My Zombie Summer (Book 1): The Undead Road

by David Powers King

  “Matter of time, matter of time,” Sam sang a chant, which made my blood chill. “Matter of time . . .”

  “What about the cure?” Why hadn’t I brought it up sooner? “You can still help your daughter, Sam. My parents need a town to return to. Help us get out!”

  She didn’t respond. She just sang her sick lullaby.

  “Jeremy,” Kaylynn said. “Can you shoot us out?”

  I aimed at the door, but I didn’t have to fire.

  The door flew open, kicked in by a steel-toed boot. Light entered the room and Cody stepped in. His face was sweaty, and a modest amount of muck was on his jeans. He drew an arrow and aimed right at my head.

  I lowered my weapon. Cody didn’t.

  His eyes scanned the whole room, catching sight of Kaylynn, Sam, and the Vector. He shifted his aim directly over my shoulder at Sam’s daughter.

  “What the hell?” he said. “You’re keeping one?”

  A dog barked. Chloe ran into the room.

  Jewel entered next. “I’ve been looking all—oh!”

  The sight had rendered Jewel speechless. I grabbed the rifle from where I’d left it and traded for the baseball bat, which I threw to Kaylynn. She snatched it in midair. As for Cody, I was glad to see him. Either my jerk alarm was broken or he really was an okay guy.

  “Good to see you, Cody,” Sam said. “Will you please take our guests to the nursery?”

  “Isn’t that your girl? What’s going on?” No one spoke. Cody’s stern face was one of pure terror.

  “I’ll explain later,” said Sam. “Do as I say, Cody.”

  I was about to raise my Beretta when Cody pulled his arm back and released. An arrow flew through the dark room and into the girl’s face. Sam jumped back as her daughter spasmed. The heart monitor flat-lined. I stared at Cody, surprised by what he had done. Even in the dark, I spied tears in Sam’s eyes as she flung herself over the body and cried into her dead daughter’s chest.

  “I don’t take orders from whackos,” Cody said.

  Never mind—my jerk alarm was working just fine. We walked out quietly, leaving Sam alone to mourn. In the hallway, I rounded on Cody. “Why’d you do that?”

  He took a knife from his pocket and wedged it between the doors before they closed. At least Sam was able to leave the room if she wanted. “She told us they burned her,” Cody said with disgust in his voice. “You think I can trust her with anything now?” My first thought was no. I wouldn’t either. “I don’t care if they’re family or friend—if they’re infected, they die!”

  He glanced at Kaylynn, who was staring at me. I wasn’t sure what was going through their minds. From what I knew, none of his weapons were drawn, so Cody didn’t know a thing about the deadly pathogen that festered inside Kaylynn. I planned to keep it that way.

  “We’re about to be overrun,” Cody said. “The nerve of that woman, sending my dad and my brother out there.” He took a breath. “I’m going to find them.”

  Just then, I remembered the map, and my dad’s keys to the Explorer. I’d say getting away from a Vector invasion was worthy of being called an emergency.

  “So are we,” I finally said.

  “That’s right! Dad gave us a map!” Jewel said. She turned to Cody in a shy way. “You want a ride?”

  Someone really needs to invent a mute button for little sisters, but it was too late now. Cody was in.

  He smiled at the three of us. “I’ll drive.”

  With most of the lights off, finding our way out of the health center wasn’t easy. I don’t usually like to make plans, but when I do, I hate it when they change. And thanks to Jewel’s big mouth, Cody was coming along for the ride. Then again, I think Cody had a driver’s license, which would save me from taking a crash course in the middle of a Vector invasion. Mason had said on the radio that they were coming from the east. So had we. I had a weird feeling that this was our fault.

  Had the Vectors from Wahoo followed us?

  Wahoo . . . Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

  Before we found the exit, my nose caught a sharp tinge of smoke coming from the radio room. I wanted to check it out, but doing so would lead us farther into the building—not a wise idea when trying to escape with your life. At the doors, I took one look outside and I didn’t want to leave. Vectors of all types and sizes trudged across the grass. The sniper had downed lots of them—their bodies sprawling over on the ground—but many more of them remained, moving at random.

