***
“Everyone set?” asked Bryce, starting the van. “You all have weapons and water?”
“Yeah,” I said, buckling my seatbelt. Paige and I both had metal bats, Henry had his double-barrel shotgun, and Bryce had found a hunting knife along with one of my grandfather’s guns, a three-fifty-seven Magnum, in the basement. I couldn’t believe he’d left it.
“Take this, too,” said Bryce, tossing me a pocket knife. “I feel better knowing that you have a backup if you lose the bat.”
“What about me?” asked Paige, who was sitting next to me in the second row.
“Well, you’re all set, girl. You’ve got that bat and a sharp tongue. The zombies don’t have a chance.”
She slapped his shoulder. “Not funny.”
“I wasn’t joking,” he said and then flinched when she raised her fist to club him.
“Now, let Bryce drive, Paige,” said Henry. “You can beat the tar out of him later. Kick him in the Snickers.”
Page snorted. “Snickers?”
“Well from what I understand, they certainly aren’t Almond Joys,” chuckled Henry.
“Okay, enough,” said Bryce. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“That’s right,” I said. “Besides, we need to focus on finding the girls and not Bryce’s goodies.”
Paige wrinkled her nose. “Uh, I agree. Unless you want me to hurl, don’t mention sex and Bryce in the same sentence.”
Trying not to laugh, I changed the subject. “I hope they can handle Billie if he becomes a zombie,” I said, remembering how volatile Eva and Austin had become when they’d both went through their changes.
“I think Nora can handle him along with a dozen other zombies, at the same time, with her eyes closed,” said Paige.
I stared out the window and smiled. “Yeah, she’s one person I’m glad to have on our side, that’s for sure.”
The rain started and everyone became silent. Bryce turned on the wipers as they turned onto the highway.
“Looks like this one is going to be another doozy,” remarked Henry, staring up at the dark clouds. “Mother Nature’s been pretty moody these last few days. So unpredictable.”
“It’s been like that for a while,” I said. “Nobody’s noticed it as much because we’re all focused on staying alive.”
“True,” said Henry, lowering his hat over his eyes. “At least we don’t have to worry about earthquakes in Minnesota. That last one in Atlanta was a little unnerving.”
Bryce snorted. “You spoke to soon, Henry. There was one yesterday.”
I leaned forward. “What? An earthquake in Minnesota? Seriously.”
Paige nodded. “Yeah, we had a couple of them yesterday. Nothing major but you could tell it was a quake.”
“That is so weird,” I said.
“Billie and Tiny think it’s the end of the world,” said Paige.
“Huh. Well, it’s not the first time we’ve heard that statement in the last few days,” I said. “Is it Henry?”
“Nope.”
“The nuns we met the other day also claimed the same thing. Said it was ‘The End of Days’.”
“Okay, please clarify exactly what that means. End of everything, shorter days, what?” asked Paige.
“Well,” I said, “if you’ve ever read the bible-.”
“No, can’t say that I have,” she replied, smiling sheepishly. “But I’ve watched the history channel quite a bit. There’s more stuff on there about our rocky future then what happened yesterday.”
“I know. So, um, what did the nun say, again, Henry?”
He cleared his throat. “Oh, she mentioned the seven signs of the apocalypse.”
“What are they?” asked Paige.
He sighed. “Deadly plagues, hunger and earthquakes. Then the sky will turn dark and the water will turn to blood. Finally, Satan will emerge to fight the final battle between good and evil.”
“Billie said the same thing,” replied Paige.
“Well, at least the water hasn’t changed color,” I laughed. “Then I’d be a little more paranoid.”
Paige’s looked at me. “Seriously, you did not notice the lake by your grandparent’s house?”
“Uh, I guess not.”
“Bryce, tell them.”
“The lake wasn’t red, Paige, it was pink,” he replied.
“See, there you go,” said Paige.
