“Coffee?” she said to no one in particular.
I couldn't see how adults liked that stuff. It tasted like sludge. I tried it once when I made some for my step-father. I spit it out as soon as it touched my taste buds. Buck handed her a cup, kissing her cheek as she sat on a bar stool in her pajamas, her red hair sticking up in all directions.
“You ready for today?” Hugh turned to me.
“Yes,” I said firmly.
“Good,” he replied. “I am going to go say goodbye to Annette.”
I went to the refrigerator and grabbed a banana. Jaime came in as I munched. He didn’t even look at me. I knew I had hurt him, but it was for the best. I watched him go to the pantry and come back with a box of cereal. He turned his back to me, getting a bowl and spoon. I couldn't help staring at him. He meant something to me, even if I could not act on it. Peggy Sue interrupted my thoughts.
“Now, little lady, I want you to bring this big teddy bear back to me.” She got up, wrapping her arms around Buck.
Buck filled her cup again with coffee.
“You are the best!” Peggy Sue said sipping her coffee as she sat back down. “You can take a picture; it will last longer.” Peggy Sue poked me, raising her eyebrow.
I felt my cheeks flush. I turned my gaze away, embarrassed I had been caught staring at Jaime's back. Jaime turned, looking me in the eyes. His face was unreadable, his eyes a darker hue of brown than normal. He turned away, taking his bowl into the other room.
“Ewww, you feel that chill, Buck? What happened between the two of you?” Peggy Sue looked concerned.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Ah, I see,” Peggy Sue said, putting her cup up to her mouth again.
I ate the rest of my banana so I didn't have to answer any more questions. Hugh had come back in by the time I finished. Peggy Sue said her goodbyes to Buck, and we made our way to the front. Hugh checked the cameras again, and no sign of zombies. I was curious why we had not seen any zombies for a while. I would take the reprieve. We were out, and in the truck, fast. Buck got into the back with me while Hugh drove. On the way, I observed the sides of the road again. They looked the same again. No zombies or anything out of order. When we came close to town, Hugh slowed for us to observe. I pulled out a stick I had made with a hook on the end to reach for the bag. The town had a ton of zombies hanging around. This differed from last time, with only the two in the town and vicinity. This was going to be trickier than we had planned.
I leaned down to speak to Hugh through the window. “What do we do now?” I whispered.
Buck had leaned down a bit, but was still monitoring our surroundings.
“Let me think,” Hugh said.
“With them getting smarter, we driving through them would be a bad idea. I don’t want to get stuck in a trap. Maybe a distraction?” I said.
“Hmm,” Buck grunted.
Looking around, I saw another car I could make it to easily.
“I can go to that car over there and turn on the radio—that might distract the zombies. I can loop around and you pick me up. We go from behind the stores and grab the bag. Then floor it home. Sound like a plan?”
“You think you can make it without getting attacked?” Hugh whispered his concern.
I sat my pole down, gripping my gun tighter.
“Yes. I am fast, and I have been avoiding them from the beginning. Just make sure you get me, please,” I said to them, hopping out the truck.
I made sure no zombies heard me hop out of the truck before I ran silently to the car that was parked by some trees. I prayed the keys would be inside. The door was open. I looked in, and the keys were in the ignition. I sat down, closing the door enough to turn the key without being heard. Out the windshield I saw Hugh back up into the alley that ran behind the buildings. Buck nodded to me. I turned the switch on the radio and turned the volume all the way down. I gently turned the volume up. Static came out the speakers. I adjusted the dial to find a station—if any were left. A broadcast came out of the third station I tried.
“This is the Emergency Broadcast. Authorities have reported that humans have become infected by some kind of virus and are attacking people. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend any person who seems to be infected as they are considered extremely dangerous. If you have been bitten by one of the infected humans, make your way to one of the military outposts for medical care. Please stay inside and protect yourself. The CDC in Atlanta is working on a cure.”
