Chapter Three
Long moans and rattling of bones filled the air as the sun rose, peeking through the dense canopy surrounding the small house. More undead shambled out of the forest and gathered near the back of the house.
Unaware of the gathering crowd, Elysia snoozed away, belly up, tangled in her sheets.
A loud pounding on her window drew her from her deep slumber. Still half asleep, Elysia mumbled, “Leave me alone, Sereia, it’s too early.”
Elysia flopped on her stomach, using her pillow to drown out the noise as she drifted back to sleep. Just as dreamland beckoned, her window shattered, spraying the tan carpet with glass. No longer muffled by the window, a chorus of moans and pounding filled the room.
The familiar sound of zombies snapped her awake. Her terrified amethyst eyes zeroed in on a zombie dressed in a tattered black suit crawling through her shattered window.
In a flash, she shot out of her bed and dashed toward her bedroom door, yanking it open and slamming it shut behind her. She grabbed a dining room table chair and propped it under her doorknob before bowling through the door to her right. “Sereia, we need to get out of here now!” Elysia screamed, only to find the room empty.
She flashed back to the empty buildings the previous night, prompting her to sprint to the door at the end of the hall, yanking it open but also finding it empty. With increased dread, she sprinted through the house but found it deserted.
Elysia stood in the living room at a loss when the sound of splintering wood sparked her into action. She dashed toward the kitchen and snatched up the truck keys before shooting out the front door, ignoring the fact she was still naked.
With shuffling and moans hot on her heels, she dove into the red pickup truck, firing it up and fishtailing away down the driveway. The truck smashed into the wall of zombies, denting the brush guard and caking her windshield with zombie guts, but she held the accelerator to the floor.
The tires spun in the mud for a moment before gaining traction, propelling her forward. She cranked the windshield wipers all the way, clearing the windshield as she flew down the dirt driveway.
Elysia power slid onto the dirt road, missing the tree-infested ditch by centimeters before regaining control. She glanced at the rearview mirror, nearly swerving into the ditch when a rotten hand smashed through the rear window. Her foot smashed the brakes, skidding to an abrupt stop before mashing the accelerator again. The engine roared as she shot forward, propelling the lone zombie out of the truck bed as she flew off down the road.
She white-knuckled the steering wheel as the truck redlined at a hundred kilometers per hour. Over the next minute, she checked her mirror every couple of seconds until she shot out of the dark forest onto a paved road entering town.
Sun shined down on the putrid truck as she slowed down, rolling into town. Afraid to stop, she drove past the pharmacy from last night, still devoid of people like the rest of town. She took a right on Main Street before slamming the brakes. The worn tires of the truck skidded to a stop just before a massive oak growing out of the street. She shifted the truck into reverse only for it to sputter and die, unable to take in air through its zombie gut-covered intake.
Elysia patted the steering wheel. “Thank you for making it this far.”
After scanning the street through gut-covered windows, Elysia hopped out of the truck. Dad was going to kill her when he found out about his truck, but to be fair, she had little choice. Now if only she could find him or her wayward sister. At this point, she would settle for anyone that wasn’t undead.
Elysia caught her reflection in a storefront, turning her face bright red. Scratch that. She had to find clothes before she found people. She glanced at the clothing store, Lacey’s Apparel, before sighing. “I guess I’ll have to commit my second act of petty theft in less than twenty-four hours.” Her hands clenched as she glared at the storefront. “If only those damn zombies didn’t chase me out of my own house.”
She squeezed past two Douglas fir trees sprouted near the door before entering. Her face turned a deeper shade of scarlet upon spotting a security camera near the door, but with no other choice, she continued on.
Embarrassed to stay longer than necessary, she grabbed a black pair of shorts and a blue T-shirt before jogging to the bathroom. Once inside, she scrubbed away the dried-on mud from her body with the sink, only to freeze when she caught her reflection in the mirror. “Well, crap, I really do have purple eyes and white hair. Does that mean the status menu was real?”
Elysia shook her head as she slipped on the shorts and T-shirt before exiting the bathroom. As she wandered toward the exit, her stomach made its presence known, causing her to sigh. Despite her reservations, petty theft number three appeared imminent. If civilization ever returned to normal, she hoped they don’t throw didn’t throw her in jail. If only she could get her wallet from her zombie-infested house.
She paused with her hand on the metal door handle before glancing down at her mummified feet. Her face reddened yet again as she turned to the shoe section of the store. After a quick scan of the shelves, she grabbed a pack of socks and running shoes before sitting on the bench.
After a moment to prepare herself for the pain, she unwrapped her right foot. Next, she peeled away the pad, only for no pain to come. She stared down at her unblemished foot in bewilderment for several seconds before quickly unwrapping her left foot, finding another healthy foot.
While releasing a sigh of both relief and exhaustion, she threw the bandages into the garbage before slipping on a pair of black socks, then lacing up the running shoes. Curious, she rotated her shoulder, but like her feet, it felt fine. At the discovery, she shivered. First zombies, now magic healing. At least she had decent shoes now. Best to avoid shredding her feet again, even if they magically healed.
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She trotted toward the exit, this time leaving. Once outside, she stood on the overgrown street, surveying her choices. When her eyes landed on her favorite bagel shop, she crossed the street. To her dismay, a peek inside the window revealed a tree grown through the display, ruining the bagels. She released a sigh as she turned toward a sandwich shop next door.
She waved her hand over the refrigerated ingredients stand to find it still cold.