  Grandma’s house wasn’t too far away. We could outrun them. “Okay, we can do this.” I started to muster all the courage I had. “If we sprint for—”

  Cody kicked the door open before I finished.

  He sent an arrow flying into the head of a zombified man in a nice business suit. He went down so hard that the rest of the Vectors knew we were there. And some grinned. Cody walked ahead, landing another arrow into the mouth of a bloody mail carrier. Kaylynn and Jewel exchanged looks with me. All I could do was shrug. We had no choice but to follow Cody. So we did. I landed a couple head shots along the way.

  Jewel stayed close to me, clearly as scared as I was. A blonde Runner in a 1950’s diner outfit leaped at us. I snapped two shots at her. Both missed. She would’ve gotten the best of us if it weren’t for Kaylynn’s swing.

  When we made it to our street, it looked more like a war zone than a neighborhood. People were running. Kids were crying. The stench of gunpowder hung thick in the air. An orange glow shimmered beyond the treetops, lighting up a huge plume of smoke.

  A loud boom thundered, followed by an explosion from the north. The propane tanks must’ve blown.

  Flashing red and blue lights caught my attention. A patrol car drove up to us and stopped. Mason had his hands on the wheel, his uniform covered in sweat—and blood. “What are you kids doing?” he cried. “You’d better get in the car. There’s a lot of them coming!”

  “Where’d they come from?” Cody asked. “I’ve never seen so many.”

  “No idea. I was fixing the radio when they starting coming from everywhere!” Mason said. “It’s like they have it out for us. We’re about to be surrounded!”

  “What happened to the radio?” I asked.

  “Not sure. It looks like sabotage—” Mason stared ahead, cut off by something he saw. “Oh hell no!”

  I turned to look. More Vectors poured into our street, their heads bobbing and swaying. Their ghoulish advances increased and flowed like a river of meat. If we had pooled the entire town’s ammunition together, it wouldn’t make a dent. At their pace, we had about a minute. Less if the Runners broke away. Mason pulled out his gun, drove his car ahead and blocked the street. He aimed at the horde, ready to fire at the nearest one.

  “I’ll cover you,” he said. “Move your butts!”

  Our butts went. We ran the rest of the way to grandma’s house and yanked the Explorer doors open. Just as I was expecting, Cody claimed the wheel. Jewel and I ended up in our usual spots. Chloe sat between us this time. We buckled up, ready and all set to go.

  So long, David City.

  Cody checked the armrest, and then felt behind the folding mirror. “Where’s the keys?”

  I padded my pockets. No keys. “Just a sec!”

  “We don’t have a sec!” Kaylynn cried. “Hurry!”

  I plowed my hand into my backpack again, hoping to feel the keys before my fingers touched the .500. A Runner slammed his body against the car. Jewel screamed, and Chloe gave a nervous bark. Two more pounded on the front hood, their hands flopping like dead fish. Another tried my door. The Vectors multiplied after that, climbing on top of each other. One of them went for the sunroof. Drool fell from a girl’s mouth and smeared the glass above Jewel’s head.

  If we didn’t move soon, our car would cave in.

  Then I remembered. Kaylynn had my hoodie. She had them. “Check your pockets, Kaylynn!”

  “Pockets?” she said. “I don’t have . . . wait . . .”

  She fished them out without delay.
Shaking his head, Cody snatched them from her. He turned on the ignition and the Explorer roared to life. He slammed the pedal to the metal. Vectors flew off the car as we sped down the driveway. The reinforced fender sent the ones in the front tumbling across the street. The rest straggled into the oncoming wave of savage monsters.

  My heart almost stopped dead as I gawked out the back window. The patrol car was toast. Its dying siren caused more Vectors to appear. I couldn’t tell if Mason had made it or not. I never heard a gunshot. Like ants crawling on a dead bug, it was impossible for anyone, even Mason, to escape a horde that size. I thought of Candice and her grandson. What had become of them?

  Cody drove north to the west barricade. The fire had spread to a few homes on the east end of the main road, giving light to the chaos. Some people climbed on their roofs. Others stood their ground, firing one round after another. Those who ran in the streets were swallowed, literally, by the undead drove. Others ran in our direction, only to collide with the bloody tsunami.

  I turned away. People were dying everywhere.

