Zombie Games Book Five (End Zone) (21 page)

“We should come back here if we survive,” said Kristie, eyeing the racks of clothes. “They’ve got a lot of interesting stuff. Quite the mix.”

“Yeah, I just love this halter shirt,” replied Kylie, holding up a
tie-dyed one. “What do you think, mom?”

“Too revealing for a girl your age,” she replied
, eyeing a vintage purple and green scarf.

“I’ll wear a jacket with it,
” said Kylie.

“Come on you guys,” said Paige, leading the way out of the store.
“No time for this.”

“
Hey, don’t leave without us,” ordered Kristie. She glanced sideways at Kylie and lowered her voice. “I think she’s worried about Justice.”

“And Cassie,” replied Kyl
ie, picking up the diaper bag.

“
Yes, and Cassie,” said Kristie, snatching the scarf.

“Mom?” said Kylie, nodding towards the scarf.

She wrapped it around her neck. “If this is my last day on the planet, I may as get myself a parting gift.” She grabbed a beige knit-cap. “Here, I’ll take this for Paige. So she doesn’t feel left out.”

The corridors were quiet by the time they made it back to the
center of the mall. When they reached the hole, they found Bryce and Henry, staring somberly into it.

Paige stopped and stared in horror. “Wh
at’s happened?”

Bryce turned toward
s her, his face filled with grief.

“Bryce?”

He shook his head and walked away.

“Nora pushed all three of them in
,” mumbled Henry, his eyes watery. He removed his hat and hung his head low. “Just like that, they were gone.”

Kristie closed her eyes. “Oh, God.”

Paige backed away from the hole. “No… no, I don’t believe it!”

“It’s true,”
said Henry. “I wish it weren’t.”

“Paige, honey, come here,” said Kristie, handing over Adria to Kylie. She then walked over to Paige and pulled her into her arms.
“Oh Baby. I know she was your best friend.”

“I… I just can’t believe it,” said Paige in a muffled voice.
“Cassie, Bobby, Nora, and Billie. All of them… gone.”

K
ristie patted her on the back, her own tears running down her cheeks. “I know, I can’t believe it.”

“Someone has to find Allie,” said Kylie,
staring at the hole in despair. She turned to them. “She needs to know.”

“Tiny and Justice went to go search for her,”
said Bryce in a hollow voice. “She’s supposed to be at Nordstrom’s.”

“She’s going to be
heart-broken,” said Kristie. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “That poor kid.”

“
Bryce, I’m so sorry about Bobby,” said Henry. “I almost thought that…”

“What?” asked Bryce.

“That he had some kind of power. That he could stop what was happening,” he replied.

“You mean that he was the ‘Chosen One’? Well, I
can assure you, he was just a little boy. A sweet little kid that didn’t deserve to die,” said Bryce.

Henry nodded. “Seems you’re right.
Looks like that was all talk.”

Kristie
released Paige and then walked over to the hole. She stared down into it. “The worst thing is, that it was all for naught. They all died in vain.”

“Yes, but there is one thing we can agree on,” said Paige. “That Travis was a demon and he was responsible for all of this.”

“We can’t argue that,” said Kristie. “That certainly wasn’t Nora doing those things. She had to have been possessed.”

Bryce didn’t answer.

“What’s going on?”

They all turned to find Belinda walking towards them
holding a gun. Her blond hair was sticking out of her ponytail and there was mascara under her eyelashes.

“Belinda,” said Henry, moving towards her. “Thank goodness you’re okay.”

“I’ve been better. What in God’s name is that?” she said, staring at the hole.

“It’s a hole to Hell,” said Henry.

Her jaw dropped. “What? You’ve got to be kidding?”

“He’s right,” said Kristie. “At least that’s what we think it is.”

“Then it
is
true… everything he said.” She stared pensively into the distance and scratched the side of her head. “Have any of you seen Bobby?”

Bryce
opened his mouth and then turned his head away, overwhelmed with emotion.

“He took off on me,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “Dammit, I’d fallen asleep and he snuck out. I’m so sorry, Bryce. I feel horrible.”

Kristie walked over to Belinda and put an arm around her. “We need to talk.”

“
Uh, sure. Did you see him?” she asked.

Bryce nodded. “Yes.”

As Kristie began explaining what had happened, the ground under their feet began to shake.

“What’s happening?” hollered Belinda.

A bright red light poured out of the hole and they all rushed back from the hole.

“What’s happening?” asked Kylie, crying.

A rush of fire and lava spewed up from the hole’s depths, filling the circle completely.

“Look,” gasped Paige, pointing towards the molten bubbles.

A giant face, its’ lips twisting in rage, appeared before them in the flames. Two horns protruded from the beast’s head, its’ eyes were pitch black, and it had a forked tongue which slid out of its mouth, licking the earth.

“Mommy!” screamed Kylie, terrified.

Kristie, in shock, pushed Kylie and Adria behind her, shielding her from the horror.

Giant fingers made of fire grasped the edge of the hole as the beast struggled to raise itself u
p. As its shoulders began to rise above the edge, a bright white light sprang out from beneath the demon.

“Let’s get out of here!” hollered Bryce, backing away.

The beast roared in anger as it struggled to free itself from the hole but the light became brighter, now filling the room. “No…!” it growled.

Henry grabbed Paige, who was frozen in shock. “Get back!”

“Look!” pointed Paige, staring up at the ceiling.

