The Zombie Chronicles - Book 6 - Revelation (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) Page 5

  Nick held Sparkles awkwardly. “Um…I don’t deal with ankle-biters. I prefer Rottweilers and bulldogs, not these yappy little things.”

  “Hey, now! Sparkles is a princess,” Max said. “But be careful. She eats shoes.”

  Claire reached for the tiny dog. “Aw! We’ll take good care of her.”

  I swear I saw Claire smile for a split second, and I thought the dog might be good for her, some cuddly company in a time of heartbreaking grief.

  “Steven!” a girl with long blonde hair called, then rushed out and hugged Steven. She then looked at me and threw her arms around me. “Dean!”

  I embraced her tightly. “Hi, Rachel.”

  “After that raid, I didn’t know what happened to you. It’s good to see you guys. Come in.”

  I walked into the huge lobby and glanced at all the men and women who were sitting around, all of them armed with guns. Nick and Lucas introduced us, and I waved hello. The stairs were gone, blown to shreds, but I immediately understood the brilliance of it; I was sure it had been done purposely to keep the undead at bay, in case they breached the building. The dumb corpses couldn’t climb, so they’d never get up to the apartment buildings.

  “Come on up!” a familiar voice called from the fourth floor.

  “Ed!” I said, glancing up at the thirteen-year-old kid who’d led us around the drain sewers on our rescue mission to save Rachel.

  “Hey, Dean!”

  I grabbed hold of the rope ladder and clambered up to the second, third, and finally the fourth floor. I glanced down the long hallway at the multiple doors. A huge, octagonal window at the end of the corridor provided a lot of light.

  Ed gave me a fist-bump, and I smiled. “What happened to you?” he asked. “We thought you bit the bullet.”

  “Not a chance. We escaped and hid out, then ran into Steven.”

  “Yeah, Steven left the lab and came to Rachel’s dad’s hideout. He’s been here ever since. He lives on the third floor.”

  “Is this where you live?” I asked.

  “Yep. Home sweet home for a year now. I used to come and visit Steven and Rachel at the lab. Rachel’s dad hated them living over there, but she got in a fight with her dad and refused to live with him anymore. They’re cool now though. I guess they worked it all out, so she’s back.”

  “That’s good. Hey, I need to talk to Jonathon,” I said, referring to the scientist who’d helped us at the lab. “Is he around?”

  “He doesn’t live here, but I can always go and visit the lab to let him know this is where you’re staying.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “If he could stop by, that’d be great. Or I could go visit the lab myself.”

  “Meanwhile, wanna check out your new pad? The Joneses were neat freaks, so they took good care of the place—well, all except the stuff their little mutt chewed up.”

  Val climbed up over the edge. “I wanna see it!” she said.

  He handed me the keys and glanced over the edge. “As soon as everyone gets up here.”

  Nick, Lucas, and Claire climbed up, and we were led down to our new apartment.

  “Here ya go. It’s all yours,” Ed said.

  I unlocked the door and walked into a sparsely furnished apartment. There was nothing fancy about the décor—just a few brown couches and lounge chairs with a coffee table. It wasn’t huge, and there was no electricity, but it was nice and clean livable. We had three bedrooms; two had king-sized beds, and one had bunk beds with Spider-Man blankets on them, which made me laugh. The bathroom was equipped with a makeshift toilet, a big, red bucket with a board over it.

  “Well, it isn’t exactly the Ritz-Carlton,” Val said, “but I’ll take it.”

  Lucas lifted up the board. “Whoa! Dude, that’s nasty!” he said, wrinkling up his nose. “I thought you said those Joneses were neat freaks? Who takes a crap and leaves it? The least they coulda done was dump their dump out before they left.”

  “Why don’t you just go take care of it?” I suggested.

  “Huh? Why me?”

  “Well, you seem to always be throwing crap around,” Val mocked. “You might be good at it.”

  “Hey!”

  She laughed. “We’ll draw straws,” she said, grabbing some striped ones from the kitchen. She used a knife to cut them at different levels.

