Apocalyptic Beginnings Box Set

by M. D. Massey

  Lost in thought, Scarlett blankly stared at the debris-covered pavement, all the norm these days, thinking how bizarre it was that people had abandoned their cell phones, purses, and backpacks. It had been the same scene everywhere she’d been. Guess when you turn creeper, you don’t need your personal stuff. Stuff! She started searching the parking lot for purses and crawled over to a handbag, dumping the contents onto the pavement. The jingle of keys caught her attention. She grabbed the keychain with the Subaru logo imprinted on a key.

  Subaru! Lucky door number one, the thought flashed like a scene from the old television show she used to watch with Aunt Marge, Let’s Make a Deal. Was it a zonk or a deal? She was about to find out.

  The battery was dead. She didn’t waste any more time trying to start the car; instead, she quickly connected the cables. Unfortunately, the whining noise the car made when she tried to start it alerted every flipping creeper at the mall.

  “Ah, come on, come on. You can do it!” Finally, the engine turned. “Yes!” She was thankful for the truck’s powerful battery, which was probably the only reason the car had started.

  “Time to go.” Creepers closed in on her from all directions. Soon, they’d join into one huge, hungry horde. She didn’t have the time to strip the truck of its priceless tools. She did manage to grab a crowbar from the floorboard of the truck. It looked similar to the one Dean always used, and she liked it better than the poker. The poker reminded her Nate or LuLu—could be dead.

  Once in the car, she zig-zagged between the creepers, not wanting to damage her newly-found vehicle. She glanced at the fuel gauge. A half-tank of gas.

  Now what? She never really expected to make it this far.

  23

  After Justin and Ella exchanged frantic goodbyes to Scarlett and LuLu, Justin helped Ella hop the backyard’s fence. They had only made it to the adjacent backyard, and Ella was already tired.

  “Really? We can’t stop here,” Justin warned. Ella silently agreed.

  Justin urged her on as they snuck to the side of the house. After making sure the street was clear of zombies and Paxton, they sprinted across the residential street to the next house, cautiously making their way to its backyard, and they hopped the next fence.

  By the time they had jumped their third fence and had made it to the next residential street, Ella panted, “I need a break.” She hunched over with hands on trembling knees.

  “Ye-ah, okay.” Justin couldn’t shake the uneasiness in his voice. They had to get hecka out of there before Paxton found them. “Like we can’t just stop in the middle of the freakin’ street,” he said, glancing around the neighborhood nervously. Tugging her hand, he led her across the street to the side of a blue and white painted house. “Okay, you’ve got one minute.”

  He was amazed Ella had made it this far considering she had never left the safety zone of the hotel the entire time he’d known her. Apparently, Nate and Paxton frightened her more than the zombies. Me too. Zombies were just stupid, repulsive creatures with only one desire: eating. They had no ulterior motives for power or sex, which made them easy to predict. Unlike Nate and Paxton, he’d known them for months and was stunned by their despicable intentions. Who’d of thought the two were so sick in the head? He had to protect Ella from them. But, he did feel like a super jerk for leaving Scarlett and LuLu behind.

  “You do know where we’re going—right?” Ella looked up at him with her gorgeous, brown eyes.

  “Sure.” He really didn’t have the heart to tell her, Hell no. He scoped out the street while she rested. A mini-horde shambled down the street several houses down. He automatically shifted his position, blocking her view, so she couldn’t see them. He didn’t know how she’d react. If Ella freaked-out and started screaming, they’d be in mucho trouble. That’s when he realized he didn’t have an anti-zombie weapon. He’d been so freaked, he hadn’t even thought about a weapon. Like, how lame is that?

  “Okay, so where to?” Ella asked, breathing more easily.

  Justin paused for a moment. An idea formulated in his mind. “I’ll know it . . . when I see it,” he said, thinking about his awesome idea.

  “That doesn’t sound so convincing,” she said with a touch of sarcasm. “So tell me already?” she said too loudly.

  Please don’t tell me she’s about to have a girly moment, not with those Zs over there. “Shhh,” he hushed her.

  “OMG, don’t tell me to . . .” Ella started to scold.

  “I got this, c’mon.” Justin tugged at her arm.

