"Before all of this happened, I was a very shy kid. I've never even talked to a girl, let alone kissed one. But I want to talk to you, even if for a few minutes before you kill me. Is that weird?"
"You haven't kissed me."
"Huh?"
"You said let alone kissed one, but you haven't kissed me," Bri said. She could feel her face getting hot again. "The way you say it would make people think we kissed after you talked to me."
"I suppose," Hayden said. He slowly put his arms down. "You're not going to shoot me, are you?"
"I'm still thinking about it."
"You're here for the Zombie Killer, aren't you?"
"Who?"
Hayden stopped smiling. "She's having her baby, I think."
"Where is Darlene?" Bri asked. "And how do you know? Why did you call her Zombie Killer?"
"She is the Zombie Killer. We all can sense her."
"Not the baby?"
Hayden shook his head. "The baby is one of us. We don't care about it anymore than I care about another zombie. She is the one drawing every zombie to her."
"The baby will never be safe," Bri said quietly.
"Not as long as it is with her," Hayden said. "Unfortunately, it won't live long enough, because there are so many zombies that know where she is right now."
"Can you take me to her?"
"Yes. She isn't far. Are you still planning on shooting me?"
"No."
"Then stop pointing the gun at me, please and thank you."
"Lead me to her," Bri said and quickly chased after Hayden when he took off through the woods. They only ran for a hundred feet when she saw the back of a strip mall, or what was left of it.
Hayden went to the side of the building and put up his hand. "She's across the street, in the diner, but those three bikers are going to go inside once they stop fighting, I think."
"Then we need to move now, before it's too late." Bri angled away toward the gas station on the right of the diner and away from the bikers. She knew exactly who they were, and why they were here. She needed to do something before they did.
"Wait," Hayden whispered as he ran next to her. "What is the plan?"
"You cover me and act like you're tough," Bri said.
Before he could ask another question and slow her down, Bri got to the other side of the road and circled the diner, expecting Jeff and Doug to come walking up. But she could hear them still arguing as she walked through the damaged doorway and right into the main room of the diner, taking in everyone: Darlene on the floor, blood covering towels, John on one knee, and Tosha holding a baby.
"Bri?" Darlene smiled faintly.
"What happened to you?" John asked and began to rise.
Bri aimed the gun at John's legs. "Don't get up or I will sit you the fuck down."
"Bri?" Darlene asked again with fear in her voice. She sat up on her elbows.
"Hand over the baby, Red." Bri had her second gun out now and aimed it at the woman holding the baby. "This is for everyone's good. Trust me."
"What are you talking about? We're about to get attacked. Bri, there are some bad men outside." John put up his hands. "They want to hurt us. We need to escape."
"I just want the baby so I can keep it safe," Bri said. "One of the men outside kidnapped me months ago. But you never came looking for me. You went on with your shitty lives and forgot all about me."
"That's not true," Darlene said.
"I'm going to ask you one more time for the baby."
"No," John said and went to stand.
Bri shot him in the upper thigh and turned both guns on the redhead. "Give the baby to my boyfriend."
"Holy shit, he's a zombie," Darlene said. "He'll eat my baby."
"No, I won't." Hayden stepped forward and took the baby from Tosha. "I'll care for him like he was my little brother."
"He is now." Bri waited until Hayden had walked out of the room before smiling. "I could kill you but I won't. I don't need to. Jeff and Doug are here to clean up this fucking mess."
"Bri, please…" Darlene rolled over and put her hands on the wound on John's leg. "You can help us."
"I did. I saved your baby, because every zombie in the world wants to eat the Zombie Killer."
"They want to eat my baby," Darlene said.
"You're wrong. He'll be safe with us." Bri pointed the gun at the redhead when she looked like she was going to do something stupid. "Good luck."
Chapter Thirty Two
Russ wanted to shoot Jeff before he got to the diner but by the time he crossed the street both men and the woman were out of sight, probably trying for the back entrance.
