A thoughtful look spread across Henry’s face and he scratched his whiskers. “Well, tell you the truth… I don’t believe in chance, never have and never will. There’s a reason we’ve all been thrown together, and I reckon it has something to do with God’s plan in these dark times. Either that,” he cackled, “or I’m just one lucky son-of-a-bitch. Tell me, any of you ever watch that show, ‘Sister Wives’?
15
After we loaded our supplies onto the bus, we settled in and began eating some of the food we’d taken from the diner.
“This is comfy,” agreed Mary as she plopped down next to me. The leather seats were indeed cushy and there was plenty of room to relax.
“Yes, this is very nice,” I agreed, stuffing a dill pickle potato chip in my mouth.
“Well, we have enough gas to get us to the next couple of towns,” said Billie from the front of the bus. He’d taken off his high heels and was now studying a road map while rubbing his feet. “So keep your eyes open for a service station.”
“You sure you know how to drive this rig, purdy little lady?” asked Henry, who was sitting in the seat directly in front of me.
Billie smiled and lifted his blond wig, “Yes, Henry,” he replied in a much voice deeper than he’d used before. “And, I’m probably almost as good at driving a stick as you are.”
The look on Henry’s face was a mixture of disbelief, anger, and humiliation. “What…? Are you… a man?”
Billie nodded.
Henry pointed. “And, uh, those aren’t real hooters?”
Billie’s face turned crimson and he shook his head. He then tossed out the padding he’d stuffed in his bra.
“Are you… gay?” Henry asked incredulously.
“Now that’s really none of your business,” replied Dale from the back of the bus. “Don’t answer that, Billie.”
Mary got up quickly to try and calm Henry, whose face was turning beet red. She sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. “Henry, they are all entertainers. Now, come on,” she said with a teasing smile, “I know you already figured it out and are just messing with us.”
Henry sat silently for a minute, collecting his thoughts and regaining his composure.
“Henry? You okay?” asked Billie, who looked very uncomfortable now himself.
Thankful that he had a chance to save face, Henry slowly raised his tired old bones, smiled, and took a deep bow. “You’re dang tootin’ I already knew it. You boys aren’t the only ones who can act. Shucks,” he said, smiling at Mary. “I know a real woman when I see one. Mary, you had to have known I was only trying to make you jealous.”
Mary smiled and patted his hand. “And I appreciate that, old timer.”
The rest of us smiled in relief as Henry laid his head back, and after a short time later, began to snore.
***
We’d been driving for a few hours, and eventually I got sick of feeling sorry for myself. I’d been thinking about Bryce and Eva, stuffing my face with chips, and plotting my revenge on the red-haired skank. I needed an attitude adjustment before I completely cracked. So, I moved to the front of the bus to talk to Billie.
“Seen any more zombies lately?” I asked, sitting behind him.
He smiled and shook his head. “No, strangely enough. I’m sure they’ve been migrating to areas where there’s more food. Like the larger cities.”
We’d passed through several towns on our route to Nashville and the giant bus had done a great job of protecting us from the swarms of dead zombies we’d encountered along the way. Billie had stayed calm and had maneuvered through several abandoned cars with ease. Then, later, when we’d found ourselves surrounded by some volatile zombie crowds, I was impressed how he ran over them without even flinching.
“We have to get our hands on more guns,” I said. “I still can’t believe you made it this far with just the bus and no real weapons.”
“Who said I didn’t have a weapon?” smiled Billie. He then pointed behind his seat and I saw a couple of golf clubs. “Started out with an entire set when we left Minneapolis; just didn’t have the stomach to clean the ones I’d already used.”
I picked up one of the clubs, a putter, and admired the purple grip. “Nice. I still think you should have a gun as backup, though. Have you had any experience using one?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Honestly, never even thought about guns before this mess. But I did take fencing lessons growing up.”
“The next time I happen upon a sabre, I’ll save it for you,” I smiled.
