Dead Endz (3 page)

There was laughter coming from somewhere in the van.

He crawled closer to one of the store’s broken windows and watched as the man walked around to the passenger window and kissed a woman with long dark hair. She smiled and pointed towards the store next to the one he was hiding, which was a tobacco shop. Something about her also niggled at his brain, but he just couldn’t place it. It didn’t matter though, after what he’d been through, he wasn’t about to approach them, especially with the incredible hulk holding such a large powerful rifle.

“Aw…thanks hon!” called the woman as the large man stalked towards the tobacco store.

He ducked down so the big mug wouldn’t spot him, thankful that he’d hidden the motorcycle in a fairly inconspicuous spot. He watched and waited until the man returned empty handed which produced an immediate scowl on the woman’s face.

“It’s a sign,” echoed the man’s voice in the parking lot. It was high and unusual for such a muscle bound guy. “Someone else ransacked the place…no smokes left, babe. No cigars or chew either, sorry gramps,” he motioned to someone else in the back of the van. “You should both quit smoking anyway. You’ll live longer.”

The woman snorted. “Hell, I don’t think I’ll survive another day if I don’t get my hands on a cigarette. Damn thieves.”

His lips curled up at the woman’s logic; considering he probably wouldn’t have left any money on the counter for her smokes either.

“What about the store next to it?” she asked, pointing.

Her “hon” shook his head. “Are you kidding me? That’s a health food place. Everything in there is natural and good for you.”

“Natural, huh? Maybe they have those clove cigarettes? Aren’t those supposed to be better for you? All natural?”

The man burst out laughing and then got back into the van. A minute later they were peeling out of the parking lot.

“Wow, do you know who that was?” blurted an excited voice behind him

He dropped the bag of food and whipped around to find a teen-aged boy staring at him. The boy’s face turned white when he noticed his firm grip on the ax and he took a step backwards.

He lowered the weapon. “You scared the shit out of me, kid. Don’t ever sneak up on someone like that again. It’s dangerous.”

“Sorry,” he replied. “I saw you and then I saw Tiny. It freaked me out to see a real live celebrity in the parking lot.”

He stared at the tall lanky boy who couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen. His red hair was messy and his face was caked with dirt.

“Who’s Tiny?” he asked the boy.

The kid stared at his
“I love hooters”
t-shirt and grinned, his mouth full of metal. “Far out dude, love the shirt!”

He didn’t respond.

“Yeah…um…Tiny’s a famous wrestler. Everyone knows Tiny.”

Seriously? Tiny? .

He bent down and picked up his supplies from the floor. “You all alone?”

The boy looked away. “My parents…they’re…”

He sighed. “Gone, huh?”

The kid’s lower lip trembled slightly and it took him a while before he answered. “Yeah.”

Something tugged at his heartstrings and he sighed. “Well, you’re welcome to tag along with me, if you want, that is. I’ve been thinking about trading in my motorcycle for something bigger, anyway.”

The boy’s green eyes lit up. “You have a motorcycle?”

He smiled at the kid’s excitement. “I do at the moment.”

“Sweet. I was getting tired of this place, anyway.”

He nodded. “It’s also way too dangerous to be alone.”

“I’m Luke, by the way,” said the boy, holding out his pale hand.

He shook it. “Nice to meet you, Luke.”

Luke tilted his head and smiled. “And you are…?”

He sighed and scratched his head. “The hell if I know, kid.”

Chapter Five

Their bad luck started when they arrived at “Fred’s Gas and Go” in Deer Ridge. The station had appeared promising from the outside, but on the inside it had been totally cleared out. No food or beverages, no first aid supplies, and definitely not any kind of tobacco products. The one thing they did luck out on was maps. Nobody cared enough to steal them.

Apparently most people have enough common sense to understand things like, road signs,
thought Paige.
Everyone but Tiny…the dumb ass.

Henry had been the first one back inside the van with the news. He’d sat down, then opened his empty can of chew and grimaced. “No cigars and no tobaccy; the world has truly gone to pot.”

Kylie, who was still groggy from sleeping, lifted her head from the seat. “The world is on pot? But that’s against the law!”

Paige turned to her. “No, he means the world sucks, worse than ever.”

Kylie bit the side of her lip. “Oh.”

Henry shook his head. “We need to get to Atlanta before my blood pressure settles. I’m sure we’ll find something there. Tobacco’s the only thing keeping me on my toes, by golly.”

