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

by Gill, Bonnie

  "You guys are one of us now. We are a family," Star says.

  Mrs. Garcia turns to Georgia. "Since no one introduced us, my name is Maria." She holds out her hand to the newest member of the group.

  "Hi. I'm Georgia. They rescued me from the car dealership."

  We fill Mrs. Garcia and Helga in on everything that happened.

  "Yeah, if Raven wants to rescue you by having you jump onto the top of a truck, turn her down. She drives like a madwoman. Gabbies were bouncing off the truck, and she was mowing them over. Joey and I had to hold on for dear life," Vinny says. He winks me.

  "Yeah, I was about to jump down and run the zombie gauntlet. It probably would've been safer," Joey says.

  "Haha. You two. You should take your comedy show on the road. That's the last time I save you," I say. Everyone laughs, even me, and it hurts my ribs.

  “You should’ve seen the zombie gut rooster-tail she threw behind the truck,” Vinny says. His eyes lit up with excitement.

  “Do we really need to talk about that right before we eat?” Mrs. Garcia asks as she fills the bowls with steaming hot chili. The beans have just the right spice.

  Star takes two bowls and some crackers up to Ben and Dean.

  We finish our meal and sit around the fireplace. The red and orange flames are almost hypnotizing. The crackling of the wood is relaxing. Ben and Dean come down from their watch, and Daria and Vinny take over for them.

  "Where do you think the guys from the gun shop are?" Ben asks.

  "I would assume they all have houses. There were no beds in the store," I say.

  "Maybe they took over a subdivision?" Dean says.

  I turn to Ben, "Have we checked all the big houses? I would think they'd want to live in luxury. Wouldn't you? Look at this house. It's what, four to five thousand square feet? The kitchen alone is the size of my trailer.”

  "You’re right. When the drone is charged, we'll fly it over the mansions in the area," Dean says.

  "We didn't get a chance to check our house. We can try to get a generator tomorrow, and if we can, the drone will charge faster,” Joey says.

  Star and Helga sit off to the side playing Mystery Date. Helga found a bunch of board games in the children's rooms while we were gone.

  "Ha. You got the loser guy," Star says.

  "I like this guy. He's cute," Helga replies.

  "He's a freaking loser, Helga. You need to up your expectations."

  "He's fine. I win." She grabs her piece off the board and shoves it into her skirt pocket before running upstairs.

  "What's wrong with her?" I ask.

  "I have no idea. I didn't mean to offend her," Star says.

  I look around. "Where's Georgia?"

  "Oh, she went to bed. She wanted her own room, so Helga is sleeping in Daria and Vinny’s room tonight," Star says.

  Interesting. I look at the clock. The hands point at three-thirty-seven. They always point at three-thirty-seven because that's when the electricity went off. I check my watch. It's ten-fifteen. I need to take a watch with Ben in the morning. For some reason, I’m not tired.

  "Raven, what took you guys so long to rescue us?" Joey asks.

  "We didn't know you needed rescuing. You said you were going to go to your house afterward. You should have called on the radio," I say.

  "The battery died. I didn't think to check it before we left. How many batteries do you have?" he asks.

  "About a dozen. We should get more, along with a list of other supplies. We can stop on our way up north." Less of a population to deal with.

  "There's a small pack of zombies heading this way from the west," Vinny says over the radio. I picture him peering through his Gen 4 night vision scope on his rifle.

  We all scramble to get our weapons. I move slow and sluggishly. Today's activities took its toll on my body. Sitting around for two weeks didn't help me either.

  "There's ten," he says.

  I have my wrench in my hand and bolt out the door. Star is next to me with her bat. Joey has his pistol with a silencer, and like Star, Ben is also armed with a bat. Helga follows, carrying a frying pan.

  "Helga go back inside. We've got this," Star says.

  "I'm helping,'" she says.

  Star makes her do-something face at me.

  "Helga, please go inside where it's safe," I say.

  She shakes her head and holds up her frying pan.

  "Let her help. She needs to learn," Joey says. He's right. But I don't want to put her in danger.