He chuckled. “What’s going on with you and the old couple?”
I sighed. “I literally ran into them after escaping this guy who’d kidnapped me.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re kidding?”
“I wish I was,” I said softly.
“How old are you?”
“I’m almost eighteen.”
“Did you lose your parents?” he asked hesitantly.
I shook my head and told him my story, starting with how we’d found Austin.
“So, that’s why you’re traveling to Atlanta, to be with your mom and sister?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to that Austin creep? You don’t think he’ll follow you to Atlanta?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. He knew exactly where I was headed. A tight knot formed in my stomach. “I hope not.”
“Well, beautiful, if that boy shows up when I’m around, he’ll meet my putter, head-on.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
He looked at his dashboard and frowned. “We are going to really need some gas, and soon,” he said pointing to the gauge. “It’s a shame we couldn’t fill up back in the last town. The crowd of zombies made it impossible to even get out of the bus.”
I bit the side of my lip. “We aren’t going to run out, are we?”
“There’s a town coming up soon called Westhaven Lake. There should be a few gas stations there to refuel. We just have to hope they have generators, otherwise we won’t be pumping anything.”
I looked out into the moonlit distance to see nothing but trees and farmland, the view almost identical to the last few hours of town hopping. Although, it looked so peaceful and serene, I knew without a doubt the evil that lurked beyond the horizon. I laid my head back against the seat and stared into the darkness. Soon my eyes closed and I started to drift off.
16
“Cassie,” said Billie in a strained voice, waking me up just as I was about to punch Eva in the face.
I opened my eyes and cleared my throat. “Yes?”
He pointed toward the road. “Make sure your gun’s loaded.”
We’d just entered into the next town he’d mentioned and I stared in fascinated horror at the scene in front of us. Apparently, the town had been preparing for some kind of festival and there were more zombies mixed together than I could have ever dreamed possible. Some dead carcasses lay mangled and broken on the street, but most of the dead were walking around in a stupor, obviously searching for food.
“Shit,” mumbled Billie. “Now I know why this town sounded so familiar. Every year, Westhaven holds a huge motorcycle rally and it brings in thousands of riders,” he slapped his hand on the steering wheel. “This isn’t good, not at all. I learned about this event on cable and these bikers were crazy enough when they were alive.”
“Well at least they’re calm at the moment and not tearing each other’s throats out,” I pointed out. Usually, that meant they were in such a frenzy to feed that their adrenaline was on overdrive, making them even more dangerous for us. “What are we going to do?” I whispered as we drew closer to the mob.
He released a ragged breath. “The only thing we can do; stay alive, find gas, and then get the hell out of Dodge.”
“Jesus Christ! Where in the hell have you taken us, Tinkerbell?” hollered Henry, who’d apparently made his way to the front of the bus.
“Henry!” hollered Mary, coming up behind him.
“Don’t be so rude! Billie is doing the best he can… Oh Lord,” she said in a strangled voice. “Would you look at that?”
Shane and Dale hurried to the front of the bus.
“Oh great, can we try turning around?” asked Dale as he began chewing on his fingernails. “It’s suicide to go into that mob.”
“Quit biting your nails, Dale,” said Billie, glancing back toward him. “You’ll ruin them.”
I looked at Dale’s French tips and sighed. Even he had prettier nails than I did now.
“Mary, I shouldn’t have let you talk me into driving with these dipshits,” grumbled Henry shaking his head. “Our gooses are cooked now, by golly.”
“Henry, please,” groaned Mary.
“Billie, you’re just going to have to drive through the mob,” I said. “You’ve done it before.”
“I’m not worried about driving through them; I’m worried about running out of gas,” replied Billie.
As we entered into the heart of town, I stared in fascination at the hordes of unholy dead milling around the large tents that had been set up for the festival. Zombies in varying stages of decomposition littered the brightly lit streets and I literally felt like we were driving through a circus of horror.
