Zombie Games (Book 4): Road Kill

by Kristen Middleton

  “Hello?” I whispered, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness.

  I heard the creak from the bathroom door opening back up and turned to see Kallie stepping out into the hallway. “Cassie?” she called.

  “I’m down here,” I said, lowering the gun.

  She aimed her flashlight at me and then let out a shrill scream.

  Before I could turn around to see what had frightened her, someone grabbed me around the waist and clamped a hand over my mouth.

  Chapter Seven

  The rain and hail pelted the SUV loudly as they drove to the other side of town trying to locate Cassie’s grandparent’s home.

  “Turn right at the next street,” ordered Kristie, staring at the road map. “We should be passing a lake soon and then they’re only a few blocks from there.”

  “I can barely see the streets,” said Tiny, turning up the windshield wipers. He leaned forward and squinted. “It’s pretty bad and I don’t want to hit anymore zombies in this thing. Maybe we should pull over until it dies down?”

  “We’re almost there,” said Kristie, biting the side of her nail. “So keep driving”

  “At least the rain is normal,” said Paige, staring out the window. “Nothing to indicate that it’s the ‘End of The World’. Thanks, by the way, Tiny.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Scaring the heck out of everyone by talking about the ‘End of The World’. I’m not ready for that. I mean, seriously, I haven’t made it to college yet, partied until I’ve puked my guts out, or even made it past third base with a guy. I’m only eighteen and have too much living to do before actually dying.”

  “Seriously,” said Bryce. “That’s your ‘Bucket List’?”

  Paige raised her eyebrows. “What’s a Bucket List?”

  “The list of things you want to accomplish before you die,” he said.

  “Obviously, you’ve already marked at least one of those off of yours, Romeo,” smirked Paige. “But maybe I’d like to sleep next to a toilet one night, making promises I won’t keep or… reject scary, drunk-assed men who hit on me at a bar. Hell, even to feel the euphoria of getting a single line on a pregnancy strip before I’m engaged. There are just too many things I want to do before I die.”

  Kristie closed her eyes and rubbed the area between her eyebrows. “Thank you, Lord, for making my children so dramatic, cynical and stubborn. If mom was here, I’m sure she’d say ‘paybacks are a bitch, Kristie’.”

  Paige leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder. “Hey, you set the standards. I’m just trying to say that I want to enjoy at least the same things in life that you have, before I leave this place.”

  “Okay, fine, I plead the fifth,” said Kristie, with a humorless smile. “But seriously, honey, you should strive for better.”

  “Better isn’t always as fun though is it, babe?” asked Tiny.

  Kristie punched his shoulder. “You’re not helping. I’m supposed to be setting examples.”

  “Mom, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m an adult now and can make my own decisions- zombie apocalypse or not.”

  “Well,” said Billie. “You’ve certainly earned your right after everything we’ve been through. Hell, we all have.”

  “You got that right, brother,” said Tiny.

  They drove for a while in silence, listening to the echoing thumps from the hail mixed with occasional cracks of thunder. When they reached the lake on the map, Tiny swore and slammed on the breaks.

  “What?” gasped Kristie, gripping the dashboard.

  Tiny pointed ahead towards the beach. “Tell me I’m wrong but doesn’t the water look pink?”

  “Pink? No, that’s ridiculous,” said Kristie, trying to see through the wipers and rain.

  Tiny put his foot on the gas and drove into the parking lot leading to Willow Lake’s Public Beach. He then drove over the grass to the edge of the sandy beach.

  “Well, yeah, it does look like an odd color,” said Billie.

  Tiny grabbed an empty glass from the cup-holder and opened the door. “I’m going to check it out,” he said, jumping out into the rain. “Hold tight.”

  “Is this really necessary?” asked Kristie.

  “I’ll be back,” he said slamming the door. He then sprinted through the sand to the end of the beach and filled the glass with lake water. When he returned to the SUV, they all stared in horror at the contents of it.

