Zoe, Undead Read online

  "Go ahead, Princess," he replied.

  "Hey, I found the bullets, but there are a lot of them and I'm not sure which ones you want."

  "Any zombies in there?" he asked.

  She shrugged and answered, "Just me."

  He laughed and assured, "Okay, Princess. We're coming in."

  With her hands folded behind her, Zoe waited patiently, looking around her at a place she had been many times, but this time from a different vantage point. The soldiers did not take long to find her and they all held their weapons at the ready.

  Sergeant Morris was the first to reach her and he made his way to the back of the glass counter as fast as he could, slinging his weapon as he got back there. He was quick to find the remaining stores of ammunition back there and he strode slowly along the back of the counter.

  "Do you want me to go get a shopping cart?" Zoe asked as the Sergeant reached her.

  With a nod, Tex confirmed, "Yeah, if you wouldn't mind, Kiddo."

  With Zoe's help, they got all of the ammunition their weapons would use loaded into shopping carts as well as a few shotguns and ammunition for them. Some pistol rounds were found and a few of the men took a few of the remaining revolvers and ammunition for them.

  The Stryker driver approached Sergeant Morris as he stuffed one of the big caliber revolvers in his belt. "You know, Sarge. While we're here…"

  "Agreed," Tex said with a nod. "Before the moaners overrun this place let's grab anything and everything we can use, and call in if you find any survivors. Teams of three. Move out."

  Zoe was as helpful as she could be, and found herself pushing shopping cart after shopping cart to the Stryker. She showed a team of soldiers where they could find what little food remained as well as clothing, utility vests and anything else she thought they could use.

  In an hour or so they had loaded much of the assault vehicle with supplies and were starting to board it as five of the soldiers stood watch. While they did this, Zoe and Sergeant Morris' team made one more sweep of the big store just to make certain nothing they could use escaped notice.

  Near a fire exit at the back, the girl stopped, looking to the door with wide eyes. Morris and his team stopped and looked that way as well.

  "What is it, Princess?" he asked in a low voice.

  "I thought I heard something," she replied nervously.

  Something bumped the door, putting the entire team more on edge.

  The Sergeant slowly approached the door, and he flinched back as something banged into it.

  "I think we need to go," one of his men advised.

  The radio blared to life with a frantic, "Sergeant! We have all kinds of company out here!"

  Even before he could get his radio to his mouth they could hear automatic weapons fire from the front door and everyone knew what that meant. Something banged on the emergency exit again, and it was clear that they were surrounded.

  Tex looked to his men in turn, then to Zoe before raising the radio to his mouth again. "Seal the Stryker and fall back. See how many you can get to follow you. We'll hold out here until you rendezvous with Captain Langley and the main strike force."

  A long silence followed, then the man on the other end of the radio informed, "I don't like the idea of leaving you guys there, Sir. Be advised that I'm following this order under protest."

  "Noted," Sergeant Morris replied. "Get the hell out of here and complete the mission. Those people back at the school are counting on you."

  "Roger that," the driver confirmed.

  Tex looked to his men again, raising his brow as he said, "Okay, Smith, Washington. Let's see about finding us a defensive position in here. How's our ammo?"

  "Just what we have on us," Washington, the larger of the two soldiers replied. "That and we had that last cart over in the hunting gear section. Got three shotguns and about twenty boxes of ammo for them."

  "Sounds good," Sergeant Morris said with a nod. "They have an employee break room in the back. That looks like the most defensible place here. We'll set up two defensive lines, one at the door to the stockroom and a fallback line at the door to the break room." He looked to Zoe. "Can you get that cart of supplies back there for us?"

  She nodded and assured, "Yes, Sir. I'll get it."

  The break room was not very large, about twenty by forty feet. The back wall was lined with lockers; there were two vending machines on the wall to the left and a sink, counter and small refrigerator to the right. Four round top tables were staggered about in the middle, each with four plastic chairs surrounding it. It was a simple place where lunch breaks were spent and did not seem to have been disturbed for a while.

