My Zombie Summer (Book 1): The Undead Road

by David Powers King

  “Hey,” Jewel whispered to me. “You think she’s mad at me?”

  “Nah. I bet you’re mad at me, though.”

  “You’re an idiot, but I’m your biggest fan.”

  Talk about a self-esteem boost. “Thanks, sis.”

  She glanced at me with a grin. “Anytime, bro.”

  We passed an equipment yard and a small reservoir with green water. Going down there for a sip would’ve been nice, but the high chance of Vectors tripping, sinking, and rotting at the bottom made the water unlikely to be sanitary. I wouldn’t let anyone drink that. Kaylynn’s stride picked up, making it hard to keep up.

  The walk took longer than I had expected. The silver water tower ahead was our only pillar of hope, our guide for shelter for the night. The sun was lowering, and the highway was getting darker with each second. A sign with a silhouetted man on a horse greeted us upon entering the city:

  Historic Marysville Welcomes You

  Every small town claims to be historic . . .

  “What’s so funny?” Jewel asked. “You okay?”

  Had I laughed? Bad sign. I had to keep it together. “I’m fine.” Jewel wasn’t convinced, so I tousled her hair. “I’m sorry, Jewel. I’m just sick of Cody’s crap.”

  “We all are.” Kaylynn turned, her bat resting over her shoulders as she looked at us. She walked on, moving backwards, never missing a step. “We don’t have to worry about him trying to kill me. It kinda sucks that he stole your car, but this might be for the best.”

  Point taken. No psychotic Cody was one less thing to worry about.

  “I’ve seen that picture,” Jewel said, pointing at the welcome sign.

  “The Pony Express,” Kaylynn replied. “It used to run through here.”

  I stared at the sign. This town was historic.

  Keeping conversation to a minimum, we opened our ears. Kaylynn didn’t talk directly to me, which wouldn’t change anytime soon. Chloe’s tail wagged and brushed the road. It amazed me how well behaved that dog was, and incredibly loyal. She jumped right in when Cody hit me. Too bad he struck her with my shotgun. She looked okay. I hoped it would stay that way.

  I encouraged the others to hurry. The sun was about to set. It wasn’t the fear of Vectors that drove me. What fueled me forward was my anger for Cody. Not just for leaving us, but for taking off while monsters were coming after us. I mean, what sick freak would do such a thing? If he happened to find Mom and Dad, he would have a lot of explaining to do. And unless we found a car with enough gas, we were stuck.

  It was almost 7:00. I clicked the radio off.

  “How’d you keep the zombies away, Kaylynn?” Jewel asked.

  Exactly the question I had asked a while ago. I bet it had something to do with the Vectors in David City. She’d smacked them left and right, and not one of them seemed to notice, like she was invisible. By being close to her, had we become invisible to them? Speaking of being close, why was she so hostile after pulling herself so close to me? Girls. They don’t make any sense.

  “Haven’t a clue,” Kaylynn said.

  I offered one. “They only attack the non-infected. Maybe they—”

  “Stay away because I’m infected?” Kaylynn rounded on me. “Because I’m damaged goods?”

  “Exactly!” I said, and then I coughed. “Well, no. Not in that context.”

  “You know, that kinda makes sense,” Jewel added. “They never attack each other.”

  We came up with a few more ideas, speculations at best, which helped us pass the time. We entered the downtown area and decided to tone it down, keeping our senses on the alert for danger. Aside from a dried-up Crawler or two, we had nothing to worry about.

  One Stalker next to the post office was staring at itself in the window.

  Kaylynn motioned us with her arm. “See that?” Down the block was a tall, red-bricked building. An old courthouse. “Should be a sheriff’s station nearby.”

  Jewel turned her nose up. “Why not a motel?”

  “They have holding cells,” I said. “It’s safer.”

  Kaylynn nodded. “Home run, Jay. Locked away in a cell. You can’t get much safer than that.”

  “Unless there’s an underground bunker.”

  “Unless you know where one is, can it.”

  I’d show her a can. “Lead on.”

