Aliens Versus Zombies (10 page)

“Can I trust you?” She frowned in doubt.

“We can stand here forever, otherwise. You’ve got less to worry about from me than from the damned Zoms. I have no reason to kill you. I can’t say as much for the Zoms.”

She flashed a crooked smile. “I see your point. Okay, I’ll go first.”

She hesitated for only a second before preceding him. Before she had taken two steps, she was knocked backward by a leaping Zom who screeched as he dove at her. Her bags dropped to the floor with a thud. Another of the creatures hurled herself at Daniels. His bags went flying.

The four grappled side by side, the Zoms with insane strength. After a few minutes of that, Daniels managed to shove his into the other. That gave the two humans a chance to grab their pistols and pump a few slugs into the Zoms. The beasts toppled over and stopped moving.

“Whew! That was fun!” Chrissy said with a grin.

Daniels flashed his lady-killer smile in return. “That’ll get your heart started, all right.”

“You know, if either of us had been here alone, we might not have been able to fight off two of them.” She paused. “Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we’d be better off working together, rather than solo. Whaddaya think?” She waited with big brown eyes, wide open.

He pondered the idea for a moment. Two guns and four eyes had to be better than working alone. “I think that’s probably a good idea.”

He held out his hand.

“I’m Chick, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Chrissy. Chick, huh? Funny name.”

“Nickname. I’ll tell you about it later.”

* * * *

Chrissy tried one hotel room and then another. The first had bloodstains on the king-size bed. She didn’t want to think about what had happened there. The second looked as if it had been through a shredder. The third, however, was in pristine condition. She even had two beds to choose from.

“Thanks, Johnny.”

“Sure thing, miss. I’ll be downstairs, if you need me.” Something in the way he said it made it plain that he was implying more.

“Uh, sure. Thanks.”

She shut the door behind him and watched through the peephole until he disappeared from view. It made her a bit nervous that he had a key and could let himself in while she was in the shower. In the end, her need for a cleanup and a nap outweighed her concern.

He seemed nice enough, and was only a few years older than she was, but he didn’t interest her. She had enough to worry about without any emotional attachments getting in the way.

As she undressed, she looked out the window at the city beyond. She was on the fourth floor. There were other tall buildings in front of her, partially blocking her view. Still, she could see a fair way along the street running left to right in front of the complex, as well as up the intersecting street half a block to her left. From up here, it almost looked as if nothing was wrong. Sure, there were abandoned cars in the street below, and smoke rising lazily on the horizon. Still, she could almost convince herself that the cars were simply stuck in traffic, and the smoke was from a chimney, or someone cooking on a backyard grill.

She smiled wistfully at the thought.

If only…

Chrissy turned on the water in the shower and waited as it sputtered for a few seconds and then sprayed in a steady stream. After a minute of standing there and intermittently sticking her hand in the stream, she realized that she was stupidly waiting for the water to get hot.

Old habits die hard,
she thought with a wry grin.

She steeled herself for the expected shock and stepped into the shower.

Yikes!

She almost jumped back out, but forced herself to stay under the water stream. It was freezing. She held on for a few seconds until she almost got used to it, and then turned around and around to rinse off the muck. The water swirling down the drain ran gray for a moment as the residue ran off her body.

She reached for the tiny bar of soap that awaited her and unwrapped it. Then she held it up to her nose and took a deep breath.

Oh, how I miss the simple pleasures
.
The scent of floral soaps. Hot water. Being clean. Soft towels. A real bed! Good food cooked in a restaurant. Yum. Well, I can do something about most of those, at least today.

She scrubbed the worst of the dirt from her hands and face with the washcloth and soap, and then opened the tiny shampoo bottle and tried to work up a lather in her hair. It was so filthy it took three tries to get her hair clean enough to actually create lather.

Wow. I
really
needed this.

Then she pampered herself with some of the conditioner.

Eventually she decided she was clean, and not a moment too soon. Her teeth had begun to chatter.

She stepped out and toweled dry, rubbing briskly to warm herself by friction. Then she exited the bathroom and rummaged through her backpack for one of her other two changes of clothing. Not exactly clean, but clean enough. She’d have to rinse out her previous outfit before she could wear it again. It was that disgusting.

While sitting on the bed trying to decide which of the other outfits was the least dirty, she was overcome by a wave of exhaustion. Too tired to do anything else, she pulled back the coverlet and slid under the oh-so-clean sheets.

This is heaven. I haven’t felt this good since…since before I left home. My God, was that really only two years ago? It seems like forever.

Thinking about all she had lost since then brought tears to her eyes. Then exhaustion took her and within seconds she was asleep.

It was the first time in months that her sleep was untroubled by dreams of marauding Zoms.

After thirteen days of rummaging through warehouses and factories without finding any survivors, Chrissy was happy to move on to the next section of the search grid. That one included houses. She’d much rather poke around in someone’s home. At least the photographs and knickknacks reminded her of what life used to be like in the old days.

Of course, that was a double-edged sword. It also reminded her of what she’d lost, what they all had lost.

After two more days of searching, they still had found no one. She began to believe that they were the last normal humans in the city.

