by D. C. Gomez
“For what?” one of them asked.
“For that,” I said, pointing in the direction of the vehicles. From behind the cars, three very large bobcats were walking out. “I guess we found out who ate the pies.” I looked at Eric, a little scared.
“What’s wrong with those bobcats? They don’t look normal,” one of the troopers said. He was so right; the animals were foaming at the mouth.
“They are infected and a lot more dangerous than normal ones.” Before any of us could move, the bobcats charged at us. They were faster than any animal I had ever seen.
The officers pulled out their guns and started shooting. The area went wild in less than three seconds. All other officers began screaming, trying to find out what was going on. The bobcats scattered. Officers were getting attacked left and right. Everyone was shooting. This was an excellent time for me not to have my guns with me. I looked around for a place to hide. People were running and screaming. There was no place to hide. I was afraid I was going to get shot by a random bullet. I wasn’t sure if anyone was aiming anymore.
I decided to head to Ladybug for cover when a large bobcat stepped in front of me. He looked hungry and was foaming even more. He had been shot on the side, but it didn’t slow him down. I looked around for something to use as a weapon. Before I could find anything, he pounced. I dove to one side just in time. He barely missed my leg. I was rolling on the ground when it pounced again. I managed to grab a rock from my side and throw it at him. I hit his head but to no effect. The bobcat just looked angrier. I was crawling back when it leaped, I covered my face with my arms and braced for impact.
I heard the shot go off. I looked up, and the bobcat was lying right next to me. Eric was running in my direction, holding his gun. Thank the lord Eric was an amazing marksman. That was an incredible shot.
“Isis, are you OK?” Eric helped me to my feet.
“That was terrifying,” I told him. I glanced at the bobcat. “Don’t tell Constantine; I don’t want to know if that little fellow is part of his family tree.” Eric looked at the bobcat again and nodded. The last thing I needed was Constantine wanting vengeance. “Is everyone OK?” I looked around the giant disaster zone.
“After the initial shock passed, everyone recovered quickly. The other two are down, but some explanations will be in order.” He looked at me, taking a visual inspection.
“I’m fine. But are you ready to explain that a zombie plague is loose in Texarkana and can affect anything, human and animal?” If people weren’t bad enough, I wasn’t ready for zombie cats and dogs.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Most people here will think rabies. This is not going to help convince them about zombies.” He had a point.
“I need to get back. Can I go?” There wasn’t much left for me to do here, and the boys needed me.
“Yeah, be careful.” Eric looked worried.
“I’m heading to Spring Lake Park. We could use your help.” We needed Eric and an entire unit of Navy SEALs.
“Got it. I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m done here. Watch yourself, now. You’re a magnet for trouble.” Eric gave me a severe look, like it was my fault bobcats appeared at his crime scene. I really could never win with people.
I made my way quickly across the area toward Ladybug. Officers were being treated for bites, and I made a mental note to add them to our list of potential zombies. If those cats went zombie in less than a day, I was pretty sure our troopers would be turning fairly quickly as well. Oh lord, this was going to be messy.
Chapter 33
The drive back from Hooks on I-30 was quiet. I planned to get off at the Nash exit, swing by Reapers and change clothes. If I was going to be chasing zombies, I wanted to be comfortable. I was doing a mental recon of the park when my phone started vibrating. I answered it in Ladybug’s speaker system. Bartholomew decided I needed to get with the times. The car system announced Shorty was calling.
“Hey, Shorty, what’s going on?”
“Boss lady, you were not answering your texts,” Shorty said, a little out of breath.
“I’m driving. Trying not to die.” I had picked up too many souls who had been decapitated because of texting while driving. Not the way I wanted to go.
“Very responsible of you, but we got a problem.”
“Shorty, we got a lot of problems today. You need to be more specific.”
“Boss lady, you remember the apartment buildings across from TC?” I made a faint grunt sound for him to continue. “Well, they’re overrun with zombies.”
“What? Are you sure? How as that possible? We were there yesterday, and it was clean.”
“I was doing my rounds and made it down Robinson, and it looks like the block party from hell. You might want to hurry.” I was starting to hear screams in the back. That was not good.
“I’m on my way. Can you contain the situation till I get there?” I hit the gas and started flying down I-30 to the Richmond exit in Texarkana.
“Contained? Boss lady, I barely have enough ammo to stay alive. Do you remember I’m the cleanup crew? You tag them; I’ll bag them.”
Shorty was starting to get loud. I liked his motto.
“I got it. Take care and don’t let them touch you. On my way.” I disconnected the call and drove just as crazy as Shorty. Thank God Ladybug had a great center of gravity, because I took a right turn at Richmond like an Indie driver.
Time was not on our side today. I took another sharp right on Robinson and was relieved the road was clear. Either the situation was not as bad as Shorty described it, or we had time. I flew down the road and made the traffic light right before TC. That’s when the situation deteriorated quickly. It was bad; it just hadn’t spread. I promptly parked behind Shorty, grabbed two large paint guns and jumped out of the car. I stayed as low as possible, to avoid the zombies.
