The Zombie Chronicles - Book 5 - Undead Nightmare (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (10 page)

“Really? Then what was that noise?”

“Like I said, you don’t wanna know.”

“Val, could you quit with the riddles? What the heck is it?”

“A rat, nibbling on—”

“Fine. You’re right,” I said, holding up my hand to stop her; I didn’t need any more visuals because I had enough nightmares already. “I don’t wanna know.”

“Told you.” She paused, then continued. “Looks like there was some kind of battle in here. All their heads are missing.”

“Good. That’s one for the home team,” I said. In the dim light, I walked over a headless torso with mangled arms, then made my way to the wooden hostess stand. “There’s gotta be a phonebook here somewhere,” I said, rummaging through menus and papers. I was no stranger to dead bodies, but I did occasionally feel pity for the zombified humans. I only hoped the decapitated former humans were in a better place, because I was sure living a zombie existence had to be an unending nightmare. They really were better off dead.

“Found it!” Val said, holding up a very thin phonebook. She hurriedly leafed through it, turning to the page where the drugstores were listed. “There’re only two in this town, one inside a grocery store and another on, uh…Hunt Street. It’s called Oliver’s Pharmacy.”

“Is there any kind of map?” I asked.

She flicked through the pages until she found one in the back. “Looks like the grocery store’s closest, about a half-mile from here. We can get there in just a few—”

She was cut off by a moan echoing from outside, and a cold chill shot through me. “Kate!” I yelled. I rushed to the window and crawled out it.

Outside, three corpses lay at Kate’s feet. The one closest to her was twitching its long, green fingers. Clutching her crowbar, Kate leapt into action, swinging her arms down and finishing it off with one solid blow to the temple.

“Looks like you’ve got things under control out here,” I said, happy to see that the girl could handle her business.

“Geesh, some people.” She smiled at me and shrugged. “I tried to tell him this restaurant’s out of business, but he didn’t seem to wanna listen. Then again, maybe that’s because one of his buddies already gnawed off both of his ears.”

Val shrugged, then looked at me. “Why do blondes get to have all the fun?”

I chuckled, and we headed in the direction of the pharmacy. The town seemed empty as we walked in silence down the sidewalk, ever cautious, passing broken fences, cracked windows, and brown lawns overrun with thick, green weeds, dandelions, and thistles. We hurried past abandoned vehicles, filthy streets, and piles of litter. The smell of animal feces was so strong as we passed one building that I gagged. The only thing missing were tumbleweeds rolling down the empty, lifeless roads.

A gust of wind blew a tattered graduation card past my feet. I stared down at the picture of a graduation cap and grew very sad. Broken dreams, darkness, and nightmares were all that was left, but I intended to change that. I had to make sure to get that serum in the hands of the experts so it could be modified and save the world from zombies and hybrids and all that unnecessary death and chaos.

When we turned a corner, I caught sight of a huge, raggedy garden. In the center was a fountain, empty except for some brown, stagnant water in the bottom, its stone angels covered in mildew, surrounded by the remnants of dead flowers. Standing beside it was a zombie with wild eyes, clutching a limp, lifeless cardinal. Its chomping jaws bit into the bright red feathers as it tried to take a huge bite, but the second it caught the sight of us, it decided it would rather have a meatier meal than poultry. It dropped the poor bird and limped in our direction, reaching its rotting arms toward us. Stumbling on the strewn garbage, its tongue smacked, and it drooled in hunger, a stick, green stream of slime pouring from its chomping jaws.

I gripped my bat and ran at the corpse and kicked its right knee cap out, causing it to fall sideways with a grunt. The air split as I swung fully at lightning speed, thrusting all my anger into the zombie. It was dead in seconds.

“Good job,” Val said.

“You rock,” Kate said, her blue eyes twinkling in the bright light.

