The Zombie Zovels (Book 1): Zombie Suburbia (12 page)

I stepped away and picked up my bag. “I'll see you in a bit.”
He licked his lips, still watching me, and I had to look away first. I was scared my feet would betray
me and walk me straight back into his arms.
I found the shower room, which consisted of four showers and two rows of toilet cubicles.
I stripped off and started washing, it was cold, but it was better than the river. I lifted my foot up to
inspect it, the cut didn't look any worse, but then I felt bad for kissing Lane. What if I was infected
and I'd already passed it on to him?
I dried myself down and got dressed, feeling guilty for kissing Lane in the first place, it would only
encourage his behavior.
After I was dressed I went back downstairs and found Lane waiting for me in the corridor. I
dropped my bag off in the sleeping area and we spent the next thirty minutes getting to know
everyone before the generators were turned off. During this time, the inside of the Lab was pitch
black in certain areas, so most of the group trickled outside, with the help of Carmen who was keen
to get us all outside. There was a basketball hoop set up around the back and Lane joined in their
friendly game while I sat on a crate beside Carmen. The two pregnant girls kept to themselves,
Tammy stood on her own, the older one woman, Marina, sat on a bench sewing, and the other two
girls didn't join us, I couldn't even see them anywhere, which was weird, because when I counted
the group, there were two guys missing from the numbers as well.
Hmm, maybe they're patrolling. Maybe it's a coincidence.
I thought.
When we were allowed back inside, I wandered back to the girls' room. I found one of the other
girls in there pulling on her clothes hastily, she looked a little flushed.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded and quickly pushed past me in the doorway.
“Hey, Alex,” Carmen called from down the corridor.
I walked back to her.
“Marina's going to show you how we wash the clothes, and afterward, you can help Amy and Jo in
the kitchen.”
“Um, okay.”
Do I have a choice?
I had only been here for three hours, but I was starting to see how things worked.

I helped serve dinner, which didn't take long. All I had to do was hand out packets of food and place
the cutlery on the tables while Amy and Jo handed out water bottles to everyone. I joined Lane and
we sat by ourselves.
“How pregnant is she?” Lane asked, eyeing Jo, who was the larger of the two pregnant girls.
“Only seven months.”
“She's huge.” Lane whispered.
“Maybe she's got more than one in there, it's not like anyone knows, there's not a Doctor here.”
I chewed on a mouthful of the strange mush, that came in a white packet, trying to work out what it
actually tasted of, then after another mouthful I decided it was weirdly tasteless, yet, it still managed
to taste disgusting, there was no other way to describe it.
“What did you do this afternoon?” I asked.
“Hung out in the games room.”
“With who?”
“Um, with Scottie, a guy called, Trevor,” He pointed at a table where Trevor was sitting.
Trevor had been one of the two missing guys from the basketball game. “and Ron.” Lane added.
“Well, while you've been hanging out with your new buddies, I've been scrubbing dirty undies and
listening to Amy and Jo chatting about their birth plans and baby names.”
Lane smirked. “It's not funny, Lane. You don't see what's happening here.”
“Sure I do, you've gotta earn your keep. I think Dom's got it right, putting the ladies to work while
the men take care of security.”
“I actually want to punch you right now. Do you even know what earn your keep means in this
place?”
He ignored me and shoved another mouthful of mushy crap into his mouth. He scrunched up his
nose and swallowed, his face said everything, it tasted rank, but I wasn't about to complain out loud.
“Dom's going to let me patrol with Tim and Ron tomorrow.”
I let it go, Lane thought this place was amazing. Someone plopped down in the seat next to me, I
turned to see Scottie smiling back at me.
“How you two getting on?” he asked.
“It's um, it's...”
“Awesome here.” Lane finished for me.
Of course he thought this was awesome, anything that didn't involve sleeping in a tree was
awesome to Lane.
“It's really nice here.” I smiled back at Scottie.
“Scottie!” Carmen yelled from across the room.
“Ah, sorry, sis wants me.” he said, standing, picking up his food packet and spoon.
“Carmen's your sister?” I said.
“Step-sister.” he said, before walking away.
“Step-sister? Didn't Dom spank her ass in the corridor earlier?” Lane said frowning.
“I'm guessing she has a different father.”
Lane pulled a face trying to figure it out.
“Scottie's dad obviously married Carmen's mom, it's not rocket science, Lane.”
“All right, Alex, there's no need to be a bitch about it.”
“I wasn't.”
“Whatever! Why don't we go and sit at Dominic's table?”
“No thanks,” I said.
Lane abruptly stood up and I looked up at him.
“What are you doing?”
“If you wanna be unsociable and be a complete bitch, that's fine, but I actually like it here and I
want to socialize. This is exactly why you had no friends in high school, you never wanted to join
in.” he said, pushing his seat back in.
“I had friends.” I mumbled, but Lane was already out of earshot.
His seat didn't remain empty for long.
“Where's he going?” Tammy asked.
