Z-Burbia Box Set | Books 4-6 [The Road Trip Trilogy]

by Bible, Jake

  “You know how to manually lower an elevator?” I ask. “If you do then I’ll be very, very impressed.”

  Seriously. I will. That would be a cool trick.

  “Out loud?” I ask.

  “What? No,” Stella says.

  “Cool. Some thoughts are staying inside. Progress,” I say.

  “Carly and I can clear a path,” Cassie says. “Set me free and I’ll get you outside.”

  “Then where?” Stella says. “There’re more of them out there. We’re better off fixing the front doors and cleaning up in here.”

  “The roof,” Stuart says. “We get up there and we’ll be safe.”

  “We’ll be popsicles,” Charlie says.

  “We take some books with us and build a fire,” Stuart says then realizes what he’s saying. “And signal to everyone where we are. Including the Consortium if they’ve gotten here already.”

  “What about your sisters?” Stella asks. “Not Cassie, but the others? You said they were close?”

  “Not the plan,” Elsbeth replies.

  “Plans change, El,” Stella snaps. “Can you call them here to help?”

  “Do you have like a special killer chick yodel or something?” I ask. “That would be so cool if you did.”

  “No yodel,” Elsbeth says. “And no sisters. Not now. Not the plan.”

  Several loud crashes echo down below followed by the distinct sounds of feet clomping on metal.

  “They figured out that escalators are just stairs,” I say. “Stupid fucking Zs and their need to problem solve. Can’t they just shamble and bump into each other? Why do they have to always take the escalator less traveled by?”

  “That makes no sense, Dad,” Charlie says.

  “You make no sense,” I respond. “Zinger.”

  “Oh, hell, just kill him or leave him!” Cassie says. “He’s the weak link! You all survive if you ditch his ass!”

  “We don’t leave Long Pork,” Elsbeth growls, getting right in her face. “Long Pork is family and we don’t leave family.”

  “The sisters were your family once and you left us,” Cassie says.

  “That was different,” Elsbeth replies. “And I found you now.”

  “But you’ll leave me again, won’t you? Leave me to get eaten?” Cassie says.

  Then she opens her mouth and lets out the loudest bloodcurdling scream I have ever heard in my life. I really wish my left arm, you know, the intact one, was working so I could clap my hand over my ear. Not that it would do any good since I have two ears.

  Man, that was a waste of good thought power.

  “Out loud again, Dad,” Charlie says. “And it was a waste of good thought power.”

  Elsbeth slams her fist into Cassie’s face and the woman shuts up. She lies there smiling, blood trickling from her split lips that form a shit eating grin. Cat and the canary grin. Cheshire cat grin. Too many cat grins. Do cats grin? I bet there’s a book around here that will tell me.

  The Z moans get considerably louder and are joined by the groaning of metal.

  Stuart crawls off then comes scurrying back.

  “They’re all trying to climb the escalators at once,” Stuart says. “Too much weight. They’ll bring them down.”

  “That’s not a bad thing,” I say. “If they bring them down then we’re safe up here until they go away.”

  Stuart starts to speak then shakes his head.

  “There’s always something that reminds me why we keep you around,” Stuart says. “Stay here and watch her. The rest of you come with me.”

  “Where are we going?” Stella asks.

  “Gonna call the Zs up to us,” Stuart says. “Some will make it, but most will get jammed on the escalators. With any luck, they’ll collapse and we’ll have time to figure out our next moves.”

  “Works for me,” Elsbeth says as she stands and sets the baseball bat in my lap. “Smack her if she tries anything.”

  “Uh, I can’t raise my thumb, let alone a baseball bat, El,” I say.

  “Don’t be a pussy, Long Pork,” Elsbeth sighs as she pulls her two blades from her pack and gives them a quick whirl. “Too many pussies in the world still. Don’t be one of them.”

  Charlie pulls two pistols from his pack and hands one to Stuart and the other to Stella.

  “Thanks,” Stuart says. “Any magazines?”

  Charlie tosses him two.

  “Mom?” Charlie asks.

  “Um, yes, please,” Stella says, her eyes watching Charlie closely. “What will you use?”

  Elsbeth hands Charlie one of her blades. “He’s been practicing,” she says.