The blood- and slime-stained bat suddenly felt cold and heavy in my hands, and my face showed no expression. I felt cold and heartless as the girls motioned me forward. I’d killed it without a shred of remorse. I’d never felt—or not felt—that way before, and I didn’t like how natural it had come.
Have I grown as cold and disconnected as Nick?
I worried.
Am I becoming…someone different?

“There’s the grocery store,” Kate said, pointing to a relatively small market.

Val peeked in the big front window, and I pressed my face against the glass. It was hard to see because it was so dark inside, so Val’s serum-enhanced vision again came in handy. “I don’t see anything, and I mean that literally. The shelves are completely bare.”

“I’m sure survivalists went after all the food and supplies, but I highly doubt they cleared out the antibiotics,” Kate said, peering inside.

“Let’s hope not,” Val said as she began to pry the double-doors open. “Give me some help, would ya?”

We all started pushing on the doors and managed to slide them apart just wide enough to slip through.

“Well, I stood guard last time,” Kate said. “No fair that Dean gets to do all the exploring.”

Val chuckled. “Dean,” she said, “looks like it’s your turn to play lookout. I would, but she’s gonna need my freaky eyes in there.”

I nodded as the girls slipped inside the dark store. Glancing around, I scanned the empty streets. Fallen leaves in autumn colors swirled in the air, cluttering the roads, lawns, and sidewalks in front of old buildings, shops, and a beautiful church. The stained-glass windows of the chapel glistened in the sunlight, and the bell tower brought back memories. I could still remember the sound of the church bells ringing out, still see my mother in her beautiful red dress and heels. I recalled a special Mother’s Day, when I’d written her a poem and a plant I’d potted for her in Sunday school with my own hands. As I gazed up at that dreary, lonely bell tower, I remembered my mother’s beaming smile, and the sentimental words she’d spoken to me that day came to mind:
“Dean,
you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve known. You always care more about other people than you do about yourself. You’re unique and special, and I’m proud to call you my son. I love your zest for life, your enthusiasm when taking on challenges, and the young man you are becoming. I love you so much, honey, and I can’t imagine my life without you.”

Th
e memory of those words hit me hard. Now, my mother had no idea if I was alive, if any of us were. My heart sank as I realized how sad she had to be, how terrified for us, wondering if the cure had worked. I knew she feared for Lucas too. Lucas was Nick’s best friend, but his mother had been a lifelong friend of ours, so it had come as no surprise when she asked our mother to be Lucas’s godmother, and Mom thought of Lucas as one of her own.
If only there were a way to get word to her that we’re all okay.

My emotions surged as I continued staring at the bell tower.
I hoped my parents and grandmother were okay, and I said a quick prayer and asked God to keep them safe and to somehow bring them comfort. My parents were my role models, and if not for their endless support and encouragement, I wouldn’t have been who I was. Even there, in that horrible ghost town, with a good friend possibly dying and my sister and other friends half-zombified, I could feel my parents’ love and support urging me on, telling me to keep fighting and to never give up. I missed my family, but it felt like a lifetime had passed since we’d left the island. Even in the short time I’d been away, I felt like I was becoming a different person.
Do I still have that big heart my mother loves so much,
I wondered,
or am I just a killer now, cold and calculating, like one of the zombies themselves?
I could only hope I was still the young man my mother loved so much, one she’d still be proud of.

A twig snapped behind me, and I swallowed a lump in my throat as I spun around on the ball of my foot. I swung my arms back, gripping the bat tightly. Garbled sounds rang in my ears as a grotesquely decomposing zombie lumbered toward me. Bloodstains spotted its face and white shirt, and its head drooped as it tromped along, its hands hanging at its sides. It reached for me, but just before it could grab me, I spun and landed a kick straight into its rotting chest. As it staggered back, I delivered another powerful blow with my boot, this one slamming into its ribs. It landed hard, and I put it out of its misery once and for all.

Another moan
came, and I squinted through the vegetation, trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever might come next.
My jaw clenched as my eyes focused on every blade of grass.
More were coming, and I winced at the horrible reality of the never-ending onslaught,
my head reeling.

