Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde Read online

“Can we pull over? I need to go to the bathroom.”

  “One or two?” I asked.

  “One,” he said tentatively. “I think . . .”

  “I know what you mean,” I said. “We've been in the car a long time. I'll tell you what. The sign said we are almost to the 101 split. We can pull over when we get to the coast and go on the beach.”

  “I'm not going to make it that far,” he warned me.

  “Why didn't you say something before then?” I tried to hide my annoyance but I was too tired.

  “It just kinda crept up on me,” he said defensively.

  “Fine,” I said. “We'll take this next exit. But you better keep your eyes peeled. If you so much as think you see a zombie, we're flipping around and you're holding all the way to Ventura.”

  He nodded, holding his pants and squirming. I pulled the battered truck down the off ramp and toward a side road that ran parallel with the highway. In the distance, the first rays of sunlight were starting to come up.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We drove down a small street that dead ended at a private school. It had a huge field and a large parking lot full of cars.

  “What is this place?” Benji asked in surprise.

  “Looks like one of those fancy schools for kids whose parents are extremely rich,” I blandly commented.

  “Why are there so many cars?”

  “I don't know,” I said. “It's a bad sign though.”

  “It is?” Benji turned to me in surprise.

  “Cars mean people,” I explained. “So where did they go?”

  “Maybe they’re hiding in the school,” Benji suggested. “Like a commune. Maybe they've stockpiled their resources and are surviving until help comes.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “And maybe they’re all zombies now. Maybe the whole place is crawling with hungry, undead monsters just waiting for us to walk through those doors so they can snack on us.”

  Benji swallowed hard.

  “Do you think so?”

  “I don't know. We have to be careful.” I turned the truck around and pointed it back toward the way we'd come. If things did go bad I was planning on driving back up the off ramp rather than looking for the freeway entrance. I put it in park, set the brake, rolled the window down, and got out. Benji followed me. I could feel pins and needles shooting through the lower half of my body. We'd been traveling for so long; I hadn't noticed that my legs had fallen asleep. I grimaced as I forced myself to walk them back to normal.

  “Are you just going to leave it running?” Benji asked.

  “It's not like anyone is going to steal it,” I said, immediately regretting my choice of words. Now if someone came running out of the bushes and took off in the truck I would feel like a total moron. I shook the feeling off. More than likely if we saw someone they'd already be dead. Stealing the truck would be the last thing on their agenda, right after eating us alive and picking their teeth with our tasty bones.

  “Besides,” I continued, “I'm not so sure it will start up again if we kill the engine.”

  “It's barely hanging on,” Benji agreed.

  “Right,” I said. “So this way if something happens we can run back and jump in the truck and take off right away. Worst case scenario is you lock yourself in and take off without me.”

  The large American flag above us whipped freely in the wind, drawing our attention.

  “I'm scared,” Benji said.

  “I'm here,” I said, drawing out my blade. “Let's just get this over with as quickly as we can.”

  We walked slowly up to the front of the school and opened the doors. The hallways were empty upon first inspection. Part of me wanted to walk around the school, do a full sweep of the grounds, but the urgency to go to the bathroom overwhelmed me. Inside the hallway were doors clearly marked Men and Women. I walked cautiously to the end of the hall. Peering around the corner I found both sides empty.

  “Do you see anything?” Benji whispered. He was nearly dancing around now and holding his pants at the crotch.

  “Looks clear,” I said. I pushed open the bathroom door and checked under the stalls. The place was deserted.

  “Hurry,” Benji said, now literally hopping back and forth.

  “Okay. Do your business but don't waste any time. I’ll keep watch outside the door. If you hear me yell, you pull up your pants and get out of there. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Benji said, pushing past me and running into the stall. I shut the door to give him some privacy. The hallways were eerily quiet. I understood that we were basically in the middle of nowhere but it didn't make sense to see all those cars just sitting out front.

