The Zombie Zovels (Book 1): Zombie Suburbia

by Lake, D. K

  “Scottie wasn't like the rest of them. You know that. He was one of the decent ones. We should have waited and come up with a better escape plan.”

  “You really wanted to stay longer?”

  “Food, water, roof,” I said, ripping the tape to secure the gauze. “Now we're outside and you're wounded.”

  “How long?”

  I ignored him and busied myself covering his wound.

  “How long before that scumbag dragged you into his bed?”

  “If it meant we still had a place to stay it might not have been so bad.”

  “Are you kidding? That place was worse than jail. Would you have been willing to let him do that to you?”

  I pretended not to hear him and tidied the First Aid supplies away.

  “Maybe you could have told him you were a virgin, he might have got a kick out of it.” “How would you know I'm a virgin?” I snapped.

  “Alex... I'm not a complete idiot. You never dated for too long and I'm sure your ex-military gun crazy dad scared most guys away from asking you on a date.”

  “He was protective. And, so what, I'm a virgin, we're not all as experienced as the famous Lane Walker.”

  “What's that supposed to mean,” he said.

  “Yeah, I heard all about you and Katherine-fucking-Slater... and the rest of them. I think the whole school heard about it. I spent days consoling Pip, trying to convince her it was just a stupid rumor.” “Pip?” he said, frowning.

  “Yes, Pip. She was obsessed with you. Lane this... Lane that... You didn't even know she existed.” “I-I didn't know.”

  “Too busy fucking Katherine no doubt.”

  Damn me and my mouth vomit.

  “It was one time. It didn't mean anything,” he said, reaching for me, I moved away and went back to my bag to pack the supplies away.

  “Alex... Where is all this coming from? Did I do something else to upset you?”

  “Lane, it's okay, you don't have to explain yourself to me.”

  I felt the twisting deep down inside of me. I secretly hoped Katherine had been eaten by zombies or was one herself, her perfect hair would be a mess by now and her nails would be all chipped... Ugh! What was wrong with me. I knew this feeling...

  I pulled out a water bottle from Lane's bag and took a mouthful, angling my face away from him. I could feel my cheeks burning. I was jealous, but I didn't want him to see it.

  “Did you sleep with Carmen?” I blurted.

  “What? Carmen?”

  “Yes, Carmen, the skinny blond that flirted with you every day and followed you around.” “No. I didn't sleep with Carmen.” he said.

  I grunted a laugh.

  “Really?” I scoffed.

  “Yes, really, I didn't sleep with her. I think she was into someone else.”

  “Who?” I asked, standing up to face him.

  “Scottie.” he replied.

  “Scottie? Her step-brother?”

  “Yes, Scottie, not unless there was another Scottie I didn't know about. I caught them in the shower together.”

  “I caught Carmen in the corridor with Dom the first night we stayed there, she was sleeping with him aswell.”

  “Keeping it in the family.” Lane said.

  I turned away again, trying to steady my breathing, and calm down. My thoughts were all over the place. I dug around in my bag, I didn't even know what I was looking for.

  “Alex... Alex! Would you just.... stop that... look at me, please.”

  I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my sleeve, the cold weather was already playing havoc with my bodily fluids.

  “You may have been okay with it, but I wasn't. I wasn't going to let him or any of the others do that to you... or do anything to you if I'm completely honest.”

  I stood up and stretched my legs and walked back to him.

  “Do you want some?” I asked, holding the water bottle out to him.

  He stared at me, but didn't take the bottle, then I realized he was still shirtless.

  “You should put something on, you're going to freeze.”

  I went to get another T-shirt from his bag, but he stopped me, wrapping his hand around my wrist and pulling me back to him. He grabbed my jacket with his other hand bringing me closer to him, between his legs. He took the water bottle from me and set it down, then he grabbed my waist with both hands before I could get away from him.

  “Don't,” I said.

  “Don't what?”

  “Don't look after me. I don't need you saving me.”

  “What if you don't get a choice in the matter?”

