“Uh oh, looks like we missed out on your spring neighborhood block party,” mused Kristie.
We stopped at the end of the block. Several of my neighbors were wandering around the cul-de-sac, some attacking each other while others just looked confused. We’d never been very close to any of them when they were alive, but it was still horrifying to view them now as zombies.
I shuddered. “I wonder if they smell the others.”
Bryce nodded. “It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case.”
“Well, they are starting to congregate towards us, so you’d better get us out of here,” demanded Eva.
“We’re not leaving; there are women and children in that house who need us. Kind of like you needed us awhile back!” snapped Paige.
There were about five zombies approaching the SUV. “Listen, we should go through the garage. There’s a keypad by the side of the house that I can probably get to. Once I enter it, pull in immediately.”
“I’ll cover you,” said Bryce.
“Seriously, that’s all you’ve got for a plan?” asked Paige as the zombies closed in around the SUV.
“You have a better plan?” I asked.
She shrugged and then sighed deeply. “Nah, I’ve got nothing’.”
Bryce grabbed the metal bat from Kristie. “When the garage door opens, get this thing in quick. Plow right through any zombies you have to.”
Kristie’s face grew pale. She nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready, Freddy.”
“Got your hammer?” he turned and asked me.
I held it up.
“Okay, let’s do this,” he said.
I pushed my door open and quickly kicked one of my neighbors in the stomach. I hurried out of the truck and slammed the door shut, wielding my hammer. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bleechman. No offense.”
He growled and rushed towards me but I sidestepped him. He slammed into the truck face-first.
“You things aren’t very graceful, are you?” I said.
“Cassie! Quit playing and get over to the keypad!” hollered Bryce who was busy holding off two other zombies.
I took a deep breath and ended Mr. Bleechman’s short life as a zombie with a solid strike to his head with my hammer. As he fell to the ground, I heard an unearthly screech.
Mrs. Bleechman!
She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and was now moving towards me with her mouth open and long, red, acrylic fingernails, raised.
“Wait, Lois, he was cheating on you, I actually just did you a favor!” I yelled, still trying to dislodge the hammer from her husband’s dead skull.
She snarled and kept barreling towards me.
“You’re wasting time,” grumbled Bryce as he grabbed her by the back of the hair and swung her to the ground. She twisted around to attack but his bat split her rotted skull in two.
I shuddered. “Now that…that…was really gross.”
He motioned towards the house. “Keypad. Now.”
I ran to the side of the house and punched in the numbers for the garage. Unfortunately, nothing happened.
“Crap,” I groaned, forgetting about the electricity, being out. Feeling foolish, I ran over to the small door on the side of the garage and squealed with joy when I found that it was unlocked. I pushed it open and manually opened the large garage doors, the way my dad had showed me last summer.
I could hear the sound of Bryce’s metal bat striking more zombies as it lifted, and cringed. Even though they were now monsters, it still felt wrong to be killing my neighbors.
The SUV made it inside with only one zombie who managed to follow us, and Bryce took care of him quickly.
“Can you bag him or something? He’s going to stink up the garage,” I said.
“Maybe later if there’s time,” said Bryce. “You’re not planning on staying here, are you?”
“I don’t know what my plans are yet,” I replied.
“How about this…stick with me, we’re a pretty good team,” he said and slapped me playfully on the butt.
My jaw dropped but I didn’t say anything.
Just then everyone else piled out of the SUV. Goldie barked with excitement then began sniffing around the garage.
Eva got out with Chi Chi still in her dog carrier. “Little Chi Chi needs to make a little wee wee,” she said in her cutesy voice. The dog barked.
“Are you kidding me?” snorted Paige.
Kristie rolled her eyes and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
Chi Chi, who was shaking violently again, moved to a corner of the garage and peed. Goldie peed on the zombie.
“Good girl,” I said, bending down to pet Goldie’s head.
Eva flipped her hair and then batted her eyelashes at Bryce. “By the way, Bryce, you were so incredible out there. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”