A New Death (Savannah's Only Zombie Novel) (17 page)

“We need to leave! Now!” Tori demanded.

They ran for the auditorium.

“Let’s just grab what we can and get to the truck,” she
yelled as they entered the room. “Lexx, leave the Coke!”

“Aww, mom!” he mock-whined as he began to stuff food back
into bags.

Jeremy fumbled with his bag, trying to get the Padre’s
journal back into it. He remembered reading it the night before, but must have
fallen asleep reading it. Right now, he was focused on getting his bag packed.

He couldn’t believe Ben was gone. He’d only known the guy a
few days, but they really bonded over them. Fighting for your life with someone
will do that. He didn’t even know his last name. It was then that he realized
that they were heading to Ben’s parents. They had no idea how to get there. Ben
was going to switch spots with Tori once they got closer and explain how to get
there. Now he was gone. They now had nowhere to go.

Jeremy immediately felt bad for even thinking about it like
that. Ben was dead. If his parents were still alive, they had no way to know
their son was dead. Jeremy tried not to think about that and just focused on
getting everything together.

“Y’all ready?” Lexx asked.

“I am,” Tori said. “Jeremy, you gonna make it?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he said.

They ran back out into the hallway. Jeremy looked out the
windows to the right. The area between the building and interstate was now
covered with zombies.

“Oh no,” he said, stopping mid-run to stare out the window.

“What?” Tori yelled before stopping herself and looking.

The three of them stood there and watched as what looked
like hundreds of zombies shambled across the landscape. The massive group they
saw the day before must have followed them here. They took a long time, but
they got here and now Jeremy and the others were completely surrounded. They
might have a shot if they got to the truck.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Tori said, tugging on Jeremy’s sleeve.

They began running again. Jeremy’s bag slapped up and down
on his back. He held two pistols in his hands. He knew one had half a clip, the
other was only missing one bullet. He thought about the other ammo. Lexx’s
shotgun had three shells and Tori’s rifle had maybe five rounds left in it.
Maybe four.

As they entered the main foyer area, they heard a roar again.
This time much closer. Looking up they saw what was once LJ standing on the
balcony of the second floor. Its dark, blackened eyes fell on them. It roared
again and then jumped from the balcony. It landed on its feet, putting cracks
in the floor.

“Die, you son of a bitch!” Jeremy yelled as he began
unloading one of the pistols into the monster. The bullets hit in the chest
first, but slowly rose upwards as Jeremy readjusted his aim. The last round in
the clip hit the thing right square in the forehead. Its head flew back.

But it didn’t die. Blood poured from the wound, but the
beast seems unfazed. It bellowed and lunged for Jeremy.

“I shot it in the fucking head!” he yelled, as the thing
came at him.

Boom.

Lexx blasted the thing dead on with the shotgun, sending it
sprawling. He looked at Tori and then to Jeremy.

“Jeremy, get her out of here,” he said.

Jeremy looked at the man dumbfounded. Tori began to protest,
but he pulled her in quickly and planted one right on her lips.

“Victoria, I really did want to bone the shit out of you,”
he said with a coy smile before pushing her back into Jeremy’s direction. The
infected Lumberjack was getting back up and rearing to attack.

“Jeremy, now!”

Jeremy grabbed Tori by the wrist and pulled her away from
Lexx and towards the truck. Lexx pumped another round into the shotgun.

“C’mon big boy! Come and get it!”

Jeremy didn’t look back to see what happened, but barely
made out the shotgun blast over the sound of his own beating heart.

***

Jeremy’s mind shifted into “shit-storm survival mode.” He
was still having to pull Tori by the wrist. She was no longer resisting, but
she wasn’t really willfully following him. Her eyes were glazed over. He felt
bad for her, he did, but he had to get her out of here. For Lexx.

He kicked open the door to the loading dock. They ran
outside, but quickly about-faced. The loading dock area was being swarmed by
the dead.

“Shit!” Jeremy cursed.

His cursing brought the unwanted attention of the dead and
they began their shambling towards him and Tori. He pushed her back through the
door and slammed it shut. What to do? The truck was surrounded. The front was
covered with z’s and Lexx was fighting LJ to the death in the foyer. Where were
they going to go?

