Zombies! (Book 4): Nowhere To Hide

by Merritt, R. S.

  How in the hell was he going to get the attention of the driver? Kyler considered just turning around and disappearing back into the woods. At this point no one could possibly fault him if he opted to walk away to fight another day. He could dip into the woods and then just round up as many people as he could and march them along the interstate until they made it back to one of the camps. Once at the next camp Kyler could hand them off to whoever the camp commander was. Then they’d become that person’s problem. He just still felt the best way to ensure he got them to the next camp alive was to have them travel by truck. Torn with indecision he stood in the middle of the road as groups of wailing Zombies sprinted past him to get their turn at the truck.

  If the truck wasn’t making so much noise Kyler knew he’d have been pulled down and torn apart by now. Standing in the middle of the road was asking to become an entrée. He shrugged off the suicidal berserker rage that’d gotten him into this position in the first place. He was ashamed he’d been willing to toss his life away so easily. He was ashamed he’d been so willing to abandon the hundreds of people squatting in ditches right now waiting for someone to rescue them. Waiting for someone to come keep them safe. He needed to get in the truck and help pick up the survivors along the route to be able to live with himself.

  A small part of his brain was screaming out a question though. Was he standing here because of a duty to the people he’d sworn to protect or was he standing here hoping to be killed? The closer the truck got the more it seemed like madness to try to hitch a ride. The thing was literally crawling with Zombies. It was cruising through an ocean of the screaming infected. It was getting very close to where Kyler was standing.

  Dismissing the voice yelling at him for still trying to get himself killed he pulled out two grenades. He pulled the pins and waited for the truck to get even closer. When the truck was about twenty yards away, he tossed the grenades as far as he could in the wake of the truck. It had the desired effects of killing a bunch of Zombies and causing a bunch of noise. The Zombies who weren’t physically attached to the truck surged towards the sound of the grenade blasts. Kyler ran for the cab of the truck.

  He had the M-16 pointed in front of him as he ran. He was hoping to avoid using it until he got extremely close. The truck was now right in front of him. He let loose multiple shots dropping the Zombies off the driver’s side until that window was clear. He was hoping the driver would’ve heard the grenades earlier and notice someone shooting the Zombies off the window. He was also praying he didn’t accidentally shoot and kill the driver. He cursed as the truck kept right on going past him even after he’d killed all the Zombies hanging onto the driver’s side.

  Zombies turned and took notice of Kyler. They screamed for his blood and came for him. A loud noise caused some of them to stumble and stop. The truck squealed to a halt as the driver locked up the brakes. The horn on the truck started going off as well further distracting the Zombies in the area. Kyler lowered his rifle and ran for the door. He pumped rounds into every Zombie that got close to him. He didn’t need to kill any of them just slow them down enough to keep them from grabbing him.

  The driver’s door popped open and a man with an Uzi started spraying down the Zombies in Kyler’s path. Kyler poured on the speed. He was shooting now with the goal of not killing the driver versus really thinking he was going to score many Zombie kills. He’d gone into a full-on spray and pray dash for the open door being offered to him. He dropped the M-16 in its sling as he felt the hammer dropping on an empty chamber. He pushed a Zombie out of his way and started to grab another one before it’s face was crushed in a red mist as the driver shot the growling Zombie from about six feet away.

  Kyler ran up the side of the truck and threw himself through the open door. He kicked the driver in the face by accident as he scrambled over the guy. As soon as he was over him, he twisted over onto his back and frantically pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the open doorframe. The driver was fighting with the door trying to get it closed as infected hands reached up to keep it pried open. One of the hands latched onto the drivers leg and started pulling him down. Kyler did a sit-up into some kind of half-assed forward roll that landed him splayed out across the drivers lap like he was fixing to get a spanking.

  He was face to face with Zombies climbing up to get into the open cab. He placed his pistol barrel on each of their foreheads and blew their brains out the backs of their heads. He did it like it was easy. The driver slammed the door shut catching Kyler right in the nose. He felt and heard the Zombies slamming into the door trying to pry it back open. The renewed screeching as they tripled their efforts to break into the cab. The sight of the two non-infected inside the cab driving them to peak insanity.

  Kyler scrambled off the drivers lap and sat down in the passenger seat rubbing his nose. He was pretty sure it was broken but if that was all that happened to him, he was going to call it a win. The truck driver looked over at hm with a pained expression.

  “I can’t believe you made it in here man. You’re Brotherhood, right?” The driver asked. He was a wiry Hispanic man with a pencil mustache and a scraggly beard.

  “We have people spread out all along the interstate at the mile markers. I want to pick them all up and drive them back to the closest camp. We need to get rolling so we can get away from this pack of the infected around you.” Kyler gasped out while he tried to catch his breath. He pointedly ignored the man’s question about the Brotherhood. He pointed down the road to emphasize that they needed to get going.

  “No problem. You may want to watch and learn how to drive though. One of those things bit my ankle man. It’s already burning like a puta.” Kyler leaned over the console separating him from the driver. He looked down at the bloody ankle the driver was staring at.

