“Well, he’s been eating something to stay alive,” he answered, pointing toward a large white sign. “It says there were three lions, total – two females and one male. Looks like there’s only one lion in this den now.”
Luke grimaced. “He ate the others?”
His lips thinned. “Looks that way. Survival of the fittest.”
“He actually had to eat his mates,” he said in disbelief. “I’d rather die than do something like that.”
“He’s a wild animal, but who really knows what hunger will drive anyone or anything to do,” said Justice.
“I don’t care how hungry I get,” said Luke. “I’m not going after another person.”
Justice opened his mouth to respond when he noticed a group of three on the other side of the enclosure. Recognizing the two girls, all the blood rushed to his head. “Oh shit,” he said, pulling out his gun. “This is bad. Very bad.”
Even from this distance, they could hear both Kylie and Allie sobbing as the man motioned toward the lion’s den with his shotgun.
***
“No!” cried Kylie, as the older man commanded her to leap down into the lion’s enclosure. “Are you freaken’ crazy?”
“Jasper’s hungry,” said the man, raising his gun. “And I can’t let him starve.”
They’d been sitting in Justice’s truck when the stranger appeared out of nowhere. With his neatly combed hair, kind brown eyes, and a zookeeper badge proclaiming him to be “Darren”, they’d trusted him instantly and had gotten out of the truck. Then he pulled out a gun, and the next thing they knew, he was forcing them into the zoo because his lion needed nourishment.
“What’s wrong with you?” sobbed Allie. “How can you do this? Are you on drugs or something?” The goofy grin on his face was definitely not normal; in fact, it made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.
The man shook his head. “Drugs? No, not anymore.”
“Why… why are you doing this?” she asked again, relieved to see Justice creeping up slowly behind Darren.
“It’s my job. To feed the lions,” he said, smiling proudly. “Jasper needs to eat and I’m his caretaker.”
“We’re not lion food,” said Kylie.
The sound of Justice’s gun being cocked wiped the smiled off of Darren’s insane face.
“Put the gun down,” said Justice, holding the barrel of his revolver against the back of the man’s head.
The man’s lip began to tremble. “I… but Jasper… he needs to eat.”
“He’s going to have to skip this feeding,” said Justice in an even tone. “Now, put the gun down, man, unless you want to be his next meal. I’m sure Jasper isn’t that picky.”
He dropped the gun.
Justice pushed him away from the gun and picked it up.
Kylie let out a ragged breath. “Thank God. I still can’t believe you were going to feed us to that lion. You’re almost as bad as those zombies.”
Darren just stared blankly.
“Are you the only one here?” asked Justice, handing Luke the gun.
The man ignored him.
“What about those gunshots we heard?” asked Luke. “There must be someone else around.”
“It was probably just him,” said Allie. “He shot the gun up into the air a few times when we first refused to go with him.”
“Hmm… Do you live here at the zoo, Darren?” asked Justice.
The man nodded. “Yes. I have to take care of Jasper.”
“Yeah, we get that. Why don’t you feed him something besides people?” asked Luke.
“There is nothing else,” he answered, “and lions need meat to survive.”
“What about the zombies?” asked Kylie. “Can’t you just feed them to Jasper?”
“No… no… no…. Jasper doesn’t like the dead people,” he said. “Jasper likes the warm blood.”
“That’s sick,” whispered Kylie, stepping farther away from him.
“Speaking of zombies,” said Luke, “looks like we have company.”
Two very gaunt and very naked zombies stumbled toward them, moaning and foaming green from their slackened mouths.
“I’ll take care of these two, just keep an eye on him,” said Justice.
Luke raised the gun and pointed it at Darren as Justice removed the machete from his belt and stalked off toward the zombies.
Allie looked away as Justice swung the machete twice with ease and the two heads tumbled to the ground.
“Hey!” yelled Luke as Darren took a few steps and then bolted away. “Crap, let’s go get him!”
