Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place (8 page)

They joined the rest of the group and found nothing upstairs, which was a relief to them all. Twenty minutes later, they met the other group already in the lobby.

“
What took ya so long?” Dexter teased when he saw them approaching. When no one replied, he frowned and turned his back on them to look out the door. The wires had been removed, all that was left was to go outside and face whatever was out there.

They decided to stay together as a group, only splitting up to check each building. One group would stay in front and the other would head around back. Since there were so many buildings, they would only go in them if there was a breach of some type. If a building looked secure, they’d move to the next and search more thoroughly later. Their goal was to secure enough of the area to move everyone to a two story apartment building a block behind the town hall. Gordon Reeves, the current mayor of Shady Oaks, figured that was the best place since it sat on two lots and from there they would be able to see anything coming from a distance. At sixty five, Gordon was a tall, slightly stooped stick of a man, with thick white hair, gray eyes, and a permanent smile etched onto his face. Charlie liked him immediately; he could see why the guy was mayor.

Leaving two people behind to guard the town hall, Dexter quickly turned off the still running SUV. Then they split up and made a quick sweep of the nearby buildings. Only the post office was found unsecured, but it was empty. Gordon had found a set of keys inside and after locking the door, he slipped the keys into a front pocket of his jeans.

“
Listen up,” Dexter called out. He was clearly relishing his role as temporary leader, Charlie thought in amusement. “Let’s head back to town hall for a bit. We’ll take a break and grab a quick bite to eat before we check out the apartment. Does that sound ok to everyone?”

Without waiting for a reply, Dexter marched off and the rest followed silently. Darrell caught Charlie’s eye and made a face, Charlie grinned back and shook his head.

Once again, it was Jenny who opened the shelter door. “That didn’t take long,” she remarked as she gave Charlie another big hug.

“
We’ve checked out the immediate area and decided to take a break before we head over to the apartment,” Charlie informed her as he found a place on the floor to sit. Jenny handed him an MRE and as he tore it open he continued. “The plan is to make sure it’s safe, and then we’re moving everyone over there. I think this place has outlived its usefulness,” he added through a mouthful of energy bar.

“
I can’t wait to get out of here,” Jenny muttered as she sat down next to him. “You don’t know what it’s been like down here. If I wasn’t claustrophobic before I came in, I probably am now.”

Charlie patted her knee sympathetically. “Hopefully by tonight, everyone will be able to get cleaned up, fed a decent meal, and sleep in a real bed. How does that sound?”

“
Like heaven,” Jenny acknowledged. She leaned against the wall with a sigh. “I’m so glad you made it here, I don’t know how much longer we could have taken it. I’m ready to get out and do everything I can to take this town back from those nasty things outside.”

“
Speaking of that,” Charlie said, glad she had reminded him. “We’ve only seen the one creepy crawly we told everyone about, and it’s really odd. I saw a few bodies on the ground, but they’re obviously dead.” Charlie thought it was kind of strange he hadn’t noticed them when they came into town, but at the time they’d only had eyes for anything that moved. “None of us really knows what’s going on with them, maybe they keel over and stay dead after awhile, or maybe they just wandered away. I know the town is small, but still...I dunno...we didn’t expect this.”

“
Sounds to me like we got a big break and we’re going to take advantage of that. Once we get over to the apartment, we’ll be able to branch out and get this place cleaned up.”

“
That’s the plan,” Charlie said with a grin. He looked up to see Dexter and a few others shouldering their guns. Break time was over. He leaned over and kissed the top of Jenny’s head. “Time to go.” They stood together and Charlie arched his back to work out a kink. “Shouldn’t be too long; while we’re gone why don’t you have everyone pack up what they want to take with them, that should keep you busy until we get back.”

“
Good idea, I’ll get right on it soon as you leave,” Jenny replied. She walked over to the door and waited until everyone leaving was assembled. “Ready?” At Dexter’s nod, she slid back the bolt and they headed out once again.

They wasted no time getting to the lobby and after posting two new guards, they went around to the back of the building.

“
Over there,” Gordon pointed.

The apartment building
was
close; they only had to cross the street to get there. As they stood for a moment surveying their surroundings, Dexter gave the all clear. Once across the street he stopped and faced them.

“
Let’s do this like we did town hall, we’ll split up into our groups again, Charlie’s group will take the upper level and my group will take the lower. Gordon tells me there’s a basement, and we’ll check that out, too. When it’s all clear we’ll meet back up in the foyer. Charlie and I have our walkies, so if anyone needs help just yell.”

With that, Dexter turned on his heel and headed for the building. After going a few steps, he turned so suddenly that some in the group actually ran into each other as they tried to stop.

“
One other thing, remember to shoot to kill. A shot to the head should do the trick. Keep telling yourself that these things aren’t alive anymore and it’s either you or them,” he said forcefully. At their nods he grinned and Charlie shuddered at the look in his eyes. “I say the only good zombie is a
really
dead zombie, so let’s make that happen.”

As he turned and strode off once more toward the building, Charlie began to feel he was being watched again and quickened his pace. He noticed others looking around nervously, perhaps they felt it too, he thought. They stopped just in front of the doors to the apartment. Or what was left of them. They had obviously been kicked in and one door sagged sadly on its hinges. The other door lay on the ground, nearly broken in two. With Dexter leading the way, Charlie took a deep breath and stepped through the opening.

