," Joey says.

  Ben flies the drone closer. Half of the group looks up at the drone. How did they know it was up there? They must be able to hear it. The others are now looking at it. The drone rises and flies a few houses over. More zombies are coming down the street. Something over there is attracting them.

  "Do you want me to stay here to see what happens? Or should we look for Seth?" Ben asks.

  Joey looks at me. "It's your call."

  My call? "Let's look for Seth for a couple minutes and then come back. I think these gabbies are up to no good." Maybe Seth's in the house? What if we leave and miss him? It's a chance we have to take.

  The drone hovers over the next few blocks, but other than gabbies, nothing else stirs. He takes it up to look for smoke rising from chimneys, but we don't see anything.

  "I'm going back to the gabbie group," Ben says.

  I continue to stand, even though the pain is almost unbearable.

  Gabbies, probably close to fifty, are standing around waiting for something. They face the same way, and their attention is fixed on the house. They're mostly dressed in nightclothes, but a few of the gabbies have business attire on. The ones in pajamas look older and less juicy. Their skin is darker and shriveled. The business people have barely started decomposing.

  "There must be someone inside. They smell something or hear a noise coming from the house.” It's completely dark inside. Weird. “If someone is in there, they must know they have a yard full of gabbies.”

  "That's my guess too," Joey says.

  I want to help the person escape—unless it's Seth. Then I'd serve him up on a big silver platter with an apple in his mouth like a fat, juicy pig at a barbeque. My stomach gets a queasiness inside. Whenever I think about him, I feel like puking. Just another reason why we have to find him.

  Almost as if choreographed, the gabbies do a quarter turn at the same time. Two small figures walk from around the side of the house. "It's those creepy little twin gabbies," I say. The little girls stand and stare at the gathering. They cock their heads at the same time. Then something even weirder happens. The gabbies turn on each other and start fighting “It’s like a gabbie fight club.” It's not normal fighting. Its teeth biting, decayed flesh and limbs being ripped off, fighting.

  "Ew. That's gross," Ben says.

  "Why do you think they're doing that?" I ask.

  "Maybe they're weeding out the weaker ones? Food must be getting scarce for them. They're like sharks, constant food consumers. But what I don't get is why they looked at those little girls before they went all cannibal on each other," Joey says.

  I don't like this one bit. Those little twin gabbies are a ten on the creep factor rating scale, and now they may have some special powers to control the gabbies? Nope. I'm not even gonna go there. "I've had enough," I say. I need to leave so I'll be able to sleep tonight. It's already so bad I'll probably have nightmares.

  "Don't you want to find out who wins?" Ben asks.

  "Not in the least bit. I hope they all die. I'm gabbied out for the evening." I hobble to the door. My ribs hurt, and my legs ache. If this is how old people feel every day, I don't want to get old.

  Joey runs ahead of me and opens the door. "Do you need help getting upstairs?"

  "Na. I'll stay on the couch. The last thing I want to do is have to maneuver down stairs if gabbies attack. I'll climb them when it's my watch shift."

  "We've already worked out a schedule so you won't have to watch tonight." He has a proud look on his face. No wonder Star fell for him. He's cute and has great manners. His mother can’t be that bad.

  "I need to do my watch so I don’t feel like a freeloader. Besides, who can sleep after watching those zombies?" I step into the house and turn to Joey. "Thanks."

  "You got it." He nods as I walk away.

  I make it back to the living room where I see Sebastian and Jasmine sitting by the fire. They probably think everyone is sleeping. "Hey, guys,"

  "How are you feeling?" they both ask at the same time.

  Jasmine is brushing her long, silky hair.

  "I'm alive." I sit on the opposite couch, facing them. They snuggle up together on the love seat. They seem happy together, and I'm glad for them.

  Jasmine pulls out her phone and snaps a selfie of both of them.

  Sebastian looks over at me. "We're leaving in the morning. Joey has an extra car he's letting us use."

  "What? You want to leave and miss out on all this excitement?" I ask, as I gesture around me.

  They look at each other and then back at me. "We really appreciate everything you guys have done for us. We do. And we wish we could bring you with us, but we can't," he says.

 
; "Yeah, Bastian can only bring one guest. If he brings more, they'll shoot all of us," Jasmine says.

  I raise one eyebrow. "Really? What type of bunker are you going to?"