I turned around and watched Lane as he took a seat next to Carmen.
I caught Dominic staring at me, and a chill went down my spine.
“He's making friends,” I said, turning back around and unscrewing my water bottle. “He's good at
that.” I added.
Tammy shoveled another load of mush into her mouth, and rolled it around inside her mouth for
longer than necessary, not enjoying it by the look of it. We finished our food in silence. I didn't
mind, though.
When we had finished dinner it was Tammy's turn to wash up the cutlery and I stayed behind to
help her. She wasn't a big talker, she talked briefly about where she was from and how she had
ended up at the Lab. Her story sounded a lot like mine, drifting from place to place on her own,
trying to find somewhere safe until she eventually ended up here.
After the washing up was done, we cleaned the kitchen area down together. Tammy swept the floor
and I dried the cutlery and placed it back in the drawer. One of the spoons got away from me and
landed on the floor. I crouched down to retrieve it, just as Tammy went to sweep the floor in front of
me.
“Sorry,” she said.
We both laughed. I reached over to pick up the spoon and spotted dark marks around Tammy's left
ankle. She was wearing small slip on shoes, no socks with three-quarter length leggings, exposing
her ankle area.
She caught me looking and quickly moved away and swept a different area.
It looked like something had been rubbing on her ankle, it didn't look like an old wound either. I
wanted to ask, but she busied herself throwing all the empty water bottles into a garbage bag,
avoiding me.
I decided to let it go. Maybe I could ask her about it later. We left the kitchen and found most of the
group playing games in the games room/staff room. Three of them were involved in a game of
twister on the floor and four guys were sat around a table playing what looked like poker, in the
middle of the table I saw a packet of cookies, three packs of cigarettes, a chocolate bar, and a can of
soda.
I spotted Lane in the kitchen area at the back, Carmen was sat on the counter top, and they looked
deep in conversation. I imagined he was probably telling her how horrible I had been to him over
the months, how I rationed his food, how I made him sleep in a tree... and how I wouldn't snuggle.
Give me a break!
I wandered back to the room where I would be sleeping and organized my sleeping area. I found my
toiletries and used the bathroom to freshen up and brush my teeth, then I changed out of my boots
and jeans. As I was folding my clothes, Amy and Jo (the pregnant duo) walked in and started
arranging their sleeping bags.
I slipped inside mine not bothering to even say goodnight to anyone... or Lane, he hadn't even
noticed I'd stayed behind to help Tammy. I listened to Amy and Jo talking about how much weight
they wanted to lose after they had had their babies.
I soon figured out the way the girls divided themselves. Amy and Jo in the corner, obsessed with
how pregnant they were, I wondered if either one of them knew who the father was. Marina was the
oldest, early forties, she liked sewing, and had had her nose in a book for most of the day. Then
there was Carmen, who followed her step-dad, Dom, around like a love sick puppy. I wasn't sure
what was going on there. Tammy kept to herself and didn't talk to anyone if she didn't have to, and
the last two girls, Rhianna and Kara, whispered between themselves most of the time, like they had
their own secret club. It was like high school all over again.
“Lights out in ten,” Carmen said, poking her head around the door and clapping her hands, before
disappearing again.
I wedged my hoodie and jacket under my head to create a pillow and tried to get comfortable. I was
still deciding if this was comfier than the tree when the lights went out.
Amy switched a flashlight on and finished whatever it was she was doing.
I closed my eyes, listening to Amy and Jo still nattering. I rolled around for a good thirty minutes,
onto my back, onto my side, I couldn't get comfortable no matter what I did. Around 9 pm the room
was quiet, except for Jo's snoring, and I thought Lane was a loud snorer.
I stayed in my sleeping bag until 10.40pm, Amy made countless trips to the bathroom and I noticed
two of the sleeping bags were empty. Carmen and Tammy were missing.
I suddenly realized I was bursting for the toilet. I wriggled out of my sleeping bag and carefully
tiptoed around the other sleeping bags, and out the door. On the floor in the corridor were three
small flashlights, I bent over to pick one up when I heard whispering.
I didn't switch the flashlight on and instead, I crept along the corridor toward the whispers.
I carefully peeked around the corner. Dominic had Carmen pressed up against the wall, with her leg
up around his waist as he held onto her thigh, she looked to be only wearing a long T-shirt.
Oh, my...
“Where were you the other night?” Dominic asked.
“I told you, Amy didn't feel well, I was in the bathroom with her.”
“Are you lying?”
“No, of course not.”
“You weren't with Maxwell were you?”
“No, I definitely wasn't with Maxwell. Anyway, I saw the way you looked at the new girl,” Carmen
said.
“And you're not interested in Lane? You were all over him this evening.”
Carmen laughed softly. “He's not my type, and I was only doing it to get your attention.”
“You always have my attention, Carmen.”
“But you like her,”
“Maybe, it's not every day we get a new girl arrive on our doorstep.”
Carmen made a whining sound.
“You're still my favorite Carmy-Baby,”
Eww! This is disgusting!
