Dying Days 6 (20 page)

“How do you know they aren’t just four people talking about the weather?” Bernie asked. “If you kill someone, you might start a war.”

“Life is a war,” Tosha said.

Bernie had no response, sitting down on the cement and putting her head against the hot plastic seat behind her.

“There can’t just be four people hanging around, under a tent, in the middle of a stadium. One of them is a zombie and we need to figure out which one it is. If I can kill him, maybe the others will flee. Even if they’re in cahoots with the zombie, it will panic them with their leader dead,” Tosha said.

Bernie laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You used
cahoots
in a sentence,” Bernie said.

“Shut up,” Tosha said and laughed.

Tosha turned to see if Mathyu was still around and maybe even cracking a smile but she was gone.

“Get out of my way. I need to get closer. Before you say anything, this is the plan I’m going to use so either follow me, get out of the way or I’ll shoot you.”

Bernie got up, hunched over, and slipped out of the aisle. She fell in behind Tosha and the pair made their way to the lower section of the stadium.

Tosha would've been happier being closer but she wasn't about to get onto the field. If she were attacked, she'd have nowhere to hide.

She was going to use the rifle and handed Bernie her handgun.

"This is mine. I want it back. It will help more than the .22 I gave you... but I want it back," Tosha said.

"Not a problem."

"I'm going to shoot one of them and you watch my back. Once it rings out, I'm guessing all hell will break loose," Tosha said.

"That's a really bad cliché to use," Bernie said.

"Then I'm glad I don't really give a shit. Just cover our asses. Is that another bad one, teacher?" Tosha didn't wait for an answer. This bitch was getting on her nerves. If it wasn't for Mathyu wanting them to hook up she would've made sure the second shot caught Bernie in the temple.

Tosha aimed at the people in the tent, looking through the scope. She knew enough about guns and wind and shit to figure she had a decent chance to hit someone. They were all close together, which made it even better.

As she put her finger on the trigger and watched, it looked like the women were arguing. The two men stepped back, looking ready to flee.

One of the women was the zombie.

The zombie was the bitch who just ripped the other one's head off her shoulders.

Now Tosha noticed the little girl who'd been standing behind the zombie.

"What are you waiting for?" Bernie asked.

There's a little girl
, Tosha thought but didn't say.

A little redhead.

The zombie grabbed the redhead by her arm and began leading her across the field.

"That's a kid," Bernie said.

"No shit."

Tosha put down the rifle. She couldn't risk killing the little girl. Of all the damn shitty ways to be blocked from killing a zombie... "We need to find out where they're going."

The two men had scattered, running as fast and as far away from the zombie as they could.

Tosha wanted to shoot one of them in the back out of frustration. Instead, she put the rifle over her shoulder and started moving.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

She didn't open her eyes but sensed she was in danger. Darlene swung her feet out from under her and did a three hundred and sixty degree spin on her hip.

Darlene connected with someone, who went down hard next to her.

In seconds she was on top, knocking the wooden stake away and punching the woman in the face. Darlene raised up her hand to strike again and saw who it was.

"Bri?"

Bri blinked twice and spit blood from her mouth.

Darlene punched her in the face again and knocked her out.

"Damn, why'd you do that?" Darlene asked out loud. Now she'd have to wait for the girl to come to before she could question her about the baby. Bri was the thief who'd taken little John and she was going to answer a few pointed questions. Darlene would decide if she lived, depending on the answers.

The zombies she'd been controlling had scattered but a few were coming at them, drawn by Bri.

Darlene decided using more energy was wasting it so instead of controlling the zombies she simply picked up Bri and walked to the stadium gate. It was unlocked.

Inside she found a main entry to the stadium, and a low table where she put Bri down.

Darlene paced back and forth through the area, using her powers to make sure no one snuck up on her.

She smiled when she felt the minds of two people she knew, and they were in close proximity to one another: Tosha and Bernie.

Tosha was a bitch but she was a tough fighter, one Darlene needed on her side. She hoped she didn't scare off Bernie when they met again.

She needed to figure out what to do with Bri. When she’d carried her it was like she weighed nothing. Darlene’s strength seemed to be increasing as well. She felt like a superhero.

Darlene could leave Bri just outside the gate to the stadium and call every zombie in a mile radius to rip her apart if she wanted.

Looking at the unconscious girl who’d taken her baby… she really wanted to. But first she needed to find out where the baby was.

Darlene looked inside Bri’s mind but it was all a mess. The girl’s thoughts were jumbled. Maybe Darlene had hit her a little too hard.

If I’d broken her neck, I wouldn’t feel bad
, she thought.

Darlene tried all of the doors in the area but either the locks had been broken or they were still locked, and breaking them would make them useless. She needed to stash Bri somewhere safe until she could figure out what to do with her.

She was wasting time with a zombie on the loose who could best her.

Darlene finally carried Bri into the stadium itself and found a storage room just off the main aisle where it looked like cardboard boxes of dishes and cups had been stored, a few crushed ones on the floor.

