Four (Their Dead Lives,1) Read online

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Things have happened to us. Things I can’t explain.”

  “What things?”

  “I can’t explain, Kelsey. Something happened back in high school. But please trust me; Jeff is fine.”

  “Okay, now you’ve said too much without explaining more.”

  Scot had cursed himself. He never wanted to explain any of it to her. He had a hard time believing the truth himself. Why would anyone else take him seriously?

  He hedged. “I don’t know. I can’t. You wouldn’t believe me, but I can tell you this: those guys are more than likely fine.”

  “Don’t you wonder where they are?”

  “No.”

  “But look, I know about the well, but that’s all I know. What exactly happened to the four of you?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “I know something bigger happened to you guys. You weren’t just thrown in a well. I could tell by all your little secret meetings.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “I want you to say you worry about them. Obviously something big happened. Fate might have brought you guys back—”

  “No. Nothing big happened. We got really lucky. Luck is what keeps us going. Not fate. Not destiny. Pure damn luck.” And with Sadie’s gracious interruption, he was ready to pour his glass.

  Whiskey slid smoothly down Scot’s throat. He wiped his lips and slammed a glass on the bar. Kelsey and Sadie left him. Seconds later, Jacky and CJ joined, sitting on stools, facing him.

  “I’ll take a whiskey, too, bartender.” Jacky smiled at him. Her front tooth had a slight crook but it somehow made her cuter.

  “And you kid?”

  CJ eyed all the bottles. “How about a vodka cranberry?”

  Jacky erupted with laughter, her chuckles raspy. Not so cute.

  Scot poured Jacky a whiskey glass and slid it between her hands. He looked at CJ again. “You sure you want that?”

  CJ took his baseball cap off, revealing all of his shaggy brown hair. He mussed his hair. “Well, not now.”

  “You ever drink before?” Jacky poked at him, smiling again.

  CJ leaned back, almost falling off the stool. “Yeah, of course! Of course I have! Fine, I’ll have a rum and coke.”

  “That’s not much better.”

  “Well,”–CJ slouched, a bit despondent, but then sat straight–“the man makes the drink, the drink doesn’t make the man.”

  Fair enough. CJ got his rum and coke.

  “I really shouldn’t let you drink right now,” Jacky quipped.

  “Why? Because of zombies?” CJ slowly brought the glass to his lips.

  “No, silly, because of your age.”

  That should be irrelevant. “Zombies are a bigger deal than underage drinking.”

  “I know that.” Jacky sipped at her whiskey. “But what if this all passes today or tomorrow and I get busted?”

  “A zombie apocalypse won’t end in a few days. Something like this will take months or even yea—” CJ crouched and choked on his drink. Scot had put quite a bit more rum than coke in it.

  Jacky helpfully rubbed his back.

  “Well, I figure with all the time we have,”–Scot glanced at the rows of alcohol bottles–“we can get through this in a couple of days?”

  Jacky laughed. “Come on now, we have to make it last at least a week.”

  Scot smirked. “Lasting is overrated.”

  The direct look Jacky gave him made her naughty inner thoughts clear. Scot liked to call those looks ‘do-me eyes’ but even he found that term degrading.

  Not much time passed before some of the others joined them. The porn star, Lexington Gunn, pulled a stool up next to CJ.

  “What can I get you?” Scot asked him.

  Lexington ordered vodka on the rocks. Scot had never liked the taste of it, but if he had no other choice, down the vodka would go. “So who was your favorite co-worker?”

  Lexington shook the drink by his lips. “Honestly, hard to pick. Probably a three-way tie.”

  “Three way,” giggled CJ, his face flushed from the alcohol.

  “Okay.” Scot sipped. “What about your favorite movie?”

  “Easy. The Pelican Queef.”

  CJ clapped, laughing, smacking his glass and knocking it over in the process.

  Talon and Kelsey finally joined them. Scot hated the fact she’d been flirting with another man, but he would never admit it. She was doing it to get his attention, he knew. You have it. “I’ll take a whiskey neat,” she said to him, sitting at the bar’s corner, close to Jacky. Talon sat on her other side.

  “Ah, a whiskey girl. My kind of girl.” Scot blushed after he realized what he’d said. Silly. He poured the drink and gave it to Kelsey. Her hands touched his around the glass.

