“Rob proposed to me in that booth. He told me I was his little sailor-girl and he wanted me to be his last port-of-call.”
Stew looked at Gerri and rolled his eye…port-of-call he mouthed.
Gerri shrugged.
“What happened to him?” Gerri asked quietly.
Bethany shook her head and waved a hand in the air.
“This…” she said. “All this happened. God, I’m so fucking sick of zombies.”
“Speaking of zombies,” Stew said as he dragged a table across the floor.
The two women joined in and helped. They placed two tables in front of the entrance and went back for more. When they came back outside, there were three zombies pushing their way through the tables.
“Son-of-a…” Stew said. “My Katana’s inside.
He flipped the table over and kicked one of the metal legs off. With a mad charge, he swung the metal leg at the first zombie. Most of its head and whatever was inside sprayed against the window of LaPiazza. Without stopping, he continued swinging the leg until the other two zombies were dropped.
“Stew!” Gerri called.
He turned just as she lobbed his katana to him. She pointed toward the entrance.
“There’s more,” she said.
The three of them made a stand as five zombies pushed their way through the entrance, followed closely by four more and then by another group of five.
“I don’t like this,” Stew said.
“Focus, soldier,” Gerri said.
They defended themselves for several minutes but Stew did not like the situation. Zombies continued pouring in as fast as they could kill them. Just when the last of his optimism was about to fade, he heard what can only be described as the blood-curdling cry of an Apache warrior from behind him.
They turned to see Tiki and Crista charging wildly toward them with Ambroz and Cesar right behind - the four of them waving wooden table legs. Tiki’s eyes were filled with something Stew hadn’t seen since his days in Afghanistan…the look of a soldier who is not afraid to die.
When they turned back to the entrance, there were more zombies than they could count.
They fought and killed for what seemed like hours.
Stew looked over to see Ambroz lying on the ground with three zombies feeding on him. Cesar rushed to help his friend but his chair leg was covered with gore and it slipped from his hand. He watched as it flew across the compound and landed in front of Burrito 101 harmlessly. He turned back around in time to see a zombie about to sink its teeth into his neck. He never had time to scream.
Tiki reached a hand out to Crista, who had fallen to the ground.
“Get up,” he said.
She reached for his hand but he was pulled away before she could. Crista watched in horror as two zombies pulled her man into their clutches. She jumped up and screamed at the top of her lungs. She dropped her table leg and grabbed Tiki’s left arm. She pulled with all her might while the two zombies pulled him in the opposite direction. Tiki’s face was wrenched with pain as he became a human rope in the most bizarre game of tug-of-war he could imagine.
“Crista, let go!” he called.
“Nooooo…” she screamed.
Suddenly she flew backwards and landed on her ass on the pavers, watching as the zombies dragged Tiki away. She screamed when she realized she still held Tiki’s left arm in her hands.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” she repeated, not seeing the zombie about to fall on top of her.
Stew watched as Crista was buried by zombies.
He turned back around and continued slicing and dicing at the advancing horde.
“That’s it,” he yelled. “It’s time for a tactical retreat.”
“No argument here,” Bethany said.
“I think you’re right,” Gerri said.
“You two go, I’ll distract them while you make a break for it. Get to the car.”
Stew, make sure you’re right behind me,” Gerri said.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he cut a zombie in half at the waist.
Gerri and Bethany began their retreat. Stew walked backwards moving away from them, hoping the zombies would follow. Some did, but others decided the two women were worth pursuing and moved in that direction. Stew killed a zombie and decided to join his wife. Shoving the portable outside bar into the advancing zombies, he dropped at least ten in one shot. Knowing they would get back up, he turned to run and join Gerri and Bethany. He didn’t see the stand-up patio heater and ran square into it…riding it to the ground like a dying horse. When it landed, the metal pole crushed his balls. He rolled to the side holding his groin in too much pain to care about the zombies that descended upon him.
He screamed more for the pain in his groin than the teeth in his throat.
Gerri
Gerri heard Stew’s scream and stopped.
“Come on,” Bethany yelled.
“Oh, no,” Gerri said. “Stew, get up!”
She began to run toward her husband but Bethany grabbed her shirt.
“No,” she said. “You can’t. There’s nothing you can do for him, we have to go.”
They never got a chance to move. Six zombies surrounded them while they were distracted and the two women stood back-to-back as they undead closed in on them.
“Happy fucking birthday to me,” Bethany said.
Ike and Darlene
“You two take the right,” Ike said to David and Jill. “Darlene, you and John take the middle. Brewski and I will hold the left.”
“Aye aye, captain,” David said. “Come on, honey,” he said to Jill.
The six of them spread out and began dropping zombies. Brewski swung his five-iron like he was on the PGA Tour. Ike’s sledgehammer destroyed skulls as if they were watermelons. To their right, David and Jill were doing fine until Jill drifted too far from David and found herself cut off and surrounded. David charged the pack of zombies attacking her and was able to kill three before he too was overwhelmed.
Ike looked over his shoulder and saw the pile of zombies where David and Jill had been just a minute ago.