  “Seriously, where are we going?” Ella whispered.

  “Trust me,” he whispered back. The two crouched house to house, heading in the opposite direction of the horde.

  “Wouldn’t it be faster to take the street?” Ella interrupted his concentration.

  “Ye-ah, but we don’t want to run into a freakin’ horde, you know what I mean? Besides, Paxton could drive down the street any second. He’s got to be looking for us by now,” Justin explained, trying so hard not to lose his patience. This is like way easier when I’m by myself.

  He stopped in the middle of the property easement area between two houses, and they ducked behind some scraggly shrubbery. Justin scanned the rooftops of both houses but didn’t find what he was looking for.

  “Not here,” Justin mumbled. They continued westward, sneaking from house to house. Occasionally, Justin saw a Z in the distance and purposely didn’t point it out to Ella. She was handling this amazingly well, even if she was getting on his nerves.

  They passed a burnt-out school. It had been a high school from what remained of the WELCOME TO ENCINA HIGH SCHOOL sign. Graffitied in red paint were the words: THE DEAD DON’T DIE. He had a sick feeling it might have been human blood and not spray paint. It spooked the crap out of him.

  As they approached the intersection of Bell Avenue and Arden Way, he saw the top of a Taco Bell sign above the trees. He was familiar with this area, at least the main roads, not the residential streets so much. He decided to stay away from the main roads. If it was like Vacaville, hordes congregated and roamed the main streets. He really didn’t know why they patrolled the main roads. Could be an instinctual thing, he thought. Zs related streets to humans, and humans equal food. Or heck, maybe it was some “universal zombie law” to hang out wherever they had originally become zombified. Ye-ah, like zombies think.

  Unfortunately, they did need to be on the street. It would be dark in a few hours, and he needed to find them a safe place soon. Sneaking from yard to yard is taking forever.

  Justin stopped again, taking cover next to a burnt-out SUV, and scoured the area. “We’ll try Bell Avenue for a while.” He was familiar with the street. Sort of. He knew where it was in relation to the mall and the highway.

  “You’ve been dragging me around for hours. I need to eat.” Ella pouted.

  Actually, he was hungry too. He lightly patted his jean jacket; he was always stuffing something in his pockets. He felt like a hero when he pulled out a smashed granola bar, which looked like it had been in his pocket for months. It was the healthy bran kind Scarlett loved. He thought they sucked, but the particular brand fit in his pocket perfectly, so he had grabbed one from the kitchen yesterday.

  “Really—that’s it?” Ella grimaced.

  “Ye-ah, I know. Tastes like cardboard.” He split it in half, giving her the slightly bigger portion.

  “I’m such a whiner. You’re so awesome.” Ella munched an oversized bite full of crunchy granola.

  She smiled, and her cheeks poofed-out like an adorable chipmunk. He laughed. Dude, stay focused. Ella’s so distracting. The ability to focus and remain calm had kept him alive all this time. “Alive—Not Zombified,” that was his motto. Things are different now. He had to protect Ella! Or life wasn’t worth living.

  To make better time, they snuck along the street’s gutter. If they had to, they’d take refuge inside a house, but that could be just as dangerous. The homes could be crawling with Zs. He could p
robably de-activate a few with his bare hands, but he should save his strength for when he really, really needed it.

  Justin listened attentively for Paxton’s truck as they approached a commercial intersection. Not a good idea, Justin thought. Should they turn around? However, his instincts told him to keep going. They took cover inside a Honda in the back of a Carl’s Jr. lot. Ella looked up at him with those gorgeous eyes of hers as if searching his face for an answer.

  “You okay?” he asked, nervously peering through the rolled-up windows.

  “Sure.” Her voice was tired and distant.

  “Cool. So, I’m gonna scout out the intersection. See if it’s safe to cross. You should stay here. Any trouble, tap the horn—only once. Uh, does the horn work when the battery’s dead?” he said with a note of wonderment.

  When he opened the door, she grabbed his arm. “Don’t leave me!” Ella pleaded.

  “Uno momento por favor. That’s the only Spanish I know except for the bad words,” he teased, hoping to ease her angst.

