Against Zombies Box Set, Vol. 1 | Books 1-4 Page 35

  “Hey.” I cleared my throat, catching them off guard.

  It startled them, but just not in the way I’d planned. Each person had a weapon raised and pointed at us.

  “Sorry. We were just looking for food.” I held both hands out to show I was unarmed. I’d left the 9mm in my backpack so that Dillion didn’t get worried.

  “She’s got a kid with her.” The shorter brunette put her baseball bat down. “Hi, I’m River. This is Jeff and his girlfriend, Abby.”

  “Where have you been staying?” Jeff almost growled at us, but he did lower his frying pan.

  “I’d been watching him at his house, but we were running out of food and knew that there would be some here.” I didn’t want to give out too much information, yet these were the first people I’d seen in a week.

  “Do you go to school here?” River had gone back to frying eggs on the grill.

  “I did before all this started. We can get a few things and just be on our way so that we don’t bother you.” I’d tried to keep Dillion behind me just in case Jeff or his girlfriend wanted to keep us out.

  River saw my wary glances at Jeff. “You can join us.” She ignored the other two. “I worked in the kitchen before the ZITs came, and most of this stuff will go bad if we don’t eat it. How about you, kid, are you hungry?”

  Dillion slowly moved from behind me, but didn’t answer her.

  “You’re not allergic to eggs, are you?” River smiled at him.

  “He’s just shy. We would love to take you up on that offer. What can I do to help?” I hoped asking to help would make the other two relax a little more.

  “Grab five of those clean plates, and if Jeff doesn’t burn the bacon, then we should be just about ready because the eggs are done.” River held a plate, ready to transfer the eggs onto it.

  “The bacon’s done.” Abby grinned when Jeff pulled it from the oven. “Let’s eat,” she called out as she disappeared through the swinging doors leading to the dining room.

  I picked up the plates and handed Dillion the rolled silverware, following Abby’s lead. I wasn’t sure about these guys, but I wasn’t going to turn down a warm meal that was fresh and already cooked.

  The dining room was well lighted because of the skylights in the ceiling, but it seemed so empty without all the people milling around.

  Abby had put the food on the table closest to the door, but Dillion seemed uncomfortable, as he let go of my hand. He put the silverware on the table and pulled out a chair at the other end.

  Acting as if his behavior was normal, I placed a plate in front of him and put the others closer to Abby.

  River and Jeff had followed us into the room, bringing the food with them.

  “Why are you sitting down there?” Jeff questioned immediately.

  “Dillion’s really shy. Once he gets to know you a little bit better, he’ll scoot closer.” I pasted a smile on my face as I patted Dillion on the head.

  “Hmm…well, I just hope he gets comfortable real fast,” Jeff mumbled around the piece of bacon he’d stuffed in his mouth.

  “Don’t listen to him, little man. He’s just jealous because you didn’t have to cook breakfast with us.” River winked at him and slid into a seat across from me, with a seat in between her and Abby.

  “So, what are you doing here on the campus? Don’t you have a family to go home to?” Abby tossed questions at me around a mouthful of eggs.

  “I don’t have any family here in town except for Dillion’s mom, who’s a nurse. She got called in right away and we’ve been cooped up in the house for a while. I needed some extra clothes from my dorm room and thought we would raid the kitchen at the same time.” I hoped it didn’t sound threatening, because Jeff seemed to be deciding if we were going to get in his way.

  “So he’s not your kid, huh? You sure are protective of him. What kind of classes were you taking?” Abby asked rudely.

  “Geeze, Abby. Why don’t you just say what you’re thinking?” River turned from Abby to me. “I’m so sorry. You’d think we’d never been taught any manners before all this started.”

  “No, it’s all right. I completely understand. I would be curious as well. What classes were you taking before this started?” I decided to gamble that River would at least tell me something about herself.

  “Yeah, I’m an art major, or was. Guess it won’t pay much now that the world’s gone crazy. At least my skills in the cafeteria can be put some use.” River held up a fork with eggs as proof.

  “Now Jeff, he’s a got a wussy major—communications. I mean, what are you going to do against those sick infected things, talk them to death?” River giggled and Abby joined her, while Jeff shot them a disgusted look.

  “Whatever. Abby’s major isn’t that wonderful either. She’s in plays and stuff.” Jeff smirked back at the girls, trying to gain the upper hand.

  I felt a tug on my sleeve. Dillion wanted to tell me something because he’d cupped his hand to whisper in my ear.

  “What’s up, buddy?”

  “I have to go to the bathroom.” He spoke so softly, I almost didn’t hear him.

  “Sure,” I told him. “We’ll be right back,” I assured the others.”

  I didn’t want to leave our backpacks, but it would show them that I didn’t trust them. So we just had to hurry back before they got a chance to find my gun.

  Crap, I should have just taken it with me. In the future, no matter who I trusted, I would have to take it with me.

  Dillion hurried and pulled me into the men’s room to make sure there wasn’t anyone before leaving him to do his business.

  I was torn between waiting on him or peeking in on the group. Dillion must have sensed my impatience because he was back in less than a minute.