His thoughts were interrupted when a group of z’s came
around a hallway corner.

They were in the building too?       Not good. Not good.

Jeremy grabbed Tori and pulled her in the opposite direction
of the oncoming zombies.

“Tori! I need you to snap out of it! We have to get out of
here!”

She seemed to acknowledge his words, but they didn’t sink
in. She remained lost in her own thoughts. He continued to pull her along until
they finally lost their zombie tail. There was a door marked, “Custodial
Office.” He opened the door and pushed her inside. He quickly closed the door,
locking it just as fast. He pushed a file cabinet in front of the door, just to
be on the safe side. Collapsing against the wall and onto the floor, Jeremy
thought about how epically fucked they were.

***

Lexx didn’t have time to see if they got to safety or not.
The beast lunged at him as Jeremy and Tori ran away. He blasted it again with
the shotgun, but the buckshot only grazed the thing this time. It was able to
still hit Lexx, bringing its clawed fist across his shoulder. The pain was
immense, but Lexx was able to keep himself together. One shell left. He had to
do something.

If he could just lure it into the assembly area, there had
to be something there that could kill this thing. He brought the butt end of
the gun across the thing’s face. It grimaced, but didn’t seem too fazed by the
blow.

Duh, Lexx. If it got shot in the FACE and walked it off,
I’m pretty sure you smacking in the head won’t do anything
, he thought.
Touché
self, touché.

It did however give him enough time to distance himself from
the monster. Lexx scrambled towards the assembly area doors. He could hear LJ
right behind him; he looked back in his peripheral and could have sworn he saw
the thing down on all fours. He bust through the double doors into the large open
area where the construction vehicles were built. The beast came barreling
through the doors but was greeted by Lexx, who had the shotgun ready and aimed.

He let the last shell go, blasting the beast right square
on! It was peppered with buckshot; the blast itself sent the creature back
through the doors.

That should give me a second to try and find something
,
Lexx thought.

He looked all around. Over on a workbench lay a giant monkey
wrench. He went over and grabbed it. It was at least two feet long. He opened
the claw so that it was open a few inches.

Let’s see how he likes taking one of these to the head.

Lexx began running for the other side of the room when the
monster came bursting back through the doors, sending the doors flying off in
different directions. He hid himself out of the beast’s sight and waited for it
to get close enough so he could bring the business end of the wrench down on
its head.

LJ sat there for a moment, hunched over. It began to sniff
the air. It was trying to smell Lexx out. Lexx smelt himself.

Oh man. I stink,
he thought.

The monster began to slowly walk in the direction of where
Lexx was hiding.

C’mon, get closer you bastard.

It crept closer and closer. Lexx waited. He had to time this
just right. If he missed, well, he could be dead. He was determined to bring
the open claw right down on the thing’s skull. It may have shaken off the
bullet, maybe Jeremy hit it wrong. There’s no way it could survive a direct
blow to the head with this bad boy.

Now!

Lexx screamed inside his head as he swung out and brought
the wrench down on the beast’s skull as hard as he could. The claw sunk into
meaty flesh and hit bone. The wrench end pushed through, breaking through the
thick plate of bone and ripping into its brain. There was a loud crack and the
beast went tense, pulling Lexx forward. It lashed out in a last ditch effort
and sent Lexx flying. He hit a fabrication machine and slunk to the floor. What
was once LJ convulsed and then went limp. A thick and dark, coagulated blood
gelled onto the floor from the wound.

Lexx watched as the beast died. His own eyes opened and
shut, he felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness. He mind went to
Tori. He knew Jeremy would get her out. He’s a good guy. She’d be safe with
him.

Man, she was a good kisser.

What he’d give for a kiss from her right now. To feel those
soft lips one last time. To run his hands across her curves. If it wasn’t the
end of the world, he would have gone the full shebang and taken her to a nice
dinner at the Red Lobster.

Oh, man. Cheese biscuits…

And with that, everything went black.

***

Jeremy put his head in his hands.

