My Zombie Summer (Book 1): The Undead Road (15 page)

“It’s clear,” Cody called when he returned to the Explorer. “You guys coming in or what?”

We quickly scrambled for our things and opened our doors. I had my backpack on and one pistol in hand while my other hand held the strap of a duffel bag with some of my clothes in it. Kaylynn and Jewel let Chloe out before they picked up their weapons.

Cody’s protocol made me uneasy. We had never abandoned the car. Vectors could flood the parking lot while we were gone. And if Cody’s cousin really did manage this place, where was he now? I couldn’t think about the what-ifs. All I could do was follow.

We entered the main doors and pushed through the vestibule. A lobby was on the other side with a linoleum floor, tan brown walls, and one of those cheap chandeliers that’s meant to look expensive. If it weren’t for that awful, familiar smell of Vector flesh, I would’ve felt at home enough to take my shoes off. I searched for movement in case someone else was still inside.

Cody jumped away from the front desk.

A rotted hand nearly snatched him. The hand belonged to a young Polynesian woman, now reduced to something between a Stalker and a Crawler. She had a round face, long brown hair pulled in a bun, and a plumeria in her hair, its petals bright and colorful. Her nametag, pinned to her receptionist jacket, said
Ilima
.

“Watch this.” Cody pulled a hunting knife from his belt. “Checking in!”

He drove the knife through the top of her head. The woman fell over the desk. Flexing his muscles, Cody yanked the knife free. He then turned back to us, smiling, as if he were impressed with himself. The dispatched Vector tumbled behind the desk.

“How’s that for a punch line?” he said, and then he started to laugh. “Do you get it?
Punch
-line?”

Crickets.

Still laughing, Cody headed for the stairs.

I failed to understand his humor, and Jewel was smart enough to cover her eyes. I did my best to reassure Kaylynn without actually saying a word. Her hand touched my shoulder before she moved on, her bat ready to swing. I raised my pistol, too.

With Cody leading the way, we carefully climbed the stairs, ready to run back if we had to. My thoughts returned to the dead woman and what Sam had said before we’d left her in that operating room. Before then, I hadn’t thought of Vectors as anything more than monsters. Now I couldn’t shake the idea that the Vectors weren’t completely devoid of humanity, but slaves to something beyond their control. Cody put them down without a second thought, as I once had. For that very reason, he was a great ally. But if he knew the truth about Kaylynn, he would be a terrible enemy. No matter what, I’d never leave her alone with him.

“You guys tired yet?” Cody asked on the 3rd floor. “We should’a brought less stuff.”

The higher we went, the hotter it got. It was a given without working A/C. We met no resistance going up. Chloe didn’t bark or whimper, just panted. It smelled better the higher we climbed. The idea of a clean hotel should’ve relieved me, but something was off. That woman below was the only Vector. Mom and Dad had wasted more Vectors in smaller places.

Cody aimed his bow down the hall on the 4th floor. “Check the doors.” He lowered the bow, pointing a finger at Kaylynn and Jewel. “You girls knock down anything that tries to come up. We’ll open the roof and check it out. If we come running, so should you.”

“Got it, Boss . . .” Jewel’s sarcasm was on par.

I lowered my things and gripped my Beretta with both hands, ready to waste any Vector that dared to attack us. Cody used his key to check the rooms. Most were untouched. The towels were folded. Beds made. Others had bags and belongings strewn all over—likely left in a rush to evacuate the city. One of the rooms had a crib. On a chair beside it was a teddy bear and a few pink playthings for a little girl. On the bed was a bible, left open on the first page of Revelation, which even I knew was about the end of the world. I doubt it mentioned zombies anywhere.

Well, except for the
dead rising from the grave
part.

“Easy,” Cody said. “Let’s check out the roof now.”

We walked back to the girls, both of them waiting anxiously. I was about to check on my sister when Cody zeroed in on the roof access. He easily pushed the door open and went ahead, leaving the rest of us behind. Someone had to work on his communication skills.

I caught up to him at the top of a narrow flight of stairs, where he pushed his hefty shoulder against the door. Something had jammed it shut. With the two of us, we shoved it open. A second later, I wished we hadn’t. More than a dozen bodies lay scattered on the roof, dried by the sun like raisins.

“Looks like they locked themselves up here,” Cody said. “Poor bastards. I bet they panicked.” He turned all serious on me. “See what panic does, Jeremy?” I wasn’t sure why he asked until he looked me in the eyes. “If you lose your head, you’ll end up losing your life.”

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I’m sure he meant that figuratively
and
literally. He turned around and grabbed my shoulder. It sent a warm tingle down my back. Being the oldest, I didn’t know what it was like to have an older sibling. Or a brother at that. I needed to cut the guy a break. He did save us.

Going back inside, Cody closed the door and locked it behind him, like sealing a tomb. A much less claustrophobic way to go, I guess. I couldn’t help but think of the people who died up there, taken by thirst. I wondered if the guests with children were up there.

Kaylynn and Jewel had already entered the nearest unused room while we were away. When we stepped in, my sister was handing Kaylynn my spare clothes. She held up one of my shirts and compared her shoulders to its seams. “This’ll fit fine. Mind if I shower first?”

Cody laughed. “If the plumbing still works.”

“There’s no warm water, is there?” I added.

She shrugged. “I’ll take cold water over caked blood on my skin.”

Point taken.