  We head outside, and we see the zombies shambling down the street. Some are ahead of the others. They're all shapes and sizes, and most are in their pajamas and barefoot. Their feet shuffle on the pavement.

  I take a practice swing with my wrench, and the motion hurts without even hitting anything. I pull out my pistol with the silencer. I'll have to waste bullets. I'm not going to risk hurting myself again and be ordered to sit on the couch for days.

  Joey shoots the first gabbie and hits him in the face. Nice shot.

  I really don't want to have to do this again.

  Helga lets out a battle cry and runs straight for the group.

  "Get back here," Star yells. It's too late.

  Helga goes ballistic on the gabbies. We run after her. It only takes one bite and she’s dead.

  I end up having to pull my wrench again. Everyone is too close together. I don't want to risk friendly fire.

  I hear Vinny and Daria shooting from above.

  I swing my wrench upward into a tall gabbie's chin. He staggers back, and I finish him with a blow to the temple.

  For a while, it's all a blur, weapons swinging, gunfire sounding, and Helga screaming. She's swinging that frying pan like a pro. I don't see any bites on her.

  Three more are gabbies are left. Vinny takes one out from the upstairs window. Star smashes her bat into a preteen gabbie with messy pigtails and braces. The last one is an old woman. Her mouth is torn apart, and she's wearing a light blue nightshirt. Helga runs over to her and bashes her face with the frying pan. I finish her off with a whack from my wrench.

  My side hurts, and I can barely catch my breath.

  Star runs to Joey and buries her face in his chest. I wish we had a psychologist. We're going to have a ton of baggage after this is over.

  Helga is twirling in the front yard laughing. Alrighty then.

  I drag my feet as I walk to the garage and into the house. Another chunk was taken from my soul tonight.

  Star comes up behind me. "How's your side?"

  "It's sore but I'll live. How are you doing?" I wrap my arm around her.

  "Did you see that little girl gabbie? I had to kill her."

  "She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a monster. You put her to rest. That’s how I try to think of it. How would you feel if you turned into a gabbie? Would you want to walk around eating people and smelling bad?" I add the smell thing because it might trump the cannibalism.

  "No. Please kill me if I get bitten," she says.

  "You got it. Ditto," I say.

  "No problem. You'll be a handful if you're ever turned. I have been wondering something. How come no one else is catching the virus?" Star asks.

  "You got me hanging. I fix cars and have no clue about medical stuff. That's your expertise." We're in the kitchen. I fill a glass with water and take a long drink.

  Helga comes bopping in. "I win."

  "It's not a competition. But I do have to say, you did awesome," Star says.

  "Yeah, you did," I say.

  She flashes a smile that reminds me of unicorn farts, colorful but possibly deadly. "I did good, didn't I?"

  "I'm proud of you," I say to her.

  Dean comes around the corner rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What did I miss?"

  "Zombies. Oh, and Helga's debut as a gabbie warrior. She squashed them with her frying pan," Star says.

  "Great job." Dean's brows lower. "Anyone hurt?"

  We all shake our heads.


  "Anyone up for some popcorn?" Joey asks.

  I'm famished, and my stomach is grumbling. "Sounds great."

  Joey makes popcorn, and we all wash up. We're sitting in the family room crunching on the buttery kernels.

  A gunshot sounds from upstairs. We look at each other.

  "That wasn't me or Daria," Vinny says over the radio.

  We run upstairs and see Georgia's door open. We run down the hall and come to an abrupt halt at the open door.

  Mrs. Garcia is holding a gun by her side, and Georgia is on her bed with a bullet wound to the head.

  22

  Mrs. Garcia is shaking as she drops the gun.

  We run over to her, except Star. She heads over to Georgia, feels her wrist, and shakes her head.

  "What happened?" Dean asks.

  "I had to do it. I heard her talking to someone over that." She points to a different kind of handheld radio than the ones we have, lying on the floor. "She gave them our address and told them to tell Seth that Raven is here. She said she'd take care of us tonight. I couldn't let her kill anyone."

