Dead Endz Read online

  I heard screaming from Belinda and angry cussing from Nora as the zombies attacked and they fended them off. One of the zombies approached us and I yelled. “Turn around, I’ll kick him!”

  Bryce turned around and I began kicking with all of my might at a zombie whose eye hung down his cheek by a thread of skin. I kicked him in the stomach and he fell backwards. Then another approached and I kicked him between the legs. Unfortunately, it didn’t have much of an affect.

  “Shit,” mumbled Bryce as another zombie approached him from the side. He then leaned forward so that I was flat on his back and rushed towards the zombie, head-butting him. The zombie flew backwards and landed on the ground, growling.

  “Damn you have a hard head,” I said.

  “Yeah, but that wasn’t good,” said Bryce clutching his forehead.

  “You okay?” I asked with concern.

  “Just some major head pain but I’ll get over it,” he replied, from behind me.

  I glanced around the pool at the others. Carly was trying to help Belinda by showing her how to hammer a stiletto into a zombie’s eye. Belinda appeared totally fascinated and quickly took the other one off to go after a tall skinny male zombie trying to crawl towards her. I turned and groaned, Nora was about to be outnumbered by zombies.

  “Watch out Nora!” I screamed, lurching forward with Bryce. Unfortunately, I didn’t account for his weight and we both tumbled to the ground.

  “Damnit,” said Bryce.

  “Sorry,” I said trying to see Nora who now had one female zombie by the hair and was ramming her face into the side of the pool. I watched in horror as another rushed up behind her and grabbed her by the arm. Luckily, she was able to yank it free before he bit her and elbow him in the face. When he fell down she swung the female towards him until they were both sprawled out on the floor. She then jumped into the air, crushing both of their skulls with her steel-toed boots. Blood and brain matter painted the side of the pool and I sighed in relief. It was disgusting but very affective.

  “Yeah,” she shouted as another female zombie stumbled towards her. “That’s right bitch…I’ve got skills! You want me to share ‘em with you?!

  “Nice,” I laughed and shook my head. Nora was the only one truly enjoying herself.

  “I like that bimbo,” chuckled Marcus.

  Oh no he didn’t…

  I smiled in anticipation.

  Nora’s head whipped around it felt like all of the noise was sucked from the room. Was it my imagination, or did the remaining zombies pause as well?

  “Bimbo!?” growled Nora who suddenly sounded like a demon from hell.

  Marcus shrugged. “What? What’s the problem?”

  I believe that his location near the shallow end of the pool was his ultimate demise. Before anyone could comprehend what was actually happening, Nora took a running leap towards Marcus, using fallen zombies as steps to launch herself on top of him. From there he was done for.

  “Help!” choked Marcus as she pummeled the side of his face with her fists. He lay there helpless and the only reason I believe he couldn’t properly defend himself was the beating he took earlier from Paige and Bryce.

  Tony stood up and hollered, “What the fuck!?”

  Donnie started towards Nora with his gun raised, but before he could fire it off there were shouts and gunfire coming from everywhere else.

  “Get down!” someone yelled.

  Billie?

  Bryce pushed me against the side of the pool, covering my body with his as I listened at the war being fought all around us. Only when the room became silent, did he release me and we find out what was going on.

  “Oh, thank God,” said Carly before I had a chance to see what happened.

  Tony, Donnie, and about seven or eight goons lay on the ground with bullet holes in their stomach or heads, their eyes staring lifelessly around the room. The zombies in the pool had also been destroyed and the remaining prisoners had taken off somewhere. Belinda, Nora, Carly, Bryce and myself were the only ones left standing.

  “Took you long enough,” yelled Nora as she wiped her bloodied hands on her jeans. I watched in awe as Billie jogged towards us from where he’d been hiding which was behind a large sculpture of a naked Greek god.

  “Do you ever stop complaining?” he asked as she lifted herself off of Marcus’s still form.

  “Nora,” smiled Paige as she jogged in from the hallway. “Awesome job on that asshole!”

