Zombie Games (19 page)

“Careful driving,” mumbled Bryce.

Zombies were definitely getting more ferocious as we drove through the parking lot. The smell of blood was drawing more of them towards the hospital and now there were hundreds attacking each other.

“How in the hell do we get out of here?” growled Kristie.

“I guess now is as good of time as any,” said Austin as he opened up his window and leaned out. “Get ready.”

He launched the grenade at a crowd of zombies blocking our path. Less than ten seconds later, body parts were falling from the sky and landing on the SUV.

“Drive!” yelled Bryce.

Kristie hit the gas and we drove over the remaining mutilated zombies, all of us bouncing around in the SUV.

Eva closed her eyes. “Lord help us,” she said softly.

Another group of zombies were coming straight for us and Austin threw another one, clearing the path yet again with a loud explosion.

“Yes! Well, thank God Austin decided to come with us. Otherwise we’d of had a hell of a time getting through these bastards,” said Kristie.

Bryce looked out the window and mumbled something expletive.

When we finally made it out of the zombie infested parking lot, I wanted to scream for joy. But I knew we weren’t out of danger yet. Zombies were still wandering the streets, looking more aggravated and alert than ever.

“What’s going on with these guys?” asked Kristie. “They seem like they’re in some kind of frenzy or something.”

“They are,” said Austin. “They need blood to sustain and if they’re not getting it, they actually become more violent and ferocious. Once they start to lose more of their body mass though, they’ll eventually slow down.

“Great,” I sighed.

“What makes you an expert on these things?” asked Bryce.

Austin shrugged. “Bits and pieces of things I’d heard from other soldiers. They’ve been studying their behaviors.”

“Do they know for sure if you’ll turn into one if you’re bit?” asked Eva.

He nodded. “They believe you will. Some of the people who’ve been bitten are showing signs of very erratic behavior, similar to the zombies. Some have just… died,” he said, his voice getting quieter as he glanced at me.

I looked out the window and sighed heavily. It sounded pretty hopeless for my sister. I was thankful that my mom was with her, but I could only imagine the agony she was going through in Atlanta. I only wished I could get out there somehow so she wouldn’t have to face it alone.

When we’d finally made it back to my house everything seemed surreal. There weren’t any zombies wandering in the neighborhood or even the yard, just a shiny black GMC Sierra parked in our driveway.

“Were you expecting company?” asked Bryce getting out.

I shook my head and ran up the steps. As I put my hand on the doorknob, it burst open and I gasped in surprise.

“Daddy!” I screamed, jumping into his arms.

“Oh, thank God,” he replied, holding me tightly.

“Where’ve you been?” I cried.

He put me down and grimaced. “It’s a long story. Let’s just say the traffic was bad coming home.”

I smiled and wiped the tears from my face.

“Did you…did you find anything out about your mom or sister?” he asked sadly.

We went inside and I told him everything I knew while he sat in silence. When I was finished he didn’t say a word, he just stood up and went downstairs.

“He needs some time,” said Kristie softly.

I nodded. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to my room to be alone for a while.”

Bryce squeezed my hand as I stood up. “Let me know if you need me, Wild.”

On my way to my bedroom I stopped into the kitchen for some water. Eva was sitting alone at the counter, staring at her clasped hands. She looked up. “Oh, it’s you. Tell me, what…what do we do now?” she asked, her face a mess of tears and makeup. 

I was about to respond when my dad stepped into the kitchen. He was dressed in military camouflage and carrying two very impressive rifles that I’d never seen before. The determined look in his eyes gave me the chills.

“What next?” he asked setting the guns down. “We go find them, all of them.”

“But is it safe?” I breathed.

He looked at me. “Cassie, we’re a family and I won’t be apart from any of you, ever again. We’re going to Atlanta as soon as possible.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Oh yes,” he said, a half-crazed look in his eyes. He lifted one of the guns back up and smiled humorlessly. “Let the games begin…”

Author’s Note

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this book. I understand there are many Zombie stories out there, but I hope this one stands out a little differently. Please review it and let me know what you think, especially if you were pleased!