  "It's a government one," she says.

  Sebastian elbows her.

  "Ow. I didn't tell her where it is or anything like that." She rubs her side.

  "We wanted to show our appreciation by giving you this." He walks over and hands a piece of paper to me. It's a map and has some codes on it.

  "What's this?" I ask.

  "It's the directions to my family's summer home. It's in Door County, Wisconsin in Sister Bay. There are eight bedrooms, and the pantry should be stocked. We were planning on having an Easter celebration there next week. The codes are for the gate and the house."

  I forgot all about Easter.

  "Anyway, the house is solar, so you should have power and water. If we can't get in at the bunker, we'll meet you up there."

  This is a total surprise. I didn't think Sebastian and Jasmine liked us. They always keep to themselves and try to avoid us. Plus, they’re kind of weird. "This is incredibly generous. Why are you giving us this information?"

  "Well, you took us in when we were freezing and had no supplies. You probably saved our lives. You also didn't pressure us when we said we're going to a bunker. We're supposed to kill everyone who finds out, but since you didn't force us to give the location, we can let you live," he says this like he won’t hesitate to put a bullet through our heads.

  "Thank you," I say the words without the sarcasm that is dying to come out. "So, if they don't let you in, you'll meet us at your family’s home?"

  "If we're alive," he says.

  I can't believe our world has come to this. The probability of dying or getting infected is off the charts. Every day we live is definitely a blessing, or is it? Who knows what the world will look like in the next month, let alone in the next year? In the movies and books, some survivors end up turning to cannibalism. I'd rather die than eat people. It's one of the few things that separates us from the gabbies. Oh, and a heartbeat. But we haven't tested that yet, so it's still a possibility. "We'd be happy for you to join us."

  I look down at the map, and the house is about four hours from us. If we can fill our gas tanks before we leave, we should be able to make it without any extra stops. There's always a chance we'll get carjacked and lose everything. I fold the paper and put it into the robe pocket. "Do you have any weapons for your trip?"

  "We do. Joey gave us a handgun and a rifle. He also gave us a few boxes of bullets," Jasmine says.

  "Do you know how to shoot?" The weapons and ammo will do them no good unless they know how to use them.

  "I do," Sebastian says.

  "Ben gave me a baseball bat. I played a lot of softball growing up," Jasmine says.

  In a way, I feel bad they're leaving us before we really even got to know them. Maybe we judged them too soon. "Are you sure this bunker will still be around when you get there? Will they allow you inside after they've sealed it shut?"

  "It's still there. My mom paid for our spots. We shouldn't have a problem," he says with confidence.

  "Okay, just be careful. Sometimes people don't act rationally. Throw in the apocalypse, and who knows what they'll do next." Just like Seth. Here the world is dying around us, and that idiot travels all the way up here just to kill me. Which makes me wonder who he had spying on me. My stomach does a curly-cue thing inside. Is it one of the people in our group?

  19

  It’s the next afternoon, and I sit at the kitchen table, eyeing my soup. I still hurt, and nothing feels better, not even a teeny tiny bit. I don't feel human anymore. I'm just a lump of pain.

  Dean sits across from me. "You going to eat that soup or just stare at it all day?" He worries about me, and it melts some of the icy hate sending shards through my veins. Yesterday, I was scared. Today, I'm pissed. Something niggles in the back of my mind, saying Seth isn't dead.

  I scoop a spoonful of vegetable soup, and open my mouth. A stabbing pain shoots through my jaw and up to my temple. I stuff the spoon inside my mouth and close it.

  "Hurts?" Dean asks.

  "Yeah," I manage to say.

  Dean gets up from the table and digs through a kitchen drawer, pulling out a straw and handing it to me. "Try this."

  I dunk the end of the straw into the soup and suck the juice until a carrot sticks to the bottom. Ugh.

  "Mash up the veggies." He leans over the table and hands me a fork.

  I mash the potatoes and carrots into little bits and slurp. It works until the straw becomes jam-packed with vegetables.

  "It was worth a try. Wow, now I know how to shut you up." He laughs.

  I make my meanest face at him, squinty eyes and bared teeth. It doesn't last long because even my lips sting.

  "Are you going to get dressed today?" He points to my robe and sweats.

  I shrug. I don't feel like doing anything other than punching Seth in the face. It'll probably kill me to do it, but oh, would it make me feel so much better.