“You're still gonna want to bed her, it's the same whenever a new girl turns up here. I know what
you're like.”
“Do you?”
“Yes, and I know exactly what you like.” Carmen said in a seductive tone.
Dominic grabbed her roughly causing her to gasp, then he forcefully pressed his lips to hers, and I
made a quick exit, having seen enough.
I ambled down the corridor and up the stairs to the bathroom, pleased I had a flashlight. This place
was one step away from looking like something from a scary horror movie.
I used the toilet and splashed cold water on my cheeks, then I smelt smoke.
I followed the smell over to the shower area and found Tammy sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“You found me.” she said.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Can't sleep. You want one?” she asked, holding a cigarette packet out to me.
“No, I don't smoke.”
“Your friend smokes.”
“Like a chimney!” I said.
“Tell him to keep his smokes close, they'll disappear in this place. Same goes for the stuff in your
bag, things have a habit of going missing.”
“You came all the way up here to have a secret smoke?”
“That and Jo's snoring was driving me mad.”
I laughed and scooted closer. “What's the deal with Carmen?”
“You mean what's up with her and her sicko step-dad?”
“Um, well, I wasn't going to word it quite like that.”
“I don't really know, Dom does what he wants. It wasn't always like that, it started happening a few
months ago, he got jealous of her and Maxwell.”
“So she and Maxwell are a thing?”
“Not Maxwell...” she said before taking a drag.
I was going to ask who, but Tammy waved a flask in the air.
“What's that?” I asked.
“My secret stash. Don't tell anyone or I'll have it confiscated. Minors aren't allowed guns or alcohol
in this place.”
“But everything else goes?”
“Yup, you got it.”
“How old are you?” I asked, taking the flask and unscrewing the cap.
“I was eighteen last week, you?”
“Um... eighteen and a half. I had to think about that, it's not something I've been asked in a while.”
“So you and Lane are
married
?” I knew by the way she said it she didn't believe it.
I took a sip and felt the burn at the back of my throat. I cleared my throat and looked at her sitting in
the shadows.
“Will it make a difference?”
“You mean if they think you're married?”
I nodded, not sure if she could see me or not.
“Maybe,” she replied anyway. “Maybe not. Dom usually gets whatever he wants.” she said, shifting
around.
I didn't even want to ask. I could just imagine what she had been through. I pulled off my sock and
scratched my foot that felt itchy and sore.
Tammy flicked her flashlight on and shone it on my foot.
“What's wrong with your foot?” she asked before I got a chance to cover it.
“It's nothing,”
“It doesn't look like nothing.”
“I trod on a piece of glass.”
“And...”
“And it's still sore.”
“Let me see,”
I showed her my foot, hoping she wouldn't run off and tell someone.
“When did it happen?”
“Last night.”
“Well, you're not going to turn into a zombie.”
“I never said I was.” I said.
“I heard you and Lane talking before, when you first arrived at the Lab, you know, right after Dom
made you strip to your undies.”
“Err...”
“Don't worry I won't tell anyone.”
“Where were you hiding?” I asked.
“Behind the locker cabinet and the tall glass case.”
“Huh?”
“Just be careful in the future, this place has eyes and ears everywhere.”
“How do you know it's not infected? You obviously heard Lane and me talking about it.”
“If you get bitten or scratched, within hours the wound usually gets this nasty yellow crust around it
and you'd smell it, and if you get their blood in your system you usually start experiencing
headaches, stomach cramps, or vomiting within a few hours, have you had any of those
symptoms?”
“Nope.”
“Then I think you're going to live.”
“So I'm not going to turn into a zombie,”
“No,” Tammy laughed. “How did this happen anyway?”
“I was fighting zombies, barefoot, in the dark, and I happened to tread on a piece of glass.”
“That sounds really hardcore.” she said, stubbing her cigarette out and moving closer to me, then
she took my foot in both hands to have a closer look.
“It was Lane's fault, he decided to take a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night.”
“Well, I've got some antiseptic cream downstairs, but I'm not sure if you haven't still got a piece of
glass in there.”
“Really?” I said, twisting my foot around to have another look.
“Yup, I think there's a slither still in there. Stay here, if Dom sees that he might lock you in a room
on your own. I'll be back in a minute, we've got a First Aid kit with some tweezers.” she said,
stepping over my legs.
“Your flask,” I said, holding it up to her.
“Hold onto it for me until I get back, I don't want anyone to catch me with it.”
I nodded and leaned back against the wall.
I watched her flashlight dart around the floor as she walked away, then I heard the door open and
close when she left. I waited for a couple of minutes, hoping I could trust her. I took another sip and
decided I didn't even like the stuff. I screwed the cap back on and heard the door open and close
again. I waited for Tammy to walk around the corner, but she didn't. I heard shuffling along the
floor, and a few cubicle doors swung open.
I slowly stood up and peered around the corner, but didn't see anyone.
What if Tammy is lying? What if she told Dom and he's come up here to catch me?