Zombie Games Book Five (End Zone) (23 page)

“You mean he took off again?” I asked.

“No, the entire truck disappeared. Into thin air,” said Carolyn. “Like ‘poof’.”

I bit my lower lip. “Believe it or not, it’s not as crazy as it may sound. There’s been a lot of weird stuff happening today.
I’m talking weirder then zombies.”

“Damn right,” said Tiny.

“Where are Kristie and the girls?” I asked.

“
They’re hiding in some clothing store. We should get back there,” said Tiny.

“You see Belinda’s car parked anywhere?” I asked, remembering what Bobby had said about her bringing him to the mall.

“That it?” asked Carolyn, pointing towards a black Sierra truck parked near the ramp.

“No,” I replied, thinking it looked familiar though. “But it almost looks like my grandparents. Oh my God! Maybe they’re here!” I started walking towards the truck. “I think that’s their license plate, but I can’t say for sure.”

“Wait for me,” said Justice, following me.

“Hey, are you Tiny the wrestler?” asked Rob
, as they began walking with us.

Tiny grinned. “I
guess you could say that I was.”

Rob held out his hand. “My son is one of your biggest fans. Hell, now he probably
is
your biggest fan now that there’s hardly anyone left.”

“You may be right,” said Tiny
, shaking it. “Your boy okay?”

“Yep, thank God. They’re back at the restaurant. You guys want to join us for a drink and some food, you’re welcome to,” said Rob.

“We might take you up on that,” said Tiny. “After we round the rest of our group up.”

“We planning on going back to Atlanta?” asked Justice.

“Yeah,” I replied, stopping in front of the truck. “I’ve got some things that I need to take care of. You know, I think this really might be my grandparent’s!”

“Maybe they have Allie,” said Justice.

“I hope so. Let’s go back inside the mall and take a look around,” I said.

“We’re going back to the restaurant now that we know you’re safe,” said Rob. “Like I said, s
top on over before you leave.  We’ve been talking it over and are starting to think it might be better if we joined up with your group.”

“It would be a good idea,” I said. “With all of the
looting and crime happening, the good guys are safer in numbers.”

“Hey, it’s Bryce,” said Justice,
looking past me.

I turned around to see Bryce walking out of the entrance to Nordstrom’s.
He stopped in his tracks, staring at me. The look on his face was of shock and disbelief.

“Cassie!” screamed Allie, running around him and towards
me. In the distance I could see my grandparents walking with Kristie, Paige, and Kylie.

I ran, meeting Allie
halfway. “Oh thank God!” I cried, wrapping my arms around her. “I thought something may have happened to you.”

“They said you were dead,” she cried, tears running down her face.

“You were,” said Bryce, in an accusing tone. I stopped next to us. “You were. I saw you fall into the hole with Bobby.”

I stepped away from Allie and put my arms around him. He was rigid and stiff. “Bryce…”

“No,” he said, pushing me away. “I saw you fall! This has to be some kind of illusion or trick.”

I grabbed his hand and put it to my cheek. “It’s me, Bryce. I swear to God. I’m not Travis or anyone else. I know what this looks like
but I’m telling you the truth.”

He looked into my eyes and I could tell he wanted to believe, but was too frightened.

“I love you,” I whispered, kissing the inside of his palm. “I have ever since that first moment you pissed me off during sparring, and I kicked your arrogant ass.”

His face crumpled. H
e pulled me into his arms. “Cassie,” he choked. “Thank God. I thought I’d lost you.”

“
Haven’t you learned yet that it’s not that easy to kill me,” I said, holding him tightly.

He snorted.

“I think this proves that I can pull my own weight,” I said. “Although, I shouldn’t take the credit this time. Bobby saved my life.”

“Bobby?”

I nodded.

“Where is he?” he asked, pulling away. He looked around. “Bobby?!”

“He had to stay, Bryce,” I said softly. “He was never meant to come back.”

He clenched his jaw. “No.”

“Yes,” I said, caressing the side of his face. I stared up into his eyes. “He sent me back to explain everything and to make sure that we had another chance. But, he didn’t suffer and he knew that
this
was his destiny. He knew it all along.”

The grief in his eyes broke my heart.

I pulled the back of his neck so our heads were together. “He saved the world, you know,” I whispered. “You should be very proud of him.”

“I am,”
he choked. I could feel his chest convulsing as he began to cry. “I am
so
proud of him. I just wish I would have told him that more often.”

I looked up into the sky and saw a shooting star. I smiled. “
He knows how you feel, Bryce. He knows.”

One Year Later

Cassie

“Don’t
answer it,” whispered Bryce. “Maybe they’ll go away.”

We were lying in
our hotel room, snuggling and goofing around. Now that most of the zombies had either died of starvation or execution, and nature had been restored, we were able to forget about the past for a while and enjoy the present.

“It could be Allie,” I whisper
ed back, pushing him away. I slid out of bed and grabbed my robe, thinking of my sister, who although was just down the hall, I still couldn’t help but miss. Since our wedding, I’d moved in with Bryce while she and Adria had moved in with Kristie and Tiny. There were times when I felt guilty about the living arrangements, but Kristie said it was for the best. That until my grandparents returned with our cousin, Victoria, it was better for her to live with them, especially now that Bryce and I were newlyweds.

“You look beautiful. Don’t cover up.”