“Like I said before, there could be a number of reasons,” said Bryce. “We already went over this.”
“Yeah, well what about the river?” said Paige.
He shrugged. “Same thing.”
I raised my eyebrows. “The river was red?”
“It was just pink,” said Bryce. “And it smelled awful so I’m sure it was contaminated. Somehow.”
Paige groaned. “God, that man of yours is so close-minded.”
His jaw clenched. “It’s not the end of the world and I’m not jumping on that band-wagon. The world is going to hell but it’s because of us and what we’ve done to it. Nothing spiritual or based on religion. I mean, come on.”
“Do you believe in God?” she asked.
I held my breath. I hadn’t even asked Bryce and now that we were engaged, I was a little unnerved of what his answer was.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t really know. Obviously I want to believe that there is something else out there and not just us.”
“Are you talking aliens or God?” smirked Paige.
Bryce sighed. “Okay, let me re-phrase my statement- I hope that there is a God. I hope that all of these people that were killed, the ones who became zombies, are not just… lost forever.”
“What about you Henry?” asked Paige.
Henry didn’t answer, he was too busy snoring.
“Cassie?” she asked me.
“You know how I feel,” I said to her.
“Not really. It’s not like we sit around talking about religion and what shade of lip-gloss looks the best under the chapel lights.”
I smiled. “You goof.”
She stared at me. “Seriously, tell us.”
I pulled my hair to the side. “I’m a Christian, what more can I say? What about you?”
She sighed. “Me too and that’s why I’m scared to death of what may or may not be happening.”
“Paige, any one of us could die at any moment. I mean, who knows, we could be walking into some kind of trap at MOA,” I said. “Hell, after getting kidnapped more than once these last few weeks, I’m not discounting anything.”
“In other words, this could be another suicide mission?” she asked, a horrified look on her face.
I sighed. “I’m just saying that you shouldn’t dwell on something that may or may not happen. Live for now and quit worrying about ‘signs’ and bloody rivers and lakes.”
“You’re seriously not freaked out about any of this?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, what I’m worried about more than anything, is finding our sisters. Alive.”
Henry stretched his arms and yawned. “What you all should be worried about is finding me a hopper. I don’t know what I ate, but you kids are going to wish for merciful death if we don’t do something about it real soon.”
Bryce swore under his breath. “I thought you went to the bathroom before we left the house?”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean I got it all out. Sometimes things get stuck on the edge and don’t slip out until later.”
I shuddered. “Okay, T.M.I., Henry. Bryce, just find a place for him to go.”
Henry began rolling down his window. “Oh, false alarm. Just a little gas. Pardon me, ladies.”
We all rolled the windows down.
“You should have brought the Vicks,” chuckled Bryce, waving his hand.
“Henry’s gas has found a way past even the heaviest of mentholated vapor-rub,” I said. “Believe me, it doesn’t help with him. Ask Nora.”
“What can I say? When you
get to be my age, sometimes things fester and you never know what’s going to pass through those bottom gates.”
“God, enough of the fart talk,” said Bryce, turning on the radio. “Which radio station was that guy on in Bloomington?”
Henry reached forward and started turning the stations until he finally reached one that actually had a song playing, an old one by the Beatles called “Let It Be”.
“What do you know?” smiled Henry, turning it up. “Now those boys knew how to shake things up, including the ladies. Why, I remember this woman I dated in England, she was crazy about Paul McCartney and would do these little strip-teases for me when I would put on any of their old records.”
“First of all,” I interrupted. “You lived in England for a while? You never mentioned that.”
He waved his hand. “Oh, just a couple of years. Anyway, that girl had these little tassles,” he said, raising his fingers to his chest, “and boy she could get those things shaking and twirling, by golly. It was quite the show, let me tell you.”
“Wonder if they have any of those kind of tassles at the mall?” joked Bryce, looking back at me.
“Keep your eyes on the road,” I said, my face flushed.
