The Living Dead Boy (Book 2): Lost in Texas Page 13

  Stepping onto the porch, Corina squared her shoulders and took a deep breath to gather her resolve. Josh gave her an encouraging smile, and she returned it before lightly rapping on the door.

  Minutes ticked by.

  She knocked again. “Chad, we know you’re in there. We just want to talk to you.”

  “I did what I did to survive, you know,” his voice said from the other side. “I knew you guys would be okay.”

  “I know,” Corina lied in a soothing voice.

  “Did the Fatty get it? Did they eat him?”

  Corina’s eyes narrowed. “No. He’s fine. He killed a zombie.”

  There was a long silence, then Chad said, “So did I.”

  “Are you okay?” Corina asked with fake concern.

  The door slowly swung open to reveal Chad. His shirt was flapping around his thin chest and there were spots of blood on him. Tucked into his belt was a pistol, which was a very worrying sight. “I’m good. Perfect, in fact. I got myself a safe haven.”

  A long hallway stretched from the rear of the house to the front. A dead old man was lying a few feet up the hall, his head smashed in. Next to him was an iron doorstop shaped like a boot. Toward the front of the house were more dead people.

  Chad noticed them staring at the old man. “He was a zombie. He attacked me, and I killed him.”

  Josh exchanged worried looks with Troy. The old man didn’t look like a zombie, unless he’d been freshly changed.

  “And the other people?”

  Corina’s voice was so calm when Josh’s guts were twisted up with worry. He was afraid of what Chad might do to them if he found out what they were up to especially now that he had a gun.

  “Zombies, I guess. They were already dead when I got in here. I think the old man wasted all his bullets on them.”

  Corina tilted her head to gaze up at Chad. “So the gun’s empty?”

  Chad nodded. “I’ve been looking for more bullets.”

  Relief flooded Josh. One less thing to worry about now.

  Shuffling her feet, Corina avoided looking at the old man. She swallowed then said, “Can we get some supplies?”

  With a shake of his head, Chad prompted the kids to shift to implementing their second plan. “Nope. I don’t share with losers.”

  “I see.” Corina dangled her bag from her fingers. “So, what are you planning to do now?”

  “Ditch the bodies. Clean the place up. Stay here. I got food and stuff. Since the zombies are dead, I’m totally safe.”

  “Oh. By yourself?” Corina discreetly dropped the bag to the side of the doorway.

  Peering at her through his one swollen eye and one good eye, Chad ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe.” He cast a dismissive look toward the two boys behind her. “Ditch the losers, and you can stay.”

  Rubbing her lips together, Corina dropped her chin and gazed up at Chad through her eyelashes. “Uh...I don’t know, Chad. They’re little kids.”

  The word ‘little’ stung, but Josh understood what she was doing.

  “That’s why they’re dead meat. You and me are older and stronger. We’ll survive. The shorties are dead meat. Right, losers?”

  Chad tried to ruffle Josh’s hair, but Josh ducked away from him. “Just give us food, Chad.”

  “Nah. I don’t think so.” Chad focused on Corina, something in his eyes dark and needy. “Look, you can come in. But they can’t. I’ll show you the place. If you help me clean it up, you’ll see that it will be okay.”

  Josh was impressed that Corina had predicted Chad’s actions so well.

  Corina glanced toward Josh and Troy. “I’m going inside to talk to him.”

  “He’s a jerk!” Troy protested.

  “Corina, you said that we were going to stick together.” It was easy for Josh to sound upset when he was so worried about her.

  “I’m just going to talk to him,” Corina promised, stepping over the threshold.

  Chad grinned. “Yeah. Talk.”

  He slammed the door shut.

  Chapter 25

  “Give it a few,” Troy whispered. Then, raising his voice, he said, “Corina, come back! Don’t leave us!”

  Joining in, Josh banged on the door and called out Corina’s name.

  From inside, Chad yelled, “Go away, losers.”

  Instead, the two boys kept up the commotion. They carried on for a few minutes, then tapered off to give the impression they were giving up.

