Suspending Reality (21 page)

“Shoot anything that looks suspicious,” Nick said. “I don’t care how many bullets you waste, just stay safe. We have plenty back in the Jeep.”

Even though his back was turned on me and he couldn’t see me, I nodded and hurried after him. I didn’t know what kind of goose chase my sister was leading us on. Why she had decided to pull off the highway and lead us into a creepy, deserted ghost town at night, only to break into a grocery store, was beyond me, but for her own sake, I hoped she had some viable reason. Nick, however, wasn’t as understanding and patient as his little brother.

“C’mon, Dean. Move your butt. We haven’t got all of eternity,” Nick said, motioning me forward.

“Wait!” Claire said. “We’ll never see a thing in there.” She whirled around and headed back to the Jeep, then returned with what looked like an overstuffed purse full of flashlights, which she passed around.

Nick met her gaze. “What do you mean, ‘we’? You’re not going in there with us.”

“What? Of course I am.” As though to prove a point, she walked past him, calling over her shoulder, “It’s your sister, isn’t it? You guys might need my help.”

I raised my brows at Nick. I’d assumed Claire hated Val, but either they’d suddenly bonded over killing a few zombies, or else she really did dig Nick and was just trying to impress him. I didn’t know her all that well, but from what I had seen so far, I was ready to bet my most precious friend and possession—the gun in my hands—on the latter.

“Just be careful. She’s been bitten!” Jackie yelled after her.

Claire stopped and turned. “I know. Nick told me everything back in the Jeep.”

Yeah, definitely the latter. She probably thinks they share something special now that Nick has confided in her.
Shaking my head, I let out a long breath and took off through the parking lot. I stopped abruptly in the doorway of the market when I heard Val’s screams echoing through the air. The air smelled of damp earth and rotting garbage, but there was also something else: the scent of death.

I gritted my teeth as I looked at Nick, “Val’s going to alert every zombie from here to kingdom come if she doesn’t be quiet.” If I’d have had a roll of duct tape, or if we’d have been fortunate enough to stumble into a hardware store where they sold the stuff, I would have been highly tempted to use it. My sister’s big mouth was going to turn us all into zombie bait.

The bobbing beams of our flashlights swept back and forth as we hurried up the cereal aisle. I only knew we were in the graveyard of Rice Krispies and Golden Grahams because the sign over our heads said so; there was nothing left on the shelves but layers of dust and debris and a box ripped right down the middle of Tony the Tiger’s striped head. Then something scurried past to our right and I craned my neck and swept the flashlight over a dark head with long hair. I nudged Nick, then sped up to catch my sister. “Val, c’mon! We gotta go!”

The filthy linoleum, carpeted by an inches-thick layer of dust and grime, barely made a sound as I dashed through the darkness, then stopped. A sickly scent hit my nostrils, making me want to puke. I moved my flashlight around and illuminated the darkness as I scanned the area to spot the culprit…packages of rotting meat.

Val held up a blue box with a picture of noodles and fancy writing. She didn’t even turn as she said, “Look! It’s smashed. Rodents have been nibbling it as well, so this one’s a no-go.” She tossed the box on the floor, and it landed with a loud
thud
, then pulled out a giant, moldy piece of steak from its wrapper. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure what it was and I didn’t know what possessed her to pick it up in the first place. “Is this going to be my new choice of food?” she asked.

“I sure hope not, Val,” I whispered.

Ignoring me, she rolled her eyes and threw the steak away. It plopped onto the ground a few feet away and remained stuck to the ground. “It’s expired! You can have it, miss!” Val yelled, her voice reverberating from the walls. “And get some clothes on. Who comes to a store dressed in a robe anyway? When you’re done snacking, go home and cook your man some brains or something.”

“Who’s she talking to?” I whispered to Nick.

“I dunno,” he said. “But it’s kind of freaky. I bet she’s hallucinating.”

My attention remained glued to Val as she held up a can and rolled it in her hands, continuing her monologue. “And this one’s dented. This store sucks! Where’s the manager?”