Paige groaned. “Guys, just listen to the song.”
Everyone became silent as the song went on and when it was finished, the same voice from the other day began speaking once again.
“Whether you’re just tuning in or you’ve been listening to us and are still trying to figure things out, we are here for you. You don’t have to do this alone, not anymore. Point your truck, your car, hell, your motorcycle and come join us. Let me tell you, brother and sisters, every day more survivors are appearing at our doorstep, lost and nearly giving up hope on everything. But you don’t have to give up anything. I’m telling you, all you have to do is join us and you won’t have to worry about food, water, or whether or not you’re going to survive another restless night with these walking dead. We’re all in the same boat. We’ve all lost loved ones- our spouses, our children, our friends, and neighbors. We’ve all been to Hell and back, but no more! No more, I tell you! Here, there is hope, there is support, and there is a place waiting for you….”
“What is he some kind of preacher or something?” asked Paige.
“I don’t know. He sounds like a decent enough person, though,” I replied. “Like he just wants to help us all.”
“Don’t judge anyone by words,” said Henry. “This guy might not be what he seems.”
“What do you mean?” asked Paige.
Henry turned to look back at me. “Come on, Wild. Listen to his voice.”
His voice had sounded vaguely familiar but it wasn’t until Henry had pointed it out too that it all came back to me.
I stared at him in horror. “Travis.”
Henry nodded gravelly.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Did you hear that?” asked Kylie, staring through the metal gates towards the faint cries down the hallway. Two hours earlier, they’d been forced into one of the smaller clothing stores in the mall, locked inside without food or water.
“It sounds like they’ve found another baby,” whispered Allie. “I think this is the third one we’ve heard.”
Kylie turned to her. “Where are these babies coming from? And why are they here?”
Allie, who was sitting on the ground, pulled her legs in closer to her chest. “I have no idea,” she answered. “And I don’t think I want to know.”
“I hope he’s not hurting them.”
“Let’s hope.”
Kylie sighed. “We have to get out of here and try to help them.”
“The babies? How? We’re locked in. Even if we were to somehow find a way out, the mall is surrounded by zombies. Face it, Kylie,” she said, her eyes filling with tears, “we are never getting out of here alive, especially with those babies. We’re all doomed.”
“Don’t say that.”
Allie wiped a tear from her cheek. “But, it’s true. This guy isn’t human. You saw his red eyes. And, what if he says is true?” she lowered her voice. “What if Satan is coming?”
Kylie bit the side of her lip. “Yeah, but ‘good’ is always supposed to conquer ‘evil’. We’ve been reading about that our entire lives.”
“Sure, but that’s mostly in storybooks, Kylie. This is real. At least, I think it is. I don’t know about you but I haven’t seen anything good for a very long time.”
Kylie kneeled next to her. “Don’t say that! You survived a zombie bite, so did your sister. You’re still alive, Allie. Don’t give up hope.”
“Tell that to my parents, or to Luke, or to the mothers of those babies those guys are stealing! How can we have hope when we’ve been imprisoned by somebody who might actually be an honest to goodness demon? I mean, even if there was a chance for us, nobody knows where we are.”
“But, there’s always Justice,” said Kylie. “He might be able to help us, still.”
“Justice?” she scoffed. “He’s not with us anymore. I mean, seriously, he doesn’t even know his own name. Obviously, that demon did something to him.”
“I still think there’s hope. Maybe if we can get him alone, we can talk to him,” said Kylie, standing up. “Help him snap out of it.”
“Maybe.”
Another noise from somewhere in the mall, this time a woman’s harrowing cries, echoed through the darkness and the girls became silent. Kylie sat down next to Allie and they held hands.
***
Justice watched as more zombies, and this time living, breathing people, arrived at the mall. After getting instructions from Travis, they all took off in different directions, prepared to do whatever task he had assigned them.
Very bad things were about to happen, he thought. And much worse than anything seen in the last few weeks.
