by Tristan Vick
Sitting in the shadows just beyond the reach of the soft orange glow of the nearby fire, Saeko watched them go at it as though they were a couple of fucking fruit flies. Saeko rolled her eyes. Their animalistic noises were bad enough, but the fact that she couldn’t seem to peel her eyes from it was even more irksome.
From the secluded safety of the shadows, Saeko slid her hand down her leg and fetched the pack of smokes strapped to her thigh as she watched as Kana went to town on Kevin like a professional whore. It seemed this randy girl wasn’t satisfied unless she could get some every hour, on the hour.
Saeko had decided it was past due time she made herself known. In fact, she was dying to ask Kana why she hadn’t told Kevin about her. Not a word about the mysterious girl who saved her sorry butt. What was that about?
Kissing out a cigarette out from its carton, Saeko flipped out her stainless steel Zippo lighter, flicked open the lid, and lit up.
46
The Girl Who Refused to Die
Somewhere Near Mount Fuji, Japan
SKRITCH! The metallic noise of the lighter’s flint, along with the orange flash of its flame, was more than enough to alert the two lovebirds that they had company. Startled, they scrambled to cover themselves up.
“Holy shit!” Kevin blurted out, struggling to get his pants back on. Kana quickly pulled on her tights, pulled down her skirt, which was stuck midway around her waist, and then tucked her fat tits back into her shirt.
“Sorry,” Saeko said in a cold monotone voice. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Hey,” Kana said cheerfully, pointing at Saeko’s orange highlighted face. “That’s the woman who saved me!”
“What?” Kevin asked in alarm. He didn’t know what she was talking about.
“I’m telling you, that’s the same woman who saved me the yesterday in the forest. The one who told me how to make the fire.”
It all made sense now. They had a guardian angel watching out for them. Kevin turned around to thank the woman, only to see Saeko staring at him with cold, disappointed eyes. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. Sure enough, it was her. But how? He had watched her die.
It couldn’t be her, he told himself. This was an imposter. A ghost, a demon, or a goddamn zombie. That was the only explanation. There was no goddamn fucking way this was Saeko.
Without any further hesitation Kevin snatched up his sword, drew it out, and lunged at the mysterious woman that looked the carbon copy of his beloved Saeko.
His blade came crashing down, but woman wearing his dead girlfriend’s face easily blocked it with her own sword and deflected his attack. But he was obstinate and kept advancing on her, swinging wildly, without focus or form. Their blades clanged together and sparked as steel clashed with steel.
Still naked, sword clutched tightly in both hands, Kevin rushed forward. His attacks were forceful but predictable. Saeko was happy to see that he’d improved. Considerably so. But he was still no match for her.
Saeko deflected a couple more of Kevin’s wild swipes with ease before growing bored with the impromptu sparing match. Before Kevin even knew it, her lightning-quick reflexes and precision footwork quickly made a mockery of him, and then, suddenly, she was at his side.
Kevin turned his head and made eye contact with her just in time to see her eyes narrow and her lips curl into a smile. Then the pommel of her sword smashed into the back of his skull. Kevin hit the ground with a rock-solid thud.
“Why’d you go and do that?!” Kana yelped.
Saeko shot her a cold look and retorted, “Why did you go and steal my goddamn boyfriend?”
“What?” Kana said, completely baffled. “What do you mean your boyfriend?” Kana stopped herself mid-sentence, her eyes growing impossibly large. Her heart sank frightfully in her chest and a tremor passed across her frame like a ripple on the water. Her skin prickling with goosebumps, Kana scrambled back to put a safe distance between herself and this living ghost. “You mean, you—you’re...?”
Saeko didn’t say anything. Instead, she merely lit up another cigarette, her first one having gotten knocked to the ground and then trampled on in the tussle.
As she got the tip glowing, she blew out a couple of smoke rings then shot a third, smaller ring, through the two previous rings which were slowly fading away from her. She wanted to let the silence linger a bit. Let the dreadful shock sink into the pit of the girl’s bloated stomach.