  "Someone, look through her purse," Dean orders.

  Joey dumps out the large satchel on the floor. She has a pistol and silencer, several magazines, a change of clothes, and make-up.

  "She ended her call before I shot her." Mrs. Garcia's cool personal is eerie for just killing a human being. She stops shaking and stares at the body. Her lip curling.

  "Well, that means they'll most likely come in the morning. Thank you, Maria, for protecting us," Dean says.

  "I couldn't let her kill us."

  "She was a plant. They must have placed her in the dealership in case we showed up," Joey says.

  "She must have worked there before the apocalypse. She knew her way around and where the keys to the box truck were," I add. My brain is in a fog. Why would Georgia want to side with them over us? Unless she was married to one of them. It makes sense now. She was so clean and put together in the dealership without anywhere to take a shower.

  "Do we run or fight?" Joey asks.

  "We take a vote," I say. I want to see an end to Seth once and for all, but this is a group decision.

  Everyone is gathered in Georgia's room. I keep glancing over at her dead body. A week ago, I would've been freaking out. What a waste. There are so few humans left, and now we're fighting each other, and for what?

  "All those who want to stay and fight, raise your hand," Dean says.

  Everyone raises their hand except Ben.

  "I'm tired of the violence," he says in his defense.

  "I am too. But if we leave and do nothing, they will hurt someone else," I say.

  "Everyone prepare for battle. We need most of our ammunition and weapons. Vinny, I sure hope you have some explosives left," Dean says.

  Vinny rubs his hands together and has a twinkle in his eyes. "I can't wait."

  "We'll get the vehicles ready to go. Just in case," Joey says.

  "What do we do with her? Can I have her?" Helga asks.

  We all look at her with open mouths. What the heck is she going to do with a dead body?

  "Why?" Vinny asks.

  "My secret," Helga says.

  "That could be interesting," Joey says as he strokes his stubbled jaw.

  "No," Dean says. "I want everyone to get their warmest clothes. We're going to be spread out around the property. It's too bad no other houses are close by. We'll have to use trees and rocks," Dean says.

  "Can I at least have some of her hair?" Helga asks.

  "Is that all?" Dean asks her.

  "Yes."

  "Okay. Only a few strands. Not all of it."

  Helga breaks out into a smile and skips to the body. She pulls out a knife with a golden handle and proceeds to saw through Georgia's locks. I have no idea what she'll do with it, but the woman is dead so it won't really matter.

  "We can put Georgia by the window. They'll think she's waiting for them," Joey says.

  "We'll need to park some of the vehicles off-site," Vinny says.

  We figure we still have some time left to prepare. They'll most likely wait until morning to attack. It's going to be a long night. I pull out my weapons and take them apart for a good cleaning. I don't want my weapon to malfunction when I need it the most. When I finish, I help Star and Daria clean their rifles.

  Mrs. Garcia, Ben, and Helga pack up the vehicles with supplies. Joey and Vinny found some pet carriers the other day that are perfect to transport the chickens. Helga and Mrs. Garcia chase the one-legged chickens and get them into their temporary homes. Dean and Joey are also cleaning weapons. Vinny has several plastic tote bins open in the garage.

  It isn't long before the trucks are packed and ready.

  "We're taking the trucks to the closest subdivision. It's only a half a mile. We'll keep the SUV here," Dean says.

  "I can drive a vehicle. It'll be fewer trips," Ben says.

  Ben, Dean, and Joey leave with the trucks.

  Vinny is grinning from ear to ear as he sets up his explosives around the house.

  Star, Daria, and I carry Georgia's body down the hall to a small bedroom on the far side of the house.

  "How'd they know we would stop at the dealership? We didn't even know we were going there." Star asks.

  "They probably had people waiting at different locations, hoping we'd run into them and let them come with us," I say. It made me wonder if they had only used women at a bunch of different sites. It makes sense. They tend to be less threatening. How many women do they have?

  "I just don't get why they don’t want to work together. We were nice to her, and she still wanted to kill us. She seemed like a normal person," Star says sadly.

