Apocalypse Z (A Zombie Novel) (23 page)

Looking around, she saw they were in a valley and she asked, “Are we almost there?”

He pointed to the dash. “Wake Mark up and tell him we have three eighths of a tank and we need to get some gas before morning.”

She went to the couch and shook him, but Lisa woke up first. Seeing it was still dark, she asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Jeff wanted me to tell Mark we need to stop for gas.”

“Mark, wake up,” Lisa whispered as she shook him. Mark just mumbled, but he didn’t wake up. She tried again, whispering a little louder, “Mark! Wake up!” Again, he just mumbled and moved a little. She sighed and whispered in his ear, “Mark, c’mon, we gotta go kill some zombies.”

His eyes shot open and he sat up. “Where?”

Jet smirked. Mark looked around, still half-asleep and rubbing his eyes. She said to him, “Jeff said we need to stop for some gas.”

He just stared at her like it wasn’t registering at first, then he said, “Right, gas.” He went up front and stood behind Jeff. Looking at his watch, then out through the windshield, he tried to calculate about where they were. “There should be a station just off the road up ahead.”

Jeff drove another twenty miles before they came to it. He pulled off the road and up next to the pump. There was no town or any other buildings around; it was just a little store in the middle of nowhere. Mark got into his pack and took out the mini flashlight Jet had got from the drugstore. Mark, Lisa, and Jeff stepped out from the door on the side of the RV with their pistols out.

Mark turned on the flashlight and started looking around. They only sound they heard was the wind blowing through the tops of the trees. Jeff brought the cord that was plugged into the generator around and opened the side of the pump. Mark told him to stop and put the cord back up as he shined the light on a sign in the window that read ‘Sorry out of gas’.

Jeff coiled it up and put it back while Mark and Lisa stood watch. Jet saw Jeff rolling the cord back up and stepped out. Lisa pointed to the sign in the window and she looked the place over. Jet thought it looked rundown and dirty. There was a lot of scrap metal and wood lying around and up against the side of the building. It reminded her of the hideouts used by the killers in the slasher movies and it gave her the chills.

Mark said there was another station in a small town about fifty miles up the road and they would check for gas there. Mark took the wheel and Jeff sat back on the couch with Jet next to him. He laid back and closed his eyes; just as he felt like he could drift off to sleep, he heard the engine winding down and felt the RV come to a stop.

The first thing they did when they got out was check for a sign in the window. This place was a little cleaner, but not by much. There were old buildings on both sides of it and they looked like they were in similar rundown condition. Jet stood outside to lend a hand if they needed one. As she watched, she noticed something moving in the shadows off to the side, but it didn’t make a sound.

Jeff was busy attaching wires inside the pump and Lisa was looking toward the back of the RV. Jet saw Mark looking in the direction of the movement, but he didn’t seem to notice it. She raised her sword and started walking toward it. It saw her coming and tried to move farther back into the shadows, but she could still see it as it moved.

When she was about five feet away, it lunged at her, but she was ready. Her sword fell, slicing through its face and severing its right hand. She drew it back and swung again. She cut through its left forearm and across its throat. The arm fell and hit the ground with a thump. It fell back against the wall with a crash as it knocked over an old metal trashcan.

Marked asked, “What the hell? How did you know that thing was there?”

“I saw it moving in the shadows.”

“But… I was looking that way and didn’t see a thing.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, but its dead now.”

She went back over to where she had been standing before and kept her eyes open for anymore movement. Jeff finished filling the tank and rolled the cord back up. Once they were back on the road, she relaxed a little. Jeff sat on the couch and she lay down with her head in his lap. When she woke up, she saw Jeff looking down at her with a smile. She looked toward the window and noticed the sun had already come up.

She asked, “Where are we?”

Jeff said, “We entered Washington about an hour ago. Mark said we should be starting our hike to the cabin tomorrow morning.”

She smiled and sat up. She started to lean into Jeff for a kiss and stopped. “Mark? Does the kissing rule still apply?”

He called out, “Sheryl, can you check her blood?”