  “For real, you’re gonna leave me here?”

  “Promise, I’ll be quick!” He got out of the car. On impulse, he ducked back inside to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. Ella smiled. It was all he needed to give him courage. He hated big intersections. They gave him the willies. All those zombie games I used to play. Now, it’s all too real.

  A variety of scuffling sounds startled him while he snuck to the intersection. Was it just the trash blowing in the wind? The street signpost ahead read ARDEN WAY AND HOWE AVENUE. He knew exactly where he was; he had played baseball in the park down the street when he was a kid.

  A distant whirring buzzed over the wind-flying debris. He was near the driveway entrance of a florist shop when he realized the whirring sound wasn’t the wind. It was an engine. “Shit!” A truck turned onto Arden a few blocks down. He darted behind an abandoned motorcycle tossed on its side. It didn’t provide much cover, but it was the only thing he could hide behind. If Justin took off running, the driver of the truck would see him. And, he knew it was Paxton or Nate.

  The truck skidded to a stop in the middle of the intersection as if deciding which way to go. Justin willed himself to be invisible. If I had one superpower, it would definitely be the invisibility thing, he thought randomly. He hoped Ella didn’t freak and start honking the horn or worse, come running into the street looking for him.

  The truck waited in the middle of the intersection, revving its engine. What the heck? What’s he doing? Gurgling groans approached. The truck skidded around in a circle in the middle of the intersection like it had suddenly turned zombie or something. That’s freakin’ weird. Zombie-trucks? He shoved back his crazy imagination.

  The truck continued spinning 360s, tires squealing, horn blazing. That’s beyond weird—that’s super-psychotic. It had to be Paxton. Justin popped his head up over the motorcycle’s seat after the truck zipped by. A part of him was relieved to see the back of Paxton’s shaved head through the truck cab’s rear window. His irrational fear of zombie-trucks lingered. To Justin’s horror, Zs began emerging from their hiding places, hording into the middle of the street. It petrified him to see how many Zs had been there all along, blending into the scenery. He ran super fast to Ella before she totally freaked.

  Justin tried opening the door to the Honda. The doors were locked. Ella sat in the car, shaking, tears gushing down her cheeks. He tapped the window to get her attention, but she was lost in la la land or super pissed. Either way, he had no time to deal with attitude. Zs are coming!

  Finally, she opened the door. “You said one minute.” She sobbed.

  “Like, we gotta go!” She ignored him. “Ella—c’mon,” he nagged, unable to keep the fear and frustration out of his voice. “Let’s go!”

  She didn’t budge. Frustrated, Justin scooted across the seat just as she reached over and girly-punched him in the arm.

  He felt bad, knowing how difficult this was for her. He held her for a quick second. “Zombie-truck did you see that?” he blurted. The sound of squealing tires intensified as if confirming his ludicrous statement.

  “We’ve got zombie-trucks now?” Ella panicked. Her eyes couldn’t possibly get bigger.

  “Uh, no, I mean, calling out the Zs. It’s Paxton’s thing,” he explained.

  “Zombie-trucks? Why would you even say something like that?” She pouted, brushing the tears away with the back of her hand.

  He hadn’t meant to freak her out about the wonky zombie-truck vision stuck in his head. I’ve got to watch what I say. “He’s trying to trap us by getting the Zs to do his dirty work,” he said, choosing his words carefully. Actually, it was a hecka good idea, and it made Justin’s stomach knot up in a fiery ball of hatred for the sick man.

  “What’s wrong with him?” she said, sounding more reasonable.

  “We gotta go. They’re everywhere!” he warned. “C’mon, we’ve got to double-back. They’re hording in the intersection, like right now!”

  He grabbed Ella’s hand. They ran like crazy. No time for sneaking around. The Zs seemed mesmerized by the truck, stumbling toward it, and didn’t pay much attention to them.

  “This way.” Justin turned down the first residential street they came to.

  He had bypassed this street earlier due to a mini-horde. Luckily it was gone. They ran, ignoring the few stragglers finding their way to the street. They had probably been trapped inside these houses for months until suddenly motivated by the zombie-truck’s revving engine and screeching tires. Somehow Ella kept up the pace and even more unbelievable, she wasn’t totally freaking-out.

