Zombieclypse (Book 3): Dead End

by Rosaria, A.

  Another win for survival.

  CHAPTER TEN

  It was an hour before sunset. Sarah sat alone on her bed, staring at the locked door. Her belly grumbled. How much longer would she have to wait for dinner? Fifteen minutes later, the lock’s light turned green and the door slid open. Terry walked in, carrying a tray with him.

  “You must be hungry,” he said, showing his perfect smile.

  She grabbed the tray from him and set it on her lap. Beef stroganoff with rice. She wondered where they got all this food. It was by no mean her favorite dish, but she would eat anything right now.

  “Dig in. Don’t mind me.”

  Oh, she wanted to wolf it down, although that wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

  “Shouldn’t you be on a mission right now?”

  He sat next to her, his hip brushing hers. “I thought I’d pay you a visit first. It might be a while before we see each other again.”

  Sarah ate in silence as he watched her. It kind of bothered her, but as time passed, she relaxed.

  “It’s great,” she said as she put the plate down. “You’re my savior. I was starving.”

  “The least I could do with you stuck inside your room.”

  “How long do you think the probation will last?”

  “A little bird told me something went on today that may prolong it.”

  Damn, someone had ratted her out.

  “Don’t look that worried. So what? You have a friend and it happens to be his daughter. I’m okay with that. It makes me happy to know you’re not alone, and that it’s not a boyfriend.”

  No, no boyfriends, and as much as she wanted one, she couldn’t let go of Ralph.

  Terry put his hand on her leg. The place he touched her grew hot. Sarah quickly pushed his hand away.

  “It’s a big deal,” she said. “Mr. Ward will come after me for talking to his daughter.”

  “No, he won’t. I’ll see that he doesn’t.”

  Terry scuttled closer, their hips touched again, and he put an arm around her. She stiffened at his touch. She wanted the intimacy, but it felt wrong.

  “Sarah, I have to tell you something before I go. I like you. I like you a lot.”

  He leaned in to kiss her. She pushed him away, got up, and backed away from him until her back slammed against the wall. “Please, don’t do that.”

  “I thought you liked me.”

  “Well yes, but not like that.”

  “You could have fooled me. You were blushing the whole time. Why is it so difficult to admit it?”

  Oh, she liked him all right. Her heart was still racing from when his lips closed in for the kiss, but the second before their lips touched, she saw a flash of Ralph lying in the mud with zombies closing in on him. Ralph had twitched when Terry took her away.

  “Are you still holding it against me that I led the assault on your camp?”

  He sat on her bed, shoulders dropped, looking defeated. She wanted to rush to him, hug him, console him, and tell him she loved him. However, the most she managed was a step forward.

  He looked up, anguish in his eyes. “What can I do for you to forgive me?”

  It was the last drop. She couldn’t stand him feeling guilty, not after all he had done for her. He stood at her side and took the brunt of shit coming her way without complaining. Sarah sat next to him and put her hand on his. “I do like you. It’s just, as long I don’t know what happened to Ralph, I won’t be able to move on. I need to find him, dead or alive.”

  “Ralph? The guy my soldiers shot before we grabbed you?”

  She never told him who Ralph was. In her official story, Ralph was just a guy she didn’t know, just another survivor.

  “How do you know that?”

  “The way you were screaming that day told me enough. I’m sorry, but Ralph is dead.”

  “I saw him move. He could have made it.”

  “Sorry, but he’s dead. The place was overrun with the undead.”

  She shook her head, fighting back the tears.

  “There is something I never told you,” Terry said. “We went back the next day and rid the place of zombies while looking for survivors. We didn’t find a single survivor.”

  “What did you do with the bodies?”

  “Shot them through the head.”

  Sarah slapped him. “You shot him through the head?”

  Terry jumped up and pushed her away. “What has gotten into you? Of course we shoot every damn zombie in the head. What else would we do, cuddle them?”

  “Ralph is immune. He could never become a zombie.”

  “Oh.” Terry sat back down on the bed. “We found no corpses, the non-walking kind.”