Paige raised her eyebrows. “What kind of logic is that? High blood pressure can kill you, Henry.”

Henry shrugged. “At least I’ll go out with a spring in my step, little lady. When you get to be my age, you use whatever you can to keep you ticker pumping.”

“Even when it’s too fast?”

He nodded. “You’re damn tootin.”

Paige didn’t feel like arguing so she just dropped it.

“Where’s mom and Tiny?” asked Kylie, stretching her arms.

Henry cackled and said, “Why I believe they’re finding other ways to keep the heart pumping.”

Paige groaned. “Seriously, Henry…”

“See,” said Henry, motioning outside. “They’re getting their exercise.”

Tiny and Kristie were running towards the SUV followed by a mob of zombies. She was screaming bloody murder although Tiny looked more excited than anything.

“Jesus, let’s get the hell out of this town,” hollered Kristie as she slammed the door. She was out of breath and her hands were shaking.

Tiny got in. “Did you see that? I haven’t had that kind of rush since my last cage match in Chicago. That was intense!”

Paige snorted. “Like your cage matches are anything compared to this crap.”

“Even though you know it’s staged,” he said, his eyes shining, “you can’t help but feel the adrenaline rush, man. I’m going to really miss wrestling.”

The zombies surrounded the van and Kylie began to whimper as even more staggered towards them from other parts of town. Soon, there was hundreds of disfigured undead crowding the truck, some even crawling onto the hood and slobbering all over it.

“It’s okay, baby,” said Kristie, reaching back towards her youngest. “Tiny’s going to get us out of here.”

“Jesus,” scowled Henry, looking sick. “I never thought I’d live to say this, but Tiny, put the pedal to the metal and get me away from those knockers!”

A naked female zombie was pressed up against his window, her fleshy breasts now a cesspool of squirming maggots and oozing sores. She began licking the glass with her blackened tongue and even Henry shuddered at the horrifying sight.

“I think she likes you Henry,” chuckled Kristie.

“Jesus, woman…my standards are higher than that,” he said gruffly. “That one’s not even breathing.”

Paige smiled. “But look at the longing in her eyes. You’re going to break her black heart.”

“Better that than her eating mine!” he snapped.

The zombies were beginning to slap and hit the glass so loud, it sounded close to breaking.

“Okay, enough gawking at the animals,” said Paige. “Get us out of here, Tiny.”

“Ready babe?” he asked Kristie, rubbing her knee.

She nodded. “Oh, yeah. Let’s move before they figure out a way in and Ol’ here Henry gets molested.”

“Mom, that’s so not funny,” said Kylie, crossing her arms under her chest. “This is a very serious situation.”

“Sorry, sweetie,” she answered, trying to keep a straight face.

Tiny put it in drive and floored it, knocking several zombies down, many of them catching under the tires. The sounds of bones crunching and the groans from the zombies shut everyone up and it wasn’t until they were well past the mob that everyone began to breathe normally again.

Kristie studied the map they’d grabbed and directed Tiny so they made it to Atlanta within forty-five minutes. On the way to the C.D.C. she hollered at him to stop at a small mini mall.

“Tobacco Shop,” she pointed, with a triumphant smile.

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” groaned Paige. “Enough with the nic-fit, mom.”

“Quit being so sassy, Blondie,” piped in Henry. “Tiny, you just pull into that parking lot and make this woman of yours happy.”

Tiny sighed. “Fine.”

“Oh, and get me a tin of chew while you’re in there, son. And if they have cigars, I prefer them Montecriscos.”

“You mean Montecristos?” asked Tiny.

“Yeah. Whatever.”

“I’ll see what they have.”

“I knew you had an agenda,” muttered Paige.

“Don’t talk back to your elders, kid,” answered Henry.

When Tiny returned without anything, both her mother and Henry became very surly.

“Come on, babe,” said Tiny, grabbing Kristie’s hand. “You told me earlier that you’d stopped smoking for a couple of years. You can handle this.”

Kristie scowled. “That was pre-zombies. Now I’ve found that smoking is the only way I can manage my Z.S.S.”

“Z.S.S.?” he asked.

“Her Zombie Stress Syndrome,” muttered Paige.

“Jesus Christ, I think I have that, too!” hollered Henry, sitting up straighter. “I knew there had to be a name for it.”