Mary raised a hand to her mouth. “God Almighty,” she whispered in stunned horror. “These atrocities are the work of the Devil. Oh, Lord, why hast thou forsaken us?”
“It is a sign of the apocalypse,” said Shane, making the sign of the cross. “Oh yes, we are entering the ‘End of Days.’”
Henry turned to Shane and scowled. “Put a lid on it, Tina Turner! You’re gonna give poor Mary a heart attack. This is the work of the damn government, not God!”
Shane put a hand on his waist and pointed at Henry. “Don’t you get snippy with me, old man! And it’s Beyoncé, not Tina Turner! Get your Divas right, you old Honky Tonk!”
Henry snorted. “Diva Shmiva. The point is that it’s not the end of the world, so stop with the ‘Revelations’, sister.”
“Are you all through bickering so I can concentrate on driving?” shouted Billie. “Because this may look easy, but believe me when I say, it’s not.”
“Hey, I didn’t start the End of the World ranting and raving,” pouted Henry.
As we continued on through all of the bloodshed and carnage, I tried desperately to push away my fears of being trapped on the bus. It was hard, though. I knew if we ran out of gas, we’d be sitting ducks and the zombies would eventually find a way in or we’d try to leave and surely get slaughtered.
“Shit, shit, shit…” cried Billie as the fuel light lit up. We were now really running out of gas.
“There’s a gas station farther up the street, Billie. Just ride the fumes if you have to,” said Dale.
“Wait! Forget the service station,” I said, pointing. “There’s a car dealership right next to it.”
“No time to go looking for a new or used vehicle, Wild,” mumbled Henry.
“No, but we can probably get our hands on something inside to get us the hell out of here. It’s got to be safer than trying to fill up with zombies surrounding us on every side. Even with our weapons, we won’t be able to just stand out there and fill up this enormous tank. They might not even have a generator. It’d be a certain death trap.”
“She’s right, Billie,” said Dale, nodding his head. “There’s no way you’ll be able to do that. It’s suicide. Better to trade this thing in before we have no other choice. It’s a gas guzzler anyway.”
“Listen,” I said. “If you can get us close enough to the entryway, we can break into one of the glass doors. My dad works at a dealership and I have an idea of where they keep the spare keys for all of the new vehicles. I’ll bet they have some of their best ones on the showroom floor; we’ll get in and out of there before you know it. ”
“I have to agree; she’s right,” said Henry. “Best to listen to that young girl, she’s stayed alive this long with that kind of logic.”
“Oh man, this is gnarly,” said Billie as he continued to plow through the zombies. We were in the thick of it now and had already slaughtered multitudes of zombies that had gotten in our way. Blood, cartilage, and gore coated most of the exterior of the bus, making it look like some type of grotesque metal monster. The nightmarish macabre was enough to drive a normal person to the brink of insanity.
“Lord, make that noise stop!” shrieked Shane as he placed his hands over his ears while the thumps of bodies under our feet echoed down the length of the bus.
Mary stuck a hand over her mouth. “I’m going to be sick,” she cried then flew toward the back of the bus.
As Billie maneuvered the bus through more swarms of zombies, body parts became trapped under the tires, making the bus rock and the tires spin at times. It was like driving through one of Minnesota’s blizzards where the snowdrifts got in the way. Well, maybe a little worse.
“They’re following us,” said Billie as he checked his mirror. We were on our last gas fumes and going less than ten miles per hour. At times he had to give it more pressure just to get over the body parts.
“Get as close as you can. In fact, try to parallel park right up next to the doorway,” I said.
Billie snorted. “Easier said than done. This thing’s a tank.”
We drove up and over the curb then he maneuvered the bus right next to the glass door, less than five feet away.
“Awesome,” I said, kissing his cheek.
“That’s some damn good driving, man, er… Billie,” said Henry, patting him on the back.
“Cassie,” said Mary, holding out her sword. Her lip was trembling slightly. “Take this with you. You’re going to need it.”