  “It is pink,” said Paige in a strangled tone. “What does it mean?”

  Tiny wiped the rain from his forehead. “I don’t know.”

  “Relax you guys. It could be a number of things,” said Bryce. “Bacteria growing in the water, too much iron, dead fish or even zombie contamination. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

  Paige shook her head. “No, first the ground shaking because of an earthquake, now the water turning red! That’s too much of a coincidence. This is it, we’re all screwed.”

  “It’s pink not red Paige,” said Kristie.

  “Your mother and Bryce are probably right,” said Billie. “Let’s keep trying to track the others and then we’ll worry about pink water and quakes.”

  “Exactly,” said Kristie.

  “Okay,” said Tiny, restarting the engine. “I know one thing for certain, we need to start searching the homes around here for bottled water. If the water is contaminated, we don’t want to get near it.”

  “Whoa, check that out,” said Kristie, pointing ahead.

  Two rain-drenched zombies, staggered towards the lake and everyone watched in fascination as they entered it.

  “Weird,” said Paige.

  “Check it out, it’s going to be over their heads soon,” smirked Bryce, as the zombies stepped deeper. “Wonder if they’ll float or sink?”

  “Oh my God?” gasped Kristie. “What in the hell are those idiots doing?”

  Paige chuckled. “Fishing? Maybe they’ve figured out another way to eat.”

  “Maybe they’re drawn to the water because of something else,” murmured Billie.

  “What do you mean?” asked Kristie, turning to look back at him. “I thought zombies were drawn to living flesh. You know, brains and all that.”

  “And blood,” he said, smiling humorlessly. “Obviously, they’re drawn to blood.”

  Kristie’s face turned white.

  Chapter Eight

  They drove through two hours of hard and steady rain in silence until they passed a sign welcoming them to Rockford, Illinois.

  “Just in time. We need gas,” said Justice, breaking the somber mood in the truck.

  “And I have to go to the bathroom,” sighed Allie, who sat in the middle.

  “Me too,” said Kylie, staring out the passenger window.

  “It’s going to be dark soon,” said Justice. “Let’s see if we can find a full parking-lot and a toilet.”

  “And no zombies,” said Allie.

  “Big city like this is gonna have plenty of those,” said Justice. “This is won’t be easy.”

  “So, um, how much longer until we get to Minnesota?” asked Allie, biting the side of her nail.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know, we’re still quite a few hours away. Maybe six or seven?”

  “I hope my sister is okay,” said Allie.

  “You know she is going to kill you when she sees you,” said Kylie.

  “I’m the one who should be mad,” she answered. “She left without even telling me and now that our parents are gone, we need to stick together.”

  “Did you lose them to the zombies?” asked Justice.

  “No. A really bad man killed them. Shot them when they were trying to save Cassie.”

  “There are a lot of dangerous characters out there,” said Justice. “Look at what happened to Luke.”

  “You know…it’s all my fault,” said Allie, her eyes misting up. “I shouldn’t have asked him to come with us. Now he’s dead and it’s my fault.”

  “Obviously, it was his choice to tag
along,” said Justice. “And don’t go blaming yourself for the acts of a psychopath. The guy was obviously messed up.”

  “I still feel horrible,” said Allie. “And what am I going to tell Bryce when he finds out? They were so close.”

  “Forget about Bryce, Belinda is going to be the one who will be really upset. That’s her nephew.”

  Allie shook her head. “No, it’s not. Bryce just told her that so Belinda wouldn’t shoot him. That’s what Cassie told me.”

  “Okay, you girls are confusing the hell out of me,” said Justice. “How many people have you had trying to shoot at you?”

  “Too many to count,” said Allie. She then told him their story, from the very beginning, starting with the first day of the zombie outbreak.

  “And I thought the undead were dangerous,” said Justice. “You guys have been through a lot of shit, especially your sister. I guess if she can handle being kidnapped a few times, getting bitten by a zombie, and watching her parents murdered, she’s probably doing alright at the moment. Sounds like a tough chic.”