The mob coming down the street saw him and began moving quicker, surging and driving the zombies in the street to the pavement, where they were stomped by sheer numbers. But there were still too many zombies between Russ and the mob, and for that he was thankful.
Russ was more scared of the living than he'd ever been of the undead.
When he heard someone shooting at him, he quickened his pace, running to the side of the diner and getting the full view of the shattered motel.
And Russ saw Bri with a young man, carrying a baby. They were headed behind what was left of the gas station. Away from the diner.
"Bri," Russ called out, but didn't want to be too loud and give up his position. He needed to act fast. Should he bust inside and shoot it out with Jeff and Doug, or sneak around and hope he could get a clear shot through a broken window before the mob arrived.
And what if Darlene had the baby already?
Baby?
"Holy shit," Russ said and turned to chase after Bri and the baby, Darlene's child, when he was slammed against the diner wall.
"Where ya headed?" Ben asked, slamming Russ against the building again and going for the pistol in his hand.
Russ tried to punch the zombie but they were too close and Ben had gotten the jump on him. How was this possible?
As if reading his mind, Ben laughed, their faces pressed against one another as they struggled. "You of all people should've figured it out sooner. I was waiting and waiting for you to get it. For the light bulb to go on in your head, Russ. It was so obvious, yet here we are."
Russ had never gotten around to re-breaking Ben's legs, which he should have done at any chance. He'd gone by the data he had at the high school, that it took the zombies days to completely heal.
Ben grabbed Russ by the wrist and tried to wrestle the gun away while Russ tried to keep his finger on the trigger and aim it at Ben.
"You healed," Russ said, defeated. How had he not seen it coming? After all the experiments he'd conducted and all the information he'd gleaned since this started. He was so sure Ben was their prisoner, yet he'd been playing them for quite sometime.
"I healed within an hour of Bri crushing my kneecaps, but didn't let on. Why should I? You led me right to her." Ben closed his eyes and took a whiff of air. "She is so close I can smell her blood."
"You won't get any closer," Russ said.
"Over your dead body? Isn't that the saying?"
Russ suddenly went dead weight and let Ben push him against the wall, but twisted his wrist with the gun as he did. He felt Ben slam against him, their noses pressed together, but Russ got the pistol aimed at Ben's head.
Ben slid his face away from the gun, trying to bury it in the shoulder of Russ.
The first shot grazed the back of Ben's head, ripping through hair and a corner of flesh, but not stopping him.
"We both die," Ben said into the crook of Russ' neck.
Russ tried to push him away but it was too late, as teeth sunk into the soft flesh of his neck. He took another shot; the gun deafening it was so close. He could feel the heat from the bullet, or maybe it was the warm blood from Ben's head as it exploded and coated him.
Russ fell to the ground, a hand on his gaping wound, and closed his eyes. The headless body of Ben fell onto his legs.
Chapter Thirty Three
Doug wa
lked into the diner and his eyes focused on Darlene.
Jeff smiled. "What do we have here?"
Darlene was on the floor, hovering over her boyfriend, who didn't look so good. The redhead he'd met a few days ago was also in the room, and she didn't look too happy.
"Where's the baby?" Jeff asked, aiming at Darlene's head. "Tell me or you die."
"Gone," Darlene said dejectedly and put her head back down on John. "Just shoot us already. Enough of this bullshit and drama."
Jeff turned the gun on the redhead. "Wow, how rude of me. I'm Jeff. Who are you?"
"Tosha."
Jeff licked his lips. "You and I are going to get to know one another much better and very soon, Tosha."
Doug looked around. There wasn't anywhere they could hide the baby, unless it was behind the dead old man in the corner. He turned to Jeff. "Check the dead guy."
"Fuck that," Jeff said. "Lilly, you fucking do it."
"No way. I'm not going near another dead person."
Jeff put the gun to her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."