The door didn’t lock but Darlene propped a twisted metal rack against the door and hoped it would keep Bri inside and zombies out of it.

The survivors would be another story but Darlene hoped she could run into one or more and not frighten them. If she could get them on her side, she could organize the group to help her overthrow the zombie.

The other zombie
, Darlene thought sourly.

Tosha and Bernie were also going to factor into this assault as well but Darlene decided she needed to see them in person. The last thing she needed was to try to get inside their heads to talk to them and have them freak out. She needed them as allies right now.

Darlene walked up the ramp to the upper levels of the stadium, keeping to one side and glad it was getting dark now. With any luck she could get into a higher position to survey what needed to be done. If she had to spend the night watching and seeing what was happening so be it. The zombie wasn’t going to sleep and neither was Darlene.

The stadium was definitely clean on the ramps. She peeked onto the next landing and saw it was also clear of debris, unlike the level she’d left Bri on. Maybe they were still in the process of straightening up.

Darlene realized she could probe the mind of a survivor and find out but she didn’t want to alert the zombie. She was still interested in facing her, especially in person.

She continued to the top level but before she entered the stadium itself she turned to survey Jacksonville.

The river. The coffee factory. The bridge. The highway. All of it.

Darlene wondered how long before it would all be covered in trees and brush, fallen into the river and reclaimed by nature. Already she could see more green than there should be. Tiny trees poking through cracks in the asphalt. Grass reclaiming dirt patches. Rodents and bugs, now free to roam, expanding their own territory.

The world will never be the same, even if every zombie is destroyed
, Darlene thought.

Once this situation was dealt with, Darlene wanted to see how far out she could probe and find where other zombies were marking out their own kingdoms. It could be hundreds. It could very well be millions, all evolving and becoming aware of their situation and their rights to the land.

First things first. Darlene needed to face the zombie and free these people.

It all came down to needing the help of Tosha and Bernie.

Darlene didn’t want to use her powers but she couldn’t risk wandering the entire stadium looking for the pair. She sensed the survivors here weren’t necessarily loyal to the zombie but they were scared enough to do whatever she wanted, and, if Darlene or the others were spotted, the alarm might go up and Darlene didn’t want to hurt or kill innocent people if she could help it.

They’ll all be zombies at some point and the enemy
, Darlene thought.

She shook her head, ashamed for thinking such a horrible idea but knowing on some level it was true. No one lived forever. Any new baby born would just perpetuate the zombies and not the human race.

But if all of the humans were dead, what use was it to still be alive?

I am no longer human. I am no longer part of their world
, Darlene thought. Yet… she still wanted to find Tosha and Bernie and let them help her to defeat the zombie and free the enslaved.

She didn’t know why, though.

Darlene had doubts her ideas were pure. She had the nagging sensation in her that each and every freed survivor would someday be part of her hunt if she couldn’t control her feelings. She understood what the other zombies were going through: the incredibly strong urge to hunt and kill. The anger had been pushed down and Darlene thought she was better than the rest. She thought she could control it.

She’d been lying to herself.

Darlene needed to focus on finding Tosha and Bernie. She needed their help. She needed to face the zombie without interference from the survivors.

She needed to control her urges to kill everyone.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Where are we going?” Bernie asked Tosha, who’d been ignoring her the moment she’d lost the shot to kill the zombie.

If the zombie could be killed.

Bernie didn’t think talking to Tosha about the pros and cons of facing a zombie was a wise choice right now. The woman was focused on moving around the stadium to get closer to where the zombie had gone inside.

If it were up to Bernie, they’d be heading in the opposite direction and escaping while they could. She’d lost the taste to face another smart zombie.

A smombie.

She missed the rest of the group she’d run with telling her to stop calling them that. Bernie thought it was stupid, too, but she did it to mess with them. It had stuck and was catchy.

Tosha wouldn’t be amused if Bernie said it out loud.

The stadium was quiet but every step they took sounded like someone was banging on a drum. The echo was unreal and Bernie imagined the stadium filled with fans, screaming and cheering for their team. She wondered what had happened to all of the players who’d been here, maybe when this mess had started. Was there a game going on? Had the zombies spread throughout the crowd, pulling people down like they were doing the wave?

Tosha led them back into a tunnel and they moved as quickly and quietly as possible, making sure nothing was sneaking up on them or out in front.

At a junction, Tosha stopped and cocked her head.

Bernie watched the sun go down, the last rays fading away to nothing. With it brought a chill. She didn’t like being this exposed at nighttime.

Tosha turned to Bernie and leaned into her, getting their noses so close they touched.

“We need to go to higher ground and find a secure skybox or broom closet. Wait this one out and see what the morning brings. If this zombie running this place is really a bad ass, we’re in real trouble. I’d rather stay out of her way. At night she might be able to see us but we won’t be able to see her coming,” Tosha said quietly. “Follow me.”