Zombie Games (Book 4): Road Kill (19 page)

“Sounds like someone above thinks you’re a pretty good mother,” said Tiny, putting an arm around her.

“Or he’s making me pay for all the hell I raised when I was a kid. Is that it, honey?” she asked the baby, who was stared up at her. “Is this my penance for all the trouble I gave my own mother?”

The
baby grinned.

***

“Let me guess,” said Billie, who was lying down in the guestroom of the house, “you’re my babysitter.”

Bryce,
sat down on the floor and leaned his head against the wall. “We just want to keep an eye on you, bro. Just in case.”

“Just in case,” smirked Billie. “Well, it’s kind of unnerving, you know. Everyone keeps looking at me like they don’t know me. Like I’m going to turn on them and rip their throat out.”

He opened up a bottle of water and took a sip. “You’re over-dramatizing everything. They’re a little worried but they still care about you, man. Just chill out.”

Billie closed his eyes. “This is a nightmare. I just can’t believe one of those things got to me.”

“Yeah, it was a bad scene. I’m sorry I took so long on the boat.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said, opening his eyes back up. “I slipped and fell. End of story.”

“But still…”

“Look, Paige was right there and she couldn’t stop it from happening either. The zombie was fast, man.”

Bryce took another sip of his water and noticed the sweat on Billie’s forehead. “You okay? You want something to drink?”

“Actually, yeah.
I’m parched. I think I need some more aspirin too. My fever must be coming back, full force.”

Bryce stood up. “Okay,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Billie closed his eyes. “I’m not planning on it.”

Bryce left the room and walked to the kitchen where he found Tiny, staring out the window. “What’s up?”

“I don’t want to go freaking anyone out,” he whispered. “But I think someone’s out there. And I’m not just talking zombies.”

Bryce moved to the window and looked out into the backyard. “What did you see?”

“I saw movement. By the shed.”

Both men stood staring out the window, when they heard Kristie scream.

Tiny bolted out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the living room.

“Tiny, oh my God, he took the baby!” cried Kristie, who was
alone by the front door.

“Who?” asked
Bryce.

“
Billie! I was rocking her in the chair when he rushed out of the bedroom, snatched her out of my arms, and then took off running outside.”

Bryce ran out the door and towards the
dark street. Hearing the baby’s cries, he turned towards the sound and in the distance he could see Billie’s silhouette.

“Billie!” he hollered, racing towards him.

Billie ignored him and kept running.

“What the hell, Billie?!” he yelled again, the distance between them getting shorter.
“Stop!”

Just then, a vehicle turned the corner and headlights lit up the road. Billie stopped running and turned back to face Bryce.

“What are you doing, man?” asked Bryce, stopping a few feet away.

Billie’s eyes were bloodshot and
his skin was almost a grayish color. “Have to bring him the baby. Have to bring him the baby. Have to…”

“Whoa,” said Bryce, holding up his hands.
“Just calm down.”

The vehicle, a Honda Odyssey, stopped and the doors flew open.

“Bryce!” yelled Cassie, rushing towards him.

“Thank God,” sighed Bryce, as she threw herself in his arms. He cl
osed his eyes and released a deep sigh.

“Billie?” smiled Nora.

“Wait! Don’t go near him!” yelled Bryce, opening his eyes. He turned to her and held out a hand. “Nora, please, don’t get near him, he’s been bitten and is starting to act crazy.”

Nora’s face fell. “What?”

Henry slammed the door of the truck and slowly walked towards them. “What’s that?”

Nora took a step forward. “Billie?”

“What are you doing with that baby, Billie?” asked Henry, spitting out a wad of chew.

Billie stared at them, his eyes wild and his fa
ce covered in perspiration. “I’m…I have to take her to him…all the babies have to be found and taken to him.”

“Who’s him?” asked Henry
.

Billie opened his mouth, b
ut instead of answering, began running with the baby again.

“
Shit, Billie!” hollered Nora, taking off after him.

Bryce and Cassie quickly followed
suit.

***

Billie ran, clutching the baby tighter. He didn’t exactly understand why he felt such an overwhelming urge take her south, or who “he” was, but the desperation seemed to consume him.

“Stop Billie!” yelled Nora.

Nora.

His muddled mind cleared slightly and
his heart began to swell. He stopped and then turned to find himself looking down into her eyes.

God, he’d missed her.

“Give me the baby,” she demanded, holding out her arms.

“No, I can’t. I have to do this.”

Swearing under her breath, she reached out and tried to grab the baby herself.

“No!” he growled, backhanding her.

She fell to the ground and then quickly got back up. “You asshole,” she snarled, “nobody hits me! I don’t care how many times we’ve made out!”

“I…I’m sorry,” he said, horrified of what he’d
just done.

Bring t
he child
, demanded the voice in his head.

He turned to run
, again, when someone grabbed his arm, yanking him backwards.

“Thank you,” said Cassie, snatching the baby from his arms while Bryce subdued him
with a strangle-hold.

“Let me go,” he pleaded, his voice hoarse. “I have to bring the baby to him.”

“Bullshit,” snarled
Nora, storming towards him. “Let him go, Bryce.”

