The Creeping Dead: A Zombie Novel (41 page)

“Your parents made it out?” Vinnie asked Dharma.

She nodded.

“Good. I’m glad,” he said.

“My Mom said that once they crossed the bridge off the island, there wasn’t any sign of any of this. It only seemed to be in the Bay.”

“So what did the State Police have to say?” asked Nancy.

“They’re aware of the situation. They’ve called in the National Guard as well to establish a perimeter on the bridge, so only the living make it out.”

“What about the bitten?” asked Mike.

“They’re triaging people in a camp just over the bridge.”

“They’re going to quarantine?”

“That’s the assumption, although we didn’t get into that kind of detail.”

“Is it happening anywhere else?”

“Once again, we didn’t get into that kind of detail. Do you have a radio or television?” asked Holbrook.

“We have both,” said Nancy.

“Let’s check out the news. Maybe we can get an idea of what’s happening outside.”

“There’s a television in my office,” said Nancy.

“Why don’t you take the kids in there? They don’t need to be out here listening to all of this.”

Nancy nodded. “Come with me, kids.” Alessandra put her hand in Nancy’s, and for a moment, Mike thought he saw Nancy’s gruff exterior melt a little.

“You too,” Nancy said to Salvatore. He looked at Dharma.

“It’s okay,” she said. “See if you can find out what’s going on.”

Salvatore responded to being given a job to do, as Dharma knew he would. He went into the back office with Nancy and his sister.

Holbrook waited until they were out of sight. “Okay, we need to keep watch on the gates.”

“I thought you said they’d hold,” said Dharma.

“They might, but I’m not just worried about the zombies,” said Holbrook. “I’m worried about the storm. If there’s flooding…”

“Maybe the storm will wash them away,” said Vinnie.

“Nancy’s right,” said Mike. “We have enough provisions to ride out the storm. Hopefully, the authorities get a handle on all this in the meantime.”

Holbrook stowed away his retractable baton. “All we can do now is watch and wait. If you’ll excuse me a moment, I have to call my wife.”

“Of course,” said Mike.

Holbrook stepped away from the group for privacy. He dialed Lena. She picked up. “Hello?”

“Oh, thank God,” said Holbrook.

Chapter 21

Lenny crouched in his apartment as the rain pelted his window. Water started to creep in under the door. He curled into a ball on his bed, traumatized by the horrific sights during the attempted evacuation of Smuggler’s Bay, as Dr. Tara and Tyrell watched him.

His Aunt Patricia had piled him and the rest of the clan into her minivan, but it was bumper to bumper on the main boulevard to the bridge off the island. They were only a few blocks away from the Ocean’s Gate when the attacks started happening.

Lenny was horrified when the dead started assaulting the cars. In a panic, his aunt pulled off the road and mounted the sidewalk, running down a shocked police officer and crashing into a telephone pole, triggering the air bag.

His Aunt Patricia staggered out of the car and was immediately seized upon by the dead.

Terrified, Lenny ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He looked back and saw his whole family being eaten alive like cattle.

One of the dead had grabbed him, but Lenny wriggled out, leaving his cape behind as a memento. He ran smack dab into Dr. Tara and Tyrell.

“Lenny!” Dr. Tara’s eyes were wide with fright.

Tyrell clung to her like a little, terrified barnacle.

“Follow me!” He had run back to the only place he knew was safe, the Ocean’s Gate, and left with no other discernible option, Tara and Tyrell had followed. The dead had been focused on the street traffic, so Lenny had an easy time of crossing the grounds to his room.

Putting his hands over his ears, he did his best to try and block out the screams of horror and the wailing of the dead. However, it was to no avail.

Tyrell crouched in the corner, his feet and bottom getting wet from the encroaching water.

“Lenny, we can’t stay here,” said Tara.

Lenny shushed her, afraid the sick would hear them. There were feet scuffling outside and a few shrieks that were a little too close for comfort.

Tara sat next to him on the bed and put her arm around him for reassurance. “Lenny, thank you for bringing us to safety.”

“Y-y-you’re w-w-welcome, Dr. Tara.” He looked over at Tyrell and patted the bed next to him. “You’re getting wet,” he whispered.

Tyrell frowned and stood. He walked over to the bed and sat next to Lenny.

Lenny put a hand on his shoulder. “W-w-we’ll be safe here.”

Tara noticed the water level slowly rising. “Lenny, this room is going to flood. We can’t stay here for very long.”