  Troy pressed his ear to the door and so did Josh. He could hear voices, but they sounded far away and not like they were in the hallway.

  “Okay, now it’s time,” Josh decided.

  Troy picked up Corina’s big empty sparkly bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I’m ready.”

  Dulce had given them the house key off the keyring. The old man had each one marked with a sticker. The key slipped easily into the lock, and Josh very slowly turned it. There was a slight click. He waited a few seconds, then with equal caution opened the door.

  Chad and Corina’s voices came from the front of the house, but they weren’t in sight. The hallway was empty except for the dead old man. They slipped inside, and Josh carefully shut the door so it wouldn’t make noise.

  Together, the boys sneaked across the hallway searching for the kitchen. They found it through an archway. It was small, with the counters cluttered with all sorts of appliances, cookbooks, ceramic rooster decor, and big mason jars full of flour, sugar, rice, and other staples.

  Josh very stealthily opened several cabinets before finding one filled with cans. Picking out the ones like pork and beans, ravioli, Spam, and hearty soups, he handed them to Troy, who packed them in the big bag he’d set on the floor. Once they finished filling it halfway, Josh moved on, searching for crackers, cookies, peanut butter, and bread.

  Scavenging took longer than he’d expected and it seemed like every little sound he made echoed throughout the house, yet the entire time Chad continued talking loudly.

  “See, once we get the zombies outside, we can burn them,” he was saying.

  “Covering them with dirt would be better,” Corina suggested. “You don’t want to start a fire you can’t put out.”

  “I can put out any fire,” Chad replied confidently.

  Josh located several jars of peanut butter in an economy pack and handed it to Troy.

  “But how would we defend the house?”

  “Once I find bullets, I’m going to patrol the fence every hour. I’m also gonna get some wood to cover the windows. You’ll stay inside and clean up all the blood and guts. It really smells gross, right?”

  “Okay, so once we clean things up, then what? How do we get help, Chad?”

  “We don’t get help. We stay here. I’ll be the man. You’ll be the woman. You know what I mean?”

  Josh whirled around, almost dropping the package of crackers and cheese in his hands.

  Troy grabbed his arm, and mouthed, “Chill.”

  “I’m fourteen. I’m not a woman,” Corina answered.

  Chad’s voice dropped so low they couldn’t hear his answer.

  Knowing that things were growing increasingly dangerous for Corina, Josh shoved the package on top of the rest of the food. The tote bag was overflowing and bulging dangerously at the seams. Troy pointed to large plastic cups with fast food restaurant logos resting in a dish drainer next to the sink. He mimed drinking. Fighting his desire to run down the hall and defend Corina, Josh very carefully started to extract the cups from the rack, and stack them.

  “No! I’m not okay with that.” Corina’s voice rose sharply. “Let go of me.”

  Again, Chad’s voice was too low to make out the words he was saying.

  Josh handed Troy a stack of the cups. “Go.”

  Eyes wide with fright, Troy nodded and hobbled under the weight of the bag to the back door.

  “Let me go, Chad. I mean it!”

  Not caring if Chad knew he was in the house, Josh picked up a dirty skillet off t
he stove and hurried out of the kitchen. With determined steps he stalked down the hallway. Chad and Corina weren’t in the first few rooms he looked in. There was the usual den, dining room, and bedroom. The reek of blood and other terrible things made him flinch as he neared the dead zombies. It looked like they’d somehow gotten into the house and the homeowner had killed them before barricading himself inside. Furniture was rammed up against the front door at the end of the long hallway.

  The sounds of a scuffle spurred Josh to break into a full run. Ahead was an opening into the living room, and he darted through it. Chad and Corina were struggling at the far end of the room.

  “Just a kiss,” Chad said, his hands locked around her wrists. “That’s all. You’ll like it. You’ll see.”

  “No I won’t!”

  Corina twisted her hands outward and broke his hold. Before Chad could react, she kicked his shin. Howling, Chad hopped on one foot, his face flushing with anger. Corina wrenched the pistol from his belt, and darted across the living room. Not willing to give up, Chad charged after her. She was nearly to Josh when Chad tackled her, his long arms wrapping around her waist. They crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

  “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me,” Chad panted, trying to pin her down.