  "I'll give you a couple weeks to rest and heal. Star has some painkillers. You should take them."

  I give him a scowl. "I need to be alert in case we're attacked."

  "No. You should take them. We'll watch out for you. Star and Daria will stay with you or close by, just in case. You have to heal as quickly as possible." Will rest and drugs make my ribs and face heal faster? I doubt it.

  I give him a nod anyway.

  Daria walks into the kitchen and plops down next to us. "How are you feeling?"

  Yep, this is going to happen all day long. Maybe I will take the painkillers.

  "She's a little crabby," Dean says.

  "I would be too. Star says you need to rest. She found some muscle relaxers and different painkillers. She says you can take them together. It might make you a little loopy, but you'll feel better.” She hands me three pills.

  I stare at them wondering if I can open my mouth wide enough to stuff them inside. I take them with water.

  "They should kick in soon. She says the trick is to take them every six hours or so because you don't want them to wear off." She hands me a small notebook and a pencil.

  I open it and see times marked down with a box next to it.

  "You have to check it off when you take them so you don't forget," Daria says. She hands me two prescription bottles. "We're lucky we found these in one of the houses by Vinny's."

  I notice she doesn't say Joey, just Vinny. They've been spending a lot of time together on watch and otherwise. "Thanks."

  "Do you want to lie down on the couch or go back upstairs?" she asks.

  I honestly want to get my drone and search for Seth. "I'll sit on the couch. How are you doing?"

  She sits in the chair across from me and sighs. "I'm worried about my parents. I never was able to get ahold of them."

  "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how hard this is for you." I rest my hand on hers.

  "It's horrible. I never really got to apologize to them. When I was busted, we didn't part on the best of terms. I wish I could go back in time and fix things with them." The agony in her eyes shows how much this is eating at her. I wish I had a time machine, so I could erase her pain.

  "I'm sure they wish the same thing." I really don't know what to say to her. All I know is that I hate seeing her like this.

  "I doubt it. I emailed and told them how I feel. I hope they get it." She lifts her palms in a what-can-you-do gesture.

  At least she was able to write it down. It had to have made her feel a little better getting her apology out there. I switch subjects. "What's going on with you and Vinny?"

  She gets a deer in the headlights expression, and I'm afraid she's going to bolt. But she slams her lips together instead.

  "You don't have to tell me. Though, I probably won't remember this conversion because you doped me up on painkillers and muscle relaxers."

  "There's nothing to tell. I think he's cu
te, and we are getting along great. It's just the apocalypse is happening, and it's not a good time to get attached to someone. You know what I mean?"

  "I do." Right now, no one is safe.

  "He's funny, and he makes me laugh. I know you haven't been around him much, but he makes this whole mess a little better. I'm glad he's my friend," she says.

  "In times like these, we need as many friends as we can find."

  "Yep. Hey, I'm still working on the CDC thing. I'd like to visit one of their facilities. I bet their computers are working just fine. So far, I've found that they actually invented this virus. Why the heck would anyone want to make a virus? Oh, and this specific strand mutated. They weren't planning on zombies. I still need to dig around in their files. I'm hoping they have the cure. You never know what government has floating around." She raises her chin as if to say they aren't going to stop her.

  I live on the couch for the next two long weeks.

  "Time to move around." Star holds out her hand to me.

  I stand without her help. It no longer hurts to breathe, and I can walk to the bathroom without making multiple stops. My face healed but still has some tender spots.

  "No more painkillers," she says.

  I reach into my pocket and give her back the bottle.

  "You haven't been taking them?" she asks.

  "I skipped every other dose. I wanted to be able to move around without looking like a drunk." I take a deep breath, and my ribs are still sore but nothing like it was. For two weeks I've plotted Seth's death. And for two weeks we've been hunting for him via drone but couldn't find him. We haven't seen the creepy twins lately either. "I'm going to get dressed today."

  "Good, that robe is stinky. We were going to say something but didn't because you're hurt and not in a good place." She gives me a devilish smile that only a sister can give. "I'll help you upstairs. You should shower too."

  "I showered last night. I can't smell bad already." What is she talking about?

  "Joey and Vinny are going on a run today," she says.

  "I'm going with them. They will need a lookout." Finally, I get to do something. Cabin fever is setting in, and I want to climb the walls.