Get Zombie: 8-Book Set (39 page)

“Easy,
girl,” Granny said. “Not this one.” She pointed to
the woods. “That one. Now go get it, girl! Go fetch!”

And
then all the little aswang kids were gone...vanished into the trees.

Granny
moaned and spun me around. She sat me down on her knee. She looked
even worse than last I saw: all that skin on her face just seemed to
drool away – oh, cruel, cruel gravity! Is this ME in the
future? I gotta remember to stay out of the sun, and no, no smoking.
Granny was all dried out, lookin' something like an unwrapped mummy,
what with the teeth all showing, that jaw a little crooked. Someone
had her skin pulled back too tight. Her eyes kept changing color for
some supernatural reason: brown, yellow, then blue and white –
the whole eye, just fading into one color to the next. Maybe she was
trying to put me into some kind of trance. Well...truth was...I was
more relaxed than I should have been.

She
leaned in, smiling.

“Look,
little girl...I like you, alright? You're tough. No one ever got away
from me before. You're like a grownup in a kid's body. So tells ya
what I'm gonna do. I'm not going to kill you. In fact, I'm gonna make
you one of us, just like your little friend Vol. Hell, I'm giving up
eating kids all together. Wanna know why?”

I
nodded. I smiled a little. She wasn't so bad.

“Uh
huh,” I says.

Now
Granny was serious.

“So
one day I gets a'thinking. Something is making us weak, and it's the
kids! Sure, they have soft, clean meat, but it's also weak meat. And
then I got an idea. What if I just ate adults? And guess what
happened?”

I
nodded.

“You
got stronger?”

“See...”
she said, “that's why I like you. You're smart. And not only
did I get stronger, I also got new powers.” Only she said it
like “Puh-wuhssssss.”

I
nodded.

“Like
putting people into a trance with your rainbow eyes?”

Granny
laughed and looked around at no one in particular.

“Look
at this one! A regular Stephen Hawking!”

Granny
stood me up. She stayed with her butt on the stairs, looking me up
and down, examining me, touching the muscles on my arms and legs.

“Like
I says, I won't be here forever. But I'm gonna try to stay as long as
I can. I mean, who wants to die? Am I right, or am I right?”

“You're
right.”

“So
I'm making an army to bring me more adult beef, as you've already
seen. I'm gonna create a new race of aswangs – a stronger race,
and it all starts today with you younglings. They need a leader.
Someone like them, someone they can understand, someone that they can
relate to.” She narrowed her eyes. “YOU, child.”

“What
about Vol?”

“Oh,
I tried her. She's too into herself. All she wants to do is eat –
all day, just eat, eat, eat! She even murdered some of the kids
before I could turn them into aswangs. I was going to eat her, too,
as punishment...but like I said, I'm having no more of that weak
stuff. You know what it felt like when I had my first chomp of adult
beef?”

“No,
ma'am.”

“My
mind expanded. I got smarter! I started thinking about all these
weird things. I got all sorts of ideas. My body got real sensitive. I
could heard real good. I got cottonmouth. And then I got real hungry.
Just reallll hungry. And the orgasms were quite splendid. Long story
short, it felt pretty darn good. Maybe I can sell the stuff. I could
use the money. I hate living in this damn mobile home anyhow. It's
embarrassing. I deserve more than this. I wanna live in a mansion
around Diamond Head (that's where some of them rich folk live). I
want a pool. I want a big, high definition TV.

But
I don't care for no car. I don't even have my license. Driving is
dumb anyway. Too many crazies out there. You can be the most careful
driver in the world, but get crashed into by some stupid-ass driver
who tried to break the rules to get to work on time. Straaange world,
man. No sir, I'll drive when everyone else learns to drive. Until
then, I'll fly the friendly skies, if you catch my drift.”

She
got close to me. Her fangs were out.

“Now
don't move,” she said. “This is gonna hurt you more than
it's gonna hurt me.”

Go
for it
, I thought (and I think I was still smiling).