  “I thought you were showing him how to shoot?” I say.

  “You run out of bullets,” Elsbeth says. “You never run out of blades.”

  “And she has been showing me how to shoot,” Charlie says. “I’ll show you later when we —”

  “Hush,” Elsbeth says. “You talk too much like your daddy.” She nods at Cassie. “Don’t know what will happen to her. Stay quiet.”

  “Right,” Charlie frowns. “My bad.”

  “Your bad,” Elsbeth says and starts to walk towards the escalators.

  “I guess it’s time to go,” Stuart says and joins her.

  Stella gives me a quick kiss and is gone with Charlie right behind.

  “Watch her,” Charlie says before they are lost from my sight.

  I turn and look down at Cassie. I’m suddenly not so sure about the plan. Yes, she is tied up tight, knots made by Elsbeth and Stuart, both people that know how to make knots, but damn if she isn’t scary as hell.

  “I heard all of that,” she smiles.

  Fuck.

  We just hang, staring at each other as we wait for the start of the shit that is about to go down.

  “So...where are you from originally?” I ask. “I know Elsbeth was from Connecticut or something. Are you a Yankee too?”

  “Yankee?” Cassie laughs. “Really?”

  “I’ve lived in the South a long time,” I say. “North of the Mason-Dixon line and you’re a Yankee.”

  “I believe that technically New Englanders are Yankees,” Cassie says.

  “Then why are the New York Yankees called the Yankees?” I respond. “Got ya there.”

  “True enough,” Cassie nods. She watches me for a second. “Didn’t I tell you where I was from when we first met?”

  “What? Back at the Biltmore in Asheville? No, you didn’t really tell me much of anything,” I say. “But, you know, Asheville was under siege and blowing up and shit. We were busy.”

  I wait.

  And wait.

  “Gonna tell me? Or do I have to guess?” I ask.

  Then the shit we’ve been waiting for starts. Or the sounds of the shit start. I can’t actually confirm any real shit happens because I can’t see it. It’s all second hand. Or second ear? Is that a thing?

  “Watch your left!” Stuart shouts.

  There’s a gunshot and the snarls of Zs get louder. Another gunshot followed by a few grunts and curses. I’m guessing it’s not the Zs doing the cursing. Unless they’ve evolved. Although would cursing constitute evolved?

  I hear Elsbeth yell and then a loud crash followed by several more.

  “Good one!” Charlie shouts.

  “Nice team,” Cassie says.

  “Quiet, you,” I reply. “Trying to listen to my stories.”

  “How long do you think you can last, Jace?” Cassie asks.

  “Duck!” Stella yells and then there are three consecutive gunshots. “Back! Back!”

  “Jace?” Cassie asks, so casual. “How long do you think you will last? Really?”

  “Are you hearing what I’m hearing?” I respond. “We are a good team. We’ll last.”

  “But you aren’t part of the team, Jace,” Cassie says. “You’re stuck in a wheelchair. Your scalp is bleeding and you’ve lost motor control in your one intact arm.”

  “I’ll get better,” I snap.

&nbs
p; “Will you?” Cassie laughs. “How very optimistic of you, Jace Stanford. You know they can’t carry you everywhere. Eventually you’ll have to pull your own weight. When that time comes, do you think you’ll be ready?”

  “I was born ready,” I say. It’s cheesy, but what else do you say when someone asks if you’re ready?

  “But will you die ready?” she asks. “Or will you die because you weren’t ready? If you ask me—”

  “Which I didn’t,” I growl.

  “If you ask me,” Cassie continues. “There will come a time in the next couple of days where your team, your family, will have to decide whether you live and they die or they live and you die. Do you really want to force that decision on them?”

  “I’d like to force a gag in your mouth,” I say.

  “Hold the top!” Stuart yells. “Hold it!”

  More gunshots, more yelling, more Z moans and snarls and grunts. Something snaps and gives way, but I don’t hear the big crash.

  “Hey! You fucking dead pieces of shit!” Charlie yells. “This way! Flesh buffet on the second floor! All you can motherfucking eat!”

  Ah, that’s my boy. Barker to the undead.