  She should apologize for slapping him, but felt her rage still burning inside her. It was he, after all, who had caused her to be separated from Ralph. Yes, she liked him, but that eased the pain only a little. It was still there, eating her from the inside.

  “So he’s alive?” She dared not hope, but he really could be alive.

  “Not necessarily. We were not looking for corpses lying on the ground; we were too busy putting them down.”

  “You would love for him to be dead, wouldn’t you?”

  “To be honest? Yes, I would—if it meant you would be mine.”

  Wrong as it was for him to say that, it felt good to know how much he wanted her. She also liked his frankness.

  “Would you go look for him?”

  “I would rather not. If I don’t find him, I’d tell you so—even if it costs me you. I won’t lie to you, even if it damns me, so no, I won’t go look.”

  She grabbed his hands. “Please, it’s the only way I can move on.”

  Was it? Could she get over that Terry has caused Ralph’s death? She was not sure; she wanted to believe she could forgive him. It wasn’t as if he did it out of malice. And was she right to hold it against him? After all, she was his brother’s murderer.

  Terry looked away, frowning. He stood up, walked to the door, and pressed the lock. As the door slid open, he turned around. “Okay, I’ll look for him on my way back.”

  He left her staring at the closed door. Tears streamed over her cheeks, and she didn’t know whether it was out of gratitude or sorrow.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Lauryn barely believed it. One minute she was losing the battle against her demons, and the next her life turned around and she was in his arms kissing. She glanced at him as she walked beside him. Had it really happened? She tightened her grip on his hand, and he winced.

  “Afraid to lose me?” Ralph said.

  If only he knew how much. Lauryn let his hand go. “Just checking to see if you were still here. You looked like you were spacing out.”

  “It’s the walkers we found inside the gas station.”

  “What about them?”

  “Don’t you think it’s strange how the first one was killed while alive, and the other one was a zombie?”

  “Probably the one who turned killed the first one before he turned.”

  “Could be, but who chewed the guy’s legs off?”

  Sarah stopped walking. Ralph was right. It was unlikely the corpse had lost his legs, killed his friend, and later turned and all that without leaving a blood trail to the back room, and the legs had been in the same room Ralph found the zombie.

  “The one killed his friend and a zombie came in later and got the killer?”

  “The body was fresh, at most a week old. Zombies linger around a kill, unless they sense other prey. So why was the only victim still inside that dark room?”

  “So what do you think happened?”

  “I don’t know.” He grabbed her hand. “We better get going.”

  The sun was almost down by the time they reached their makeshift camp. The others sat around the campfire, warming up cans of beans. Beans today, beans yesterday, beans the day before yesterday, and tomorrow? Beans again.

  Brenda gave Lauryn a nod and a knowing smile. Lauryn remembered how Brenda wen
t after Ralph, and she got burned for it. It had downright terrified Lauryn that Brenda might succeed. However, Brenda failed, and now they were best friends. Lauryn wanted to believe that it wouldn’t have mattered if Brenda had gotten together with Ralph, that they would still have been friends. However, she knew that wouldn’t have happened. Ralph with anyone else would have devastated her.

  Ethan looked less glad to see her and Ralph holding hands. She liked Ethan, and in truth, didn’t mind his age, but it never would have worked. The attraction wasn’t there, for her anyway. He would come around. His flirting didn’t seem that serious to begin with.

  “You ran into something,” Ethan said to Ralph.

  Lauryn sat next to Brenda, who scuttled closer and whispered in her ear, “Tell me all about it later.”

  Lauryn shushed her, wanting to follow what the men were discussing. “Later, okay?”

  Brenda stifled a giggle.

  Ralph relayed to Ethan what had happened at the gas station and in the neighborhood they scouted.

  “We should move in the morning,” Ralph said.

  “No. It will be cold tonight, and as you can see, not everyone has someone to warm him or her. We could make it in an hour, enough time to clear a house and hunker down.”

  Ethan pointed to the dark clouds floating in the air at a lazy pace. “I would like a dry place to stay. If we get wet, we get ill, and we can’t have that, not this far out.”