  The courthouse had to be the oldest building in town—late 1800s—and the tallest. Wood boards had been nailed over the front door. A skeletal arm was hanging through one of the small openings, a hole that survivors had dug for themselves. The next building was modern, a bland mix of gray with a flat, black roof.

  Sure enough, it was the sheriff station. Switching my survival mode on, I scanned the area and checked the shadows for hiding places, treading softly with each step. Jewel did the same. She wasn’t as practiced at stealth as I was, not that I’m a certified ninja.

  None of the back entrances were open, so we made our way to the front. Across the street was a park. Through the trees I saw a statue of a man riding on a horse at full gallop. We shied away from human remains lying in the street while we made our way up to the front entrance. Like the courthouse, boards blocked the entrance. Kaylynn pried one off and shined a light. The place was a wreck: papers, mugs, and pools of dry coffee. Jewel shook a little, but Chloe seemed fine.

  Kaylynn picked her up and placed her inside. “Scout ahead, Chloe.”

  The dog ruffed, entered the lobby and walked around the corner.

  Apparently you can train retrievers to stake a place out. Kaylynn was so keen on keeping Chloe. I could see why now. A couple Stalkers ambled mindlessly about in the distance, too far away for them to notice us. And we didn’t have to wait long. Chloe came back a minute later, her tail wagging more enthusiastically than it had all day. That sure helped to brighten my mood.

  “Clear.” Kaylynn looked at me. “Go ahead.”

  I shook my head. “Ladies first.”

  “The clumsy ox with the gun goes first.”

  Touché.

  I leaned into the opening and stuck my leg through. It was a tight fit, but I was able to bend low and pull myself inside. With my flashlight clipped to the collar of my new hoodie, I surveyed the area, pointing my shotgun wherever the light fell. Around the corner was a receptionist desk behind a wall of glass.

  The girls joined me. We inspected each room until we knew for sure that the building was safe. Someone had made the place their home at one point. They’d ransacked the vending machines. Discarded chip and candy wrappers covered the break room floor.

  Whoever this person was, he was long gone.

  We scrounged about for keys to the holding cells and soon found the cleanest ones we could find. At last, we could finally sleep for hours without having to worry about becoming late night snacks. Speaking of snacks, I pulled out everything we had from my backpack. The food was gone in a matter of minutes, with nothing to wash it down. It was going to be long night.

  Kaylynn went to the other cell door. “Goodnight.”

  “Hmm?” Jewel mumbled. “Where’re you going?”

  “The next cell across the way,” Kaylynn said.

  “Why don’t you want to stay with us?”

  “I wouldn’t want to bite any of you.”

  “Oh,” Jewel said, pouting. “Okay.”

  “I’ll throw the keys to you after I lock myself in.” Kaylynn gave me a last look before leaving the cell and closing it. She entered the cell on the other side of the hall, slid the door shut, and locked it. The keys landed next to my feet when she threw them back. “See ya.”

  “Yeah.” I reached down for the keys. “See ya.”

  Seconds later, Kaylynn sat down on a cot. I closed our cell door and locked Jewel, Chloe, and myself inside. Kaylynn didn’t take Chloe with her, leaving the retriever in our care instead. That wasn’t like her. Up until that afternoon, she’d never worried about biting us before. While this was perfectly reasonable, I knew Kaylynn was afraid of something. I
couldn’t tell what.

  Why are girls so impossible to figure out?

  Jewel claimed the cot and I tried to make myself comfortable on the floor before turning my light off.

  Sleep proved to be impossible that night. Jewel squirmed for an hour before she drifted off. I slipped an hour or two in. Thanks to the weirdest day I’ve ever had since the Vectors had taken over the world, I couldn’t avoid the oncoming nightmares. Malcolm was in my dream. He chased us with a meat grinder. He wanted sausages to go with his scrambled eggs. Kaylynn dodged arrows from Cody at the big box store. Jewel wandered the streets of Marysville with Chloe at her heels.

  She had a new hunting rifle. She aimed at me.

  I looked down. My hands were decayed.

  Having your little sister plant a bullet in your head is the worst way to wake up from a dream. I pushed the light on my watch and nearly cursed. 10:50 pm, but it felt more like 3:50 am. I hate it when that happens.