  Running by house after house, Justin finally found the house type he was searching for. Then he spotted the mini-horde. The horde lurched to an abrupt stop when it saw Justin and Ella. Each one cocked their scuzzy heads from Ella to Justin and then jerked their heads to the street corner. Justin stared at the horde in a “you wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it” moment, for the horde seemed to be making a decision, an extremely difficult one: choosing between the two of them or the zombie-truck at the end of the block.

  The zombie-truck better not come down this street . . . To Justin’s horror, the truck screeched around the corner and headed straight toward Ella and him. Holy Shit, the Z-truck’s coming for us! The Zs groaned and reeled toward the approaching truck. The horde scrambled between them and the Z-truck. Justin fretfully wished for the invisibility superpower again. With any freaking luck, the horde had blocked Paxton’s view.

  “Behind that car!”

  The Z-truck zipped by the car they hid behind. Justin stared in awe at the Zs joggling after it—instead of them. “Holy shit, you ever notice what short attention spans Zs have—like the size of an ant,” Justin remarked.

  “Was that Paxton?” Ella asked.

  “Ye-ah,” Justin whispered, catching his breath.

  “Did he see us?” Her words came out as a mere whimper, but at least she was not crying.

  “Don’t think so,” he said. But, he really wasn’t sure yet.

  They waited for the last zombie to turn the corner, hustling after the long-gone Z-truck. I’ve gotta stop calling it a zombie-truck, I’m freakin’ myself out.

  “Awesome,” Justin whispered, “If Paxton had seen us, he’d be back by now.” Justin pointed to a brown Spanish-styled, stucco house across the street. “There! That’s what I’m looking for.” He was elated. Finally, a house with a flat roof. Ella gave him a look like he had totally flipped-out.

  He took off running across the street, practically dragging her with him. He stopped on the garage side of the house, out of plain sight.

  “Stay here. Yell, if you see anything coming from the front,” Justin said briskly. Ella nodded.

  Justin snuck to the back of the house relieved it was clear of Zs. Unfortunately for him, the back door was locked. He ran back to get Ella. “Okay, you stand guard right here on the back porch,” he said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “I’m going inside to make s
ure it’s zombie-free,” the words rushed out in a breathless gasp. He grabbed a rock from the flower garden and banged on the kitchen window, wincing every time the rock clamored against the glass.

  “Like, maybe it’s not even locked. Mama always keeps—kept the kitchen window unlocked because she couldn’t undo the little lock thingy,” Ella said incredulously.

  “I’m so sure,” Justin said and pulled up on the window frame to show her. The window slid up.

  “Silly, what would you do without me?” She giggled.

  “Ah, women,” he groaned, shaking his head. “Okay, stay here for a minute.” His nimble body climbed inside over the kitchen sink.

  “But, what if a zombie . . .” her voice trailed off.

  “Duh, then scream,” he said, giving her one of his best smirks. He ignored the panic in her voice, knowing their precious daylight was almost gone. He had to find a safe place for the night. Like now! After unlocking the back door, he popped his head out to say, “Back in a sec—” He grabbed a knife from the butcher block.

  Ella paced the back patio, biting her fingernails down to the quick until she tasted the blood of a nail bitten down too far. She jumped at every minuscule sound as the wind wrestled with the remnants of last autumn’s leaves that had never been raked, and she wondered if they ever would be raked.

  Gradually, the sounds changed—sounds she found unnerving. A putrid scent wafted in the breeze. A skunk?

  “What’s taking him so long?” Ella murmured. A rustling sound from the other side of the house got the best of her. She had to know if it was just the leaves blowing in the wind before she screamed for help. She was already so embarrassed for acting like such a baby in front of Justin. She made up her mind; she wasn’t going to scream only to find out it was leaves blowing in the wind.

  She clutched the rosary beads around her neck and slowly mustered the courage to peek around the other side of the house. And when Ella finally did, she covered her mouth, stifling a scream. A few feet away, a zombie thrashed about, pounding its head against the fence, its back to her. She froze, transfixed in sheer terror. She hadn’t been this close to one since that day—that ungodly day.