This was a new message. The CDC in Atlanta was still running! If the CDC was working on a cure, I could email them my findings to help. I opened the door and put the car in neutral. I turned the car toward town and let it drift toward the zombies, and turned the radio dial full blast. I jumped out and ran for the trees. The zombies’ attention was on the car, but a few had seen me because they tried to talk to me, telling me to stop in that jumbled way of speaking. I zigzagged in the woods, making a line for the other side of town. A zombie came at me from the side. I shot out, taking it in the head. I hoped Hugh made it to the other side of town to pick me up. As I came closer to the end of town, I saw zombies swarmed the truck. Buck was shooting as many as he could, but they would be overtaken soon. Behind me, a zombie came at me. I dodged its slimy hands and shot it in the neck. The gurgle it made turned my stomach. I shot it in the head before it could get up and attack me again. I had to help the others. What could I do though?
Chapter Thirty-Six
No more zombies seemed to be coming my way. If I could distract them to follow me, they could get the bag.
“Hey, you!” I yelled at the zombies.
The ones attacking the truck turned those eerie white eyes on me. Almost all of the zombies ran for me; the few that remained Buck took out. I ran toward town—I made it to the back of the supermarket. I ran for my life to the side. Rounding the corner, I ran into a zombie. We fell over each other. I kept its mouth away from me and shot its head. The horde of zombies made it to the building, sliding into view.
“Cooooommmmeeee,” one of the zombies said.
I got up and ran for the front of the building. Hugh had moved the truck to where the bag lay untouched in the road. I ran and grabbed the bag as Buck hauled me up by the neck of my shirt. The horde was in front of us, and Hugh slammed the truck in reverse. We zoomed backward as the zombies chased us. Buck and I recovered from the backward jolt and started firing. I had to reload more than I was taking out zombies. Buck was a much better shot than me, each bullet hit its mark. The zombies were gaining on us; there were more than we could handle. More seemed to flow out of the woods. The back road was covered by zombies too. We were backed to the far end of town. The only exit was the road that led away from town and the cabin.
“Does the road this way lead anywhere?” I asked Buck.
“Just to the old mine,” Buck replied as he shot another zombie trying to climb up the side of the truck.
Hugh was still going in reverse.
“Can we hide out there?” I asked Buck, trying to think of a plan.
“Yes,” he said.
“Head up the road, we will hide out in the mine!” I yelled into the back window.
“Hold on!” Hugh yelled back.
We grabbed onto the roll bar of the truck as Hugh took us into a spin. A zombie had climbed up into the bed of the truck as we turned. I shot, but I was out of bullets. I reached for my pole, ramming the zombie in the gut. The zombie fell backwards onto other zombies. I flew up as we ran over a zombie. Buck steadied me so I didn’t fall out with the zombies.
“Thanks,” I said gratefully.
Hugh sped up the hill toward the mine.
“How long until we get to the mine?” I looked to Buck, and back to the horde racing toward us.
“It’s about a mile up the road,” he said.
I looked back to the town and the zombies in the distance running toward us.
“Where do we hide?” I worried as I asked him.
“There
is a lift that will take you down to the mining floor. If we can make it in the lift, it’s a cage,” Buck was reloading his gun.
I swung the bag over my shoulder.
“I'm out of bullets,” I informed him.
He reached in his coat pocket and handed me a few magazines for my gun.
“Coming up on the mine!” Hugh said.
“Get ready to run for the lift!” I said.
Hugh drove the truck up to the tunnel and slammed on the brakes. We all jumped out, running in the tunnel. Let this mine be empty, dear God! A soft glow emitted from the back of the tunnel. A roar came from behind us.
“They are coming!” I cried.
“There!” Buck pointed to a small rusted yellow cage.
I was the first to the cage. I swung the door open and scratched my hand on the latch. I felt the pain of the cut, but my adrenaline made it go to the back of my mind.
“Hurry!” I yelled.
