Zombie Games (Uncut) Boxed Set

by Kristen Middleton

  My dad sighed. “Yeah, I guess. Cassie,” he said turning to me. “If she rides with us, try and keep your cool with her.”

  “I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises,” I said.

  “Good enough,” said my dad.

  I watched as Eva held onto Bryce’s arm for support as they walked toward us. Eva actually looked a little pale.

  “I think her tantrum sucked up the rest of her energy,” mumbled Tiny. “You should’ve heard her.”

  “I feel dizzy,” said Eva as she got closer.

  “We have some crackers and water in the SUV, Eva,” said my dad.

  “Thanks,” she said breathlessly. She turned to Bryce, “Could you help me into the vehicle? I feel a little faint.”

  I followed them back to the truck, biting my tongue the entire way. She looked about as frail as Tiny did, but she held onto Bryce like she’d just been run over by a Mack truck. So, she’d gotten a little zombie blood into her mouth, it was better than getting kidnapped, mauled, and blown on your ass by an exploding bomb. It just didn’t seem quite fair.

  When we were all settled in again, Eva was in the third row with Bryce and I was in the passenger seat next to my dad. Bobby sat behind me with Megan and Sara, playing a card game.

  “Are we all ready now?” asked my dad.

  “Just go, dad,” I said.

  We took off and my dad put on an Eagles CD. I removed my boot and examined my ankle, which was still a little swollen and bruised.

  “This trip is taking forever,” mumbled my dad through clenched teeth. “I just want to get to Atlanta.”

  I glanced over at him; he looked so distraught. “I know, dad. Which reminds me, what did mom say when you talked to her at Tiny’s gas station?” I asked.

  He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Actually, I couldn’t get ahold of her.”

  “Did you talk to anyone?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nobody answered the phone.”

  “Maybe the battery died,” I said.

  “Maybe,” he said looking at me. “How’s your head doing, honey?”

  “I took some ibuprofen a little while ago. My ankle is what’s really giving me problems,” I said raising my foot.

  He cringed. “Too bad there’s no more ice.”

  “I could sit next to Eva; she’s a pretty cold bitch,” I mumbled.

  My dad started laughing and then caught himself. He gave me a stern look. “Cassie,” warned my dad. “Language.”

  I hid my smile. “Right.”

  I closed my eyes and listened to my dad’s array of classic rock CDs, which eventually bored me to sleep. I was having a really pleasant dream and was just about to perform a roundhouse kick to Eva’s pointy chin, when I was jerked from my sleep by the screech of tires.

  “Figures,” I mumbled, trying to open my eyes.

  My dad cleared his throat. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I guess we’re pulling over,” he said.

  It was then that I noticed we were at yet another gas station. I watched as Tiny and Kristie got out.

  My dad and I looked at each other and said, “Cigarettes.”

  Henry also got out of the SUV and started shuffling toward us, followed by Paige.

  “I need to get out and stretch my legs,” I said, opening the door.

  “Can I ride with you guys?” pleaded Paige.

  I smiled. “What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. “Let’s just say mom’s acting like a giggling schoolgirl. If I hear her compliment Tiny on his ‘massive pecs’ one more time, I’m going to hit myself with the zombie bat.”

  Henry chuckled. “Women can’t resist the men in my family,” he said, taking out his tin of chew. “It’s true; we give off a pheromone that makes them want to throw themselves at us.”

  “Oh, really?” said Paige, trying not to laugh.

  Henry nodded. “You may not know it by looking at me, but I’m pretty buff underneath this button-down shirt.”

  Kristie screamed from somewhere inside of the gas station and we all took off running toward the sound. Well, I limped as quickly as possible. When we got inside my heart stopped. There were five zombies trying to get to Tiny and Kristie, who were behind the register and in the process of putting their shirts on.

  “What the hell, mom?” yelled Paige as she swung her bat, hitting a zombie who looked like one of my old gym teachers, minus the dead stare.