  Maybe there was a football game or something, I thought. Maybe they parked their cars and took a bus to a sporting event.

  Looking back toward the way we came in, I noticed a huge cross hanging above the door.

  It's a Christian school, I thought. Maybe they were all raptured.

  A loud flush quickly pulled me back to reality. I heard the water go on in the bathroom as Benji washed his hands. I propped the door open.

  “Everything okay in there?”

  “Better than ever,” Benji said.

  I took my turn while Benji waited outside. It was nice to have a moment's privacy even if I was too paranoid to really enjoy it. I cleaned up and walked back out.

  “I'm hungry,” Benji said when I came out.

  “Well that didn't take long,” I countered.

  “Can we search the school for food?”

  “Feels kind of like we’re pushing our luck,” I said.

  “Puh-leese?”

  “Okay,” I said. “But at the first sign of trouble we’re high tailing it back to the truck and getting out of here. Agreed?”

  “Yeah,” Benji agreed.

  “If I so much as see a dead body, I am out of here,” I threatened.

  We set off into the school at a snail's pace. It was just too much to believe there was no one there. We searched all the classrooms but all I found was a flask of whiskey in one of the teacher's desk drawers. We ended up in the teacher's lounge. I opened the fridge but knew the minute the door swung open there was nothing edible in there anymore. It smelled horrible, like a pile of rotting tuna fish sandwiches.

  “What about the cafeteria?” Benji asked as I gagged and shut the door. “Or maybe some of the vending machines?”

  “Good idea,” I agreed.

  We popped a couple of the machines on our way and grabbed handfuls of junk food. Both times I waited to see if the sound of breaking glass would attract anyone, but there was nothing. So far as I could tell, we truly were all alone.

  The cafeteria had a bunch of frozen food that had gone bad. There were tins of dried pasta and sauce but we'd have to cook them and I wasn't comfortable sitting in one place that long, even if we could get a fire going.

  “What about these?” Benji pointed to two large tins that read FRUIT COCKTAIL on the side.

  “They’re better than nothing,” I said. We rummaged around and found a can opener, then peeled the top off one. I grabbed a ladle and Benji used a wooden spoon. We sat down and ate the sugary concoction of peaches, pears, and cherries without conversation. When we were both too full to take another bite I stood up and turned on the water. It was cold but clean. I rinsed my face and gulped down several refreshing handfuls. Benji followed my lead. I could feel the life returning to me.

  “Did you ever think you'd be so happy to eat canned fruit?” Benji asked. We both laughed. Then I heard something. I froze in place. Benji saw the look on my face and turned his body toward the door. I motioned for him to stay still. We sat there for a while, not making a sound.

  “What is it?” he whispered.

  “I don't know,” I said. “It sounds like a radio picking up static.”

  I took out my sword and held it in front of me as I walked toward the sound of the noise. Behind the kitchen was a small hallway leading to the gymnasium. The doors were closed. There was
a smell in the air that reminded me of an old campfire that had burned out. I held my hand out to signal Benji to stop. He froze dead in his tracks. I leaned over and peeked into the gym through a window in the closed doors. I lowered my sword when I saw the bodies spread out on the floor.

  “What is it?” Benji asked.

  “I found the people,” I said cheerlessly. I tried the door but it was locked. “Stand back.”

  Benji stood against the wall and I kicked the doors several times to try to get them open. They held fast together despite my best efforts. Loud booming sounds echoed down the hallway with each kick.

  If there are any zombies here they'll know right where to find us now, I thought.

  I gave the door one last kick with everything I had in me. The door popped open and the stench of the dead bodies hit me full in the face. I fell over and threw up sticky peaches in syrupy nectar. Benji helped me back to my feet.

  “The smell doesn't bother you?”

  “I'm used to it,” Benji said. “I mean, as much as anyone can ever get used to it. What happened here?”