  Paige!

  Nora snorted. “He’s lucky one of the bullets hit his head or I would have kept going.”

  “I can’t believe it!” I laughed, pulling Bryce towards them. I’d never been so happy to see anyone, except for Bryce of course, in my life. But in the next moment, I was proven wrong.

  “Cassie!”

  I looked up towards the second floor of the atrium and began to cry like a child. My father and mother were waving to me, both wielding smiles and big scary rifles.

  “We’ll be right there, honey!” cried my mother, who threw me an air kiss.

  I squealed in delight. “Mom and dad!”

  I tried to brush the tears of joy from my cheeks but I was still handcuffed to Bryce. He must have known I was overwhelmed with emotions somehow because he squeezed my fingers.

  “You guys okay?” asked Billie, coming towards us.

  “We are now. Thanks to you,” I said.

  “Thank Paige and Nora,” said Billie. “They got the ball rolling.”

  “I will definitely do that after someone removes these handcuffs,” I said.

  Bryce grunted. “Leaving me so soon? I thought you liked me.”

  “Not so much in this position,” I said. “You’re kind of brutal. And I can smell your hair from here, kind of a zombie with a touch of fresh decay scent.”

  Paige laughed as she hugged me and then found the keys to our handcuffs.

  “I was hysterical when I found out you were caught,” she said, unlocking the cuffs. “I heard you asking to use the bathroom earlier, when I was hiding and thought it was all over.”

  “Oh ye of little faith,” I said with a smile. “I survived getting bitten by Eva and if I could do that…”

  She snorted. “Fighting ten zombies and a group of drug dealers was nothing. I got it.”

  I was rubbing my wrists by the time my parents swept me into their arms. They both hugged me so hard it was hard to breathe, but I didn’t care. I had my parents again and that was a miracle in itself.

  “Oh, God,” choked my mom, holding me. “I thought we’d lost you for good.”

  “Not me,” replied my dad, patting me on the back. “She’s the “Wild One”, remember? In fact, both my daughters are tough as nails. Chips off the old block, just like their old man.”

  My mom let me go and smiled. “Well, Cassie, I guess I should be happy that your old man talked me into letting you learn how to fire a gun and take karate lessons.”

  “You’re damn right,” he replied. “It’s probably the reason she survived without me.”

  “Yeah, it came in handy,” I said.

  “I’m happy she did, too,” replied Bryce. “Or I’d have never met her.”

  My dad’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before he finally broke down and smiled. He patted Bryce on the back, much harder than me of course. “I have to admit that I’m very proud of you, too, Bryce. You’re a good kid and helped save my daughter numerous times. What I’m trying to say is that you… have my permission to… date her.”

  Bryce bit back a smile and nodded. “Well, thank you very much, sir.”

  I cleared my throat “So, how’s Allie?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer. “Is she… okay?”

  My mom nodded and squeezed my hand. “She’s doing very well. She’s just worried about you.”

  I released a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I’ve been so worried about her. I wasn’t sure if she made it or not.”

  “You can see for yourself in a little while.”


  “Kris,” called out Carly, who was helping Belinda out of the pool. “Can you believe it? You’re family’s safe.”

  Mom walked over to Carly and threw her arms around her. “So are you. I can’t tell you how worried I was when you disappeared.”

  “These schmucks took me by surprised,” she said. “And actually, I had no idea that Cassie was your daughter until this evening.”

  “This is truly a miracle,” said my mother.

  My dad picked up his rifle. “Well, I think we’d better get the hell out of here. Kristie needs to know that Paige is safe.”

  “Yeah. By the way, how in the world did you find us?” I asked.

  He sighed. “We’ve been scouring the city for you and Paige, day and night. It was by chance that I noticed her running away from the hotel earlier. Good thing we were armed or I don’t if things would have turned out in our favor.”

  “Yeah,” said Billie. “I’m a horrible shot so if it wasn’t for your parents, I don’t know what would have happened.”

