Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place (28 page)

“
So how are we going to deal with the zombies?” Diane asked. “If they are getting smarter we need to be much more careful. We also need to go over every inch of the lower floors to make sure nothing can get in.”

Once again, everyone nodded. Mick stood up, absentmindedly rubbing a thumb across the scar on his cheek. “Tell you what; first thing tomorrow Cindy and I will check the building. Lindsey, you and Jeff try to get those kids’ attention. Everyone else can start getting supplies ready for the possibility that we might have to leave quickly. We also need to check out our ammo supply to make sure we have plenty.”

“
I’d like to help Lindsey and Jeff, if no one objects,” Lilly said softly. “I’m ready to do something to help out.”

Lindsey reached over and put an arm around Lilly’s shoulder and gave her a hug. “We’d love to have you help us,” she replied with a grin.

Soon everyone was huddled into their respective group to firm up their plans. When they were finished, only Mick and Cindy remained to turn out the lights. Jeff and Parker were sitting on the balcony; they were beginning their shift. After a quick check with them, Mick gently took Cindy by the hand and headed off to bed. He was certain he wouldn’t be able to sleep after what he’d been forced to do that day, but after Cindy gave him a great neck massage, he feel into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Chapter 32

Fortunately, no walkers were in sight. Unfortunately, there were no trucks in sight, either. This meant no one had missed them yet. Charlie sighed and turned toward the others.

“
Ok, slow jog, no need to get worn out - those damn zombies sure won’t,” he said in a low voice. He felt a little spooked being so exposed on the road.

They proceeded to jog and trot down the road and it wasn’t five minutes before Dexter tapped Charlie on the shoulder. “Look behind us,” was all he said before he dropped back behind Megan and Darrell.

Charlie didn’t want to look back, he wanted to keep moving forward, didn’t want to see what was behind him. Without slowing down, he spun around to jog backward. He raised his eyebrows and whistled softly.

“
That’s not good.” He glanced at the others who only nodded. Zombies were pouring out of the side street they’d exited earlier. A lot of zombies.

“
Didn’t think there was that many people in this town,” he replied, still jogging backward. “And we took out a lot of them already. How many do you think are back there?”

“
No idea,” Dexter huffed. He was in the worst shape of all of them and it was showing. He was covered in sweat and had to keep stopping for a few seconds. He was trying his best to keep up now that the zombies weren’t far behind. “But I’m guessing there’s at least one hundred, maybe more.”

Charlie nodded. “I’d say you’re guess is pretty close. Well, let’s keep going, looks like this pace will keep us ahead.” He frowned at Dexter. “Are you going to be able to keep up?”

Dexter, already winded again and wheezing a bit, only nodded. Charlie turned back around and looked out over the road. He thought he saw movement in the distance.

He pointed. “Look over there; do any of you see a truck? I can’t tell for sure.”

“
I do!” was Megan’s excited reply.

“
Me too!” Darrell chimed in. Dexter grunted, which Charlie took for an affirmative.

Charlie took a quick glance back and asked, “Do you think they’ll come down this far? Do we need to move faster and get further up so they see us right off?”

“
I don’t think we can go any faster,” Megan answered. “When they get closer we can yell, wave, whatever it takes to get their attention.”

“
Ok,” Charlie said. He had a sudden idea and quickly took off his red plaid flannel shirt. Underneath he wore a short-sleeved white t-shirt. “I’ll wave my shirt around, might catch someone’s eye.”

“
Good idea,” Darrell said, still sounding slightly out of breath.

A few more moments passed, the only noise came from the slapping sounds their feet made on the pavement and their heavy breathing as they focused on the truck that slowly grew larger.

Charlie took another quick glance behind him and stopped. The others immediately followed suit. “Take a minute,” he panted. “We’re far enough ahead.”

He stood bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to slow his breathing while he watched the zombies. At that moment he was very glad they were so slow.

“
Darrell, keep an eye on that truck,” he said without looking at his friend.

“
Will do. They’re still quite a ways out.”

“
Thanks,” Charlie said, taking another deep breath.

“
What are they doing?” Megan asked.

Charlie swiveled his head around. “What’s going on?” He shot another glance at the zombies, nothing new there. He stood up straight and looked toward the truck in time to see it turn a corner and disappear. He groaned. “What in the world?”

He heard Dexter groan. “Figures, they’re going the wrong damn way.”

Charlie held up a hand. “Cool it Dex, they didn’t see us. They’ll figure it out and come back this way.”

Charlie tried to sound sure, but he wasn’t. He hoped they didn’t get too far into the neighborhood and get trapped. As he was about to get everyone moving again, the white truck appeared around a corner and sped their way.

“
See!” Charlie shouted as he pointed again. “Here they come!”

He whipped his shirt out of his back pocket and broke into a trot, whirling the shirt over his head as he went. The others quickly followed. A sudden gust of wind coming from behind them literally stopped Charlie and the others in their tracks. The air was so foul, Charlie’s eyes instantly teared up and he began to gag. He knew the zombies were close, but he didn’t think they were that close, the smell was beyond description. He now used his shirt to cover his mouth and nose. He could hear Megan retching and turned to his friends. All of them were bent over and struggling to deal with the stench.

“
Cover your mouths and noses!” Charlie managed to gasp out. “Let‘s go!”

