by Josh Vasquez
The zombies that wandered in from the hallways on the other hand, they got the blunt end of Lexx’s anger. He found a large trophy that the company had won for “Most Innovative” and was using it to bash in the brains of the undead. One by one they would come in and one by one they would get their heads caved in.
What am I going to do? I can’t just keep doing this for the rest of my life. I gotta go do some-
He stopped. Music. He heard music. It was coming from outside. He smashed the nearest zombie in the head and turned back to the windows. He found a spot where he could see past the dead and his mouth dropped open.
The truck that had picked up Tori and Jeremy was headed straight for the building. The massive white truck was barreling straight towards him, sending zombies flying with the brush guard and running others over. A speaker on top of the truck was blaring Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” As the truck got closer it turned, putting the passenger side parallel with the building. Tori was hanging out of the window, waving with a big smile on her face.
“Coming to get you!” she yelled. “Be right back!”
The truck pulled away and led the zombies away from the building. Lexx’s heart leapt. He couldn’t believe it. They came back for him. He knew he was having a hard time believing they left him, but this was a lot harder to believe. They came back for him. The truck circled for a minute and then started to come back towards the building. It came right up to the door and Tori jumped out and ran to the building.
Lexx immediately went to the door and removed the wrench. She leapt into his arms and they held each other briefly before she pushed herself off.
“We have to hurry! We have to get to the second floor!” she yelled, grabbing him by the wrist and directing him towards the giant spiral staircase.
“The second floor?” Lexx asked.
“No time to explain! Come on!”
They ran for the stairs and began the climb. Zombies were now pouring in from both the hallways and the outside. They shambled towards the stairs and began the struggle of getting up the steps. Most of them would lose their footing and fall, but a few were slowly making it. But by then, Tori and Lexx had already made it to the top and were running towards the walkway that led to the balcony on the window-side of the room. There were small patio chairs and tables set up there. A few single-serve coffee makers sat in the corner. It must have been a place where admins would come and enjoy a nice cup of joe while on break.
Screams. Runners were in the building.
“Lexx, you gotta break the glass so we can jump onto the back of the truck!” Tori yelled frantically.
He shook his head.
“Tori…”
The runners reached the foyer. There were five of them and they ran for the stairs, shrieking madly as they went.
“Hurry Lexx!”
“Tori, that glass isn’t gonna break. I watched them beat on it the whole time you were gone. It’s not gonna break…”
Her face fell.
“But we have to. It’s the only way out.”
He set his wrench down against the glass and pulled her in close to him. He took a deep breath, breathing in her scent for what could be one last time. Her heart raced against his chest.
“I’m sorry. It’s just not going to happen.”
She looked up at him and then laid her head on his chest. He felt so helpless. The runners were at the top of the stairs. It would be seconds before they were on them. He would do his best to fight them off but he knew that against five of them, he didn’t stand a chance. They had never taken the runners on in a fight. He was so angry with himself. So angry that he let her come back for him.
And that’s when he felt it.
The anger pulsed through his veins. It seethed through his skin. The rage. The rage that Jeremy had spoken about experiencing after his mother was killed. The rage that caused the Lumberjack to blindly slaughter everyone around him. Lexx was feeling the rage. And he was fucking pissed.
He grabbed the wrench right as the first runner reached them. He reared back and swung taking the zombie’s head clear off its shoulders. The other runners paused at this, and for the first time showed hesitation. This brought a smile to his face and gave Lexx enough time to turn and throw the wrench as hard as he could through the window.
The glass shattered into a million pieces.
He heard the truck honk its horn. It was there parked below the window; Jeremy waiting in the back, waving for them to jump. Lexx looked at Tori and grabbed her hand before leaping out of the window. They hit the truck bed with a thud and rolled.
“We got ’em! Go! Go!” Jeremy yelled, banging on the roof of the truck’s cab.
The truck driver gave the thumbs up and floored it. As they sped off, Lexx watched as the runners tried to follow and wound up jumping through the window only to splatter themselves against the ground. He felt himself relax and the rage slowly dissipated, as they drove off and away from that nightmare.
Epilogue
Jeremy watched the scenery pass by outside the window. They were well into the country now. Maybe thirty minutes from Statesboro. Nothing but trees and empty cotton fields out here. Peaceful.
Once they got out of Savannah, they explained to Josh everything that had happened with Ben and how the whole plan was to go to his parents’ house. Now with Ben gone, they weren’t really sure where they would go. They assumed to continue to go out west somewhere; they just weren’t sure where.
