Dying Days 4 (16 page)

"You don't need to. You have me. Ask any question you want and I'll answer it to the best of my ability. Scout's honor," the zombie said.

"You were a Boy Scout?" Bri asked.

"No. It's just an expression. But I won't lie."

"What's your real name?" Bri asked quickly.

The zombie smiled. "It actually is Ben. My last name is no longer important. I might call myself something epic and cliché like your last boss, though. How does King Of All Zombies sound? Maybe Zombie Ben?"

Russ stopped himself from suggesting a couple of stupid names. He knew exactly what the zombie was doing and he didn't want to fall into the trap of thinking this was a fun road trip with a buddy, who was hobbled but could still bite and kill you, in the backseat.

They went over a bridge slowly, the car bumping over pieces of cars and people on the blacktop. There was still a path but Russ had to tap a few vehicles along the way. He wished there was a way to destroy the bridge in case Jeff and his crew were behind them. But with his luck, they'd already passed this point plus he would be making a return trip to get Taylor harder.

At the end of the bridge, Russ hit the brakes and stared at the smiling zombie, with the AK-47, watching them.

Chapter Twenty One

Doug casually fell back on his Harley and got in line with Cowboy. "You having fun yet?"

"You bet I am," Cowboy yelled back with a grin. "There's nothing better than riding the open road with the wind in your hair. And the best part: I don't even have a license to ride. I am such a bad role model."

"Yes, you are. Hang close to me when we stop tonight. Got it?"

Cowboy nodded. Doug sped back up and got just behind Jeff, who was looking at him with a pissed look via his side mirror.

Good
, Doug thought. Let the guy worry too much about him. Let Jeffrey focus on everything he was doing, because only one of them was going back to Main Street.

"How much farther are we riding, boss?" Doug asked, yelling over the wind but making sure everyone around him could hear the question.

Jeff didn't look back. "When I say so. Stop yelling and shut up."

Doug saluted him and revved the engine as he rode. The street was relatively wide open, and the group gained a bit of speed as they cruised. Doug casually dropped back a few miles an hour, letting Jeff get a small lead and letting it increase every few minutes until he was riding with the pack again. If something were to happen up ahead, Doug wanted to make sure Jeff took the full brunt of it.

But the fun quickly ended with the road bunched up with abandoned cars and felled telephone poles. They had to waste time scampering up a muddy embankment and around.

After another hour of riding, Jeff put his arm up and led them to what looked like an abandoned Pizza Hut. The parking lot was empty and a small strip mall was destroyed at the other end. Everyone shut down their bikes.

Jeff pointed at a couple of the men. "You two need to come with me." He looked at Doug and smiled. "You and your lover are on gas duty. Find us as much as you can."

"Lover? Is he talking about me?" Cowboy asked.

Doug nodded. "I'm afraid so. Grab some gas cans and let's go take a walk. I want to be away from this asshole, anyway."

A block away was what looked to be doctor's offices and there were several cars in the parking lot. They walked over but Doug pointed at the lack of front doors. "I say we go inside and look around."

"I'm sure it's been picked clean," Cowboy said.

"I'm talking about finding a good spot so we don't get ambushed."

"By who?"

Doug threw a thumb over his shoulder. "You think Jeff is going to tell those two guys to go find fresh produce? He'll send them over in a bit and they'll try to kill us."

"He needs us right now," Cowboy said.

"Does he look like the sharpest crayon in the box? He'll try to leave us right here. He thinks we're close." Doug looked over at the group across the street. "He knows exactly where we're going, and I guarantee we don't have much more to ride. Jeffrey wants to get rid of me before I get in his way or take some of his glory."

"And it's guilt by association for me," Cowboy said.

"Sucks to be you. Let's get inside."

"What if they don't attack us?"

Doug grinned. "They will. Jeffrey is too stupid not to realize this is the perfect time to do it. He'll send them out to find food or water or something but send them right to us."

Doug walked over to the nearest car and undid the gas cap. "He's watching us right now. He'll send them to flank us."

When the two men walked to the other side of the Pizza Hut parking lot and disappeared behind some trees, Cowboy laughed. "I suppose you're right."

"Let's get some gas while we're still breathing. We could use it for the bikes," Doug said. "Those two will take their sweet time coming around the corner."

Cowboy shoved the small piece of garden hose they carried into the gas tank. "I suppose I'm sucking gas?"

"You suppose right. Hurry up, too."

Doug went into the office building, careful not to step on anything and alert someone inside, if there was anyone. You couldn't be too careful these days. Being paranoid meant staying alive.

Someone had been using this space for a home, and quite recently. Doug could smell a lingering cooking fire and what might have been meat. The floor was dusty but new bare footprints were coming and going. He guessed at least three people, and all of them either kids or midgets.

He guessed calling them midgets wasn't proper, but what was in this day and age, right? "Hello?" Doug figured sneaking around wasn't going to help. He was running out of time before the two goons would get around the block and strike. "Anyone here?"

"Go away," a man's voice said from behind a closed door at the far end of the hallway. "We're armed to the teeth."

"So am I," Doug said. "I'm not here to rob or hurt anyone. I just need to find a quiet spot to conduct some business."

Doug took a few more steps as quietly as he could.

"What type of business?"

There was another person with the speaker on the other side of the door because Doug could hear someone whispering in anger.

"There are two men following my partner and me. I only seek an empty room to kill them. Easy enough, right?"