Zombies were flooding the tunnel, blocking out the light. They made it to the cage, and I slammed the door closed, sliding the latch into place to lock the cage. Seconds later zombies hit the cage, making us sway. I backed up to the back of the cage with Hugh. Buck was working on lowering us.
“Is it safe to go down?” I asked as I looked above us to the top of the cage. It seemed like a thin barrier for any zombies to jump on.
“Better than waiting for them to tear this thing apart,” joked Buck.
How the hell could he be so calm? The gears ground together, making a loud rumble.
“Fooooooddddd,” one zombie said.
“Mineeeeee!” another chanted.
The zombie that had said “mine” grabbed the one closest to the door of the cage and pulled him back. A fight broke out with noises no human should be able to make. The cage slowly lowered. The zombie that had been attacked was thrown over the edge as we went further down. It landed on the top of the cage with a thud and turned over to glare at us. Above it the other zombies observed what happened. Another zombie jumped but missed the top of the cage, it hit the side and bounced off falling a few hundred feet to hopefully its death. The others backed away from the edge. The one on top of the cage drooled into the cage. I moved so that the drool didn’t touch me. Buck aimed for the zombie. It looked at him.
“I can’t fire in here. It could blow the whole damn mine with the explosion. Who knows what gases are floating around? Hell,” he said.
The zombie hitching a ride smiled at us. God, I didn’t like that one bit. It understood what we were saying. The others guessed the same thing.
Buck taunted it. “You like that, don't cha? Maybe I will shoot you and take my chances.”
“Nooooooooo,” it said to us.
“That’s creepy as fuck!” Hugh said shocking me. “Sorry for cursing in your presence. I can’t get used to them talking,” he shivered.
“I understand,” I agreed with him.
How long ago had I thought the same thing? The cage kept going down.
I turned to Buck, keeping an eye on the zombie, and hid my mouth. “Do we go all the way down? What about him?” I whispered.
We all looked at the zombie watching us. Buck reached over and stopped the lift from going down any further. The zombie looked over the edge. I looked down and saw it was a long drop if it jumped.
“Go ahead and jump,” Buck goaded it.
It looked over the edge again. Was it really thinking of jumping? That was an interesting tidbit to store away for later. The zombie sat on its hind legs like a dog with its hands on the cage between its legs, and watched us. We watched it too. After about twenty minutes, I sat down. We would be there for a while. Hugh and Buck joined me. We sat opposite the zombie. Every now and then the zombie would move over to us, and we would move away. It clawed at the cage, trying to get in. I took to studying it. If it could understand us, maybe I could get some answers out of it. Worth a shot. I stood looking at it. The white eyes focused on me.
“What are you?” I asked with no response. “Do you understand me?”
At that, it tilted its head to the side. Okay, so it understood me, I assumed.
“What do you want?” I went on.
“Foooooooodddddd,” it said.
“Now, that was scary,” Buck said.
I looked back at him. “You’re telling me. I just talked to a zombie.”
Turning back to the zombie, it had moved over me without me noticing. I stepped back. It put its finger in the cage, pointing to us, and said, “Ffffoooooooddddd.”
I lost my questions at that. I sat back down with the guys. I felt terrible for getting Buck and Hugh stuck here.
“I am sorry I got you two into this mess,” I admitted.
Hugh patted my leg. “We aren't dead yet.”
“I know, but if I hadn't insisted on coming back, we would be safely at home,” I confessed.
“Enough of that. We made the choice to join you. If you can do what you say you can do, it will be worth it when we get out of here.”
I knew he was right, but I still felt bad for getting us stuck.
“How long do you think we need to stay down here?” I wondered.
“Let’s see how long this thing stays awake.” Hugh gestured to the zombie.
We sat in the dim cage for what seemed like hours watching the zombie. It hardly moved. I was growing tired. I assumed that it would have to get tired soon. It was still partly human. Without examining a body, I could only guess. I put my head back and closed my eyes for a few minutes.