  Scot caught Jacky staring at their hands; the touch only lasted a few seconds but felt longer. CJ stole Jacky’s attention by burping and slurring, “Hi.”

  Jacky smiled. “So what were you doing before this all started?”

  “Well, I was at school with my teammates.”

  “Teammates? What did you play?”

  He’s in a baseball uniform.

  She slapped the bar, pretending to ponder while CJ watched. “Wait, let me guess—”

  They shouted “Baseball!” in unison.

  “Jinx!” they both yelled.

  This repeated itself several times and Scot found himself getting annoyed. So he lined up shot glasses and filled them all to the rim. Sadie joined them. He had to call Oderly to come. The hippy was excited. Scot then looked for Nasir.

  Gone. Scot grew uneasy at that. Why bring us here and then leave? He also wondered where those two random other people had gone, but honestly, he didn’t really care.

  “All right, everyone,” Scot called out and lifted his glass. Sadie, Oderly, Talon, CJ, Lexington, Jacky and Kelsey all did the same. He looked at them, his eyes landing last on her. “Cheers to doing the apocalypse the right way.”

  The glasses clanked together.

  One shot became two. Two became three. Night fell. Three became four. Four became five. Then Jacky declared it time for bed.

  They stumbled around like the dead wandering the world before clearing tables to make room for a large sleeping area. There were two sleeping bags the restaurant’s owner had stored in his office. Why? Scot didn’t care. He was just excited to have one of them. He spread it across himself, Kelsey, and Sadie. Warm inside and warm next to her, he was a happy camper. A few feet away, Jacky and Talon shared the other sleeping bag. CJ had passed out, sprawled across the bar. Lexington and Oderly said they would keep first watch. Nasir still hadn’t returned. Those other two survivors? Still gone. Scot felt he might have imagined them. His mind spun. He craved a bean and cheese burrito. How he loved bean and cheese burritos.

  Kelsey pressed her back against Scot’s side. He wasn’t sure if she was hinting to cuddle or was pressed to him because the sleeping bag was small. Either way, having her next to him meant the world was good and just. He smiled drunkenly. Should I turn over? Should I hold her? They had shared a few laughs over the course of their drinks, but they’d had the perfect buzz going then. Now they were just too drunk, too tired, and too emotional. He didn’t want to risk a good time going sour. But it took all his strength to not turn over and hold her, and kiss her, and show how much he missed her. Just do it, you pussy.

  Dozing off, Scot refused to listen to his smaller self.

  He choked and coughed awake. Outside, the sun rose, casting a dim blue glow inside the restaurant. He snuck out from under the sleeping bag. Kelsey was in exactly the same place she was when he’d fallen asleep. He made his way to the bathroom, passing the sleeping Jacky and Talon. CJ snored on the bar.

  Oderly had fallen asleep on the ground, curled around his acoustic guitar. I bet he fucks it, Scot laughed inside. Lexington was fighting to stay awake by the front entrance, slumped in a chair, his head nodding. />
  The bathroom was near the back patio. Scot kicked the bathroom door open, then did a couple of jumping jacks, shaking his arms and releasing short breaths. Well, I’m still drunk. He giggled to himself as he unleashed a drunken pee. If he were sober, he wouldn’t have been swaying back and forth. He wouldn’t have kept giggling drunkenly. He finished, zipped up, and stumbled to the sink. He leaned over the counter and stared at himself in the mirror. A faint light came in through an open window that no person, or no thing, could fit through. Maybe a zombie midget, he mused.

  Thoughts of Kelsey ran through his mind. I should have cuddled with her. I still can. I should kiss her. No, only hold her. Feel her out. See what she wants. It’s about her, not you. Her. Her. Her—I’m crazy.

  Scot fixed his wavy strawberry-blond hair in the mirror and moved for the door. It swung open. Kelsey?

  Jacky.

  She approached him with a crooked step. Still drunk. “Want to know something?”

  “Uh, no.”

  “No, you have to know this.” She was as drunk as he was, he could tell. “That girl out there is crazy about you.” She fell on him and he caught her. Her chin pressed sharply against his chest. “No, she loves you.”

  Scot looked up from Jacky and at the doorway. Kelsey is going to walk in. Don’t fucking do it.