“I-I-I’m n-n-not going outs-s-side. No way, Jose.”

“Lenny, if we had to, is there a place we can go on the second floor? A place where we’ll be safe?”

Lenny thought about it for a moment. “There’re rooms on the second and t-t-third floor.”

“Lenny, I was thinking of a room with a sturdy door. Something without big windows.”

“There’s a supply closet on the second f-f-floor. The door is strong. There’s only one s-small window.”

“We have to go there, Lenny.” She looked down at the rising water level. She pointed to the electrical sockets. “Water and electricity don’t mix.”

Lenny nodded. His face scrunched up, as if he’d suddenly remembered something. “Where’s your h-h-husband?”

Tara’s expression must’ve said it all, because Lenny hugged her tightly. “I will protect you,” he said without stutter. “I will be your superhero.”

* * *

Marie was able to pull her car off the line down the boulevard heading out of Smuggler’s Bay. She weaved in between running people and pursuing dead, clipping a few of the dead along the way.

When she reached her block, she had to abandon her car because there were cars blocking the road. There were three of the dead hot on her trail as she made a mad dash for her house. Her keys clutched in her hand, using tactile memory, she fingered through the keys until she found the key to her front door.

She ran up her front path, slamming the gate behind her, buying her the precious few extra seconds she needed. She ripped the Police tape marking off the crime scene and let herself into her house. She slammed and locked the door behind her, and she ran to the living room window to look out.

There were now several of the dead surrounding her house, pounding mindlessly on the walls and front door. Marie ran into the kitchen, noting the police outlines of the bodies on the floor.

She grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1.

“Nine-one-one, please state your emergency,” said a cool, collected voice on the other end. Marie wondered if the operator had any clue what was happening.

“I’m being attacked in my home. There are sick people attacking everyone. I’m trapped in my home.”

“Are you in Smuggler’s Bay, ma’am?”

“Yes, I am.”

“We currently have every available unit dispatched to the area. Are you in a safe place right now?”

Marie looked around her kitchen. “For the moment.” The kitchen had a back door. Marie figured she’s stay put rather than box herself in a room with no alternative exit.

“Good. Is there anyone with you?”

“No. I’m alone.”

“Help is on the way. I’m going to stay on the line with you until they arrive.”

The whole gesture was ridiculous. If the dead came crashing into her house, there was nothing the operator could do to help her. Yet, after losing her husband and being thrown in jail, and with her children elsewhere, Marie felt very alone. “Okay, thank you.”

* * *

The water was really starting to rise in the arcade. Holbrook and the rest waded around shin-deep as they heard the sounds of debris banging into security gates on the boardwalk.

Vinnie and Randy applied extra masking tape to the back window in X patterns as waves throttled the back of the structure. It was dark outside, the moon enshrouded by cloud cover, making the churning waves indistinguishable from the dark sky. It appeared that they were staring into a dark chasm.

That was why they didn’t see the oncoming wave. It smashed against the glass, breaking it, covering Vinnie and Randy in seawater and glass shards.

Nancy came running out of her office, startled by the sound. She was shouting something, but the wind from the storm drowned her out.

Mike, Dharma, and Holbrook ran to the back to help them. Vinnie and Randy had cuts on their hands and faces. They all retreated to the carousel area.

“First aid kit!” Holbrook shouted to Nancy, who nodded and ran back to the office.

Dharma cradled Vinnie’s cut hands in hers. The cuts looked superficial.

“We’ve got to cover that window!” shouted Holbrook.

“There’s nothing,” yelled Mike.

“Maybe we can push the pool tables and air hockey tables over to block some of it,” shouted Vinnie.

“They’re too heavy,” yelled Mike, “and you’re in no condition to help.”

“What about the cabinet games?” suggested Holbrook. “We can stack them.”

“Too light,” said Mike.

“If we can stack enough of them,” said Holbrook, “it should cut down on some of the wind getting in here.”

The wind rattled the multi-hinged security doors, but thankfully it drowned out the relentless cries and pounding of the dead on the other side.

Nancy ran back with a first aid kit.

Dharma grabbed it and opened it. Nancy and Dharma tended to Randy’s and Vinnie’s hands and faces, while Mike and Holbrook wheeled the cabinet video games from the Classics Room over to the window and stacked them.

Randy stood awkwardly with his hands out as Nancy cleaned the cuts.