Although the book is fiction, I have two daughters, Cassie and Allie. I also run a daycare out of my home in Minnesota. My oldest, Cassie, is not quite a teenager but she does take her karate lessons seriously and little Allie still runs around in her pink cowboy boots and tutu, antagonizing Cassie whenever she gets a chance.

Thank you again for your support.

Kristen Middleton

Zombie Games

Book 2

Running Wild

By Kristen Middleton

Copyright ©2012

Chapter One

Like most children growing up, I was afraid of the dark. Or, rather, what was lurking in it. Every night I’d insist on having a nightlight in my room and beg my mother to keep my bedroom door open. Most nights she’d be tucking me into bed, reassuring me that there weren’t any boogiemen hiding under it, nor were there any monsters watching from outside my window. When that wasn’t enough to satisfy me, she’d sigh wearily, look me straight in the eye and say, “Wild One, your daddy will shoot anyone or anything that tries to harm you, so please, just go back to sleep.”

That statement made perfect sense to me; my daddy
had
lots of guns and he certainly knew how to use them. So, I’d finally relax and fall asleep, content with the fact that he wouldn’t let anything harm me or my sister. Little did I know that my mother’s promise would someday come back to haunt us; when we’d discover that there were indeed monsters and that daddy was only human; he couldn’t protect his daughters every second of the day. This rang especially true when the zombies arrived in Wolf Creek and all hell broke loose.

~~~

It had been only four days since our lives were completely shattered. An untested flu vaccine had basically killed most of the population; leaving in its wake horrors that fed upon the rest of us who were struggling to survive. Now, many of my loved ones were missing, including my mother and younger sister, Allie. My dad and I were in the process of preparing to search for them; apparently my sister had been attacked by a zombie and mom had taken her to the only place she could think of for help; the CDC (Centers For Disease  Control and Prevention) in Atlanta, Georgia. Miraculously, some scientists were still alive, racing to fix the mayhem they’d helped to create. Now, they were our only hope.     

“Cassie!” called my father from the kitchen, which was just down the hall.

I opened my eyes. “Hold on, I’m coming!” 

I was in my bedroom lying down with Goldie, a young Golden Retriever puppy I’d helped to rescue a couple days before. She’d worn herself out by getting into my closet and tearing up some of my old stuffed animals. Not that I cared much; she gave me something I needed right now, a reason to smile. Watching her play made it happen every time.

I crawled out of my bed and glanced back at her. “You coming with, girl?”

She stretched out her front paws, then jumped off the bed and followed me out to the kitchen.

“Hey,” I said.

My dad looked up. He was sitting at the kitchen table cleaning some of his guns. Bryce, who’s my karate instructor and the guy I’m hopelessly in lust with, sat across from him, helping.

“So, this is the plan,” said my dad. There were dark shadows underneath his brown eyes and wisps of silvery gray hair near his temples that seemed to have sprouted overnight. “All three of us are going back to my dealership to pick up a suitable vehicle for the trip to Atlanta. I’m thinking a Suburban or and Escalade would be the best bet.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Why can’t we just save time and take the truck you brought home yesterday? That thing would plow through zombies like nothing.”

My dad had borrowed a Chevy Sierra from the car dealership he works for. He’d been MIA during the initial zombie attacks and I’d almost given up on him until he surprised us all by making it home yesterday.

He smiled at my last comment. “Plow through zombies, huh? Well that may be so, but it’s not big enough to hold everyone. There are what…six of us going? And you can’t forget the two dogs. We certainly can’t leave them behind.”

“Six of us?” I asked.

“Bobby and I are coming with,” replied Bryce, “and don’t forget your personal bodyguard, Austin.”

Bryce was coming with