“God, I know we don’t talk much. I don’t even know if I’m
doing this right but you knew my mom, right? Well, she said she knew you. Look,
I’m still not very happy with you, with what happened to my parents and then
what happened to my mom. But, if you could just help me out here. I know it
would mean lot to her. Uh, thanks. I mean, amen.”

He lifted his head and for a moment pictured there being a
vision of what he should do scrolling across the wall. Except there was
nothing. No vision. No sign. Nothing. Thanks God.

Tori was out of her catatonic state and was looking around
the room. Maybe she’d be easier to move now. Out of everyone in the group, she
was the one he least expected to shut down like that. She had been so assertive
before. Almost to a fault. She could have easily been the leader of the group.
Except no, that all had to fall on Jeremy. The nineteen year old was the only
adult in the group. Typical.

“Radio,” Tori said.

Great, now she’s saying random words
, he thought.

“A radio,” she said again a little louder.

“That’s great Tori, maybe we can find a radio station that’s
playing a great song to die to!”

Jeremy begins to hum the tune of a song about it being “the
end of the world as we know it”. He finds this amusing. Tori does not.

“No, fuck-tard. A CB radio!”

Jeremy looked at her. She had snapped out of it.

“You’re back!” he said as he went over and hugged her.

“Yeah, I’m back. Sorry about that. Now let go!”

She pushed him aside and scrambled over to the CB radio that
was sitting on the bottom shelf of a lone bookshelf. She turned it on and
started fiddling with the knobs and switches.

“It still has power! My dad was friends with a lot of
truckers when I was younger. I think I remember the main chatter channel. Give
me a sec,” she said.

“I am so glad you are back,” said a relived Jeremy.

She ignored him and sat the radio down on the table. She
held up the handheld microphone.

“Here goes nothing,” she said, taking a deep breath. Jeremy
crossed his fingers. She clicked the mic’s button on.

“Hello? Hello? If there’s anyone nearby, we’re off of I-95
between Highway 80 and the airport exit. We are in need of assistance. Hello?
Anybody read me?”

She let go of the button and they waited for a response. One
minute passed. Another minute. She tried again and got nothing. Jeremy started
to realize that they would most likely not leave this building. They were going
to die here. He was about to suggest that they make a try for the truck when
the radio clicked on.

“Hello?” a voice said.

“Hello! Hello! Who is this?” Tori screamed into the
microphone.

There was some static for a moment.

“My name is Josh. I’m a truck driver and I’m going to be
passing you shortly. What’s your twenty? Over.”

“We’re trapped in the construction building. It’s me,
another man, and maybe one more. Our truck is surrounded and we can’t get out.
Over.”

There was silence.

“He thinking it over,” Tori said. “He’s just thinking it
over.”

Jeremy wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or
herself.

Maybe both
, he thought.

The radio clicked back on.

“Can you get out of the building and to the interstate?”

She looked at Jeremy. He shook his head. With the mass group
of zombies out front, that would be a near impossible task. Possibly even
suicidal.

“I don’t think so Tori,” he said.

She held the mic back up to her mouth and paused before
turning it back on.

“That’s gonna be really hard for us. We’re surrounded.
Over.”

“Sounds like you don’t have many options then,” Josh said.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes. If you can make it to the interstate, I can pick
you up. Over.”

Jeremy’s mind began to problem solve. If they could just
elude the zombies, they might be able to make it to 95. They still had the
rifle and almost a full clip in the last pistol. It’s not impossible.
Technically.

“Let’s do it,” he said. She nodded.

“Josh? That is affirmative for pick up. Over.”

“Good. Ten minutes. Be there. Over and out.”

Tori sat the mic down on the table.

“Alright, what’s the plan?” she asked. She saw the wheels
turning in Jeremy’s head. And she was right, he did have a plan.

“Ok, plan’s this: We make a run for the front door and make
our away across the field to the interstate. We have enough ammo to only shoot
when necessary. We need to conserve it the best as possible. But that’s it. We
run like hell.”

“That’s a great plan,” she said. He didn’t catch any sarcasm
in that. She really meant it. It was simple and it was efficient. They could
get out of here. They were going to get out of here.

Jeremy took a deep breath and then opened the door. He
peered out into the hallway. Nothing was out there. No zombies. No monster. He
motioned for Tori to follow him. She does and they make their way towards the
front of the building. So far so good.