"Go away," was the reply. "I have a rifle and I will shoot your head off."

"I doubt it. Sorry to be so blunt." Doug was at the door, but decided to move to the right just in case he wasn't bluffing. "But you would've shot me already if you had ammo. I know I would have. I'm going to open the door."

"It's locked."

"Then unlock it. I'd hate to kick it in. It does offer you some protection from the zombies. I know there are at least two of you, but I need to be sure. I can't go around killing people who want to kill me first without knowing who I'm renting a room from," Doug said.

"What do you mean?"

Doug smiled. "I'll make a deal with you: let me kill them without incident and I'll leave their bodies for you. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes." The answer came quickly. These people were starving and desperate. Doug knew what the meat they'd been cooking was and he felt sick to his stomach. "Open the door."

"I have a gun."

"You've said that already. The fight is not with you."

Doug counted to ten silently and lifted his foot to kick in the door when he heard the lock disengage. He stepped back and held his pistol but pointed it at the ground.

A girl no more than seventeen opened it and stared at Doug's gun.

Behind her, lying on a dirty bed with soiled sheets was a small man.

"Holy shit, you're a midget," Doug blurted. "I knew it from the prints."

The man shook his head. "I'm a dwarf, you inconsiderate bastard."

Doug shrugged. "What's the difference, right?" He walked past the girl but made sure he had her in his vision at all times. It was just the two of them but there were signs of a third in the corner: a mutilated corpse with chunks of flesh trimmed off the body.

The dwarf looked away when Doug caught his eye. "Don't judge me. You have no idea what we've been through. It was either that, or die. I chose to live and keep my daughter alive."

"Biological daughter?" Doug asked.

"Yes, you big fool. Dwarves can have normal-sized kids, you know. Don't you watch TV? I'm Jameson and this is my daughter Lilly."

"Doug." He stared at the sickly dwarf. "I thought you had a gun."

Jameson smiled and lifted the stained covers, revealing a shotgun. "Who are these men and what do they want with you? And don't lie. I'm not the moral police." He glanced at the body in the corner. "Obviously."

"I'm with a group. We're searching for someone. The leader of said group isn't too fond of me. So he's sent two of the thugs to kill me and my buddy."

Doug realized he was wasting too much time talking with the dwarf.

"Do you know the difference between a midget and a dwarf?"

Doug grinned and shook his head.

Jameson returned the grinned. "A dwarf is disproportionate. Like me. I have smallish hands and a large head."

"Good to know," Doug said. He didn't really think so, and wanted to be gone already. If those two were crawling, they would've gotten here by now. "Are we good? I need to dispose of them before they get me."

The dwarf's eyes went wide and the shotgun came up. Doug threw himself to his left and at the man's daughter, trying to use her as a shield before the crazy bastard could kill him. The shotgun roared.

Doug hit the ground three feet from Lilly, who was looking past him. Doug flipped over, aiming at the dwarf but looking at the doorway, where a bloody mess was entering the room.

At first he thought it was a zombie because of all the blood and the smell, but realized it was Cowboy. The dwarf had shot him in the gut and chest with the shotgun.

"Cowboy," Doug yelled. He looked at the dwarf. "Don't shoot."

"Too late," Jameson mumbled, and fell back onto the greasy pillows. "You said someone was after you."

"Shit," Cowboy said, falling to his knees and trying unsuccessfully to keep the contents of his torso from spilling out. He smiled faintly at Doug before seeing Jameson. "Is that a midget? Did a fucking midget kill me? Holy shit."

"He's a dwarf," Doug said, as if it mattered. "Where are the two guys Jeff sent?"

Cowboy smiled. "I saw them coming. I gutted them in the parking lot and dragged them inside the building. I came looking for you."

"Good work," was all Doug could say.

"You called me Cowboy." He coughed once and closed his eyes, and Cowboy was dead.

"Don't kill us," Lilly said quietly.

"I should on principle," Doug said. "He was a good man," he lied. "I don't want to kill anyone. I just want to live. What about you, dwarf?"

Jameson nodded but looked away. "I am riddled with cancer. Eating former friends and family as my dietary staple has not helped me regain much strength. I'm amazed I'm still alive right now." He turned to Doug. "I need you to do me a favor."

"You killed my partner and you're asking for a favor?"

"Are you gay?"

Doug got pissed. "No. How dare you."

Jameson smiled. "Then he wasn't your partner. He was some dude that had your back. Now he's dead because he was too stupid to announce himself before entering a strange room. I'm sorry I shot him, but he didn't seem like he was long for this world."

Doug nodded. "What favor?"

Jameson looked at his daughter. "Can I trust you to keep her safe?"

"Daddy, no," Lilly said. "I won't leave you."

"I need you to take her with you and keep her safe. Can I trust you?"

Doug nodded. "I'll keep her as safe as this world will allow."

"Excellent. I have a store of ammo under the bed. You can have it. There are also a few knives. We're obviously out of food and drink," Jameson said. He turned back to his daughter. "Come here and give me a kiss goodbye."

Lilly began crying and didn't move.

Jameson smiled and waved his fingers at her. "You knew this was going to happen as soon as I found someone to take care of you. I'm holding on as it is, and I'm in so much pain right now. I need this to end. You know it. You hear me crying in my sleep. How long before someone or something hears me? Go. I need to talk to this man."