  The barricaded doors were closed when we finally reached them. The men who once stood there had long since left. Cody parked the car and opened his door.

  “Help me get this open!” he said.

  Jewel shot me a look before I opened my door. “You have twenty rounds.” I gestured at the sunroof and turned the dial. The thin pane of glass slid open. “Make your shots count.”

  The roars nearly deafened me when I stepped outside. I couldn’t let them get to me. Our escape was pointless if we failed to open the barrier. Cody removed the two-by-fours that held the plywood doors in place. With a solid push, we’d be Scott-free. We shoved into them with all our weight, but the doors wouldn’t budge. Cody and I exchanged glances before we tried again. No good. And there was no charm the third time around.

  Boom!

  Jewel’s 30.06 made me jump.

  I would never get used to it.

  “Something’s blocking the door shut on the other side,” Cody said. “Hold them off!”

  Cody jumped on the hood, climbed onto the freight car and fell out of sight like a marine. I wrapped my fingers around my .40 and .45 and turned around.

  Our predicament wasn’t ideal—more Vectors than humans now. I raised both pistols and waited, knowing I couldn’t fire a single effective shot until they closed in. Jewel reloaded and dropped her second round.

  If we didn’t get backup, we were done for.

  Kaylynn stepped out. “I’ll buy us some time.”

  I was going to ask how when her blue eyes—almost black in the night—began to glow red. With the baseball bat in her grip, she ran into the street. A few Runners had made their way past the Stalkers, heading towards me. Kaylynn sprinted at them, quicker than I’d ever seen a girl run, and smacked them in the face. Like the Vector by the RV, the Runners covered their faces where Kaylynn had struck. She went after another and another, pulling stunts that I’d only seen in movies.

  Blood was splattered all over her hoodie.

  My hoodie.

  I should’ve helped with getting the doors open, but Kaylynn had my full attention. She jumped into the air and kicked an overweight Vector in the chest. Then, without skipping a beat, she launched at a teenager with a missing nose. She knocked him in the ear and twirled around to her next target like a master of Tae-Kwon-Do. Bat-Kwon-Do, more like it. With the last Runner on the ground, Kaylynn looked up, her red eyes still glowing. Sam was right. Psychotic, but right. Kaylynn may have been infected, but she was awesome about it.

  The Vectors ignored her as she pummeled them, but I didn’t give a crap. Kaylynn was the coolest girl in the world. It would take more than Vector cooties to keep me away. Her hungry face appeared. She charged at me with her bloodied bat, and she swung. I ducked, unaware that her real target was behind me. Kaylynn grabbed my hand and pulled me up. Like big rubies in a furnace, she stared at me with those intense eyes.

  In that horrifying moment, I’d fallen in love.

  Kaylynn swayed and let out her breath before she leaned on me. Just like at the ballpark, she went unconscious. I caught her before she could crash to the street, and I helped her to the car. The endless moans of approaching Stalkers shivered my nerves, causing me to sweat as I half-carried Kaylynn back. Lifting her to her seat should’ve been a challenge, but she was lighter than I remembered. Practicing each one of those workout tips in that survival book must’ve helped.

  “I’m out!” Jewel cried. “They’re getting up!”

  As I closed Kaylynn’s door, every Vector she’d hit was on their feet. She didn’t kill them, just slowed them down. The barricade swung open. Cody returned and drove a knife into the socket of an oncoming Stalker. He hopped in the driver seat, and I opened my door.

  Just then, Big Thomas screamed behind us. “Don’t go without me!” he cried. “Please, wait!”

  Between the three Runners chasing him, and how far away they were, Thomas might as well have been a rolling jelly donut. The Vectors would nab him long before he reached the tiny intersection. As I grabbed my Beretta, what Sam had said finally hit me. They were infected—not necessarily dead. If we shot them, as we had, did that make us murderers? I raised my arm and aimed, and hesitated for the first time. I just couldn’t pull the trigger. When I finally did, my lousy, unfocused shots hit their chests. They grabbed Tom and sank their teeth into him. I’ll never forget the way he screamed.

  I leaned over and said good-bye to my stale lunch.

  “Jeremy!” Jewel cried through my door. “Get in!”