  Despite the little jab, what Ethan said made sense. The nights were cold and full of zombies, and having some shelter was better than having none. Ralph knew this, which was why it surprised her when he didn’t agree.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea, at least not this time,” Ralph said.

  “Come one, Ralph. Why wouldn’t it be? You said yourself there are only a few of them. We can handle it if we make it in time.”

  “It’s this feeling I have, like I’m missing something crucial.”

  “We can’t go by your gut feelings alone and we don’t have time to argue about this.”

  The missing zombie had Ralph worried. It bothered her too, but wouldn’t it be more of a reason to seek shelter?

  “My gut feelings have been right before,” Ralph said.

  “Ralph, like I said, we don’t have time to argue. Let’s put it to the vote.”

  Ethan turned to the group. “Are we going to stay out here in the open and risk getting wet? Or do we go to the town and stay in one of the houses? Those in favor of staying raise your hand.”

  Ralph lifted his. He looked at her, waiting. Lauryn hesitated. Ethan was right. She looked from Ethan to Ralph, and raised her hand. It was only the two of them. Lauryn shot Brenda a look, but she kept her hands neatly folded in her lap and shook her head. It was what she liked about Brenda. Once she made a choice, she didn’t allow anyone to sway her.

  “You two lovebirds can stay and huddle together for warmth, if that’s what you want, but the majority of us want proper shelter. Pack up and let’s go.”

  Lauryn gave Ethan a disappointed look. He averted his eyes; his neck flushed red. She hoped the message got through. She liked the man but disliked his snide remarks.

  In a few angry steps, Ralph was by her side. “Can you believe that? It’s a year ago all over again. It feels wrong.”

  Brenda stood, and gave Lauryn’s shoulder a squeeze. “Ralph, gut feelings alone make bad advisors.” She followed the others.

  “Damn that girl,” Ralph said, smiling. “I love her frankness, but damn it, when she uses it against you.”

  Lauryn pulled Ralph down next to her and scooted closer so that their sides touched. “Let’s stay for a while. We’ll go after them later.”

  “Thank you for raising your hand.”

  “I did what I had to do.”

  Ralph laughed, put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her closer. “I saw you hesitate. You agreed with Ethan.”

  Lauryn didn’t answer. He was right; she had agreed with moving out. It was meaningless now. They had made their choice. She watched as the others packed their things. Ethan cast a worried look at her every so often.

  Before they left, he walked over.

  “Lauryn, come with us. It’s not smart being out here alone.”

  “We’ll follow after a while.”

  Ethan grimaced. “But—”

  “No buts!” Ralph said. “You heard her. We’ll follow you later.”

  Ethan led the group away, leaving them sitting on a trunk huddled together. Lauryn wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  “Ethan really likes you.”

  “He does, but he doesn’t love me.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. You are easy to love. I loved you pretty much the first time I met you.”

  “Snotty and all?”

  “Yeah, with muck coming out of your nose and all.”

  His lips met hers. Lauryn felt her body grow warm at the touch. She wanted more, for him to be her first. If only they had a sleeping bag. Having a room would be better. She kissed him deeply; her tongue sought his and found him. They interlocked. His hand caressed her back and slid lower; the other cupped one breast. She felt her nipples stiffen under his touch and moaned.

  “I want you,” he said as he kissed her neck.

  She wanted it, but not here, not out in the open where a zombie could stumble upon them. Dying while making love was not what she wanted. She pushed him away, both panting. “Not now, not here.”

  “You’re right, and we shouldn’t do it without protection.”

  She had not thought about that. Getting pregnant wasn’t a good idea.

  They quickly gathered their things and followed the road to the town. Within fifteen minutes, they caught up.

  Brenda saw them, waved, and called out, “About time you show up. Gonna tell me how it went?” She winked at Lauryn.

  From the head of the group, Ethan yelled for them to be quiet.

  Brenda leaned closer to Lauryn, put a hand on her shoulder, and whispered, “The old guy has a bad temper today. Do you know why?”

