Survival (3 page)

Sarah must have made a noise because, as
one, the creatures spun in her direction. A couple turned back to
continue feeding on the man, digging faces into his stomach cavity.
The others started her way. She froze, hearing the strange gurgling
type growl coming from the corpses.

"Sarah, run!"

Meredith's words snapped her out of the
trance and she ran for the Expedition. The zombies moved faster
than she thought they could. But what did she know? She only had
books and film to go by. Fiction. She could not allow herself to
presume anything.

Her chest heaved and she gulped for air,
fear making it difficult to breathe. The rain still fell in
torrents and she slipped on the sodden ground, but managed to stay
upright. After what seemed like forever, she reached the driver's
door and jerked it open. She shoved Meredith's go bag into the back
seat and was trying to get the other bag's strap over her head,
when a hand grabbed her arm, dragging her back.

Sarah cried out, nearly dropping the machete
as the seat belt wrapped around it. She finally got it free and
turned toward her attacker only to gasp. Half of the woman's face
had been chewed off — teeth, gums and tongue showed through the
gaping maw. She swung the blade, impaling the woman through the
chest. But it didn't stop the already dead cadaver.
How can you
kill something that's not alive?

She yanked out the machete. Before she even
realized she had done it, the blade tore through what was left of
the woman's face, piercing the brain. As she pulled it out, blood
and bits of the organ coated Sarah's hands and arms. The zombie
fell, taking the other two to the ground with her. Sarah climbed
into the SUV and slammed the key into the ignition before her legs
had even cleared the doorway, surprised she had been able to hold
on to it.

An arm shot up through the doorway, and
Sarah watched in horror as one of the dead tried to pull himself
up. She turned and kicked out, making enough contact to force the
zombie back to the ground. She wrenched the door closed with one
hand, while shifting into drive with the other. The two she had
left at the side of the house had finished with the man in the
window, and were moving toward the front door where Meredith
waited.

Or rather . . . where Meredith should have
been waiting. Where the hell is she?

S
arah drove up onto
the lawn and plowed into the two zombies shuffling toward the front
door. One fell under her tires with a sickening crunch. The other
flew backwards, but was already trying to rise. Thankfully, his
injuries were too severe.

She maneuvered the Expedition so the
passenger side was as close to the front door as possible. She
opened the door just as a scream came from inside the house.

Sarah bolted out of the SUV and inside the
home. She jerked to a stop, taking in the scene before her.
Meredith had skewered the old man from next door with a poker from
the fireplace. He wiggled and pushed himself toward the woman, arms
reaching, jaws opening and closing while Meredith tried to reason
with him.

"John? Please, John. Oh, my God. What's
happened to you? We're friends. Please don't do this," Meredith
cried, but finally released the hold on her weapon and backed
up.

"He's not John anymore, Meredith. He's
become one of those dead things. A zombie." She pointed to the
large gash in his throat and shoulder. The monster which had once
been a gentle older man whipped around to search the new noise,
another source of fresh food.

Taking two large steps, Sarah used the
machete to cut through his skull and into his brain. He dropped to
the floor, no longer moving.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"
Meredith gagged, her hand over her mouth, eyes wide with shock. She
turned toward Sarah, realization in her eyes. "I thought . . . even
after you found out I was sick . . . that—"

"That I was messing with you?"

"Well, not about your sister, but I thought
surely there was another explanation. There couldn't really be
zombies."

Meredith looked as if she was ready to fall
over. "Come on—let's get you in the car." She reached for her, but
Meredith pulled away.

"Wait. Let's get these. I thought your
sister might need them, and who knows what we'll need." She pointed
to a pile of blankets, pillows and two coats. She shoved her arms
into another jacket she pulled from a chair and grabbed a small
bag. "Cellphone and charger," she announced as she held it up.

