Dead Life (Book 5)

by D. Harrison Schleicher

  “Sorry about that. I’m having trouble keeping this thing under control,” the zombie said, referring to the arm. “Seems to work best when he’s back where he belongs.” The fingers stretched twice in front of Jakes face, then he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and dragged toward the open hungry mouth of the zombie. The last thing Jake heard before he died was Ellie screaming beside him.

  Ellie woke with a jolt of pain. The horror of what she’d witnessed, and the bullet lodged in her abdomen, had caused her to pass out. She was still in the passenger seat of the car and it was moving. Ellie pried her eyes opened and looked to the driver’s seat hoping to see Jake. Maybe it had all been a dream. Jake was gone. The talking zombie now drove the car.

  “I see you’re still alive,” the zombie said.

  “Where’s Jake?”

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  A sob escaped Ellie. “You killed him.”

  “I have to eat often. You two just happened along at the wrong time.”

  Ellie realized she was clenching her stomach with both hands and remembered being shot. “How long has it been?”

  “Since you were shot?” he asked. Ellie just nodded. “Long enough that you should be dead. The bullet must have missed your vitals.”

  “Then I’m going to live?”

  The zombie laughed. “I don’t think so.”

  Ellie pulled her door open and rolled out onto the highway. Dr. Parks stopped the car and got out. He walked back to Ellie’s body and dropped to his knees beside her. “I was going to save you for later,” Parks said to himself. “Waste not want not.”

  In her weakened condition Ellie wasn’t able to put up much of a fight and only struggled against her attacker for a few minutes. Unfortunately Dr. Parks had fed recently enough that he wasn’t too hungry. Before long he was done gorging himself and he went back to the car and drove away. What was left of Ellie’s mutilated body would soon be joining the ranks of the undead.

  Chapter 8

  The horde had them completely surrounded. Al finally stopped throwing grenades into the zombies below them. The zombies calmed down when they sat on top of the U-Haul and tried their best to stay out of sight. It helped that when Steve and Cindy drove away most of the horde had followed them up the road. Gina was mad at Al. She had tried her best to get him to stop with the grenades as soon as the other truck had driven away but once Al got going with his favorite toy it was hard to get him calmed down. She had grabbed his bag of grenades away from him and threatened to throw it over the side. That got his attention. He now sat on the roof of the truck and sulked like a little kid. He knew Gina was right but hated to admit it. They needed to be quiet. Steve and Cindy were making a lot of noise. Honking the horn on the truck and firing out the window as they headed up the gravel road. The loudness of the moaning from below Al and Gina decreased with each passing minute.

  “I’m going to look over the side,” Al whispered.

  Gina glared at him and shook her head no. She held up both hands with her fingers extended. Indicating they would wait ten more minutes before either one of them went near the edge of the roof.

  “Ten fingers for me? Well I’ve got one for you.”

  Gina shook her head and lay back staring up at the sky. She was worried and she knew Al was too. The four of them had split up before and every time they did things went badly for the group. Together they were strong. When they divided the group it seemed like trouble found them. Not that they didn’t run into problems when they were all together. It was just that the four of them were better equipped to operate as a unit. When she had watched the Ford go over the hill Gina couldn’t help but have a sinking feeling that she would never see Steve again. She knew in her heart that Al and she would get out of here eventually. After all she was with Al and it seemed like he could handle just about anything. Steve was capable it was just that Al seemed invincible. Even if it was Steve and her trapped here they would be able to get out. Probably not as easily but they would make it. Gina was more worried about Steve being with Cindy. The two of them might run into a situation that Steve couldn’t handle without her or Al. Cindy was getting better at fighting the zombies and the assholes they constantly ran into but she still had a way to go. Until that time came they weren’t safe out there alone.