I
gave no struggle. The whole thing might be fun – flying around
and scaring the crap out of people. I didn't have my first kiss yet.
Maybe I could steal me a boy and make out with him, whether he liked
it or not. I heard that french-kissing was one of the greatest
feelings in the world, that it was like tonguing a slug. I couldn't
wait. I could do everything I always wanted to do. No boring, useless
school. I could eat what I wanted to eat, beat up those who wronged
me, steal cars, fly around. I felt free! I could do anything I
wanted! I got goosebumps right then and there!

Still....

Something
in me clicked. Something in me backed away a little from Granny. It
was just a little move, but it was enough for Granny to raise up her
eyebrows. She went:

“Hrmm?”

....and
grabbed the sides of my head and dove in for the Big Bite.

My
hands were on her boobs, and I pushed her back into the trailer. I
slammed the door.

BANG!

A
gunshot rang somewhere in the world.

I
looked around – AND DUCKED. A kid aswang cartwheeled over me
and hit the door, crashing through it and landing on Granny. The kid
was all shred up...all dead. Granny sat up and cradled the dead
thing.

“Oh,
my darling Zoot!”

Zoot's
face looked open for business, but no one was home. I looked into the
mobile home and saw all these legs just standing around, feet
tapping, waiting. Granny cried out, and all the legs start running
left and right and bumping into things, knocking over a variety of
useless old people crap.

There
was a huge cry from the woods, then another, and another – a
whole bunch of'em. The little monsters were coming back. Mum chased
after an aswang, shooting at it.

“Get
back over here!” she said. “I just need one of you damn
things! PLEASE!”

She
shot it down, and the thing exploded, and bits of itself rained all
over Mum.

“Damnnn!”
she said, still running, arms out to catch the mess, to catch
whatever she could. “Useless – all useless to me!

I
ain't no seamstress!”

The
mob was catching up to her.

Mum
and I were heading right toward each other, but she was looking right
past me. Her hair had gone white! Her face was all bloody and
twisted. I liked seeing that look of extreme fear on her face. Shows
her right.

Mum
screamed as she ran.

“Aaaaaah!
Help me! Help me, God! Jesus! Buddha! Heeeelp!” Then she
noticed me and said, “GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU STUPID BABOON!”

I
ducked as she leaped over me. A wave of them little aswangs (sans
legs) rushed over me, each one of them laughing all crazy-like. The
wind they carried picked me up and tossed me aside. I landed next to
that cat I saw earlier eating that head's brain. The now-fat cat
hissed at me and ran off up a tree. I made to follow and disappear
into the woods, when Vol fell from the sky and stood right in front
of me. I could tell from her stare that she was all the way loony
tunes – teeth out, hands ready to tear me a new one, nose
twitching, ears twitching, curious burping sounds in her throat, etc.

I
picked up the brain and threw it at her face. She caught it with her
mouth and ran off. Maybe – just MAYBE – there was a hint
of Vol still left in that mindless aswang – that part of her
that saved me. The thing that was Vol sat in the grass and munched
its meal, all the while staring at me.

Now
Mum and Granny ran toward each other. Mum just kept heading straight.
She closed her eyes and yelled out and tackled Granny into the mobile
home. Vol and the aswang kids followed inside. The whole place went
over on its side.

Run,
you bloody idiot
, my brain told me.
Get the hell out from
here! Now's your chance! Beat it! Just beat it!

And
then I heard her screaming.

Mum.

She
screamed; and it sounded like she was in agony. The sound cracked my
brain.

Now
what?

You
should just turn around. I know you wanna be a good person and all,
but this is ridiculous. Just run away and get help and come back
later. Get the police. Right?

It
was true.

As
I turned around, the front door burst open and Mum popped out,
covered in blood, crying, reaching for the clouds. Black smoke rose
from under her. I heard kids begging. Granny was yelling orders I
didn't understand. Mum was looking around, trying to figure it all
out. Her mouth was all over the place.

“Arrgghhelphelpehlpaarrghhh!”
she goes, head shaking like a wet dog, her hair throwing blood.
Aswangs were yanking on her legs, and with each tug she'd pull
herself up again.

I
couldn't move. Couldn't run off. I had to see what would happen next.
Had to be sure.

The
beasts down in that trailer gave a big yank, and Mum went all the way
down. There was a mad fire in there. I could smell cooked beef.