Josh laughed at this. He explained that he too was heading west and that he was hoping to find his wife and her family. They left him a note saying they were alive and went to their family’s hunting club. There was a cabin up there and plenty of room for Josh’s family and Jeremy’s group to share. They gladly accepted his invitation.
“It’s funny how the Lord works out things like that,” Josh said.
“The Lord?” Jeremy asked.
“Yeah, Jesus. You ever heard of him?”
Jeremy stared at Josh in disbelief. Another Christian?
“What are the odds,” he muttered to himself, but it was louder than he expected.
“Odds?” Josh asked.
“Oh, sorry. It’s just weird. You’re the third Christian I’ve met since this started. Well, I knew my mom before, but she’s played a part in this too. I lost her in the beginning.”
“I’m sorry to hear that man. I lost my niece.”
Jeremy nodded.
Everyone’s lost someone, he thought.
It was a part of life now it seemed. You were going to lose people. Mom, the Padre and Ben. All gone. Mom was hard, but it surprised Jeremy how much he missed Padre and Ben. The time he spent with Ben was brief and with Padre even briefer, but the two men had greatly impacted his life.
Josh was smiling.
“What’s so funny man?” Jeremy asked.
“Oh nothing’s funny,” he said. “It’s just the fact that you met another Christian. Blows my mind. Makes it pretty clear He’s got a hand in all this.”
“I’m not really in the mood for a Bible lesson right now, but what do you mean?”
“What do I mean? Think about it man. What are the odds that I would be driving by that building exactly when y’all had no way out? That you two would find that CB radio in that office? You know I would have driven by yesterday, but for some unknown reason I felt like I should stay at my brother-in-law’s house last night. So I did. Almost died because of it.”
“Yeah…”
“And what are the odds that you met another Christian? First, you got your mother your whole life trying to get you into church and whatnot. Then you got the Padre guy you were telling me about, and how he was telling you that God wasn’t responsible for this evil going on, and that maybe He was the one looking out for you. And now me. In the past three days, when the world has gone to hell, you just so happen to meet three believers? What are those odds Jeremy? Have you ever thought about playing the lottery?”
Jeremy nodded and
went back to looking out the window. It was strange, he would give him that. Coincidence, maybe. But providence? No, he was not ready to think about that yet. He remembered his prayer from the custodian’s office. Maybe God really did hear him. Maybe his prayer was answered. Could the Padre have been right? Did God have a plan for all of this? Was he going to use this plague to somehow do something great?
Jeremy was unsure. He didn’t know, but he was sure this Josh-guy was going to tell him. The guy seemed alright so far. Weird sense of humor, but okay as far as Jeremy was concerned. He peeked back to the bed of the truck.
Lexx and Tori were sitting with their backs to the cab. The two had been inseparable since they rescued Lexx. He couldn’t blame them. Jeremy was really happy for the two of them. While at first Tori may have been attractive to him and maybe he did have a little bit of a crush on the woman at first, over the past few days, she had grown more into a big sister figure. And he liked it that way. And Lexx, well, Lexx was Lexx. He was glad to have him back. Jeremy smiled and for the first time in a while knew things were going to be okay. He, unlike much of the world around him, was alive.
END OF BOOK ONE
Acknowledgements
Thanks go out to:
The real Avery, for reading the first draft and bugging me to finish it.
Chad D, in the real apocalypse, I’m coming to your house.
Danielle M, for your reader’s insight.
My Mother, for giving me your love of reading and weird things.
Jeremy and Meredith G, for helping Laura and I slay the zombies in our lives.
CJ and Hailey H, the best nephew and niece ever.
George Romero, Robert Kirkman, and Max Brooks for helping shape zombie lore.
Muse, wore out Absolution when I wrote this.
Stubbs, when Hollywood comes a knockin’, we’ll finally make that zombie movie.
Xavier Martinez, for making the coolest book cover ever.
And last, but not least, to all of my teachers over the years. Sorry I gave you such a hard time.
And everybody else, thanks for sticking with me!
Also:
Jeep is a Registered Trademark of General Motors
Coke is a Registered Trademark Of Coca Cola Co.
“Sabotage” and its lyrics are owned by Beastie Boys.
Wal-Mart is a Registered Trademark of Wal-Mart
About the Author
Josh Vasquez lives in Savannah, GA with his wife Laura. It is currently zombie-free.
You’re welcome.
Feel free to email him what you thought about the story at [email protected]
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Before You Go
After you turn this page, Amazon will give you the chance to rate this book and share your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter. This is my first book and I would love your feedback. If you enjoyed reading it, would you take a few seconds to let your friends know it’s worth checking out? And leave a review to let me know what you thought.
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Thank you for your support,
Josh Vasquez
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