Footsteps echoed behind me a moment before Claire and Jackie appeared and Claire’s hand wrapped around my upper arm.

“What’s going on?” Jackie whispered.

I shook my head, signaling that I had no clue, and turned my gaze back to Val, who was still regarding a can as though it was a famous painting hanging in an art museum.

“Are you trying to memorize the ingredients or something?” Claire asked, her voice oozing with sarcasm. “Surely you’re not counting calories now, are you?”

In one swift move, Val lunged at Claire, hissing like some kind of vampire chick in a horror flick. Claire’s arms flew up to protect her face, but Val was stronger. In a single motion, she tossed Claire to the ground and landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground. I had to admit, it kind of freaked me out, almost to the point that I wanted to summon the men in white coats to bring their paddy wagon and lock her up in a straightjacket. After the initial shock, I finally unglued myself from the spot and leapt forward, but Nick was quicker on the draw. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her up in an iron grip as she kicked and screamed.

“She’s trying to kill me!” Claire yelped.

I rolled my eyes. “No, I don’t think so. I think she just didn’t like what you said. If you knew anything about zombies, you’d know to keep your mouth shut rather than provoke their short temper.”

Val’s eyes bulged in her skull, and she looked like a serial killer. “You’ll be the first to go, Claire! You didn’t watch my back, so now I’m going to eat yours.”

Nick held her tight and I was thankful for that.

Claire gasped, hiding behind me. “She’s mad, freaking crazy! Get that monster away from me,” she chanted over and over again. “Get her away!”

“She’s not a monster,” I whispered.
“…yet,”
I wanted to add but didn’t.

“My gosh! It’s like she’s possessed or something,” Claire said.

“Okay, okay. I’m fine! Let me go,” Val said quietly. She had stopped struggling and seemed reasonable again, but I didn’t trust the sudden calmness.

“You sure?” Nick asked.

She nodded, her gaze sweeping over Claire, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker in her eyes. I wanted to shout at Nick to watch out when he pulled away a few inches. Like a wild beast, Val lunged forward again, her hands cutting through the air inches from my face. Claire buried her face in my shoulder, and her hands clutched the shirt at my lower back.

“What’s wrong with you?” Nick said through gritted teeth, grabbing hold of Val again. “I trusted you, and you’re acting like a psycho again. Calm down, Val!”

I smacked my tongue and peeled Claire off my shirt, and then I shot my brother a look. “You can’t trust a zombie. Wasn’t that the first lecture you ever taught me? Funny that you’d forget it now.”

“I’m not a zombie,” Val hissed. “I’m just a girl on a mission.”

Yeah, right…the mission of eating a friend.
I flashed my beam in her eyes and then gave Nick a sideways glance.

“What?” he asked.

“Her irises are dilated, her eyes bloodshot. The skin on her forehead is beginning to crack.”

“The virus is kicking in,” Nick said. “She doesn’t mean to act like a maniac. I hate to tell you this, but it’s only gonna get worse, so you’d better get used to it.” He pushed Val past us. His knuckles had turned white where his fingers had sliced into her arms.

She struggled, her legs tangling with his, making it impossible to inch forward.

“Move it, Val,” he whispered, “or I swear I’ll tie you up and drag you out of here. You won’t like that little trip through the express lane. Trust me.”

“How are we going to get her back in the Jeep?” I asked.

“She’ll either cooperate, or else I’ll knock her out using pressure points.”

Val hissed and spat but didn’t argue. Slowly, she began to take one pace at a time.

When I heard a growl that wasn’t coming from my nearly zombified sister, my senses kicked in on full alert. I shined my light around until the beam fell on a pair of glowing yellow eyes that came out of the darkness. “Nick!” I yelled. “Zombie housewife at three o’clock!”

“Don’t panic!” Nick whispered. “I’ve got this.”

