Authors: Kristen Middleton
“Serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“Well what kind of game? Monopoly, Yahtzee? Don’t Spill The Beans?”
“Nice try but it’s a game I guarantee
you’ve
never heard of.”
This woman was beginning to irritate her too. “Well, will they let us go if we win?”
“Kid, I don’t know exactly how the game is played but I can tell you this…you lose, you’ll die, and that’s for real. You win,” she shrugged. “Well… you’ll still lose.”
Paige looked confusion. “I’m sorry…what do you mean?”
She sighed. “We’re the pawns in a really fucked up game, honey. A game that has no winners ‘cept the men who’ve created it. The fact is that no matter what happens, you’ll never come out ahead.”
Paige’s eyes hardened. She wasn’t about to give up. If she was forced to play a game, she’d do whatever she had to survive. “A game, huh? I guess I’ll just have to figure out a way to win.”
The woman lowered her voice. “Even if you could possibly win this game of theirs, honey, you’re better off dead.”
Chapter Nine
The sun was going down and the zombies appeared to be waking up all over town. A feeling of dread gnawed in Kris’s stomach as she watched their shadows creep by.
“Wow, look at them all. I doubt we would have made it without this rig,” stated Carly, gripping the steering wheel. They’d had to slow down and it was nerve-wracking to see such horror up close.
Fortunately, the ambulance appeared to be an ideal vehicle for driving right through the many zombies who stood in their way. Most of them stared stupidly at their headlights before they were pummeled while others were just plain lucky and stepped out of the path at the very last minute.
“There it is,” said Kris, pointing to the CDC building.
Carly nodded. “I’ve seen pictures in the past of this place. Doesn’t quite look so impressive now,” she said, pulling into the parking lot.
“I’m going to check on Allie,” said Kris, moving towards the back of the ambulance where her daughter was curled up in a cot, sleeping. She touched her forehead with the back of her hand and sighed with relief to find it still felt cool to the touch. For days Allie had been burning up while her body struggled against the virus that had invaded her body.
“Hi, mom,” whispered Allie, her blue eyes fluttering open. “I thought I was dreaming that you’d found me. But you really did…”
“Yes, sweetie,” she said, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I’m really here. How are you feeling?”
Allie sat up. “I’m okay, maybe a little hungry.”
“We’ll scout around for some food real soon. I’m getting hungry myself.”
“Okay. Um…where’s dad and Cassie?”
She smiled sadly. “Tell you the truth, I’m not really sure. We’re trying to find them.”
You know…I had these strange dreams about Cassie. She was sick but we were together and she made me feel so safe. I hope she’s safe, right now.”
Kris blinked back tears. “Me too, honey.”
“Hey, you’d better come up here,” hollered Carly.
She rushed to the front of the vehicle and gasped at the scene across the street. A man was being dragged towards an army truck by two military soldiers. His face was battered and his dark hair was messed up, but she’d have recognized him anywhere. As the soldiers drew closer to the truck the prisoner came to life and made a last ditch effort to escape. Unfortunately they stopped him and then began hitting him violently with their fists.
“What in the hell is wrong with those men?” gasped Carly. ‘Nobody deserves to get treated like that!”
“Oh my God,” choked Kris, grabbing on to the door handle. “We have to do something before they kill him!”
Then, something happened that neither of them had expected; the rescue team arrived. Only this rescue team would have preferred to kill all three men and snack on their brains in between.
Carly and Kris watched in horror as a crowd of zombies stumbled towards the unsuspecting soldiers, who were still too busy beating their prisoner senseless to notice their arrival. The sickening smiles on the soldiers matched those of the zombies, until they became victims themselves. As the soldiers started fighting back the prisoner stood up and miraculously, began running.
“Follow him!” yelled Kris.
Chapter Ten
“Good thing your brother Walt boarded this shit-hole up, Belinda,” said a tall guy with muscles the size of cantaloupes protruding from his Harley Davidson tank.
“Yeah and good thing the dumb fuck’s wife got her flu shot,” chuckled a raspy bleached blonde woman. She wore a Metallica tank top, a miniscule leather skirt, and tall black boots. She looked like a heavy metal groupie from the eighties; one that hadn’t aged well. “Otherwise,” she said, “I’d have had to kick his ass out of here myself.”
