First Zombie
Page 12
She set a gloved hand on his wrist and squeezed, a tightlipped smile shaping her pretty lips. “You lost loved ones, too. We all did.” The badge fell on her chest as a wistful sigh fled her lungs. “You should post a snippet of Irene on Instagram.”
“What’s Irene?” Miranda asked, checking her phone.
“The song he wrote about his mom.” Mac stared hard at Tyler, resting her chin in a hand. “Your followers will love it.”
Nodding, Tyler picked at his meal, hiding a teardrop escaping down his face.
They continued eating, watching people come and go through distant eyes, trapped inside their own heads. The calmness of the diner, compared with what happened back at the trailer, was offsetting to the senses. Finn felt like the entire restaurant was leaning a little to the left. He shook his head to clear it and grunted.
“Zombie Slayer,” he grumbled under his breath, stuffing some pancakes into his mouth.
Tyler dropped his fork to the platter. “You just can’t leave it alone, can ya, Finn?”
Leaning back, he held his hands up in surrender. “Come on, man, you have to admit it’s the dumbest nickname you’ve ever heard.”
“No, it’s not; I like it. I also like the band Slayer so actually it’s perfect. In fact, Jack Link’s is going to start printing Zombie Slayer t-shirts. How about that?”
Finn started choking on the pancakes. “What!”
“They just sent me some mockups,” Tyler told him, holding up his phone. “Check em out, brother.”
Squinting at a black t-shirt with Zombie Slayer written across it in fresh blood, Finn flashed Tyler a dull glare. “Unbelievable.”
“You better believe it, buddy.” Tyler pocketed the phone. “I’m cashing in while the gettin’s good! I just accepted the deal and the money should start depositing into my account by Tuesday.” Tyler stirred his food together, a smirk pulling back into his lips. “And I think Bailey’s right, I should post a snippet of Irene on Instagram. Can’t hurt, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, about that…” Pounding some orange juice, Finn set the glass down and blew out a weary breath. “Tyler, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Finn,” Miranda said in a hushed tone, kicking his foot beneath the counter.
“Oh yeah?” Tyler stared at him, brow rising in wonder. “And what’s that?”
Sighing, he pinched his eyes together and rounded up just the right words. “How do I say this?”
Miranda hid behind a hand, speaking under her breath. “Finn.”
Tyler snorted. “Just go on and say it, Finn. Don’t beat around the bush.”
“It’s just that…”
“Somebody call the police!” A woman’s voice cried out, drawing every head in the restaurant.
Adrenaline spiking, Finn turned to a woman with red hair hanging in her tearstained face.
“They’re attacking my husband out in the parking lot!”
Mac pushed off the stool and pulled up her duty-belt. “Who is?”
The redhead’s wild eyes gravitated to the glass doors, chest pumping beneath a green blouse. She pointed at the glass, voice coming out in a shaky whisper. “They are!”
Finn stared at the three dead men pressing up against a white minivan parked outside. They slapped at the van’s windows and doors, leaving smear marks running down the side while four or five other stiffs huddled over a bearded man with glasses lying in a pool of blood on the cement.
“My children are trapped inside the van!” the woman shouted, jerking Finn from the grisly scene.
“How many?” he asked.
“Two!” she blurted, her voice sharp with alarm. “One is four and the other is six. I’m afraid they’ll try to open the doors to get out!”
Finn’s heart sank. They were just babies and must be scared out of their minds. “Shit,” he whispered, rising from the stool. “Where are the keys?”
“My husband has them,” she replied, turning to the dead things feasting on her fallen husband in the parking lot.
“Is it unlocked?” Mac asked.
The woman shook her head, lower lip trembling. “I don’t know!”
“Shit,” Finn whispered again, moving toward the front doors and stopping when an elderly woman appeared outside. His heart jumped. Dressed in her filthy Sunday best, the skeletal corpse began pawing at the glass doors while other zombies ambled around in the parking lot behind. Some gravitated to the minivan with two young kids trapped inside, while others limped toward the diner, reaching and dragging. The moans rose in volume and a sharp cringe sliced through Finn. They should’ve brought the long guns inside. Shit! An old man joined the dead woman at the doors and, together, pushed their way inside the diner before anyone had the good sense to lock the doors. Panicky cries and the clatter of dropped silverware and glasses filled the air as customers hurriedly backed away.