Lilly pulled away and went over to the body slowly.
"Leave him alone," John said. "Don't touch him."
"You're really in no position to tell anyone what to do," Jeff said. He pointed at Darlene's bloody legs. "It's obvious a kid popped out from her. How far did it go?" He turned around and looked behind him. "No hole in the wall where it shot out like a thrown football and went into the parking lot."
Doug didn't like all the variables in the room. The three people they'd walked in on could all be hiding multiple weapons just out of sight. Jeff was acting like an asshole again, and Doug didn't care if he got shot or stabbed at this point. Doug looked at Darlene, sobbing on the floor and covered in blood. Unless she was the greatest actress living (and, by default, she might be, he thought), this was genuine emotion. She was broken. He didn't think they'd find the baby. Someone had been here already, and taken part of what they'd come for. There were more players in this game than he thought.
Lilly moved the body and shuddered. She turned back to Doug and shook her head.
Jeff began to laugh. "Maybe the baby got up and wiped the blood off and walked out the door? He's probably driving away in a stolen car right now."
Doug saw the mob outside approaching and slid behind the wall near the counter. The redhead saw the move and began crawling toward the back door.
"Where the fuck you going, Red? I'm not done with you yet," Jeff said.
Then they all heard the gunshot from the other side of the building.
That's when all hell really broke loose.
Chapter Thirty Four
Tosha was up and tackling Jeff right before the second shot rang outside. The two went down in a heap to the dirty floor. She scrambled to stay on top of the big man, because if he put her down he would crush her easily.
Her hands found his groin and she squeezed his balls, but he grimaced and managed to wedge an elbow under her chin, trying to choke her.
Tosha released and slid to her right, where she thought his pistol had gone. But it wasn't in sight until she glanced up and saw Darlene holding the gun.
"Shoot him in the face," Tosha yelled as Jeff jumped on her and slammed her into the floor, knocking the air from her.
But Darlene was pointing the gun at the other guy.
Tosha managed to push Jeff off of her and kick him away. As she scrambled to get up, several new gunshots rang out from outside, punching holes in the walls around them. The mob had arrived.
She crabwalked-crawled quickly across the floor, expecting Jeff to shoot her in the back at any moment. Doug was suddenly in the way but he was too busy covering the blossoming crimson on his chest to pay her much attention. Tosha scooped up two of Doug's guns from the ground and made for the back door.
A man stepped into the doorway and Tosha fired, hitting him in the chest. She knew she was going to die going outside but it was better to be killed by this damn mob than the crazy bastards inside right now. Not thinking, she did a roll out the door, heard and felt bullets whizzing overhead, and began firing both guns until she ran out of ammo.
When she recovered, she saw several men and women dead. The mob, maybe numbering close to fifty, had been so packed around one side of the building, each shot found a mark or maybe two. She'd blindly shot into a crowd, killing and scattering them.
Tosha stood on shaking legs, still holding the pistols, and took off toward the gas station. With any luck, she'd get far enough away she could stop and catch her breath.
Several men began pursuit but when she glanced back they didn't seem to have firearms, but the clubs and chair legs looked dangerous enough if they caught up with her.
Tosha tossed the empty guns to either side and turned on the speed, hoping to outrun and outlive someone else trying to kill her.
It was all she could do. She hoped her sister Mathyu was also keeping pace.
* * * * *
"One of them is getting away," Dana yelled.
Heath glanced at Lincoln. "Someone should chase down the female before she escapes, right?"
Lincoln nodded. They'd lost about half of their group already, either to the zombie attacks or to some people losing the stomach for revenge and bleeding away into the background. They weren't organized and they weren't the killers Dana wanted them to be.
They'd circled the diner but no one was brave enough to rush inside and get shot.
Dana shook her chair leg in the air. "I'll get her." She turned to a group of men, all wielding broken furniture. "Come with me."
Lincoln didn’t stop Dana as she ran off.