  Al was tired of sitting on top of the damn truck. He knew waiting for the horde to lose interest in them was the best way to handle things. He was also well aware of the danger surrounding them but didn’t give a rat’s ass about that. He was worried about Cindy. Al was ready to slide down the trunk of the tree they were stuck against, shoot his way through the horde, and hike up to the road. Fuck this waiting bullshit. If Gina wanted to come with him that would be fine. The more the merrier. He had almost lost Cindy yesterday and now here he sat on his ass while once again she drove away from him with a man that was less capable than him to protect her. He knew Steve was prepared to die trying but that wasn’t good enough. He needed to be prepared to live so that they both would. With Al death wasn’t an option. No matter how many times it had seemed like the end was upon them he hadn’t once thought he was going to die. He knew he would live if for no other reason than to keep Cindy alive. Al had been in love with her for years. Ever since that first day that he had knocked on her door and she had let him in.

  Gina heard the thin metal roof crumpling and Al lay down next to her.

  “I’m sorry kid.”

  “What, that you gave me the finger?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s good enough. I’m worried about them.”

  “Me too. They’ll be okay. Just give Steve a chance. He’ll take care of her.”

  “I know he will. So I guess we’re just going to sit up here and wait for them?”

  “I don’t know what else we can do.”

  “I’ve got some cards in my pack,” Al said, with a smile. “We could play strip poker.”

  “No way. We have to be quiet and I don’t think I’d be able to keep from laughing this time when I saw your bare ass again.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? I get lots of nice compliments on my ass.”

  “Really? It’s pretty white and just a little bit wrinkly.”

  “That’s enough talk about my ass. Do you know how to play hearts?”

  “Yeah, I like hearts.”

  Al got his pack and fished out an old worn out deck of cards. The two of them played cards for a while to take their minds off the trouble that surrounded them. They could hear Steve and Cindy working their way up the gravel road. The sound of the horn grew quiet but the gunfire helped them gauge the distance. They could tell the truck had turned to the left on to the main road and listened to its slow progress away from them. They waited for the gunfire to stop, signaling that Steve and Cindy were on their way back. When that happened they would gather up their gear and get ready for their return. The two of them discussed getting ready sooner but there were still too many zombies around the truck. Most of the horde had either headed off into the woods in the direction of the gunfire or had gone up the road. There were only about thirty zombies standing around but the noise Gina and Al would make packing their gear would most likely get them all riled up and draw too many back to the U-Haul. They needed to play this just right. If they wanted to unload some of the things from one truck into another they would have to have most of the horde well away from here.

  After about an hour Al tilted his head and looked at Gina. “Did you hear that?”

  “No. What are you talking about?”

  “I heard a shotgun.”

  “Steve was using his assault rifle. Why would he switch to a shotgun?”

  “He wouldn’t.”

  Then the sounds of a running gun battle began. The two listened to the sound of automatic gunfire punctuated with shots from a high powered rifle. They could tell that whatever was going on was definitely moving away from them.

  Al got to his feet and began filling a rucksack with some basi
c supplies. “It’s time to go,” he said.

  Gina followed Al’s example and started loading up. “What can we do? They’re heading away from us.”

  “We’ll do the only thing we can. Hike up to the road. They’ll come back this way.”

  Gina knew Al was right. They would come back. If they could. The look on Al’s face gave away his true feelings though. There was nothing the two of them could do. He hated that he wasn’t there to help Cindy and Steve. The two of them were on their own.

  The tree the U-Haul was trapped against was a tall pine tree. There were a few branches level with the top of the truck but they stopped about ten feet from the ground. They would either have to jump or slide down from there. It was either that or go back down through the truck. Al put his backpack on, slung his rifle over his shoulder, stepped out onto the first branch, and drew his sword.

  “Go down through the truck,” he said. “I’ll meet you down there.” Then he wrapped his free arm around the trunk of the tree and disappeared from sight.

  Gina didn’t waste any time. She dropped her gear down the opened vent and lowered herself down. Before she could gather her sword, gun, and pack off the floor of the truck the lift gate came open.