Bryce released him and the last thing he remembered before the darkness came, was Nora’s foot slamming into his chin.

Cassie

“Don’t you
ever
leave me again,” he whispered into my hair.

“Bryce,”
I said, “I can’t breathe.”

He loosened his arms
around my waist and sighed. “What were you thinking? Seriously, what were you thinking?”

I stepped back, avoiding his eyes. “Don’t start with me.”

“They’re in Atlanta, you know. Your grandparents. If you wouldn’t have taken off the way you did, you’d probably be reunited as we speak.”

“Atlanta is a big city, Bryce. Chances are we wouldn’t have passe
d each other on the streets.”

“Your sister is still out there.”

My heart stopped.

My sister?

I looked up at him in horror. “What?”

“Guess you two have more in common than you thought. She left with Kylie and Luke, to search for you.”

“When?” I asked.

“Right after you left.”

“Oh my God,” I moaned, closing my eyes. “It’s too dangerous for those girls to be out on the road.”

He nodded.
“Exactly. Too dangerous for all of you. My only consolation was that you had Henry backing you up. Luke, though, Luke is just a kid.”

“We have to find them,”
I said, storming out of the bedroom.

I had to find
her
. My little sister.

He followed me. “Yeah, well we’ve been trying to
do that without any luck. I think we should stick around here, see if they show up, like you guys just did. I think our odds are better there.”

I began to pace. “I just found her and now she’
s missing again? And now Kylie too! Oh my God, what were they thinking?”

“
What were
they
thinking? Isn’t it obvious?”

I stopped
. “What, that she feels like I abandoned her?”

“
Those are your words, not mine. Obviously, she loves you and wants to be with you.”

Sitting down in the arm-
chair, I put my head in my hands. “I don’t know what to do, now.”

“Like I said, we wait here for a few days and see if she shows up.”

I nodded and stood up. “Okay. Meanwhile, I’m going to the Mall Of America.”

His eyes widened. “Excuse me? Now isn’t the time to shop for a new purse.”

I told him about the man on the radio and how they were urging other survivors to join them. “Maybe the girls heard him, too, and decided to go there first?”

“
Maybe. Well, obviously I’m coming with you,” he said.

Just then Paige walked into the living room. “
Okay, where are you going, now?

I told her what we’d heard on the radio and she
immediately volunteered to join us.

“You should stay here,” said Bryce.

She glared at him. “Don’t tell me what to do. Kylie is my sister and I’m leaving here with you guys.”

“She should come,” I said. Paige had already went off on me about leaving her behind in Atlanta and I wasn’t about to piss her off again. Besides, it was her sister
that was missing, just like mine.

Bryce sighed.
“Fine.”

“Well, Billie is still unconscious,” said Kristie, walking into the room. “We
have him tied up and Nora is watching him.”

“What
in the hell was he doing with Adria?” asked Paige. “Is he going crazy or something?”

Bryce shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been acting strange ever since that zombie bit him.”

“A zombie bit him? How long ago?” I asked.

“
About four hours,” answered Bryce.

I closed my eyes
and sighed.

Poor Billie.

My fault.

“Nora is pretty distraught,” said Kristie. “First, seeing her father and now Billie. I think she really cares about him.”

“
Has he been showing signs of aggression or other disturbing behavior?” I asked, opening my eyes.

“Stealing a baby and running off into the nig
ht, that’s pretty disturbing,” said Bryce. “He was also mumbling something about taking the baby to ‘him’. We just can’t trust Billie anymore.”

“He might pull through this,” I said.
“Allie and I did.”

“Maybe.
But for now we’re going to have to watch him closely and keep him away from the baby,” said Kristie. “Where’s Henry and Adria?”

“
I think they’re outside on the porch,” I said. “Watching the sun rise together.”

Kristie smiled. “Did you see the way his eyes lit up when
Adria smiled at him?”

“He loves children
,” I said and then told her about our ordeal at the church.

Paige scowled. “What kind of a person would try to torch a church?”

“And one filled with children,” I added. “God, I hope that Allie and Kylie don’t run into these guys. The chances are slim but…”

“Which way were these two knuckleheads traveling?” asked Kristie.

“I have no idea,” I said.

“Well, let’s get going,” said Bryce.
“We shouldn’t waste anymore time.”

Kristie’s eyebrows shot up. “Where
in the hell are you going, now?”

I filled her in on the radio transmission.

“You think Allie and Kylie might have went out there to meet that guy?”

“I don’t know
, but it’s worth checking out. For all we know, the girls beat us to Minnesota, heard the announcement, and decided to see what was happening there. You know those two and malls.” I smiled. “An open mall with designer-clothing and millions of shoes at their disposal. It’d be like winning the lottery for them.”

She smirked. “Now
I’m
starting to get jealous! Well, we’ll hang out here and see if they show up while you go to Bloomington. Who knows, you might even find your grandparents there.”

“They’re supposed to be in Atlanta,” I said.

“Are you kidding me?
Nobody
is where they’re supposed to be,” said Kristie.

“This is true,” I said.

“I’m going with them,” informed Paige.

Kristie nodded, reluctantly. “Fine, but listen to Bryce and don’t try anymore crazy heroics.”