I stared down at my pregnant stomach and sighed. “You’re just saying that because you think it’s a boy in this bubble.”

His
eyes softened. “It
has
to be a boy.”

I flipped my hair over my shoulder.
“Why do you keep saying that?”

“My mother always told me that baby girls take away their mother’s
looks when they’re pregnant, but you’re more beautiful than ever.”

“Okay, now you’re just saying that so we’ll finish what we started,” I said, blushing as his eyes appraised
the parts of me not covered by the robe.

He smiled seductively.
“I didn’t even think about that, but I’m all for finishing what we started.”

I rolled my eyes and walked, or rather
waddled
to the door.

“I need your help,” whis
pered Paige, smiling sheepishly when I the door open.

I stared down at the two gowns she held in her hands. “What are those
for?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You didn’t hear?”

“No, what?”

“
There’s going to be a prom! Next Friday.”

“What?”

“Since there are so many high school kids who’d missed it last year, the council has decided to hold a prom, to try and make life a little more… normal.”

The council, which included Tiny and Kristie, were a small group of survivors who’d been voted into decision-making positions for our ever-expanding
“bunker”. After moving back to Atlanta, more and more people had showed up at the hotel, until it had become obvious that we needed some kind of leadership. I’d thought that Kristie and Tiny had been the perfect candidates and had been ecstatic when they’d been chosen as part of the council.

“That’s great!” I said, looking at the two gowns. “Uh, let me guess, you’re going with Justice?
”

She smiled. “Yes. You should see the tux that we picked out for him. He looks so hot,” she gushed.
“Now I can’t wait to see what it looks like
off
of him.”

My jaw dropped. “Paige!”

She smirked. “Not that I haven’t already.”

I gasped. “You didn’t!”

She nodded and then squealed. “Last night… oh my God, it was so...”

“Ahem! I
hear you and I’m pretty sure the neighbors can too!” hollered Bryce.

I tried to keep a straight face.
“I like the blue one,” I said, changing the subject.

“I like that one too,” she said, blushing.

“Good. Now, I’ve got to get back to Bryce or he’s going to start getting cranky.”

“Oh, and we both know how intolerable that can be.
Have you thought of feeding him? I hear that works.”

I smiled.

“I heard that, too!” hollered Bryce.

“He already knocked you up,” she snorted. “Tell him to stop taking Henry’s Viagra.”

Bryce walked around the corner of the door, scowling. “Excuse me,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “This guy,” he pointed towards his pecs. “Needs no help in that area.”

“Obviously what you do need is a cold shower,” said Paige. “All
little
jokes aside,” she said with a wry smile. “Are you guys going to the prom?”

I looked up at Bryce, who was
still glowering. “Hmm… well, I never did get to go ours.”

“You want to?” he asked, turning to me.
“Because I’d be more than happy to take you.”

I looked down at my stomach. “Yes, but I doubt we’ll be able to find a dress that fits.”

“Not a problem,” said Paige. “You just need to tell me what color you want and Belinda said she’d help make you a dress.”

I winced. “Belinda?”

She smiled. “Relax, you’re pregnant. She can’t make it too… vulgar looking.”

“
Okay, but make sure it’s not animal print. Please,” I said, remembering how much Belinda obsessed over leopard patterns. I loved Belinda but where she liked revealing tops and skin-tight pants, I wanted things covered up, especially now that I was curvy in places I’d never been before. Even my rear looked like two water balloons.

“Oh I don’t know,” said Bryce. “I wouldn’t mind
seeing you in something tight and sassy.”

I elbowed him in the stomach. “Not going to happen.”

“I’ll make sure that she doesn’t go that route,” said Paige.

“Cool.
Speaking of Belinda, how’s Kallie been doing?” I asked. “I haven’t seen her that much lately.”

Paige smiled.
“Great. Belinda spoils the crap out of her.”

“Good,” I said, smiling
in relief. “I’m glad. I felt bad that she couldn’t stay with us….”

“Kallie understand
s and to be honest, I think that she adores Belinda. It was the best thing for both of them. Don’t sweat it.”

After brin
ging Kallie back from the monastery, it was decided that taking care of her on my own was too much of a responsibility. So, after a couple of months, she moved into Belinda’s hotel room.

“Good.”

“Okay, bye Paige,” said Bryce, waving as he tried pulling me back into our room.

“Pink or blue?” asked Paige.
‘What color should I tell her you’d like?”

“Green?” I hollered as he slammed the door.

“Jerk,” mumbled Paige through the door.

“What
’d she say?” he asked.

I pulled him to
wards the bed. “She said ‘sure’.”

He smirked. “Right.”

***

Unfortunately, we missed the prom, only because our son arrived an hour before the festivities. It was a long labor but when I held him in my arms for the first time, all of the pain, the agony, and my profanity were pretty much forgotten. At least on my part. Bryce, on the other hand, would probably never look at me the same after the names I’d called him.

“He looks like you,” I said, staring at his scrunched up face.

“Damn right. He’s a handsome little dude,” said Bryce, sitting next to me by the bed. “What did you expect?”

“I guess I should expect cockiness and a little attitude when he’s older, too?”

“Don’t forget impulsive and stubborn,” he replied with a smirk. “Just like mom.”

“Crap, we’re in trouble, aren’t we?”

“Was there ever a doubt after seeing the plus sign?”