  Lucas was none too thrilled when Lady Luck refused to get him out of the dirty job. “No way, man!” he said.

  “Be a man for once, would ya?” Val said patting his back.

  Shaking his head, he frowned.

  “Dean and I will take the bunk beds,” Nick said. “Val and Claire can share one room, and lucky Lucas gets a room all to himself.”

  Lucas pushed the white curtains aside, and we could all see the security detail patrolling outside.

  After we settled in, Claire didn’t stick around to chitchat. She went straight to her room and shut the door, ready for a long-overdue nap.

  “You’re safe here,” Ed said, “and you’re on the fourth floor. Zombies can’t get up here with the stairs gone.”

  “I like it,” Nick said. “We’ll hole up here for a few weeks, until the herds pass.”

  “Only a few weeks? Why?” Ed asked. “Do you know how many people would kill for this apartment? All they ask is that you take daily shifts of guard duty. It’s all split equally between everybody.”

  “This isn’t our home,” Nick said flatly.

  Val shot him a look. “I’ll never get back on that island with my history, Nick. My résumé has gotten ‘bitten’ written all over it.”

  Lucas winked. “You might wanna add ‘resurrection’ too.”

  She sighed. “Right. They’ll never let me in.”

  Nick pondered. “One way or another, we have to go back. We need to make sure our family is okay, and I’m sure they’re dying to know whether or not we’re even alive.”

  “I agree,” Val said, “but then what? What if they isolate me and schedule me for execution? I can’t go through that again. I just can’t.”

  “Let’s not debate this right now,” I said. “We’ve been through enough, and I’m gonna follow Claire’s lead and try to sleep it off.” The truth was, my heart was breaking, and I was tired of pretending like everything was okay. I just wanted to be by myself. As the others discussed strategies and plans, I walked to my room. I bit my lip when I heard Claire crying softly. I knocked on the door. “Claire?”

  “I just need some time alone, okay, Dean?”

  “Can we talk for just a minute? I’m not feeling too great myself.”

  “Sure. Okay. Come in.”

  I opened the door and met her tear-stained eyes.

  “I’m gonna kill every zombie I see from now on,” she said, standing up.

  I hugged her. “It won’t change what happened.”

  “But it’ll sure feel good.”

  I hugged her tighter, and she embraced me tightly. We just held each other for a long time, so long it felt like forever. She cried in my arms, and I stroked her red hair.

  A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and Nick walked in. “I thought you were taking a nap, Dean.”

  “I was, but—”

  “He heard me crying,” she said.

  Nick touched my shoulder. “Can I have some time alone with Claire?”

  “Um, sure,” I said.

  “Thanks.”

  I left the room and shut the door. I could hear Nick whispering encouragement to her. I’d never known him to be so sentimental, so soft, and it was quite strange.

  I went back to my room and pondered for hours. Val told me our scheduled guard duty wouldn’t start for a few days, so we’d have time to get used to everything, but I didn’t just want to sit around the apartment moping. If there was something to do, I wanted to help, and I needed to keep busy to take my mind off things. Losing Jackie cut deep into my heart and soul, and I would do anything to escape the hurt and pain.

  Chapter 8

  When I woke up the
next morning, I walked into the living room and saw Claire staring out the window.

  She turned to meet my gaze, then looked out the window again, staring at the garden. “Did you see the cows and chickens back here?”

  “I thought I heard a rooster, but I was sure I was dreaming.”

  “Nope. They keep cows for fresh milk and chickens for eggs, and they’re growing all sorts of things in the garden. They’ve figured out how to live off the land.”

  “They’re true survivors.” I saw a jar of grape jelly on the coffee table, along with a bag of crackers, but I wasn’t hungry for breakfast. “Where is everyone?” I asked.

  “They went on some important mission to see if zombies are breaking through the city perimeter. Then they’re coming back and taking a shift of guard duty.”