  “Jay?” Kaylynn asked. “You awake?”

  I sat up faster than a springboard. “Yeah.”

  “I can’t sleep,” she said. “Can we talk?”

  Ninety percent of me said “no” and the remaining ten percent of me still clang to the hope that we could make things work between us, so I had to say, “Uh, yeah. Sure. But I don’t want to wake Jewel up.”

  “Come to my cell,” she said. “It’s quiet here.”

  That remaining ninety percent of me took a hike.

  I stood up and opened the cell door. Surprisingly, Chloe didn’t stir. She snuggled next to my sister instead. My adjusted-to-the-dark eyes had no problem guiding me to Kaylynn’s cell. I used the keys to open her door and then I sat down next to Kaylynn on her cot. She was sitting up, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her expression hadn’t changed since we last spoke, which made me curious. I had to know what she had to say.

  She scooted next to me. Her hand clasped mine. That was unexpectedly grabby of her. A warm surge ran down my back from her soft fingers, like electricity.

  “At the ballpark, you said you were agnostic,” she said. “What’s that?”

  “That’s what you want to talk about?”

  “Is it wrong to ask more about you?”

  Not if she put it that way. I wasn’t exactly fond of explaining the subject, and I wasn’t sure why she was asking me now. “We just believe that anything’s possible. There’s no proof that gods or higher beings exist, and there’s no proof that they don’t exist either.” At that point, I didn’t know what Kaylynn believed in, or if my answer had turned her off. “Is that a problem?”

  She gestured at herself. “Do I look qualified to judge anyone?” Any answer would mean I was judging her, so I appreciated the understanding. “If you think about it, faith is like this cure we’re looking for. Why do we believe in a cure if we don’t know there is one?”

  “Is this some kind of finding Jesus moment?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying, Jay.” Her free hand fiddled with her dragon pendant. “I’m not trying to convert you or anything. You and your family are nicer and more considerate than most of the religious people I know—knew.” She let her pendant go. The metal thumped against her chest. At the movement, I realized that I knew next to nothing about this girl. What did she believe in? What did she really want? And I was only thinking of myself. “I don’t want to be infected, but if I am, I’m not one of them yet. And with these powers, it could only mean I’m this way for a reason.”

  “Sorry,” I said. “That’s hard for me to swallow.”

  “I should be sorry for almost swallowing you.”

  “Look. I need you to promise me something.”

  I felt her moving closer to me. “What is it?”

  “You . . . don’t use your powers anymore.”

  “Huh? We wouldn’t be here without them.”

  “I know, but what if you attack us again?”

  Her hand gripped mine again, tighter than before. “You’re saying I’ll turn into one of them no matter what I do. You think going into zombie mode will turn me into one of them for good?”

  “Or permanently. I don’t want to lose you.”

  Her fingers interlocked with mine. “I won’t.”

  I couldn’t see her in the dark, but I didn’t have to. Her face appeared in my mind. So did her smile.

  “Sometimes when I dream, I see them,” she said. “I can see what they see, and what they’re doing.” She raised her head. “They’re hunting us right now.”

  “What do you mean? Do they know we’re here?”

  “Just the ones in town. They don’t know where.”

  I sighed. “We picked a good place to stay low.”

  “Yeah.” She sighed too. “I did.”

  I was about to laugh when Kaylynn threw her arms around me. I froze in place, not sure if she was hugging or attacking me. She never hugged me before now. Why would she all of a sudden? Then again, I wasn’t about to complain. She held me close, and her body was warm.

  I wrapped my arms around her.

  I liked that. I really liked that.

  “If I had told you about my bite, none of this would’ve happened.” Kaylynn’s forehead crashed onto my shoulder. Her body was shaking. “I’m sorry, Jay.”

  “Cut it out,” I said. “None of this is your fault.”

  “It totally is! If I had stayed in your car, we never would’ve met Cody, never would’ve stayed in David City. You’d have filled your car and kept driving.” She lost it after that. I held onto her, not knowing what else to do. “You’d be better off if you’d never found me.”

  “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me.”