  “You should be with her.”

  Jacky’s face was inches away. Her mouth hung temptingly open. He could see warm saliva filling it. His eyes wandered down her freckly neck to her low-cut shirt. It hung open, revealing the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  “We should really get back out there,” he muttered. Kelsey will walk in.

  Jacky pressed against him and, of their own accord, his arms wrapped tighter around her waist. She kissed his cheek and whispered wetly in his ear, “I want to taste what she tastes.”

  Scot fought a stirring demon in his jeans. “Back out there. We really need to go back—”

  Jacky dropped all her weight on him, ruining Scot’s precarious balancing act. His back cracked on tile floor but he wouldn’t feel the pain until later when the alcohol wore off. She fell on his chest and slid down his body. Why is she sliding? No! Why? Her face landed at his waist. She nipped at his leather belt. Scot pushed her shoulders, trying to shove her off. But to be honest, he didn’t try too hard. “Please stop. I can’t do this.”

  “Why not? You’re not with her.”

  “Like you said a second before, I should be. Why are you doing this?”

  She answered by unbuckling the belt with her mouth. Okay, screw it. She unbuttoned his jeans. He put his face in his hands and leaned back. What’s the worst that can happen? Let her please you, let her — no! As his zipper lowered he pressed both hands to the floor and scrambled his legs out from under Jacky. He fought hard that time, hopping to his feet and hobbling away from her. His back faced the bathroom door.

  Jacky rose to her knees as his jeans dropped to the ground. He took a last glance at her. She was teasing him with her lips, her tongue, and her wet mouth. He couldn’t believe it. Is this a dream? “You’re great but I can’t do this to Kelsey,” he muttered ineffectively, and his words hung in the air as the bathroom door opened behind him.

  Kelsey.

  She stood in the doorway, never looking at Jacky, never looking at Scot’s pants bunched around his ankles. She looked only directly in his eyes and said coldly, “Good.” Then she left, fading away, returning to the rest of the restaurant. How I hate timing. He rushed after her, leaving Jacky on her knees in the bathroom, alone.

  He rushed after her, right into hell.

  Talon fell, grabbing at his mangled throat. His eyes broke wide, lips trembling, gurgling. Blood poured down his fingers and he had no chance at slowing the fatal flow. His hands dropped and a stream of blood squirted on Scot’s boxers. Holy shit! He tripped over his pants still looped around his ankles. He squirmed on the ground, pulling his jeans back up to his waist. The red puddle of Talon’s blood lapped at his shoes. He leapt away and grabbed Kelsey at his side. “What the hell happened?”

  “I don’t know!” Kelsey shrieked, watching the carnage. Talon convulsed in the spreading pool of blood and died. The red puddle kept crawling slowly toward them.

  Jacky flew out the bathroom door, cheering, “I need a shot!” She stopped dead when she saw Talon on the ground. Behind her, the patio doors broke open under the weight of a decayed corpse wearing a leather jacket and sporting a handlebar mustache. Zombie Biker! A drunken giggle bounced from Scot’s lips.

  Zombie biker latched onto Talon’s body, digging in the dead surfer’s stomach, ripping out his steaming intestines.

  “Help!” Jacky screamed and rushed past Scot and Kelsey to the others. She landed in CJ’s arms. Everyone was awake and panicking.

  The zombie biker shredded Talon’s body as Jacky screamed for CJ, for anyone, to do something. The teen grabbed his bat, Bashing Betty, and rushed forward. He swung the bat around a couple of times before smashing it into the zombie biker’s head. Three blows before the skull snapped open. He kept swinging until it was a pulp.

  Scot’s stomach rose and he had to turn away. Kelsey grabbed him, pulling him to the others. They huddled in the center of the restaurant with Sadie, Lexington, and Oderly.

  CJ stumbled away from the zombie biker and the dead Talon. He wiped his mouth with a shaking hand and looked at the others. “We have to break Talon’s head open before he turns.”

  Jacky’s eyes widened, her back pressing against a window. “You can’t do that,” she hissed frantically.

  CJ turned to her, his face serious. “He will turn and kill us all. We have to smash his skull.”

  Lexington offered first. “I’ll do it.”

  Kelsey spun around. “Where the hell is Nasir?”

