“Thank you so much,” Camille said as she started in on the food. She was surprised to find herself so hungry. She looked out the windows at the view of the lake outside. The zombies below were just out of her line of sight. She shuddered, thinking about how close she had come to dying and thought of her family and how worried they must be.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” Camille started. “But I have to get back home to my family.”
“It’s getting dark outside, dear, and right now, what you need is to get some rest. You’re in no condition to go anywhere. You need a nice hot shower and some clean clothes. I’m sure I have something you can wear. When you’re done, I’ll get your hands bandaged up and an ice pack for your knee, then get you settled into one of the guest rooms,” Elizabeth told her. “Tomorrow, we’ll figure out what we can do about getting you back home.”
“Thank you,” Camille said with a yawn. She knew Elizabeth was right. With all of her adrenaline long since spent, she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.
“Let me show you to your room and your bathroom. I’ll leave some clean clothes on the bed for you,” Elizabeth said.
She led Camille down one of the hallways to a huge bedroom with an attached bathroom and laid out a robe and fresh towels for her.
“I’ll leave you to it, dear,” Elizabeth said. “When you’re done, just press the button on the intercom by the door, and I’ll be up to give you something to help you sleep. I don’t want you walking around any more than you have to.”
Camille thanked her as she closed the door. She looked around, amazed at the view of the lake from the wall of windows on one side of the room. The bed looked so comfortable that she wanted nothing more than to lie down and go to sleep, but she knew she needed to wash off all of the sweat and grime first. The bathroom was as big as her bedroom at home. The shower had multiple shower sprays coming from both the ceiling and the walls. A huge sunken bathtub sat next to it. There was a mirror covering one wall and a smaller mirror was hung over the sink and vanity with a plush chair sitting in front of the counter.
Camille dropped her filthy clothes to the floor and placed her knife on the vanity. She carefully stepped into the shower while favoring her knee. As the hot water washed over her, she relived the events of the day. She thought of her mom and how worried she must be. She knew that her brother would want to go searching for her. She wondered where her dad was and if he was still alive. She thought of Lucia and hoped she made it to safety. She worried about whether or not the entire horde had continued to pass by her house, whether her plan had worked or if the zombies had gone after her family. She felt the tears coming and soon her body was wracked with her sobbing. She cried for herself. She cried for her family, and she cried for the unknown. When she was finally all cried out, she turned off the shower, dried off, and pulled on the plush robe. She walked into the bedroom to dress in the clothes Elizabeth had left out for her and found that they fit comfortably. She wanted to sleep but knew she needed to press the intercom button so Elizabeth could wrap her stinging hands and give her ice for her knee, so she limped lightly over to the door and pressed the button.
A moment later, Elizabeth came in to take care of her. Afterward, she fell asleep almost immediately.
Chapter 7
Day 4
Max downed his third energy drink in as many hours as the sun rose brightly. The fire he’d started back at the gas station burned out of control, consuming the entire block. He sighed and hoped that the flames hadn’t endangered any families hiding in their homes. He couldn’t think of anything he would have done differently. It was just a fluke that the flames spread to that first garage. After that, it jumped from house to house until the entire block was burning.
There was still no word from Damon about Camille or Anna. His wife and daughter were both still out there somewhere. He couldn’t stop looking until he found them. He hadn’t seen Anna’s SUV anywhere, so it was reasonable to hope that she was still out there searching herself.
He glanced down at the gas gauge and saw that he was driving on fumes. He adjusted his route to take him to a nearby gas station. He weaved around the occasional zombie but hadn’t had to deal with any large groups over the last few hours. As he approached the intersection with two gas stations on opposite corners, he slowed his speed to a crawl. He wanted to see how many zombies were shuffling around the area before he committed to one of them. To his surprise, both were relatively free of the dead, so he pulled into the one on his right. It seemed unlikely that the pumps would still accept his card, but he scanned it anyway. There was no response on the little screen. He tried again while watching the area all around him, and still nothing. The card readers were down. He was going to have to find a length of hose to try to siphon some gas or find another vehicle.