Kaylynn entered the bathroom and locked the door behind her. The water turned on a few seconds later. Cody went for the window and opened it, allowing the breeze to churn the air. He then lowered his bow and crashed on the nearest bed, placing his hands behind his head. Jewel had started to count our ammunition when Kaylynn poked her head out from the bathroom door.

“It’s kinda dark. Anybody got a flashlight?”

Jewel rushed over with my flashlight.

Thunder-stealer.

With Cody relaxing, and his eyes closed, I thought I’d make myself useful and check the hallway for an icemaker. These places usually had vending machines next to them. I was right. The black box was mostly full, not that we’d last long on candy bars and potato chips.

I spied beef sticks at the bottom. Good for me!

I went for Kaylynn’s bat, smashed the glass out and carried back what I could. The Coke machine was a tough nut to crack, but the bottled water inside was worth it. I closed and bolted the door after I entered the room again. Putting my loot down, I read 8:00 am on my watch. It couldn’t have taken us all night to come here, but I let the thought go. I wanted to try the radio. I turned it on and signaled to my parents for a minute to see if they’d answer. No luck. Nothing but static.

Without power, I didn’t bother trying the TV remote. I went for the window. Downtown Lincoln was a fair distance south. This was the northwest part of town, with neighborhoods on either side of the freeway. Abandoned cars cluttered the lanes. In the distance, a brown building jutted into the sky, reminding me of that tower in
Lord of the Rings
. I bet someone could’ve easily written an epic fantasy novel about it.

Ten minutes went by before Kaylynn stepped out, wearing my jeans and a black Billabong shirt. Both were baggy in places, but it would have to do. She was about to put her hat on when she set it down. Her hair was still wet. She didn’t like my clothes. I could tell.

“Feeling any better?” I asked.

“Some. The water’s not too bad,” she answered.

“Standing water,” Cody said. “It’ll be cold for whoever’s next.”

Hadn’t he turned in for a nap? “Did it take all night to get here?” I asked.

“I drove slowly with the lights off—tried to avoid unwanted attention.” Cody sat up and stretched before he came to the table and swiped a water bottle. He drank it all in one go. “Are you up for checking that airport across the way, Jeremy? What say you?”

What say me? I wanted to hit the road. “I don’t think we have time for that.”

“And you drove all night,” Kaylynn said. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Meh.” Cody picked up his bow. “I had a good enough power nap. You come’n, Jeremy?”

No matter what either of us said, Cody was leaving. I couldn’t let him go alone. With my two pistols loaded and ready, I agreed. “Okay,” I said. “Just as long as we’re back soon.”

“What?!” I knew Jewel would hate my choice.

“You’re okay. Kaylynn’s here. We’ll be back.”

“I would feel better knowing why you’re going,” Kaylynn said. “It seems senseless to me.”

Another good point. What did our esteemed leader have in mind? Cody was about to step out the door when he sighed and turned back. “For whatever we can get. I’d rather chance an abandoned airport than a crowded grocery store.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Cody looked at each of us in turn. “I want to leave by noon. I’ll sleep better knowing we have more than a few snacks. Who knows when we’ll find more food?”

Cody leaned against the doorframe. “David City is history. If we find your parents, and my dad and brother, we’ll have to find a new home. Even if it’s for a bag of honey roasted peanuts, it’s worth a look.”

That made sense to me. Maybe Cody had a brain after all. Now I was excited to check out the airport. It should have some food, at least. And maybe a souvenir shop for new clothes. Kaylynn seemed fine with this idea, but Jewel broke my heart. Her eyes were all wet.

“We’ll be fine. Just keep Kaylynn out of trouble.”

Jewel choked back and chuckled. “It’s me she should worry about.”

“Take Chloe with you,” Kaylynn said. “She’ll sense those things coming long before you can.”

I smiled at Kaylynn. She was on a roll.

Cody stepped out while I gave Jewel a long hug. The girls waved to us as the dog came to me and matched my stride. I closed the door. The deadbolt clicked a second later, locking us out in the hallway.

It was at that moment when I had second thoughts. What if our detour took longer than we wanted?

“Let’s do this,” Cody said. “Don’t have all day.”

With a small whine, Chloe followed us downstairs. I couldn’t help the feeling that this was a bad idea.

I had my gun pointed at the ground as we headed west. The Holiday Inn turned out to be one of several inns in the area. Large spaces separated the buildings, making it hard for awaiting Vectors to jump out and surprise us. Cody took care of the occasional strays who walked aimlessly after us. As for Chloe, she stayed at my side, acting calm all the way down the street and over the railroad tracks. We took a short detour and found an opening in the airport fence. We crawled in and proceeded to the runway, which led us to the terminals.

The airport was no O’Hare International by any means, but a 747 could land there.

The closer we came to the nearest terminal, the smaller it seemed to become. The place had four gates with not much else. If it had a food court and a gift shop, it would be a miracle. I half-expected Cody to strike up a conversation, but his focus remained on the far off Vectors, his arrows and knives ready to put the damn monsters out of their misery. Now that I was thinking about it, I wondered if they were miserable, or happy, or had any emotion. If they’d found something to eat, would they experience the same euphoria that biting a Meat-Lover’s pizza would do for me? I couldn’t exactly ask them because, well, for obvious reasons.

Feeling the sun on my back, I walked on.

“You’re quiet,” Cody said. “Thought you’d say something by now.”

“What if I don’t have anything to say?”

“I bet you have as much on your mind as me.”

“I want to find my mom and dad. That’s all.”

“We’ll find them soon enough. You’ll see.”