“I need to borrow some sugar,” she murmured and then pulled the trigger.
The gun exploded and Charlie fell backwards as the bullet penetrated his left eye. Blood and brain cartilage sprayed everywhere; the walls, the carpeting, even the blinds.
“Oh, my God,” I croaked, staring at her in shock.
“Let’s go,” she said.
I stepped over the bloody mess that was once Charlie, and tried not to get anything on my heels. “I can’t believe you shot him just like that.”
“Had to. You know he would have killed all of us if given the chance,” she answered. “Now quit being such a pansy, Wild, and grab his gun.”
The sound of the gun going off had been loud and I only hoped that Scarface hadn’t noticed it. “Yeah, but I could have taken him out quietly,” I said. “Now the third gunman knows someone was shot. He’s probably ready for us.”
Just then, Billie walked through the bedroom door with a gun and a horrified expression. “Jesus, I guess you two took care of Charlie.”
“Great observation,” snorted Nora. “I knew there was a reason we kept you around.”
“What about the guy with the scar?” I asked him as he glared at Nora.
“Oh, don’t worry about him,” he said, turning back to me. “I guess he got so worked up thinking about you girls, that I had his gun before he even knew what hit him.”
“Let’s get out of here,” said Nora. “Before any zombies smell the fresh scent of blood and think we’re having a party.”
“Good idea,” said Billie.
We followed him back downstairs and got into the SUV.
“Look, they’re already on it,” pointed Nora.
“How in the hell do they do that?” I asked, looking past the other houses where a stampede of zombies and all of their wonderful smells were now staggering toward us. We rolled up our windows.
“It’s like they have super senses or something,” said Nora.
“They’re some kind of primal hunters, now,” said Billie. “These zombies survive only to feed their frenzied bloodlust. It probably makes their sense of smell incredibly good, like an animal’s.”
“Well, they’re still fairly stupid,” said Nora. “At least the ones I’ve dealt with.”
“Some of the ones I’ve encountered seemed to be smarter than others; almost like they’re learning skills or something,” I said.
“I’ve noticed the same thing,” said Billie. “We’d better not underestimate them.”
“I never underestimate the enemy,” said Nora, pushing her hair back behind her ears. “In fact, I’ve learned that it’s better to shoot now and ask questions later.”
“I guess using your gut instinct has kept you alive this far, Nora,” said Billie. “I’d just keep rolling with that, if I were you. Just remember whose side we’re on, though.”
“Just stay out of my way and you’ll be just fine, hero,” said Nora, looking out the window.
Billie groaned in frustration. “God, you’re so…”
“Do yourself a favor, pretty-boy,” she said. “Just keep your opinions to yourself and get us out of here before the company arrives.”
His lips thinned and he looked over to me. “Where to now, Cassie?’
I bit back a smile. “Well, I guess the only place I can think of, back to the CDC.”
“I tell you, it’s a dead end,” said Billie.
I stared out the window at the approaching zombies as we pulled away. “I don’t care. It’s all I really have right now.”
20
A couple military trucks were parked outside of the CDC when we returned. I was so excited that I would have exploded out of the SUV if Nora wouldn’t have knocked me back to reality.
“Hey… hey… hey…what are you doing?!” she hollered as I was opening the door. “They were the ones who locked you up. Jesus, they’re probably looking for you right now, Wild.”
I removed my hand from the door handle. “Dammit. What are we supposed to do then?”
“Let me go in and see what I can find,” said Billie. “I’ll try talking to them, I’m sure they know where they moved your sister.”
I touched his arm. “Would you? Thank you, Billie.”
He looked at my hand on his forearm and nodded. “You saved my life a few days ago and I’d do anything for you and your family.”
I hugged him quickly. “Thanks, Billie.”
When I released him, he stared into my eyes. “Give me until darkness falls, and if I don’t make it back, leave.”
It would be dark in the next two hours. “If you don’t make it back to the SUV, we’re coming to look for you,” I said.
He shook his head. “No, just get the hell out of here. If they get their hands on you and lock you up, that’s not going to help you find your sister or family.”
“We’ll see. Just be careful,” I said.
He smiled and then kissed my cheek. “I’ll be back.”
When he left I could hear Nora chuckling in the backseat. “That guy has the fricken hots for you, Wild.”
I turned around and looked at her. “No, we’ve just been through a lot together. We’re good friends.”
Her lips twisted back into a smile. “Right, I saw the way he looked at you.”
I sighed. “He’s lonely and doesn’t have anyone left in the world. We’re more like… brother and sister. Besides, he knows of my feelings for Bryce.”
“I hate to say this, but you don’t even know if Bryce is still alive.”
“If there’s one person who could continue to survive in this crap, its Bryce,” I said.
“Well, for your sake, I hope so,” she said.
I smiled. “You know, I never did ask you about Scott.”
Her lips tightened. “What about him?”
“Do you know if he’s alive?”
She frowned. “I… don’t know. After the shit went down, we were separated and I have no idea what happened to him.”
“You really liked him, didn’t you?” I asked.