“Thanks, Mary,” I said as I stuck my gun into the back of my shorts and grabbed the sword. “I’m almost out of bullets.”
“Don’t get hurt out there,” she said, grabbing my hand. “You know, letting you off of this bus is against everything I believe in. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I do know you’re one very special girl.”
I blinked back the tears as she hugged me against her warm grandmotherly chest. Even in all of this, she smelled like vanilla cookies.
Billie stood up and looked at everyone. “I’m going in with Cassie for backup. When we’ve found a good vehicle to escape in, we’ll signal for the both of you.”
Henry grabbed his shotgun. “I’m coming with you two, as well. You need some experience and backup.”
“Okay, thanks, Henry,” said Billie as he started putting on his heels.
Henry pointed to Billie’s dress. “Don’t you have anything to wear that isn’t so… frilly? You’ll be tripping on your dress and the zombies will be all over you. I doubt you’d enjoy that much.”
Billie snorted. “Believe me if I’d have brought more clothes, I’d have changed a long time ago.”
“At least leave the heels behind. I don’t want to have to watch you trip and fall like one of those women on them late night horror movies. Those are the ones that always end up getting filleted.”
“I don’t want to cut my feet,” he replied and then let out an exasperated sigh. “Screw it. I’ll just break off the heels. They cost me a fortune but if I’m dead, it won’t matter.”
“Young Wild here has the right idea,” said Henry pointing to my mountain boots. “You can kill the bastards and then have the traction to climb over them when you’re done.”
“Henry, please be careful out there,” interrupted Mary as she grabbed his arm.
Henry turned to her and gave her a hug. “Don’t you worry about a thing, beautiful; we’ll be back for you before you know it.”
Billie opened the door of the bus and we noticed right away a couple of zombies trying to get in.
“I got this, you two work on breaking the glass,” I said, slamming my foot into the nearest zombie’s face. He fell backwards and I jumped off the bus and slammed my foot into his face again.
“Good job, Wild!” yelled
Henry.
I think he was finally starting to accept me.
The smell in the night was almost unbearable. Admittedly, we were all getting impervious to the zombies’ appearances, but nothing ever prepared one for their distinct fragrance of decay, garbage, and shit.
The next zombie to cross my path had a long, matted, black beard that contained things I didn’t even want to consider. His appearance would have been almost comical if it hadn’t been so repulsive. His fur-covered chest and bloated beer belly stuck out larger than Sara’s pregnant one, and he wore nothing but a pair of streaked white underwear that had seen much better days. Well, maybe not on that guy.
We locked eyes, my brown ones and his yellowish red ones; then he charged me like a bull.
I stepped aside as he proved to be as graceful as many of the other zombies I’d come in contact with.
He got back up off of the ground, shook his head like a dog, and growled at me.
“Hey, maggot face! Here’s a new trick for you… play dead!” I demanded, lifting the sword in the air. Then I caught myself and laughed bitterly. “My bad, you already know that trick.”
Then with a quick slice, I sent his head rolling across the ground. I was now finding even my own jokes pretty tasteless. My dad would sure be proud, though.
Henry jumped off the bus and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Jesus, this town smells worse than the lunchroom at my damn nursing home. Let’s get inside before I change my mind.”
Another zombie screeched in delight when she noticed us.
“Right behind you, after I kill this thing,” I said, raising the sword again.
“Jesus,” he replied looking at the carnage I’d already created. “You’re getting more dangerous by the minute, young lady. Remind me not to give you shit about your cell phone anymore.”
“Henry,” shouted Billie as he stepped off the bus. “Blast the door with your shotgun.”
“Yesiree.”
Next I heard Henry’s gun go off and the glass shattered into millions of tiny pieces.
“Behind you, Billie!” I shouted as a chunky, frizzy, bleached-blonde zombie came at him with her mouth open. She wore jean-shorts and a leather bustier that was so tight, rolls of extra skin bulged out all over.
Zombie Games (Uncut) Boxed Set Page 22
