Zombie Games (2 page)

“Hi dad,” I said. “Let me guess, you were up late again blasting zombies?”

He smiled sheepishly. “Heh. I actually finished the game.”

My dad is addicted to video games. Before I was born, he once spent thirty-six hours, straight, playing
Everguild,
a very addictive internet game, surviving only on caffeine and buttery pretzels. When my mom became pregnant she lost her patience with his
harmless
addiction and brought a group of his friends together for an “
Everguild Intervention
”. Now he’s only allowed to play games on his Wii or PlayStation, which he has only a slightly better handle on.

“Do you have to work today?” I asked him. My dad sells cars for a living, which isn’t particularly his dream job. Unfortunately it’s something he’s really good at, so although he grumbles about it endlessly, he never changes it.

“Not until this afternoon. You ready to try out my new Beretta?” he asked, his face lighting up. His other addiction has to do with guns. Almost every Saturday, since I turned sixteen, has been spent at the gun range with my father and grandfather. Both avid collectors, they own about thirty different revolvers and rifles between the two of them. When I began showing an interest last year, they were both delighted and started teaching me everything they could about guns. Now my aim is almost as good as my dad’s.

“Sorry dad, I can’t make it to the gun range for the next couple of weeks. I have to study for final exams,” I answered. “Plus, prom’s coming up. I’m just too busy.”

Folding his arms, he gave me a stern look. “That’s right. You’re going with that Scott kid, aren’t you?” he asked. “Remember, no pre-prom parties, no hotels, and definitely no alcohol.”

I snorted. “Hello? Does that really sound like me? And you do realize that Scott and I are just friends? I‘ve told you this so many times.”

His eyes softened. “Good, keep it that way.”

“Well, I’m just lucky he’s going with me. I didn’t go last year and probably would have skipped the senior prom as well if he hadn‘t volunteered to take me.”

“Are you kidding me?
He’s
the lucky one!”

I bit back a smile. My dad’s having a difficult time with the idea of me dating,
anyone
, which he shouldn’t; my love life is as dead as the zombie’s in his games. Scott and I
are
only friends, but it always seems to slip his mind. The last time I went out with Scott, my dad had insisted on chatting with him before we left for the movie theater; all the while cleaning three of his guns. My dad found it amusing, I was horrified. But Scott thought my dad’s guns were “
awesome
” and missed the entire point.

“Wait, Cassie!” hollered my mom from the top of the stairs. My stomach clenched when I saw she was holding a dirty diaper. I swear there was steam radiating from the putrid bundle.

“What?”

She narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong with your lips?”

I released a deep sigh. “Allie’s plumping lip gloss.”

She bit the side of her lip. “Oh. Well they’ll probably shrink down soon. Anyway, could you please pickup Allie from her dance class tonight?”

I groaned.

“Please? You‘re going to karate anyway, just swing by on your way home.”

“Okay, fine.”

“Thank you, honey.”

I nodded then sprinted out the front door before she tried to volunteer me for anything else. Allie’s my twelve year old sister and since my parents pitched in to help me purchase my truck last year, I’m her personal chauffer. I didn’t mind at first, but since she’s started middle school, her social life is busier than mine. Sometimes I have to fit my plans into
her
schedule.   

Glancing across the cul-de-sac I noticed Charlie following Mr. Hendrickson to his mailbox. We waved at each other and Charlie stared at me instead of blasting me with his usual obnoxious barking, like he normally does.

I hopped into my truck, a red ‘98 Chevy S10, which has seen much better days and prayed silently that it wouldn’t give me problems; it’s been finicky about starting recently and I really don’t have time to get it checked out; especially with prom coming up. When it turned over right away, I sighed with relief and drove over to my friend Paige’s house.

“Hi. You’re early. Oh…my… God…what happened to your lips!?” Paige cried, covering her mouth.

“It looks that bad?”

“It just looks…painful.”

Paige, as always, looked perfect. With her long blond hair and startling green eyes, half the guys at school are in awe of her. Some people at school call her Skipper, Barbie’s younger sister, because of her sun-kissed skin, high cheekbones, and carefree spirit.

