“We’ve all lost,” replied Steve. “I’m sure you’ve lost plenty of family yourself.”
“Yes, but yours is nothing compared to mine.” She glanced at Bobby, who was looking at a picture book on the floor and felt nauseated at the thought of losing him. “That little guy, however, I don’t know what I’d do if he ever got hurt.”
“Oh, is he yours?” asked Irene, turning to look at the small boy.
“Actually, he’s your granddaughter’s future brother-in-law.”
“What?” they gasped in unison.
Belinda chuckled. “I take it you’ve never met Bryce De Luca?”
Irene shook her head. “No. Cassie is engaged? Seriously?”
“Seriously. He’s a nice guy, too,” said Belinda. “Handsome, strong, a real fighter.”
“Well, she’s a little young to be engaged,” said Steve, frowning slightly.
“Maybe, but Bryce adores her and believe me, he won’t stop searching for Cassie until he finds her.”
“Let’s hope he finds Allie and Kylie, too,” said Irene.
“He did,” said Bobby, out of nowhere.
They turned to him.
“What was that, Bobby?” asked Belinda, walking towards him. She bent down. “What did you say, honey?”
“Bryce gave this to me” he replied, holding up his book. “He loves me.”
“He certainly does,” agreed Belinda, ruffling his hair. “We all love you, kid.”
“Well, what do we do now?” asked Irene, turning to Steve.
“We go back,” he replied, picking up his rifle. “Find our granddaughters.”
“I’m coming with,” said Bobby. He stood up and walked over to them. “Let’s go. Right now.”
“Honey, you have to stay here,” said Belinda.
“No,” he said. “I have to go and save the baby.”
The adults looked at each other, surprised at his response. “Baby, what baby?”
“They call her the ‘Chosen One’,” he replied.
“The ‘Chosen One’?” asked Belinda.
“Yes,” he replied. “And she really needs me.”
“Oh, Bobby… I’m sorry honey, but you’re not going anywhere,” said Belinda. “It’s much too dangerous to go on a road trip right now.”
“They’re going,” he replied.
“That’s different,” said Belinda.
“Linny, please, I have to leave with them.”
She knelt down next to him again. “Bobby…”
His eyes took on an intelligence that shocked her. “Belinda,” he said evenly. “You don’t understand. We are running out of time. All of us.”
Chapter Two
Allie and Kylie
“Did you hear that?”
“No,” whispered Allie in the cold, musty darkness.
“I think someone’s coming.”
It had been a few hours since the girls had been taken to an old house somewhere in Minneapolis by Billie. There, they’d been welcomed by a small group of people, who were now holding them prisoner in a bedroom up in the attic.
Allie sat with her back against the wall, staring down at the quiet baby in her arms, who surprisingly, hadn’t slept or fussed for hours. In fact, Adria gazed up at her intently, and she almost felt like the baby was trying to somehow console her.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered down at her. “I’m scared too, but I haven’t given up yet. Neither should you.”
“Hey, did you hear me?”
Allie sighed. “Yes,” she replied, trying to remain calm. As much as she wanted to remain positive, the truth was that they were being held prisoner by a bunch of psychopaths, and nobody knew where to find them. Not Cassie, Kristie, or even Bryce. “Well, maybe they’ll bring us some food, I’m starving.”
The noises out in the hallway drifted away and Kylie crawled over to them. “I wouldn’t trust eating their food. They might poison us or something. Anyway, we have to try and escape, before they hurt Adria.”
She held the baby closer. “I’m surprised they haven’t tried taking her from us.”
“I think they’re afraid to touch her.”
“Good. Crazy whackos. Do you really think that Adria is what they say she is?”
Kylie lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. “The ‘Chosen On’?”
“Yeah.”
She paused for a few seconds. “Oh, I don’t know. Heck, I don’t even know what being the ‘Chosen One’ really means.”
“What about the ‘End of Days’ thing you were talking about before. The signs of the apocalypse and all that?”
Kylie sighed. “I don’t know. I mean, they never mentioned anything about a baby or any other kind of person saving the world. This just doesn’t fit in to what it is supposed to say in the bible.”
“Have you read it?”
“No. I’m just going by what I saw on cable.”
“I haven’t read the bible either. It just looked so long and confusing. What else did it say on that documentary show?”
Kylie sat back up. “Well, from what I remember, there would be a lot of bad things happening, like the seas turning red, earthquakes, volcanoes, and then complete darkness. There were also supposed to be two evil men who would join forces. One of them gets possessed by Satan, making him the Antichrist. They referred to all three of them as the ‘Unholy Trinity’.”
“Now that’s confusing,” said Allie, wishing she would have went to church more. To her, church had always made her sleepy and even a little bored.
“I know. You’ve heard of the ‘Holy Trinity’, right? Father, Son, Holy Spirit?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, this ‘Unholy Trinity’ is supposed to be Satan’s mockery of that. So, it’s Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.”
“Is the Antichrist supposed to be Satan’s son or something?”
“Not sure. I think that Satan takes over his body though, or something later.”
