Eat, Prey, Decay: 7 Tales of the Apocalypse (Zombie, Dark Fantasy, Dystopian, Horror, & Post-Apocalyptic Boxed Set), page 131
"I just want to check her," he said.
"Leave her alone. She wasn't anywhere near that thing," I snapped.
"Just do it, Adam," Gabe snapped.
Adam took another slow step towards me, "Just let me check that she's okay. I promise I won't hurt her."
He seemed sincere and so far I trusted him a little more than I did his partner.
He reached out and pulled Cady's hat off. I felt her squirm inside the carrier. She had been sleeping and had now been rudely awakened. She gave an angry cry and tried to escape the sun shining on her face.
Adam gave her the once over then returned her hat to her head with a quick smile to her.
"They're fine," he told Gabe.
He didn't look convinced, but lowered the gun, "We should quarantine them until we can be sure.”
"We need to get the police," I insisted.
"What do you think we are?" Gabe asked.
"You're cops?" I said, critically. More like vigilantes.
"Let's just say we are qualified to deal with this situation," Adam said.
"What situation? Zombies? Because that's what that was back there. Wasn't it?"
They shared a look and Adam nodded, "Come with us, we can explain everything. And you should get the little one out of this heat."
I didn't have many options. I was sure that Cady needed water and I could do with a drink myself.
Taking off the carrier, I climbed into the back of the car and tried to settle Cady on my lap. Cady wasn't going to comply. She kept wriggling out of my grasp onto the floor of the car.
"Sit still," I snapped. Then regretted it. It wasn't Cady's fault we were in this mess. I needed to keep it together. I got her to sit beside me, by letting her play with a bracelet from my wrist.
Gabe drove us to a small motel, a couple of miles down the road. I was just glad to be in the shade. I gave Cady some water and let her lie on the bed. Still groggy, she soon dozed off.
"What do we do now?" I asked.
"We don't do anything. You and the kid are not going anywhere until we know for sure that you aren't infected," Gabe said.
I shot him a glare. He couldn't keep us here. But where else was there to go?
"What about my mom?" I asked, "She was in the bathroom. Did she get away?"
They shared another look, "She's dead. Turned. We had no choice," Gabe said, in a matter of fact way. There was no emotion in his voice.
My stomach heaved and I raced for the bathroom. I threw up in the sink, before dropping to the floor in tears. They were both gone. Dead. I was all alone.
Fear and despair washed over me and I wanted nothing more than to just lie on the floor and never move again. What was the point?
When there were no more tears left, I got up off the floor. I couldn't give into those feelings. If I did, that was it. And what about Cady? She really had no one. Except me.
I laughed bitterly. What use was I going to be?
One step at a time, I thought. Get out of this town first. Then you can decide what to do next.
I cleaned my face and returned to the main room. Cady was still out for the count. Gabe was stretched out on a chair, reading a notebook and Adam was gone.
"Where's the other guy?" I asked.
His eyes flicked towards me, "He went back to the garage. To take care of the bodies."
I nodded, then realized what he meant.
"No, you can't..." I hurried for the door, but he grabbed my arm, pulling me back.
"They are infected. If some pathologist were to cut them open he could spread the infection. That means more zombies. The only safe way is to burn them."
All the fight went out of me. He was right. I walked to the window and lowered myself onto the ledge.
How can this be my life? I thought.
Gabe was staring at me.
"What?" I muttered.
"How can I be sure you weren't bitten?" he asked.
"What do you want me to do? Strip for you?" I snapped.
He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
"Not a chance," I snapped. What a creep.
"Wouldn't take much. I can see most of you already."
I felt my cheeks flame. Jumping to my feet, I raised my t-shirt off my stomach to show my bite free torso and back.
"That's all you get to see," I said.
He looked amused at my outburst. Jack ass.
Adam returned a short while later. I could smell smoke from his clothes. I focused on my phone, trying not to think about what he had been doing. There was no signal on it, but I was flipping through the photos on it of my parents.
The latest one was taken the day before we left to collect Cady from the foster home. It was in the kitchen, my parents were smiling with their arms around each other. It was cheesy but they looked so happy.
"What are you looking at?" Adam asked, gently.
I turned the screen around to show him, "Just some pictures."
"Who's the woman with your dad?" he asked.
"My mom. Obviously."
Adam took the phone and showed it to Gabe, "Is that the woman from the garage?"
Gabe sat up in the chair, "No, it isn't."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"This wasn't the woman we found. She was a blonde. Your mother wasn't there."
Four
Gabe
I pressed the pedal to the floor as we raced back towards town. The girl had jumped into the car before I could stop her. She even managed to grab the brat kid too. We didn't need her slowing us down. But then if they were left alone, they could disappear and turn somewhere else. It wasn’t worth the risk.
By the time we reached the garage, it was fully on fire. Thick acrid smoke billowed into the air. Anything inside would be crispy fried soon enough. I hesitated outside, revving the engine. Someone would spot the smoke soon and call the fire department.
"If anything got out then it would be attracted to the noise from town," Adam said.
"Not an it! Her! You're talking about my mom," Rachel interrupted.