  He looked up at me and wrapped one arm around my lower back, and the other brushed past the side of my face and into my loose hair. I shook my head, knowing where this was going. “I can't.” I protested, placing both hands on his chest.

  “Don't give me that 'attachment' crap,” he said, moving his hand to the side of my face and cupping my cheek. “I know you feel the same way.”

  “It doesn't matter what I feel, because when you become attached to someone you start risking your life for them.”

  “Well, I'm not asking for your permission. If I want to risk my life for you then I will.” he said firmly.

  “I don't want to get attached to you.”

  It wasn't the whole truth. All I wanted was for him to wrap his strong arms around me and hold onto me forever. But it couldn't happen.

  “Why? Because I might be dead in a week? So could you.” he said.

  I dropped my gaze to his shoulder, touching the top of the dressing. I really hoped he wouldn't get an infection.

  “I think it's a little late for getting attached.” he added.

  He lifted my chin and turned me to face him. He was right, but I wasn't going to admit it. He then pushed both his hands into my hair, pulling my face closer to him until my body was pressed up against his. My hands slipped around his neck, for support more than anything, I didn't want to topple forward onto him. His eyes flickered to my lips then back to my eyes. Lane's eyes were the color of ivy leaves and they completely mesmerized me. Looking into them now I could see the longing behind them. Before I knew what was happening his lips were on mine. I knew I should pull away, this wouldn't end well. This wasn't a fairytale, there were no happy endings for us. The only ending we both faced was getting eaten by a zombie or turning into one. I didn't kiss him back. I wanted to, oh, how I wanted to. I didn't want to feel this way about Lane. If anything was to happen to him I would be devastated. I had already lost so much. Falling in love with Lane wasn't an option. He stopped and looked at me, still holding my face in his hands. “Are you okay to drive?” I asked casually, trying to pretend Lane's kiss didn't affect me. “I saw a sign for a motel a little way back. It shouldn't be too far from here.”

  He looked at me like he hadn't heard me.

  “Lane?”

  “No, yeah, I saw it. I should be fine to get us there, then I can crash.”

  “Okay,” I nodded in agreement, stepping back, his hand fell to my wrist and held onto my fingers for a few moments before I pulled away. I dug out a spare T-shirt and tossed it to him. He pulled it on, then picked up his hoodie from the ground, inspecting it. He pulled it over his head nonetheless. Hopefully, the next stop would have clean clothes, or, at least, running water so I could wash his blood-soaked hoodie for him. Lane started the bike and I picked up our bags and positioned them on my back and across my body. I climbed on behind Lane, momentarily forgetting he had been shot in the shoulder.

  “Sorry!” I said, lifting my hand away from his shoulder, and looping it around his waist. We drove back along the small dirt track and pulled back onto the main road.

  Chapter 11

  After another ten minutes of driving, the sign for the motel came into view, Autumn Creek Motel, with an arrow pointing left. We turned onto another small dirt road that hadn't been maintained, with overgrown tree branches hanging down and weeds sprouting through the road. Along the road, I spotted an od
d shoe, newspaper pages scattered in the mud, empty soda cans, and a bone. I wasn't sure if it was human or not, so I quickly diverted my eyes. There was also an abandoned car, Lane slowed down as we passed. It looked in good condition, but the hood was propped up, so it obviously wasn't running.

  He slowed down and stopped a good distance away from the motel. I counted twelve individual rooms and the main reception area at the end. There was even a vending machine with sodas still inside. I climbed off and looked around. Everything was eerily quiet. A gust of wind whipped the ends of my hair around my face and I quickly took the hair elastic off my wrist and tied my hair back into a ponytail. All the doors were closed, which I was surprised about. When we normally came across an abandoned building, doors were usually left open from previous people raiding the place and garbage normally littered the ground, this place looked untouched, minus the possible human shaped bone back on the road. Lane grabbed the rucksack on my back before I could walk off. I slipped it off my shoulders and he rummaged around inside it.