Shorty was inside the truck, leaning on the driver’s door and staring out the passenger window. I quickly tapped the window to get his attention. I was afraid I gave the poor boy a heart attack. He jumped at least two feet in the air, hitting his head on the roof of the truck. He lowered the window, holding his chest.
“Are you trying to kill me?” Shorty was somewhat yelling and whispering at the same time. It was a weird combination.
“Sorry. I thought you saw me coming.” If the situation weren’t so insane, I would have laughed. “Status report. How bad is it?”
Shorty looked at me then back to the scene in front. “All hell broke loose.” He eyed my guns very suspiciously. “I hope you have a bigger gun.”
“Bigger? Shorty, what do I look like, Clint Eastwood?” These were the biggest paint guns on the market.
“Well boss lady, they are about to make your day. You better give them hell.”
I wasn’t sure if I was flattered or annoyed that Shorty gave me so much credit. He gave me a serious head nod and an air pump. It was official; I was on my own.
“Don’t die, boss lady. I got your back.”
“From the truck?” I gave him a quizzical look for good measures.
“Hey, I didn’t say how far.” He did have a point on that.
“Fine, I’m out.” The situation was not going to solve itself, so it was now or never.
I considered the best plan of attack, then decided straight on was just as good as any. Why hide? I was the only one armed. I walked around the truck and started shooting at everything that was moving. We were practicing the 82nd Airborne’s model, shoot them all and let God sort them out. I didn’t have time to distinguish between friend and foe. If they were moving, they were going down. I made it across the street, faster than I hoped. The parking lot of Windsor Place looked like the scene out of a horror film. Zombies were everywhere. Some were attacking one another; others were chasing the poor civilians who were still normal. Others were banging on doors. Did the accountant drop
a pie wagon here?
I made it to the middle of the parking lot, shooting zombies left and right. My favorite pair of lovebirds was running in my direction, but this time they were fully zombied. I liked them better when they were naked and scared. I hope this concoction didn’t have any long-lasting effects, because it was the second time in less than twenty-four hours I was knocking these two out. I sensed more than felt movement from my right side. I did a quick drop just in time for a zombie to charge at me. Constantine was probably a clairvoyant, because when he sent me to take Brazilian Capoeira, I thought that was the most useless fighting technique ever. Now I was doing midair spins, trying to dodge zombies.
It didn’t take long for all my little zombie friends to realize I was human. I had a new plan and hopefully a more practical one. Make them come to me and give the humans time to run. I hope I didn’t die from this. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled as loud as I could. The air-splitting sound made all the zombies who hadn’t noticed me turn in my direction.
“Do you guys want to play?” I asked the crowd. I felt like a Spanish bullfighter. All I needed was the cape, because every zombie on the block charged in my direction. Common sense would tell humans to duck and dodge if someone was holding a gun at you. That part of their brains was gone. They just charged.
I took three out in under two seconds. Two got past them and aimed at my head. I elbowed one in the face and double tapped him with the paintball. His friend tried to grab the other side and ended up with a roundhouse to the sternum. When they woke up to their usual selves, they were going to be in pain. I was pretty sure I broke several jaws and femurs in less than ten minutes. That was all it took—about ten minutes from the time I left Shorty till I had chased the last zombie up a set of stairs.
I walked back to the center of the parking lot, double-tapping any zombie that was still twitching. I was not taking any chances with another rebellion. My clothes were covered in sweat, and I was pretty sure I stunk. The May heat was in full effect by now. I heard footsteps and turned, guns ready.
“Hold up, boss lady; it’s just me.”
I saw Shorty, hands in the air in the middle of the road. I took a huge breath and relaxed.
“Please tell I didn’t miss any of them.” I didn’t want to chance a rogue zombie going down the streets of Texarkana.
“Boss lady you are on fire.” Shorty was inspecting the aftermath of the fight. “You are one tough lady. I’m impressed.” Shorty gave me a fist bump, and I returned it. I smiled back. It was easy to take them down when I knew I was only putting them to sleep.
“Shorty, you got a mess to clean up now.” This was his department. He looked around the place in awe.
“I should have asked to get paid by the body count, not the hour. I’d be rich.” I looked around as well, and Shorty was right. There were at least fifty people scattered about.
“I’ll talk to Constantine and see if he can give you a bonus.”
Shorty’s eyes got huge. “Can you check instead and see if I can keep the truck? I like being the cleanup crew. I’m important. I even got business cards.”
I had no idea what Shorty was talking about. He pulled a black business card with red gothic letters that read, “Shorty, Reapers Incorporated, Cleanup Crew.”
“I’m sure Constantine could make that happen.” I smiled at Shorty as he ran over to get this truck. I didn’t have time to help. Maybe he could hire more people. Before I could suggest it, my phone vibrated. I quick-checked the caller ID. It was Abuelita.
“Hi, Abuelita, what’s going on?” It was rare for Abuelita to call me. Usually she just texted.
“Isis, we have a problem.”
Why did everyone’s problem involve me?
“What kind of problem?” This better be good.
“The alarm system at Abuelita’s is going off. I need you to check on it.”
