The Zombie Zovels (Book 1): Zombie Suburbia Read online

  There was a weird awkward silence.

  Lane cleared his throat like he was waiting for me to speak first, but I didn't know what to say, so Lane finally broke the silence first.

  “So what's the plan?” he asked.

  “The plan?”

  “Yeah the plan, where do we go from here?”

  “I dunno, I don't have a plan.”

  “Okay, what about the plan for tonight, what do we do when it gets dark?”

  “We find somewhere to take shelter. Why, what do you normally do?”

  “Hide.”

  “There is nowhere to hide. They'll always find you.”

  “What about when we get hungry?”

  I looked over at him, unsure if he was kidding.

  “Find something to eat.”

  “What if they find us?” he asked.

  “Then we run if we can or fight if we have to.”

  “What if we get bitten?”

  I came to a stop along the road and turned to him.

  “Look, Lane, I'm not your mom. I'm not gonna hold your hand and talk you through how to survive the zombie apocalypse 101. We happen to be walking the same way, that doesn't mean we need to get to know each other, and I don't want to be friends because you'll probably end up dead in a week. I'm kind of surprised you survived for this long... How have you made it this far?” “I was one of the lucky ones.”

  Figures. The best of the bunch picked for survival.

  They started evacuating humans out accordingly. Which meant if you had clever parents you got picked. Lane's father was a professor at the university, teaching Physics, and his mother was a Doctor. The only way I knew this was because Pip had mentioned it. More than once. The lucky ones were evacuated to the nearest facility that had been set up, armed with military guards. They had supplies flown over and dropped, including medicine and food. Apparently they were deemed the safest places to be.

  My dad being ex-military was invited and I was his daughter which automatically got me a free pass. One problem, though, my mom and dad never got married and they wouldn't accept her. Obviously, there was no way my dad was going to leave my mom as she was pregnant and he had been crazy about her since high school. They wanted me to go to the facility, hell, dad practically forced me out the front door, but I couldn't leave them. In the end, I was glad I hadn't gone. I got to spend more time with my parents. Later on, I heard from different survivors that the infection had still got into the facilities and overtaken some places, then people scattered and took shelter wherever they could, staying in numbers for safety. I was at a secure high school for two months before it was attacked and overrun by zombies, which was the last time I felt mildly safe as there were a few armed guards that had come from another facility.

  “Good for you.” I said dryly.

  “What if I have to pee?”

  “For fuck's sake, Lane, if you wanna pee then you pee, just do it there in the middle of the road. I don't care! Don't ask me any more dumb questions.”

  “Sorry!” he mumbled, looking hurt.

  “We walk until we find a crossroad then we'll say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. Sound good to you?”

  “Um, no.”

  “Well, you don't get a choice. I just think it's for the best. That way I won't get killed trying to save your ass.”

  He mumbled something incoherent and we started walking again. He stayed a couple of steps behind me. I wasn't sure if I liked him behind me. I felt vulnerable. I stopped and he walked in front and looked back at me.

  “What's wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I'd just prefer it if you walked in front.”

  “Why?” he asked, frowning, looking at me differently when I didn't answer.

  “What, you think I'm gonna jump you or something?” I shrugged. “What's to say you won't jump me when my back's turned?”

  “I dunno, it depends on whether you've got anything useful in that rucksack?”

  I was ninety percent sure he knew I was joking, although I was ten percent considering it. He didn't say anything and turned around and stalked off in front. After awhile, I was finding it difficult to keep up with him. I think he knew because every thirty steps or so he would stop and pretend a stone on the road was interesting before kicking it away, and when I'd nearly caught up with him he would start walking again.

  After another five minutes of walking, the contents from Lane's bag started jingling again. Jingle-Jingle-Jingle

  “What is that noise?”

  “What noise?” he asked, his eyes scanning the trees.

  “No, it's coming from your bag. Like a little jingly bell.”

  “Oh that, it's just my keyring.”

  “What?”

  “It's a little bell on my keyring.”

  “It's annoying! Do you want the zombies to find us?”

  “It's not that loud. Anyway, what about you? You're not exactly being that quiet, what have you got in your bag that keeps rattling around?”

  I shifted my bag around. I had grown so used to my own noise I hardly heard them anymore. “It's just a saucepan.” I snapped.

  I took a moment to calm down before I spoke again. I was tired and it was making me cranky. “Why do you even have a keyring?” I asked in a calmer voice.

  “I don't know, it was mine so I kept it.”

  “You keep your keys with you?”

  “You didn't keep one thing from your old life?”

  His eyes drifted down to my faded denim jacket, it was the same one I had worn at high school. “Yeah, but not keys. Are you planning on going home sometime soon?”

  “No, I just wanted to keep them.”

  I laughed, but it wasn't a friendly laugh.

  “You're different.” he said.

  “How the hell would you know if I'm any different? You hung around with those assholes, you never even spoke to me before Sean's party.”

  “What happened to you, Alex?”