  Before anyone could answer, Jacky pushed away from the window and grabbed CJ’s bat. “Leave my Talon alone!” she wailed.

  CJ tugged back on the bat. They circled around like a couple of kids arguing. “Give it back, Jacky!” He yanked hard and flew back, crashing against the window Jacky had been standing at. He looked at her, his eyes sympathetic. “I’m sorry but I have to do this.”

  Hands struck through glass and grabbed CJ. Another zombie biker plunged its head through the window. CJ was unable to act quickly enough and teeth sunk deep in his back. He squealed and Bashing Betty fell from his hand, rolling on the floor.

  “CJ!” Lexington dove for the bat and drove it like a spear into the second zombie biker’s face. The zombie fell away from the window, clawing at its face.

  CJ broke free, falling to all fours, gasping. He whimpered, grabbing the bite wound on his back. Staring at Jacky with tears in his eyes, he reached for his hat. “I—”

  Lexington yanked him to his feet. “Forget it for now, kid.” He pulled him to the others and tossed the bat to Scot, who fumbled to catch it. “Watch them. I’ll find Nasir.”

  Why the hell me? Scot nodded. And why the hell is everyone concerned with Nasir now? Oh yeah, his rifle.

  The second zombie biker launched through the window again. Two more followed right behind it.

  “Out to the patio!” Oderly screamed, rushing to the doors with his acoustic guitar.

  Sadie looked at the other survivors, milling aimlessly. “Let’s go out with him.”

  “No, stay,” snapped Scot. “We don’t know how many are out there.”

  “Come on, everyone!” Oderly hollered and waved by the doors.

  The zombie bikers were clambering into the restaurant through the window where CJ had stood seconds before.

  Sadie jittered indecisively in place. She was freaking out, Scot knew. So am I, but I’m not moving yet. He tried to grab her but she yanked her arm away and ran for Oderly.

  “Sadie, wait!” Kelsey chased after her.

  “This way,” her friend insisted.

  The front door burst open.

  Nasir, motherfuckers. Nasir fired a shot and blasted the second zombie biker’s
head open. Its body flew onto the bar, knocking over half-empty glasses of whiskey.

  “Everyone out!” he ordered and motioned for them to exit through the front door. Then he froze, staring at Oderly and Sadie heading out on the patio. His lips vibrated to a scream, “No!”

  Oderly stepped on the patio first, in time for another zombie biker to sideswipe him and tumble to the ground. Sadie tripped over them, slamming down on a table, which broke under her weight. Moonjava flew from Oderly’s hands. He kicked futilely on the ground as teeth lunged for his throat.

  Sadie struggled to her feet. She spun around and the last thing Scot saw of her was her frozen, horrified gaze. He would never forget the terror that possessed her face.

  No.

  “Sadie!” Kelsey continued running toward them as the patio door swung shut. But Scot grabbed her and tugged her back. They heard their friends screaming outside. Sadie. Oderly. Sadie. Oderly. The screams were drowned out by the hungry moans of zombies. Dozens of them.

  “Help her!” Kelsey screamed and fought to get away from Scot. “We have to help her!”

  Scot maintained his tight grip on her arms, trying to reason with her. “She’s dead, Kelsey. Damn it, she’s dead!”

  The patio doors broke open and the zombie biker gang stumbled in. No sign of Sadie or Oderly.

  Nasir fired two more times, holding the zombie bikers at bay. “Everyone out!”

  Lexington left first with CJ. Kelsey ran out next, forced along by Scot. He was about to follow but then spun back to the bar. A whiskey bottle stared at him, calling for him. God, screw it. He rushed back and grabbed the bottle, and in the process found Jacky cowering behind the bar. “Come with us, now!”

  She whimpered.

  Nasir killed another zombie biker that came through the patio. And another. He retreated to the front door. He looked at Scot and Jacky. “Go, now.” With those words, he let go of the doors and disappeared outside with the others.

  “I can’t. It’s no use. We’re all dead.” Jacky keened as she rocked back and forth.

  Scot reached for her. “No, all of us are survivors.”

  Jacky didn’t respond.

  Screw it. Scot ran out of Neptune’s Retreat, baseball bat in one hand, whiskey bottle in the other. He leapt off the patio and chased after the group.