I squinted to get a better glimpse as I swung the beam around so I could catch any attack.
The zombie inched forward, then stopped and bent forward, allowing us a glimpse beneath her dirty white robe. I smirked and moved my gaze from her naked legs to the bulging red veins covering her face. Val’s words echoed in my ears, and I wondered if she’d been talking to that half-dressed zombie, advising it to throw on some clothes, but I had no time to ponder her strange comment. The zombie moved again. Slowly, she knelt to the ground and picked up the piece of meat Val had tossed away, then started to lick the spoiled steak in a bloodthirsty frenzy, like a starving stray dog.

Val slapped her forehead. “That’s sick! I can’t believe that’s going to be me in less than a day!”

“Put that thing out of its misery please,” I said.

Nick aimed his gun and shot the corpse in the head.

She fell straight back and landed in a large display of macaroni and cheese boxes.

“Will you shoot me too?” Val asked sweetly. “You did just shoot my sister, in a sense. I mean, we’re all part of the same happy meat-eating zombie family, right?”

“Stop talking like that!” Nick said through gritted teeth.

She grabbed my collar and shook me, her unnaturally shiny eyes piercing into mine. “What’s it like to have a zombie for a sister?” she asked.

I set my jaw and forced myself to stare at her.
What am I supposed to say? The truth? That it completely sucks?
Whatever my brain came up with, it wouldn’t be good enough, and I knew it sure wouldn’t change anything. “It’s not fun—no fun at all! Especially when she breaks into stores at night in the middle of Zombie Land.” It was hard to see any life behind those eyes of hers. I was losing her after just so recently finding her, and that hurt me more than anything. “Try and think straight, Val! We gotta go, big sister.”

“Big? So now I’m fat, huh?”

“No way!” I shook my head.

“I don’t want to become a zombie,” she said sadly, knocking over another display, sending several red and white cans to the floor. “Mmm, mmm, good,” she mocked, looking at them. “I’m not really into brains as a delicacy,” Val said.

Her thoughts were all over the place, and I realized I needed to keep her focused. “You won’t be a zombie forever, Val. I’ve got the cure, remember?” My voice remained calm, but inside I was shaking like a leaf in the wind, hoping that what I was telling her was true.

“You do? Why didn’t you just say so?” She yawned. “I’m so tired. What’s your name again?”

“I’m your brother, Dean.”

“And I’m your other brother, Nick. Now come on, sis. I have a nice blanket and pillow waiting for you in the Jeep,” Nick coaxed softly. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.” She leaned forward as though to hug me.

Nick grabbed her arm to put a few inches between us.

If she noticed, she didn’t comment on it. She simply said, “Dean and Nick, I love you guys so much. I couldn’t ask for better brothers.”

I prayed to God she wouldn’t bite me while my guard was down. “It’s gonna be okay. I promise.”

“Why are we here? In a grocery store of all places?” Val asked, as if she had just snapped back into reality. “Are you guys that hungry? Didn’t we take enough food from that glass house?”

“I’m not hungry at all,” I said, pushing her forward as gently as I could. Luckily, she began to move.

“Then why are we here?” she asked.

“Well, you hightailed it off the freeway to take us on some kind of midnight tour of this place,” I said. “I figured maybe you were looking for a fast-food drive-thru.”

“I’m losing my mind. You better not let me drive again. I’m so sorry, guys. I-I just don’t know what’s happening to me.” She squeezed my hand and then let it go, as though she didn’t trust herself any more than I trusted her. In the very next second, she yelled, “Get away from me! Who are you? I’m not going anywhere with you!”

In an instant, Claire pressed her stun gun on Val’s arm, sending my sister crumbling to the ground on jellied legs. “Sorry for zapping your sister and all, but I think we need to get outta here,” Claire said.

“It’s okay. She was out of control.” I scooped her up and realized she was burning up.

Nick shined the light down. “She’s out cold. Let’s get her back into the Jeep.”

We barely moved a few steps before zombie groans came from our right.

Jackie gripped my hand. “We’ve got company, and I don’t think they’re here for this week’s sales.” In spite of her attempt at infusing humor, I could feel her rigidity.