Looking at Saeko, Kana gasped, “B-but you’re supposed to be dead. You were bitten! Eaten alive!”
“I got better.”
Kana nervously twiddled her hair in her fingers. “What? People don’t just get better! Not from that.”
“I did,” Saeko informed her between drags on her glowing cigarette. She stated it as dryly as one might read a fact from the page of an encyclopedia. It wasn’t a matter of whether it had happened. It had. That was the fact of the matter. The only thing to do now was to try and understand the how and why of it.
Kana was about to respond, but then Kevin moaned out in pain and she rushed over to his side. “What should I do?”
“I think I may have given him a mild concussion. Just to be on the safe side, when he wakes up, you’re going to have to keep him awake. Don’t let him fall asleep tonight or he could hemorrhage into his head.”
“How on earth am I supposed to keep him awake all night?” Kana asked. “We’ve been running all day and we’re both exhausted.”
“Somehow I think you’ll find a way. I mean, it’s not exactly rocket science now, is it?”
“Ohhh,” Kana said with a revelatory sigh. “But, won’t you get angry?” She bit down on her quivering bottom lip and tried to hide her uneasiness.
“I’m won’t be mad,” Saeko replied. She thought the lie would at least get Kana to trust her. She put her hand on Kana’s shoulder to let her know that she was sincere. She even threw in a fake smile just to seal the deal. “Honest.”
“He thought you were dead. You know that, right?”
“I know,” Saeko replied. “I understand. He moved on. I guess that means I have to too.”
Kana let out a huge sigh of relief when Saeko said that.
Without saying so much as another word, Saeko existed the shrine and stepped out into the pitch black of night.
“Wait, where are you going?” Kana asked.
“I’m going to patrol the area to see if there are any monsters lurking in the dark.”
“What if there are?” Kana asked.
Moonlight muted by the thickening cloud cover cast a soft glow upon Saeko’s face which gave her a ghostly appearance. Putting her game face on, she turned toward the faint-hearted woman sitting next to Kevin and did her best to reassure her. “If there are, then I’ll deal with them.”
47
Not a Dream
Somewhere Near Mount Fuji, Japan
“Mmmm,” Kevin groaned. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around the room then sat up and rubbed his sore head. “What the hell happened?”
“You mean you don’t remember?” Kana asked, a little relieved that he didn’t recall everything that had just transpired.
“Sorry,” Kevin apologized. “I must have dozed off or something. I guess I am more exhausted than I thought. I think I have you to blame for that.”
“What?” Kana gasped, offended. “Why am I to blame?”
He pulled Kana on top of him, rolled her so that her back was on the floor, and then leaned down and kissed her lips. “Because you won’t let me rest a single wink,” he informed her. Then he kissed her on the lips again just for good measure.
“No problem,” Kana said, satisfied with his answer. “No need to over-exert yourself on my account.”
“No,” Kevin said, flopping over onto his back, “it’s fun. Besides, I should at least try and please you part of the time too.”
Kana placed her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. “You don’t even have to try t
o satisfy me,” she informed him. “Just being with you is enough to keep me happy.”
After a few moments of silence, Kana asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Kevin gazed up at the ceiling. “You know something, I had the weirdest dream.”
“So tell me about this strange dream you had,” Kana urged, snuggling up to his chest. She wanted to keep him talking.
“I wasn’t going to mention this, but I dreamed that my ex-girlfriend, Saeko, was sitting here watching us…well…you know.”
“No, I don’t know. Watching us do what exactly?”
“You know…” Kevin reiterated, sheepishly.
“Oh, really?” Kana said, smiling. Her cheeks blushed. “That’s kind of kinky, isn’t it?”
“Well, it probably sounds kinkier than it actually was. All she did was smoke a cigarette and...” Kevin stopped mid-sentence when his eyes caught the smoldering butt of a discarded cigarette lying not more than a couple meters away. His face went blank as a serious concussion scrambled his brain even further than it already was. “Wait a moment—”
“What is it?” Kana interrupted, not giving him a chance to finish the sentence. Kevin tried to get up, but Kana shoved him back down. Hard.