“I’m sorry you missed out on that,” said the big guy as he came up behind her and put an arm around her waist. “But I’m sure what his zombie wife did him in just fine.”
She nodded. “She did many guys fine, I’ve heard.”
“Wow,” snorted a short greasy haired guy who was swigging out of a bottle of vodka like it was water. “You must have really hated your bro and his wife.”
“Walter? Yeah but only after he stopped looking out for his little sister. You never turn your back on family. Never,” she muttered, stepping away from Charlie. She lit up cigarette and inhaled.
Charlie crossed his arms across his chest. “Hon, I thought you said you were the older sister.”
“Well, you were wrong,” snapped Belinda, through a cloud of smoke. “He was forty five and I’m only… twenty-nine.”
Even Charlie was smart enough not to crack a smile at that one. The truth of the matter was the skinny woman looked like she was closer to fifty with all of the scowl lines on her face. Her skinny drawn-in eyebrows, hot pink lips, and dark roots didn’t help her looks either.
Struggling not to laugh himself, he watched from his hiding spot, which was under a booth in the back corner of the bar. Because the lighting was so poor, he could see them but they couldn’t see him. There were four of them who’d arrived at the casino, three men and the blond woman. Before they’d actually broken the boards to get in, he’d taken Luke downstairs, hiding him in a cabinet. Thankfully the kid was a beanpole and was able to twist his body to fit inside.
“Wonder whose Jeep that is in the parking lot?” muttered Charlie as he rubbed his goatee.
“I’m sure it was abandoned some time ago. Listen,” said Belinda in her low scratchy voice. “Why don’t you try and find some food. I’m going upstairs to take a nap.”
“Here,” said Charlie, handing her a bottle of whiskey. “This will help you relax. I’ll be up later.”
“You dirty boy,” cackled Belinda. “Trying to get me liquored up so you can get a piece, huh?”
Charlie laughed. “I wasn’t thinking about that but now that you mention it,” he said, slapping her bony rear. “I’ll be up sooner than later.”
She reached into her shirt and scratched her armpit. “You’d better be quick, I need my beauty sleep,” she said.
She left and he thought it would take more than one night to fix that mess.
“So,” said the third guy with a long white scar on his face. “We gonna hit up some more stores before everyone else cleans them out? Shit, I don’t know about you but if Belinda runs out of her Marlboros, I don’t want to be among the living.”
“Screw that shit,” said Charlie. “I’m done driving all over town just to find gas stations that have already been looted. I’ve got something easier and better in mind. Belinda’s cousin Tony’s staying at some swanky hotel with his posse and they’ve got something big cooking. I want in.”
“The mobster? What’s the deal?”
“All I know is that if we can round up some bitches for them, we’ll have more dope than we know what to do with. It’s coming straight from Colombia, too.”
“You’re shitting me,” laughed Bones. “I never thought I’d get my hands on premium shit again.”
“No kidding,” answered Charlie. ‘You can’t find blow on the streets anymore, only fucking zombies.”
“So where are we supposed to find these broads?” asked Bones.
“Well, that’s why they need us. These women need to be alive and fairly good looking which is, as you know, VERY hard to come by.”
“What they doing with them? Trading for drugs?”
Charlie shrugged. “Maybe. Anyway, you got to figure that eventually this zombie shit will be over and life will go on. Drugs will be in demand again and Tony probably wants to be on top of his game.”
“Okay,” said Bones. “I’m in. Shit, got nothing better to do, anyway. Why don’t you go tuck Belinda into bed and then we’ll go hunting. If there are any bitches left in Atlanta, we’ll hunt them down.”
Chapter Eleven
She didn’t know what hurt the most, the pain in her stomach or face. At least her nose had finally quit bleeding.
“Just remember what I told you, bitch. We own you now. Got that? We
own
you. So you’d better keep your mouth shut and show me some respect,” he spat with a murderous glare.
Paige stared at Marco with mutual hatred, the tool who’d tried to feeling her up after she’d all but passed out from the wine he’d offered her. She’d initially rejected it, but her thirst had gotten the better of her.