“No, just let him go,” said Justice, wiping his knife on his jeans. “Don’t waste any bullets on that weirdo.”
“That’s gross,” said Kylie, looking at Justice’s jeans. “Now you have zombie juice all over you.”
Justice shrugged. “I need to change anyway. Got an extra pair in the truck.”
Jasper began to roar again and they all turned toward the lion, who was pacing down below in the grass.
“The poor thing,” said Kylie, peering over the edge of the wall, “he’s all alone down there.”
“It’s so sad,” said Allie, “and the only person he has left to care for him is a raving lunatic.”
“I wonder if we can set him free somehow,” said Kylie. “At least he’d have a better chance at surviving that way.”
Justice snorted. “Set him free? Like that would work out.”
“Yeah, maybe we should set him free, so he’ll take out more zombies,” said Allie, pointing toward the bodies below. “Look how he finished those off.”
“You’re kidding, right?” asked Justice. “Not only would he take out more zombies, but us and everyone else who crosses his path. He’s not a tame animal –
he’s a ferocious killing machine.”
“We could find one of those lion whips,” said Allie, ignoring him. “And maybe we could actually train him to kill zombies. That would be so cool!”
“I doubt they’d have whips here. That’s what they use at carnivals, you know, for tricks,” said Kylie. “Besides, that’s cruel. I could never whip a lion.”
Justice shut his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Girls, we really have to –”
Allie grabbed her wrist. “Oh, my God, remember that time we saw Billy Jameson at the carnival with that tattooed chic and they were slobbering all over each other?”
Kylie laughed. “She had on those super-tight jeans and when she bent over, you could see the thong riding up her crack.”
“That was so gross,” said Allie. “Everything about her was sleazy.”
Kylie smiled. “You’re just saying that because you liked Billy.”
Her eyes widened. “I did not like Billy!”
Jasper roared again from his prison.
“Aw… he sounds so sad,” said Kylie, a sad look on her face. “And lonely.”
“Lonely? Well, that’s because he got rid of his two girlfriends,” stated Luke.
Allie’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”
“I guess they were jabbering away and just wouldn’t shut up. Old Jasper must have decided he’d had enough,” said Luke, with a sly grin. “So he ate them.”
Kylie covered her mouth in horror. “That’s horrible.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” chuckled Justice as he began to walk away. “He ended up with food and silence. I don’t know about you, Luke, but I’m almost envying old Jasper right now.”
Kylie glared at Luke when he started laughing. “You actually think that’s funny?”
“Little bit,” he said, trying to wipe the smile from his face.
“So, um, did you guys find any food?” asked Allie as she hurried to catch up to Justice.
Justice pointed back to Luke.
“Oh yeah,” said Luke, reaching into his shirt. He pulled out a sweaty brownie package and handed it to her. “Knock yourself out.”
“Er… thanks,” she said.
“Well
, obviously we’re going to need more than this,” said Kylie as he handed her one, too.
“I’ve got some chips and popcorn, too. But, there’s more in the cafeteria,” said Luke. “I think we should go back and load up.”
Justice shook his head. “No, I have a better idea – let’s just get the hell out of here. Try our luck somewhere else.”
“But we really need that food,” said Luke, as his stomach rumbled, loudly. “My stomach is beginning to sound like Jasper.”
“Jeez,” said Allie. “Here, you can have the brownie back.”
“Thanks. Justice, seriously, let’s just grab one of those containers of food that was already packed and leave. We might not find anything else for a long time. The stuff in the cafeteria is ready to go and it would be foolish to leave here without anything.”
“Fine,” said Justice, changing course, “but keep your eye open for that wacko.”
“Don’t worry,” he said, opening up one of the brownies, “my eyes are peeled for creepy guy.”
The zoo was hot and eerily quiet, except for the constant buzzing of flies on dead carcasses as they made their way back to the cafeteria. Justice went in first with his gun raised and the other three followed close behind.