  “What? I thought Val said they were going to wait a few days. Why are they always leaving me behind?” I asked. “It’s the story of my life.”

  “They didn’t do it to spite you,” she said. “Max, the great leader of this little community, has decided that you and I are risky business.”

  “Huh? Me? Are you kidding?” I asked, swallowing back the anger.

  “Max thinks we’re too upset about Jackie, not emotionally ready to work.”

  I glanced down. “Oh well. We’re not gonna be here long anyway.”

  Her lips pressed into grim lines. “Apparently, we’re staying at least a month.”

  “What? Nobody told me that.”

  “That’s the price of our rent. They need The Three Musketeers to help until the threat is over. I might just go back to the house I was promised in that gated community once everything is back to normal…well, post-apocalyptic normal, when the zombies clear out. I mean, what are the chances the zombie herds will ever crash into each other ever again? It’s like the perfect storm, just like that woman said.”

  “What about Nick?” I questioned.

  “What about him? Is he here with me right now when I need him the most? No. He’s out there doing what he loves. He lives and breathes zombie battles and strategies.”

  “Never mind. That was a stupid question. I know how my brother is.”

  “You warned me back at the nursing home, and I knew how right you were. Nick and I know it can’t work, but we can’t deny the feelings we have for each other.”

  “We can’t change who we care about. They are who they are, and there’s nothing we can do. We either accept it or move on.”

  “I’ll never be number one in Nick’s life though,” she whispered.

  I knew she was probably right, but I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “It’s okay. I knew what I was getting into when I got involved with him.”

  “So…how long will it be before they let us do anything around here?”

  “At least a month.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not sitting around here that long. Next thing we know, they’ll be sending Dr. Phil in to talk to us.”

  “Let’s just be happy they let us in here. It’s nice having our own apartment.”

  “I’m not sitting here in this apartment all day.”

  “I agree. Let’s go back to the lab,” Claire said. “Maybe we can talk to somebody there.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I said, grinning.

  She reached for her gun. “Never leave home without it,” she said, then led the way.

  * * *

  We left on foot and walked down the center of the deserted main street, past residential buildings. We dodged all the litter, debris, and broken bottles. One patch of street was stained with dry blood and shell casings; I kicked one as I walked by. My gaze followed black skid marks to a vehicle that had veered off course and crashed through a window of a candy shop. Shattered glass was everywhere, and abandoned buildings, boarded-up houses, and tangled weeds lined the urban landscape, giving everything a gloomy appearance. Those forgotten buildings were reminders of Fairport’s proud past and symbolized its troubled future. It had once been a thriving city, but now it was nothing more than a dilapidated ghost town, inhabited only by rodents and insects and litter.

  Low clouds hung in the air, and the cold wind whipped through my hair. It started to drizzle, so I zipped up my coat and put my hands in my pocket. My rifle was slung around my shoulder, and I had my pistol in my holster. As we walked, we could hear the echo of our own voices.

  “I bet this used to be a really busy street once,” Claire said, “but now it’s dead quiet.”

  “I know. I haven’t seen anybody—living, dead, or otherwise,” I said.

  “I think Steven was spot on about the zombie repellant. Whatever it is, they oughtta figure out a way to bottle it.”

  “Well, when Rachel was trapped on top of that statue, nobody could get to her because a herd had swarmed that side of the city. I wondered why they hadn’t come near the lab, but now I know why.”

  “I guess the only zombies here are the ones that spring up when somebody dies.”

  “Yeah. Those must be the ones Jackie summoned,” I said.

  “It’s still unnerving, just knowing all those zombies are out there, surrounding the city. What if the repellant stops working for some reason? This place will be swarmed.”

  “It’s held up this long. Whatever it is, the zombies hate it. Too bad the scientists can’t pinpoint it. It’d be a great weapon in the battle against those things. Imagine if every city had this kind of protection.”

  “Once again, people could go to bed at night feeling safe. Things could sorta get back to normal.”