Again, she gave the security camera an apologetic smile as she grabbed a sub bun before filling it with chicken slices, lettuce, tomatoes, and American cheese. Sereia always teased her about her boring sandwich choices. Maybe they were boring, but it was what she liked.
Elysia plopped down on a booth near the window, staring out at the overgrown street as she took a bite of her sub. What to do now? She couldn’t exactly return home. Why didn’t the zombies follow her? Were they allergic to the sun? Even if they were, she didn’t want to test the theory.
After finishing her sub, she stood and exited the shop. It was tempting to steal a new car, but she would rather avoid grand theft. She stopped and shook her head. If she was right about the zombies being allergic to sunlight, she needed to prepare for the night. If they were anything like movie zombies, she also needed some firepower.
With her mind made up, Elysia jogged down the tree-infested sidewalk and past her father’s truck to the courthouse, which doubled as the police station. If only they hadn’t closed the only gun shop in town last year. Though it was not like it made much of a difference, she was still committing felonies, whether she stole guns from a gun shop or the police station.
She circled to the back of the tree-speared courthouse and headed into the police station. While nervously fidgeting under the gaze of the security camera, she walked past the public section and down the hall. Her eyes landed on a door labeled interview room, only ratcheting up her anxiety. She hoped they didn’t throw her in jail for this.
At the end of the hall, she came upon a door with a keypad. She stared at the reinforced steel door with a frown. Despite the futility of it, she yanked on the door handle, but it refused to budge. “Well, crap; now what?”
She glanced to her left at the door marked ‘garage’, causing an idea to spark. Elysia entered the garage, crossing her fingers that she was right. The automatic fluorescent lights flickered on, revealing half a dozen squad cars parked in a neat row.
Elysia tried the driver’s side door on the nearest car, expecting it to be locked. To her surprise, it opened. First, she stuck her head in, scanning the interior, but found no weapons. Having expected this, she reached under the dash to open the trunk.
With a hopeful expression, Elysia trotted around the back of the Crown Victoria and lifted the trunk. She released a sigh of relief when she found a shotgun and a pistol with a spare magazine resting in foam cutouts.
She grabbed the shotgun first, pleased to find it loaded. Her shoulder would hate her, but she would take a sore shoulder over being zombie food. It was a little different from Dad’s 12gauge, but it was simple enough.
After slinging the shotgun over her shoulder and tightening the sling to her petite frame, she grabbed the handgun, stuffing the spare magazine in her pocket and closing the trunk before moving onto the next police car, only to find it locked. Still holding out hope, she checked the other four police cars, but they were all locked. Should she break-in? She couldn’t carry any more shotguns, but a second pistol and a few more magazines would be nice.
A moment later, she facepalmed herself. Why was she only thinking of what she could carry? She already crossed the line. She may as well go all the way.
With her decision made, she slammed the shotgun stock butt into the driver’s side window of the second police car. A car alarm blared through the garage as she grabbed the shotgun and handgun from the trunk, then tossed them into the first car.
While trying her best to ignore the loud car alarms, she repeated the process on the other four cars, piling her newly stolen armory on the passenger seat of the first police car before hopping into the driver’s seat. “Thank you to whoever drove this car.” She fired up the engine before pulling out of the parking spot, driving toward the garage door, which opened automatically for her.
She slammed on the brakes just outside the garage and glared at the massive tree blocking her way. Her hands clenched the steering wheel, glaring at the offending tree. Left with no other choice, she rolled forward to the right of the tree. She winced as both side mirrors broke off on the building and tree. Her wince morphed into a smile a moment later as she slipped through the narrow gap and pulled out onto the street. She did a little happy dance before turning right. Now she had to find somewhere zombie-resistant for the night.
Elysia stopped in front of a gas station and ran in while holding a handgun in her left hand. Her eyes scanned the shelves, landing on the candy section. Despite her better judgment, she walked past the meal bars. Greed manifested as she stuffed as many chocolate bars as she could in a bag she grabbed from the roll to her left. On her way to the door, she spotted a fridge filled with drinks. A moment of clarity prompted her to grab a water bottle before jogging out the door back to her stolen police car.
With a reluctant expression, she set the bag on the center console, hands trembling with temptation. Before she could give in, she shifted the car into drive and pulled away.
She weaved around trees and rammed over tall grass growing through the road as she surveyed the town for a good place to set up camp. As she drove, dense clouds gathered overhead, darkening the sky. Elysia turned down Settler Lane, which ran along the southern border of Evergreen Cemetery. While frowning, she flipped on the headlights and continued on, pressing the gas pedal a little harder.
A few seconds later, an earth-shattering boom rattled the car before releasing a torrent of water. The windshield wipers worked overtime, clearing away the downpour as the rain reduced visibility to only a few meters. Afraid of staying near the cemetery, Elysia mashed the gas pedal, roaring the engine.
She took the next left, and tension released from her shoulders, only for her to slam the brakes when a tree came out of nowhere due to poor visibility. Her tires slid on the rain-slicked road as she swerved to the left, bashing into another tree just beyond the previous one. The ram bar did its job, protecting the front end as she shifted into reverse, causing a thump. Too terrified to look behind her, she stomped the gas pedal, chirping the tires as she lurched backward, only for another thump to stall her momentum.
In desperation, she shifted into drive and floored the engine as she turned hard right, sliding rear tires on the slick road. A second later, another much more solid crunch halted her spin. She glanced behind her to find yet another tree. Thinking quickly, she straightened the steering wheel and mashed the gas pedal lurching her forward, smashing the left headlight on a fire hydrant.
Undeterred, she finished spinning only to hit the brakes, staring out the windshield at the horde of zombies.