  We walked into the room, stepping over the bodies of whole families—parents and kids alike. Their faces were purple and swollen, and their eyes bulged horribly out of their heads. I found the radio and shut it off. In the middle of the room were the remains of a large fire and several empty bags of charcoal. I knew what had killed these people.

  “Carbon monoxide poisoning,” I reasoned. “That's what killed them.”

  “What?” Benji asked. “How did that happen?”

  “They tried to light a fire in here,” I noted. “I don't know if they were planning on cooking or just trying to stay warm. With no ventilation, it didn't take long to kill them.”

  “How is that possible? This place is huge!”

  “It doesn't take much,” I said. “We used to do a lot of camping. One time this old couple next to us in the campground put their barbeque away under their trailer, thinking the coals were extinguished. They went to bed with their windows closed because it was cold. The coals reignited in the middle of the night. The fumes came up through the floor boards and killed them in their sleep. They looked just like this when the paramedics showed up to take them away the next day.”

  “How'd they know to look for them?”

  “Ranger found them,” I said. “Came around to collect the campground fees and when they didn't answer he got nervous. I guess he could smell something funny. Smelled just like this.”

  “Is it safe to be in here?” Benji looked around nervously.

  “Yeah,” I said. “It is now. They look like they've been dead for a while. That's why there are so many cars in the parking lot. They probably came here to wait out Z-Day together thinking there would be safety in numbers. They were listening to the radio for updates. More than likely they just got ready for bed and went to sleep but never woke up.”

  I glanced around until I found a well dressed man. I bent down and rummaged through his pockets, pulling out a set of car keys with an alarm.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting us a new ride,” I said. “Thanks, buddy.”

  We headed back outside toward the parking lot. There was still no sign of life anywhere, but I was less worried now. If zombies had been here they'd already discovered there was no food for them. It wasn't likely they'd be drawn back by the smell of two random teenagers over the scent of two hundred plus rotting corpses. I held the keys up in the air and pressed the alarm over and over. Finally a dirty black Cadillac Escalade chirped.

  “Let's hope the battery still has some juice left in it,” I said as we hurried over to it in excitement. I hopped in to the plush leather interior and shoved the key into the ignition. Instantly, it came to life. I felt like fighting back tears as the air conditioning hit my face on full. Benji climbed around in the back seat.

  “Look at this,” he said, holding up cans of energy drinks. Turning around I saw that there were cases of water, energy drinks, and diet soda.

  “Nice going,” I said. Benji smiled. “You leave anything in the truck?”

  “Just that Metallica tape,” Benji said.

  “This thing has a six disc CD player in it,” I said. “It's not going to do us any good.”

  We drove back out the way we came and got back on the highway. There were no signs of life along the way and I was grateful. Despite being knocked-out tired it felt good to be in a luxury vehicle instead of that broken down truck. Benji grabbed us both a couple of sugar free Red Bull's and we knocked them back as fast as we could. I tried turning on the stereo but it just kept telling me the GPS couldn't find the satellite so I shut it off. I was definitely going to miss that Metallica tape.

  In less than ten minutes we turned onto the 101 freeway and made our way down to the sparkling ocean. I noticed we only had a half a tank of gas. That bothered me. The Escalade was a real gas guzzler. There was no way we were going to make it to Hueneme without stopping to refuel. I wasn't sure I would make it much longer without sleep, Red Bull or no Red Bull.

  “So what's the plan?” Benji asked.

  “I'm thinking we should try to stop in Santa Barbara. Look for gas and food.”

  “Jackson is from Santa Barbara,” he said.

  “Oh yeah?” I thought he was just making conversation.

  “He's got a mansion on the beach,” Benji said. “I saw it in People magazine. It's in an exclusive gated community. The whole neighborhood is probably deserted.”

  It's not a half bad idea, I thought. Rich areas would have loads of supplies and weapons. Who knows? Maybe we can even clean up and take turns sleeping.

  “Do you think you can remember how to get there?” I asked as Benji's eyes went wide with excitement.