  “It’s not what it looks like,” said Kristie, throwing multiple cartons of cigarettes at the hovering zombies.

  The rest of the zombies started staggering toward us just as my dad burst through the door with his gun. He shot the last four.

  “See?” said Henry, spitting out a big wad of chew. “I told you the women treat us like ‘Boy Toys’ when they smell that pheromone we give off.”

  “I smell a load of shit,” whispered Paige, close to my ear.

  Kristie shook her head. “No, that’s not it at all. When we walked into the store, someone had rigged a bucket of vinegar in a pail over the entrance. It splashed down on us when we walked in, burning the hell out of my eyes. We were only changing into these shirts when we noticed the zombies.”

  Both were indeed wearing T-shirts, although Tiny’s looked two sizes too small.

  “I thought it smelled a little fishy in here,” said Henry.

  “Who would do something like that?” asked Paige.

  Before anyone could answer, we heard the sound of a gun being cocked. “Get the hell out of my station,” snarled a man stepping slowly from the backroom of the store. “You’re all just a bunch of thieves.”

  My dad raised his hands. “Look, we were just passing through. No harm done, nothing taken.”

  The man was tall and thin, with a shaggy beard. He wore tan overall bibs that were stained with blood.

  “Listen, man,” said Tiny. “We just came in to buy some smokes.”

  The guy burst out laughing and pointed his gun toward Tiny. “I’ll bet you were going to leave the money on the counter, too.”

  “Excuse me,” said Paige in such a sweet voice that I had to do a double-take. “We’re supposed to pick up my Aunt Dolly at her ranch before nightfall. She’s all alone and I think on the verge of losing her sanity with all the zombies around. Can we just pay you for the items and leave?”

  Instantly, the man’s demeanor changed. He lowered his rifle. “Um, did you say Dolly? As in Dolly Parton?”

  “Oh,” said Paige, covering her mouth. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. Tiny, over there,” she said pointing to the wrestler, “is her new bodyguard, and he said not to say anything to anyone, on account of it’s very dangerous bringing such a well-known celebrity, back with us.”

  “Holy shit,” said the man, pointing his rifle down. “Tiny the Tank”? Well, shit, I didn’t even recognize you until just now. And Dolly Parton? I’m one of her biggest fans. I have all her albums and have been to Dollywood at least a dozen times.”

  “We can get you her autograph,” said Paige. “My aunt is one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet.”

  His face lit up and he nodded. “That would be wonderful,” he said. “Listen, you guys just forget about paying for the cigarettes. Get to your aunt and make sure she’s safe.”

  We thanked the station owner and walked out of the place.

  “Told you smoking isn’t good for your health, mom. You almost got us all shot back there.”

  “Do you really know Dolly Parton?” asked Tiny, incredulously.

  Kristie’s eyebrows went up. “No.”

  “How’d you come up with that?” I asked Paige.

  “You didn’t see all the Dolly memorabilia scattered throughout the store?” said Paige. “He’s like, totally obsessed with her.”

  “Oh,” said Tiny, still looking confused.

  “It’s okay,” Kristie said, grabbing Tiny’s arm, “we can go over it again in the van.”

  He smiled sheepishly. “Okay.”

/>   Tiny and Henry got in and shut the door. Kristie looked at me and shook her head. “He’s got the body of Thor, the common sense of Mr. Bean, and the voice of Pee Wee Herman. I think God is punishing me.”

  Paige lifted an eyebrow. “You think?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “He seems nice. At least you don’t have Eva manhandling him.”

  “Eva?” snorted Paige. “That girl is something else.”

  “Yeah, she was being really unreasonable earlier,” said Kristie. “When Bryce rode with you guys, she caused such a scene that I was ready to shoot her myself. But then I was afraid of her coming back, like a zombie.”

  “Funny, mom,” snorted Paige.

  “The point is, Eva is obsessed with Bryce and it’s starting to get to all of us now,” said Kristie.

  “You reap what you sow,” I said.