  “The zombie-fucking-apocalypse that's what. Just keep walking.”

  Forty minutes later of walking we reached a crossroad.

  “Which way are you going?” he asked.

  “The opposite way you're going.”

  He stopped in the middle of the road and turned around to look at me.

  I didn't say anything, I didn't like this either, but I thought it was for the best. I'd done pretty well on my own. I didn't need anyone.

  Lane looked both ways considering his options.

  “Hurry up and choose, it's getting late, I haven't got all day.”

  “I owe you a bullet,” he said.

  “What?”

  “You killed a zombie for me,”

  “And?”

  “And how about we stay together until I save your life, then we can call it even and go our separate ways.”

  I got the feeling I wasn't going to get rid of him even if I wanted to.

  “Don't you think it would be safer if we stuck together?”

  “Not really.”

  He rolled his eyes at me and stuck his hands in his pockets.

  “The only reason I'm going to agree to this is because no matter which way I go you're just going to follow me anyway.”

  Also, I swear I could hear Pip's little voice, begging me not to let him out of my sight. I looked both ways, to the left there was nothing except an empty road, and to the right I could see an abandoned car. Every time I passed a vehicle I would first check to see if it was running (which was rare) then I would search the vehicle from top to bottom for anything useful. I tilted my head to the right.

  “We'll just check that car out then we need to head into the trees.”

  “What for?”

  “To find somewhere to sleep, and the river's not too far, I want a wash in the morning so I want to be near the river.”

  “You wash in the river?” he asked, pulling a weird face.

  “Yes, how else am I going to stay clean out here? Why, where do you wash?”

&n
bsp; He didn't answer.

  “And you think I'm strange for washing in the river?” I tried not to smirk and walked ahead of him. “Why don't we sleep in the car tonight?” he asked as we approached the vehicle. I didn't need to answer that, because as we got closer we both saw two of the windows had been smashed in and there was blood smeared across the back windshield.

  “You can sleep in it if you want, but it doesn't look that safe to me,” I said, opening the driver's side door.

  “You found anything useful?” I asked while searching under the front seat.

  “A gum wrapper and a lighter.”

  “Keep the lighter.” I said at the same time I found a sealed chocolate bar.

  “Yummy!” I said, excitedly.

  “What you got?”

  “Nothing,” I said, stuffing it in my pocket.

  “It's like that is it,” He eyed me suspiciously.

  “Finders keepers!” I said.

  “Oooh, a pack of mints.”

  “Mints aren't going to fill you up,” I said, closing the door and walking round to the trunk. Lane went to open the trunk, then stopped and looked at me.

  “You don't think there's one in there do you?”

  “No. I don't think they hibernate.”

  He lifted the lid and my heart sank. I was hoping for something, a bottle of water, an extra blanket, even a magazine would have made me happy.

  “Duct tape, cable ties, garbage bags, and a shovel.” Lane listed the items in the trunk. “What the fuck? Was this guy a serial killer?”

  “No idea, but take the shovel.”

  Lane hesitantly lifted the shovel out, inspecting it.

  I reached in and grabbed the duct tape.

  “What do you need that for?” he asked.

  “It's useful for covering cuts and grazes, don't want anything getting infected, and I also use the stuff to secure Butchy.”

  “Butchy?”

  “My weapon, I'm kinda attached to it. I've got to look after it, don't want it falling apart. C'mon, let's find somewhere to camp.” I said, shoving the tape in my bag.

  “Like camping?” he asked. “In a tent?” he added.

  “A tent? Is that a joke?”

  He shrugged and slammed the trunk louder than necessary.

  I cringed and looked around, hoping there were no zombies around to have heard it. “Sorry, I forget.”

  “Where do you sleep every night?” I asked.

  “Inside cars, or on the rooftops.”

  I looked back at the car. “We definitely can't sleep in this car.”

  “So if you don't sleep in a tent where do you sleep?” he asked.

  “In the trees.”

  He looked at me like I'd just said something in Mandarin.

  “You sleep in the trees?”

  “Yes, it's the safest place. Zombies wander regardless of the time, they're completely retarded like that. They stumble around all night long in the dark, I'm not likely to roll out a sleeping bag on the ground.”

  I started walking into the trees, leaving him behind, still processing what I had said. “The river's this way,” I pointed. “So if we can find a safe-looking tree somewhere this way, I don't want to lose my bearings from the road, though.”

  “What do you mean by safe-looking?”

  I mentally sighed. It was like having a toddler around, one that continuously keeps asking why. “One with big branches.” He still looked confused. “The branches need to be wide enough to sleep on comfortably without falling off and high enough off the ground.”

  “What happens if you do fall off?”

  “I think you should be more afraid of what I'm going to do to you if you don't shut up.” “I dunno, I kinda like the sound of that.” he said with a playful smile.

  “You're disgusting!”

  “Sorry, but you're the first female I've seen in a month that hasn't tried to kill me.” “Don't be so sure about that, I still might change my mind about you.”