  “Sure I can,” he said. “This is gonna be awesome!”

  Benji could barely contain himself the rest of the way. We made good time passing through Gaviota and Isla Vista without incident and saw only a few stalled and empty cars. In Buellton I was tempted to stop for gas but saw zombies milling about in the weeds near the side of the road and knew it was too risky. Benji saw them too but he didn't say anything. We were both beyond exhausted.

  They look just like migrant workers from the fields, I thought. Only I know no one works the land anymore. For a minute it made me think of how good things used to be. We never really appreciated it until it was all gone. We were always looking for something better, the new thing to get into. Now I'd give anything to just have things go back to the way they used to be—even for one day!

  The canyons winding down to Santa Barbara were idyllic and empty. We pulled into town and Benji guided me off the freeway and up a hill to an area with a cliff that overlooked the ocean. We made a couple of loops through the abandoned area looking for the entrance to the neighborhood where Benji's idol lived. It was like the world had never ended. We were just two exhausted kids looking for a rock star's mansion so we could get an autograph. Eventually, we found the gates that led to his small plot of heaven.

  “This is it,” Benji said confidently.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “No doubt about it,” he replied.

  The electricity was out on the call box. We had to leave the Escalade behind and go on foot, climbing over the fence. It made me uneasy to be on foot out in the open. You never knew when you were going to be cornered by a small horde of flesh eaters.

  A lot of these homes are only used in the summer, I told myself. Rich people buy them for the real estate investment and then they sit here unused all year long. What a waste.

  Benji led us down a curving side street to a house with a large metal gate with the Ever Rest band logo on the front. This was Jackson's mansion. No mistaking it. I laced my fingers together and helped Benji over the wall by letting him step into my hands and boosting him up and over. Slinging my katana on my back, I scaled the bricks on the side of the gate and swung myself up. The front door was locked and I sure didn't feel like trying to
bash it in. We walked around the side and into the backyard. There was an infinity pool that appeared to run off into the ocean. Benji sat down on some of the patio furniture and began taking his shoes off. He had blisters covering both sides of his feet, but nothing too serious.

  “You wanna check the house before we relax?”

  “I'm really tired,” Benji said. “I think the Red Bull is wearing off.”

  “That and the adrenaline,” I said.

  “I just want to dip my feet in the pool.” Benji sounded defeated. “Catch my breath for a second.”

  “That sounds like a great plan,” I said, yanking off my boots and peeling off my socks. I rolled up my jeans until they were well past my knees, then waded onto the top step of the pool. The temperature was already rising outside and the cool of the water felt decadent against my feet and calves. Benji hurriedly rolled up his pants and joined me, letting out a satisfied sigh as his feet went under.

  “That's amazing,” he said, breathing out the words like a long, relaxed sigh.

  “Yeah,” I said, staring across at the ocean. “And the view doesn't hurt either.”

  “Can you imagine living like this?”

  “Lifestyles of the rich and famous,” I chirped in my best British accent trying to sound like Robin Leach.

  “I'm not saying he didn't earn it,” Benji added quickly, wanting to preserve the image he had of his favorite musician. “It's just epic. I wonder how many famous people he's had in this pool.”

  Benji's words trailed off. We sat in silence for a long time, splashing water with our feet, thinking about the perfect life that Jackson Everrest had once lived and knowing in our hearts that this was only a tiny part of it.

  “It's getting hot,” I said, standing up again. Benji didn't budge. He stared defiantly at me as if to say he had no intention of leaving. I unbuckled my belt and took my pants off. I folded them in a ball and set them off on the grass, along with my sword and my shirt. Without further warning I jumped into the pool in just my boxers, making a loud splash. At first there was the shock of being fully submerged in cool water, but it quickly changed to bliss.

  “I can't believe you did that!” Benji stood up and was yelling at me. My impromptu cannonball had sprayed him good. He had water dripping from his hair and all down his shirt.