Undead Ultra (A Zombie Novel) (31 page)

“The windshield’s gonna give!” Frederico yells.

Dammit. I unbuckle my seat belt and roll the window down. Sticking my torso out the opening, I shout, “Hey! Hey zombie!”

The beast snarls, clawing his way toward me. I aim my spike for his head. Closer . . . just a bit closer . . . one more inch . . .

“Come and get me, you dead fuck!”

I jab the spike downward. At the same moment, Frederico swerves. I flail, scrabbling the keep from flying out of the car. My stake falls out of my hand, hits the hood, and bounces away.

The zombie snatches my wrist, which only seconds before had been armed with a spike. With a wild cry, I grab his hair with my free hand. His teeth gnash as he strains against me, trying to crawl closer. I tighten my grip in his unkempt, greasy locks, pushing as hard as I can against his skull.

He might be dead, and he might be skinny, but goddammit, he’s stronger than me. Millimeter by millimeter, he draws closer to my flesh.

“Fuuuuuck!” I shrill.

“Incoming!” Frederico cries. “Hold on, Kate!”

I have just enough time to brace my feet against the floor and push my butt into the door before Frederico swerves wildly to the left. He misses three zombies, but hits a fourth. The car bucks as it rolls over the body. Bile rises in my throat.

Teeth brush my skin. I scream, pushing on biker zombie’s head with all my might. His teeth continue to gnash, the tips brushing my skin.

And then the Cheetos make another grand exit, spraying out of my mouth. The vomit hits biker zombie in the face and sprays my captive wrist and hand.

My skin instantly becomes slippery. His grip loosens and he begins to slide away. Frederico whips the car around two more zombies and biker zombie at last goes flying.

Chapter 42

Nothing But the Dead

Saved by vomit.

That’s a new one. Who would have thought ultramarathon digestive issues would save my life?

Shaking from the near miss, I drop back inside the car.

“You okay?” Frederico’s voice is loud with panic. “Did it bite you?”

“I’m okay.” I wipe bits of vomit from my hand onto the upholstery of the car. “Fucker couldn’t hold on to me once I puked on him.”

“Thank god.” Frederico lets out a breath, sinking back into the seat. He opens his mouth to say more, then abruptly lets out a peal of hysterical laughter. “Way to go, Jackalope.”

I give him a weak smile in return.

We exit the tiny town of Laytonville—population of 1,027, according to the sign at the city’s northern perimeter—with several dozen zombies behind us.

“The car was a bad option,” I say, staring back through the rear window. “It drew too much attention.”

“There were no good options,” Frederico replies. “We took the only one that made sense at the time.”

“Where’s the bar where Aleisha works?”

“A mile or so out of town.”

I chew on my lower lip. “We have to lose the undead assholes before we get there. Any ideas?”

“Ditch the car and figure out a way to rig the horn?”

I roll this over in my mind, watching the zombies pursue us. There isn’t a lot to slow them down. The road is uncluttered and mostly straight. Many of them run, managing a decent speed despite being blind. They still trip and fall, but the lucky bastards don’t register pain and are always back on their feet in seconds.

“What if we just ditch the car and leave the motor running?” I ask. “Blare the radio like we did in Cloverdale?”

“Good idea.” He glances in the rearview mirror. “We have to do it now, before we get closer to the bar.”

“Okay.” I tug on the straps of my running pack, mentally readying myself for another sprint, then flip on the radio. Country music fills the car. My hand hovers over the volume knob, ready to blast the twangy tune. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s do this,” Frederico says through gritted teeth.

Adrenaline surges through me as Frederico jerks the car to the side of the road. I turn the volume to max, then throw open the door and rocket out of the seat.

I pump my arms, shoes grinding in the grit of the road margin as I break into a sprint. Though I’m tired and my muscles are fatigued from the long run, fear pushes all that to the periphery. I drive myself forward. I veer onto the asphalt, feet finding better traction for my shoes.

Frederico bails out on the other side and streaks up the road. We fall into step beside one another as soon as we clear the car. Pine trees rise on either side of us, lining the road like sentinels.

Two hundred fifty yards down the road, I risk a glance over my shoulder. The first of the zombies have reached the car. They claw at the glass windows, snarling and baring their teeth.