"Good idea. But we need to go now before
more of those things show up." Sarah grabbed the pile stacked on
the sofa and led the way to the front door. She heard the door
close behind them as she stuffed everything but the machete into
the back seat. When she saw Meredith struggling to get inside the
huge SUV, Sarah said nothing, but helped to lift the woman into the
seat, startled to realize how little she weighed.

Meredith breathed heavily, her chest
expanding as she gasped for air, just the little exertion zapping
her strength. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Sarah shut the door. The zombie she had left
on the lawn had given up trying to stand and now crawled toward
them. Sarah strode over to him using the machete to open his skull.
Wiping the blade on the man's clothing, she looked around and saw
more shapes shuffling toward them from the dark. She hurried around
to her side of the SUV, hitting the locks as soon as the door
closed. Even before the truck started to move, Meredith had the
charger out and was turning on her phone.

She tried a few times, but finally gave up,
resting her head against the window. "911 is busy. It's not even
putting me on hold."

"It figures. There's so much going on.
Thanks for trying though."

"I don't understand. How...? How did this
happen?"

"I don't know. I first saw them when I
picked up Dana. Or at least I think that's what was going on."
Sarah shook her head. "I finished my workout and stopped to get
Dana from her pottery class. She got in and pointed out a
disturbance in the parking lot. We were trying to figure out what
was going on when two men jumped into the back seat with guns. They
had three zombies tied up in a room of the building where they were
holding us. They threatened to feed us to them if we caused any
problems." Sarah brushed away a tear. "I've got to get back to
Dana."

Silence filled the car as they drove toward
the building where Dana waited; each woman lost in thought.
Meredith finally picked the phone back up again. "Who should I try
to call for you?"

Sarah blinked back a look of surprise. She
had thought for sure Meredith would have already tried to reach her
husband. Instead, she was thinking of her. Not only that, but she
had gone back into the house gathering things for her sister and
all of them. She was definitely going to have to give this new
Meredith some thought.

"I guess my cousin, Brian. He's about the
only family Dana and I have. He was in East Texas this past week,
so I don't know if he's back yet." She gave the phone number and
waited as the numbers were entered, but Meredith didn't push send
right away.

"If he doesn't answer, do you want me to
leave a message for him?"

"Yeah. I guess. Hmm . . . ." Where should
they go after they rescued Dana? "The only place I can think of
that can be made fairly safe right now is the courthouse. The only
glass on the first floor is in the doors and with it being
Saturday, there shouldn't have been many people there when this
thing started. Tell him we're going to check it out, and if the
phones go out, we'll leave a message there if we have to go
elsewhere."

She listened as the woman beside her placed
the call, hope dashing as she heard her leaving a message rather
than being able to verify he was still alive.

Sarah placed her hand on Meredith's arm.
"Thank you. Why don't you try to reach Rudy?"

"I guess I'm afraid. What if I can't reach
him? He's all I've got." She sniffled, but Sarah could tell she
refused to let the tears fall.

"Just leave a message like you did for
Brian. He'll know where to start looking for you. Just because you
can't reach him doesn't mean he's not okay. There's just so much
going on and he could have lost his phone." She paused briefly
before adding, "Besides, you're not alone. We have each other and
we're going to be fine."

Meredith took a deep breath and then dialed.
Sarah felt the palpable anxiety in the car lessen as Rudy's deep
baritone came through the phone's tiny speaker. She listened while
concentrating on edging around the people, the dead, and the cars
on the busier roads. Occasionally she bumped into and over things
and the walking nightmares. Meredith didn't even acknowledge what
was happening around them except with worried glances and
fear-filled eyes. She kept her voice even and light trying not to
worry her husband. Apparently he was still in Illinois, but had
managed to get a car and had already headed toward Fort Worth. He
was traveling with a few other men from the area he'd had meetings
with while there, so he wasn't alone. Sarah heard Meredith's sigh
of relief which probably didn't carry through the airwaves.