That was a depressing thought.

Chrissy and Moose walked up to the ninth house of the morning. It was a large brick unit at the end of a cul-de-sac. A beautiful house on a large lot, with oak trees creating cool summer shade. There was even a swing set in the side yard and a minivan out front. It was the sort of house Chrissy had always pictured herself living in after she got her degree and married a handsome young man. They’d have two children, a boy and a girl, and she’d drive her kids to soccer games and band practice. That’s how she’d always envisioned her life.

However, Uncle Jack and the Zompocalypse blew that dream all to shit.

She rattled the door handle. Locked. That was encouraging. If anyone were hiding inside, of course they’d lock the door. Of course, if they’d fled to the hills in their big, fancy SUV, they’d probably have locked the door behind them, too.

Still…

“Moose, would you do the honors?”

“You betcha.” He raised a knee and slammed his foot into the door. The raised panel splintered inward, leaving a gaping hole.

Chrissy reached in and unlocked it. The well-oiled door opened without a sound. She chuckled.
It’s probably a bit too late for a stealthy entrance.

They entered and looked around. There was no evidence that zombies ruled the world, at least not in here. Everything was neat and tidy, as if the family had just left for church and would return at any moment.

“Hello-o-o? Anyone here?” Chrissy called out in a loud voice. “We’re not Zoms.” This drew a chuckle from Moose.

Announcing themselves was also a double-edged sword. On one hand, if someone were cowering in a closet somewhere, they might be less likely to shoot whoever opened the door if they knew they were human rather than a Zom. On the other, they might be lying in wait for looters. Having Chrissy call out instead of Moose was deliberate. They hoped that she would sound less intimidating than a man with a deep voice might.

It took only a couple of minutes to establish that there was no one in the downstairs rooms. They proceeded up the stairs and checked the master bedroom first. The vaulted ceiling and ornate molding were impressive, but not as much as the master bath, with a large Jacuzzi tub and marble shower and vanity.

“Wow. I could get used to this,” she said.

“You wish.”

“Yeah, I do.”

They checked the other three bedrooms and baths and found no one. Chrissy did pick up a few items of clothing from one of the bedrooms. They were the right size and hers were getting pretty ragged.

“Looks like we can cross another one off the list,” she said. “Let’s go.”

They headed for the stairs until a sound caused them to freeze. They listened intently for a minute. Nothing. Then…a creak, coming from above.

“A squirrel, maybe?” Moose suggested in a whisper.

“Big-ass squirrel. Look.” She pointed. There was a hatch in the ceiling.

“How do we get up there?” he asked. “That’s ceiling’s a good ten feet high. I don’t see a ladder, do you?”

She shook her head, and then noticed a bank of three light switches on the wall near the hatch. She walked over to it and flipped the first one up. The ceiling light in the hallway turned on.

Moose looked up. “They have power here! Why do rich folk get all the breaks?”

Chrissy put her finger to her lips. Then she flipped the second switch. A faint light was visible in the narrow gap surrounding the hatch. She flipped the third switch and the hatch began to open. As it tilted downward, a ladder gradually deployed until it touched the floor.

“Saw that in a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous episode, once.”

“Huh.”

She leaned her rifle against the wall and went up first. “Don’t shoot. We’re friendly. Honest.” She held her hands over her head so anyone above could see she wasn’t carrying a weapon. Of course, she had a .45 in the holster on her thigh, if necessary.

Chrissy slowly raised her head above the lip of the hatch, just high enough to see over the top. She pivoted until she could see both ends of the room. There were boxes and stacked furniture covered in drop cloths, and a floor-standing tilting mirror in a corner. In the mirror she saw a woman’s shoe—and then it moved. Someone was hiding behind a stack of boxes.

“Ma’am, we know you’re up here. We’re friendly, I promise. We’re just looking for survivors.”

“G-g-go away. We’re fine. Just leave us alone!”

“Ma’am, we’d like you to come with us. We have a nice, safe place to live and you’re welcome to join us. We’re trying to rebuild. So we’re looking for as many survivors as possible. Don’t you want to feel safe again?

“J-just go away.”

Chrissy climbed the rest of the way up and stood in the attic. Her hands were still up. “I promise, we’re not here to hurt you. Just come out and we can leave.”

“No! Go away!”

Chrissy started walking slowly toward the voice. “Ma’am, please come out.”

She saw a hand peek around the side of one of the boxes. The hand held a revolver.

She dove for the floor a split-second before the gun went off. A breeze tickled her ear as the bullet missed her head by inches.

She reached for her own gun, only to hear a click-click-click coming from the other woman’s gun. Empty chambers. She listened as four more clicks sounded, and then one more.

“Ma’am, you’re empty. I’m coming toward you. Please don’t do anything foolish.”

Chrissy took four more steps and then she was around the boxes. Behind them stood a slight woman in her early-forties, and a shaggy haired teenage boy who looked to be fifteen. The woman attempted to shield the much taller boy behind her. She looked terrified.

Chrissy lowered her hands slowly and smiled. “It’s okay, I promise. We’re not here to hurt you.”