  “I hope she’s doing alright,” said Allie.

  “So, what’s your story?” asked Kylie.

  He shrugged. “It’s pretty boring compared to yours.”

  “I doubt it,” she answered. “You can tell us if you want. Did you lose a lot of friends and family?”

  He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Well, I’ve always been kind of a loner, so I didn’t lose many friends, just acquaintances and, well, my family.”

  “What about a girlfriend?” asked Allie, her cheeks turning pink.

  He smiled, grimly. “I lost my girlfriend long before the zombies showed up.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  He paused for a few seconds and then answered. “Well, she left for college last fall and decided she didn’t want a long distance relationship. End of story.”

  “Aw... were you heartbroken?” asked Allie, putting a hand over her chest.

  His jaw tightened. “Heartbroken? No. She was too pushy. Always trying to change me and everything.”

  Allie raised her eyebrows. “Like… how?”

  He shrugged. “Guess she wasn’t crazy about the way I presented myself to other people or the fact that I wasn’t interested in college. She probably thought I was white trash, since she grew up on the other side of the tracks. Her parents certainly thought the worst of me.”

  Kylie gasped. “Oh my God, did they actually tell you that?”

  “They didn’t have too. I could see it in their eyes and the way they spoke to me. I’m sure they were relieved when Lexus went to college and I stayed in Georgia.”

  “Lexus?” snorted Allie.

  He smiled.

  “Do you know if she’s still alive?” asked Kylie.

  “Nope.”

  “I had a boyfriend before the zombies,” said Kylie.

  Allie’s jaw dropped. “What?! Who?”

  “Well, he wasn’t my boyfriend, yet, but I know he liked me. He slipped me a note in class one day, asking if I had picked out a date for the Sadie Hawkin’s Dance.”

  “But, the Sadie Hawkin’s Dance isn’t until the eighth grade,” said Allie. “That’s like, next year.”

  “That’s how I know he liked me,” smiled Kylie. “He was already reserving a spot.”

  “Who was it?” asked Allie.

  “Jason Peterson,” said Kylie.

  Justice’s mind drifted away as the girls droned on about boys and dances they’d never get to enjoy. Although he’d been bitter about Lexus for months after their breakup, at least his high-school-years had been interesting. Unfortunately, the two girls beside him wouldn’t ever get to go to dances, parties, or even Homecoming games. Everything in the world had changed, nothing would ever be the same for them and he suddenly felt very fortunate.

  “Oh crap,” said Allie, pointing ahead, as they reached downtown Rockford. “Looks like we’ve found where all of the zombies have congregated.”

  “Roll up your window,” said Justice.

  The streets and sidewalks were crowded with zombies in every shape, form, and decomposition. Hundreds staggered through the rain, searching for food.

  “You’d think the water would clean them up a bit,” said Kylie. “make them appear less… gruesome. I don’t know about you but I think they look even more gross and disgusting wet. Especially the ones who are missing so much skin and body parts.” She shuddered. “Yuck.”

  “They’re pretty nasty,” agreed Allie.

  Justice tapped on the fuel gage. “If we don’t find a way to fill up this tank soon, you’re going to be getting a much closer view of these freaks.”

  Kylie paled. “What are we going to do?”

  “Look for a parking ramp that’s full and easily accessible,” said Justice.

  “Okay,” said Allie.

  Justice drove slowly through the downtown streets, trying to weave around the massive crowds of undead. When one of them walked directly into their path, he was forced to stop.

  “Run him over,” said Allie, as the horrible creature stared into the cab and began growling.

  “You shouldn’t do that,” said Kylie, growing pale. “It’s still a person.”

  “No,” said Justice. “What made them a real person has recently ‘left the building’.”

  “But, how do you really know that?” she asked. “Maybe they’re still buried somewhere inside, somewhere.”