Chapter 8

I spotted three
more zombies coming straight toward me, with more rustling around in the weeds. I bolted toward doors of the grocery store, peered into the darkness, and yelled for Val and Kate. “You guys!” I
drew in choked breaths and peered around me, a sense of dread settling in the pit of my stomach. “We gotta hurry. We’ve got company out here!”

Growling came from behind me, and I spun around. A zombie with matted blond hair, a dislocated shoulder, and a misaligned jaw met my gaze. Its hollow eyes fixated on me, and the smell of death and decay emanated from it, filling my nostrils with its putrid, gut-wrenching, nauseating stench. The creature reached for me but let out a
long, guttural cry as I ended its life with one single swing of the bat.
I nearly gagged from the noxious odor, then yelled again for Kate and Val.

The next one howled for my flesh
, and just as I tried to swing, I felt dead fingers grab my left arm from behind. Adrenaline surged, enabling me to bring my foot forward, like I was in the middle of a heated soccer game, and forcefully slam it into the middle of its leg. That creature slumped to the ground, but the other zombie still had a tight grip on me. Yanking my arm away, I spun around and clobbered it. Meanwhile, the one I’d kicked in the shin lunged at me again, snapping its jaws. I ignored my aching muscles and swung as hard as I could.
BLAM!
Its skull crunched as it crumbled to the ground.

Another zombie leapt for my gut, and yet another foul monster wrapped its bony hands around my ankle. I kicked it but lost my balance and fell backward. Instantaneously, a shadow loomed over me. As it went for my neck, I warded off the attack with my bat, and it crunched down on the aluminum rather than on my flesh, shattering its rotted teeth.

More zombies shambled into the open, surrounding me, at least six of them. Raspy moans filled the air, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold them off forever without a gun. My breath quickened, and I yelled for the girls one last time.

In a blur, Kate and Val appeared at my side like guardian angels. Val swung her axe, chopping one zombie’s head off, and Kate kicked the corpse off me in one hefty kick. I scrambled up and started swinging and fighting, sending blood, goop, and guts flying everywhere. As a team, we took them out in no time. I glanced at the dead bodies littering the ground and pondered. My
life wasn’t reality. Nobody faced constant challenges the way I did. My life read like an action movie and I fought every minute to stay alive out here. It was a battle for every breath I took. There’s no winning or losing…just living…just fighting for another day…just moving forward.

“Val,” I said, breathing heavily and wiping my face with my sleeve, “are you okay?”

She gasped and tried to brush off her clothes with her filthy hands, which only made them dirtier. “Never better.”

I looked at Kate. “What about you?”

She nodded, too out of breath to say anything, and leaned against the brick wall, clutching her chest.

I glanced around. “Looks like we got ‘em all…for now.”

Hard angles dominated Kate’s face. “I’m tired of these hard-fought victories. These caveman weapons aren’t working. We need guns and ammo…and a good set of wheels.”

“I know,” I said. “We’ll find some, but first things first. Please tell me you’ve got the antibiotics.”

“Sorry,” Val said, shaking her head and wearing a grim look on her dirty face. “We looked everywhere. The place is all cleaned out.”

I blew out a frustrated breath, realizing we’d risked our lives in vain—again.

“I found some bandages though,” Kate said. “It’s not what we wanted, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Kate. It will definitely help.”

“We’ve gotta check out the other pharmacy,” Val said. “Lucas is counting on it.”

“Uh-uh,” Kate argued. “It’s too dangerous here. We need to go back and round up the others and—”

Before she could finish, as if on cue, a zombie with bite marks all over its bald head moaned and stumbled out of the bushes. It walked toward her, dragging its feet on the concrete.

With one swing of her crowbar, she knocked it backward. “See? This place is overrun, and the humans who raided this store probably already got to the other one anyway. We’ve gotta find the antibiotics somewhere else. I say we head for another town.”