There were plenty of vehicles around, but it was a matter of finding one with keys. Unlike the movies, people didn’t stash their keys above the sun visor. He looked around the parking lot to see if there were any options parked there. Several zombies in the street were headed his way, but they moved so slowly that he figured he had about five minutes before they would be upon him. He kept a close watch anyway because more could come from anywhere at any time.
Suddenly and certainly unexpectedly, Max heard the sound of another vehicle. It was the first vehicle he’d heard since leaving downtown. He tried to pinpoint its location as the sound grew louder, then looked to the south to see a gray pickup driving at a high rate of speed toward the intersection. Max didn’t hide but didn’t advertise his presence either. He wanted to get a look at who was in the truck before he did anything. It slowed as it neared the intersection, zigzagging around abandoned and wrecked vehicles. To his surprise, the pickup pulled into the gas station and came to a stop near Max and his truck.
Max kept his hand near his holster out of an abundance of caution. People would do crazy things in desperate times. A man in his sixties with a shock of white hair climbed out of the pickup. Max saw the bulge of a gun at the man’s back as he got out. He approached Max but slowed his gait when he saw Max’s hand near his gun.
“Hey, I don’t mean any harm,” the man started. “You’re the first person I’ve seen alive in three days. I was starting to think I’d never see another living person again.”
Max studied the man’s face for a moment and immediately noticed the strain behind his smile. The smile was forced, not genuine. Max kept his hand just above his holster.
“I’m Bill,” the man said as he reached his hand out to shake Max’s. Max just nodded and ignored the outstretched hand. The man seemed to sense his unease. “I’m just out trying to get some supplies.”
“You came down the street pretty fast. It almost seemed like you knew I was here before you headed this way,” Max said without introducing himself.
Bill’s expression turned dark for a second before he plastered his fake smile back on. He glanced at Max’s truck to see if anyone else was inside and looked disappointed to find it empty. His gray eyes were devoid of light. His forced smile didn’t travel past his mouth.
“I thought I heard another vehicle, so I sped up to try to find it. When I got close to the intersection, I saw you standing at the gas pump,” Bill said. “But hey, if you don’t want to be bothered, I’ll leave.”
“What kind of supplies are you looking for?” Max asked.
“Uh, some water and uh maybe some food,” Bill stumbled with his answer.
Max had a bad feeling about the guy. He didn’t think the man was on a supply run. He suspected some kind of ulterior motive but wasn’t sure what it was. He looked the man up and down and noticed zip ties bulging from one of his pockets.
“Where are you holed up?” Max asked as he watched the man closely.
“Not far from here,” Bill answered vaguely.
Max looked a little closer at the inside of Bill’s pickup and saw a lot of blood on the passenger seat. Not necessarily sus
pect with zombies everywhere, but the blood was pooled on the seat, fresh. Then he noticed the torn panties and discarded bra, both wet with bright red blood. His eyes met Bill’s, and the man knew he was busted. Max pulled his gun from his holster and had it aimed at Bill’s chest before the man realized what was happening.
“You’ve been out searching for girls,” Max said. It was a statement, not a question.
“No, no, that’s zombie blood. I just found this truck. The keys were there, so I took it,” Bill said, but his eyes betrayed him. He had the eyes of a sociopath.
Max was certain that this man was evil. He knew the man had a gun behind his back, so Max made sure his hands didn’t go anywhere.
“What did the girl look like? Where did you find her?” Max demanded.
“There was no girl. Look, I’ll just get back in my truck and go on my way,” Bill said.
Max knew that Bill wouldn’t go anywhere. If he let him leave, the man would probably pull a weapon and try to kill Max.
“The girl. Tell me,” Max said louder.
“I didn’t hurt her,” Bill said with no trace of his fake smile. “She was a twenty-something blonde, and she wanted it. A zombie snuck up on us and bit her. That’s where the blood came from.”