  “That’s an understatement,” snickered Nora, who’d been busy picking guns off the dead criminals. “You couldn’t even commit suicide without missing.”

  “Wow, has she always been so witty?” asked Billie.

  “You just have that effect on me,” she replied.

  I was starting to think it was something more from the way she was looking at him. He didn’t seem to have a clue, either.

  Men.

  I walked over and gave Billie a quick hug. “That’s okay Billie,” I said. “I appreciate your help.”

  “Thank you,” he said, giving Nora a sideways glance. “I haven’t felt appreciated at all since you disappeared.”

  “Oh, stop being such a whiner,” she said with a snicker. “Fine, you’ve done a great job, okay? Feel better?”

  “Gee, thanks Nora,” he said with a wry smile.

  Nora rolled her eyes.

  “So, what now?” I asked.

  “We’d better get back to our group. Paige’s mom is going to be ecstatic when we bring all of you guys back. We shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer,” said my mom.

  “We have to get a friend of mine, Luke,” said Bryce. “He’s up in the penthouse.”

  Belinda, who’d been in a silent kind of daze the entire time, cleared her throat. “Well, um he is my nephew and should probably stay with me,” she said. “In fact you all are welcome here. This hotel is pretty secure and the generator’s still working.”

  “You know,” said my dad. “This place would be an ideal zombie fallout shelter. It’s got to be better than the furniture store we’ve been staying in.”

  I nodded. “It’s pretty luxurious. Or at least it will be once we get these dead bodies out of here.”

  We all looked down at the bodies and grimaced.

  My dad sighed. “Let’s let Dr. Schultzenheimer and the others know we’ve secured this place. He can probably move his lab over here, too. It’ll be much safer for everyone, especially the children.”

  “My God!” gasped Bryce with a stricken look on his face. “Bobby! How could I have forgotten…is he okay?”

  My dad nodded and smiled. “He’s doing fine. Misses you but we’ve been keeping him entertained.”

  Bryce looked mortified. “I just can’t believe… how could I forget about that little guy? He’s everything to me.”

  I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “It’s okay.”

  “Man, I feel like such a jerk. I still can’t believe I’d forgotten about my own little brother.” He scowled. “I had some kind of injury and things are just coming back to me. Slowly, too slowly apparently.”

  “You’re alive and that’s what counts,” said my dad. “We’ll take you with us so you can be reunited. I’ve even taken him under my wing. He’s a very special kid.”

  “He really is,” agreed Bryce. “Thanks for looking out for him.”

  Seeing that Bryce was still torn up about Bobby, my mom walked over to him and gave him a hug. “You know, Bobby is going to be so excited to see you. Don’t be so hard on yourself. He’s taking all of this very well.”

  “I guess it’s kind of a blessing that he’s special,” said Bryce. “Most kids would have lost it or completely shut down.”

  Bobby is six and has Down’s syndrome. He’s so lovable and his attitude towards life, even after everything that’s happened, is still surprisingly innocent and filled with joy.

  “Let’s go get the others. Belinda, isn’t it?” asked my dad.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you and Carly go back to the penthouse and lock yourselves in while we’re gone?”

  She smiled and grabbed Carly’s hand. “Let’s go Carly. I think both of us could use a drink.”

  “Save one for me,” smiled my dad. “It’s been a long week.”

  “Billie and I can stay behind and toss out the stiffs,” said Nora. “Make sure no other zombies get inside.”

  My dad nodded. “That sounds great. Thanks.”

  “Ready, Wild?” asked Bryce, grabbing my hand.

  I nodded and then glanced back at my parents who were now also holding hands and looking rather pleased. She whispered something to him and he laughed heartily, then reached over and kissed her on the lips. The look on her face was of pure happiness and it made me smile. Now that I’d fallen madly for Bryce, I had a new appreciation for my parent’s relationship.

  “I can’t wait to see Bobby,” said Bryce.