She laid her head back against the seat and stared outside. “Look, Wild. I didn’t really know him that well.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t have feelings for him.”
“He was a nice guy. I mean, I hope he survived this shit, but I’m not going to hold my breath thinking that I’ll see him again. I’m not even certain I’ll get a chance to look my old man in the face again.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
We sat in silence, staring at the building Billie had disappeared into. Once in a while a zombie or two would stagger on by, but none of them seemed to even notice our existence.
“It’s already getting dark,” I murmured after about an hour. “I wonder what’s happening inside.”
Her face darkened. “I have this bad feeling, Wild,” she answered. “I don’t trust the soldiers, not after what I’ve seen.”
I bit the side of my lip. “I wonder if we should go and see if he’s okay?”
“You heard Billie; he said to leave if he doesn’t make it back by dark. We go and look for him, that might place us all in more danger.”
“Maybe.”
“The soldiers aren’t after him for any reason. He might even get some answers.”
“I suppose.”
“We’ll wait another half hour and then take off.”
The thought of abandoning Billie sounded horrible and went against everything I believed in. I turned back toward the building and watched nervously as a few zombies wandered around through the courtyard. Ten minutes later, Billie scrambled through the door and raced toward us. I sighed in relief.
“What happened?” I asked as he jumped in.
He started the engine and began driving. “The soldiers said they relocated everyone to Emory Hospital.”
I smiled. “Seriously? Thank God! Do you know how to get there?”
He nodded. “They told me roughly where it is. The problem is that’s whe
re the zombies are heading. The smell of life and blood is obviously drawing them.”
I bit the side of my lip. “Did you find out anything else? Like if my sister was sent there?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t exactly ask. I was afraid they’d detain me if I asked questions specifically about you or your family. I heard them talking about your escape when I first approached them.”
“What were they saying?” I asked.
“That they were searching for you. The fact that you pulled through your coma and didn’t turn into a zombie means a lot. They need to find out why you survived.”
I looked away. “I’d be happy to help them out but not as a prisoner.”
“No shit,” said Nora.
“Well, they want you, and bad,” he said.
“That really worries me,” I said, trying not to cry. “If they need me so much, then Allie must not have beaten the virus.”
“Hey,” he said.
I turned toward him and could feel a stray tear slide down my cheek. I brushed it away.
He lifted my chin with his finger and then looked me in the eyes. “Don’t ever give up hope. You’re a survivor and I have faith that your sister is, too. Don’t ever give up hope, Cassie. That’s what you’ve told me.”
“Hope? It’s certainly a lot easier to preach it than it is to believe in it these days,” I said.
“That might be so but it’s still very good advice,” he said. “You know, thinking of you gave me hope when I found myself alone in Florida. I lost two of my best friends, my parents were missing, and everything they had was destroyed, and I just kept thinking about you and your incredible will to survive. I mean, you’re so young and yet you escaped from a psychotic dickhead, made it across the country to find your family, and escaped after being caged up here. You also kicked plenty of zombie ass, helped everyone more than a few times to stay alive, and never complained about anything. Someone is watching over you, and I have faith that everything is going to work out for the best. Just don’t lose that hope, kid. Promise?”
I smiled sadly. “I’ll try.”
“Wow, Billie,” said Nora. “That was inspiring. Let me guess, you were a youth counselor before the shit hit the fan?”
He turned back to her and smiled. “No, not at all; I was a drag queen.”
Nora’s jaw dropped. “No shit?”
“Shit,” he replied.
“So you like boys?” she blurted out.
I gave her a horrified look. “Wow, that was… smooth.”
She had the sense to look embarrassed and started rambling. “I mean there’s nothing wrong with that. I like boys. Shit, I mean I love boys and men so I can understand if you do, too.”
Billie smiled. “I like boys but not romantically. I’m not gay, Nora.”
“Really?” she said.
He nodded. “Really. I like girls and everything about them. Just because I rock as a Christina Aguilera impersonator, and look sexy in a Versace gown, doesn’t make me gay. It just makes me a shitload of money. Or, rather, it used to.”
She bit the side of her lip. “Well, you have to admit, it’s not the kind of job most straight guys choose.”
“I know but I’m not an average straight guy.”
She nodded. “That’s cool because I don’t consider myself an average straight girl, either, so I respect that.”
He smiled. “Somehow, I figured you might.”
She smiled back.
Billie started the engine and then frowned. “You know what? We need gas, and pronto. We’re almost empty.”
“There’s a station up the street,” said Nora. “I need some smokes, too.”
“Let’s hope the gas station hasn’t been ransacked yet,” said Billie. “Or that the pumps have a generator. We might have to do some siphoning.”
“And let’s hope there aren’t too many zombies around for that,” I said.
“Let’s hope,” said Billie.
We drove to the station that Nora had pointed out and everyone got out.
“Keep your eyes peeled for zombies or other… enemies,” said Billie.
“I’m going inside,” said Nora, raising her gun. “It looks pretty empty from out here.”