“Oh, well what about the False Prophet? Where does he fit in to all of this?” she asked, now really getting the chills. All of this talk about the Devil was freaky.
Kylie thought back to what they’d said. “Um… oh yeah, I think the other dude is supposed to try and turn people away from God or something. That’s why they called him a ‘False Prophet’.”
“Oh.”
“This just doesn’t seem right, though. This isn’t happening the way they explained it. And I definitely don’t remember anything about a ‘Chosen One’.”
Allie rubbed Adria’s back. “Honestly, the more I think about it, the harder it is to believe that a small baby could have that kind of power and be able to save the world.”
“Well, those people in the next room obviously believe that she is a real threat. I think they’re planning something for her and I’m getting some really bad vibes about it.”
Allie studied Adria’s face. All she could see was a pretty baby blowing bubbles and making gurgling noises. “Adria can’t even crawl yet, how is she supposed to be a threat to anyone?” she replied as the baby tried to grab a lock of her blond hair.
Kylie reached over and touched the baby’s head. “I know. Obviously, they’re all wacked in the head and all of that talk about the End of Days happening right now is really just a bunch of crap. We have to keep her safe from those delirious freaks. No matter what.”
Voices on the other side of the doorway startled them. Kylie and Allie stood up and backed away from the door.
“Ah… here are my girls,” said Billie, turning on the light.
A younger woman stood behind him, carrying a metal tray. She smiled pleasantly.
“Why are you just sitting around here in the darkness?” asked Billie. “There’s a generator, you know. The lights actually do work.”
Neither girl responded, just stared in unease as the couple stepped closer.
“We brought you some food. I’m sure you’re famished,” he said, motioning towards the tray as the woman
set it down on the old pine nightstand next to the bed.
Allie stared at the cheesy pizza and cans of grape soda; her stomach growled.
“See, you’re hungry,” said Billie. “You girls must like pizza? Am I right?”
They both nodded.
He grinned like a Cheshire cat. “Just what I thought. As you can see, there is a lot of cheesy goodness on this pizza, and it’s probably one of the last ones edible on this planet.” He inhaled. “Smell that sauce? Let me tell you, I had a piece of this earlier, and it’s to die for.”
Kylie glanced at Allie, her eyes wide.
“Come on now, don’t let this treasure go to waste,” he prodded, lifting one of the plates. He held it under Allie’s nose and smiled again as she bit her lower lip. “It’s all yours. Don’t be foolish and waste such a treat.”
Allie, unable to take the smell or the hunger tormenting her inside, turned to Kylie. “Maybe one piece wouldn’t hurt? We haven’t eaten for such a long time.”
Kylie frowned. They’d just talked about this. “Allie.”
Allie sighed.
“Look, even the baby wants some,” giggled the woman.
Adria, staring at the mouthwatering food, tried reaching for the plate.
“No,” said Allie, stepping away from the pizza. “You can’t have that, Adria. I’m sorry.”
“Oh… hell, just give her some,” said Billie as Adria began to whimper in frustration. “She needs to eat. Just like you two.”
“But not this, she’ll choke. Do you have any bottled water?” asked Kylie. “She’s dehydrated and needs water.”
“I’ll see what we can find,” he replied. He turned to Jenny and nodded.
Allie’s stomach rumbled again; she wanted nothing more than to eat. “Billie, please let us go,” she begged. “We just want to get back to our families.” And food we can trust, she thought.
“Tell you what,” he said, sitting down on the bed. “If you do what you’re told and help me with something, I’ll release you.”
“Help you? With what?” asked Kylie.
A cold smile spread across his face. “Retribution.”
Chapter Three
Cassie
“What in the hell is going on?” repeated Kristie, for the fourth time. “Why would that numbskull take off with the girls like that? I mean who does that?”
Kristie, Paige, Nora and I were in my grandparent’s family room, stunned and confused as to why Billie had disappeared with Allie, Kylie, and Adria.
I looked up from the sofa as Kristie paced across the room, obviously on the verge of a panic attack. “Maybe he took them to Atlanta?”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “Without us? It just doesn’t make any sense. Nora, what do you think is going on? You knew him better than any of us.”
Nora, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, flicking a lighter, looked up. “I don’t know. I’m as confused as you guys. I mean, he seemed fine, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, actually a little too fine,” I replied. “He went from mottled and zombish to acting like he could run a marathon. It was beyond creepy, even for Billie.”
“Billie isn’t creepy,” defended Nora. “He’s just obviously… confused.”
“Frankly, his confusion is going to bring him a royal ass-kicking when I get my hands on him,” replied Kristie, pulling out an empty pack of smokes from her purse. scowling, she crumpled it up and threw it across the room. “No offense, Nora.”
“Don’t be. He deserves a beating. I’ll even hold him down for you,” she replied.
“If we can even find him,” I replied. Truthfully, I was worried that he was going through the same psychosis as Austin. If that was the case, then the girls were in more trouble than anyone could possible imagine. I was almost afraid to bring it up.
“Okay, this is what we should do - once the guys find us a decent ride, we’ll head back towards Atlanta,” said Kristie. “I don’t know, for some reason I feel like that’s where he’s taken them. Obviously, we all know that Billie is a nice guy and I find it hard to believe that he would hurt them intentionally. He’s probably just confused. Like Nora said.”