She shoved gauze into his hands. “You’ll be all right, you big baby! I have to check on the children.” She put her hand on Dharma’s shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze, and she ran back to the office.

She sloshed in the water and opened the office door when everything went black.

Salvatore gasped and Alessandra screamed.

“It’s okay,” said Nancy. It was quieter back there, so she didn’t have to shout. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

She felt little hands reaching out in the dark. She took them in hers and pulled Alessandra close. “It’s okay, my dear.”

“What now?” shouted Dharma.

“The power’s out,” explained Vinnie.

In the dark, Holbrook and Mike clumsily stacked cabinet games on their sides over the gaping hole, and the wind became quieter.

Vinnie listened, and he didn’t hear the moans and pounding of the dead. However, as his ears adjusted, he began to hear it again.

“It sounds like there’s fewer of them,” said Dharma.

“Either that, or some of the wind is still drowning them out.”

The wind whistled through the gaps in the cabinet barricade, ocean spray finding its way through. However, the makeshift barricade did help to reduce the amount of storm entering inside.

Mike and Holbrook waded back toward the carousel, groping in the dark. Mike felt the edge of the carousel against his shin. It was underwater.

“Why don’t you guys climb up on the horses?” he suggested. “I’ll go back and check on Nancy and the kids.”

“Why don’t I go?” said Holbrook. “It’s dark. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Are you kidding?” chuckled Mike. “I know this place like the back of my hand. I’ll be fine.”

Holbrook, Vinnie, Dharma, and Randy awkwardly climbed up onto the carousel, feeling for horses, and mounted them.

Dharma reached out in the dark and found Vinnie’s hand.

He winced as she clenched it.

She was scared.

Mike trudged his way to the back office. He felt the door frame and realized the door was open. “Are you all okay?”

“Yes,” said Nancy. “We’re just fine. I explained that this was just a little power outage. Nothing to fear. Right, children?”

Mike heard whimpers of dubious agreement in the dark office. Then he felt a hand reach out for his in the dark. It was Nancy’s.

Vinnie and Dharma held hands in the dark, oblivious to the bottoms of the security gates bending and dead, eager fingers curling under the edges. They heard metallic groans from the amusement park next door. The rides began to buckle.

Nancy and the children joined the rest of the gang on the carousel, and Mike strapped the children in. Even up on the horses, their feet were submerged. They each fell in and out of an uncomfortable sleep as the pier creaked like an old pirate ship on the high seas.

* * *

Somewhere around 3 a.m., the groaning of the metal Albatross rollercoaster grew louder.

“What’s that?” asked Salvatore.

“That’s the Albatross,” said Nancy.

There were the sounds of snapping metal and a loud crash, and the arcade shook.

“Hold on, everyone!” shouted Holbrook.

When the crashing stopped, Randy hopped off his horse, splashing into the water. He slogged through the seawater until he reached the barricade of classic cabinet games and peered through a gap, wind and water hitting his face. He rubbed his eyes to clear them.

“It’s the Albatross! She’s in the ocean! Half the pier’s gone!”

There were more creaks and sounds of wood snapping. The entire back of the arcade detached from the rest of it, and the ocean pulled the cabinets, pool tables, and poor Randy into its angry embrace.

Mike put his hand over his mouth in horror.

Dharma and Alessandra screamed.

Randy was lost.

* * *

Another day passed, and the storm at last subsided. Clinging to the carousel horses for dear life, the remaining survivors in the Blackbeard’s Pier Arcade were weary from sleep deprivation, a diet of candy and soda, and exposure to the elements.

What had made matters worse was that the pounding of the zombies outside never ceased. At times it had slowed, but it always returned full blast. In the daylight they could now see the searching fingers reaching under the hem of the bent security gates. Nancy wouldn’t allow the children to look at it.

Vinnie, Mike, and Holbrook dismounted their horses and went to the edge of the arcade. The water had receded, and the beach below was littered with debris.

And zombies.

They were everywhere. They reached upward for the humans hiding within the arcade.

“Son-of-a-bitch,” said Vinnie. “I swear there’s got to be more of them.”

There was the scraping of metal, and Alessandra screamed. All three men turned around to find the security gate being shoved off its track. Zombies wriggled in the gap, eyes wild, desperate to reach their prey.

Nancy and Dharma grabbed the children and pulled them off the carousel.

“We’re trapped!” said Vinnie.

“There’s a ladder to the roof!” said Nancy pointing to the right of the shooting gallery.