Sheryl grabbed a test kit and pricked Jet’s finger. Jet felt the little pinch and watched. For a second there was no sign of blood, but then a small drop appeared on her fingertip. Sheryl took a cotton swab and placed it on the tip of her finger and wiped it away. She held up so Mark could see it and said, “Its red human blood.”

Mark smiled and said, “Go ahead.”

Jet quickly sat on his lap and they put their arms around each other and exchanged a long wet kiss.

Mark drove for a couple more hours before Sheryl came to him and asked if they could stop somewhere and pick up some new clothes. Since they only had what they were wearing, and the there wasn’t any at the cabin for them, Mark agreed. As they passed through a larger town, Sheryl pointed out a large two-story mall she saw from the freeway.

Mark took the next off-ramp and drove toward it. As he pulled into the parking lot, he stopped just inside the entrance. He didn’t have an exact count, but it looked like there were about three hundred zombies milling around by the glass doors of the main entrance and in the parking lot of the mall. They sat there trying to figure out a plan that would allow them to safely get inside the building.

They watched as the zombies began to gather and start toward them. Mark smiled as he said, “Let’s do it like we did at the hospital.”

Lisa stared at him. “Are you serious? You just want to wait for them to surround us and race for the doors? What about when we want to leave? Don’t you remember what happened to the truck?” Then she buried her face in her hands and moaned.

He waited until most of them were right on top of the RV and he hit the gas, plowing through them as he raced across the lot, but he didn’t go for the door. He turned around and drove toward them again. There were thuds, bangs, and squishes as he drove through the horde of walking, festering, rot-bags. He was able to make three passes before they all spread out again.

He figured he took about a quarter of them out before he had to calculate another plan. He drove around the mall until he found a smaller side entrance. Carefully, he drove up onto the sidewalk and approached the entrance, pulling up as close as he could, almost scraping against the building before he stopped. The RV blocked the zombies from reaching the recessed entryway, and gave them safe passage back when they left. They opened the side door and fired shots at the four zombies trapped between them and the mall’s glass door.

Once inside, Mark looked up and noticed there were domed windows on the roof that let in a lot of light, making it easier to see. Lisa pointed out twenty zombies wandering around on the first floor they had to get past. Everyone ran as quickly as they could to the motionless escalator and climbed it to the second floor.

Once they were up there, they looked around in the common areas and didn’t notice any wandering around. The first store Sheryl pointed out was one of those high-dollar name-brand stores with all kinds of women’s fashion. Looking in through the display window, she smiled and insisted they get their clothes from that store.

Mark and Lisa both fired at the locked on the roll up gate, but nothing happed, until he had Dedee shoot at it. The lock and the wall around it disintegrated under the buckshot fired point-blank at it. Sheryl rolled the door up with a glowing smile on her face.

Mark went over to the railing and looked down onto the first floor. Just about all of the zombies were gathered around the escalator and a few were trying to come up. Jeff pointed out there was a men’s wear store a couple of doors down from where the girls were. Mark hollered inside the store to Lisa and told her where they would be. Without looking up, she nodded and kept going through clothes on the rack.

This store had a similar gate and lock. To save on precious ammunition, they both lifted a heavy metal trashcan by a planter and heaved it through the display glass window. They climbed in and each one grabbed about half a dozen pair of jeans and a dozen shirts. When they returned to where the girls were, they stood outside and waited. After standing for twenty minutes, they had a seat on a metal bench outside.

Half an hour later, Lisa came out pushing a large stock cart loaded with bags of clothes. Mark’s jaw dropped and he asked her, “Do you think you have enough?”

She grinned as she said, “Yeah, Tami and Sheryl are in the back getting carts for their stuff.”

“More carts? I thought this was for all of you.”

“No, this is just for me and my sister.” She flashed him a sweet smile and said, “I also got a very special ‘little’ something for our first night at the cabin, I really think you’re going to like.” She slipped a bag into her pack.