When they entered back into the foyer, there was no sign of
Lexx or the monster. There were, however, several zombies in the room. Jeremy
looked back at Tori.

“Only shoot if you have to,” he whispered.

She nodded and they began to snake through the living dead.
The first two were slow and did not even realize they had been passed. The
third one did notice however. It reached out, but missed grabbing Tori by the
arm. The rest of the group became increasingly aware of the two humans moving
through their midst. They began to moan.

Jeremy wondered if they had the ability to communicate,
because the moans drew in more dead from the surrounding hallways. Or maybe
they were just attracted to the noise, like the alarm from yesterday. Either
way, more were coming.

“C’mon! Almost to the door!” He yelled, giving up on being
quiet. It was pointless t that point. The dead knew they were there. They broke
out into a sprint towards the door. One zombie got too close for comfort so Jeremy
fired a round point-blank into the thing’s skull. Grayish brain matter covered
one of its buddies but it did’t seem to mind too much. It just kept on coming.

Tori passed Jeremy while he was dispatching the zombie and
was holding the door open, waiting for him to reach her. He ran through the
door and she slammed it shut behind them.

“Thanks,” he said, turning in her direction.

“Look out!” She yelled.

She pushed him aside and rammed the barrel of the rifle into
a z's throat who was about to grab Jeremy. She pulled the trigger and the
bullet traveled out the back of the zombie's head, through the shoulder of
another and finally grazed across the back of one's neck, severing the spinal
cord. It fell to its knees and then over. The one who took it in the shoulder
stumbled backwards, never got its footing back, and tripped over his fallen
comrade.

“Nice shot!” Jeremy yelled. He gave her the thumbs up. She
smiled and pointed towards the interstate. A white Ford F-350 with a stake body
bed was pulling up and they were still a good fifty yards away.

Please don’t leave us, please don’t leave us,
Jeremy
began to chant in his head, as he ran as fast as he could in the direction of
the truck.

***

Lexx opened his eyes. He looked around and was confused on
where he was.

What happened?
He thought as he sat up straight.

He then noticed the dead monster with a wrench stuck in its
head. Blood had stopped from oozing, but a thick puddle of goo covered the
floor.

Oh, yeah...

There was a crash off to his left. His head rolled to the
left. A small group of zombies were knocking tools off a workbench. Lexx stood
up and reached for the wrench. It was stuck.

“Wow, I really got that in there,” he muttered.

He gave it another tug. Nothing. Taking a deep breath first,
he then yanked on the giant wrench and it pulled free with a sickening slosh.
The zombies took notice of the commotion.

“Uh-oh. Hey guys...”

Lexx turned and ran for the door. Maybe Jeremy and Tori had
not left yet. Maybe they were waiting in the truck. He hoped so, as he ran for
the back loading dock. Turning to head in that direction, he stopped suddenly
when he heard a rifle fire from the front of the building.

Tori!

He about-faced for the front. There were several zombies
still in the main room, but there was a trail of extra-dead ones leading to the
door.

Jeremy and Tori must have come through this way.

He brought the wrench down on the head of a dead elderly
woman. She crumpled like a rag doll. He had to take out the rest of them,
because they had swarmed around the front door. Several zombies later and he
was good to go.

But when the path was finally cleared and he looked through
the glass front door, he could see Jeremy and Tori running towards the
interstate. They were booking it. He ran outside.

“Hey guys! Tori!” He yelled, waving his hands in the air.
Zombies were taking notice of him and beginning to moan and shamble towards
him, but he didn’t care.

“Guys!”

They couldn’t hear him. He yelled as he ran, swinging the
wrench wildly. Zombies left and right fell, as Lexx plowed his way through the
crowd. Like a machine, he moved steadily through the mob of the dead. He
watched as a truck pulled up and they both climbed in.

“No!” He yelled.

The truck drove away.

He watched as the truck took off down the interstate.

This couldn’t be happening. This cannot be happening.

The dead were closing in all around him. He stopped,
breathing heavily. His mind began to tail spin. He looked at the interstate,
then back at the building, and then finally to all the zombies that were quickly
crowding around him.

“Fuck.”