“Brewski, this shit is getting old,” he said as he crushed another skull.
“You got that right,” Brewski said.
Ike looked across the compound and saw that Stew and his party had fallen as well.
“I think I hear the road calling,” he said.
“Well, let’s not keep it waiting,” Brewski said.
“Where’s your bike?”
“In the underground garage, probably not worth going after it.”
“Looks like you’re riding bitch on mine,”
Ike worked his way toward Darlene, who was now taking out zombies with a four-foot length of steel chain. Ike didn’t bother asking where she had gotten it.
“It’s getting a little crowded in here and I’m not feeling very welcome,” he said to her.
“Copy that,” she said. “John and I were just saying the same thing. I guess it wouldn’t be too rude if we left the party early.”
“Brewski and I will be taking off on my bike. I suspect you two can take the car.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Darlene said. “I guess this is it then.”
“Looks like it. Take care of yourself,” Ike said with a wink.
“Back atcha,” she said.
Darlene swung her chain. It wrapped around the head of a zombie and she swung it into another one, knocking them both to the ground.
“Let’s get the fuck outta here, Murph,” she said.
“Right behind ya,” John said. “It’s where the best view is.”
“Really?” she said. “Still?”
“I’m still alive, ain’t I?”
Ike laughed and sprinted to his bike and threw his sledgehammer at a zombie before he climbed on and fired it up. He gunned the throttle and spun it around toward Brewski, slowing just enough to allow Brewski to climb on. Once Brewski gave him a tap on the shoulder Ike twisted the throttle and th
e Harley tore out of the compound behind John and Darlene in the car.
When they reached A1A on the other side of the bridge, Darlene turned left and headed south, her hand waving out the window.
Ike returned the wave as he turned the Harley right and sped off north.
Within minutes, the two vehicles were miles…maybe even worlds apart.
Rick
Something had woken him from his nap. Rick woke, pissed, and stared at the ceiling fan, collecting dust. He couldn't remember how long it had been since it had turned and created air for him. Obviously, too long.
He slid off the couch and scratched his beard, the sunlight glare from his open balcony door annoying him. Rick decided to close it up and get some shade and damn the heat. It didn't really make a difference anyway. No matter what you did it was hot and he was sweaty.
Rick walked out onto the balcony and looked down. There were bodies everywhere. I guess I missed a big battle, he thought. I wonder who it was.
He didn't recognize anyone below, but it was hard to distinguish features with so much blood and random body parts. He hoped it wasn't a friend of his.
There were perhaps three dozen zombies still wandering around, and the entryway he could see across the courtyard was wide open. That wasn't a good sign.
Rick glanced below at Farley's Irish Pub and saw two zombies staring up at him. He waved and then went back inside.
End
Dying Days: Man-Child
"Can't we stop for a second? My feet hurt," Colleen said to the boy, who (despite his young age) looked like he was in his mid-twenties. "We've been wandering for hours."
"We need to find somewhere to hide," Austin said. His nickname was Man-Child but he hated it. His mother used to defend him when people teased him and it drove him crazy. He'd yelled at her so many times for it… now she was gone and he would give anything to have her here, defending him.
"The last place was fine," Colleen said.
"We got out just in time." Austin was getting annoyed with the woman. She was starting to whine too much and the complaints were coming more and more. She kept reiterating how old she was and how young he was and his pace was too fast and his legs were longer than hers and he had better shoes on… "If we'd stayed and slept in like you wanted to, we'd be zombies right now."
The tool shed they'd hidden in a couple of miles away was a great spot for a few hours, but then the zombies had begun to get thicker. By the time Austin had gotten Colleen to stop carrying on and carrying his mother’s body from the tool shed, they'd been attacked.
Austin had cleared the way with only a thick tree branch, while Colleen made far too much noise, crying and yelling as each zombie came closer. She'd drawn attention to them and, if he hadn't been raised so well, he would've accidentally struck her with the makeshift weapon and been done with her.
But his momma had raised him better.
When they'd circled back to find her torn open body with the others, Austin hadn't cried. He didn't have a breakdown. He simply got pissed and set his mind to fight for as long and as hard as he could, and survive and honor his mother's name.
"We're going in circles," Colleen said. "I'm sure we passed this spot ten times already."
"You know why we passed this spot ten times? Because every other way is blocked with zombies, and I have a tree branch as a weapon. You haven't fought anything." Austin was trying to remain calm but she was pushing his buttons again. All she did was complain. "I'm trying to find us a new hiding place, but we can't go over the bridge and Palm Coast is a mess. If we stay along the river, we might be able to find something."
"I'm hungry."
"You think I'm not? I haven't eaten since I don't know when. I haven't slept. You took a nice nap while I stood guard, and I fought off zombies while you took your sweet time walking away. You didn't even run," Austin said.
Colleen pointed at her feet. "I can't run. My feet hurt. Don't you even listen to me?"