  “That’s just it,” said Kristie. “Bryce didn’t encourage her at all. In fact, you’re all he talks about.”

  “Well, my dad said he thought they had something going on.”

  She snorted. “Your dad only sees the way Eva flings herself at Bryce. He doesn’t pay attention to Bryce’s response.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say about that. Bryce and I weren’t exactly on the friendliest terms, and he was still bending to Eva’s whims.

  “Let’s go!” hollered Tiny.

  “I’m riding with you this time,” said Paige as she followed me into my dad’s SUV. “Now that mom and Tiny smell like a couple of douchebags.”

  27

  My dad interrupted our gales of laughter. “Are you girls ready? We should have been to Atlanta yesterday,” mumbled my dad.

  We stared toward Atlanta again, this time with us leading. Bobby sat next to my dad and I sat in the very back with Paige.

  “Are we going to kill more zombies?” asked Bobby, who seemed to be having the time of his life.

  “I’m sure we will, Bobby,” answered my dad. We were on a deserted highway, and although we passed several abandoned vehicles, we hadn’t seen too many zombies so Bobby was starting to get bored.

  “Can I drive?” he asked my dad. “I’m a man now.”

  My dad looked at him. “A man, huh? Well, I don’t think you can reach the pedals and see out of the windshield. We should wait until you grow a little more.”

  Bobby smiled. “Then, I can take out zombies?”

  “I hope there aren’t any zombies left by that time. But if there are, you can certainly take out some zombies.”

  He nodded. “Okay, ‘cause I love this game.”

  “Way to go, dad,” I mumbled from the back.

  “I have to go potty,” announced Megan.

  “Oh no,” said Sara. “I thought you just went?”

  Megan nodded. “But, I have to go again.”

  Sara groaned.

  “It’s okay,” said my dad. “There’s a rest-stop coming up soon. I’ll signal Tiny to let him know we’re stopping.”

  The rest-stop was near a campground and although we noticed some deserted campers, the place was deathly quiet. My dad grabbed a gun and followed Sara, who was also armed, to the women’s bathroom. Bobby tagged along, too.

  “I have to get out of here!” shrieked Eva getting out of the van. “I need some fresh air!”

  Paige and I watched as Eva stomped toward the bathroom.

  “What a bitch,” said Paige. “I wish a zombie would do us all a favor and eat her.”

  Although I knew it was wrong, I sometimes felt that way, too.

  When my dad came back with Sara and the children, I noticed that Eva hadn’t returned.

  “Where’s Eva?” I asked.

  “In the van,” said my dad.

  “No, she got out of the van and went to the bathroom.”

  My dad swore and started walking back toward the restroom. A minute later he came back and settled into the truck.

  “Well?” I asked.

  He sighed. “She wants to go to the bathroom by herself. She must be on the rag or something, because she literally screamed at me when I asked if she was okay.”

  “Wow,” I said. “Did you give her your flashlight?”

  He shook his head. “There are skylights, so you don’t need a flashlight during the day.”

  “Is there real running water in there?” I asked.

  “Yes,” said Megan. “I washed my hands, all by myself.”

  I still had blood in my hair and wanted to check out the wound on my head. “I’ll be right back.”

  I got out of the van and walked toward the bathroom. My ankle was getting better and I could almost step without limping. When I got to the ladies’ room, I could hear Eva mumbling to herself.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yes,” snapped Eva. “I’m totally fine. I wish everyone would just leave me alone.”

  “Sorry,” I said.

  I washed the blood from my hair and dabbed around the cut with a paper towel. It was swollen and bruised, but it didn’t look as bad as I thought.

  “Good thing Bryce saved you,” said Eva as she came over and washed her hands.

  “Yep,” I answered, trying to sound civil. She was the last person I felt like getting into a conversation with, especially about Bryce.

  “I don’t know if he told you yet, but Bryce and I are in love,” she said, completely out of the blue.

  I took a deep breath and faced her. “Oh, really?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  I smiled tightly. “Well, congratulations. I’m happy for you.”