"Pipe down," I snapped.
She sat back in her seat with tears in her eyes. The kid was awake and tugging on her hair. At least it wasn't crying.
I drove toward town. If one of those things wandered into a crowd then it would be a massacre. No matter who was watching we needed to put it down fast and worry about the consequences later.
I parked back in the town square and we got out of the car. Rachel tried to follow.
"No! Stay here," I ordered.
She dropped back into her seat, glaring at me. God, she was really beginning to piss me off.
Adam and I split up and started searching the crowd. Everything seemed normal for now. Families were eating picnics and kids were running about waving mini flags.
I could also see a lot of cops around, so I kept my gun out of sight. We didn’t need them getting in the way.
It was possible that the zombie didn’t come here, but I knew if it was here, it wouldn't be long before the screaming started. I barely finished that thought when someone did.
*
Rachel
I waited all of five seconds after the two of them left to get out of the car. I lifted Cady up and put her into the carrier. She squirmed wildly making it difficult to get her into it.
“Cady, stay still,” I snapped.
“Momma,” she whined.
“We’re going to find her. Stop wriggling and I’ll get you a cookie,” I lied.
That cheered her up and she let me put her into the carrier. I slipped my arms through the straps and began searching the crowd for my mother.
It didn't matter what they said, my mom could be fine. When that thing attacked she could have panicked, climbed out the bathroom window and ran. As much as I wanted to believe that, I really didn't think that my mother would just leave me and Cady to fend for ourselves.
There were so many people here, the whole town from the look of it. Two little kids raced by me, screaming and laughing, clutching sparklers.
I couldn’t see Adam or Gabe anywhere. If either of them caught up to my mom first…
“Where are you, Mom?” I muttered.
As I moved closer to the bandstand, Cady kicked out, catching me in the kidney and called, "Mommy."
She used to copy me and call my mom - Mommy. Although I suspected she thought everyone was Mommy.
I scanned the crowd. There. Near the hotdog cart, I could see a woman with long dark hair with her back to me. I recognized the green blouse she wore. She was swaying back and forth like she was dancing to music only she could hear. I hurried towards her.
"Mom!" I called.
A few women glanced my way. Slowly my mother turned around. Her face was a sickly white, her eyes completely bloodshot. She looked as though she had a bad dose of the flu.
I slowed down as I got closer, "Mom?"
Her mouth slowly worked into a smile. Feeling relieved, I hurried forward.
"Mom, thank God."
Before I could hug her, two things happened at once. The smile turned into a snarl, drool ran down my mother's face and someone slammed into me from the side.
I felt myself falling and tried to throw myself sideways to avoid landing on Cady. My head struck a rock. Then darkness.
Five
Rachel
My eyes fluttered open and I winced at the pain in my head.
What the hell hit me? I thought.
Then I remembered my mother. I sat up fast, causing the world to spin. There were people crying nearby and I could hear screams in the distance. What was happening?
I tried to stand. The carrier slid off my shoulder making me remember Cady.
She was gone.
"Cady!" I cried.
"It's okay. She's not hurt," a woman said. She was in her late fifties with grey hair. She wore a t-shirt that said Mulligan’s Bakery. A tall thin man stood nearby, holding Cady, who was howling again.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm Lynn and that's my husband Gerry. Are you okay?" the woman asked.
"I think so."
I rubbed at the side of my head. There was lump near my temple. A gunshot sounded close by and everyone scattered. I got to my feet to see Adam trying to fight off a man in a hotdog costume who was trying to chomp on his neck. I couldn't see my mother anywhere, but more of those things were appearing. I could see at least six new zombies. There were several more bodies on the ground too. Would they get back up?
One man, who had his stomach torn open, lay sprawled on his back near a tree. His foot twitched.
"We need to get off the street," I said to Lynn.
"That's our shop over there," Lynn said, pointing at a small red brick building across the street.
"Take Cady and barricade yourselves inside. Don't let any of them near you; they're infected with a virus."
"What about you?" she asked, eyes wide with fright.
"I need to find my mom first."
The three of them headed for the shop while I started looking for my mother.
Okay, so she had looked sick, but that didn't mean she had turned. I hadn't seen any bite marks on her.
A hand closed around my ankle and I screamed. A teenage boy clung to me, his jaws spread wide as he tried to sink his teeth into my flesh. His other arm ended in a bloody mess.
His skin had turned grey and there was a huge chunk of flesh missing from his shoulder. I desperately tried to shake him off.
Suddenly his head exploded, spraying me with brain chunks. I looked up to see Adam pointing his gun at the remains. He pried the hand off my leg.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I nodded, "I, yeah...thanks," I stammered.
"Go and find somewhere to hide."
I grabbed his arm, "Wait, what about my mom?"
The look on his face said it all, "I'm sorry, we had no choice."
I pulled away from him. "Where is she?"
Another zombie ran at us. Adam nailed it between the eyes, its body dropping to the ground.
"You need to get inside Rachel. It's not safe. Think of your little sister."
"Cousin," I replied.
"Please," he said.