“Exactly,” said Nora. “He is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. The Billie that I know would never hurt anyone, especially those girls.”
“Okay, I hate to bring this up, again,” said Paige, who was sitting next to me on the sofa, “and I know you all think that I’m crazy, but… is it possible that he was being controlled by Travis and that’s why he left?”
“Oh for God’s sake,” said Kristie. “You can’t really possibly believe that after Travis died, his soul jumped into Billie’s body?”
“Why not?” she asked. “We all agree that Travis was some kind of demon, right? So maybe his demonic spirit is inside of Billie now, controlling him.”
Kristie sat down on a recliner and put her head in her hands. “I’m sorry but I’m still having trouble accepting that Travis was nothing more than a freaken psychopath. Hell, he died from getting shot in the chest. If he was really a demon, I doubt that would have happened.”
“Not if he was just borrowing the body. He probably goes around jumping from victim to victim. Like in the movies… you know?” answered Paige.
Kristie sighed. “Honey, this is not the movies.”
“Obviously. It’s real life, one that’s filled with zombies, bloody rivers, and death. If we can accept that, then why are demons so hard to imagine?”
“Good point,” replied Kristie, sitting back. “Now I’m really going to lose my mind worry about this. Thank you.”
“I’m sorry, mom, but we have to consider everything. What about you, Cassie?” asked Paige, turning to me. “What do you think?”
I stared down at my nails, which were bitten down to the skin. It seemed liked years ago that I’d been sitting in Mae’s chair getting my nails done and my eyebrows plucked. I sighed. “Okay, fine… I think he’s either going crazy from the zombie virus, or,” I looked up, “you’re right and he’s been possessed by Travis. Both ideas are pretty scary.”
“Billie is not possessed,” said Nora, putting the lighter back into the pocket of her faded blue jeans. “That’s totally ridiculous.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” said Kristie. “I just want them safe. I hope the guys get back here soon so that we can start looking for them. I should probably check on Henry. See if he’s up so we can get moving right away when they return.”
Henry was in one of the guest rooms taking a nap while Bryce, Tiny, and Justice had went in search of a vehicle that we could all fit into.
“Good idea,” I replied. I stood up and walked over to the large bay window and stared outside. It was dark, well past midnight and the yard looked like something out of a horror movie massacre. I glanced at the slaughtered zombies sprawled out all over the lawn and wondered if Bryce and the others were having problems with any more undead.
“You see them yet?” asked Paige.
I looked over my shoulder at her. “No. They’ve been gone for over an hour. I can’t believe it would take this long to find something in this neighborhood.”
Paige walked over and stood next to me. “It’s finding a large enough vehicle with gas in it that’s difficult, I’m sure.”
Before I could answer, a zombie staggered into view from the side of the house. We watched as it wandered into the center of the yard and then stopped under the moonlight, swaying back-and-forth. Like the others, it was in rough shape, with its bloody torso and stringy decayed flesh barely covering bone. This one also had a stump for an arm and was one the verge of losing its ratty flowered dress. With her long red hair, she reminded me of Eva a little, and I couldn’t help but shudder..
“It’s pretty bad when you see something like that and it doesn’t even shock you anymore,” said Paige as we stared.
The zombie turned around, as if it heard us talking, and started in our direction.
“Oh, great,”
said Kristie, now standing behind us. “I hope it doesn’t attract any other ones that may be hanging out in the other yards. They’re much scarier in packs. Like rabid dogs.”
The zombie, now clearly on a mission, stumbled up the first two steps and then tripped on the third, landing on her face.
“What a life, huh?” sighed Kristie, staring at the zombie with empathy. She shook her head. “It’s just a damn shame. I’ll bet that girl had it all before. Now, she’s just a walking corpse with her bra hanging out and her dress stuck in her panties. Kind of reminds me of college. Those parties were crazy.”
“Actually, if you think about it, they don’t have it too bad,” said Paige. “Think about it - no cares in the world except finding food. They’re not conscious about how they look, if they need a shower, or what may have happened to their missing arm. Nothing matters but finding food.”
The zombie slowly lifted itself from the ground and then staggered to the window. Placing a hand on the glass she stared at us silently with her pale eyes.
“I don’t know what’s creepier – her staring at us or us staring back. What do you think she’s thinking?” mumbled Kristie.
“Remember going to the bakery and staring at all of the donuts through the glass?” said Paige. “Thinking they all looked so yummy.”
I grimaced and the zombie’s black lips pulled up into a black toothy grin, as if it knew what we were talking about. Its eyes traveled slowly to Kristie who took a step back.
“Okay…why in the hell is that thing smiling at me?” she asked in a strained voice. “Like it knows something that I don’t.”
Page smirked. “Hell, I think she just found her donut.”
“Time to close shop,” I said, pulling the cord on the curtain. Seeing that cold smile on the zombie’s face was giving me the creeps. It made me wonder if there was something actually going on up there.
Zombie Games Book Five (End Zone) Page 2