“My lips were dry, so I tried using one of Allie’s lip gloss tubes.
Bad choice.”

“I guess,” she replied, trying to hide a smile. “Do they hurt?”

I pursed my lips and nodded. “They burn a little.”

“Just use Vaseline next time. That’s all I use.”

“Oh.”

She pushed her hair behind her ears. “Did you watch the news this morning?”

              “Are you kidding? In my house you won’t find anything but
Dora
or
Elmo‘s World
on the television.”

“Well, the media is all over this flu virus. It’s amazing how fast it‘s spreading. Many people are actually getting so sick they’re being quarantined in different countries. It’s like the
Black Plague
.”

“Most of the little kids in my house are sick. If this keeps up, I swear I’m moving out.”

“Hah, you wish. Anyway, it’s getting so bad, that in Europe, they’ve closed down a ton of schools. Wouldn’t it be awesome if ours was shut down? We could hang out at the mall and check out
hot
guys all day long.”

I laughed. “Yeah, fat chance of that happening. They won’t even close when we have ten feet of snow.”

“Well
I
for one am sick of school; sick of all the up-tight bitches, juvenile jocks, and dumb-ass tests. Seriously, I wouldn’t mind if school shut down for the rest of the year!”

I raised my eyebrows. “Wow. Having a rough week?”

She shrugged and stared out the passenger window.

"Ok, spill it. What’s wrong Paige?”

She looked at me, her eyes moist. “Eva King. She’s such a lying two-faced bitch. You know, she pretended to be my friend just so she could get closer to Kyle.”

Kyle used to be Paige’s boyfriend until he broke it off with her last month. I thought she’d gotten over it already since she seemed to have a crush on someone new every week.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw them kissing in the halls yesterday. She is
such
a conniving bitch!”

Eva is actually one of the most popular girls in school. Although Paige is much prettier and likeable, Eva’s mother is a famous news anchor and she gets treated like she’s some kind of a movie star herself. Eva’s also head-cheerleader and owns this super turbo-charged Mercedes convertible. Most of the guys at school are hot for her car.

“And he’s a prick…they deserve each other.”

She wiped away a tear and sniffled. “Well…anyway…there
is
this new guy, Jeremy, who’s really cute. He sits next to me in Biology.”

I chuckled. “I can see you’re truly heartbroken.” 

Paige placed her hands over her heart. “I‘m sure Jeremy could help mend it.”

We both burst out laughing. Little did we know that in the next couple of days our lives would turn into a living nightmare and that we would have given
anything
to have such trivial problems.

Chapter Two

I spent most of the day at school trying to avoid those who were sick, which was almost everyone else. Many kids were absent and the halls were unnaturally quiet, except for the consistent coughing and nose blowing.

During last period, my math teacher, Mr. Hogan, a balding man in his fifties, blew his nose loudly and said, “Keep taking your vitamins everyone. This flu takes no prisoners!”

              In answer, many of the students wiped their own noses or coughed. I shrunk down in my desk and took out a small bottle of antibacterial gel, rubbing some on my hands. A girl next to me noticed and snorted.

I glared at her. “It’s called keeping your hands clean. You should try it sometime.”

She gave me the finger, muttering something obscene under her breath.

Towards the end of class, our principal, Mrs. Davis, made an unexpected visit and handed Mr. Hogan some forms. They spoke quietly for several minutes and then she left, grabbing a tissue on the way out. I watched as Mr. Hogan removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose while examining the paperwork she’d dropped off. Finally, he looked up and cleared his throat. “Listen up people,” he called. “This week the school is giving free flu shots to all of the students. I am going to hand out all the information regarding the vaccination. Take it home, have your parents read it, sign it, and then bring it back as soon as possible.”

A few of the students moaned in protest.

He smiled wryly and leaned back in his chair. “I understand your
enthusiasm
. You may not be excited about getting vaccinated, but it’s for your own good. The school is urging everyone to have this flu shot. In fact, anyone who doesn’t get permission will be required to stay home the following week, until we get this influenza epidemic under control. So, this vaccination is necessary if your parents want to keep you in school and out of the house. And…for those of you who don’t get permission, we can email you your assignments.”

