Zombie Mountain (Walking Plague Trilogy #3) (7 page)

“
That’s why I don’t trust her,” Carla countered. “No one in their right mind would come up here. Not now.”

It was a good argument. The woman outside moaned and pleaded again.

“Carla...” Mike began.

She cut Mike a sharp look. Her every instinct told her there was something just plain wrong about this woman. Hell, even her acting seemed bad.

“Two of us could go,” Joe offered, ignoring Carla’s misgivings. Maybe he figured the woman was making such a ruckus that it could inspire a zombie attack.

Carla hated it, but Joe wasn’t listening. He was going to help this woman whether the female cop wanted to or not.

He stepped over to the door. “Hold on, ma’am. Calm down.... You don’t want to make too much noise.” He looked back at the small group. “Two of us could go, and the other should stay here to guard Anna, and wait for Jack and Jared.”

Carla wasn’t convinced. Her cop instincts were twisting her gut into a knot. She said as much, not caring if the woman overheard her.

“What was it Jack said?” Mike replied. “Democracy. I say let’s vote on it.”

“
Not everyone is here,” Carla countered.

“
We don’t have time. I see three zombies coming,” Joe answered. Sure enough, a trio of the infected could be seen at the far end of the grass. “Raise your hand if you want to help this woman, or would you rather watch her die?”

Carla folded her arms and frowned as they both raised their hands. “Oh, for crying out loud,” she conceded, angry at being forced to compromise. “All right. But since I’m the one uneasy about this, I’m going. Joe, you stay with Anna.”

Mike ran to get more bullets while Joe unlocked the door. He aimed his rifle and blew the brains out of the oncoming zombies.

Once outside, in the open, Carla’s anxiety increased as she heard Joe lock the door behind them.
This is definitely a mistake....

Meanwhile, the woman, Julie, hugged her. Tightly “Oh, thank you so very much! Come on! We have to hurry!”

Without waiting for them, she took off down the steps.

Chapter Ten

The Los Angeles Zoo was eerie, even in the daylight.

Jack and Jared decided to walk the outer path surrounding the premises from north to south, passing Jack’s small living quarters on the premises, where he and Anna often stayed.

The zoo was quiet, but not entirely empty. Here and there were the dead. Some were animals, but most were people. Humans and zombies alike. Many of the bodies had been consumed.

Jesus.

The most dangerous animals—the lions, tigers, and rhinoceros—were still contained in their respective cages and areas. Jack breathed a sigh of relief once he realized none of them were on the loose. Even better, they looked fed and had water from the gravity-feed troughs.

But nearly all of the other animals were gone; most of their cages stood open and the gates left open.

“
Where do you think they went?” asked Jared.

Jack scanned the area for any sign of life. “I don’t know, probably into the hills.”

“But most of them don’t know how to hunt,” Jared protested. As if he could do anything about it. “They’ll starve.”

“
Maybe not,” said Jack, glancing at a half-eaten zombie corpse nearby. A comic mental image of giraffes wandering around the Los Feliz district chasing the undead down vacant streets popped into his head. “Most are friendly. Or, at least, not carnivores. Although, I can’t say a zebra would be trustworthy in a confined space.”

As they made their way back to Jack’s little home away from home, he found it harder to remain nonchalant. Walking over the dead has that effect on a person.

“It will be interesting to see how all of this shakes out,” he said, looking to find a distraction from the carnage. “Maybe this whole thing is, in fact, part of the process. Part of evolution. Maybe Nature needed to do some housecleaning.”

“
What, because there’s too many of us?”

“
Maybe.”

The pair stepped around several dead zombies piled on top of one another. Jack noticed the one on top had been shot through the head, and not too long ago from the looks of the wound.

Warily, they scanned our surroundings as they continued their silent inspection of the deserted zoo. Seeing the flamingos eating their special diet clued the pair that someone was indeed feeding animals still.

When they reached Jack’s residence, they cautiously climbed the steps to the door facing the hillside. It was slightly ajar.

Jack and Jared readied their guns while Jack motioned for Jared to get behind him as he pushed the door open.

For the most part, the place was as he remembered leaving it. A couple of blankets were strewn over the couch, though, and the place smelled of coffee.

“Someone’s been here today,” said Jack.

“
And they were sane enough to brew coffee,” added Jared, smiling weakly.

Sane tasks, of course, meant a human endeavor. Jack was about to investigate the kitchen when something fell in the bathroom. That door was closed. Jack motioned for Jared to stay back while he slid to one side of the door.

It was then that a familiar voice from the other side said, “Who’s there? Answer me, because if you don’t, I have a shotgun and I’ll blow you all the way to kingdom come!”

* * *

Cole, the agent from hell, prepared to shoot Julie.

He watched her antics to convince the occupants she needed their help. But it wasn’t working. The plan would turn to shit if she couldn’t draw them out. It would be a shame to kill her and have to start over with someone else. However, he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to take them down if he had to.

The door opened and then Mike came out with a woman in a police uniform. Cole lowered his rifle and frowned. He had hoped to trap Joe Carter, as well as Mike Mendoza, in the restroom. He hadn’t thought the lady cop would come. He’d seen Jack Carter and the boy leave earlier. He’d planned on taking care of the woman easily. Slowly.

Still, he could deal with the change in expectations. Cole entered the restroom before they could catch sight of him. He waited behind the door. Soon, he could hear Julie rambling non-stop, which was good because she would provide the distraction he’d hoped for. Hell, she wasn’t letting them get a word in edgewise. If nothing else, he intended to get rid of her soon, just to shut her up.

He closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for battle.

* * *

Carla and Mike strode quickly to keep up with Julie’s trot. Mike listened to her account of what had happened, how frightened Julie was, and what a miracle it was to have found their help.

Carla shut the noise out, focusing instead on the fiery feeling in her gut. Something was terribly wrong here, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. The woman was obviously harmless and scared, but she was also hiding something. Her annoying chatter was coming out too quickly.

Carla glanced around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. She turned her gaze back to the woman, Julie. What was unusual about her?

Julie was clean. More than clean; her clothes were brand new. Not a spot of blood or dirt was on them. Among other things, Carla had washed everyone’s clothes after the massacre, but they were still stained brown. How had this woman kept clean, coming all the way up here from...?

They were very close to the restroom now. “Excuse me,” Carla interrupted Julie’s prattle. “Where did you say you came from?”

Julie turned her head back and answered, friendly enough, “Where? Oh, Seal Beach.” Julie didn’t break her stride, and Mike was so caught up with listening to her that it didn’t register.

But Carla pulled back. Seal Beach... Who in the hell would come here from Seal Beach? What ties did she have to this area? If not Julie, was there someone else involved here?

Julie and Mike hadn’t noticed that Carla had stopped moving. They were about to enter the restroom when Carla shouted, “No! Mike, wait!” Carla bolted to catch him before he entered.

Mike looked back, baffled at Carla, as he pushed the bathroom door open. “Jesus, what’s gotten into—”

Mike never saw what hit him, but Carla witnessed it all. Someone swung a rock, bashing Mike’s head in. She cried out and brought her own weapon up.

That’s when she heard a click next to her. Carla turned, swinging her weapon around, but stopped short when she saw Julie pointing the handgun at her.

Chapter Eleven

“
Brice?” Jack called out. “Is that you?”

“
Jack? Is that you?”

“
It’s me.” Relieved, Jack lowered his weapon.

Brice poked his head out. When he saw Jack, his expression changed from one of fear to relief. “Sweet Mother of God, I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my entire life!” He hugged him like a long lost lover, causing Jack to flinch uncomfortably. “And Jared! Oh, Jared! Son, I thought you left with your parents.”

Jared looked surprised. “Where did they go?”

“
I don’t know, kid. But I’d heard they left town. And not a minute too soon, either.”

The boy’s face fell. It broke Jack’s heart to share in the revelation Jared’s parents had indeed left him behind.

Pieces of shit,
thought Jack, angrily.

Brice blinked as if expecting them to disappear. “Well, where the hell have you both been? It’s been a living nightmare around here. No one left but me. Me and those crazy fuckers.”

“I was just here a couple of days ago,” said Jack. “I can’t believe how quickly this place turned to hell.”

Brice motioned for us all to move back into the living room. He looked beat. He poured himself a cup of coffee while Jared locked the front door. Smart kid.

“Well, I suppose you know now,” said Brice, sitting in a recliner while holding his coffee. Jared and Jack sat in a couch across from him. “Ain’t nobody here to pick up the mess, let alone take care of the animals. They needed food, water, even though I couldn’t take care of them all. Mixing meat and supplements for the big cats takes hours. And the flamingos? Their diet is highly specialized, too. But I can’t just let them go.... Hell, man, their wings are clipped.”

“
I see a lot of the grass–eating animals are gone,” Jack advised. “Luckily, this zoo doesn’t have a lot of big cats.”

Brice stared into his coffee. “Had to let ‘em go, a lot of the animals,” he said in a mournful tone. “Figured they’d have a better chance on their own in the hills around Los Feliz than penned up as prey.”

“And your wife?” I asked quietly.

“
Sent her off to Arizona. Her sister lives there. I don’t know if it’s any better over there, but I had to do something to get her to safety. I just can’t leave the zoo... not yet. It would be cruel to the ones who depend on me for food and water. I hope Arizona will be safe for my wife. Phones are down. I haven’t got a clue if she even made it.”

Knowing the whole damn country was coming undone, Jared and Jack locked eyes, but kept quiet. Jack shook his head slightly, and the boy nodded imperceptibly. Brice needed something to hold on to—and that something was hope and his wife.

“Well, now that you’re here,” said Brice, changing the subject, “can you tell me somethin’ I don’t know? How in the hell did this happen? And what’s going on out there? I haven’t left the zoo in over a week.”

Jack hesitated. Brice was a good guy. He’d worked at the zoo with his wife for the last thirty-five years or so, after serving in Vietnam. Part of the reason Brice loved the zoo and the animals so much was that he’d been raised on a ranch. He’d expressed to Jack his dismay at watching the animals get killed, and he had vowed to work someday where animals were well taken care of, where they were more than just meat for mankind.

After massaging his eyes and releasing a low sigh, Jack looked into Brice’s eager, heartbroken eyes. Carefully considering how much to tell his old friend, he decided to limit the news to Los Angeles and his own family.

* * *

Brice listened intently to Jack’s account of what had befallen much of Los Angeles. And, who wouldn’t be fascinated by the beginning of the end? The chain of events that had taken place in such a short timespan was truly incredible. Hell, hearing it all over again, coming out of his own mouth, seemed surreal to Jack... completely unreal.

When Jack finished with the news about Anna, Brice made a few sympathetic noises. The old war vet wasn’t much on emotion, but Jack was touched by the pain on his face and knew his heart was breaking for him. Good man.

“But she’s safe now?” he asked, seeking assurance.

Jack nodded. “And resting. It’s partly why we’re here. It’s good to stay busy.”

“I understand, son.”