“Just be ready to go,” said Kylie, pulling her other leg out.
Allie moved over to the window and her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she watched Kylie crawl across the shingles in her baggy pink shorts. They’d both lost so much weight in the last few weeks that Kylie reminded her of a prisoner of war trying to escape.
“Be careful,” whispered Allie, terrified that she’d slip and go tumbling off of the roof. But Kylie had always been fearless and daring. She’d have made a good daredevil.
If anyone can do this successfully, she thought, it’s her.
When Kylie made it to the other window, she raised her head and peeked inside. A few seconds later, she turned back to Allie, giving her the thumbs up.
“Thank God,” whispered Allie, releasing a ragged breath as Kylie pulled the window open the rest of the way and removed the screen. She then watched as her lanky friend wiggled her way inside, head first. When Kylie was all the way in, Allie went to the bedroom door, with Adria, and waited on pins and needles.
“Oh my God,” groaned Kylie a few seconds later from the outside of the doorway. “I need a key to get it open!”
Allie’s heart sank. “Great. Now what are we going to do?”
“You are going to have to climb out of the window,” stated Kylie. “With Adria. It’s the only way.”
She stared down at the baby. “I can’t do that. What… what if I drop her?”
Kylie paused for several seconds. “Okay, I’m going to climb back outside and you can hand her to me.”
“Okay. Just hurry before someone catches you.”
“Yeah, I know,” replied Kylie. ‘Hang tight. I’ll be back in less than a minute.”
Allie walked back over to the window and waited nervously until Kylie climbed back out onto the roof and began crawling back. When she reached the window, Allie handed her Adria and then pulled herself out of the window. She looked down at the grass below and swallowed hard. “Um, so do you want me to take her?”
“No, I’ve got her. We just have to move slowly,” Kylie whispered, scooting back towards the other window as she clutched the baby.
Allie positioned herself below Kylie as they crept along the side of the roof and reached the window, which led to a small bathroom.
“Here, take Adria,” said Kylie, holding her out.
Allie grabbed the baby.
Kylie crawled back through the window, which looked incredibly small.
“I don’t know if I can fit through there,” said Allie, handing Adria to Kylie.
“You have to,” whispered Kylie.
“You could barely fit through it yourself, and you’re like a string bean.”
Kylie put Adria down on the floor and then turned back. “Come on, I’ll help pull you through.”
Just then, Allie noticed a pair of headlights in the distance and began to panic. “Oh God… someone’s coming!”
Kylie grabbed her arm. “Get in here before they see you!”
Panicking, Allie wriggled her way through the window, wincing from the tight fit. “Crap.”
“Are you okay?” whispered Kylie, pulling her up from the tub, where she’d landed, head first.
“Yeah. Let’s just hurry up and get out of here.”
Kylie picked up Adria and they snuck out the door and down the hallway to the tall staircase leading to the foyer.
Allie stopped. “Wait, we can’t just go out the front door. Whoever is out there will catch us.”
Before she could reply, the doorbell rang.
The girls ducked behind the banister above. A few seconds later, Billie walked into the house, followed by Jenny and a stranger.
Allie peaked over the railing quickly and then ducked back down, shocked to see a priest standing in the entryway.”
“So, where is the child?” asked the priest.
“We’ve locked her in a bedroom upstairs, with the other girls,” said Billie.
“When do you expect the gates to open?” he asked.
Kylie and Allie looked at each other.
Gates?
“Soon. Now that the hole has opened, it shouldn’t be very long. We need to bring the child there, now.”
The priest let out a rattling cough. When he was finished, he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “Excuse me.” He cleared his throat. “Could I get a drink of water before we return to the mall? I need to take my pills.”
“Sure, the kitchen is this way and there is some bottled water. Jenny, why don’t you prepare a bottle for the baby, so the girls will be more compliant,” replied Billie.
“Ah, a ‘Last Supper’,” replied the priest, chuckling in amusement as they walked down the hall. “How appropriate.”
Billie chuckled. “Isn’t it, though?”
After their footsteps faded, the girls fled down the staircase.
“I just can’t believe our escape was that easy,” whispered Kylie, as they opened the front door and snuck outside. “We are so lucky.”
“We haven’t escaped yet,” said Allie, feeling as if something scary was going to jump out of the darkness and attack them. Something much scarier than zombies.
“Come on,” said Kylie, who was still holding Adria. “Let’s see if the fence is locked.”
They ran past the parked cars and up to the wrought iron fence, which was about five-feet tall with dark pointy spikes.
Allie stopped at the doorway and tried pushing it open, but it was locked. “This is locked and I don’t know how to open it. I think we need a key. Crap, what in the heck do we do now?”
Kylie looked along the long fence line that wrapped around the estate, biting her lip nervously. “Maybe we could climb over it. It’s not that tall.”
“Seriously?” asked Allie. “There’s no way we can get over this thing without getting… impaled.”
“Well, what other choice do we have? Maybe we can find a ladder and use it to get over.”
“Maybe. First, let’s see if there’s another way out of here,” said Allie. “Come on.”