"Good riddance. What now?" Heath asked, looking around.
"There are more zombies coming, attracted to the fighting. Our people are now scattered. Some of them now zombies we have to fight. This was a bad idea," Lincoln said. "I was never much of a leader."
Heath slapped him in the shoulder. "Let's get the fuck out of here. Who gives a shit about these people? They're obviously fighting it out inside. Or killing zombies, but this isn't what we signed up for. Let's cut our losses and leave."
Lincoln could only nod. "Retreat. Spread the word. We're heading back to the camp."
"I say we pack it up and head out, too. Without the numbers we'll be sitting ducks for the next assholes who wander our way, or even the zombies," Heath said.
"I'm going to turn everything over to you."
Heath shook his head. "No way. They don't respect me like they do you. I'd rather be the behind-the-scenes guy." Heath smiled. "You can be my puppet."
"Fair enough." Lincoln took one last look at the diner and then what he hoped was his last look at Dana as she ran down the highway.
Chapter Thirty Five
When the gun landed at her bloody feet, Darlene didn't hesitate to lift it and aim it, not at Jeff but at Doug, because if she were going to die today she'd take that motherfucker down with her.
Doug was too busy watching Jeff and Tosha struggle at first, but when he turned and looked down the barrel of the gun at Darlene he smiled.
Fucking arrogant bastard, Darlene thought. Even when he's about to die he's still not going to show her any fear.
Darlene remembered being on the cold street in Buffalo with this sonofabitch trying to rape her. She could feel Jesse on her again, while Doug watched.
"…after everyone else here has gotten their turn in with your body, it will be my turn. The last turn," Doug had said all those month's ago on that damp stretch outside his bar. Darlene had never forgotten the words or the smug look on his face right before she'd escaped. She'd vowed vengeance that day and she was about to get it.
But he wasn't going to beg her for mercy. Doug Conrad was going to smile at her until she pulled the trigger.
Darlene pulled the trigger. Twice.
The first shot hit Doug in the chest, and his knees buckled but he didn’t go down. Her second shot was aimed at his crotch but she thought he'd be going down, and it sk
ipped behind him. No matter, because he was bleeding profusely from the wound.
His eyes glazed over but he didn't drop the smile from his lips, which made Darlene want to keep shooting him. She almost hit Tosha as she scampered past Doug, bu,t when she was sure Tosha was gone, she shot him again, this time in the neck.
Darlene put her head down when gunfire from outside riddled the wall next to her. The mob was shooting at them.
Doug fell to the ground… dead. His eyes were fixed on her, dead.
Darlene needed to shoot the fucker in the head and then shoot him again and again, but Jeff was on the move.
She turned and pulled the trigger just as Jeff lifted the girl he was with in front of him and the bullet slammed into her face, spraying him with blood.
Jeff laughed as he held onto her dead body as a shield. "Nice shot," he yelled.
Darlene squeezed the trigger again and heard a sickening click. She was already out of ammo.
"Damn, girl, that sucks," Jeff said. He tossed the dead girl on the ground and pulled out another pistol. "Sit right there and be still. I need to kill a few people so we can get out of here."
Jeff angled so he could see Darlene and the mob outside and began shooting at the crowd. They were so close together Darlene thought every shot hit its mark, because people were screaming.
Darlene knew Doug had more weapons on him. She began crawling slowly across the floor, one eye on Jeff.
She only got a few feet before Jeff, between shots, looked right at her. "Move another inch and I will be forced to shoot your ass. Do you understand? Stop moving."
Jeff fired until both clips were out but Darlene saw with dismay he had more clips in his pockets, and he quickly reloaded. "I can do this all day, you fuckers. Is it worth dying for a diner?" He was laughing again. "The best part, sweetheart? There are zombies out there, feasting on the dead and the living. I'm killing meals for them. The bastards are helping me out by creating even more havoc. Who would have thought they'd be useful?"
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