  “Let me go and I’ll make sure you live, Jace,” Cassie says.

  I laugh. I laugh hard. Then I hurt. I hurt hard.

  “No, I swear,” Cassie responds to my many guffaws. “I’ll make sure you have a sister protecting you at all times.”

  “I already have one of those,” I smile. “El’s got my back.”

  “Does she?” Cassie chuckles. “Where is she now? She left you with a killer and is off protecting your son, not you. I think she’s already eyeing the next generation of Stanfords because she knows you’re dead weight.”

  “She’s saved my ass plenty of times,” I say. “She’s not going to just give up on me now.”

  “That’s right, she’s saved your life,” Cassie says. “Your life. Have you saved her life?”

  “Yeah,” I reply. “Probably. Maybe.” Have I?

  My head hurts.

  “I bet it does,” Cassie says, all smirks and shit. “That was out loud, by the way.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” I say.

  “Okay, you aren’t one to be swayed easily, Jace. I get that,” Cassie says. “I respect that. But can I ask you a question?”

  “Can I stop you?”

  “In your current condition? No,” Cassie says. “If it came down to saving you or saving one of your kids, maybe both of your kids, what choice would Elsbeth make?”

  “Your right! Your right! YOUR RIGHT!” Elsbeth screams.

  “Shut up! I got it!” Charlie yells back.

  There’s a distinct grinding of metal. This is good. Very good.

  “Answer the question, Jace,” Cassie says.

  “I can’t stop you from asking the question, but you also can’t force me to answer it,” I say.

  “I don’t really need you to answer it,” Cassie says. “I know the answer. She’d save your kids. Not even a question, really.”

  “I’d want her to,” I say. “Stella would want her to. That’s basic parenting.”

  “But Elsbeth isn’t a parent,” Cassie says.

  There’s a rapid succession of gunshots then silence except for a few whacks and the never-ending Z groans.

  “You are sitting on borrowed time, Jace,” Cassie says. “Elsbeth knows it and she is already moving on.”

  “You keep saying the same thing, but with different words,” I reply. “Still not convinced.”

  Stella and Stuart are yelling at the top of their lungs just as the floor starts to shake. My wheelchair stutters across the dusty wood laminate flooring. I move probably two feet, almost falling over, before my ears are filled with the massive shrieking of metal tearing loose from anchors in concrete, steel and wood.

  “See! They did it!” I yell, but Cassie can’t hear me. God can’t hear me over the noise. “Fuck you, bitch!”

  The entire building shakes as the escalators collapse under dead weight. See what I did there? Dead weight? Gold, baby, gold.

  Then the second floor turns into nothing but a dust cloud. A rather nasty-tasting dust cloud. I try to clamp my mouth shut, but the dust gets up my nose and down my throat. A distinct flavor of concrete, some definite mold and mildew, followed by a hint of Z dandruff and decay. Yum.

  I can hear people coughing and coming my way, which is good because being blind in a dust cloud with a stone cold killer by you isn’t the best feeling. Sure, she’s tied up, but still.

  “Jace? You alright?” Stella calls out. I can just make out her form as she staggers through the dust. “Ow! Fucking shelf.”

  “Watch out for those, baby,” I say. “They’ll get ya.”

  “We did it,” Charlie grins as soon as he is close enough for me to see him.

  His eyes are watering from the dust and his nose is running. Most of him is covered in Z gore, but he has a huge smile on his face so I know he didn’t get bitten or anything.

  Stella is right behind him, followed by Stuart and Elsbeth. They all wave their arms to try to clear some of the dust cloud out of the way.

  “Jace?” Stella says as they get a couple feet from me. “Where’s Cassie?”

  Two words I don’t want to hear. I try to turn my head and look for her, but pain rockets down my spine like a hammer hitting a carny game at the fair.

  “Shit,” Stuart snaps. “One job, Long Pork. One fucking job.”

  I also notice something else missing.

  “Where’s the bat?” I ask.

  Elsbeth starts to whirl around, but it’s too late. The missing bat smacks her square in the face and she goes down hard.

  Cassie steps between Stuart and Stella and whirls the bat in her hand.

  “Now,” she grins. “Who’s up first?”

