Dark Realms (60 page)

I stared at her in shock as she wiped the
perspiration off of her forehead, then grabbed a towel and began
cleaning off her boot.

When I finally found my voice, I said, “So,
I guess you believe me now?”

She closed her eyes and leaned back against
the wall. “You know, all I could think about when I saw them was
that I wasn’t ready to die. Not by their hands.”

I nodded. “I’ve felt the same way all
night.”

She looked at me. “So, who was on the
phone?”

“Bryce!” I groaned.

I knew before I picked up my cell phone that
he was gone. I hit redial and waited but nobody answered, it went
straight to voicemail. I left a message.

“Nothing?” asked Paige.

“No,” I stood up and sighed. “Let’s go.” I
picked up my gun and sure enough, chipped another nail.

Chapter
Fifteen

Paige and I went over every inch of the
house again, but couldn’t find signs of anyone. Not even Zombie
Dan.

“Did you check in the back by the pool?” she
asked.

I nodded. “That’s where I entered. The patio
door was open.”

“Let me guess, you didn’t close it after you
entered and that’s how dead and deader found their way in?” she
asked with a wry smile.

“At least there were only two of them. You
should have seen how many are prowling the streets outside.”

Her smile faded. “Great.”

We stepped cautiously through the kitchen
and over to the sliding glass door. To our dismay we found the pool
area climbing with zombies. There had to be a dozen walking
aimlessly round the pool, some falling into the water and sinking
to the bottom. Fortunately, none of them took any notice of us.

I snorted. “This could almost be funny if it
wasn’t really happening to us.”

“Holy crap,” she mumbled. “I think I’m going
to puke.”

The smell of rotting
skin
was
overwhelming. Resisting an urge to vomit myself, I slid the
door closed and looked at Paige. “Wow, you didn’t invite me to your
pool party. That hurts.”

Paige groaned. “All jokes aside, we’re
screwed.”

“At least the sun’s starting to come out,
they’re easier to see.”

She shivered. “And how’s that supposed to
make it better for us?”

“Yeah, they aren’t pretty, especially the
ones who’ve been dead for a while.”

Paige’s eyes lit up. “Hey, did you ever
check the cabana?”

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t even think
about checking that place, I just wanted to get inside the
house.”

“We’d better check it out, now. How do we
get past those things?” she asked.

“Well, maybe we can create some kind of
distraction in the front of the yard to draw them away from the
pool?”

Just then we heard the faint sounds of
gunshots. The zombies must have overheard as well, because they
began moving idly towards the gate. When the last of them were no
longer in sight, I nudged Paige.

“Let’s go,” I said.

I slid the glass door open and we stepped
outside. The cabana was on the other side of the pool and we could
hear more gunshots as we made our way to the entrance. Paige pulled
open the door and we crept inside. It was empty.

Paige took off her softball helmet and sat
down. “I thought for sure…Oh, God…where in the hell are they?” she
moaned, putting her head in her hands.

I knew her pain. All I could think of about
in that moment was my little sister. A memory flashed through my
mind of when she was three or four years old, how she would follow
me everywhere in her beat-up pink cowgirl boots, that were usually
on the wrong feet, begging me to sleep in her room. I’d eventually
relent, then grumble the entire night about having to watch her
princess movies and the way she’d toss and turn as she slept,
kicking me in the back. But right now, I would do anything to go
back to that time.

I released a breath and squeezed her
shoulder. “Let’s go and find out where that gunfire was coming
from.”

Paige nodded, brushing away the tears from
her face.

We opened the cabana door and stared in
horror; the zombies were back and they brought dates. We were
trapped and surrounded.

“Okay, now what?” she whispered.

Just as I opened my mouth, I saw a figure
stepping through the sliding glass door. My heart leaped with joy
when I recognized the loveable scowling face. Bryce! He’d actually
come for me!

“It’s Bryce!” I shouted.

The shuffling and groaning of the zombies
ceased; you couldn’t hear a bone drop. Everyone, including the
zombies, turned towards us.

“Nice going,” said Paige dryly.

Bryce lifted his automatic rifle. “Get
down!” he demanded.