  Sergeant Morris looked around him, and nodded. "Okay, I think we can hold out here for a while. Emergency exit is a full steel door and should hold them out and I think we can lay down a pretty impressive field of fire from here and the stockroom door. Zoe, set out what weapons, food and ammo we have in that cart out on the tables and let's see what we have to work with. Smith, Washington, check out the stock room and see what we can use for barricades. Even if we can string rope or cord across the doorway it would definitely give us some time and a clear shot at them if they find us."

  They nodded to him and left the break room.

  Tex turned and watched as the girl neatly stacked up boxes of shotgun ammunition on the table where she had the three pump shotguns in a perfect line. She also removed two rather large survival knives and set them down beside each other on that table. When she was satisfied that she had cleared all of the weapons from the cart, she pushed it to the next table and began removing bags of jerky, some eating ware, and she paused as she removed a bag of candy with many different colors showing through the plastic. As she held it, she slowly looked over her shoulder at him, anxiety on her features as if she expected a good scolding from him.

  He raised his chin to her and asked, "Is that taffy?" When she nodded he ordered, "Open that bag and throw me a piece."

  Her tension drained away and she tore the bag open, setting it down on the table as she reached inside. "Um, what flavor do you like?"

  "It doesn't matter," he assured. He caught the piece she threw him with one hand and pulled the wax paper from it, popping it in his mouth as he turned toward the door. "Okay, we're going to have to funnel them into as tight a space as we can. I think those vending machines will come in handy for that." He chewed on his taffy for a few seconds before saying, "Stay put. I'm going to go see if I can find a hand truck in the stock room."

  She nodded and watched him stride out of the break room.

  Smith and Washington returned a few moments later with a coil of rope and some tools, and they looked to the girl who stood by the table where she had put the food.

  Zoe drew her shoulders up and asked, "Would you guys like some taffy?"

  In short order they had a defensive position set up and the three men sat around a table, chewing on jerky and taffy as they awaited the inevitable. Zoe kept watch out the door, looking sharp for any movement out in the store and fearing what they all knew was to come.

  "Found some kegs of powder back there," Washington informed. "I'll bet we can dig up some fuse or something and make us some grenades."

  Morris pulled a piece of jerky from what he held with his teeth and nodded. "That could sure take the edge off of them. I think I saw some over in the hunting department. We can also use some wire and light bulbs…" He trailed off as there was a sound outside the door.

  Zoe backed away, her eyes wide as she said, "I heard something out there. I think they've come in."

  The three men picked up their weapons, their attention locked on the doorway.

  They were all silent for a moment.

  Another sound reached them, a sound made as if someone was moving something. There was a metal on metal squeak that reminded Zoe of clothes hangers being pushed along a metal rod. Something was dropped on the floor out there nearby.

  Zoe looked back at Sergeant Morris, her brow tense a
nd arched high over her eyes.

  He motioned with his chin for her to go and have a look, then he took the radio from his belt and showed it to her.

  She understood, taking the radio that was hooked on her pocket, then she slowly crept out of the break room.

  The store seemed quiet as she padded as quietly as she could toward the sounds she heard, the sounds that seemed to be coming from the hunting department. Her eyes panned back and forth constantly as she searched for the source of the noise.

  Almost to the gun section, she saw movement and she stopped. Beyond a circular rack where camouflage shirts and vests hung, she saw three men looking over the remains of the weapons and ammunition. One of them had very dark skin, the other two much paler skin, but their skin was not gray! They all wore blue jeans, but different color tee shirts, and one of them wore a blue bandanna over his head. Their odor was of men who had not showered for some time, not bad enough to be offensive at this distance, but her heightened sense of smell told her they were not zombies.

  She dared to go a little closer, tightly gripping the radio and grasping the clothes rack with her free hand as she watched them search for whatever they were looking for. The shirt she touched moved slightly and squeaked.