  “Safe and normal,” I said, shaking my head. “So funny that we used to take those words for granted, and now they’re all that matter. Before this all happened, all people strived for was success, but now everybody’s just trying to stay alive.”

  “To live another day.”

  When we arrived at the lab, the whole horrible scene played in my head again, back when the front of the lobby had exploded. I could almost hear the sound of thunder and shattering glass as the trembling building threatened to fall apart. I remembered a bomb-strapped zombie walking toward me, aimlessly wandering in to destroy us all. Now, as it all came back to me in vivid detail, I sucked in a deep breath. Reliving that moment made me shudder. “They fixed everything,” I said, “but they got rid of the glass windows.”

  “Glass is useless in a zombie apocalypse. If anyone knows that, I do.”

  “Yeah. Well, the place looks more…reinforced,” I said as I knocked.

  Nobody answered.

  “Maybe they’re busy working on a project and can’t hear us,” Claire said, pounding harder on the door.

  “Let’s take a walk around.”

  We walked around the perimeter and pounded on the back door, only to get the same lackluster response. Yelling and shouting didn’t work either.

  “There’s no one here,” Claire said.

  “That’s weird. A lot of people lived here before.”

  “Maybe they moved.”

  “Maybe, but the scientists wouldn’t desert the lab entirely. They were doing a lot of important research here.”

  She turned to face me. “You don’t think they’re avoiding us, do you?”

  “Why would they? You think they’re mad that we brought Sam and Larry and that gang here? We didn’t do that on purpose.”

  “They had to cause lots of damage. You said they were shooting a million bullets at you.”

  “I guess the scientists could consider us security risks,” I said.

  “I bet they’d open that door in a heartbeat if you told them you have more of the serum.”

  “I’m not ready to disclose that to them at this point.”

  “We can always come back later, with Rachel or Steven. I bet they’d open the doors for them.”

  “And if that doesn’t work?” I asked.

  “We do a stakeout. If we can catch one of them going inside, maybe they’ll talk to us.”

  “All right. Gue
ss this was a complete waste of time.”

  “Well, time is all we’ve got right now, right?”

  “Yeah,” I said, realizing she was right.

  “Let’s head back.”

  “I’m right behind you,” I said.

  Chapter 9

  A knock on the door made me turn my head. “Who is it?”

  “Steven,” the voice said.

  I opened the door, and his eyes widened.

  “Your brother left you out in the cold, but I know you can—”

  Rachel burst in. “We know what a gem you really are.”

  Steven smiled. “You’re the best sharpshooter around, just the kinda guy we need. I’ve got a friend on the edge of the city who just received report from anther buddy that the house is being swarmed by the front of the herd.”

  “Dean,” Rachel said, “I know you’ve got a big heart and that you want to save as many people as you can. Last night, while Lucas was hanging out with us, he told us some of your near-death stories. You know what it’s like to be trapped in a house, surrounded by zombies, and these people are surrounded by more than you’ve ever faced at once. Can you help?”

  “If there are that many zombies, what makes you think they even have a chance?” Claire asked.

  “Because we have a smokin’ plan.”

  “A plan, huh? And just how many people does this plan involve?” Claire asked, skeptical.

  “Most of the teams are gone, dealing with the zombie threat or guarding the apartment building, but I’ve put a small posse together.”

  “A small posse? I hope it’s more than just you, me, Rachel, and that little kid,” I said, remembering how skillfully Ed had led us around in the sewers.

  “We’ve assembled a team of eight. Some are military trained.”

  “Eight people facing a herd of zombies? No way,” I said. “Rescue mission or not, it’s crazy. It’s suicide. I’ve gotta be more careful, so you can count me out.” When they said nothing and just looked at me in disbelief, I continued, “The last time I took off with you on a mission, I almost died.”

  “But you didn’t,” Steven said. When I didn’t answer, he continued, “If you change your mind, meet downstairs in twenty minutes. We’re gathering some supplies for the mission. I hope you’ll decide to join us. We need you, Dean.”