  "People snap," Daria says.

  "Yeah, they worry there won't be enough resources for everyone to survive." Star gives me a puzzled look. "Like food and toilet paper," I say.

  "Oh. That's stupid," she says.

  We set Georgia on a chair by a window on the second floor and open the curtains so they can see her head from outside. We wash our hands and change into our warmest clothes. I'm happy the snow melted. They won't be able to see our footprints and track us.

  The guys return from stashing the vehicles.

  "Does anyone want to sit this out?" Dean glances at Mrs. Garcia and Helga.

  "No," says Mrs. Garcia.

  "I want to fight," says Helga.

  "Okay. Maria, you and I will be behind that big boulder on the side of the house." Dean points to it. “The people who owned this property either loved rocks or didn't want to spend the money to haul them off the property. There are several large boulders around the yard that are so big, you could hide a small car behind. There's also two sheds and a dozen large trees. We'll have some cover.”

  "Wait. I have something for everyone," Helga says. She runs up the stairs, skipping every third step.

  "What's that about?" Ben asks.

  We all shrug. Who knows when it comes to that woman?

  Helga comes barreling down the steps with her hands full. She gives each of us a chicken foot necklace. "These are protection amulets." She hands one to Star.

  "I guess now we know why the chickens have peg legs." Star takes one from Helga and puts it around her neck. "Thanks? How does it work?"

  "All you have to do is wear it. I've woven spells into them, so it'll protect you." Helga hands one to everyone except me. "Where's yours?"

  "It's upstairs." I hope.

  "No, it's right here.” She pulls the chicken foot out of her pocket. “You need to wear it at all times."

  I place the god-awful thing around my neck. The mummified foot with toenails grosses me out. I'm not convinced this is any help, but I'll wear it for her benefit. She gives me a nod of approval. I'll have to get to know her better and find out why she does what she does. "No more cutting off the chicken's feet. We need those birds for eggs."

  Vinny and Joey are holding theirs like the feet are carrying the plague. "I'm not wearing th
is," Vinny says.

  "You must wear it, or we'll die," Helga says.

  "Just humor her and wear it," Dean says.

  Everyone is wearing their ugly amulets. Dawn is on the horizon. We gather our weapons and ammo and head outside to take our places.

  "I can't believe she cut off the chickens' feet. You need to have a talk with her," Star says.

  "What if the chicken feet save our lives?" I ask.

  "What? You don't believe in all her hocus-pocus crap. Do you?" she asks.

  "I don't know what I believe. We have zombies. Which, until now, we thought was impossible. They are dead, but they're still up, walking around, trying to eat us. Which is more believable?"

  "True."

  We hide inside of one of the sheds. It's wooden and a she-shed. There's a pale green sofa with tons of pillows and a chandelier inside.

  "This is nice," Star says as she looks around.

  “This is just another luxury that will disappear. Pretty soon food, clean water, and heat will be on everyone's wish list, if it isn't already.” I peer out of one of the windows to watch the street. Star's watching the other side.

  "What if they don't come?" she asks.

  "If Seth is alive, they'll come." I wish this wasn't happening, and that I'd had a chance to kill Seth before I escaped.

  We wait for a half-hour before we bust open the hand warmers. The little packets warm my fingers, and I bend my digits to keep the blood flowing. It's just above freezing, but the lack of moving around makes it feel colder.

  I check my watch and see it's been over two hours. What's taking them so long?

  "I don't think they're coming," Star says.

  "They'll come. We just have to be patient," I say.

  The radio comes to life. "They may be onto us. What if they were waiting for a signal from Georgia?" Joey asks.

  "We sit tight," Dean says.

  "No more coms," I say. They could be monitoring us.

  Star and I crack open our processed cheese and crackers while sipping coffee from our thermos. My eyelids are getting heavy. I widen my eyes to sharpen my vision. Even if they think we know, they'll still come. They'll want to check things out.

  Another hour ticks by.

  "This is crazy. Where are they?" Just as Star asks the question, we see a van coming down the driveway.