Great
, I thought. My mother will never agree to this flu shot, so I’ll be stuck at home next week. My parents don’t believe in messing with
“Mother Nature”.
They feel that flu shots lower the immune system, making one more vulnerable to other illnesses. That could also explain why our family has avoided this particular flu. My mother’s daily handful of vitamins and my green-peach tea addiction doesn’t hurt either.

The bell rang and I stopped into the bathroom to wash my hands. I glanced up into the mirror and found Eva King standing right next to me. She looked miserable.

“Hey Wild. God, I hate this frigging cold,” she mumbled and blew her nose, which looked painfully red. 

Trying to forget the way she screwed over my best friend, I forced a smile. “Bummer, you’re sick too, huh?”

She nodded and smoothed down her long red hair. “Yes. You know,” she said turning to me, her blue eyes wide. “Sometimes I wish I were more like you. Your mom’s not famous and you get to blend in with everyone else at school. Nobody expects you to look perfect when you walk in every single day. It must be nice. I mean I have to look
amazing
all the time. It’s a lot of work having my background and social status. Even this sick, I don’t get a day off.”

I bit back my laughter and replied, “Yes, I don’t think I could handle living in your world Eva. It must be very stressful.”

Her eyes narrowed, but before she could respond, Nora Biggs slammed out of a bathroom stall, an unlit cigarette hanging from her mouth. Nora was fairly new in the school and most people shied away from her because of her unusual punk style, short temper, and rebellious attitude.

“Hi Nora,” I said.

Nora nodded and then began washing her hands. We have karate class together and I’ve driven her home a few times. We weren’t exactly friends but she was civil to me.

Eva stared at Nora’s nose. “Nora. Wow, I just love your nose ring! Is that a
real
Zirconia?” 

Even sick Eva was a complete bitch.

Nora‘s eyes burned with fury and I waited for the explosion. Instead, she removed the cigarette from her lips and smirked. “No, it’s a diamond. You’re boyfriend gave it to me last night after we made out.”  

Eva’s lips formed a tight line. “Classy,” she mumbled, grabbed her purse and turned to walk away. 

“Hey Eva,” Nora said grabbing a paper towel.

She turned around and snapped, “What?”

Nora smiled coldly. “You do realize that this is only high school? Being popular here doesn’t matter in the real world.”

Eva scowled and stomped out of the bathroom.

I giggled. “Nice.”

Nora shrugged. “Well, she deserves it. She thinks she’s so much better than everyone else. What she really deserves is to get knocked on her ass. I just wish I could be the one to do it. But hey, you know that code of honor thing-a-ma-jig.”

One of the principal rules of karate is that you can only use it for self-defense. Ever since Nora joined the class, she‘s stopped getting into fights. I’m sure it‘s been challenging for her.

I nodded in agreement and picked up my backpack.

“You sick?” she asked, running her fingers through her long black hair. Streaks of bright blue framed her pale face. I imagined without the heavy Goth makeup, dyed hair, and various piercings, she might look like the girl next door. 

“No. Not
yet
anyway.”

Nora threw her head back and laughed. She knew about my phobia. “That must drive
you
insane; being around these germy bastards. I’m not sick yet either, but my old man is.”

Nora normally lives with her dad, Ivan Biggs, who’s a guitarist for Death Row, a popular rock band. Unfortunately, he’s on tour in Europe right now, so she sees very little of him. Instead she stays with her grandmother, Iris, who has some kind of dementia and is frightened of leaving her house. She can’t even take a step outside; she’s so scared of something awful happening to her.

“I heard almost everyone is sick in Europe.”

“Yeah, he’s in Germany right now. They’ve all been getting vaccinated. I don’t know what the big deal is, it’s just the flu. Tell you one thing; nobody’s giving me a shot. My old man isn’t around to sign the sheet and I would
rather
take a week off from this crap-hole. What about you?”

I cleared my throat. “Well, I won’t be getting the shot either. My family never gets flu shots.”