He began walking backward, keeping his eyes on the others. Darrell and Megan, hanging onto one another, managed to cover their faces and head his way. Dexter was another matter. He was on all fours on the ground, dry heaving. Charlie rushed over to him and grabbed him by a fleshy arm. Dexter jerked it away and shook his head. Charlie looked up and caught Darrell’s eye.

“
Help me with him!” he yelled. He was beginning to feel desperate. The zombies were closing in and they had to get Dexter up and moving. If the wind gusted again, it could go very badly for all of them if they didn’t put some distance between them and the walking stink bombs. Charlie took a quick glance at them and felt his stomach roil again. Almost all of them had flies swarming around and maggots dripping from any open wounds. Charlie was certain he could hear the buzzing of the flies below the moaning and groaning sounds the zombies made. When Darrell reached them, he grabbed one arm as Darrell grabbed the other and together they managed to lift Dexter up to his feet.

“
Come on Dex!” Darrell bellowed in his ear. “If you don’t get moving, we’re all gonna die!”

Dexter began moving slowly forward. Charlie and Darrell tightened their grip and hurried him along. Charlie glanced at Darrell over Dexter’s head. Darrell shook his head, his mouth set in a grim line.

“
C’mon Dex, you have to move faster than this!” Charlie urged him again. Dexter moaned, but he did pick up his pace a bit.

Megan was several feet ahead, watching the white truck make its approach. She turned toward the three men. “Don’t think the truck will get here in time,” she shouted. “We really need to run and do it now!”

Charlie put his head down, gripped Dexter and propelled him at a faster rate. There was no way he would let Dexter get them killed.

“
Charlie, maybe we should start looking for a place to hide out, at least for awhile,” Darrell said worriedly. “They’re way too close now.”

Charlie opened his mouth to reply, but a sudden loud bang and the sound of someone whooping cut him off. He swiveled his head to the left. “What in the world?”

He saw a small, dark shape dart behind an old blue minivan. With another whoop, the stranger lobbed what looked like a water balloon at the zombies. Another quickly followed. He was surprised when they struck the zombies and erupted in a burst of white powder. The zombies abruptly stopped - startled - and the ones behind them began to pile into one another. Several more of the balloons began raining down on the zombies, which covered them in a haze of white.

Charlie realized his mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it. From behind the van someone came sprinting toward them. Charlie didn’t know if he was looking at a man or woman because the figure was totally covered in black and wearing a helmet and padding. They were also carrying a wood baseball bat and Charlie could see a backpack. Before any of them could react, the figure stopped before them and tore off the helmet. A young girl, maybe sixteen at the most, stood before them. She had short, curly black hair that framed her face, but her eyes were the most striking blue and sparkling at the moment. She stuck out a hand toward Charlie.

“
Hi! I’m Bitsy Jones, noticed you needed a little help!” she said in a husky voice which surprised Charlie even further. He expected her to sound like a chipmunk. She gave them all a brilliant smile then jerked her head in the direction of the zombies still milling aimlessly around.

“
We need to get moving, that won’t keep their attention for long.”

Charlie gestured with a nod of his head. “What did you throw at them?”

Bitsy laughed and it sounded like the tinkling of half-filled glasses. “Oh that, it’s only flour, but it does the job! Saved me more than once, I tell ya.”

Megan walked over, shook Bitsy’s hand, and quickly made introductions. They all began walking fast as a group, still talking and trying to keep an eye on the truck and zombies at the same time.

Darrell pointed. “Finally, they see us!”

Charlie was grateful to see that sure enough, the truck was pointed directly at them and traveling at a fairly high rate of speed. The group picked up their pace as well, now trotting at a good clip. No one wanted to smell the zombies again.

The truck slid to a stop before reaching them and Charlie smiled with relief when Jenny jumped out of the passenger side.

“
Dad!” she cried, rushing to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. He let go of Dexter and hugged her back.

“
You don’t know how glad we are to see you!” he breathed into her neck. He raised back to look into her face. “What took you so long?”

Jenny frowned. “Those idiots came back and told us what happened, but neglected to even check if everyone made it out. When we realized you hadn’t, we jumped in the truck and took off. Looks like not a minute too soon, either,” she said with a nod toward the now approaching zombies.

“
What’s the white stuff all over them?” she asked.

“
Well, that’s where Bitsy comes in,” Charlie said with a chuckle.

“
Who?” Jenny asked with a puzzled look.

“
Me!” chimed in Bitsy with a big grin. She leapt like a little deer into the back of the pickup and held out a hand to Megan to help her up.

“
We can all talk later,” Dexter grumbled as he hauled himself into the truck bed. “Let’s get outta here.”

“
Dex has a point,” Charlie conceded. He climbed in beside Bitsy and Jenny returned to her place in the truck.

Once everyone was ready, Megan gave the back window two sharp raps. “Let’s go!” she shouted.

As they drove away, all eyes in the back of the truck were glued to the flour-covered zombies who were still following them at a slow but steady pace.

****

Mick was up early, along with everyone else. Lilly was like a woman possessed, she wanted those kids safe and she wanted that to happen immediately. From what Cindy told him, he knew she was on the balcony with the bullhorn trying to get them to answer her. So far no one had seen either child. After grabbing a quick cup of coffee, he started to walk over to the balcony door when the kids came bursting in, all seemed to be talking and laughing at once. Mick watched them for a moment with a smile on his face. A sudden thought popped into his head, causing his smile to grow even bigger. He hurried over to the balcony door and quickly slid it aside.