“Oomph!” Kevin smacked his head against the wood floor.
“Oh, shit!” Kana squeaked. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to!”
“What in the world was that for?” Kevin rubbed his head and attempted to ease the pain. He would have been angrier, except in the very next moment the sliding doors flew open and they were interrupted by Saeko crashing in on them.
Crouching down, she kicked dirt onto the small fire and doused it, then turned toward them with a finger to her lips and hushed them both. “Keep quiet, get dressed, and follow me,” she ordered.
Kevin’s face went blank, as if he’d just seen a ghost. His memories were still rather hazy and nothing was coming in very clearly. Turning to Kana, who was already scrambling to get dressed, he asked, “You mean, I wasn’t dreaming any of it?”
“I’m afraid not, lover boy,” Saeko declared.
Kana looked at Kevin and shrugged. What else could she add?
Kevin did as he was told and quickly got dressed. Gathering up their things, he strapped on his sword, looked at Saeko, and said, “Right, let’s go.”
“Hush,” Saeko whispered through her teeth. She listened for a moment and when she felt the coast was clear, she waved for them to follow her lead.
Scrambling out the doors of the shrine, Kevin and Kana quickly followed Saeko into the bamboo forest. They ran along at a brisk pace, putting distance between themselves and the shrine.
Moments later the sun came up over the horizon and peeked through the forest trees. As sunlight broke through the verdure canopy of branches and bamboo, Saeko slowed to a walk and scanned their surroundings. The morning mist was beginning to fill the forest as the sun began to heat the water vapor that had condensed during the night.
Saeko stared suspiciously at the fog that had engulfed them all. Then frowning, she muttered, “Dammit. They’re already here.” Slowly, delicately, she drew out her sword.
Kevin immediately responded by ushering Kana behind his back and then gripped the hilt of his sword. Kana, wedged between Saeko and himself, crouched down and asked, “What is it?”
Saeko squinted her eyes as she peered into the fog. “There are shadows moving in the fog.”
Kevin drew out his sword. “If we get surrounded, you get down as low as you can. Understand?”
Trembling with fear, Kana nodded her head in compliance. She wanted desperately to cling to Kevin, but she knew better than to interrupt his concentration. Especially when he was slaying monsters. Besides, with her bum ankle she’d only be in the way anyhow. The best thing for her to do was keep her head low and listen to whatever Kevin told her to do.
Saeko strained her eyes to better make out the blurry gray shapes that drew closer to them. Suddenly a face emerged from the fog. Chapped and bloody lips peeled back, revealing hideous yellow teeth. With a hiss the zombie lunged at Saeko, but before it could sink its rotten teeth in she swiftly decapitated it with an expert slice of her hot white blade.
Kana screamed as the monster’s head rolled under her face and looked up at her with open eyes—eyes that blinked at her as its mouth continued to bite and gnaw at the empty space between them. Kevin quickly booted it away like a soccer ball. Kana screamed again.
“Quiet!” Saeko barked. “There are more of them out there and we don’t want to attract any more than necessary.”
As they readied themselves, a breeze picked up and opened a clearing. The fog rolled away, as if a great white curtain was being drawn back, and appearing before them in the clearing was an old man. He sat atop a large bolder, clutching a wooden staff in one hand and stroking his long white beard with the other as he peeked out from under the large parasol hat of a Buddhist monk. A yellow satin scarf was draped across his shoulders and hung down on either side of his black tunic.
When the fog pulled away, the old man briefly studied the faces of the distraught young people and assessed they weren’t any kind of threat.
As more gray shapes began to take form in the dreadful fog, the old man used his cane to prop himself up and then slowly rose to his feet. Standing before them like a valiant centurion, he waved them over to his stalwart perch and whispered in a low but commanding voice, “Follow me.”