  “Hurry, we don’t have much time,” Al said, holding his free hand out to her.

  Gina took his hand and stepped off the back of the truck. Al had taken out the few zombies that were by the back of the truck with his sword but more were on their way towards them. Gina drew her sword and took up a fighting stance.

  “Leave ‘em. There’s more in front of us. Worry about them.”

  Al headed off into the woods and Gina followed him. They went about twenty feet into the woods away from the truck and then started up, staying parallel to the road. Al was right there were more zombies in front of them but not that many. The underbrush was thick, making it hard for the undead to get at them, so they were easy to avoid. The real problem was getting through the woods. Thorn bushes were everywhere. There was no way around so they were forced to go through them, which made a lot of noise. The zombies from the road were now making their way into the woods towards the two. Al finally came to a game trail that led up the hill but headed slightly away from the road.

  “Which way should we go?” Gina asked.

  “We can’t go that way,” Al said, pointing down the path toward the gravel road. Some of the zombies had found the path and were heading toward them. “We’ll stay on the path as long as it heads up. If we have to we’ll go back into the woods.”

  They made good time on the game trail and it wasn’t long before they could no longer hear the moans from the zombies behind them. Twice they came to one of the undead on the path in front of them. Al quickly dispatched them with a quick jab to the head with his sword. Gina had no idea how long they had been on the move. It seemed like hours since they had first come down off of the truck but in reality it hadn’t even been half an hour. In the distance they heard the sound of three grenades going off. They both stopped to listen.

  “They’re still alive,” Gina said.

  “Was there ever any doubt?”

  “You’re full of shit. You’re just as worried as I am.”

  “You’re right. From the sound of things the fights not over yet.”

  “They’re close enough to them to be throwing grenades. Is that good or bad?”

  “I don’t know. I was getting worried that we hadn’t heard anything. Those explosions were a long way from here. They’ve been on the run this whole time. Let’s get going.”

  The further they went down the path the wider it got. Eventually they came to a clearing in the woods. A weather beaten trailer with a gravel road leading to it sat on the far side of the clearing. They both stopped just inside the tree line.

  “I saw a deer stand a little while ago,” Al said. “That’s somebody’s hunting trailer.”

  “Our luck hasn’t been so good lately. We should be careful.”

  Al put his sword in its sheath and un-slung his rifle. “Keep your sword out and watch for zombies. I’ll deal with anything else.”

  They ran across the field to the back of the trailer. Al slowly worked his way around the side of the trailer. An old truck sat out front by the door, which was open. Before they got to the opened door the smell hit them.

  “Somebody’s dead in there,” Gina said. “That isn’t zombie I smell.”

  They both relaxed a little and went to the door. What little that was left of a body lay on the floor just inside. Flies buzzed around a body that seemed to slowly move across the floor. The body did move but it wasn’t going anywhere. It was only the thousands of maggots that seethed over the body that made it appear to move across the ground.

  “God I hate those things,” Gina said.

  “Check his pockets for the keys to the truck.”

  “Fuck that. They’re in the ignition.”

  “You already checked?”

  “No, but I’ll tell you what. I’ll check the ignition. If they’re not there you can check his pockets.”

  Al made a move to go for the truck but Gina blocked him. “Go clear the trailer old man.”

  “I’m not going in there unless I have to. Check the truck.”

  Gina went over to the truck and looked in the window. This was their lucky day. The keys were there. Now they just had to hope the truck would start. Gina gave Al a thumbs up and opened the door. For as beat-up and rusted out as the exterior of the truck was the interior was remarkably clean. She got in, pushed the clutch, and turned the key. Nothing. The battery was dead.

  “We’re going to have to try and pop the clutch,” Gina said.