A
few aswangs on fire crashed up through the windows and tumbled in the
air and bounced on the ground. They rolled around as the grass caught
fire. Another aswang flew out, and Mum was on the back of this one –
both of them on fire. They landed and wrestled a bit...then were
still. By this time, the whole trailer home is shaking like a
pressure cooker and ready to explode.

Something
far off called my name.

I
looked to my left and saw Vol on the ground, all burnt and coughing.
She sat up and saw me. It WAS her! I ran and embraced her. She hugged
back. I could smell her hair burning. Granny shrieked and the trailer
home exploded. Her head came flying right at us, teeth chattering
like one of those wind-up toys.

I
punched her head, and it shattered against a tree.

At
first, I was helping Vol walk through the woods. Later, she knocked
out...tired herself out...and so I had to drag her.

I
took her to the stream where I washed her up as best as I could.
Every now and then she'd wake up and point us in the direction that
would get us home. It pretty much was just keep going down stream. So
I did. Dragging her, I did. Just kept going. Happy to be alive. Happy
to have it over and done with.

By
night we were at some busy highway. I tried to thumb a ride, but I
guess people just gotta get home in time to watch the little people
in the magic box. So I did the next best thing to get attention: I
ran into traffic.

THREE

It
was the H1 freeway. A truck turned to miss me. The thing went all
over the place, banging into automobiles. All the cars honked and
cursed, and we caused a big jam. The driver of the truck, one of them
good ol' boys, he come walking out and crushed his beer can on his
forehead and tossed it away. He made his chest all big, and tried to
start a fight with us. I tried to explain our situation. He put his
hands on me. Vol woke up and got all up in his face and pushed him
around. He looked at her in shock – she was all burned and
black. Next thing I knew, she was beating the crap out of that guy.
He was rolling around on the ground, holding his knee and crying.
People stood all 'round, cheering Vol on.

Then
we caught a ride home from some nun.

I
had to break into my own place – shattered the window with a
rock and unlocked the door and dragged Vol inside. I made us some
rice and SPAM. Vol slept with me upstairs, in my bed. A knock on the
front door woke me up, and I rushed down. I grabbed a broom. If it
was Mum, I'd be ready to protect myself. She would be pissed that I
didn't help her. Damn it all. I thought she was dead. Thought she was
all burnt up. Another knock, and I opened the door with the broom
held high above me, ready to strike.

It
was Sherry. The mum of my dreams.

I
cried, and she held me. We fell to the floor, and she cradled me. She
said that everything was going to be all right.

That
I had nothing to fear.

“Everything's
going to be all right.”

Sherry
was downstairs the whole night, whispering into the phone. I didn't
like it one bit.

“I
don't like this one bit,” I told Vol. “We have to bust
out of here.”

I
put on some clothes and opened a window. Vol shook her head.

“I'm
tired. I hurt all over. Kill me now.”

A
whole mess of cars pulled into our driveway, lights blinding us.
Everyone came running out, all their doors closing with loud SHOOMPS.
I started dragging Vol across the floor.

“Let's
go! Move! Move!”

I
put Vol on a skateboard and pushed her into the hallway, and then I
put on my shoes and ran after her. Five strangers rushed me and
picked us up. Vol was screaming like a demon, trying to bite
everyone. One of them yelled out “I got it, I got it! Look at
this thing, Sam!” It was a woman, and she sounded way too
excited.

They
took us downstairs. I tried backwards-headbutting the man carrying
me. “Put me down!” I said. “Sherry! Sherry!”

Mum
stood in the living room, watching some lame game show on The
Filipino Channel. She got up from the couch and clapped.

She
was was all messed up. Post-cooked.

“Good
job, boys! I shall split the money with you all. This is just a taste
of what's to come.”

I
couldn't believe it.

“Mum!
You bitch! Let us go!”

Mum
smiled even more.

“And
I have you to thank the most,” she said. “My daughter.
Thank you.”

I
said something back that sounded like thank you, and Mum slapped me.

Everyone
laughed. Vol snarled at Mum, so Mum slapped her, too – slapped
her so hard with the back of her hand, Vol was knocked out cold.
Sherry walked out from the kitchen and held her hand out. Mum gave
her some money.