Paige and I crouched down as he began
shooting at the zombies. I pulled out my gun and aimed at the ones
nearest to us. Blood, mucous, and body parts were flying everywhere
as we watched all of the carnage in a twisted kind of glory. The
dead got deader and we lived another hour in this hideous
nightmare.

Paige shuddered. “Okay, this is totally
disgusting.”

“I can’t believe he’s actually here,” I
said, reloading the Beretta. The butterflies were going crazy in my
stomach again. I didn’t even care that I broke a third nail. I
flicked it aside and decided the rest would come off immediately
when I got home.

“Only you would fall in love during a zombie
massacre,” said Paige.

I shook my head. “I’m not in love with him.
I hardly even know him.”

“Face it! You’ve definitely got a thing for
him.”

I took off the softball helmet. “He’s cute,
sure, but he’s also a little annoying.”

She shrugged. “He’s a guy.”

When the last of the zombies lay twisted and
broken on the ground, Bryce jogged over to us. He was still wearing
what he’d had on the last time I’d seen him, but it was now covered
with blood and gore. Part of me wanted Bryce to sweep me up into
his arms and carry me to safety, while another part wanted him to
burn the disgusting shirt first.

“Are you girls okay?” he asked in his deep
voice. I’d almost forgotten how amazingly blue his eyes were.

“We’re fine. Still haven’t found Allie or
Paige’s mom and sister, though,” I answered.

Bryce looked up at our helmets with the hint
of a smile. “Nice touch.”

Paige’s eyes grew wide and she nodded. “It
was my idea, so they can’t get to our brains.”

He bit the side of his lip to keep from
cracking up then looked at the house. “So, you’ve checked
everywhere, the entire house; basement; garage?”

Paige and I looked at each other.

“Garage,” we said in unison. Neither of has
had even considered the garage.

“Missed the garage? Okay, stay behind me and
do exactly what I tell you.”

Bryce started walking towards the side door
to the garage, which was next to the cabana.

Paige checked out his rear
and gave me a “thumbs-up
”
approval.

I smiled and shoved her forward.

Bryce twisted the doorknob to the garage.
“It’s locked. Stand back,” he said. He then lifted his rifle and
blasted a hole into it.

“Sorry, I’ll pay you back for that,” he said
with a cocky grin. He then kicked the door open and the smell of
decay hit us like a sledgehammer. It was also dark, so he grabbed
his flashlight and raised the gun.

“Oh, my God, it’s Dan!” screamed Paige.

Zombie Dan was hovering around two
Escalades, one a pearly white and the other black. His gray face
was sunken and his skin was beginning to rot. He started shuffling
slowly towards us, his dried-up lips pulled back in a deathly
grin.

Bryce aimed the gun at Dan, wiping away the
creepy smile. He toppled to the ground, hard.

“I never liked him,” muttered Paige. “He was
really a pompous jerk.”

“Looks like he was alone,” I said, looking
around.

“No, someone’s in the white SUV,” Bryce
replied, stepping towards the vehicle. “Yep, a couple of
females.”

Paige and I rushed over; it was Kristie and
Kylie! The windows were up and they were lounging in the front
seats. There wasn’t any sign of Allie.

“Mom! Wake up!” Paige cried removing her
helmet. She began pounding on the window but neither of them
budged.

“Hold on,” said Bryce. He went to the back
window and broke the glass. Unlocking the door, he climbed in and
shook Kristie’s shoulder.

Kristie’s eyes flew open and she screamed at
Bryce, who probably looked like a mad serial killer in his bloody
shirt.

Bryce chuckled as he climbed back out of the
SUV. “Wow, I’ve never had that reaction from a female before.”

Kristie’s face lit up when
she noticed Paige through the window. She removed the iPod
earphones she wore and shook Kylie, who was also listening to
music, until she was awake. Then she got out. Drawing her arms
around Paige, she cried, “Oh, thank
God
you’re okay!”

“Um, where’s Allie?” I asked in a strangled
voice.

“We don’t know,” Kristie said, letting go of
Paige. “Dan attacked us and she took off running.”

I heaved a sigh. “Alone?”

