Learning To Live (Zombie Overload Series) (26 page)

Finally,
four men come out the door and get inside. I'm relieved to see my dad
and that he's ok. We hug and he bitches at me for half a dozen things
that my ass of a husband and that idiot Jake have told him I've done.
Half of those I think they've made up-like telling my dad about me
getting mad at Jake and taking on a bunch of zombies all on my own.
As if! I can't believe Jake would tell him that crap!

A
memory of an incident at one of the armories resurfaces and my mouth
slams shut, cutting off my words of denial.
Oops. Ok, so maybe a
few are true, but the
rest
? Ok, maybe true, too, but most of
those things I had no choice. Oh, just shut up and agree with me,
damn it!

I
turn back to the front of the truck and do what I do best, ignore
them. Starting and putting the truck in gear, I take us outside the
home of the family that are stuck on the roof.

Except
for Dad, the three guys shoot the zombies and then go up to retrieve
the family. Dad and I stay in the truck, keeping watch. Well,
I'm
keeping watch. Dad, who is a complete electronics and gadgets addict,
is checking out all the cool stuff inside the truck. I laugh at
hearing his excitement at each newly discovered accessory and
technological "toy."

My
laughter ends when I see Dustin come out alone. Concerned, I roll my
window down as he nears and give him a questioning look.

"We're
going to need another vehicle. There is no way we can all fit in
here," he tells me.

He's
right. I should have realized that before.

He
continues when I nod, "It's not just the people on the roof.
This house has been turned into apartments. The ones on the roof came
out when they heard the grenades to try to get help. There's an
elderly couple, the mom and her three kids that were on the roof, the
man on the roof,"―
so I got that wrong when I assumed
that they were a family
―"and then there's an elderly
man with a dog and a couple cats."

"Yeah,
no way they will all be able to ride with us. We're definitely going
to have to get another vehicle. Or two," I say.

Dustin
and I start looking around but my dad's voice turns our attention to
the backseat.

"I
have a friend―
had
a friend―who has a bus. It's not
a big one, it's a shuttle bus for transporting between here and St.
Thomas, but it should be big enough for them. My friend who owned it
was the first one of these things I had to kill." Dad looks away
and out the opposite window. I see his face redden and I know how
hard that must have been for him.

"I'm
sorry, Dad," I tell him.

He
coughs, looks back at us, and nods.

"So,
anyway. He lives on the other side of town. Let's go over and see if
we can't find the keys."

The
"other side of town" is about three blocks away. I love
small towns! Dustin has come with us since I'm basically useless
except to drive and shoot a little, so when we pull into the driveway
behind the bus, he and Dad get out. Dad has a handgun and Dustin has
his quad ball mace.
I know this sounds frikken horrible of me, but
I'm hoping just one zombie goes after him so I can see that baby in
action!

They
enter the house with no interference and are soon back outside.
Dustin walks Dad over to the bus and waits until Dad has it started.
They exchange a few words and then Dustin walks back to the truck and
gets in.
Damn. No demo.

"Your
dad said the bus needs gas, and I'm sure we do, too. So we need to go
by his shop."

"Alrighty
then." I back out of the drive and onto the street, and keep
backing up until Dad has plenty of room to back out. At the station,
he pulls up to one side of the pumps and I pull up to the other.

He
and Dustin fill up the tanks and I keep watch. I see a couple coming
from in front of me and call out to the guys. Dad walks away from the
pump and shoots them both, then goes back to the bus. I call out to
Dustin,
specifically
, and tell him to get the one coming up
behind us.

As
he moves toward the undead, I scramble to turn around in the seat to
watch the mace in action. Dustin walks right up to the zombie, and
raises the mace high. He swings it a few times then connects with the
zombies head. The spiked balls embed and jerk the zombies head hard
in several directions, almost at once. And then the now really dead
man falls to the ground.
Awesome!
I know I can't quite explain
how
awesome it was, but just trust me that it...was...
awesome
!
I see a few more coming Dustin's way and he moves forward to
intercept them.

As
I'm watching Dustin, I've forgotten about watching for other zombies,
so when I hear my Dad yell-my heart stops and I scream. Grabbing my
gun, I do my best to rush out the passenger door. I hold onto the
door and hop far enough away so that I can shut it and get around to
the front of the truck. I see my dad on the ground with a huge undead
woman right on top of him.

Movement
to my left and I see a big biker dude not far away, ready to join her
in the feast-or to selfishly steal my dad all for himself. I know I
have to save Dad from the woman, but the biker-dude will be a much
bigger problem if he gets hold of Dad.

I
hop a little past the tanks and the biker's attention immediately
switches to me, and he changes direction as he gives me a snarl. His
pace picks up and I'm reminded of the faster zombies outside the
store. This guy is the first I've seen since then to be able to move
this fast. I barely have enough time to lift the gun before he's on
me.

He
slaps the gun out of my hand and, in horror, I see it fly across the
parking lot. His big hands are on me as I lose my balance and fall to
the cold hard pavement. He follows me down, his face right above my
own. I can still hear Dad fighting the woman on the other side of the
pumps and I pray that at least
he
makes it through this.

The
man above me growls and I shove my fist in his throat, doing my best
to keep his snapping teeth from coming any closer. That hardly stops
him. He's just too damn strong. I close my eyes and pray for some
miracle,
any
miracle.

That
miracle came with its own form of growls and snapping teeth.

The
man is knocked half off of me but is still pinning me to the ground.
I watch wide-eyed as a big, gorgeous, pure white, German Shepherd
grabs the back of the man's leather vest with his teeth and drags him
off me. The man turns and grabs the dog around the throat and
squeezes.