  Stuart ducks quickly and throws a punch at Cassie’s midsection, but she blocks it by bringing a leg up then smacks his forearm with the bat. There’s a distinctive ring of aluminum on bone and Stuart cries out, cradling his arm as he falls backwards onto his ass.

  Stella comes at Cassie, her empty pistol whipping through the air. But that’s all it does. It whips through empty air and Stella almost loses her balance as she whiffs over a ducking Cassie. Cassie pulls a Stuart and punches my wife in the belly. Stella doubles over and catches a second punch to the jaw which sends her down onto Elsbeth.

  “This didn’t have to happen,” Cassie says as she grabs Stella by the hair and yanks her head up. “I gave you a chance, Jace. If you’d let me go I would have protected you.”

  “You obviously didn’t need my help,” I say. “So how about you let my wife go and we call it even?”

  “What and give you something for free? I don’t think so,” Cassie laughs. She chokes a little on the dust. “Damn. That is gross.”

  A shadow moves in the dust cloud and I realize Charlie is no longer by me. Cassie lets go of Stella just before the blade whips by. She rolls backwards, slamming an elbow into Stuart’s spine as she moves by, you know, just for shits and giggles, then comes up on her feet, bat in hand, and murder in her eyes. Or that could be Z dust in her eyes. Probably both.

  “You really think you can take me, kid?” Cassie asks. “Do you?”

  Charlie doesn’t take the bait. He drifts back into the safety of the dust cloud and is lost from sight.

  “I know where you are, boy,” Cassie says. “My senses are stronger than yours ever will be. I’m not like normal people.”

  “Me neither,” Charlie says as he comes in fast behind her. His blade catches her shirt and she cries out as she jumps out of the way of his backswing.

  “Ha! Good one!” Cassie says. “That was impressive!”

  I look for my son, but he’s gone again. Stella starts to crawl towards me, but she catches a boot to her chin and is down for the count. I’m pretty sure I heard a crunch. God, I hope her jaw isn’t broken. How will she tell me to shut up when I need to be told to shut up? Also, the eating
thing. Broken jaws make the eating thing hard.

  “Out loud, Jace,” Cassie says. “Charlie! Just come out!” She waits then looks over at me. “He’s not coming out.”

  “Nope. Don’t think he is,” I say. “Maybe call it a night and move on? Pretty sure I saw a Target nearby that you can haunt. Bail now and you might be able to beat the morning rush hour traffic.”

  “Shut up, Jace,” Cassie says.

  “Not cool,” I reply. “Only my wife gets to tell me to shut up. I made that clear in my involuntary external dialogue that was meant to be internal. Keep up, crazy lady. Life with the Stanfords isn’t that hard to figure out.”

  Cassie stalks over to me, her baseball bat looking particularly mean. She lifts it up and starts to swing it, but doesn’t quite make it as her legs go out from under her. Stuart was able to shift his position and trip her up. Which was awfully nice of him. I should get him a gift card. Maybe to Barnes & Noble? You know, since we’re right here. One should always be practical in the apocalypse. And frugal. I bet they’re on sale.

  Charlie comes out of nowhere and his blade plunges down at Cassie, but she swipes it aside with her bat then swings back and nails him in the ribs. Ow, that hurts.

  Stumbling back, Charlie loses his grip on his blade as he staggers against a set of shelves. Cassie sees her opportunity and scrambles for the blade, but she’s stopped short as Charlie begins flinging copies of Anne of Green Gables at her. There are a lot of copies of Anne of Green Gables on the shelf. Maybe it was a kiddie book club selection right before the dead rose up and started eating mommy and daddy? Who fucking knows?

  Who fucking cares?

  Cassie catches a book and flings it back at Charlie which in turn clips Charlie in the temple. He sways a bit then goes down on one knee.

  “Fight it, Charlie!” I yell. “Don’t pass out! You can keep fighting!” Says the guy that passes out like every ten seconds and shit.

  Cassie is up on her feet and going after Charlie. She grabs him by his coat and lifts him into the air. Now, Cassie is a long-legged woman, but she’s not as tall as my son. The boy has hit his final growth spurt and is taller than me now. Cassie doesn’t seem to give twelve shits about the height difference.