Mark smiled and his mind ran wild with vivid images. Jet walked out with seven bags in her hands, went over to Lisa, and held two of the bags open. Lisa whispered something to her and pointed at the pink bag; Jet smiled as she looked over at Jeff and immediately put it in her pack before she sat down on the bench next to him. Five minutes later, Tami and Dedee came out with another cart full of bags. They all sat down and waited for Sheryl to come out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sheryl slid the last box off the cart and let out a deep breath. Grabbing the handle, she started to pull it back, but she bumped into something that stopped her. A hand came around and covered her mouth. At the same time a large knife was held in front of her face. She heard a man’s voice behind her say, “Don’t struggle and you won’t get hurt.” The knife came closer to her face and the sharp edge was placed against her cheek, the tip just inches from her eye.

She tried to gasp, but the hand was too tight for her to even breathe through her mouth. She could feel her heart pounding and she thought it even skipped a beat a few times as he pulled her backward through the room. She watched the sharp tip move closer to her eye, then farther away with every step.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They sat and waited for Sheryl to come out of the store. Ten minutes passed, so Lisa went in to find and help her with her bags. After checking the sales floor and back room, Lisa came running out with Sheryl’s clipper handle and said, “She’s gone!”

Tami felt a sudden jolt of urgency and jumped to her feet. “What? What do you mean she’s gone?”

“She’s not in the store or back room. She’s not in there anywhere, she’s just… gone!”

Mark said, “Hurry, check for any open shops up here.” And they all ran off in different directions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The man took her into a room and closed the door. Dragging her over to a bed, he threw her on it, face-down, then bound her wrists and ankles with duct tape. He rolled her onto her back and placed another piece over her mouth. Now, she was finally able to see him.

He was somewhat plump with a round head that looked like it was a little too small for his body. His eyes were like tiny black marbles set in his head and spaced too far apart. He was bald on top with long stringy light brown hair on the sides and back of his head. He said to her in a raspy voice, “You must be good or I will be forced to punish you.”

Sheryl lay there in shock as she watched him leave the room. Surrounding the bed, she saw about two dozen female mannequins, and they were all dressed in lingerie and had makeup applied to their faces. She felt a chill shoot through her body as her muscles tensed and her stomach began to knot up. A few minutes later, the man returned and stood over her. He didn’t say a word; he just stared at her with those small black eyes.

He wore no expression on his face as he appeared to be studying her. He turned and looked at one of the mannequins that stood by the foot of the bed. A minute went by, and he said to it, “No, don’t worry, my love; she’s not going to take your place.” Then he was silent for a few seconds before he yelled, “I said no! Now shut up, bitch!” He stepped toward it and punched it in the chest. Surprised, Sheryl flinched; the mannequin broke into pieces as it flew through the air and slammed against the wall. He looked back at Sheryl and took a step toward her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mark waited by the bench as Dedee and Tami ran up to him. “She not in any of the rest rooms and we didn’t see any open shops down that way,” Dedee said as she huffed for air.

Lisa, Jet, and Jeff returned a few minutes later. Jet shook her head. “There’s nothing down that way.”

Mark walked to the railing and looked down to the first floor. The zombies were still gathered by the escalator, trying to get up. “We have to check the first floor.” He stepped away. “I’m not leaving until I know what’s happened to her. Good or bad, I have to know.”

Tami asked, “Do you really think she may have been eaten by a zombie?”

He shook his head. “I dunno. I hope not. We need to figure a way to get past those things and check the first floor.”

Dedee said, “There are some steps back that way and I don’t think there are any zombies waiting at the bottom.”

They ran to the stairs and went down to the first floor. As soon as they got there, the rot-bags that were by the escalators started toward them. Jet ran up and sliced the throat out of one and both legs off the second. As she went for the third one, she slipped in a puddle of black goo on the tile floor and landed on her left hip. It came up to her, bent over as it reached out, and grabbed her legs.

Tami ran up and swung her pipe, hitting it in the face. The skull caved in and the neck made a tearing sound as the head ripped off and flew up. They all herd the hallow thumps, echoing through the mall, as it bounced across the floor of the second story. Jeff helped her up as she moaned and rubbed her hip. Even though the rest of the zombies moved a little slower and they were able to dodge them, Jet stopped to cut a few of them in half as they started checking the first floor. Mark noticed this, and a big smile came across his face.