“Yeah, I don’t know where she went. I ran
after Kylie who ran towards the garage. That’s when Paige
disappeared, as well as your sister.”

I turned away and the dam broke. The pain of
losing my sister was so great that I couldn’t stop the tears. I
knew it would be nearly impossible for Allie to survive on her own
in this nightmare. There were so many zombies in the neighborhood
and Allie was no match for them. She couldn’t fire a gun or fight
them one on one. She definitely wasn’t strong enough.

Bryce pulled me into his arms and held me
while I cried. When I finally ran out of tears, I remembered that
everyone standing before me had lost someone within the last few
hours, maybe even Bryce. I’d never even asked about Bobby.

“I’m sorry,” I hiccupped, pushing Bryce
away. “I didn’t even ask about your brother. We’re all going
through this, not just me. I’m really sorry.”

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently.
“Bobby’s fine and so was everyone else when I left them at your
house.”

“What about my parents? Where they home?”
Deep down, I already knew that answer. They were both lost
somewhere in this nightmare.

He sighed. “I’m sorry, Cassie; they weren’t
around when I got back there. But they’re very capable people from
what I’ve heard. Don’t give up on them, okay?”

I nodded slowly.

Kristie walked over and wrapped her arms
around me. “I’m so sorry, honey. Dan just went nuts and chased us
into the garage. I had to lock him out of the SUV so he wouldn’t
hurt me or Kylie.”

“It’s not your fault,” I sighed.

“
Yes, it is,” Kristie stated and threw up her hands. “You
know, I just have the worst luck with men. The first one I married
was a jerk and this one turned out to be a psychotic maniac.
Anyway, we’ll find her. She got away from Dan. He’s been here the
entire time so he couldn’t have hurt her.”

She looked so optimistic that it hit me; she
had no idea what was happening in the outside world. “Oh…you don’t
know,” I said breathlessly.

Kristie shrugged. “Know what?”

“Show her,” said Paige.

Bryce grabbed his gun and walked back to
where we’d come in. He opened the door and motioned for
Kristie.

Kristie walked over and had her first
glimpse of the carnage that was left from the zombie pool party
massacre. She placed a hand over her mouth in horror. “Holy
shit!

Chapter
Sixteen

Bryce and I locked the gate this time to
keep any other new zombies from wandering in.

“I wonder how they happened to know we’re
here?” I said to him as we watched more begin to navigate towards
the house.

He shrugged. “Not sure, but I think we
should get going soon. It’s too dangerous staying here.”

I nodded, trying not to breathe in the
horrible smell. The smell of the rotting flesh was so pungent that
I decided to ask Kristie for some Vicks to rub under my nose. I’d
heard it was great for masking raunchy smells.

We returned to the house and closed the
blinds so we wouldn’t have to view all the corpses outside. It was
getting warmer outside and now the flies were beginning to hover
around the dead.

“Nothing on television yet,” mumbled Paige,
throwing the remote control. Bryce had been able to locate the
house’s main generator, so there was power again.

“Anyone hungry?” asked Kristie as she opened
up the fridge. “I’m starving. Even those nasty zombie bodies
outside can’t ruin this appetite.”

I wasn’t really hungry but needed the energy
from the food. “Sure,” I said.

“Well, the ham still looks good,” she
commented as she sniffed it. She placed it on the counter and took
out some bread. “I can make sandwiches. Sorry, Wild, I’m out of
pickles.”

I smiled. “That’s fine.”

Kristie made sandwiches for everyone while I
gave her a recap of what I understood about the zombies. They were
insatiable cadavers who would do anything for a good meal. And we
were definitely the main course. At least that was my version.

Bryce’s reasoning was a
little more scientific and straight from one of his military
buddies. Those millions of people who received the flu vaccine were
given a death sentence. The theory was that the vaccine caused some
type of severe neurological damage; destroying what is the
humane
part of the
brain. Eventually it begins to destroy tissue in other parts of the
body including muscle and other major organs; basically, creating a
walking vegetable. One with a ravenous appetite for protein, lots
of it. He wasn’t sure if they were really considered zombies, but
they were definitely something out of a horror movie.