Buck woke me with a hand on my mouth. He pointed to the zombie. I looked up at it. The zombie had turned on its side and what looked to be a sleeping pose.
Whispering, I asked, “You think it's asleep?”
Buck stood and pulled his rifle from his back and poked the zombie. At first nothing happened. Then its eyes opened and closed. Was it in a state of consciousness? Or did it shut down with only cognitive functions? Buck rammed the rifle in its side. The zombie hissed and moved to a corner of the cage, looking at Buck.
“I guess it does sleep,” he laughed.
I got up and walked to Buck.
“Do you sleep?” I asked it.
Nothing.
“Do you have a name?”
Nothing.
“Do you remember being human?”
Nothing.
“Why do you bother, all it knows is food,” Buck commented, sitting down.
“I don’t believe that is all it understands. It may not be as intelligent as it once was, but it is not all animal now either. I think it is a mix of both,” I confessed my suspicion.
“A hybrid?” asked Hugh.
“Exactly. The longer whatever changed it is inside of it, the more it learns. The animal part seeks survival, food to survive. I think the zombie part drives it to attack. The human part is still there, dormant possibly. It uses its words when it feels it can get what it wants. As when it asks for food. I wonder if regular food has any effect on it.”
I reached in my jean pocket, pulling out a granola bar. It watched me. I opened the bar taking a bite.
“Food,” I said, pointing to the bar.
I then lifted the bar to the cage ceiling, being careful it would not touch me.
“Wooh,” Buck warned.
“It’s okay. I am safe in here.”
The zombie moved to where I held the bar. Its finger poking in the cage. I lifted it just enough for it to take the bar. It sniffed the bar and put its tongue on the bar, spitting. It threw the bar off the edge of the cage. So, human food did nothing for it. I sat back down.
“How long has it been?” I inquired.
“About five hours. I have been watching the entrance. Every once in a while, a shadow leans over the edge. I think the zombies are still up there. Even if they leave, we have to figure out what to do with this one before we can go back up or down. It might call the others,” Hugh explained.
I had not even watched the entrance. I was so focused on the zombie o
n our cage. I looked up and wondered how long we would be stuck here. I really had to use the restroom.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The day went and came. The zombie above us slept on and off. It moved over us and kept trying to find a way into the cage. It would rage for a time when it could not get inside. My hand ached from the scratch when we ran in the mine, even though I had bandaged it earlier. I couldn't hold my pee anymore and informed the guys. They turned away as I relieved myself on the opposite side, letting it fall to the mine below us. I turned, and they did the same. The zombie never had to use the restroom. Another tidbit. We snacked on the granola bars that we all had in our pockets. Once that was over, we were out of food. The thirst hit the second day we were in the cage. The others must have thought we were dead since we had not returned. They were told to not come looking. If we did not return in a week, to think we had become zombie dinner.
“We have to get out of here. We will die of thirst if we don't,” I informed the others.
Buck looked the worst. His eyes had sunk in. He was bigger than Hugh or me. He needed more water than us.
“We either go down or up. If we go down, we have a chance to fight him.” I pointed above.
The zombie looked ashier than it had two days ago. It had become more aggressive as the days went on. Was it feeling the effects of no food too?
“I have not seen any shadows in a while above us,” Hugh commented.
“We go down. They have a water station in the mine. I worked here one summer. We can get rid of him too,” Buck offered.
“Let’s do this,” I said, hitting the down lever.
The zombie above us came alert at the movement. We watched it. It was preparing to attack just as we were.
The cage hit the bottom with a thump. Lights lit up along the mine tunnel. The zombie jumped down, ramming the cage.
“Easy now,” I told it.
It stopped attacking the cage and stared at me for a minute, and then went back to attacking the cage. Buck took his rifle off and held it like a bat. I held my gun as a blunt weapon too. Hugh held the lever for the door.
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