  “Let me go!” Corina bucked her hips and kicked at him with her feet.

  “Stop it!” Josh ordered, lifting the skillet over his head.

  Looking up, Chad’s face flushed with anger. “How’d you get in here, loser?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Let her go!”

  “What are you going to do, Shorty? Huh? Hit me?”

  It was one thing to hit a dead thing wearing a human face, but staring at Chad, Josh realized that he wasn’t certain he could hurt another human being. It felt wrong and ugly in his gut even if that person was Chad.

  “Let her go, or I will hurt you!” Josh threatened.

  “No, you won’t. You’re a weak, little loser,” Chad said with his trademark sneer. “Get out of my house! Corina wants to stay here, right? You’re just playing hard to get. My dad told me about girls like you.” Stronger and meaner than Corina, Chad dragged her under him, and reached for the gun in her hand.

  Corina threw the pistol away from her, and it skittered across the wood floor to Josh’s feet.

  “That’s mine!”

  Chad launched himself toward Josh, clearly fully expecting the younger kid to make a grab for the gun. Instead, Josh swung the aluminum skillet as hard as he could at Chad’s head. He mostly missed, but the edge caught Chad’s black eye. Screaming in pain, Chad crumpled onto his side, his hand covering his wounded socket.

  Scrambling to her feet, Corina said, “Let’s go, Josh.” She hurried over, grabbed the pistol, and ran down the hallway.

  Josh trailed after her with the skillet in his hand.

  Chad’s screams of agony resounded throughout the house.

  When they reached the porch they found the truck waiting for them. Dulce was driving while Danny, Sam and Troy were in the back seat of the cab.

  “Hurry! He’s coming!” Troy shouted through the open window.

  Corina and Josh jumped off the porch and skirted around the front of the truck. The heat from the engine washed over them and the air smelled like exhaust. To have a working vehicle was a relief, and it flooded Josh with hope.

  “You can’t leave me! You need me!” Chad yelled, appearing on the back porch. Pressing his hand against his eye, blood trickled between his fingers. “I’m your leader, you stupid losers! Corina, come back! You can be my girlfriend!”

  “Hard pass, loser!” Troy yelled.

  “Yeah!” Sam chimed in.

  Corina swung the passenger door open and climbed inside, not bothering to answer Chad.

  “Corina! Come back! I’m sorry! I thought you wanted to kiss me!”

  “Gross,” Sam sniffed.

  “Totally,” Danny agreed.

  Tossing the skillet away, Josh entered the truck and slammed the door shut.

  “You need me, guys!”

  Troy shook his head with amusement. “You told us to go away!”

  “I didn’t mean it. I would have let you in! I just wanted you to say you need me! We can all stay here! It’s safe here!” Chad waved his free hand toward the house. “We can all stay together. Even the Fatty.”

  Sam leaned forward and flipped Chad off.

  “Don’t leave me!” Chad screamed, his face contorting with desperation and rage.

  Rolling up the windows, Dulce pressed her foot down on the accelerator and the truck took off at a fast clip. She drove past the propane truck and turned up a long drive that hugged the side of the property before emptying out onto the gravel road.

  Chad’s cries faded as the truck roared away from the house.

  “I hate that guy,” Sam sniffed. “A lot.”

  “We all do, Sam,” Corina said in a soft voice. “We all do.”

  Josh leaned toward her. “Did he hurt you?”

  Corina’s dark gray eyes flicked toward him. “A little, but I knew it was risky. I think he’s dangerous. Not just stupid, but dangerous. Maybe we should have left right away when we saw what he did to the old man.”

  Josh didn’t want her to feel guilty about the plan she’d devised. “We got food, water, a truck, and a gun. We’re all alive. So it was as successful mission.”

  “But we don’t have ammo,” Corina said with a shallow laugh.

  “We have a gun?” Sam asked excitedly.

