Four (Their Dead Lives,1) (43 page)

Scot pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. “Speaking of which, I want to go see Kels, so can we wrap this up?”
 

“You can wrap it up later, now suck on your smoothie and listen.” Kale scooted in his chair. “We were on the cliff, getting tipsy, then—”
 

He doesn’t want to say it.
“Then what?”
 

“Jeff vanished. He fell off the damn cliff.”
 

All eyes landed on Jeff.
 

Bits of blended fruit and yogurt flew from Scot’s mouth as he broke into laughter. He choked a couple times and wiped his lips. “You fell off? If that’s true, then what are you doing here?”
 

“I-I don’t know.”
 

“Look,” Kale interrupted, “it took us a good hour or so to find him on the beach. He fell far, guys. But when we found him, he looked fine.”
 

Alec squinted at Kale, assessing him for any physical damage. “Impossible.”
 

“Obviously it’s not.”
 

Scot slammed his smoothie on the table, outraged. “You guys are fucking with us. You guys are trying to get us to believe your fantasies about what you think we are! Nothing happened to us that day. Nothing! We survived some psychopathic murderer and we got lucky. That’s what the world knows. That’s what we should believe.”
 

The table was silent until Alec said, “I agree with Scot.”
 

Kale nodded at Jeff. “Show them your back.”
 

Jeff stood, turned, and lifted his shirt. A long scar ran from his neck, wrapping to his hip.
 

“From the fall?”
 

“Yep.”
 

“How long ago was it?”
 

“Last weekend.”
 

Scot held his smoothie out to Kale. “Did you drug this smoothie? Because from what you guys are saying, I think I’m hallucinating.”
 

“No, I didn’t drug you!” Kale fixed his shirt, clearing his throat to composure. “You guys get what we’re saying though, right?”
 

Scot shoved the smoothie in a trashcan. “Screw both of you.” He looked at Alec. “Please don’t believe them and their shit.”
 

Kale stood. “Damn it, Scot! Just look at Jeff’s back!” He realized people in the outdoor mall were noticing their raised voices and looking at him so he calmed down, sinking back in his chair.

They watched as Scot stalked away.
 

“I think Tug Plowsky really got to him today, huh?” Alec wondered.
 

“Yeah, we really need to egg that guy later.” Kale tapped the table, his voice morose. “What do you make of all this?”
 

“I’ll tell you now.” Alec grabbed his backpack from under the table. “I know this is important to you guys, but I’m not going to jump off cliffs, or do other shit to show I’m invincible, I’m not.” He stood and flung the backpack over his shoulder. “I can’t risk losing Nicole again like we almost did at the well.” He picked at his palm. “And I know it’s been three years but they have yet to catch that Embracer guy. Aren’t you worried he’ll come back?”

Kale stared at Jeff. “I don’t think we have to worry about him anymore. As far as the world knows, he was some crazed kidnapper we escaped. Why would he risk coming back for us?”
 

Alec shrugged. “I need to head home for a bit but let’s meet up later and take care of Plowsky, old-school style.”
 

Kale and Jeff sat alone, silent, until Kale leaned forward and began babbling. “So I was thinking we could do like a Batman and Robin thing, where you’re the all powerful Batman and I’m Robin. Wait, no, actually I’ll be Nightwing because Robin simply won’t do.”
 

Jeff smiled, unable to look Kale in the eyes as he thought about his plans to join the Navy. His friend would be left devastated, but this was something Jeff knew he had to do. “Sure thing, buddy.”
 

“You ready to egg Plowsky tonight?”
 

Scot read the text message, typed a quick response and shut his phone. He touched Kelsey’s bare leg, stretched out across his bed. “That was Kale.”
 

“What does he want?”
 

Scot shrugged and walked his fingers across her smooth skin, “To hang out.”
 

“Nicole said Alec is hanging out with him tonight.”
 

“They’re not attached at the hip for once?”
 

Kelsey smiled, causing a light to beam in Scot.
 

He grabbed her hand. “I’d rather stay here.”
 