PART 9
AMERICA
CLEVELAND, OHIO
NEAR LAKE ERIE
48
The First Rule of the Zombie Apocalypse: Don’t Get Bit
Interstate 271, Outside of Cleveland, Ohio
Rubbing the tears from her eyes, Lindsey wept quietly. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. She fought to keep her sobs to a minimum as they hid in the shadows beneath the bridge.
“It’s not your fault,” Josh reassured her. He took Lindsey’s torn shirt sleeve firmly in his hands and ripped the sleeve off. Then he examined the bite wound. It was fairly serious. The skin was lacerated deeply and the central piece of flesh that didn’t get ripped out dangled loosely in the middle of the wound. All around the bite mark the skin was bright pink and the bleeding was profuse.
Using the piece of sleeve as a cloth, Josh dabbed Lindsey’s blood from the wound.
Josh looked back the way they had come. There were frosty-eyed Walkers everywhere in virtually every direction. They didn’t stand a fighting chance. They had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Not really.
Lindsey’s hands found Josh’s face. She brought his gaze to hers and looked deeply into his eyes. “I love you.”
Josh didn’t want to accept that this was the end. “No,” he said defiantly, turning away from her. “I refuse to believe this is it. There has to be some way out of here. There has to be.”
Hungry moans interrupted him, as if to spite any hope they might have of escaping. More zombies staggered up the steep embankment of the underpass and moved toward their position. It would only be a matter of minutes before the monsters reached them.
Lindsey gently brought Josh’s face back toward hers. “Listen to me,” she said, softly. “Not everyone makes it.”
Josh stared into her eyes for the longest time. He cupped her face in his hand and wiped one of her tears away with his thumb. Then he leaned in and kissed her and she kissed him back.
As they kissed, dark figures gathered around them with outstretched arms and crooked, gnarly fingers.
Lindsey’s words ran through Josh’s mind. Not everyone makes it. Dammit, he thought. She was right. And, yet, they’d come so far.
“I love you too,” he answered.
Crouched under the bypass, they gazed into each other’s eyes one last time, and then the writhing wall of hands closed in on them and everything went dark.
49
Vegas or Bust
Along Interstate 271, Outside of Cleveland, Ohio
The candy-apple red Cad
illac ATS-V tore down the highway at a hundred and seventy-three miles per hour. Jennifer Hurley checked the rear-view mirror and smiled. Her blonde doppelganger and the little girl sat on the empty seat in the back.
“Shit!” Jen screamed as she looked back through the windshield in time to see a turned-over bus wrecked right in the middle of the highway. She slammed down on the brakes and the car whined and the engine grumbled as the Brembo brakes bit down until they glowed orange hot.
The front of her beautiful Cadi stopped mere inches away from the bus. Jen opened the door and got out. Soon she could hear the moans coming from all around, but she went about her business as if they weren’t even there.
Jen peered inside the darkened bus. Then she heard a muffled groan seep out, but without a single worry she climbed in. A few minutes later she came back out with several bags. Unzipping them, she dumped their contents out all over the hood of her car and looked for women’s clothes in her size.
“Ooh! I absolutely love this!” Jen gushed, holding up a sleeveless, cobalt-blue Chiffon mini dress with white flower print. Jen quickly stripped off all her clothes, which wasn’t much considering she only had on the bikini she had found at water sports shop.
Wiggling her hips, she slipped on the dress and pulled it taught, allowing it to form snuggly to her voluptuous figure.
She loved the fact that the embroidered lace that ran across her chest was see-through so it could tease roaming eyes with glimpses of the tan skin of her breasts. Might as well flaunt it if you got it, she told herself.
Jen brushed down the dress and pressed out any unwanted wrinkles then admired how tightly it fit her. It showed off her every curve. Finding a few other things she liked, she picked out the bag she wanted, a yellow Nike sports duffel, then shoved everything inside. The rest she brushed off the hood of her car and let fall onto the ground.
