Dying Days 4 (18 page)

"Can we talk?" Russ asked, trying to stall.

"Don't be such a pussy. Fall to the ground," Ben said from the backseat. "Now."

Russ threw himself down, dropping onto his hands and stomach as the shot was fired. He rolled over and was about to jump up and attack the zombie when he saw it fall.

Bri had rushed from the car and past him, kicking the zombie for good measure and taking the rifle, searching the zombie's pockets for ammo. "He's holed up somewhere close to here. We can find the rest of his stash."

"Zombies don't need a stash," Ben said.

Russ stood and was met by a grinning Ben aiming the pistol at his crotch.

Bri was still behind Russ, helping herself to whatever the zombie carried.

Russ slowly raised his hands. He knew they'd traded one dangerous foe for another. How stupid to give Ben a weapon.

"Russ, I need to ask you a serious question. Think on your answer but be quick about it before Bri realizes what's going on and we have a Mexican standoff in the street… what is your favorite band of all time?"

"Huh?"

Ben shook his head. "Wrong answer. You only get one. Tell me who your favorite band is. I want to know."

"Zebra," Russ said.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Who? Did you make that up?"

Russ shook his head. He needed to keep talking and maybe, miracle of miracles, he could distract Ben enough to make a move for the gun. Maybe Bri would turn around at some point and aim a gun at Ben.

"Tell me who they sound like," Ben said. "Now you got me curious."

"They're a Long Island band. I used to see them in concert all the time in high school and before I went off to college. They are a hard rock band. I'd say a cross between Rush and Led Zeppelin. I'm sure you've heard one of their songs before," Russ said. "Their MTV videos were
Who's Behind The Door
and
Tell Me What You Want
. Sound familiar?"

Ben grinned. "I think I do remember them now. Really high-pitched singer?"

"Yes, at times."

"Then we need to find a record store and pick up one of their albums." Ben turned the gun around and offered it to Russ. "As if they still made albums, even without all this shit going on." He looked past Russ. "Bri, honey, we need to go."

Russ hesitated. Was this a trick? Was the zombie going to shoot him as soon as he got closer?

Ben sighed. "Take the gun. I'm not going to hold it on your head until we find the bitch and her pup. That would be ridiculous. This isn't a stupid movie. We'll work together until we find her and then all bets are off. At that point, you're going to need to shoot me in the head before I clamp down and kill her. And you and Bri. Because I will have to. The baby needs to die in order for me to survive. It's as simple as that."

"I won't be foolish enough to let you have a weapon again," Russ said.

The zombie smiled and put up his hands. "I have natural weapons."

"And two broken legs. You won't get too close to anyone like that."

"We'll see," Ben said and grinned.

Russ watched Bri, oblivious to the conversation just past, climb back into the front seat. She eyed Ben. "Where's your gun?"

Ben smiled. "Our fearless leader took it forcibly from me. Is there nothing this man cannot do?"

Russ got in and started the vehicle. "We're going to need gas soon. And a place to hide. How close are we?"

Ben leaned over the back of the seat and stared at the fuel gauge, hovering near empty. "Not close enough. We need to start heading north as well as west. I'm sure we'll find a gas station or someone with gas up ahead. Or else you'll be pushing the car." He fell back in the seat. "I'll fight off other zombies. I'll give you directions. But I'm not going to push a car. Especially since you destroyed my legs."

"We'll see what you will and won’t do," Bri said. "Just get us to her in one piece and I won't shoot you in the fucking head."

Chapter Twenty Four

Jeff knew the girl was going to be a distraction, but she would be a pleasant one. He also knew Doug had given her up for a reason and he needed to figure out why. "Do you have AIDS?" Jeff asked her bluntly. "Herpes?"

Lilly shook her head and looked appalled.
Good
, Jeff thought.
I'm keeping her within arm's length but not with a weapon in her hand to gut me.

The girl turned back to Doug with open hostility. Jeff smiled. Obviously, the girl thought he was going to be her savior. Doug had probably killed the two idiots he'd sent to take him down right in front of her. Maybe she watched Cowboy die by their hands or even Doug's own. She thought he was going to save her from this wretched life and build her a new home and feed her. Instead, she was a tossed away gift. But why?

"What do you see?" Jeff asked the man who ran back through the weeds. "Anything to the smoke? And what took you so long?"

The man nodded. "There's a burning sheriff's office on the side road. But I found a well-worn trail through the trees. It looks like a camp."

"How many men with weapons?"

The man grinned. "Not many. Mostly women and children."

Jeff nodded. They were down to five now. "What's your name?"

"RJ. It stands for…"

"I don't care what it stands for. I'll call you RJ." Jeff looked at the other two men he didn't know, sitting under a tree talking quietly. He didn't really care what their names were. He figured they'd die at some point and he'd have to stash their Harleys somewhere safe for another time. "Take those two before they take a nap. Circle the camp and see how many guards they have posted and what weapons they carry. Most importantly, see if they have anything we'd want. Go."

Doug was wiping down his motorcycle with a washrag. As Jeff approached, he stood but didn't look directly at Jeff. "It looks like just you and I. You're not going to kill me in the woods now, are you?"

Jeff grinned. "Not yet. I still need you around. A brain always needs muscle."

Doug turned slowly to Jeff and cocked his head to the side. "Which one of us is the brains again?"

Jeff wasn't going to let the man get the best of him again. "You do know the Harley isn't yours, right? It's a loaner. I own all of them."

"I still want to keep it clean. While I'm riding it, I'd like it to remain nice and shiny. I take care of my things." Doug looked over at Lilly, propped up against a tree. "She doesn't look too happy."