“It’s clear,” he said, lowering the revolver. “Grab what you can and then let’s bolt.”
“Oh, my God,” said Allie. Squealing, she pulled out a candy bar and ripped it open. “You were just going to leave all of this stuff behind?”
Justice didn’t say anything. He walked back to the door and stared outside.
Kids.
It was obvious to him that he was the only one who realized how dangerous their current situation actually was. Not only did they have zombies to worry about, but now they had that lunatic, Darren. From the way the guy acted, it was clear that whatever drugs he’d stopped taking, had unleashed some kind of madness.
Just like Jimmy.
His stepfather.
Jimmy had been diagnosed with schizophrenia only two years ago, but the family had lived with the psychosis for over fourteen. It wasn’t until Jimmy’s sister had been diagnosed with the same condition that their mother had finally reached out for help and gotten him the medication he’d needed. Before that, she’d always blamed his irrational behavior and outbursts on the ‘Vietnam War.’
“I’m sure it’s the flashbacks from the war, again,” she’d say, after Jimmy had one of his episodes or nervous breakdowns, which were very sporadic. Sometimes he believed he was being watched by the government, and other times he wouldn’t leave his bed for days. “We just need to be patient with him.”
But it was hard to be patient with someone who took it upon himself to train children on how to survive the monsters lurking in the back of Jimmy’s warped mind.
“You need to learn how to use a knife,” he’d said when Justice turned eight.
Because Jimmy couldn’t hold down a job, both Justice and his younger sister were left alone with him during the day while their mother had worked two jobs.
“No, please,” he’d begged, horrified at the idea.
Jimmy had raised his finger. “Don’t be a baby, Justice. Now, I’m going to throw this knife at you and you’re going to catch it.”
“Please, Jimmy, I can’t! It’s going to cut me!”
“Not if you catch it like I showed you. Now get ready.”
“But why do I have to learn this?” he’d asked, scared shitless of the gleaming blade in Jimmy’s hand.
“Because, that’s what bad guys do!” he’d growled. “They throw knives at you and try to kill you. But you’re going to be a survivor, boy. I’m going to teach you what my daddy never did, or your daddy for that matter. Now, pay attention and stop your sniveling.”
And so they’d spent hours going over techniques that Jimmy promised would help him survive, should he ever get jumped by thugs or need to survive in a war. Oddly enough, all of the drills and combat training he’d forced upon him had helped Justice stay alive after the zombies showed up.
Unfortunately, Jimmy, who was one tough son-of-a-bitch, hadn’t survived the effects of the vaccine. He’d turned into a zombie and Justice had been forced to kill him. It had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do, because deep down, he’d loved the man.
“You want a candy bar?” asked Allie, holding one out. “Chocolate makes everything a little better.”
If only it were really so.
He smiled and shook his head.
Justice watched Allie and Kylie, and hoped he could keep all of them safe. They were still just a couple of naïve little girls, even through all of this mess. In a way, both of them reminded him of his younger stepsister, Amy, a little girl of eleven who’d wanted nothing more than to laugh and have fun. And she had, until Jimmy had turned into a zombie and had taken the lives of both his sister and mother. Jimmy had been the only one in the family to get the vaccine and the only one who’d died without fear. He could only imagine the complete horror his mother and sister must have felt when Jimmy had gone after them. Before Justice had gotten the chance to save either of them.
He blinked back tears and tried pushing the image of his mother’s and sister’s glossy blond hair and lifeless blue eyes out of his head, but it was difficult. He’d never forget finding them mutilated at the hands of Jimmy, who, ironically, had been the monster he’d taught Justice to defeat.
“Justice, you okay?” asked Luke, stuffing more food into a container that was already overloaded.
He wiped his eyes quickly. “Yeah, just got some dust in my eyes or something.”