Chapter 7

Mick wasn’t sure how it happened, but lately he’d found himself in the role of mediator, and it was getting out of hand. Although the building was large, there were only a few places where twenty-two people could find any privacy. Today, Sarah and Denise were fussing at each other, yesterday Dave and Jeff had argued about something. Even Cindy and Lilly had snapped at each other a few times and the kids were bickering. The situation was getting to all of them and Mick didn’t know what to do about it. When Sean and Scott came to him for advice on how to diffuse the situation between their wives, Mick threw his hands up in frustration.

“
Why does everybody think I can solve all their problems?” Mick grumbled at them. The twins just stood there, staring at him with matching grins. Just great, he thought. They think this is funny. Okay, maybe he
was
being a little melodramatic and despite himself, he grinned back. “Both of them share chores, right?” At their nods he continued. “Ok, split them up for awhile; give them time to calm down. Then you two keep talking to them, point out how close they are, how much they’ve shared together, stuff like that until they can’t wait to talk to each other again.”

“
That should work,” Sean replied as Scott nodded in agreement. “Thanks Dad, we knew you would have the answer.”

In perfect synch, they turned to leave, but Mick stopped them. “Guys, it may
not
work, just be aware of that possibility. Everyone is stressed and it may get worse before it gets better. I think it’ll get better – lots better – when we hear from Charlie, but until then try to keep the peace, ok?”

“
Got it,” Scott acknowledged with a small salute as they exited the room.

Mick leaned back in the office chair he was sitting in and closed his eyes. He was parked next to the ham radio, although he didn’t know the first thing about it he’d offered to listen in to give Dave and Jeff a break.

Jeff’s wife Lindsey was ill and running a fever; no one was quite sure what was wrong with her. Parker and Kendra watched over her most of the time, but she wasn’t getting any better so Jeff felt obligated to be by her side, and Mick couldn’t blame him one bit.

If anything happened to Cindy or one of the kids - Mick frowned and stood up, he wasn’t going to let his imagination get hold of that thought - it was a good way to drive himself crazy. But the truth of the matter was that he was scared. He didn’t know how to protect his family, he wasn’t a fighter or a marksman, he could shoot a gun, but that was as far as that went. He knew a little about a lot and was a scholar of nothing. Guess it will have to be enough, he thought dejectedly.

Trying to distract himself out of the funk he was feeling, he sat back down and examined the radio. Dave had checked it that morning, so he knew it was working, and he fervently wished Charlie would check in.

“
C’mon Charlie, call us,” he muttered out loud.

“
Who’re you talking to?” said a voice behind him.

Mick swiveled the chair around to see Rose standing behind him with a plate of baked chicken, rice with brown gravy, and steamed broccoli in one hand and a glass of iced tea in the other. Since Dexter left, she’d lost that pinched look, which softened her features. She even smiled now and then, showing off dimples no one had noticed before. As she held out the food to Mick and smiled, he noted her green eyes were full of life. Mick usually didn’t pay much attention to other women, he had the one he wanted, but the change in Rose was so remarkable, he couldn’t
help
but notice. Remembering what she looked like before, Mick suddenly realized that Rose was – well -
blossoming
. Mick wondered if the change was due to Dexter not being around to grind her under his large and calloused thumb, or was it something else. Mick could easily imagine what Rose was like before she’d met and married the man. The thought made Mick dislike Dexter even more, what he was doing to his wife and son was disheartening, especially after what they’d been through.

Mick smiled back at her as he took the food. “Thanks Rose, I didn’t realize I was hungry until just now.”

Rose gave Mick a quick, shy smile. “You’re welcome. So, who were you talking to? Did you hear something on the radio?”

“
Was talking to myself,” Mick admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed. “When I’m alone with my thoughts, they tend to come out my mouth.”

Rose laughed and when she did so, Mick was startled. Her whole face lit up and where before she was merely pretty, her laughter made her beautiful. He made a mental note to talk to Cindy about Rose; he wanted her opinion on how someone who had first come to them looking like a plain, meek little mouse could undergo such a transformation. He wanted to know if Cindy thought Dexter was behind it, or was it due to trauma she’d experienced before arriving at Hudson Place, or maybe it was a bit of both.

Mick knew from what Dexter had told them that Rose’s sister, Penny, had been killed right before their eyes when their home had been overrun. Dexter said there were so many zombies that the literal weight of them pressing against a large, boarded up window had caused it to give way.

Penny had been visiting them and they were all asleep upstairs. Dexter woke up when he heard pounding noises and the sound of glass shattering below. He was halfway down the stairs when he saw them coming through the window. He’d wanted to get his gun, but he barely managed to get Rose and Kevin into the attic. By the time he rushed back to get Penny, she was being dragged down the hallway. When Dexter realized he couldn’t save her, he sprinted down the hall and dove through the door that led to the attic stairs. Rose had been there waiting for him and before he slammed it shut, they saw Penny disappear under the swarm of creatures as they continued to pour into the hall; she screamed for what seemed an eternity. Rose was in hysterics and Dexter said it had taken every ounce of strength he had to drag her up the stairs. Once he got her into the attic, she stopped fighting him and he was able to secure the two doors behind them.

They stayed in the attic for two days. Dexter punched a hole through the roof with a small hand axe, and they sat up there when the heat of the day drove them out of the attic. Rose was like a zombie herself, obviously in shock over what she saw. If Dexter told her to do something, she’d do it then stare off into space once more. Fortunately, Kevin hadn’t seen what happened; Rose had taken him all the way up into the attic before coming back down to help Dexter, but he knew that Penny was gone and clung to his mother like a frightened baby animal.