“No, no. You go hang with the boys. It will give Nicole and I some girl time together. Sadie has been ranting at us to hang out.”
 

“Ha. Sadie. Let me ask you something about her.”
 

“She’s not as crazy as she comes off, baby. She didn’t always dress like that.”
 

“I know. Yeah. Okay.”
 

Kelsey tightened around his hand and said, “I can’t believe school is almost out.”
 

Obviously she didn’t want to talk about Sadie, so he followed her lead like a good boyfriend and said, “I know; it’s crazy. Seems like yesterday we had our first date.”
 

“You better come back and visit a lot.”

“Nothing will ever keep me away from you.”

Later that night, the four friends were in Kale’s truck, parked a few houses down from the Plowsky residence.
 

“What’s the plan?” Alec asked, sitting in the front.

Kale stretched over the steering wheel. “We go in quick, quiet. Each of us unloads our cartons, then we retreat to the truck.”
 

Seated next to Scot, Jeff said, “Kale should throw first, run back, start the truck.”
 

“Good idea, Homer. A quick escape.”
 

“All right, boys,”—Alec glanced at his friends—“if anything happens, remember—”

“Every man for himself?” smirked Scot.
 

Alec shook his head. “For reals, we leave as four.”
 

They piled out of the truck, four silhouettes crouching up a dimly lit street. Scot broke to the left and rushed up grass to a gigantic tree. Eggs rattled inside the carton he held as his hand shook. “Keep cool,” he told himself. He watched as Alec, Jeff, and Kale wrapped around the house. He peeked behind the tree. No lights were on inside.

Scot grabbed the first egg but it fell out of his hand and broke on his shoe. “Shit.” He pulled out another, flipped around, and threw. It cracked on the front door. A second cracked against a window. A third hit a car in the driveway.
 

A light flashed on inside the home.
 

Scot saw Alec and Jeff waving at him. He dropped the egg carton, leapt in a sprint off the grass, his feet tumbling over one another in his hurry. He caught himself and flew across pavement, slamming to the truck. Jeff and Alec caught up to him.
 

Jeff heaved for air. “Where the hell is Kale?”
 

“The door is locked. Why is the door locked?” Alec screamed in a loud whisper.
 

“Hey, you kids!” A voice boomed from the Plowsky house.
 

“Damn, this went to shit quickly.” Scot stared up the street. “Everyone run!”
 

Jeff and Alec sprinted for the next street. Scot followed but ended up tripping over himself. His back cracked as he released quiet whimpers in pain, but he rolled on his hands and pushed to his feet. Tug Plowsky and another man, who he figured was the bully’s dad, chased after him.
 

Scot spotted an alleyway between two houses. A flickering light tried to illuminate his dark path. He threw his hands forward and before he knew it, he hid behind a dumpster. Plowsky voices were far away, and he felt relief in his escape.
 

“Maybe the fourth stupidest thing we’ve done.” Scot laughed to himself, cleaning his wet palms on his jeans.
 

Time to get back to Kels—

A dark cloak hung in front of him. Before he could move, steel slid into his gut.

Time froze. Lost. Crouched in shock, he stared at his attacker’s face, which was shrouded by the dark cloak. He gasped, “You?”

The dark figure ripped the knife from his stomach and the cloak vanished.
 

Scot fell on his side, grabbed at his wound. Blood gushed through his fingers.
 

Somehow he made it under a flickering light.
 

His friends stood at the end of the alley. “Scot!”
 

Collapsed flat on his chest, Scot stretched a bloodied hand for them, even saw a smiling Kelsey. He reached for her.
 

“Scot! Scot!” Alec and Jeff fell to him.
 

I escape that well, those black tentacles, only to be stabbed in the gut.
 

When Kale showed up, Jeff asked where he’d been. Kale didn’t respond, watched as Scot coughed up blood across his chin.
 

“Kale, where were you?”
 

Scot’s eyes rolled from side to side.

“Kale.” Alec grabbed him. “Where were you?”
 