"I wish I'd stopped. We need to keep moving. They are all around us." Austin could hear zombies crashing through the woods nearby, stepping on leaves and twigs and scuffling on the cement path. At least they weren't stealthy. But they were too quiet and you had to really listen in order to hear them. And it was hard to hear them when she wouldn't be quiet.
"We should go back to European Village," Colleen said.
"Why? We went back already and it's overrun by zombies. Everyone is either dead or has abandoned it." Austin had thought it was a good plan until they saw how quickly it had collapsed, with the entryways wide open and a hundred zombies milling about. "We can't fight our way into it, and you won't even find a weapon."
"I can shoot a gun."
"Then we'll just waltz over to the gun shop and find you something suitable. Maybe a pink handgun?"
"You're being sarcastic and I don't like it." Colleen started walking the way they'd just come.
"Where are you going?"
"This way looks just as good as any other. Unless you have a better idea?"
Austin held his tongue. He was raised better.
* * * * *
"I see six of them," Austin whispered in Colleen's ear. "If we can get past them, we might be able to sneak into the clubhouse. They were crouched in a sand-trap on a golf course.
Colleen giggled. "You're tickling my ear."
Austin pulled away. Colleen was literally old enough to be his mom. Was she being flirty with him or just trying to joke around? He wasn't about to ask. "I'm going to draw them off this way and you make it to the building. Maybe the door is unlocked or the window around the side is open, or broken."
"Is this really the plan? I run and hope I don't get eaten?"
"Do you have a better one?"
"Yes." Colleen stared at the clubhouse.
Austin was getting impatient. A nearby zombie was heading in their general direction. He'd be upon them in ten minutes or so. "Care to share it with me?"
She was looking around. "Give me a minute."
"We don't have a minute. At some point, one of them will see us and they'll all come running."
"They don't run. Zombies don't run."
Austin closed his eyes. "You know what I mean."
The grass was very high and wild all around them, making the sand-trap an ideal hiding spot as long as the zombies weren't within twenty feet or so.
"I got it," Colleen said. "You make a distraction and I'll run to the building."
"Isn't that what I just said?"
Colleen stared at him before smiling. "Ready? Set? Go."
Austin jumped out of the sand-trap and waved his hands at the nearest zombies. There were six of them, a couple he hadn't seen coming up from behind. He started running to his left, easily getting between two zombies and bursting free. Austin turned to see Colleen sticking her head out and looking around.
"Run," he yelled, dodging another zombie when it came closer. He kept spinning slowly around, flapping his arms, making sure they were concentrating on him.
It was working, all undead eyes were now focused on him as he ran around the weed-choked golf course. He punched a male zombie in the face, loose teeth spilling onto its bloated chest. Austin kicked another in the kneecap and watched it fall, still trying to clutch at him.
When he turned, he frowned. Colleen was still in the sand-trap, looking around.
"Run! What are you waiting for?" he yelled. He couldn't believe she was still in the exact spot he'd left her.
"There are too many of them," she yelled back, which got the attention of two close to her.
As far as Austin could see, there was a clear path between Colleen and the building. There was no better time than now to get moving.
"Hey, over here, you dead people!" he yelled, trying to get the attention of all the zombies, but the two were focused on her and only her. "You need to run."
Colleen jumped up from the sand-trap but she was on her knees and just staring at the zombies.
"Run!" Austin
yelled, moving in her direction and punching zombies as he did. Across the golf course, he could see other zombies coming from the tree line and the parking lot, all drawn to the noise.
She wasn't moving. He slammed into a zombie with his big shoulder, driving it to the ground, where he stomped on the head until it stopped moving.
"I'm done," Colleen said. She was crying. "I can't do this anymore. There is no hope and no one is going to save us. Everyone is dead. It's over. I can't hide anymore."
"Get up and stop being so selfish," Austin said and tried to get her to stand. Despite her not being very big she was dead weight, refusing to let him get her off the ground and use her feet.
"Go away. Save yourself."
"I can't do that. I won't let you kill yourself," Austin said. "Get off the ground and run with me. We'll make it. Someone will come to rescue us."
"You live in a fantasy world," Colleen said and went limp, putting her face in the high grass. "Just get away from me."
Austin hooked her leg and started to drag her when he stopped. "Did you hear that?"
"There's nothing to hear. It's all gone… everything I lived for. My family, my friends…"
"Please be quiet," he said loudly. A zombie was right in front of him and he punched it in the face and pushed it away. "I thought I heard a car engine."
"You didn't," Colleen said.
"Stay here. Damn. No, wait… come with me," Austin said. He needed to run down the road and flag down whoever it was, but, if she was not going to move, she'd be eaten in no time. "I really need you to get up and help me to live. Do it for me."
"Nope."
Austin realized the zombies were closing in on them now. He needed to move fast, but if he ran away she'd be killed. If he stayed, he might be able to save her but then their hope for a way out of here would be gone.
Now he could hear the sound of not only a car engine but a motorcycle, the beautiful sounds breaking the silence. They must be on Palm Coast Parkway, either heading to or away from the bridge. They'd been there only an hour or so ago.
Dying Days Ultimate Box Set 1 Page 46