“It’s working,” I gasp. “The music is drawing them–”

“Oh,
fuck
.”

I whip my head around. A handful of zombies is lumbering down the road. There are three soldiers and four rough-looking men in black leather that make me think they were bikers when they were alive.

Dammit. We’d been so worried about the zombies
behind
us that we hadn’t considered zombies in
front
of us.

“We drew them out,” Frederico hisses. “They must have come from Aleisha’s bar.”

“We need to hide.” I snag his sleeve and haul him sideways into the trees.

Our feet sink into the thick hummus of the soil as we run. We jog one hundred yards into the forest and drop down behind a copse of trees and ferns.

We peer toward the road. The biker and soldier zombies run past us, never turning in our direction. I let out a sigh of relief.

“We dodged that bullet,” I whisper. “We—”

The soft snap of a branch is the only warning we have. Something big and smelly barrels into me as I jerk toward the sound.

I scream before I can stop myself as a man smacks into Frederico and me. He’s dressed from head-to-toe in military fatigues and hits us from the side. I twist, desperately trying to find purchase for my hands. I slam into the dirt, a fallen branch digging painfully into my arm and ribcage.

At first I think it’s a zombie, but my eyes meet those of my attacker’s. They’re black and bore into me with frenetic intensity that tell me he’s very much alive. A dirty hand covers my mouth.

“What the hell are you guys doing out here?” he hisses. “Do you idiots have a death wish?”

Frederico takes a wild swing, connecting with the man’s jaw.

“Son of a bitch.” The soldier lashes back with his own punch, stunning Frederico. A gun materializes in his hand. He cocks the safety and presses the barrel against my forehead.

The inside of my mouth turns to cotton. There’s a slight tremor in his hand that’s more unnerving than the cold metal against my skin. Frederico freezes.

“Up,” says the soldier, the word falling from his mouth like a tremulous stone. He shifts his body weight and Frederico slowly—cautiously—gets to his feet.

“Back the fuck up.”

Frederico obeys, expression wild as his eyes ping-pong between me and the soldier.

“Over there.” The soldier uses the gun to motion to a tree ten feet away. His words never go above a whisper. He keeps me pinned to the ground.

Frederico hesitates. The soldier’s mouth thins. The barrel of the gun presses harder against my forehead. His tremble travels along its length.

“Do as he says,” I rasp.

Frederico retreats, never taking his eyes from me.

“That’s better.” The pressure of the gun eases against my forehead. “What are you doing out here?”

I swallow. “I don’t think you’d believe me if we told you.”

“Try me. I’ve seen some weird shit.”

“The last person we told tried to kill us.”

The soldier considers us, then abruptly releases me. He stands, keeping the gun in hand. I sit up, rubbing at my forehead where the gun’s muzzle had been.

“I was only trying to help,” the soldier says. “It’s a deathtrap out here.”

I resist the urge to tell him that body slamming two people to the ground isn’t a way to instill trust. He’s young, I realize. Couldn’t be much older than twenty-two or twenty-three.

“We’re looking for our kids,” I tell him, carefully inching closer to Frederico.

The soldier shakes his head, sympathy flashing in his eyes. “Laytonville is overrun by those—those
things
.”

“Zombies?” I supply.

He hesitates, then nods.

“My friend’s daughter lives in Laytonville,” I say. “We’re trying to find her.”

“You two should find some place to hide until all
this,
” he gestures broadly with the gun, “blows over. My platoon was sent here to erect a road barricade, to keep infected people from spreading south. We were overrun at the far end of town. A few of us got away . . . I’m the only survivor now.”

In his black eyes, I see a young man not much older than Carter. He wants to show us that he’s in charge, when in fact the world is in a tailspin. Slamming us to the ground was his way of trying to make order in a shit storm.

“My daughter works at Rod’s Roadhouse,” Frederico says. “Any . . .” He trails off as the soldier pales.

“Nothing but the dead at Rod’s Roadhouse,” he says, voice catching. “I just left . . . I’m just heading south to Ukiah. Their blockade is holding. You should come with me.”

I shake my head. “My son is in Arcata. I have to go north.”

If possible, the young man pales even more. He opens his mouth, then closes it again.

“What do you know?” The mom in me surfaces, my voice taking on a no-nonsense, answer-me-now tone.