“We should go in together,” said Billie. “I want to check around to see if there is some kind of generator. These pumps don’t seem to be working.”
Just then, two zombies staggered toward us, panting like dogs.
“You take the left, I’ll take the right,” said Nora.
The one on the left was so rotted that I could no longer tell if it was a female or male. It wore baggy jeans and a gore-covered sweatshirt that read, “Zombies Hate Fast Food.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I giggled, approaching it with the rubber windshield cleaner from the gas station. I slammed it into the zombie’s eye and then kicked it in the stomach.
“Told you those shoes would work to your benefit,” smiled Billie as he closed the gas tank cover.
I curled my lip in disgust. “Yeah, but now it has zombie crud on it.”
He handed me a wet wipe.
“We’ll need ammunition again, and soon,” I said, watching as Nora pummeled her zombie in the face with a metal flowerpot she’d found sitting between the pumps.
Billie nodded. “Yeah but try and save your bullets for thieves, if at all possible. Zombies can’t kill you from a distance, but humans certainly can.”
“I’ll do that,” I said as Nora smashed the zombie’s face against the pavement.
“Wow, she’s a pretty good fighter, too,” said Billie.
“Yeah, Nora’s always been a brute. Don’t let her small frame fool you.”
Nora walked over and dunked her hands in the windshield wiper water, which was disgusting enough. Billie handed her a wet wipe.
“Thanks. So, let’s check inside the station for something to use against the zombies,” said Nora. “Maybe there’s a baseball bat or something else we can use to hit ‘em.”
“You did pretty well with the flowerpot,” said Billie.
“Not practical to carry around, obviously,” she said.
Billie nodded and then held up the truck keys. “Cassie, you wait inside the SUV and I’ll go with Nora into the station.”
“Okay. Be careful,” I said as he threw me the keys.
I hopped into the truck and watched as they jogged inside. It was now dark and there were no lights anywhere in the station. I couldn’t see any movement from Billie or Nora, and it was making me tense.
I yawned.
I should have asked them to find me an energy drink, I thought.
With my focus on the station and my heavy eyelids, I didn’t notice that someone was opening my door until it was too late. As I turned, a pair of large hands pulled me into the darkness and slammed me to the ground. As soon as my head hit the pavement, I screamed.
“Shut the fuck up,” growled one of the men, covering my mouth with his hand. I tried biting him, but he hit me in the head with his other hand and I saw stars.
“She’s a fighter, better tie her up,” commanded a deep voice.
Before I knew it, my hands were behind my back and my mouth was taped shut. Then I was tossed into the back of Billie’s SUV and the door was slammed shut.
“Meet you back at the hotel!” hollered one of the men as the truck started moving. I could hear gunfire in the distance, probably from Nora and Billie, but it was too late. We were flying through the night and I was scared to death.
21
It didn’t seem like we had driven very far when we screeched to a halt. The back door opened up and three men stood there, staring at me with guns drawn.
“She’s a little skinny,” said one of them, rubbing his chin.
“And kind of young,” said another.
“Doesn’t matter. She’ll do,” said the third with a merciless grin.
The men were all tall, dark, and very dangerous-looking. They were dressed in expensive clothi
ng and one of them, a big brute of a man, had rings adorning almost every finger. They kind of reminded me of mafia, if there really was such a thing.
“Tony says we’ll draw more audience if we use women. This is just a slip of a girl, though. The last one we used was stacked and they seem to like that better. I’m not sure about this one.”
“She’s a looker, though; you know what I’m saying? Better than nothing, and we have to keep the audience interested,” said one of the others.
I didn’t know what they were talking about but it sounded like really bad news for me.
“Let’s get her with the other bitches,” replied the man with the rings, grabbing me. He then tossed me over his shoulder and we were soon entering what appeared to be the Ritz Carlton. Obviously, whoever they were had expensive tastes.
A half a dozen armed men were talking amongst each other in the lobby of the hotel, which was lit up, obviously by generators. When they noticed us coming, they all stopped and stared.
“Whatcha got there, Donnie?” said one of the thugs. He was short with a very round belly and had an unlit cigar in his mouth.
The guy holding me answered, “Another player for the game.”
“Nice ass,” replied the man.
My face burned. The dress I was wearing had ridden up and away from my rear when he’d picked me up.
The guy holding me chuckled and smacked me on the butt, making me scream into the tape. I tried to struggle, kicking and wiggling my body to try and make him drop me. But it didn’t seem to do much against the giant man.
“Feisty little shit, isn’t she?” chuckled another guy as we walked passed.
“Yes, good entertainment” said my captor. “It’ll be more fun to watch.”
We walked past the lobby and through a door that led down a long hallway. At the end of it was an armed man sitting outside of a double door marked “Banquet Room.” Donnie stopped there and I was set down on the plush carpet.
“Hey, Rico, how are they doing in there?” asked Donnie.
The guard, who was shorter with a large belly, snorted. “Frisky bitches, that’s for sure. Johnny and Marcus are in there with them now, keeping the girls under control.”
Zombie Games (Uncut) Boxed Set Page 38