Max didn’t believe a word the man said. It wouldn’t matter for much longer. Max had been keeping a close eye on his surroundings during the entire encounter. Bill hadn’t. Bill slowly backed up toward his pickup while he held his hands up and stared at Max. Just before he reached the door, a zombie grabbed him by the shoulder and tore a huge piece of flesh from it. Bill screamed in shock and tried to pull away from the zombie, but it had a firm grip and wouldn’t let go. It tore into the side of Bill’s neck, and blood spurted freely, splattering Bill’s face and his truck. Max watched as the man begged for help before falling to the ground under the weight of the zombie’s grip. It tore into his chest, exposing stark white ribs glistening with blood and oily lumps of fat. Max waited until Bill went still before taking out the zombie, then he thrust his knife through Bill’s ear. Bill wouldn’t be hurting anyone else.
Max took a closer look inside the man’s truck and found several pairs of torn undergarments and a discarded shoe. The zombie apocalypse had happened, the world fell apart, almost everyone was dead, and this sociopath had seen it as an opportunity to capture and rape women. Max wasn’t surprised because he knew there were more like him out there, but he hadn’t expected people to go so dark so fast. He shook his head and got back into his truck. A dozen zombies were nearly upon him. He’d find another place to get some gas or find another vehicle.
Max tried to put the scene out of his head as he drove south a little way. He was heading for an intersection that had two gas stations, a coffee shop, and a car dealership. He figured he’d try for gas one more time, and if it didn’t work, he’d try to find a new vehicle at a house like he’d done last night. There was less chance of getting caught surrounded by zombies if he drove down a residential street that was relatively empty of the dead.
He was about to pull into the first gas station when he noticed that the gates at the car dealership were wide open. There were very few zombies shuffling around, so he pulled into the parking lot. One of the showroom windows was shattered from the inside out. Someone had already broken into the place, which meant that the alarm had already gone off and since died. Jackpot. Max pulled the truck up close to the building and parked. A couple of dozen dead bodies were strewn around the parking lot, but only a few zombies were walking around. He wanted to get a better look inside the building, so he needed to take out the zombies outside first. He walked up to the closest one, a petite woman with so many bite wounds he was surprised she was still standing and thrust his knife through her ear. With one easy kill on the ground, he moved toward the next. He sighed at the sight of a morbidly obese man with blood ringed around his mouth, a gaping neck wound, and rolls of fat hanging over his waist. It was a long reach to the zombie’s head, so Max kicked him in the knee, causing him to fall heavily to the ground. Before the dead man could make another movement, Max plunged his knife through its ear. The final two both wore mechanic uniforms and were shuffling slowly toward Max. He took out the first one easily, but the second one towered over him. Max tried to take it down with a foot to the knee, but the zombie stayed on his feet, so he stepped behind it and reached up to plunge his knife through its ear. With all four zombies on the ground, he double-checked the parking lot to make sure there weren’t any others lurking about. Whoever had been here before him had killed a lot of them and he assumed whatever remained had followed the car as it left the lot.
With his knife in one hand and his gun in the other, he carefully crept over the shattered glass on the ground. The showroom was full of brand new cars, trucks, and SUVs. He saw the empty spot where someone had taken the vehicle that had been closest to the window. There were at least half a dozen dead zombies on the floor and dried blood was streaked around the large room. Max quietly made his way toward the back wall and a row of light switches. The electricity in the area was still on, so he flipped several switches to light up the showroom. In broad daylight, the lights wouldn’t draw the attention of any of the dead. Near the light switches, the oversized door to the mechanics bay was closed and locked, so he didn’t worry himself about checking out the rear half of the building. He could hear scraping and shuffling noises coming from the back, but the heavy door was secure.
He listened carefully for any noises coming from adjoining offices but heard nothing. Not willing to risk a stray zombie surprising him, he took a quick peek in each empty office then closed their doors. The door of the final office stood wide open, and Max saw a large key safe on the back wall. It had already been broken into, and it held the keys for all of the vehicles in the showroom.