"No, she does not. I'm surprised she hasn't run away yet."

"She knows there's nowhere to run. Right now it's better to be your servant and get fed than to slip away and fight zombies on her own," Doug said.

"And when it isn't better?"

Doug went back to rubbing down the chrome but put the bike between them. "Hopefully, she'll stab you in the gut and let you bleed out, dying a horrible death. Then you'll turn into a mindless zombie." Doug looked up. "Then I'll take great pleasure in shooting you right between the eyes."

"We could do this right now and get it over with," Jeff said and pulled his pistol.

Doug just laughed and went back to getting the dirt off the Harley. "We still need one another. Right now we're better off both being alive. You can feel important and boss me around all you want, too. I don't mind. Better men than you have done it. Better women, too. I gladly play the game as long as I can see that bitch Darlene once more and make her suffer."

"We need to bring the baby back alive," Jeff said.

"And we will. But then I want five minutes alone with her. I owe her."

"For what?"

Doug stopped polishing and sat down on the dirt. He was staring at the bike. "I had many good friends before this started. A nice bar in Buffalo. A family. When this began I took them all in. Sectioned off the street outside my place. Let them survive. I took in anyone who needed shelter."

"You took in Darlene."

Doug nodded. "I fed her. I gave her a place to sleep. She repaid my kindness by killing everyone I held dear. She destroyed my bar, created chaos and slipped away. I almost had her ass in St. Augustine but her friends helped her to push me back into the ocean. I swore I'd have my vengeance before I died." Doug looked up and smiled. "So, you see… you can't kill me. I haven't gotten my revenge just yet."

Jeff knew most of his story was utter bullshit but he didn't press it. He'd probably tried to rape the woman and she kicked him in the balls and ran away. He doubted Doug had any real friends, even before all this shit happened. Not loyal friends. "Then we wait until you get your meeting with the bitch. And then I'll have my fun with your corpse."

"Where did you send Dumb and Dumber and Even Dumber?"

Jeff had to laugh. "There is a refugee camp close to us. I sent them to check it out and report back."

"She might be with them," Doug said. "Do they know who they're looking for?"

"A pregnant woman."

"I hope she's the only one in the world, then. I can't say I'd trust any of them to actually find her and bring her to us. They're likely to tip her off we're after her," Doug said.

"We'll find out soon enough. The camp isn't far." Jeff was done talking to Doug. He could feel anger building inside with every smug look from the man, who thought he was so cool and in control. Jeff begged to differ.

Lilly had her eyes closed but Jeff knew she wasn't asleep.

He kicked her lightly with his boot and she snapped her eyes open. "Come on."

"Where?"

Jeff pointed to the trees. "Deeper into the woods. You're my property and I'm going to brand you."

"Brand me?"

"Are you this stupid? I'm going to fuck you. Get a kid inside of you so I can keep the Hurleson line going. You're now mine."

"I don't want to," Lilly said.

"I don't really care what you want. It's not about you. You don't mean shit anymore. The quicker you realize it the better. I'm going to make you one of my wives when we return. And you're going to do as I say. If you do, I promise I'll only slap you around when I'm really drunk."

Lilly tried scrambling away on her back as she stared with open fear.

Jeff liked to see how much he'd frightened the girl. This was going to be fun.

"If you fight me, it will only get me hornier. Then I'll be rougher than normal. The choice is yours."

Lilly stopped but looked over at Doug, who was cleaning the bike.

"He's not going to save you. He gave you away like a pair of old socks. He knows better than to cross me," Jeff said. "I'm sure whatever happened in that building made him realize you're nothing but white trash. I happen to like white trash. You know why?"

Lilly didn't answer him, closing her eyes.

"Trailer park trash bitches like to take it in the ass. But you're not good enough for it, you hear me? I'm going to impregnate you. I'm going to make you my pig that drops kiddies for me until you can't anymore. And then I'm going to kill you."

Lilly suddenly stood and stared at Jeff. There was no fear in her eyes. "If you think you can handle me, you loser."

Jeff raised his hand to slap her across the face when he saw Doug stand in his peripheral vision.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Doug yelled.

Jeff wheeled on Doug and aimed his rifle. "And why is that?"

"You're already at a huge disadvantage."

Jeff felt his anger rising. "How's that?"

Doug started moving forward, casually wiping his hands on the rag as he walked. "It's all in the genes."

"I don't follow you," Jeff said, fighting his inner self to shoot this fucking guy and be done with it. "But I don't like what I think you're implying."

"Oh, I'm not implying anything. I'm telling you she isn't exactly the prettiest thing we've ever seen," Doug said. He glanced at Lilly and nodded slightly. "Nothing personal."

"Get to your fucking point," Jeff said.

"You're not what most people would call… um, how do I put this delicately, Jeffrey? You're ugly. You're short. Balding. Beady eyes. Pudgy. No real personality or intelligence."

Jeff raised the rifle and smiled. "Nice last words."

Doug smiled. "And I've been close to you. Frankly, you stink. You have very offensive body odor." Doug pointed behind Jeff. "Your valiant men return with friends."

Shit
. Jeff turned to see one of the men coming back through the woods with two women in tow.

"What are you doing?" Jeff asked as RJ approached.

RJ was grinning as he pushed the two women before him. "I got us some dames."

"Dames? Who says that?" Doug asked.

Jeff rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I told you to scout ahead. Watch them. See what they're doing. Not kidnap a couple."

"The men are all out, so we raided the camp. We're piling all the food and shit into a pickup truck. There's a lot of shit. The kids and women are doing all the work at gunpoint," RJ said.