  *******

  I opened the lift gate and climbed across to the U-Haul. There wasn’t much missing from the back of the truck. I could tell they had taken enough to hike out though; one other thing telling me that Gina and Al were still alive. I climbed the shelving and stuck my head up through the vent. There was some empty water bottles, energy bar wrappers, a deck of cards, and a half empty bag of grenades on the roof of the U-Haul. The grenades were within my reach so I snagged them and pulled them back through the vent with me.

  “Looks like they left in a hurry,” I said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Al left his grenades up there.”

  “I think he’d leave me behind before he’d leave those,” Cindy said, with a sad look on her face.

  “They’re okay,” I said, more to convince myself than her.

  I helped Cindy into the U-Haul and we started gathering what we would be able to fit into the truck together. There were a lot of hard decisions to make. Space was at a premium and there was lots of crap to be sorted through. It didn’t help that every once in a while a zombie would poke its head around the edge of the truck and try to join us. Our zombie friend visits became more frequent so Cindy and I decided it would be best to wrap things up. After a half an hour we stopped sorting and got ready to load the truck.

  The back of the truck was already full of gear and we’d have to make room for what we had decided we could take. I jumped to the bed of the truck and reached for Cindy’s hand. As she was stepping over a hand shot up from between the vehicles and grabbed her around the ankle. Cindy fell on top of me and we both landed in a heap in the bed of the truck; along with the mostly crushed body of one of the undead. The tire of one of the trucks had passed over its torso. She was smashed flat from her hips to her shoulders. The wheel having just barely missed her head.

  Cindy panicked and scrambled to get away from the zombie that was firmly attached to her ankle. As Cindy struggled to free herself from the zombie it drug itself up her leg and bit down on her foot. Cindy screamed out in pain causing me to shout out also. I kicked out, connecting with the top of the zombies head, causing Cindy to scream again. The creature was securely attached to her boot. Sprawled out as we were there was no way I could get to my sword. With all attempts at remaining quiet long gone I pulled my pistol
out and shot it in the head. Cindy stopped struggling and lay on top of me crying.

  “I’m dead,” she sobbed.

  I pushed her hair back away from her eyes. “Let me take a look at it.”

  “Don’t let me turn into one of those things.”

  I got out from underneath her and she tried to sit up. The damn thing was still attached to her foot though and she couldn’t turn over. I got to my feet and worked my way through all the shit in the back of the truck and bent down to have a look at her foot. The bastard had its mouth over the toe of her boot. I grabbed a handful of hair, took ahold of the jaw, and was able to pry it off. Cindy sat up right away and tore at the laces of her boot. She pulled her boot from her foot and yanked her sock off. I could see right away that she was going to be okay. The monsters teeth hadn’t been able to penetrate the thick leather of her boot.

  “Should I shoot you now or wait until you start to turn?”

  Cindy looked up at me and smiled, “You’re almost as big an asshole as Al. You know it?”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment. Now get your boot back on. We have lots to do. With all the screaming and shooting we just did I think we’ll be getting company real soon.”

  While Cindy put her boot back on I made as much room as I could in the back of the truck. Then I jumped to the U-Haul and started handing stuff over to her. There was so much gear we had to leave behind. Al had ten crates of grenades left and I was leaving five behind. There would be hell to pay later but that was too bad. Food and water had to top the list. Then guns and ammunition. Al’s toys came last. He would just have to cut back on his fun time.

  I handed the last of the gear over to Cindy, “That’s everything,” I said.

  “I want to take one last look around.”

  She started to step over when a look of terror crossed her face. She stepped over quickly and a rotted hand grabbed at her, from beside the U-Haul, just catching the tail of her shirt. For a second I thought she would pull free. Then she teetered on the edge of the U-Haul and started to fall back. I could hear her shirt tearing as I grabbed her and pulled her into the box of the truck. Most of the buttons on her shirt popped off and I was momentarily distracted by the sight of her ample bosom. The zombie struggled to get between the truck and the U-Haul. Cindy threw her arms around me and held on. I freed one hand, drew my pistol, and shot it in the face. I held her to me in my other arm.