“To the kitchen,” somebody yelled, charging behind the counter and spilling into the kitchen. The waitress jumped out of the way, dropping a fresh pot of coffee to the floor that sprayed her shoes and ankles with burning liquid. She screamed in pain and limped into the back with the others.
Mac turned to Finn and drew her handgun, badge heaving on her chest. “Well?”
Finn, Miranda, and Tyler looked at each other before pulling their respective weapons. While everyone else ran back into the kitchen, Finn led the charge upstream toward the dead senior citizens stumbling past the hostess stand. Catching a frightened look from Tarryn, now seated alone in the corner booth, he took aim and fired at close range, bringing down both stiffs with two headshots. Kicking a bony leg out of the way, he forced the front door shut and turned the deadbolt, watching the mob of corpses shuffle closer, drawn by the sound of gunfire.
Sobbing, the redheaded mom joined him at the front doors, watching more things bang on her van. Zombies fought over her husband like hyenas, pushing and shoving, ripping and tearing. “Is he…dead?” the woman barely asked, turning to look up at Finn.
Finn swallowed hard and avoided her eyes. “Yes.”
Bravely, or foolishly, she turned back to her husband’s body jerking beneath their scraping claws and gnashing teeth. “Will he get up again?”
He sighed, fogging the glass. “Yes.”
Faintly, she nodded her understanding. “We have to save my children,” she said in a cold whisper, struggling to keep her head while swiping at the mascara trails running down her cheeks. “Please.”
Glancing at the others, Finn turned her away from her dead husband to face him. “What’s your name?”
“Bridget,” she sniffled, eyes drawing back to the glass.
Finn turned her chin back to him. “Bridget, I’m Finn and we’re going to go get your kids and bring them inside now. Okay?”
She nodded hard, spilling tears to the floor. “Thank you.”
“We’ll be right back. Why don’t you go sit with Tarryn over in that booth,” he said, nodding at the raven-haired girl in a Slipknot concert tee.
Bridget wavered before wandering off, stumbling a little as she went. Tarryn got up and helped her into the corner booth, eyes wide with fear.
Putting his back to the door, Finn wrapped the nine-millimeter Mac gave him in both hands, studying his wife and two new friends to the soundtrack of his favorite Journey song. They stared back at him with grim looks pulling on their faces, guns at the ready. “Well, you were right, Tyler,” he said, blowing out a quick breath. “Here we go again.” Unlocking the deadbolt, he pulled the door open and started shooting, careful not to hit the minivan.
To be continued in Second Zombie…
Thank you for reading First Zombie! I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did writing it. Keeping the lights and phones on gave this story such a fresh dynamic, I couldn’t wait to wake up each day and plug back in. That being said, Second Zombie will not drop until First Zombie has at least one hundred honest reviews on Amazon. I don’t write or employ fake reviews from family, friends, and other au
thors (see Vampire Nation & The Hunting of Malin). This is your final warning. Anything less than one hundred reviews and Second Zombie will never see the light of day. You have twenty-four hours to comply…
Thanks again!
Other Books by Sean Thomas Fisher:
▪ Vampire Nation: A Horror Story
▪ A Little More Dead: A gripping zombie thriller (Dead Series Book 1)
▪ A Little More Dead: Gunfire & Sunshine (Dead Series Book 2)
▪ A Little More Alive (Dead Series Book 3)
▪ Scary House: A Terrifying Ghost Novel Inspired by True Events
▪ The Hunting of Malin: A Supernatural Mystery with a Killer Twist
▪ Floodwater: A Heart Pounding Standalone Zombie Novel
I love hearing feedback from readers! Hit me up on Facebook or find me stalking Tyler on Instagram: @sean.t.fisher
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TV and movie producers can reach me at bumpinthenight18@yahoo.com.
Don’t read alone…