  Wiping my mouth dry, I dived in and slammed it shut. We zoomed down the road before the horde could touch our bumper. Cody had to swerve around another large group from the west. But after that, it was over for us. The more blocks we drove down, the quieter—and darker—it became. Cody turned down the highway, running over the speed-bump corpses without slowing down. Kaylynn’s body caught some air. I never had the chance to put her seatbelt on. Her head landed, coincidently, next to Cody’s shoulder. He turned his face a little and looked at her, as if wondering what she was doing. He didn’t seem to mind.

  “What’s with her?” he asked. “How can she be asleep after all that?”

  “She passed out,” I said, which was the truth. “Not sure why.” Not exactly the truth, but close enough.

  Something warm crept onto my lap. Chloe laid her head on me, just as Jewel’s hand took hold of mine. The smell of smoke rising from her gun washed away the stench of blood that we had tracked in. Mom would kill us if we smeared Vector guts all over the upholstery.

  “If Lincoln’s safe, we’ll stop there,” Cody said. “I know a place.”

  “What place?” Jewel asked, her jaw trembling.

  “You’ll see it when we get there.” Cody glanced at her through the rearview mirror. Another flash of light burst behind us. “Sons of a bitch,” he said. “I can’t believe we got out of there alive!”

  I wasn’t sure if letting Cody tag along was a good idea, even though we never would’ve made it out alive without him. Lincoln was the capital of Nebraska, so I assumed it was the most populated city in the state. It was also one of the areas on Dad’s map. Judging by the chaos that we’d just escaped from, the Vectors in bigger cities may have run out of things to eat. They were now roaming the country in large packs. David City was gone because of it. I felt more hopeless than ever.

  It wasn’t long before Jewel dozed off, holding close to Chloe. I nearly fell asleep myself when I saw Cody wrapping his massive arm around Kaylynn’s shoulder.

  His eyes were scanning every inch of her.

  “Hey,” I said.

  Cody saw me in the rearview mirror.

  “Both hands on the wheel,” I warned.

  Cody shook his head. “Okay, boss.”

  His arm moved back to the wheel, where it belonged. Kaylynn shifted away and leaned against her side. If I wasn’t worried about Kaylynn before, I certainly was now. Cody had made his o
pinion about Vectors all too clear. No matter what stage of Vector someone happened to be, it’s open season. If he found out about Kaylynn, there was no telling what he’d do.

  I had to stay awake, just in case.

  Six Flags is a great place to throw up.

  It beats the porcelain throne, anyway.

  Nothing says entertainment like watching people ditch their lunch, surviving the loops of the Viper or the spinning tracks of Ragin’ Cajun. It wasn’t the rides, or puke, that made the park special. It was an excuse for our family to be together and have a good time. Mom always bought a photo after we got soaked on Roaring Rapids, and Dad kept us shivering with ice cream pellets that froze on our tongues. The sun was shining. Pigeons scavenged the grounds for popcorn and hotdogs.

  I lived for memories like that—and then Kaylynn entered the scene. Right away, I knew she didn’t belong there. She was by the fountain, standing in a pool of her own blood. This wasn’t a memory. I had fallen asleep.

  Crapatollie.

  I wanted to wake up before the dream turned into a nightmare. No one noticed or cared about the blood, not even my family. When I called to Kaylynn, everyone stopped. Their heads turned. Their sunken faces stared at me, including the Looney Tune mascots. They meandered our way, moaning with their outstretched, decaying arms. My instincts told me to grab Kaylynn and make a run for it. I held her tight, ready to dash through the dead when her eyes flashed. She grabbed my head with both hands and lunged for my face.

  “Rise and shine, pretty boy!”

  I gasped for breath and opened my eyes. Cody had his hands on either side of my head, watching me before he gently slapped the sleep out of me.

  The light of dawn had filled the sky.

  “Wake your sister up,” Cody said, sounding more like an order. “We’re stopping here.”

  I shook my head from his hands, feeling sick. Every Vector encounter was like adding fuel to the nightmare centers in my brain. Even if the army showed up and mowed them down, I feared that these dreams would never go away. It would take many powerful images to erase the post-traumatic stress points that Jewel and I had racked up. I nudged her, but it was Chloe’s licks that made her stir and laugh. Laughter’s the best medicine, they say. I was overdue for a dose.