“Just one glass won’t kill you,” he’d said with an innocent smile. “Then we’ll see what we can do about finding your family and friends, doll.”
The white wine hadn’t been half bad and she’d guzzled the glass quickly. When he’d offered her a second glass, she’d obliged, feeling warm and fuzzy.
“It’d be a shame for this Moscato to go to waste. It’s a good year, too.”
“Just one more,” she’d slurred.
When her head began to spin, Marco had acted like her best friend, offering a pillow, blanket and a quiet place to rest. Then, when she’d realized it wasn’t her hand squeezing her chest, she’d elbowed him in the face. He’d hollered bloody murder when his nose started to bleed and then pulled out a set of brass knuckles. Unfortunately, he’d gotten her a few times in the face before the other guard, hearing the loud commotion, arrived and pulled him off.
Splatters of both of their blood covered the pillow and she threw it across the room. “You’ll never own me, asshole,” she mumbled as he walked away.
***
After driving around the city for an hour without any clues as to where Paige had been taken, Tiny pulled into the parking lot of a small corner grocery store.
“I’m starving babe,” he said. “Let’s just take a break and see if there’s any food left in this place.”
Kristie stared out the window, her face a mask of despair. “Fine.”
He grabbed her hair. “Why don’t you wait in the van with Kylie and I’ll take Henry with me. As soon as we get back, we’ll keep looking.”
She nodded.
“Come on, gramps,” said Tiny. “Grab your shotgun.”
“Okay,” he said and then cleared his throat. “Listen… Kristie, I just want you to know how horrible I feel. It
was
my fault she was taken, and I am truly sorry. I messed up.”
She turned around and looked at him incredulously. “Oh, Henry. Don’t go blaming yourself. Please?”
His lips tightened. “Easier said than done. I tell you what, though, I won’t give up until we find her, by golly. That’s my promise to you.”
She nodded. “We’ll find her, because I’m not giving up either.”
“Me neither, babe,” said Tiny. “And when I get my hands on the schmuck who took her, he’s going to wish he’d been eaten by a zombie instead of crossing us.”
Chapter Twelve
The man who the soldiers had been beating up seemed to have disappeared into thin air. They’d watched him run into an alley behind several businesses and followed, but when it led to a dead end, he was nowhere to be seen.
“We must have missed a door somewhere,” said Carly, backing out of the alley. It was now nighttime and hard to see much of anything. Especially in a dark alley. “Did you see him?”
Kris sighed as tapped her finger nails on the door, nervously. “No.”
“So, you knew him? Who was he?”
Before she could answer, Carly slammed on the brakes. “What in the hell?”
A large flower delivery van was blocking their path out of the alley. The lights were off and it was hard to tell if anyone was in it.
“Obviously that wasn’t there a moment ago,” said Carly, grabbing the rifle. “I wonder if I should lay on the horn or fire a bullet?”
Kris shook her head. “They’ve blocked us on purpose I’m sure.”
Both women watched their side-view mirrors nervously, not knowing what to expect. There was nobody around and the driver’s seat appeared to be empty.
“This is bullshit. I’m going out to investigate,” said Carly after her patience wore thin. She shut off the lights and whispered, “Keep the doors locked and stay low.”
Kris nodded. “Okay, you just be careful.”
Allie crawled up to the front of the vehicle. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing yet but stay close to your mom, Allie,” said Carly as she shut the door behind her and stepped out into the darkness.
Kris watched through her mirror as Carly crept towards the white van. The darkness seemed so ominous and she was almost certain that flesh eating zombies were going to pounce on poor Carly at any moment. Obviously, they weren’t the ones who’d driven the van, though. At least, she hoped not. Now that there were zombies lurking the streets, her mind was open to almost any possibility.
Allie sighed. “So, where did Carly go?”
“She just went to go check on something, honey. Don’t worry.”
Allie’s eyes narrowed. “It’s more than that, mom. I can tell by your face.”
Kris sighed. “Okay, someone’s blocking our path.”
A single gunshot made both of them jump and Kris began to tremble. “Lord, help us.”
“Mom?” whispered Allie in horror. “Is she okay?”