“Are-are you sure?” The woman was clearly still frightened, but her voice held a hint of hope.

“I promise. Come on down and pack some clothes and we’ll take you with us.” Chrissy turned back toward the ladder, where Moose waited, rifle at the ready.

“Oh, thank God!” She began to cry and stepped aside to let the boy precede her. “We-we’ve been alone for months, since my husband and daughter—” Her voice broke.

Chrissy’s voice softened. “We understand.” She started down the ladder. “What’s your name?

“I’m Marcie Conroy. This is my son, Jason.”

“Hullo,” he said.

“Hi, Jason. It’s a pleasure to meet you both” Chrissy flashed her friendliest smile. “Welcome back to the human race.”

Jason smiled, too. Marcie didn’t smile, but at least she didn’t look scared anymore.

“Let’s get you two packed and then we can leave.”

Twenty minutes later they were on their way back to The Castle.

Would you look at that? We have our first recruits.

* * * *

Platoon Regulator BlexJasp was pleased. The VranTan’s Breath was doing its job to perfection.

Ahead of the vehicle, nearly a dozen indigenes scattered as the Breath licked at them from behind. Three had already been roasted, and another ran off with ragged clothes and hair on fire. The Breath engulfed another one dead ahead. It fell, screaming, and the vehicle rolled right over it, crushing whatever life it had left out of it.

BlexJasp’s men managed to toast two more before the rest got out of range. The other vehicle followed behind with foam, should it be needed, but also with weapons. They managed to pick off four of the creatures that outran the Breath. That was ten for this engagement, without a single loss on their part.

That’s more like it.

Over the past three weeks, BlexJasp’s platoon had killed hundreds of indigenes, and herded hundreds more ahead of them. They weren’t bright enough to double back after the Drahtch had left. As a result, more of them ended up inhabiting less territory, creating a more target-rich environment every day.

Even better, on more than one occasion, BlexJasp had seen packs of indigenes fighting one another.

Let them kill themselves off. Save us the trouble.

He smiled.
It won’t be all that much longer before we have this city cleared and can begin offloading some of the colonists.

After more than eighteen years in space, he was looking forward to getting this mission over with and settling down—but not until he’d killed every damn one of these beasts.

Something clattered against the side of the vehicle. It did no damage. BlexJasp watched as it rebounded and clattered on the roadway. A metal pipe. A gunner in the rear vehicle fired and the indigene fell from the third-floor window with a splat.

BlexJasp frowned. They were seeing more instances of indigenes using weapons against them. Maybe they were only rocks and pipes, and the occasional bladed weapon, yet that was new, just in the past two weeks. If the trend continued, it could pose problems in the future.

What if they figured out how to use something more dangerous than a knife?

* * * *

“One, two, three… Come on, it’s your turn. Try it.” Little Amanda held up three fingers in front of Jay’s face.

She closed her fist and started over with the thumb. “This is one.” She raised her index finger. “This is two. And this is three!” Again, she held up the same three fingers.

Jay puzzled over the meaning of what she was doing. There was something familiar about it. He couldn’t figure out what it was.

Amanda tried again. “One...two…”

“T-t-t…”

“Amanda beamed. “That’s it! Try again. One…”

“Wa. Wa. Wa. Wa.”

“You’re really close. How ‘bout three? Three.”

“Tr. Tr. Tre. Tree.”

“You did it! I’m so proud of you!” She threw her arms around Jay and gave him a big hug.

Jay’s cheeks got warm. He smiled.

“Tree.”

“Yes! Now say one.” She sat back down and held up his thumb. “This is one. Say one.”

Jay looked at his hand for a moment and wiggled the thumb. “Wa. Wuh. Won.”

“Yay! You got it!”

Jay smiled again, only wider this time.

“Okay, now say two. Two.” She raised his index finger beside his thumb. “Two fingers. See?”

“T. Tuh. Toooo.”

“Yes, yes, yes! You got them all!” She gave him another big hug.

“Okay! Now…we’re gonna do all three, okay? Okay?”

He gave the half-nod he’d learned from her a few days earlier.

“Okay. Here goes… One.” She held up her thumb and waited for him to do likewise.

He did. “Won.”

“Now, two!” She raised the second digit.

He copied her. “Tooooooo.”

“And three!” She now held up all three fingers.

He did as well. “Tree.”

“That’s so good!” She beamed at him and he returned the grin.

“Okay, now all three. One, two, three!”

“Won, tooo, tree.”

“Ooooh! You’re so smart! I love you, Uncle Jay!” Once again she jumped up and threw her arms around Jay and gave him the biggest, bestest hug her little arms could manage.

For the first time, he hugged her back, still smiling.

He liked this game.

Jay gazed around the room where the rest of the pack rested. Most showed no interest in the game. A few looked his way. Curious?

“Okay, Uncle Jay. You keep practicing. Tomorrow I’ll teach you to count to five. Once we get to ten, I’ll teach you the alphabet song. Okay?”

Jay didn’t understand what she said. Still, he liked listening to her talk.

“And, for being such a good student, here’s your prize!” She held out a bag of cheese curls.

His face lit up again, and the two of them dug in.