  Allie’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, come on Kylie! Look at that beast in front of us. He’s walking with half of a skull and a missing arm. If he’s buried inside of that thing than he’ll probably thank us if we put him out of his misery.”

  The zombie began climbing onto the front of the hood, foaming at the mouth as it stared at them with rapture.

  “Oh my God!” squealed Allie as the zombie crawled clumsily to the windshield and began licking the glass with its tongue, which was split.

  “What’s wrong with his tongue?” cried Kylie.

  “It’s called bifurcation. It’s a surgical procedure that splits the tongue,” said Justice. “He obviously had it done before becoming a zombie.”

  Allie grimaced. “Seriously, he had that done on purpose? So he could look like a lizard?”

  Justice laughed. “Yep.”

  More zombies took notice of them and began surrounding the truck, scratching at the windows and growling loudly.

  “Oh that is so totally gross,” shuddered Kylie as another zombie stopped next to her window, his left eye barely hanging by thin, gray tendrils of flesh. The zombie opened its mouth and planted its wormy lips against the glass, as if kissing it, passionately.

  “Okay, that’s it!” hollered Allie. “Justice, please take us out of here.”

  “Are you sure?” he smiled at Kylie, who was pale and looked ready to hurl.

  Allie nodded, vehemently. “Just get us out of here, now.”

  He stepped on the gas, tossing the zombie from the hood and hitting several others along the way. Unfortunately as they moved into the next block, the “gas” light popped on.

  “Shit!” he groaned.

  “What….what does that mean?” asked Allie.

  He turned to her. “It means that we’re screwed unless we find fuel. Right now.”

  “There’s a ‘Park’ sign over there,” said Kylie, pointing to the next street. “It looks like a parking ramp. We just have to make it to that building.”

  “We’ll make that,” said Justice. “Good eye.”

  As they entered the next street, however, more zombies stepped into their path, slowing their progress down. When they finally reached the parking ramp, Justice swore.

  “What?” asked Kylie. “We made it.”

  “The steering wheel is starting locking up,” said Justice. “Yeah, we made but there’s no way we’re going any further. Shit!”

  They coasted into the entrance and stopped right as they reached the parking ticket dispenser.

&
nbsp; “There’s a gate,” moaned Allie. “And no power to lift it.”

  “I was going to try crashing through it,” said Justice. “But we’ve just used the last of the fuel. Looks like we’re abandoning this thing.”

  “How are we going to do that?!” yelled Kylie as zombies began rushing the truck from behind, climbing into the bed and surrounding them on all sides.

  Justice’s head was spinning as he noticed an old bald zombie who reminded him of Gollum, from ‘Lord of The Rings’, especially when he opened his mouth and exposed several rotted teeth. As the zombie put his face against the glass and stared at him with longing, he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

  Precious…

  “We have to get the hell out of here before more of these things show up,” he said, turning away from the drooling zombie. “I’m going to distract them and then you two are going to run.”

  “Run? Where?” asked Allie.

  “Get to the very top of the ramp,” he said. “The roof. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Why don’t we try the elevators first? There’s usually a door separating the elevators and the garage.”

  “You forget. There’s probably no electricity for the elevators. We’ll just get trapped inside with zombies surrounding us. Just meet me at the top of the ramp and we’ll try to locate another vehicle.”

  “What if they get you?” cried Kylie, her lips trembling.

  “I won’t let them.”

  “But…”

  “Kylie, I’ll be fine,” he said, grabbing her hand. “Don’t worry about me. Just get to the top of the ramp and hide until I meet you both there.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  He reached under the seat and pulled out a bat. “Take this with just in case. And here,” he said, opening up the glove compartment. He pulled out a large hunting knife with a black handle. “I almost forgot about this.”

  “I can’t use that,” said Kylie as he handed the knife to her.

  “You will if you need to, unless you want to die,” said Justice, handing the bat to Allie. “Now, get ready to run as soon as the zombies start chasing me.”

  “What are you going to use?” asked Kylie.