The night got even darker as Sarah drove off
the main roads onto a long drive toward the building where Dana was
being kept. She turned her lights off as she left the asphalt and
moved cautiously through trees scattered throughout the property.
Coming to a stop on the side of the building where she had busted
the window out earlier, she shoved the gearshift to park and turned
off the engine. She had parked the length of a football field away
to keep from being heard and hoped Dana would be in shape to run
that far when she finally got her out.

"I love you, too. Be careful." Meredith
blinked back tears, and disconnected the call as she faced
Sarah.

"I'm glad you reached him and he's
okay."

"Me too. Listen . . . I want to thank—"

"Don't thank me. You've helped me with guns
and ammo and—"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have even known
anything was happening before it was too late..." Meredith grabbed
Sarah's hand. "So thank you. Now how do we get your sister out of
there?"

"I'm going to go inside that window and hope
she's still there." She pointed to the frame with the broken glass.
"If she's not in the basement, I'll have to search the building, so
it might take a while. But I saw their cars when we circled the
building. They probably thought I wouldn't make it back."

"Are you sure? We could try to find someone
to help you."

"No. I can't wait any longer. I don't know
what they may be doing . . . ." She gulped back a cry. She had been
strong so far; she could not give in to fear now. She cleared her
throat. "Once I leave, you scoot over here. Don't go outside the
car for any reason. Just climb over the console and lock the doors
behind me. Adjust the seat and be ready to drive." Sarah rummaged
in the door's pocket and came up with a plastic bag. "If you feel
the need to throw up, use this. It won't be pleasant, but it's
better than going outside. Keep a lookout — 360. Don't let anyone
inside the car except me or Dana. Even if it looks like they need
help. Just . . . don't. Get your gun out and be ready to use it.
Any doubts at all, you use it. Okay?"

Meredith waited a few seconds before
nodding. "Okay. But how will I know it's Dana if she comes out by
herself? I've never met her."

"She's my twin. We look exactly alike."
Sarah laughed softly, remembering a few of the times they had
played the "switch game" with their parents and others.

Meredith gasped. "There are two of you? How
did I not know that?" She sounded horrified and Sarah laughed a
little louder.

"Yeah. But she's a lot nicer than me." She
winked and then became serious again. "Okay. If we're not out in an
hour . . . God I hope it doesn't take that long . . . then go on to
the courthouse and we'll meet you there." She checked her Glock
once more; made sure she had an extra magazine in the holster and
picked up the machete.

"I'm not leaving you here."

"Only if we're not back in an hour. Look, we
could get held up for some reason and I don't want them finding you
here. If we have to, we can make it there on our own." Sarah didn't
say what they both were thinking: That she and Dana might not make
it out. Inside the console she dug around until she found two small
flashlights. "I'm putting this one right here on top in case you
need it. It's small but it puts out a lot of light, so only use it
if you have to. You don't want to give away your position." She
tucked the other into the front pocket of her jeans.

She reached over and gave Meredith a one-arm
hug, turned off the interior lights, and opened her door. "See ya
soon." And she slipped out into the night.

C
rossing the damp
grass at a sprint, Sarah wished rain was still falling to help mask
the squishy sounds of her approach. She reached the side of the
building and leaned against it catching her breath before sliding
toward the window.

She took a couple of deep breaths trying to
ease her rapid heart rate. The blood still galloped through her
veins, pulse pounding. She looked back at the SUV. Everything
seemed fine there.

Holding her breath, she peeked around the
window's frame. Nothing moved. No sound carried outside. Deftly she
pulled the flashlight from her pocket and shined it around the
interior. The basement stood empty. Sarah turned off the light and
pocketed it again. Her shirt had been removed from the sill, but
most of the glass was missing too. It would be easier getting
inside than it had been getting out. She sat on the wet ground and
shimmied to the window feet first. She grabbed the top pane, arched
her back, and eased herself down onto the floor. She cringed as
glass crunched beneath her sneakers.