? I tried not to squeal in pleasure, on account of my dad. He wasn’t aware of my feelings for Bryce and knowing him, wouldn’t be too fond of the idea. My dad was over-protective and didn’t think anyone was good enough for me. Bryce was keeping his distance as well. He’d already expressed mixed feelings about starting a relationship with someone who was three years younger and one of his karate students.  His mentors had been strictly against involving one’s self with a student, and Bryce had even received a tongue lashing about flirting with me from the Karate Master a few days before. It hadn’t stopped either of us in weak moments of passion however; we’d shared a few hot and steamy kisses; ones that had left my knees weak and my heart doing flip flops.

“Oh, well, that’s nice,” I said simply.

Just then Eva entered the kitchen, who I’d known from high school. We weren’t exactly friends and as far as I was concerned she was a selfish and arrogant nitwit who’d recently stolen my best-friend Paige’s boyfriend. Now her newest conquest seemed to be Bryce, who was so naïve about the whole thing. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy that we had to drag her along for the ride. Her mother had also been injured by a zombie, so for now Eva was our problem until we could drop her ass off in Atlanta.

“When did Kristie and the others leave?” she asked yawning. I was happy to see she was wearing a long t-shirt and shorts, not one of her “rub it in your face” expensive designer outfits or short skimpy nighties that left little to the imagination. 

“They left a few hours ago. Sara, Megan, and Hannah tagged along,” I answered, pulling my long brown hair into a ponytail.

Kristie had taken her daughters, Paige and Kylie, along with three other survivors to the safety of her mother’s cabin, in Wisconsin. Apparently, the zombies preferred the luxuries of city life a little more than the deep woods.  Unlike our home, the cabin not only had a large generator, but also a good supply of food that could keep them comfortable for a few weeks. We were going to try and meet up with them later, Kristie had given my dad directions.

Eva’s face lit up. “Great. Now I don’t have to put up with Paige’s snide comments. Just because her boyfriend dumped her, doesn’t mean she has to take it out on me.”

I wanted to punch her. “Like you didn’t have a hand in that,” I muttered under my breath.

She apparently heard me because she tried to look innocent but ended up failing miserably. “Well, maybe she doesn’t know how to treat a man. I’m sure Bryce would even agree with me when I say that a guy wants to feel appreciated and not like their girlfriend is always trying to show them up.”

I glared at her, trying to remain calm. I knew exactly what she was referring to this time; Bryce and myself.  

  “Well, if the guy has enough self-confidence then he wouldn’t feel threatened by his girlfriend’s independent nature,” I snapped.

“How ‘bout those Vikings last season?” interrupted my dad. “Bryce, are you a football fan?”

“Definitely, but I’ve always been more of a Packer’s fan myself,” he replied, loading my dad’s new Berretta. “The Vikings just can’t seem to get their stuff together.”

I cringed. My dad was a huge Vikings fan through and through. I knew that housing a “Packer Backer” would be a thorn in side.

My dad scowled. “Son, saying anything negative about the Vikings in this house is bad for your health. I’ll let it slide this time, because you’re holding a loaded gun.”

“Oh dad,” I laughed nervously. “You’re such a kidder.”

“Did someone say Vikings?” said Austin as he swaggered into the kitchen. “I may be from Texas, but I have to say I’ve always enjoyed watching those guys.”

Austin was the ruggedly handsome military soldier my mother had saved the night the zombies started waking up all over the world. He’d been shot in the shoulder by some hysterical woman, thinking he was trying to attack her. My mother had risked her life by driving him to the hospital and now he felt he owed something to her. This included being my personal bodyguard. Needless to say, Bryce wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea.

Bryce rolled his eyes. “When do you find time to watch the Vikings Tex? Between sweeping up hay and saving damsels in distress?”

Austin smiled smugly. “What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.”

“Well I for one think that it’s wonderful that you are helping us, Austin,” gushed Eva. “I’m sure Cassie’s mom will be especially delighted to find out you have such a soft spot for her daughter.”

My face turned beet red and I glared at her. Austin and I hardly knew each other but she was acting like we had something special going on between us.