  Carefully removing the magazine from the pistol and pulling back the slide, Corina nodded. “Yes, but no ammo. And you’re not allowed to touch it.” She stored the weapon and the magazine in the glove compartment.

  Dulce said something to Danny, and he laughed.

  “What she say?” Troy asked.

  “She said that the cows aren’t hamburger.” Danny pointed to where the herd was lounging under the battered trees.

  Staring at the cows, Josh was happy they’d survived the terrible storm. It was fading into the horizon, replaced by sunlight and fluffy clouds. For some reason it gave him hope that his group would survive, too.

  “Look,” Dulce said, pointing.

  Cars were clogging the road a few feet from where the drive intersected it. Doors were open and blood stained the ground. There wasn’t a sign of life around the accident.

  “That’s where the zombies came from,” Josh decided. “I bet someone had a bite, turned, attacked the driver, the car swerved, and hit the other cars in their convoy.”

  “And the old man must have come out to see what was going on and the zombies chased him into the house,” Corina continued.

  “He killed the ones who got in, locked himself inside, and then we showed up.” Josh could see it all so clearly.

  “Then Chad was a dumb turd and got all the zombies to chase us,” Troy added.

  “And I killed a zombie! With a shovel!”

  “And the hail killed the rest,” Danny said with satisfaction.

  “Josh, did the old man turn, or did Chad kill him to take his stuff?” Troy asked.

  Corina and Josh glanced at each other, and it was clear neither one knew how to answer.

  “I think Chad is evil,” Troy decided.

  “And stupid,” Danny added.

  “A big jerk,” Sam agreed.

  Dulce pulled the big truck onto the gravel road and turned away from the accident. As the pickup sped down the road, the bits of gravel kicked up by the tires pelted the underside of the carriage, reminding Josh of the hail. They’d been lucky, but now they had to be smart.

  He glanced into the review mirror, and saw a lone figure running out to the road from the house. A part of him felt bad for Chad, and for a split second he thought maybe they should go back for him. But then he saw the ugly bruises forming on Corina’s wrists and knew they were doing the right thing.

  Chad was dangerous.

  His fingers gently covered the ugly marks on her skin. Cori
na lifted her gaze to meet his and with a sigh, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “So what do we do now?” Troy asked.

  “First: figure out where were are, then how to get to San Angelo,” Josh answered. “Then we’ll drive there and get airlifted to the FEMA camp.”

  “Are we going to look for help?” Sam sounded tired, but not whiny.

  “No. Not this time.” Josh stared up the long road leading toward the hills. He wondered how long it would be before they hit a paved road.

  “Yeah, we got this,” Troy said with confidence.

  “Totally,” Danny agreed.

  “Because we’re the Zombie Hunters?” Sam asked with hope in his voice.

  Corina tilted her head to view Josh’s face. “Yeah, cause we’re the Zombie Hunters, and Josh is our leader. He got us this far, safe and alive. Not bad for a Living Dead Boy, huh?”

  Realizing she had remembered his screen name he’d told her days before when he thought he was moving to Austin, Josh blushed deeply.

  Twisting around in his seat, Josh looked over the kids in the truck with him. Danny had his head leaning back on his seat and was starting to doze. Sam was picking his nose while watching Dulce drive with admiration in his blue eyes. Troy stared out the window, the tag on his cap bouncing with the shuddering of the pickup. Behind the wheel, Dulce was driving with a satisfied look on her face. And Corina, the girl he loved with all his heart, was smiling at him.

  Now he just had to get them to San Angelo. He could do it. He knew it. And remembering the look on his dad’s face when Josh had made the decision to lead his friends away from the bus, Jamie had known it, too. Josh would get his friends to San Angelo and see his brother, father, Yessica, Savannah, Derrick, Rachel, and Bonnie the dog again.

  As scary as it as to live, he thought, it’s worth it.

  Corina’s hand settled on his and squeezed it gently.

  Totally worth it.

  To be continued in Journey Across Zombie Texas: The Living Dead Boy 3

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