I
hear the dog yelp and I scramble to the gun. Raising it, I pull the
trigger, praying I hit the zombie and not the beautiful dog.

The
man's body drops and his mammoth hands release the dog. I crawl to
where my dad was and find he has managed to crawl underneath the bus
and is kicking at the woman, not allowing her to crawl under with
him. She's just in front of the gas pumps so there's no way I'm going
to try to shoot her. I crawl back to the poor dog who saved my life
and is now wheezing and gagging from his damaged throat.

Sitting
next to him, I call out to the dumb bitch who still hasn't noticed
me. Her head turns to me slowly, reluctant to take her eyes from my
dad―
I wonder if she was an ex of his?
―and when she
finally focuses on me, I'm shocked when she actually takes one last
longing look under the truck before she crawls toward me.
Nothing
like the feeling of not being good enough, especially for a frikken
zombie!

I
have to wait because I'm not going to shoot until she gets past the
pumps. The dog tries to growl but is stopped by his throat causing
him pain just after he starts. I run my hand down the dog's back and
tell him that it's ok. He whines at me but I assure him I got this
one, all the while keeping my eyes on the area around me and the mass
of blubber coming after me.
If this twit could crawl any
slower...damn!

Finally,
she gets far enough away from the pumps that I can take the shot, and
her body collapses. I then crawl-but much faster-toward the bus and
my dad with the dog right next to me.

"Dad?
Dad, are you ok?" I call out when I'm a few feet from the bus.

He
doesn't respond and fear swirls up inside me where it's so often
swirled in the past few days. I move closer and can see his shoes
underneath, then his legs. Fully beside the bus now, I look under and
see him lying on the ground, not moving, eyes closed, and a hand
clutching his chest.

All
the air inside me rushes out as I scramble under the bus and move up
next to him. I see his chest rising and falling, and I know he's
still alive, for now anyway.

"Dad!
Dad, can you hear me?" I know I sound desperate and scared-and
it's probably because I am.

"Hey,
Sis. I think I need my nitro pills," he gasps out.

"Ok.
Where, Dad? Where are they?"

"In
my bag. In the Hummer."

"Be
right back."

I
scoot backwards as fast as I can and feel the pavement shredding skin
from the palms of my hands. I scrape my right cheek on the rough road
and it burns like hell, but I'm too terrified to care. I finally
clear the bus and use it and the pumps to get to my...foot. Finally
balanced enough to be able to move without falling and wasting more
time, I turn and my face slams into the large broad chest of a man.

I
scream, and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed my arms and kept
me upright. I look up into Dustin's face and my body sags with relief
until I remember my dad and the pills. Panic comes rushing back and I
frantically tell Dustin what's going on. He helps me get inside the
truck then takes the nitro pills from me, telling me to stay in the
truck and he will take care of my dad.

I
slide over behind the wheel and the dog jumps up beside me. I watch
for the undead as I stroke the beautiful dog's fur. He lays his head
on my leg and I say a prayer that my dad and this creature, who saved
my life and ultimately maybe even my dad's life, will be ok.

I
finally see Dustin helping my dad over to the truck and am relieved
to see Dad is able to walk mostly on his own. His face is pale, but
hopefully the pill will soon help. Dad gets in the front seat and his
eyes widen when he sees the dog. His eyes flick up to mine and I tell
him the dog saved my life.

"Yeah,
German Shepherds are good dogs. You keeping it?"

I
give a small laugh. "It doesn't look as if he's giving me a
choice."

"He,
huh?" Dad takes a look and grins. "I thought so. You might
want to think of giving it a female name-and maybe have some more
names on standby for the pups."

I
look down at her in surprise. I don't really know why I assumed it
was a boy.
Am I sexist? I mean, I just assumed since the dog saved
me from that
big
guy that it would have to be a male. It's a
dog
, you idiot! Ok. I feel fully ashamed of myself. Sorry, all
you female canines. Forgive me for being such a moron.

I
pet her and send another prayer up that her throat isn't damaged too
badly and that her pups will live.

Dustin
hands Dad a bottle of water he got from the back of the truck to
drink after his nitro has finished dissolving, and then he goes to
unhook both vehicles from the gas pumps and gets inside the bus. I
wait for him to pull out and then follow him back to the house. He
pulls the bus up in the yard sideways to the porch. The door is right
at the steps so the passengers can get on without having to be
exposed to attacks.

The
front door of the house opens and Will leads the elderly couple out.
After them, all but the man from the roof file out and load up. Jake
appears in the doorway, loaded down with bags and suitcases. He
leaves them on the porch and goes back inside and Will follows him.
The man from the roof comes out and leaves more bags and suitcases,
but he also goes back inside.
Good lord! We may have to get
another vehicle just for all the stuff.

After
several trips in and out, leaving more and more on the porch, they
finally all come out and Will tells Dustin to move the bus. The man
from the roof runs around the side of the house with Jake. Obviously,
they are getting another vehicle.

"Hey,
Dad. You ok?" I ask, after I see he's gotten some color back.

"I'm
fine, Sis. Much better now."

I
smile and nod, then keep an eye out for undead. A big black Chevy
truck turns onto this street and jumps the curb, pulling close to the
porch. The men all load the stuff up with Dustin trotting over to
help. In no time the truck is loaded and we're ready to go. Jake
rides in the truck with the other man, Dustin drives the bus, and
Will rides with Dad and me.

Will
is very excited to see the dog and, since he knows a bit about
animals, takes a look at her throat. I'm relieved when he tells me
she'll be fine. Then he asks me what happened while he was gone back
at the station. Dad and I both fill him in and he tells the dog how
good a dog she is for saving me. The dog is loving the attention and
gives him a big wet kiss from chin to forehead.