  The three men stopped and looked toward her, and they all looked startled and afraid.

  "There's one!" the man in the bandanna shouted. "Get it!"

  All three quickly had shotguns or pistols in their hands and aimed their weapons right at her!

  Zoe barked a scream and turned to flee, cringing as the first shot was fired. She could hear the men giving chase and panic coursed through her, and for the first time since this ordeal began she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

  "William!" she screamed.

  One of the men behind her fired, then another. As she wheeled around a display of duck decoys, a third exploded right into the middle of it and decoys scattered everywhere, some bursting into fleeing shards of plastic.

  Another shot hit a metal rack close by and she turned to see more merchandise taking flight, then she stumbled and fell to the floor, rolling to her back as she saw the three men overtake her, and all three were aiming their weapons at her.

  "Put 'em down!" Sergeant Morris shouted.

  The three men looked beyond Zoe, and the girl turned her head to do the same.

  Tex and his two men were in a staggered line, and all three had their weapons trained on the three men who were chasing her.

  All three men seemed hesitant to move and just stared back.

  Zoe took the opportunity to scramble up and dart behind the soldiers, and she held onto Tex's shoulders as she peered around them at the other three men.

  "I said put 'em down!" Sergeant Morris ordered again.

  The three men exchanged looks, and the one with the bandanna nodded to the others, and all lowered their weapons.

  The man with the bandanna looked to Tex and raised his chin toward the girl behind him. "Why are you protecting a zombie, man? We're supposed to be killing those things!"

  "She's with us," Sergeant Morris informed with harsh words. "For right now that's all you need to know. Make a move against her and we'll drop you like a hot rock, got it?"

  Another of the men, in a red tee shirt, sneered, "Oh, so now the army's protecting moaners? I thought you were supposed to be looking out for the rest of us!"

  Tex's eyes narrowed and he growled, "You'll be told what you need to know when you need to know it. We're out here…" He trailed off as he heard something toward the front of the store.

  The three other men wheeled around and raised their weapons that way.

  Zoe stepped slowly around Sergeant Morris, her eyes wide and fixed across the store. Breathing in through her nose, she could smell that faint carrion scent and whimpered slightly.

  "What do you see, Princess?" Tex asked in a low voice.

  "I can smell them," she replied in a little girl's voice. "They're coming in. I think they heard us!"

  "Okay," Sergeant Morris said as calmly as he could. "Everybody fall back to the defensive position. You three, come with us."

  The three men nodded and retreated slowly with the soldiers.

  Right outside the door to the stock room, Tex ordered, "Right here. We'll set the first line here and take the edge off of them, then we'll fall back into the break room. New guys, fire three rounds into them and get into the break room. You'll see where our second defensive line is set up. Get behind it."

  With a nod, the man with the bandanna answered, "Sure, man."

  "Stay sharp," the Sergeant murmured to them as the first of the zombies came into view. "Zoe, get back to the break room."

  Hesitantly, she complied, backing away at first, and then turning to run to safety.

  The firefight outside sounded horrible and she sat in the far corner of the room near the emergency exit, balled up as tightly as she could be with her hands covering her ears. Still, as close by bursts would sound and rattle the room she would cringe and tightly close her eyes. Anxiety welled up in her and she found herself shaking, and eventually she started to cry. The zombies did not frighten her as much as the noise did and she found herself wanting to get up and flee. Before, the excitement had overridden her fear. Now, that was reversing.

  Even over the deafening sound of gunfire and even with her hands over her ears, she heard the radio blare to life and Colonel Halstead call, "Sergeant Morris, come in."

  There was no answer and it was easy to conclude that Tex could not hear his radio over the gunfire.

  "Sergeant Morris," the Colonel called again. "Come in. We're responding to gunfire at the sporting goods store. What is your position?"