They followed the fence to the back of the house, past the flower beds and a tennis court. When they found the only other gated exit, it was also locked.
“Oh God,” moaned Kylie. “How are we going to get out of here?”
Before Allie could reply, several zombies staggered out of the woods and moved towards them.
“Oh my God,” squeaked Allie, stepping away from the gate. “They smell like a sewer!”
The zombies stumbled towards them, moaning and growling in anticipation. When the creatures made it to the fence, they tried reaching for them through the iron grates.
“Actually, I guess it’s good we didn’t get out that way,” said Kylie as they backed away from the fence.
Someone cleared their throat and both girls turned around in horror to find Billie staring down at them from the white garden gazebo in the center of the backyard.
“Crap,” mumbled Allie.
Billie, who was puffing on a cigar, blew out a cloud of smoke. The girls watched as an image appeared in the swirling mists; an image of a head with horns and a menacing smile.
Frightened, Allie and Kylie stepped closer to each other.
As the smoke dissipated, Billie smirked. “Let me guess, you needed some fresh air?”
Neither girl said anything.
Billie sighed and began walking down the wooden steps. “Did you honestly think I had no idea that you were eavesdropping when Father Brambati arrived? That you’d escaped? Oh… girls… What am I going to do with you?”
Adria’s lip went down and she began to cry.
Chapter Five
Cassie
We left a note for Billie, just in case he came to his senses and returned to the house. Then we all loaded into the Yukon. Tiny and Kristie sat in the front, I lodged in between Henry and Bryce in the second row, Paige and Justice sat in the third, and Nora crawled into the back cargo area.
“You going to be okay there?” asked Ju
stice, looking back at Nora.
She looked around and nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got plenty of room.”
“Okay, but like I said before, I’d be more than happy to switch with you.”
“Your legs are a lot longer than mine,” she replied, yawning. “You’d be cramping up in no time. Anyway, I like it back here. I’m probably going to sleep on the way. I’ll need all the rest I can get if I’m going to kick Billie’s ass back to Atlanta.”
I laughed.
Smiling, she pushed her short dark hair back behind her ears.
“Do you miss your blue streaks?” I asked, noticing now that most of them were gone. For some reason, she’d cut her hair before we’d left, using my grandmother’s shears. I had a feeling she did it to keep her mind off of Billie, or maybe it was just the shock factor, since she’d always been kind of a rebel. It was now chin-length and made her look almost cute and perky, but I knew better than to tell her that. She’d probably shave it all off in horror.
She shrugged. “Not really.”
“I wish I would have been more daring back in school,” said Paige, glancing shyly at Justice’s eyebrow piercing. “Like, maybe have gotten some piercings or at least a tattoo.”
“You were a little too young for a tattoo,” said Kristie, over her shoulder. “I told you before that when you were eighteen, you could get one.”
Paige sighed. “Well, I guess that doesn’t help me now.”
“How old are you?” asked Justice.
“I just turned eighteen a few days ago.” She nodded towards me. “Same with Cassie.”
“Well, if things ever get back to normal, I might be able to still give you one,” he replied.
Paige raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
He smiled. “My cousin owned a tattoo shop and I had just finished my apprenticeship with him when the zombie outbreak hit.”
“What happened to your cousin?” she asked.
The smile fell. “Not really sure.”
Paige’s eyes widened. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry for bringing it up. That was… stupid.”
“Don’t worry about it. We all lost people. Besides, he was a pretty mean S.O.B. when he wanted to be. Chances are that if he didn’t get the flu shot, he’s still alive, beating the shit out of the undead.”
“Did he have any family, other than you?” she asked.
“His old lady and their new baby.”
“A baby?” Paige put her hand to her chest. “Oh, man, I hope they’re okay.”
He sighed. “Yeah, me too.”
I decided it might be a good time to change the subject. Death and babies were hitting it too close to home for all of us now. Especially with the current situation. I turned to Bryce. “I really like your tattoos,” I said, tracing my finger along one of the black dragons on his forearm. “I can’t believe the details. Whoever did it knew what they were doing. Um, when did you get them?”
“Got both of them after I graduated high school,” he said, looking down at his arms. “Kind of a graduation gift to myself.”
“Nice,” I replied.
He put his hand on my knee and squeezed it. “What about you, have you ever wanted one?”
“I thought about it, but never brought it up to my parents.”
“Why?” he asked.
I tilted my head to the side. “Come on, you met my dad. He wasn’t exactly open-minded about stuff like that.”
“He was a little over-protective, but something tells me that if you really would have wanted one, he would have caved.”
I smiled sadly. “Maybe.”
“Hey, we should both get one at the same time,” said Paige. “When things settle down.”
If things ever settled down. Everything seemed to be getting worse as time went on.
I licked my lips. “I don’t know. Does it hurt?”
Nora burst out laughing. “Wild, after everything you’ve been through, you’re worried about a little needle?”
My cheeks turned red. “I just hate needles.”
“It’s not that bad,” said Justice. “Well, obviously in some places the skin is much more sensitive.”
“You’ve got that right,” said Kristie. “I cried like a baby getting mine.”
Paige mumbled something and looked out the window.