“Just—just snatches.” He fingers the black radio on his belt. “I had to turn it off so it wouldn’t attract
them
. But Eureka, Arcata . . . it’s bad.”

“Bad?” Tension shoots up my spine. “What do you mean by
bad
?”

Frederico squeezes my arm. “Keep your voice down.”

I force a lower whisper. “What do you mean by bad?”

The soldier licks his lips. “Both towns are overrun by
them
. Military survivors have been told to retreat to the south and reinforce the Ukiah blockade.”

Carter.
I thump back against the nearest tree, feeling bleak.

“You’re too late,” Frederico says to the soldier. “We saw zombies in Healdsburg this morning. There’s no place safe.”

The soldier’s lips part. No words come out. Our harsh breathing fills the silence. In the distance, the country music blares through the trees.

Then I hear other sounds: a moan and a snarl, both of them much closer than I’d like. I peek around the copse of trees.

Despite our attempts to be quiet, we’ve managed to draw the attention of two military zombies. They’re moving through the forest in our direction.

“John and Zach,” the soldier says, voice leaden as he stares at the approaching zombies.

“We have to move.” I hesitate, then say to the soldier, “Come with us.”

I don’t relish the idea of bringing him with us, but I’m afraid if he leaves us he’ll do something stupid and get himself eaten, or worse.

“I have to go to Ukiah.” His black eyes fix on the approaching zombies.

“You need to keep yourself alive.” Frederico clasps his shoulder, giving him a gentle shove in a northward direction. “Kate’s right. You should come with us.”

He breaks into a lope. I fall into step beside him. I don’t like the idea of thrashing through the trees, but the zombies are between us and the road. What choice do we have?

The soldier follows us. His eyes are wide and wild, but he manages to put one foot in front of the other. I wish he’d put the gun away, but now isn’t the time to argue about it.

We stumble across what looks like a deer path. I jump onto it, figuring it to be better for speed and silence.

I’m right. The noise of our passage nearly disappears with the firm path beneath our feet. The zombies slow in their pursuit, turning their heads as they attempt to track us.

We run another fifty yards. I put a hand on Frederico’s arm and signal him to stop. The car music continues to blare in the distance.

Thirty seconds tick by. Sixty.

The soldier zombies turn, attention tracking back toward the road and the car. I exhale with relief as they lumber away.

“The deer path goes north,” Frederico says. “Let’s follow it as far as we can toward the bar.”

I nod, then glance at the soldier. His breathing is ragged. He clutches the gun to his chest like it’s a lifeline. Thank god the safety is on.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Alvarez.”

I figure this must be his last name, but it’ll work for now. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kate. This is Frederico.”

“We’re two crazy fucks who want to find our kids,” Frederico says. “Don’t get in our way and you can stay with us.”

His curtness tells me just how on edge he is. He breaks into a lope, leading us onward. The deer path zigzags through the woods, meandering in a northward direction. Twenty minutes later, the trees begin to thin.

“Do you see that?” I ask. “Is that a building up ahead?”

“Yeah.” His jaw tightens. “That’s Rod’s Roadhouse. Where Aleisha works. I recognize it from Google Earth.”

“You don’t want to go there,” Alvarez says. “They’re all dead. I was—”

“Shut the fuck up.” Each word falls from Frederico like a stone. The ferocious gleam in his eyes makes Alvarez clutch his gun a bit more tightly.

I squeeze the young man’s shoulder and give him what I hope is a reassuring smile. His upper lip is beaded with sweat, and he won’t meet my eye. Bringing him along may have been a mistake, but what choice did we have? He’s just a scared kid.

We slow to a walk. Details of Rob’s Roadhouse materialize as we draw near.

There are bodies in the gravel parking lot. Some in biker leathers, some in regular clothes, and a few in military fatigues. I see two military jeeps, at least a dozen motorcycles, and a few cars. Alvarez licks his lips, eyes glued to the scene.

The wood siding of the bar has faded over the years to a washed out brown. Patches of graffiti have been painted over with different colored paint, making the outside look like a schizophrenic patchwork.
Rod’s Roadhouse
, once a big white sign with red lettering, is now faded and pitted with holes and cracks. The “d” is missing completely, making it look like
Ro’s Roadhouse
. There are no windows, just double wooden doors that look like they were hijacked from a bad seventies movie.