  “You're still as hot as hell!”

  I stopped and looked at him, I mean really looked at him.

  “I haven't washed my hair in over a week, I have dirt under my fingernails, I kinda stink because I ran out of deodorant, my lips are as chapped as fuck, and I turned my underwear inside out this morning because I didn't feel like taking a dip into the freezing river. But you're right, Lane, I'm so incredibly hot right now, and you, I mean wow, I'm getting excited just looking at you, do you wanna take me right here on the muddy ground or do you wanna do it against one of the many trees? Take your pick.”

  He grunted a laugh and stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cigarettes. “I see you haven't lost your sense of humor... or your foul mouth,” he said, lighting a cigarette.

  Chapter 5

  Lane trailed behind me like we were on some nature walk, taking in all the scenery. I led the way, I doubt Lane had any idea where he was going.

  I rubbed at my braids. My hair itched and pulled where I'd braided it close to my scalp, in an attempt to keep it off my face. I still couldn't bring myself to cut it off. I licked my lips without thinking about it and silently scolded myself for it as it only made them rougher. When the river finally came into view Lane quickened his pace and overtook me. He dumped his rucksack and shovel on the ground and headed for the edge of the water. I dropped my bag on the ground, but kept my weapon in my hand, and walked up behind him.

  Lane stopped in mid-drink, with his hands cupped hovering below his mouth, he glanced back at me, and his eyes drifted down to the weapon in my hand.

  “You planning on using that on me?” he asked.

  “Huh?”

  He nodded his head at the weapon in my hand.

  “What, no, I always keep it close.”

  He went back to drinking the water but stopped when he realized I was still watching him. “You going to have some?” he asked.

  “Noooo...”

  “Why not?”

  I couldn't believe this guy. He got straight A's, but couldn't use his brain to figure out the water might be contaminated.

  “The water could be contaminated,” I said, kneeling down to wash my hands.

  His hands fell apart and he shook them off, watching me as I washed zombie blood off my hands. “I only use the water to wash in, but I never let any of the water get into an open wound. Also, think about it, zombies take midnight strolls, how many of them do you think fell into the river and didn't get out again?”

  Lane's face paled a little.

  “I'm guessing you've done that before?”

  He nodded, looking slightly sick.

  “I can't believe you're still alive.” I laughed. “It's the reason I don't eat the fish in here, that's probably how a lot of the hikers hiding out in the woods caught the disease.”

  “What do you drink?” he asked, looking worried still.

  “Anything but this water,” I replied, air drying my hands as I stood up.

  I picked up my weapon and walked back into the woods a little way, and stopped when I walked into a smallish clearing with a tree log and enough space for a fire. I looked up at the trees walking around in a circle.

  “This will do,” I said, still looking up, and I bumped into Lane. “Watch it!” I grumbled stepping back.

  We only had about an hour before nightfall and I was hungry and wanted to eat and get settled in the tree.

  I searched around for firewood, Lane was always only a few feet away from me. I suddenly felt like my shadow had come to life. I arranged the wood and Lane watched with over the top fascination. “What?” I said.

  “You know how to make a fire?”

  “Of course, you don't?”

  He shook his head.

  “How do you warm anything up?”

  “I don't, whatever I find I just eat straight out of the tin or carton.”

  “What have you got to eat now?” I asked, silently praying he had some food in his bag. I didn't really want to share my rations.

/>   “Pack of mints and half a packet of dry cornflakes.”

  “That's all the food you have?”

  “We're not all trained in hunting and scavenging.”

  “You just came from town, you telling me you didn't find one thing?”

  “Were you not in the same town? That place was swamped, I didn't want to overstay my welcome. Anyway, there's always the odd house along the way.”

  “Yes, but most of the individual houses along the road have already been raided dozens of times by people like us.”

  I got the fire going and searched around in my bag, lifting out the canned tin of soup, then I pulled out the small saucepan I kept at the bottom.

  “What are you, Mary Poppins?”

  “I like my soup warm.” I said, searching for my tin opener.

  I tipped my soup into the pan and held it above the fire, it took awhile, but it was the way I had been getting the job done.

  Lane looked at the saucepan.

  Really? I have to share my rations with him as well.

  The only way I had made it this far was by learning to survive on my own the best I could, which didn't mean sharing. Even when I had been staying at the high school I still had to go out and find my own food during the day.

  I ignored his stares and stirred my soup.

  After seeing him drink out of the river, I didn't even want to share my spoon with him. “I thought you would have been in the same facility as me,” he said.

  “No, why would you think that?”

  “Because there were others from our school there, your dad was ex-military so they would have given him a place at the facility, did they not?”

  “How do you know my dad was ex-military?”

  Lane pulled out a comic book from his bag and settled across from me with his legs crossed. “Lane,” I said trying to get his attention.

  He shifted around and held his comic up higher, covering his face.

  “Every time you had Biology I used to find a reason to visit my locker after class... and... I never really needed anything.”