  Zoe finally took her radio and loudly answered, "He can't hear you! He and the other guys are fighting some zombies that came after us!"

  There was a hesitation, then Colonel Halstead demanded, "Where are you, Princess?"

  "I'm in the break room," she replied. "They're right outside and there are a lot of zombies out there."

  "Okay, we're coming in," the Colonel assured. "We're at the back of the building. If there is a door you can open to give us your exact location then do it."

  "I think there are zombies out there," she informed.

  "Negative," he corrected. "We've cleared the back of the building. I have fire teams ready to move in. Open any door you can find and do it now!"

  "Yes, Sir," she complied. Pushing herself up, she looked to the emergency exit and hesitantly placed her hands on the red bar, and after a few seconds to gather her nerve, she pushed on it. The alarm sounded, but it did not open right away, and she could feel a few pangs of panic welling up in her. With a childish whimper, she pushed again, then again.

  One of the men who had entered, one in a white tee shirt, rushed in and hesitated when he saw her trying to open the door, then shouted, "What are you doing?" as he charged forward.

  Right as he reached her, the latch finally gave and the door opened.

  As it swung fully open, he reached her and grabbed her arm. He turned and forcefully hurled her into the middle of the break room where she crashed into one of the tables and tumbled over it to the floor as it overturned. He pulled the door shut, then turned on the girl again, holding his handgun ready as he snarled and said, "I knew we shouldn't trust some moaner!"

  As he leveled his weapon on her, Zoe pushed herself up and cried, "But I have to let Colonel Halstead and the other soldiers in!"

  "You just want to let more moaners in," he snarled. Aiming his weapon, he pulled the trigger.

  Zoe screamed and turned away from him, covering her head with both arms as he fired. She felt the first round impact her back, then the second and she fell flat against the floor.

  Someone banged on the door and he swung around, training his weapon on it. Three hard knocks and he panicked and fired through it a couple of times, backing away as he did.

  Pushing herself up again, Zoe looked over her shoulder as he retreated and fir
ed through the door again. She knew she had to let the soldiers in and that was her driving thought, her only thought. Pulling her feet under her she staggered up to her feet, and when the man was an arm's length away she lunged into him and pushed him hard, watching him stumble to the floor before she ran past him and to the door. With the alarm still blaring, she pushed against the red bar again and this time it opened right up, and as it did someone shot through it from the other side and both rounds lanced right through her belly.

  Zoe stumbled and fell, catching herself on her hands on the concrete outside before falling all the way to her belly.

  "Hold fire," someone shouted.

  She slowly raised her head, her eyes finding a number of black clad soldiers, and she screamed, "Would you quit shooting me?" As she pushed herself up, two of the soldiers took her arms and helped her to her feet, and one of them barked, "Colonel, she's hit!"

  "Get her to the Stryker!" Halstead ordered as he stormed to them. "The rest of you, get in there and relieve Sergeant Morris. Delta Squad, take the other Stryker to the front and hit them from that side, and stay out of Truent's line of fire for God's sake!"

  One of the soldiers slung his weapon over his shoulder, then he reached down and took Zoe behind the knees, sweeping her from the ground in one fluid motion. Before she realized, she was cradled in his arms and being carried to a waiting Stryker."

  "I'm okay," she assured. "I got shot four times but it didn't hurt at all."

  "I have my orders, Miss Princess," he informed.

  "Why does everyone call me that?" she asked as they reached the assault vehicle.

  "That's what it says on your shirt," he replied.

  She looked down at herself, a little disgust on her face as she cried, "Oh, no! This is my only shirt and it's one of my favorites!" With one arm around his neck, she held the other away from herself as she saw the two holes in the front of her shirt and the black red blood that stained her belly. "Do you think this will come out?"

  He laid her down on a stretcher inside of the Stryker and reached for a first aid kit. "You've been shot, so I think that shirt is the least of your problems. Hold still. I'm going to cut it off of you."