Although he understood and was horrified, he was physically unable to do anything about it. His limbs wouldn’t follow any of the simplest instructions, nor could he communicate on his own, any longer. He felt like a puppet, one that was being manipulated by one very evil puppet-master.
“Dwayne,” said Travis, after dismissing another small group of zombies. “What is happening with the infants?”
“Still no luck.”
Travis’s face darkened. “He has to be here, somewhere. The signs all point to this region.”
“We’ll find the child,” said Dwayne. “If he is here, we’ll find him, eventually.”
“We don’t have ‘eventually’,” snarled Travis. “It has to be soon. Very soon.”
Dwayne nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Travis suddenly closed his eyes and stood still for several minutes, almost as if he’d fallen asleep. Eventually, he opened his eyes and nodded. “Excellent.”
“What?” asked Dwayne.
“I have been given great news,” said Travis. He turned towards Justice and his face broke out into a chilling grin. “Justice, it is time that we check on your friends.”
Justice felt nauseous. Why is he doing this?
“Why? Well, there is a reason as to why our paths have crossed, Justice. It was destiny.”
Justice, who had been standing in one place for several hours, found himself moving towards Travis without his control.
“Follow Dwayne. Get those sweet young girlfriends of yours and bring them to me,” he turned to Dwayne. “Now you will see exactly why we needed them, alive.”
“I never doubted you,” said Dwayne.
“Go.”
Justice followed Dwayne back into Nordstrom’ s and into a darker section of the mall.
“Justice!” squealed Kylie, standing up behind the metal enclosure. “Oh, thank God you’re here!”
He tried opening his mouth to respond, but found he couldn’t.
“Stand back,” demanded Dwayne, searching through a large set of keys.
The girls obeyed and soon they were released from the gate enclosure.
“We’ve missed yo
u,” cried Kylie, throwing her arms around him. When he made no attempt to return the hug, she stepped backwards and stared up at him. “Justice?”
Staring at the two confused and frightened girls, he tried to speak, to tell them he was going to get them the hell out of there, but he still couldn’t move his lips or tongue.
“I see you,” said Kylie, searching his eyes with hers. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with you, if you’ve been drugged or possessed by some kind of evil spirit, but I still see you.”
“Let’s go,” said Dwayne, pointing his gun at the girls. “Move.”
Possessed? Was something really possessing his body? The thought was horrifying but something told him that it really wasn’t too far from the truth. He had no control of his body, although he knew what was right and wrong, could still think and feel every emotion.
They started back towards Nordstrom’s, with Dwayne following behind, trying to light a cigarette and Justice could hear the girls whispering frantically behind him.
“Justice,” murmured Kylie, clutching his arm. “You have to try and overcome this, whatever it is. Travis is evil, but you aren’t. Please, Justice, if you don’t snap out of this, I have a feeling we’re all going to die.”
Justice tried to respond but as before, he was still unable to speak.
Allie moved to the other side of him. “Justice, help us. Please,” she begged. “For God’s sake, you said you didn’t believe in a God before, but I think he may be our only hope.” She removed the cross necklace from around her neck and pressed it into the palm of his hand. She closed it. “This was my mothers. Look, you have to believe and pray. Justice, pray for some kind of a miracle.”
“Listen to her. Travis said he is paving the way for Lucifer, Justice. Do you know who that is?” whispered Kylie. “If there is a Devil than obviously, there is a God.”
“That’s enough,” growled Dwayne, pulling the girls away from Justice. “Quit groping the boy or I’ll have to cut you both. Believe me, it will be a great pleasure.”
Justice could feel the cross in his palm and thought about what Kylie and Allie had said. It was obvious that whatever was happening to his body wasn’t something that could be explained. Still, it was hard to conceive that if there truly was a God, he would allow so much horror, grief, and misery on earth.
Zombie Games (Book 4): Road Kill Page 14