Max took another look at the vehicles on display. There was so much to choose from that he felt like a kid in a candy store. Sports cars, SUVs, and trucks filled the once pristine showroom. A huge silver pickup truck with a snowplow, an extended cab, oversized bumpers and tires, and a towing winch caught his eye. It was the biggest thing in the place and would offer much more protection than anything he’d driven so far. He went back to the office to find the keys then walked over to the truck with a grin on his face. He didn’t want to drive through the broken glass if he could avoid it, so he looked around for door openers. He found one on the side not far from where the truck sat on display. He pressed the button, and the door slowly lifted into the ceiling. Max went back outside to collect his bags of water and weapons then lugged them into the new truck. He climbed in, turned the key, and with another stroke of luck, saw that the gas tank was full. He steered around one new car in the showroom then drove out through the open door. He turned left onto the main road to resume his search in a westward direction.
Chapter 8
Day 4
Michelle couldn’t go back to sleep after the boys went to bed, so she sat in the kitchen looking at Jesse’s phone. She scrolled through pictures and read their last text message conversations. She quietly shed tears during the first moment of privacy she’d had since Max had given her the devastating news. She was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Jesse was gone. They had been together for twenty years, and she couldn’t imagine a life that didn’t include him. Hours passed as she mourned his loss and let their lifetime of memories flood her mind.
Shortly after the sun rose, everyone else in the house started waking up. To keep herself busy, she pulled a bunch of fresh food from the fridge and cooked a large breakfast. By the time she finished cooking the bacon, everyone had made their way into the kitchen.
“Morning, Mom,” Lucia came in with swollen red eyes. She’d been crying some more.
“Help yourselves,” Michelle said as she pulled Lucia close for a hug.
“Smells good in here,” Frank said. “Thanks for cooking. Last night was… well, I’m sorry for your loss,” Frank said and introduced hims
elf.
“Morning,” Junior said. He had never felt so awkward in his life. “I’m Junior. I know you don’t know us, but we’re sorry about Jesse. He and Max saved our lives. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”
“Thank you,” Michelle said quietly. “There’s coffee on the counter.” She didn’t know what to say to these men. She didn’t know the first thing about them, and she certainly didn’t feel like spending time with strangers.
Damon and Joey piled their plates with food. Between them being teenage boys and their zombie-killing spree during the night, they had worked up quite an appetite regardless of their grief.
“So, how did my dad and Max save you guys?” Joey asked as he shoveled eggs into his mouth. He had seen their fire rescue shirts the night before and figured they should have been the ones doing the saving. Then he thought back to some of the news they’d seen on TV and realized he wasn’t being fair.
Everyone felt the tension in the air. Only Lucia seemed oblivious, and that was because she was stuck in her own head. Michelle and the boys knew that if Jesse had planned to bring these men home, then he must have trusted them. Their grief was deep and heavy, so they weren’t too keen on getting to know the two strangers.
Frank and Junior sat down with cups of coffee and started to tell the story. Frank did most of the talking. They remembered every detail, the friendly banter with their crew, and thoughts that had run through their minds but didn’t voice any of those things aloud. Some details didn’t need to be shared.
Frank had been twelve hours into his shift and was lifting weights in the gym at the old fire station when the watch desk sounded the alarm. At six foot three and a muscular two hundred fifty pounds, he dropped the heavily laden weight bar too quickly and from too great of a height, creating a jagged crack in the concrete floor. The captain was going to chew his ass out for that later. He hurried past the kitchen, where the tantalizing aroma of what would have been the crew’s lunch caused his stomach to rumble. He jogged past Junior, who was sliding down the pole from the upper floor. Once at the truck, he quickly slipped into his gear and climbed up into his seat as the other four men on his crew did the same. Lights on and sirens blaring, the truck pulled out, heading for a multi-vehicle pileup on the nearby freeway. Two ambulances carrying two paramedics each followed closely behind.
SUBURBAN JUNGLE: A Post Apocalyptic Zombie Survival Thriller (Chronicles of the Undead: Book 2) Page 6