I nodded slowly. Heading for the bakery, I kept low to avoid any stray bullets. Gabe was up ahead firing at the zombies. He seemed in his element, barely breaking stride as he took each of them out.
There were a few cops shooting too. I watched as one of them was tackled to the ground by an elderly woman. She bit his throat, shaking her head wildly like a dog. Feeling sick, I kept moving.
I stopped behind a tree to check the street was clear. Lynn was watching from an upstairs window. She beckoned me across.
As I sprinted forward, an arm went around my waist and I was dragged to the ground. I threw an elbow in its face, fighting to get free.
"Stay still," Gabe growled. Not a zombie then.
"Let go of me," I snapped.
He pointed across the street at a shop doorway. A zombie was lurching around. I would have run right into it.
"What do we do?" I asked.
He loaded a clip into his gun. As he took aim at it, three more came racing towards us.
They were moving too fast for Gabe to shoot them all.
"Shit, run," he said. He grabbed my arm and we ran up the street away from the bakery.
I glanced back to see the zombies closing the gap. Weren't they supposed to be slow?
Gabe kept turning corners trying to lose them and I was struggling to keep up. I really didn't want to be eaten by one of those things.
"There!" Gabe said.
Up ahead was a supermarket. The automatic doors parted as we approached them.
Gabe dragged me into one of the aisles and we stopped, pressed against the shelves.
He checked his gun while we waited for them to appear. He pulled a smaller pistol from an ankle holder and handed it to me. I took it even though I had no idea how to use it.
"Point and shoot," Gabe whispered.
I glanced around, the place seemed deserted. It was completely silent except for the hum of the refrigerators nearby.
After a few minutes there was still no sign of the zombies. We must have lost them.
"We should..." I started to stay before Gabe clamped a sweaty hand over my mouth. He pressed me against the shelving unit as one lone zombie shambled by. It paused as it passed the aisle and sniffed the air. It was a middle aged man before it died. I could see blood drip from its left arm onto the floor.
I stopped breathing as it cocked its head. If it turned it would see us.
Something clattered to the floor a few aisles over and it hurried toward it. Gabe lowered his hand.
“Let’s go,” he said. We headed toward the back of the store.
As we passed the canned food aisle, I gasped in horror. A woman in a floral print dress was pinned to the ground, while a zombie bit into her arm. She looked at me pleadingly.
I raised the gun to shoot the zombie, but Gabe grabbed my arm and shook his head. He pulled me away.
"We have to help her," I hissed.
"You'll draw the rest of them. It's too late for her."
"You're a monster," I replied.
He scowled at me. We reached the back to find a room with a huge walk in freezer. There didn't appear to be an exit.
"Damn it," Gabe said.
He turned back to the door when a man in a butcher’s apron leapt at him. They both hit the floor.
I pointed the gun at its head, pulling the trigger but nothing happened.
"Safety," Gabe gasped, as he grabbed the man’s head and tried to snap his neck. He was moving around too much for him to get a grip.
I didn’t know where the safety was so I dropped the gun and grabbed a meat cleaver from a hook on the wall. I couldn't hesitate. Swinging it down, I drove it into the man’s head. He let out a weird squawk and collapsed on top of Gabe.
Gabe shoved the body off him and stood up.
"Nice one," he said.
I turned away, gagging. I killed a man. Oh, God.
As I moved to the far side of the room I saw another door. Opening it a crack I checked to see what was on the other side. A corridor, leading to an emergency exit. And it was empty.
I signaled Gabe. The door behind him crashed open. Zombies poured into the room.
"Go!" he yelled.
We raced down the corridor, but we wouldn't make the exit. Gabe shoved me into an office and slammed the door behind us. He locked it and dragged a desk in front of it.
The zombies began beating on the door. The wood shook violently.
"That door isn't going to hold," I said.
"Yeah I know," he said. He climbed onto a chair and broke out a window set high near the ceiling.
"Come on," he ordered.
He boosted me up to the window. As I wriggled through, I realized something.
"You're not going to fit," I said as I dropped to the ground.
"I know," he called. "Get out of here and find Adam. I can take care of myself."
The door broke open and gunshots rang out. I hesitated. I couldn't reach the window to get back inside, and what use would I be if I did? I needed to go.
I ran off.
Six
Adam
I raced down the street in the direction I saw Gabe and Rachel go in. I had been pinned down at the time but I saw the zombies chase them.
Where the hell did they go? I thought.
The whole town had gone to hell. And it happened so fast. When the first person had been infected there was an incubation period of twelve hours. The people here changed in minutes. If we didn't contain this fast, it could overrun the country in a matter of weeks.
The problem was - Gabe had the radio we used to contact HQ.
As I turned the corner, I collided with Rachel.
"Oh my God, Adam," she cried.
"Are you okay? Where's Gabe?"
"The supermarket. He's trapped inside."
I tried to move past her to go and help Gabe but she grabbed my arm.
"You can't go in there. There's dozens of them. He was trapped in a room with them. It’s too late."
Goddam fool.
I knew Gabe would end up in a situation he couldn't get out of eventually, but I didn't think it would be today. Rachel was sobbing silently beside me. There were more zombies heading our way.