  “It's so quiet.” I said, slowly walking over to the decking that ran alongside the rooms, leading to the main office at the end.

  “That's because everyone's dead genius.” Lane said.

  I looked back at him, he smirked at me and lit another cigarette, but stayed on the bike. I stepped up onto the decking, my boots knocked against the wood. I peeked inside a window, but the net curtains on the other side stopped me from seeing inside.

  I moved to the nearest door but hesitated before grabbing the doorknob. I had no weapon whatsoever. The only thing I had on me was my bare hands. Lane appeared beside me, holding my gun in both his hands, pointing it at the ground, like one of those cops on TV, except Lane had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Only use the gun if you really have to, okay?”

  He nodded. And I twisted the doorknob. It was locked.

  “It's locked.” I said.

  Lane walked to the next room. Room #8. He tried the doorknob. “Locked as well.” he said, before walking to the next room. We continued to check all the doors. All twelve rooms were locked. “Maybe the owners just left it and took off. I don't think many other people would come down here otherwise. It's a bit creepy.” I said, looking at the dense trees in front.

  Lane swayed and leaned against the wall for support. The drink finally taking effect. “Stay here. I'm gonna go check the reception desk. Hopefully, that door isn't locked.” The main reception and office area had a glass door, and I really didn't want to have to break the glass, creating noise and drawing unwanted attention to us.

  “Take this.” he said, holding the gun out to me.

  “No, you keep it. I don't think you're in any fit state to fight off a zombie at the moment.” He tried to hand me the gun again, but I pushed him back to the wall and he slouched against it, he wasn't in the mood to fight with me so he didn't argue with me.

  “Stay,” I said, hopping back onto the dirt, not liking the sound my boots were making along the decking. I reached the glass door. Inside the office looked immaculate. Leaflets sat neatly on top of the main desk next to a small bell. The only thing that looked untidy was the wilted dead flowers in a vase on the table. The door was locked. I pushed off the glass and stepped back, looking around my feet for anything I could throw through the door. There was a dead potted plant in a medium size blue pot. It would do. I lifted it up and hoisted it into my arms. I was about to throw it through the door when I saw a small key on the decking that had been hidden under the pot. No way! I thought.

  It couldn't be that easy to break into a motel reception, could it?

  I put the pot back down and picked up the key. I looked back at Lane, he was leaning against the wall with his head tipped back. I wasn't sure if he was dozing. The key fit straight into the lock. I twisted it and let myself in. I walked around the main desk, on top sat a computer, a phone, and a novel left open face down. The room keys were hung up on the wall behind me. I grabbed room #9 because it was the closest to where Lane was standing. Behind the reception desk was another room, a small kitchen with a table and two chairs. I checked all the cupboards and found an unopened box of Cheerios, tea bags, coffee, and a couple of packets of cookies. There was even a First Aid kit. There was a fridge, but I didn't bother to open it, everything inside would be spoiled by now. I found a grocery bag and filled it with cutlery and what I considered edible, and walked back out to the reception area. There was a small toilet room at the end. I grabbed the toilet roll, the small towel that was hanging up, and the handwash, and stuffed them into the grocery bag, not knowing what would be in the motel room. I pulled the reception door closed and walked back to Lane. Just before I reached him a gust of wind blew something across the ground toward me. I quickly jumped off the decking and put my boot on it before it could blow away. I bent over and picked it up. It was a map. A very dirty, tatty and torn map, but it was a map nonetheless. I quickly folded it up and slid it into the grocery bag.

  “Room #9 and I've got some treats in the bag.” I said, stopping in front of him.

  “Treats?”

  “Unopened box of cereal, toilet roll, and even a packet of chocolate chip cookies.” Lane took the key and unlocked the door. We both shuffled inside and looked around. The bed was made and everything looked neat and tidy. I checked the bathroom, a bathtub with a shower and a toilet, with clean towels laid out.