  “Wow.” Kaylynn raised her head. “Cheesy.”

  “You have something against cheese?”

  She lowered her head and laughed. “Nope.”

  We leaned against the wall. Her head came to a rest on my shoulder. We talked until she dozed off. Her gentle breath was adorable. I just watched her and felt like a creep when I stared at her neckline and the dragon pendant now settled over her chest. If Kaylynn didn’t know how I felt at that moment, then nothing would get the message across. After that night, I had comfort in knowing that she cared for me in return. If only she would tell me, then I would know for sure.

  After we found that cure, maybe she would.

  I woke up with my head in Kaylynn’s lap, which was the most comfortable feeling ever. The morning light bled through the windows and down the hallway. I licked my lips and smacked my mouth. My insides were drier than cotton. Before we did anything, we had to find water.

  I looked for my sister. She wasn’t in her cell.

  “Jewel?” I cried out. She didn’t answer me.

  “Huh?” Kaylynn stirred awake. “What’s wrong?”

  I jumped to my feet. “Jewel’s gone.”

  Kaylynn rushed to the cell door. “So’s Chloe!”

  We opened the door and I followed Kaylynn down the concrete hall, giving little thought to the potential dangers ahead. What was Jewel thinking? She knew better than to take off on her own. If she stepped so much as one foot outside, I’d kill her. Nah. I wouldn’t do that. Mom and Dad would kill me if I did.

  “Crap,” I said. “I forgot to lock her cell.”

  “Jewel?” Kaylynn called softly. “Chloe?”

  There was a grating sound ahead. A door opened, and then the scampering of paws running on the cheap linoleum floor. Chloe sniffed at my heels, and then her hot tongue licked my hand. Kaylynn tousled the dog behind her ears with both hands. I hoped this meant Jewel was safe. She came around, holding a new rifle.

  “Look what I found!” she said.

  Jewel ran back the way she had come. Not far from an emergency exit was a storage room with racks and cages; the station’s armory. There wasn’t much left, but from the half-empty boxes of ammo and abandoned firearms, we had enough to keep us going for a while. We had a fighting chance of reaching Kansas City alive.

  “Way to go,
Jewel!” I said. “But you nearly gave me a heart attack. Don’t take off like that again.”

  “You guys were too cute,” she said, winking at us. “I couldn’t wake you up.”

  Cute? Kaylynn and I were cute? If Kaylynn’s blush was any indication, my cheeks were just as red.

  “How did you find this place?” I asked. “I thought we checked the whole place last night.”

  “Think fast!” Jewel tossed an unopened bottle of fresh water to Kaylynn.

  I saw half a case of them in the back corner. “Don’t I get one?” I asked.

  Kaylynn threw hers to me. “Toss me another?”

  The last time I downed 16-ounces was during my first attempt at Track and Field. Didn’t turn out well. Long story. Not going there. Kaylynn and I raced to see who finished ours first. She opened her second bottle before I emptied mine. Everything was a competition.

  While I downed my second bottle, I put the last four in my backpack and took stock of the weapons. We couldn’t take them all. A trip to Kansas City would be long and cumbersome with that hardware weighing us down. I settled for a 9mm Glock and three eighteen-round magazines for a total of fifty-four bullets. I found only twenty-eight rounds. Jewel had another 30-06 with a little more than half a box of shells. We had 12 Gauge shells too, but not enough to max the chamber.

  Aside from the guns, the room had a few other surprises: flash bangs, a leg holster, and body armor. Jewel grabbed a sling for her rifle to free up her hands. I strapped the holster to my leg. Knowing that my hands were free while having access to a pistol was great. Too bad there wasn’t a mirror. I bet we looked badass.

  I packed the flash bangs and the shotgun shells. Kaylynn waited for us at the door, her foot pressed against the frame. She didn’t bother to pick up anything. Then again, she didn’t need to. The Vectors had no interest in her. She didn’t even need to carry a baseball bat. Kaylynn had all those special powers and Jewel had the dumbest luck in the universe, and the only thing I had to contribute was my crack-shooting, pistol-whipping skills. What good is that without ammo?