A beam of light from above,
shot down and hit the demon in the head. It screamed in anguish and was pushed down into the hole, along with the fire.

“Whoa!” said Kylie, peaking around Kristie.

As the beam of light continued to pour into the hellish abyss, there was an ear-splitting rumble from deep inside.

Henry
walked over and stared over the edge. He gasped. “I think it’s filling, by golly!”  

“Let me see!” said Kylie.

“No, don’t stay back,” replied Bryce. “You too, Henry. Get back.”

Henry backed up and they all
watched in stunned silence as the hole began to close in on itself, with granite and rocks rising from the core.

“It really is closing!” cried Kristie, her eyes transfixed.

When the hole was completely filled everything became silent and the earth grew still.

“What in the hell just happened?” asked Belinda.

“Bobby,” said Paige, turning to her. “I think it was Bobby.”

“What do you mean?” asked Belinda.

“Bobby and Cassie were pulled into the hole,” said Bryce, in a husky voice.

Belinda’s eyes filled with tears. She smiled sadly. “He did it. He succeeded. Just like he said he would.”

Bryce nodded and wiped his face.

She walked over to him and gave him a hug. “He loved you so much, you know,” she whispered. “So much. So did Cassie.”

He let out a choked sob.

She stepped away from him and touched his cheek. “Bryce, honey, this was his destiny. It was his calling.”

“As the ‘Chosen One’?” he asked, his lips trembling.

She nodded. “Yes. When he told me, I didn’t want to believe it. I loved that little boy, Bryce. I really did. But, he has always known that this would be his fate. He’s known it his entire life.”

Bryce cleared his throat and sniffed. “He did?

“Yes, and he was so proud and honored. You could see it in his eyes when he told me.”

“What about Cassie?” asked Paige, staring at the fresh dirt in the center of the mall. “Was this always her destiny, too?”

Belinda sighed. “
Maybe. I don’t know.”

“What happened to the hole?!” hollered Allie, rushing down the escalator followed by her grandparents.

“Oh hell,” said Henry, rubbing a hand over his face.

Kristie wiped the tears from her face and walked towards Allie. “Honey, we need to talk to you.”

Allie froze and looked around. “Where’s my sister?”

“What’s happened?” asked Steve, stopping next to Allie.

“Where’s Cassie?!” squeaked Allie, seeing the looks of horror on everyone’s faces. She turned to Bryce. “Where is she?”

“She’s gone,” said Kristie, pulling her into her arms. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, pulling away to look into her face.

Kristie licked her lips and smiled sadly. “She was pulled into the hole. With Bobby and Nora.”

“Oh my God,” gasped Irene, her eyes filling with tears.

“The hole? Where is it?” asked Steve, looking towards the fresh dirt.

Henry walked over and explained what had happened while Kristie held Allie, trying to console her.

“And then it closed up,” said Henry. “It was a miracle, though. Whether it was Bobby or God himself, the damn thing closed up and it’s gone.”

Steve wrapped his arms around Irene and they held each other, mourning quietly.

“Has anyone seen Justice or Tiny?” asked Paige.

Allie shook her head.

“No,” sniffled Irene. She cleared her throat. “We found Allie and haven’t run into anyone else.”

“I’ll go look for them,” said Bryce. “I need to get out of here for a while.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Henry, picking up his gun.

“Me too,” said Paige.

“Paige-,” said Kristie.

“Mom, quit coddling me,” she cut in. “I’m not a baby.”

“Just like Cassie used to say,” said Allie, sadly.

Kristie swore under her breath. “Fine. Just be careful. We’ve lost enough already.”

“I know,” said Paige, following Bryce and Henry.

“Oh hell, let’s follow them. There’s no reason to wait here anymore,” said Kristie.

“Speaking of babies,” said Kylie, holding Adria. “Can someone take her for a while? My arm is killing me.”

Irene stepped forward. “Sure, I’ll take her. So, this is the one everyone thought was the ‘Chosen One’?”

Kylie handed her to her. “Yes.”

Irene stared down into the baby’s face. “Poor thing. This must have been a horrible experience for her.”

“She did really good,” said Kylie. “I can’t believe it.”

“What’s her name?” asked Steve.

Kylie smiled sadly. “Her name is Adria. Adria Cassandra Wild.”

Allie wiped her tears and smiled. “You’re naming her after Cassie?”

Kylie smiled back. “Yes. That way you’ll always still have part of your sister. The Wild One.”

“Even in death, Cassie will always be a part of your life,” said Irene. “You can count on that, Allie.”

Allie hugged her. “I know.”

Cassie

Bobby?

Yes.

Where are we? Why is it still so dark?

Open your eyes.

I opened them and blinked in confusion. To say that it was not at all what I expected was an understatement.

“Bobby!” I hollered, looking
around in astonishment.

Instead of where I thought I’
d still be, in the fiery pit of Hell, I was in a lush green meadow, with flowers, blue skies, and birds chirping in the distance.

Have I died?

Technically, yes.

I certainly didn’t feel any different.
“Where are you?”
I yelled, twirling around.

“Sorry,” he replied, stepping around me.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” I gasped, still pretty freaked out. “This is…
where
are we?”

“Where
do you think?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

I looked around again and smiled. “I don
’t know… this place is unreal. I mean, it’s kind of taking my breath away, now that I think about it. It’s just so beautiful and perfect. Like paradise.”