  Lane shut the door and locked it again. I peeked out through the net curtains, everything still looked peaceful, thankfully. Lane pulled his hoodie over his head and kicked off his hi-tops, then he pulled the bedsheets back and climbed in. I stripped off my own jacket and hoodie, then took off my boots, made a quick trip to the bathroom and was amazed to find the water was still running clear. I washed Lane's blood off my hands, then went back into the room and pulled the curtains shut, and crawled into bed beside him.

  “I don't think the zombies know about this place. Maybe we can stay here. ” he mumbled into the pillow.

  He opened one eye to look at me.

  “Or until we run out of food.” I said, edging closer to him under the covers. I was still cold, and Lane was always like a walking furnace, so I edged a bit closer to him.

  After a few moments, he slid his hand across my stomach, causing it to clench. He hooked his arm around me and pulled me even closer to him. I rolled onto my side and Lane pressed his whole body against my back, molding us together, keeping his arm securely around my waist, and I snuggled down into the pillow. He was so close I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. We laid in silence and not too long after Lane's breathing changed and I could tell he was asleep. I sighed, enjoying the comfort of the bed... and the company. The last proper bed I had slept in had been my own. I had since slept in trees, inside the trunks of abandon cars, on makeshift cots, or the last place which was just a sleeping bag with a mat underneath on the floor. But I still missed sleeping in a bed every night.

  The sound of a toilet seat clonking down woke me up. I slowly opened my eyes and stretched, noticing I was alone in the bed. I sat up and checked the time on the nightstand 5.20pm. Wow, I must have been tired. Where's Lane?

  I followed the sounds of running water to the bathroom. Lane stood in his boxers using a washcloth to clean his upper torso down, it was still smeared with dry blood.

  “Hey,” I said, leaning against the door-frame.

  “Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.”

  “It's okay. I'm pretty sure my stomach would have woken me up any minute. I'm starving!” “Me too.” he said.

  “How does a bowl of dry cereal sound? No milk, though, I'm all out.” I joked.

  “Dry cereal sounds great.” He grinned at me.

  “I need to change those for you,” I said, noticing the blood had seeped through his gauzes. “I found another First Aid kit, so we've got plenty of extra gauze and stuff.”

  “All right, but let's eat first.”

 
I turned to leave, and he called me back.

  “Alex,”

  “Yeah?”

  “I found a deck of cards.”

  “Cool, I think we're gonna be up late seeing as we slept through most of the day.” I opened the curtains, outside was dull and drizzly. I found the two bowls I had taken from the kitchen and filled them with dry cereal and stuck a spoon in each one. I spread the map across the bed, and sat down, eating my cereal, looking at our options. The map was ripped and the rest was covered in dry mud, it needed a clean before I could figure out where we were.

  Lane walked back in, saw the map, and frowned.

  “Where do you think we should go from here?” I asked.

  He didn't answer, instead, he grabbed the map and folded it back up.

  “Hey! I was looking at that.”

  “Can we pretend for a few days that this shit pit of a world outside doesn't exist.” He opened the nightstand drawer and shoved the map inside and closed the drawer again. “I'm just saying, we should come up with a plan. Decide where we're headed.”

  Lane picked up his bowl and sat against the headboard, staring at the blank TV.

  I turned away and sat on the edge of the bed. Then I noticed the chair.

  “What's all that?” I asked, walking over to get a proper look. A small bundle of clothes, male Tshirts, gaming magazines, a packet of gum, a bottle of alcohol, a deck of cards, a Stephen King novel, and a box of condoms.

  “Where did you find all this?” I asked, looking back at him.

  “From that car.”

  “What! You went back to that abandoned car on your own?”

  “It's fine, Alex, there's no one here... well, no zombies anyway. I didn't even see a squirrel or rabbit.”

  “How long have you been awake?” I asked.

  “Since three.”

  “You should have woken me.” I said, shoving another mouthful of cereal into my mouth. “Come sit back down.”

  I walked back to the bed, noticing a pile of keys on the other nightstand beside him. It was all the other room keys.

  “Lane!” I said, giving him a scolding look.