“For the love of God…we’re wasting time!” cried Paige. “Forget Z.S.S and B.S.S. and let’s do what we came here to do; find our friends? They might need our help. Heck, they could be dead for all we know while we’re tooling around town on the hunt for nicotine!”

The van was completely silent after Paige’s outburst. Nobody said a word, not even Henry.

Kristie cleared her throat, then grabbed the map and started charting a course to the C.D.C., which, fortunately, wasn’t very far. When they arrived, Paige’s heart took a plunge; the place looked utterly abandoned.

“What now?” groaned Paige.

The large glass building which had always seemed impressive on CNN, looked very dismal now. Windows were broken, trash blew across the once manicured lawns, and zombies stumbled in an out of the entrance. It was like a bad horror movie.

“Don’t worry, Paige. We certainly didn’t come all this way for nothing,” said Kristie. “We’ll just sit and wait for something to happen.”

Tiny nodded. “Or… I could go in and look around if you want.”

Kristie smiled. “Aw…you’re such a sweetie,” she said grabbing his scruffy chin and kissing his lips.

His face was solemn. “Hey, they’re your friends and without them, we may have never met. I owe them for bringing you into my life, babe.”

Kristie’s eyes filled with tears. She touched his arm. “You know, your heart is as big as your biceps.”

He flexed. “You get my blood pumping in many places, mama. Just like I told you before, though, it’s destiny. We were meant to be together. And now I’ve found you, I will never let you go.”

Ugh
, thought Paige as her mom threw her arms around Tiny and smothered him with kisses.
They’ve only known each other for a few days and now they’re like… soul mates?

Henry grunted. “I’m truly happy for you both. Now
someone
better get their ass inside and look around before I grow a tail and can’t make it to the shitter. If you haven’t noticed there isn’t a public restroom anywhere close.”

Tiny sighed. “Don’t worry, gramps. Well get you to a toilet.”

“You have about an hour before my intestines push one out. It’s clockwork with me, by golly.”

Paige shuddered. “I can’t believe I’m listening to this.”

Henry’s eyes narrowed. “When you’re my age you’ll appreciate a healthy dump, young lady.” He sighed and then continued. “Once I was backed up for two weeks…”

“Okay,” said Paige, holding up her hands. “Sorry, now can we change the subject?”

Henry mumbled something under his breath and then looked out the window.

“Let’s just wait until the zombies spread out a little more,” said Tiny.

They waited awhile and watched as the zombies wandered aimlessly around the building without even so much as a glance in their direction. When the undead seemed manageable, Tiny decided it was time for him to go in and investigate.

“I’m coming with,” said Kristie, grabbing her gun from the glove compartment.

He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous, hon. Just let me go and you stay back to protect the girls. I’ll take Henry.”

Kristie shook her head. “Not a good idea. You’ve never met Kris, you won’t recognize her. Plus, you’re kind of intimidating for someone who’s never met you.”

“Yeah, she’ll think your some biker dude wanting to start trouble,” said Paige.

“Doesn’t anyone watch pro-wrestling anymore?” asked Tiny incredulously. “I’m one of the heroes; the good guys. I thought everyone knew me?”

“She runs a daycare. The only television shows she’s familiar with is Elmo or the Teletubbies,” said Paige.

Henry sighed. “I tell you what…Kristie should go in with you and I’ll watch the girls. My back is pretty sore and I probably won’t be much help bent over and staring at the ground.”

“See, you need me. I’m coming with,” said Kristie.

“Why don’t I just go?” asked Paige.

Kristie turned and looked at her. “You need to keep Kylie calm. Plus, you know what Kris looks like, so if you see her outside, you can get her attention. Obviously, Henry’s never met her.”

Paige bit the side of her lip. “Oh, fine. Just be careful, mom.”

Kristie raised her gun and smiled “Don’t worry, honey. I’m getting the hang of this thing. I can shoot at my target from over two feet away, now. Plus, I have Tiny on my side of the ring.”

“That’s right,” said Tiny, flexing his muscles. “And I’m bringing out the big guns, mama.”

Paige groaned.

“Okay Tarzan, just remember what I said and make it quick,” said Henry. “Not only will I have to poop, but it’s going to be dark soon. This place might not have a generator working inside anymore and you two don’t want to be stuck alone on the tenth floor in the dark.”