  “I’m so sorry man. I didn’t even think about it. I thought I’d be the one to get hurt, not you.”

  “The way you jumped in my lap and shot those diablos I believe you. It’s just my time mano. I’ll help you pick up people as long as I can but when I start to turn, I want you to finish it for me quick ok?” The man asked. He looked at Kyler with sad eyes. Kyler held the man’s gaze for a few seconds then miserably nodded that he’d take care of it.

  “Ok. Then pay attention. You’re going to get the ‘crash course’ on driving a truck. You pay attention you’ll be able to get a good job when this whole apocalypse thing is over right?” The driver smiled at his own joke trying to put Kyler at ease. The man had made his peace with what had happened to him. Kyler wished the guy would scream and yell and try to take it out on him instead. He wondered if the man pulled a gun and aimed at him if he’d even bother trying to defend himself.

  Chapter 18: Eyes in the Back of Your Head

  “It’s pretty bad out there.” Randy whispered.

  “Do we need to look for a different way out?” Kelly asked. She’d peeked around hm when he opened the door to look out. Even with him blocking her view and the total darkness they were stuck in she’d been able to sense the danger on the other side of the door. She’d smelled the thick musk of nesting Zombies. The snorts and loud breathing sounds had been horrifying. Randy had pulled the door shut a lot quicker than he’d opened it.

  They huddled together in the darkness of the stairwell. Randy wondered if the others could hear his heart it was pounding so hard. If one of those Zombies had reached up and grabbed the door from the other side when he opened it, they’d have been ripped apart. His mind just kept flashing to what the chaos would’ve been like when the Zombies poured into this tiny space where his little girls and wife were. He knew he hadn’t had a choice as to opening the door. He had to know what was on the other side. It was just that now every little thing he did was a risk for his girls. He felt himself tightening up. He didn’t see how he’d be able to ever get them out of this stairwell.

  “Let’s go up a level and flip on a light.” Tony suggested. He must’ve sensed the state of mind Randy was working himself into. Or
, he was just as freaked out as the rest of them and wanted to put some distance between them and the massive nest of Zombies on the first floor of the hotel.

  They walked up the stairs to the first floor. Randy flipped on a flashlight about hallway up the stairs so everyone could see where they were stepping. In the light he could see how terrified and lost everyone looked. He’d watched as the bound prisoner they were still dragging around with them painstakingly went up the stairs one step at a time. If they were chased by Zombies, he’d be the first one to get eaten. Randy was ok with that. He figured it was great insurance for the kids.

  The girls themselves all looked horrified. They looked like pictures of kids from third world countries. They were all too skinny and too pale. They all needed a shower and an appointment with a stylist. These were little girls who used to go with their mom once every few weeks to get pedicures and manicures. Randy had a hard time reconciling his mental image of his girls with the waifs moving up the stairs behind him. It was depressing as hell seeing them like this. Forced to grow up way too fast. Their eyes having seen things no child should ever have to witness.

  Randy didn’t feel comfortable on the first-floor landing. He felt like it was way too close to the nesting herd still. He led his human train up another level to the second floor. Once everyone was squeezed onto the landing, he reached for the door to check and see if this landing was a good one for them to go out on. The door was locked. It was way too thick of a door to try and knock it down or pry it open. Sighing Randy took them all up one more floor to the level with the pool on it.

  They’d left the door on the pool level wedged open. They all knew it was a good idea to have a backup escape route in case Zombies stormed into the stairwell. While not as nightmarish as the upper floors they’d walked down the third-floor pool was still going to be rough to walk the girls past. Randy hoped they didn’t need to take them out by the pool. The last thing he wanted the girls to see was that insane grilling station. He knew they were smart enough to put two and two together and realize there was a good chance they’d have ended up in the stewpot if they hadn’t won the fight upstairs.

  They trudged slowly into the third-floor hallway. Once they were all in Tony shut the door and tested it to make sure it was locked. It wasn’t. He fumbled around with it for a few minutes before figuring out the bolt to the door had been secured with a wad of duct tape to keep it from locking. The chef who’d been living down here had probably done that, so he didn’t accidentally lock himself out in the stairwell. These doors were a bitch to get opened from the stairwell if you let them lock on you.

  Once the door was locked, they proceeded down the hallway in a single file line. Randy didn’t have a clear plan in mind. He was basically looking for a way for them to get down to the street. They all wanted out of the city. Seeing how crazy Orlando had become he could only imagine the freakshows that the larger cities had become. He was wracking his brain trying to figure out a way out that didn’t involve tying sheets together and rappelling off the roof by the pool when Kelly poked him in the back. He spun around ready to fight. You never expected anything good to come from being poked in the back when walking down a musty hotel hallway next to an outdoor cannibal kitchen during the apocalypse.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to freak you out. I was just thinking what if we try the parking garage again?” Kelly asked.