Was she serious? “Abuelita, can it wait? We got a lot of things going on today, like the zombie apocalypse.”
“Honey, I know that. But I have a couple of potions boiling at Abuelita’s that if disturbed will send Texarkana back to the dark ages.” Abuelita said that very calmly for a person brewing a bomb in her restaurant.
“That can be a problem.” What else was I supposed to say after that piece of information?
“Not to mention, my security system happens to be dead.”
I was confused. “What do you mean dead? Like ADT shut the power down?” How was a security system dead?
“No, honey, like as a dead SWAT member who guards the premises and notifies me when somebody breaks in. Unlike Death’s interns, who can make the dead destroy things, all I can do is have my security guy send me messages.”
Could I tell the dead to destroy things? I was really behind the curve today; I was not getting all the information. I might need to check on that later. “What exactly do I need to do?”
“Just swing by, check in with Dave and see if everything is OK. He’s freaking out, and I can’t get a clear signal.” Abuelita was a medium and could talk to the dead. That was awesome.
“Got it. On my way. If you see Bob, let him know I’m running late.” I looked around for Shorty to let him know.
“Will do, dear. Thank you.” Abuelita hung up, and I ran over to Shorty.
“Shorty, I’m heading to Abuelita’s. Can you get some backup here to clean up?” Shorty looked at me like I had grown another head.
“I can hire?” I was worried, just by the sound of his voice.
“Yes, but only reliable people, and you better not discriminate. And offer them fair wages. I don’t need another disgruntled employee trying to kill the rest of Texarkana.” This whole thing about being an employer was complicated. I was leaving this work for Constantine.
“Boss lady. Where should I meet you afterward?” Shorty was way too happy to have people.
“Once you get this organized, swing by Abuelita’s. I have no idea what’s going on, but just in case, stop by. We eventually need to make it to Spring Lake Park. Got it.”
Shorty smiled back at me like a madman. I wondered if he’d been drinking. After today, I might need to start drinking as well.
“We got this, boss lady. You tag them; I’ll bag them.” I laughed at Shorty and ran to Ladybug. Eventually, I was going to get home and change. That was still on my list of things to do.
Chapter 34
The parking lot at Abuelita’s was deserted. Whatever had set off the alarm did not drive here. Maybe they parked their tiny vehicles in the back. Either way, I needed to get out of the car. I gave Abuelita my word, so here I was. I could be doing so many other things than checking on empty buildings. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Being pissed at the world was not going to help anyone, including me.
I strolled toward the front of the place. The sun was shining, and nothing out of the ordinary was going on, till he appeared. I mean, he literary popped out of thin air in front of me. He was a tall black man, built like a linebacker. He was way over six feet and 300 pounds of solid muscle. He was wearing black everything, including a shirt with the words SWAT on it.
“Dave?” I asked with my hands up, just like Shorty had done to me. I wanted to make sure he knew I meant him no harm. Granted, I was pretty sure he could crush me.
“You are real.” Now that was ironic; the ghost was surprised that I was real. Only in my world. “I heard so much about you.” OK, this was getting weirder by the minute. Dave rushed over and shook my hand. My hand disappeared into his, and they were freezing. The typical phenomenon that happened with all dead souls.
“Do I want to know what you heard about me and from whom?” Let’s be honest, if all he heard were bad things I did not want to know about it.
“You find lost souls and take them home. My cousin finally made it heaven because of you.”
I was confused, and Dave
kept on smiling like that made all the sense in the world. “That’s our job. Not a big deal.” I wasn’t sure why Dave was so excited about that.
“But you are the only one that does it consistently.” I knew Dave was telling me the truth. Souls couldn’t lie to me, but I was lost.
“What are you talking about?” I was staring into his eyes and excitement was dancing in them.
“Finding souls is not sexy,” he said. “Nobody is ever going to thank you or even notice you did it. All other interns want to save the world, battle vampires, and witches. Yes, they save souls, but not all the time and not as much as you do.” Dave took a breath. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I rather find souls any day than battle crazy witches. “They work on their powers. Nobody wants to do the small, menial jobs. Why do you think they are so many lost souls left behind?”
“Because they can’t find the tunnel with the light,” I told him, a little meekly. Dave laughed a genuine laugh. I smiled a little. I felt better. At least somebody got my joke.
“You are truly special. It is an honor to serve you. When I’m done paying my karmic debt, would you take me home?” I wasn’t sure if Dave knew that he needed to be alive to pay his karmic debt. This was his story, and I was not going to break the news to him.
“As long as I’m still around, it will be my pleasure,” I told him with a smile.
Dave lit up like a Christmas tree. “You mean it. Thank you. We can tell when humans are lying, even interns.” I had no clue. Good to know. “What you do matters, Ms. Isis. The souls believe in you. It might not be big, like saving a city from zombies, but it means the world to that soul.”
Maybe I couldn’t save humanity, but I could touch one soul at a time. That was huge, and I was getting teary eyes. This was my week to cry.
“Honestly, I thought that was the whole purpose of the job. I guess I didn’t realize we had options.” Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. I hadn’t read the manual. Dave beamed at me again.