  Lauryn gave Brenda a playful elbow in the ribs. “Shush, this isn’t the time to be coy.”

  Brenda smiled and turned to congratulate Ralph. “Finally wised up, I see.”

  “Yeah,” Ralph said, “a little bird lectured me about my thick headedness. Really opened my eyes.”

  “Am I now a little bird?”

  So it was Brenda, Lauryn thought. She wanted to hit her and kiss her at the same time. Whatever Brenda told Ralph had worked.

  The sun’s last rays reached for the sky in a desperate attempt to hang on a while longer, but it lost the battle—as it did every day. By the time they reached the town, it was dark. The half-moon at their back gave them the faintest light. The clouds were thick with rain, and it wouldn’t surprise Lauryn if soon the moon was blocked, leaving them in utter darkness.

  “Take out your flashlights,” Ethan said from the front. “We better hurry.”

  They fumbled in their backpacks for their flashlights. The lights turned on, one at a time. Beams of light crossed each other, haphazardly casting light in the dark. Lauryn’s fell dead center on a female zombie. It froze in the sudden light.

  “Shit,” Lauryn cried. She pulled her axe.

  Ralph grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her back.

  “It’s a slow one. We better avoid it.”

  The way it stood, not moving, not making a sound, disturbed her. She didn’t believe Ralph. His face was grim, and the way he gripped his gun showed he was ready to act at a moment’s notice.

  The others also noticed the zombie. “That way! Another one,” Derrick yelled, an athletic man in his early twenties. Lauryn only knew him by face and name. Lauryn looked where his flashlight shone. Another female zombie—nude, almost fresh-looking—stood about fifty feet to their right. They swung their lights, searching for others, but found only these two. Both didn’t move or moan or growl. It creeped her out.

  “Ignore th
em,” Ethan yelled. “Go to the closest house now. Run!”

  Keeping their formation two abreast, Lauryn and Ralph in the rear, they hurried toward a two-story townhouse with an attached garage, surrounded by a white picket fence. The zombies followed them. The fluidly of their movements worried Lauryn. This was not the jerky movement the slow ones made, or the uncoordinated fast trot of the faster ones. These walked as she would.

  It scared her, so much her hands sweated, which caused her grip on her axe to loosen. Last time she felt this kind of dread was when the zombie chased her on the highway. Not even rescuing Ralph a year ago had made her feel like this.

  She wiped a hand on her jeans, about to do the same with the other, when her axe slipped to the ground. She froze, staring at it for a second, and then she bent over to pick it up.

  “Watch out,” Brenda screamed.

  Lauryn froze, her finger inches from her axe’s handle. She looked up. The two zombies were in a full sprint, coming in fast. She grabbed her axe. She only had time for one swing. Gritting her teeth, she swung her axe up, steadying herself for the shock of her axe connecting. She lost her balance as she hit air instead of the zombie’s chin. She had never missed before. She stumbled forward and staggered to the side, almost falling over.

  Bang! Her ears rang. Something heavy dropped to her side. She heard a high whistle, not sure if it were real or if her hearing had failed. She fell on her knees. Hands grabbed her, and pulled her up. Brenda’s face appeared in front of her, eyes wide, lips trembling, screaming, but Lauryn only heard the high whistle. She looked around. It was dark; clouds covered the moon. Ahead flashlights swayed in the dark.

  Brenda grabbed her hand and led her into a run. Dazed, Lauryn followed without struggling. As the high-pitched whistling dwindled, the world around her transformed in a cacophony of moans, growls, and screams. With each scream, a flashlight fell. Lauryn couldn’t look away from what the light revealed—her companions ripped to shreds by zombies, fast zombies.

  The moon crawled away from the clouds, it silver light casting over them. Three bodies on the ground, two zombies on each, ripping and tearing, Nancy, a nice girl Lauryn liked to talk too, was still alive as they ate her. Immune like Ralph, she would not turn. Her eyes were white, her screaming one long wail. Lauryn slowed down, hypnotized by the sight. Brenda pulled her out of it and to the abandoned house.