  “I can’t wait to see Allie,” I answered as we walked out of the atrium. “I feel like it’s been a lifetime since I’ve last seen her.”

  “You’re dad’s right. It has been a long couple of weeks,” he said.

  Bryce had just pulled me towards the lobby of the hotel when the ding of the elevator surprised us all. I turned around and watched as one of the elevator doors opened up and Rico started firing his rifle. Bryce quickly pulled me through the revolving door, but not before my mother’s screams and my father’s cries crushed my very soul.

  Two weeks later….

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  After moving everyone from the warehouse into the hotel, we’d held a special ceremony for my parents and for Carly who’d also been killed by the gunfire, to honor their memories. I was there but can honestly say I don’t remember much. The pain in my heart was so overwhelming that all I could do was clench my fists and keep from screaming at the top of my lungs.

  Other than that, I could barely speak and I could barely move. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe.

  When the service was over I stayed in bed for two days, until Bryce found me sulking there and dragged me out.

  “You have to keep going,” he said. “There are still people who love you and need you. Don’t do this.”

  “Two of those people died,” I mumbled into my pillow.

  “But the rest of us are still here,” he said.

  So was the pain and it was burning a hole in my heart.

  “At least get up for your sister,” he pleaded. “She really needs you.”

  My sister. She was what finally gave me the energy to get out of bed. Plus, I was tired of the nightmares which were relentless and terrifying, full of death and misery. I was tormented by them within minutes of closing my eyes, whether it was day or night, it didn’t matter. So after I left my bed, I simply avoided sleep whenever I could, by drinking energy drinks and staying busy by helping to organize the shelter, scouting zombies, or giving blood to Dr. Schultzenheimer for his research. But when exhaustion overrode my war against sleep, the sounds of my parents cries as they were being riddled with bullets, tortured my dreams. My only consolation was that Allie hadn’t been around when they were killed.

  As expected, my sister hadn’t taken their deaths well, either. Her agonized cries would haunt me for the rest of my life. She’d actually cried non-stop for two days and then just quit making any kind of sound, including talking or answering questions. She just sat in her room all day,
staring out the window. It was hard getting her to eat or even shower. To me she seemed like a shell of her old self. I couldn’t really blame her. Hell, I was barely hanging on myself.

  “You have to do something,” pleaded Kylie after trying to talk Allie into getting out of her room. “It’s been two weeks. She doesn’t even respond to Goldie anymore.”

  I guess when Allie and Goldie had first met, she’d fallen in love with the bundle of energy and they’d been like two peas in a pod, totally inseparable. Now the poor dog was confused because my sister wouldn’t play with her anymore. Goldie returned to my bed every night but I could tell that she was also affected by the melancholy in the air.

  I stared at her. “Like what? I don’t know how to get through to her. She’s devastated and frankly, I understand it. She just needs more time.”

  “It’s much worse than that and you’re her sister. She needs you.”

  I sighed. “She needs more than me.”

  Kristie, who was stacking supplies in the hotel’s pantry, must have heard our conversation because she had to put in her two cents. “No,” she said squeezing my shoulder. “You both need each other. Now more than anything.”

  The truth of the matter was that I was overwhelmed with guilt. My parents had come to my rescue and had lost their lives because of it. Whenever I looked at Allie, I felt like I’d betrayed the both of us. I should have done something more to help them. I’d let my guard down and now the two people who brought me into this world were gone, forever. And even worse, today was my eighteenth birthday. The pain of them not sharing it with me was just another blade in the heart.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I mumbled, walking away.

  Later that afternoon Bryce came to the hotel suite that Allie and I were sharing. She was sleeping in her bedroom and I was feeling sorry for myself and thinking about the year before and how special it had been. My parents had thrown a big party for my birthday and all of my relatives and friends had been there. It now felt like a dream.

  “You too busy to talk, again?” asked Bryce as he kneeled down to pet Goldie. I’d been doing my best to avoid him the last couple of weeks but was secretly pleased with his persistence to be near me.