“We’ve got what we need,” he said, picking up the container with both hands. His face turned noticeably redder from the straining weight. “I’ve got this one.”
“I’ll cover you, but we need to move fast,” said Justice. “You sure you can carry that?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. “Let’s go.”
“We’ve got some water,” said Allie, struggling with a box filled with plastic bottles. “And I found a few diet sodas.”
“Give me some of those,” said Kylie, reaching inside. “You’re going to drop that box.”
“Thanks,” she said. “It was a little too heavy.”
“Are we about ready?” asked Justice.
“Yeah, why don’t you make yourself useful and carry something?” asked Allie. “Like those paper towels.”
Justice grabbed a roll that was sitting on the counter, and slid it down into his tank top. “Okay, let’s go.”
Thunder echoed in the distance as they moved to the door. Stepping outside, they noticed that the skies were now ominously dark.
“Looks like a storm is brewing,” said Luke, glancing up as lightning flashed across the sky.
“Maybe we should hang out here until it passes,” said Kylie. The clouds were moving quickly and the last place she wanted to be was in Justice’s truck if there was a tornado.
“No,” said Justice, feeling the hair stand up on the back of his neck. It was much too quiet outside, like an eerie calm before the storm. “This place isn’t safe,” he said, looking around. “I’d rather be on the road than stuck here. Besides, we need to get back to the truck, make sure Darren didn’t screw with it. Let’s keep moving.”
“Oh, my God,” said Kylie, turning to her friend as Justice began walking away. “Allie, do you still have the keys?”
Allie’s face paled and she shook her head. “I… um… left them in the truck.”
“In the ignition?” asked Justice, stopping dead in his tracks. He turned around. “Seriously?”
She bit the side of her lip and nodded. “Well… yeah.”
He sighed.
Just then, Allie’s face paled in horror as she stared past Luke, toward the women’s restroom. Before Luke could turn his head, shots rang out and he dropped the container.
“Luke!” screamed Allie, dropping the box of bottles and scurrying toward him as he fell forward.
“O
h, my God,” choked Kylie, covering her mouth.
They all stared at him in horror; it was obvious from the large bloody chest wound, that he was already gone.
“Oh,” giggled Darren, who was standing behind a dumpster less than twenty feet away, a shotgun in his hands. “Guess he’s staying.”
Filled with rage, Justice raised his gun as he moved toward Darren and began firing, wiping the maniacal smile from his face forever.
“Luke,” sobbed Allie, kneeling next to his lifeless form. She touched his cheek and moaned in grief. “Oh, my God, you can’t leave us!”
Justice knelt down and examined the wound. “Yeah, he’s gone,” he said, his voice thick.
6
Cassie
“Have you killed any of the monsters?” asked the child.
I’d been helping Sister Theresa feed the children peanut butter and crackers in the courtyard when the little girl asked me. She’d been sitting alone, clutching one of those American Girl Dolls like she was afraid it would disappear from her life, like everything else.
“Zombies?” I asked, not knowing exactly how to respond to that kind of question from such a young child. She reminded me of Allie when she was younger, with her light hair and dimples. Unfortunately, her hazel eyes were filled with a haunted sadness that made me want to cry.
She nodded.
“Yes, a few.”
She clutched her doll tight against her chest. “Good.”
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Kallie,” she said, a shy smile spreading across her face.
“I’m Cassie,” I said. “Do you have any brothers or sisters here with you?”
Her eyes welled up with tears. “No,” she whispered.
She was obviously devastated and I was a complete moron for reminding her of what she’d probably lost.
How could I be so damn stupid?
Obviously she was alone.
“Oh,” I said, sitting down next to her at the picnic table. I put my arm around her. “I’m so sorry, Kallie.”
She wiped a tear from her cheek. “The zombies got my mommy.”
“It hurts a lot to lose your mommy. I know because mine is gone, too,” I said. “But you know what? I’d bet anything that they are both watching us right now in Heaven and smiling.”
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