“You have ink? Where?” asked Justice.
Kristie smiled. “Well, it’s hidden.”
“Where is it?” asked Henry, coming to life. “On one of your bosoms?”
Paige rolled her eyes. “No. It’s on her back.”
Henry sat up straighter. “Oh, she get one of them there Tramp stamps?”
Tiny burst out laughing. “Damn right she did.”
Kristie reached over and slugged him in the shoulder.
“What?” he pouted. “I think it’s beautiful.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I just don’t like that term… ‘Tramp stamp’. I mean, I thought it was funny before, but now that I’ve gotten one, it’s irritating to hear the same jokes, over and over. My tattoo is a work of art… not a place to put your beer.”
Bryce and Justice burst out laughing.
Tiny struggled to keep a straight face.
Henry looked confused.
I glanced at Paige, who looked like she wanted to throw up and then crawl under the seat in front of her.
“Sorry, babe,” replied Tiny, slipping his hand behind her neck and then squeezing her shoulder. “You know I think you’re one of the classiest women on the planet.”
“Thank you,” she said, pulling her dark hair over to the side. “You’re forgiven.”
“I love tattoos on women,” said Henry. “Although the last one I saw was on Sally Mae, a friend of mine at the nursing home. Her tattoo was supposed to be a clover-leaf, but damn if it didn’t look more like a bean-stock. Course, the thing must have grown over fifty years.”
Tiny laughed and started the engine.
Paige rubbed her forehead. “God, I’m not going to even ask where that was located.” She turned to Justice. “So did your cousin do your back?”
“Yeah.”
“It looks really good,” replied Paige, her cheeks turning pink as her eyes met his. “The tattoo, I mean.”
He grinned. “Thanks.”
“She really means your back,” chirped in Nora.
Paige clenched her teeth. “Would you just quit already?”
Nora laughed.
“Girls, take it easy back there,” said Kristie.
“Yeah,” teased Bryce. “You’re going to embarrass Justice. You know, us guys don’t appreciate being treated like sex objects. It just isn’t right.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Henry.
This time we all laughed.
As we drove around the block, Tiny glanced back at us. “Everyone keep your eyes peeled for headlights. We don’t want to run into those jerks in the truck again.”
I reached down and touched the crowbar by my feet, making sure that I hadn’t forgotten it. I’d run out of gun ammunition, although fortunately, the guys still had a few rounds. I didn’t really care though; I was beginning to prefer hand-to-hand combat when it came to the zombies. The living, however, well they were a different story. “You have your gun, right?” I asked Bryce.
He nodded. “Yeah, I also brought one for you. Don’t worry, we’ll get more ammunition. I want you to have a loaded gun whenever possible.”
I stared out into the darkness. “Good luck finding any.”
“We’re going to check out the police station in Saint Paul. They must have ammunition there. Who knows, maybe we’ll even find more survivors,” he replied. “Ones that still protect and serve.”
“That’s a great idea,” said Kristie. “I can’t believe we didn’t think of that before.”
“If there are any guns or ammunition, I’m sure they’ve been stolen,” said Tiny. “But it’s still worth a shot, anyway.”
“What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s alm
ost four in the morning,” replied Kristie as she turned on the radio and began to scroll through static.
My eyes widened. “Wow, I had no idea it was that late. You guys were gone for longer than I thought.”
“It was those bastards in the truck,” said Tiny, turning towards the road that wrapped around the lake. “It took a long time to lose them. Too long. There was no getting around it though. Couldn’t have them following us back to you guys.”
“I know,” I replied, biting my thumb nail. “I’m just so worried about the girls.”
Bryce patted my knee. “It’ll be okay.”
Tiny looked into the rearview mirror and swore.
I turned around.
Headlights.
“Shit,” said Bryce. “I think that’s them. Everyone keep your heads down.”
I hunched down with the others while Tiny accelerated.
“What in the hell is wrong with these guys?” cried Kristie. “Don’t they know we’re on the same side?”
“Obviously, we’re not on the same side, babe,” said Tiny. He frowned. “Oh yeah, that’s the pickup alright.”
The sound of gunshots exploded from behind.
“Are you freaken kidding me?!” hollered Nora.
I turned to look back at her. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Should we fire back?” asked Justice.
“Not yet,” said Tiny. “Hold on.”
Tiny turned a corner quickly and the tires squealed in protest.
“Oh my God,” moaned Kristie, as another bullet hit the SUV. “Is everyone okay?”
“Screw this shit,” said Nora. “Hand me a gun!”
“No,” said Bryce. “Just stay down.”
“Easy for you to say, I’m the one closest to the bullets!” she hollered.
The back window blew out from the next round of bullets and Nora screamed as the glass shattered all around her.
“Oh my God!” yelled Kristie. “Are you okay, Nora?”
“I’m not dead… yet! Someone, give me a gun now!” she growled. “Come on!”
“Stay down, Nora,” ordered Justice as he crawled into the back and began firing his gun through the broken window.
Noticing that we were firing back, the truck slowed and putting more distance between us.
Zombie Games Book Five (End Zone) Page 4