  Randy muttered a few choice words at this own lack of cognitive capability. It hadn’t even occurred to him to give that a try. There was a good chance there were less Zombies wandering around in the garage than on the first floor of the hotel. Plus, the garage let out on a side street that may be empty by now. It was daylight outside now. In order to have the best chance of success Randy was thinking they should wait for nighttime. As long as the Zombies hadn’t decided the garage was a good place to nest for the night, they should be good. Randy switched gears from walking the halls aimlessly to purposefully looking for a room they could spend the day in.

  He had a couple of requirements for the room he was looking for. He wanted to be able to get into it without breaking down the door. If they broke down the door then it’d be too easy for the weridos from the top floors or Zombies to get in if any of them happened to wander to the third floor. He also wanted it close to the parking garage door so they could use that as a possible escape route if something happened. His biggest requirement was that it be a room the freak chef had never touched. He didn’t want his wife and kids napping on a bed that demented lunatic had touched. Crazy may not be contagious but Randy saw no reason to take chances.

  They ended up having to break into a room. They used the miniature crowbar Tony carried for bashing in Zombie heads. It was loud but not as loud as kicking the door or beating on it with hammers would’ve been. They went in and propped the door back in the doorframe as well as possible before breaking through the door leading to the adjoining room. The first room had looked unoccupied. The second room had clothes scattered around it and an unmade bed. Kids toys littered one corner of the room. An oversized Vodka bottle and towels covered in blood were shoved in the bathtub. It was just another empty room with a sad story no one would ever hear.

  They spent a few minutes figuring out watch assignments and cleaning off the beds. It was Randy’s’ turn to take the first watch. He moved around the room helping everyone get comfortable and then watched as they fell asleep. Within a few minutes of getting everyone settled in the only sounds to keep Randy company were the snoring and heavy breathing of his family. His family and the prisoner. He almost felt sorry for the guy. He was over having to feed and water the douchebag while dragging him all over the place with them. He doubted the guy had any more knowledge worth prying out of him.

  The problem was the prisoner now knew too much about them. If they let him go and he managed to make his way back to the loving bosom of the Brotherhood, he’d be able to give them a lot of intel that could be used against them. They had all pretty much planned on killing the guy at some point so hadn’t been really careful with their words around him. It sucked for the guy, but Randy didn’t see too many alternatives to slitting the man’s throat and letting him bleed out.

  Randy walked into the bedroom they’d ripped the door out of and took up a position in the far corner of the room. He peeked out the window to the street below looking to see what they were going to have to contend with once they got outside. There was a lot of movement down below that he assumed was due to the single shot fired out on the pool deck earlier. That would’ve been enough to stir up the locals. From the third floor looking down the city almost looked like it would have back before the apocalypse. Randy let his eyes roll over the city streets below and indulged in a few seconds of fantasizing the apocalypse had never happened. How great it would be if him and Kelly were just hanging out at the hotel for a romantic weekend getaway.

  That fantasy got him almost to the end of his watch. He woke up Kelly for the next shift while wondering if they had enough extra pills to accidentally give the prisoner an overdose. That seemed like a decent plan compared to strangling the guy to death. His biggest problem being he hated the idea of giving up valuable medicine when they could just gut the guy. If their situations were reversed, he knew the soldier would be dragging him and the kids back to his base to face the judgement of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood wouldn’t be forgiving, and the judgment would be severe. He was still having a hard time reconciling killing the guy though. They should’ve put a bullet in his head a long time ago. Still pondering what to do he kissed Kelly and drifted off to sleep.

  It felt like he’d just fallen asleep when someone grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard. He waited until he had his knife in his hand before opening his eyes. Through the blur of sleepiness, he saw it was Tony who’d been shaking him. It was dark in the room now. The only light coming from the small battery powered lantern sitting on the hotel chest of drawers. Randy sat up quickly and asked Tony what was up.

  “They f
ound us. They’re in the building. I just killed one who wandered into the room next door. We need to get out of here.” Tony whispered. Randy noticed the blood dripping off Tony’s long sleeves for the first time. Shaking his head to clear the rest of the sleep out of it he motioned for Tony to start waking up the kids. He rolled over and woke up Kelly. She took the information in stride standing up seconds later armed and ready to go. A dangerous glint in her eyes predicting what would happen to anyone who tried to take her children from her.

  When they were all suited up and standing in the room with the broken door Randy asked Tony what’d happened. He was looking at the lumpy shape in the corner of the room. It looked like a corpse that Tony had thrown a comforter over.

  “I heard thumping from down the hall, so I hid in the doorway and looked around to try and see what it was. This guy came down the hallway by himself, so I ducked back in the room and waited for him to walk by. Once he went by, I followed him down the hall. I was going to try and take him prisoner, but the little bastard heard me or something and spun around. I jumped on him and just started stabbing until he stopped moving. I went for his throat first to keep him quiet. Dragged him back here and threw him in the corner with a comforter on top of him. We need to go. They’ll be down here checking for him. I don’t know why he was by himself in the first place. He had a radio on him, but it was turned off, so I don’t know how he was supposed to communicate.”