  The smile fell from her face. “Aren’t you pissed?”

  I shrugged. “Should I be?”

  “I stole him from you. I’d be furious if someone did that to me.”

  “What are we, in grade school?” I asked.

  “Yes, you’re pissed,” she said with a smug smile on her face.

  As I stared at her, I felt a chill go down my spine. Her face was pasty white and the whites of her eyes were almost a pinkish hue. “Are you okay?”

  She snorted. “What do you care?”

  I shook my head and turned to leave. “You’re amazing.”

  “You just wish you were me!” she screeched. She then hit me from behind and I went flying forward, falling to the ground.

  “What the hell?” I yelled, getting up to defend myself.

  “Bitch!” she screamed, running toward me, again.

  Before she could do any more damage, I grabbed her arm and pinned it behind her. “Eva, you’re lucky I don’t knock you out,” I said. “Touch me again, and I will. This is your only warning.”

  “Leave me alone! You’re crazy!” she screamed.

  I shook my head in amazement and pushed her away from me toward the exit. She turned and gave me one last dirty look, then stepped outside.

  I closed my eyes and counted to ten, then walked out of the restroom, prepared for another assault.

  “Everything okay?” asked Bryce as I stepped out of the bathroom.

  “Holy crap,” I gasped. “Don’t ever sneak up on me again!”

  When he smiled, my heart ached.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  I shrugged.

  “Where’s Eva?”

  “Closer than I wished.”

  His eyes sparkled with amusement. “Still not getting along?”

  I snorted. “No, and I’ve tried to be civil to her. She’s just an immature bitch who doesn’t care about anyone but herself. Or you.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Or me?”

  “Oh, she had to rub it in about how you two are in love and that she stole you from me,” I said, turning away.

  He grabbed my arm firmly. “What are you talking about?”

  I raised my chin. “Forget it, Bryce, it doesn’t really matter.”

  He grabbed both of my shoulders and pulled me closer. “Listen,” he said steadily, “it does matter. There is absolutely nothing going on between Eva and me. Nothing.”

  I looked away. “Well,
she would disagree.”

  “You just don’t get it, do you? Wild, all I care about is you, damn it! You’re all I think about. Look at me!” he demanded.

  When our eyes met, my breath caught in my throat. He swore, then crushed his lips against mine, kissing me so deeply that my head was spinning by the time he pulled away.

  “I love you,” he said huskily. “I think I loved you from the very first moment we met.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Really?” I squeaked.

  He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. “Yes,” he mumbled into my hair. “I love you and I don’t ever want to lose you again.”

  “I love you, too,” I answered softly.

  A sudden scream tore us apart. It was Eva.

  28

  Apparently, Eva had never made it to the van because her screams were coming from somewhere in the woods.

  “Was that Eva?” asked my dad, racing from his truck. Tiny, Henry, and Kristie quickly followed.

  “What’s going on?” asked Tiny. “Is it that irritating redhead, again?”

  Bryce nodded. “It sounds like she’s in the woods somewhere,” said Bryce. “Let’s go find her.”

  “Cassie, go back to the truck,” ordered my dad.

  “No, I’m coming with,” I answered.

  “You’re still limping and you don’t have any weapons on you. You’re not much of a match for the zombies right now,” he replied.

  I sighed. “Fine.”

  Before I could leave, Bryce grabbed me and kissed me again on the lips; this time, right in front of my dad, who appeared too stunned to say anything.

  “I love you,” Bryce said softly.

  “I love you, too,” I whispered.

  Before my dad could respond, we heard Eva screaming again.

  “Let’s go,” snapped my dad, tearing off toward the woods.

  When I got to the SUV, Paige asked me what the hell happened.

  “Oh, Eva went all psycho on me in the bathroom, then she took of somewhere toward the woods. Now she’s screaming her bloody head off.”

  Paige shook her head. “She’s probably just trying to get Bryce’s attention, again.”

  “Probably,” I said.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” said Bobby.