No response.
 

“Kale? Tell me you didn’t...”
 

Kale’s dark eyes were helpless. Lost.

five years later

KALE
 

To be a hero, to follow fate, to accomplish tremendous feats, these are required tasks when sanity decays.
 

The dawning morning spread over them, forming a lofty blue ceiling. They’d left the shoe store to stock up on food and liquids. Henry led Kale across a street stacked with abandoned cars. Some doors were open, some closed. It seemed to Kale the cars had been stuck in traffic when the zombie swarm came. Few had escaped. In any event, the flock had moved on, the street clear of anything edible.
 

Henry opened the unlocked liquor store, ringing the door. He crouched and turned, pistol in hand. All Kale had as a weapon was a pair of scissors found in the shoe store’s office. His fingers shook at the thought of stabbing something.
 

They shut the door and moved swiftly between aisles of snacks. Henry grabbed plastic bags from under the register. “We should load up on water,” he directed.

“Sure,” smiled Kale. He liked Henry — a normal guy trying to protect his family. Why had they picked a shoe store in which to seek safety instead of moving on? He didn’t understand. But he had nowhere else to go, and helping the Wright family seemed
right.
 

Henry had told him they were in Oxnard, California, which meant Jeff and Alec were close. Finding them would be his next move. But for now, Kale stocked up on drinks.
 

Four worries existed in this new world: food, water, shelter, and zombies. He wondered when the thieves, rapists, and murderers would spawn. How soon would humanity be extinguished?
 

Kale had survived the Embracer. He’d escaped the so-called Eradicator of Life.
 

Anything else would be a breeze.
 

Dark whispers still haunted his mind, but they seemed less and less real as time passed. Had he imagined the tentacle lashing? Had he imagined what the Eradicator required of him? He could never kill his friends. He
would
never give them up.
 

In the liquor store, someone had raided the fridges before they’d arrived, but plenty of water remained. He filled two plastic bags and dropped them next to Henry’s loaded snacks by the door.
 

“Apples? No apples? Darn. Benny loves them.” Henry holstered his pistol.
 

“Can I ask you something, Henster?”
 

“Henster? I like it.”
 

“Why did you name your kid Benvolio? Or is the answer obvious?”

“What’s the obvious answer?” Henry gave a long smile.
 

“Shakespeare fan?”
 

“More of a
Romeo and Juliet
fan.”
 

“The Leo DiCaprio version?”
 

“Ha! Almost all tales are a version of the original.”
 

“Even
Battlefield Earth
?”
 

“Yes, even
Battlefield Earth
.”
 

A very misunderstood movie.
The quiet laughter grew louder and Kale found himself choking to keep it quiet. Henry smacked his back a couple times until they heard those dreadful moans.
 

“Shhh.” Henry crouched, taking his pistol from the shoulder holster he was wearing and yanking Kale to his level. Outside the liquor store’s one square window, they stumbled. One, two, three, four and five, side by side. Six—seven—rotten hands pressed against glass. They were searching for food.
Like us.
Kale peeked out from behind a stack of chip bags. Rotten breath heated against the window. A fist slammed against glass, another, and one more. Two of them went for the door, clawing at the metal. “Do they see us?”
 

Henry kept the gun high, whispering, “I don’t know, stay down. I’ll get us out of here.”
 

Kale wanted to believe that. They kept hidden as the zombies kept outside. Then it struck his ears like a ravaging fissure.
“Kill him.”

“What did you say?” Kale blinked at Henry.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Let them feast on him, boy.”
Kale shook his head away, trying to get rid of the whisper.

Henry noticed the shakes. “You okay, kiddo?”
 

Kale squinted at him. “Yes, I—”

More moaning, clawing, hissing, and salivating.
 

“Kill him.”
The whisper became a reality that sent fear slicing down his spine.
“Rip his head off.”
 

Kale bent over, knees digging in the cold floor. He grabbed his splitting skull with one hand.
“NOW!”
the Eradicator’s voice exploded in his mind. His stub waved around.