  River kept the other two in line, because they were both sitting in the same place I’d left them.

  I let out a huge sigh of relief. Now to finish breakfast and see what else was on the agenda for the day.

  “Um, I know we don’t know each other, but you’re welcome to come over to the dorm with me while I decide what I’m going to do.” I only offered to have River come with us because it seemed like she was the third wheel to Jeff and Abby’s duo.

  River glanced between the couple and Dillion. “It’s your lucky day. Hey, guys, I’m going to hang out with the new girl and her little man for the day. See what kind of supplies we can find in her dorm.”

  When neither one did more than shrug, it seemed decided.

  I led the way while River followed with her bat, covering our backs.

  “So, have you known Jeff and Abby long?”

  “No, thank God. I would have killed them if we’d been here since the beginning together. I escape while they veg out in their room with all sorts of drugs and alcohol. I don’t think they’re the brightest in the bunch.”

  “Dillion, let’s get you a movie to watch.”

  “Awe, do I have to? I wanna get to know River better.” He was actually whining about something.

  “For now, River and I need to discuss grown-up stuff, but maybe we can play a game later?” I looked at her for confirmation.

  “Yeah, I think we can do that. We might even talk Abby and Jeff into it as well.” River smiled at him.

  “I don’t like that man.” Dillion frowned. “He makes me feel funny.”

  “You and me both, little man.” She patted his head.

  The familiar tunes of a kid’s program started. “I’ll just be in here with River if you need us.”

  “So what’s up with Jeff and Abby? From the looks of it, you’re not a real fan of theirs.” I didn’t want to be judgy, but they felt like a real problem.

  “They just showed up sometime after the first week and aren’t much on helping others. I try to stay away from them as much as possible because Jeff is messed up.”

  “You didn’t just get here today, did you?” River asked.

  “I didn’t, but trusting people I don’t know is difficult. We’ve bee
n here almost a week.”

  “How did you get on campus? I didn’t see a vehicle that didn’t belong.”

  “My friend Darren brought us, but he went back to our neighborhood. We had some trouble and thought we would be safer here. He should have been back by now, but I couldn’t wait any longer. We needed to find some food.” Leaning back, I relaxed for the first time since he’d left me here.

  “I’m surprised we haven’t met before since I’m always on campus. It’s not pretty out there. I’ve had to kill a few of those things. It’s a good thing they canceled out classes because this place would have been overrun with ZITs in the first day.”

  “ZITs?” I looked at her curiously.

  “Zombie infected things. That’s what I’ve been calling them. They would have been everywhere, and the stupid co-eds on campus would have been too scared to put up a fight.” River gave me an appraising look. “What made you trust me?”

  “Well, Jeff’s weapon was a frying pan, and Abby’s was a pair of tongs. You appeared to be the only one who looked like they might know what they were doing.” I grinned. “What made you trust me?”

  “Hmph. You had a kid with you, and you were both still alive. It meant that your survival skills were about double what the other humans are capable of at the moment.”

  “It sounds like your encounters with humans has been about the same as mine.” I held out my hand. “Glad we met during this difficult time.”

  River giggled and shook it. “Same here.”

  “I’m thirsty,” Jeff complained.

  “There’s water beside the mini fridge,” I answered automatically.

  “That’s not the kind of thirsty I am. I think I should go over to the adult quarters.” Jeff gave Abby a wink.

  “Jeff, we can’t. Those things are wandering around out there, and at night, we can’t see them until they’re right on top of us. Please, don’t go,” Abby pleaded.

  “Oh, I think it’s fine. There can’t be that many out there, and the street lights are still working at the moment, so we can see.” Jeff threw an arm around her and planted a big kiss on her cheek.

  “That doesn’t sound like a good idea, Jeff. Can’t you wait?” I added my voice, knowing that he would do exactly what he wanted to do.

  “If you girls are too scared, then I’ll see you in the morning. I’m going now. I can’t stand to be here, just waiting for the world to end. At least I can sleep it off for a while.” Jeff turned from our pleas and walked through the door, headed for the stairs.

  Abby went racing after him, while River picked up her bat before following them downstairs.

  Flipping off the light, I walked over to the window and lifted the dark curtain we’d put up to keep people from knowing we were there.

  Jeff’s dark figure could be seen from the second-floor window. Abby caught up with him just as he crossed over the median toward the other dorm.

  That’s when Abby’s scream brought Dillion to my side.

  “What’s happening? Is Abby okay?” he asked, slipping an arm around my leg as he tried to see over the window ledge.

  “Sorry, bud. It’s really dark out there. I hope she’s okay, but we won’t know until in the morning if they made it.” I hated to lie to him, but in a way, it was true. We wouldn’t ever know for sure if she was okay.

  I couldn’t see much because it was dark, but it looked like Jeff had found one of the sick people, causing Abby to scream. If it was only one then they might be okay, but there were a lot of dark shapes moving across the lawn, so my hope of them making it alive to the other building went down drastically.

  The curtain dropped from my hand and I slid down to the floor. Pulling Dillion into my lap, a tear escaped down my cheek.

  A thump sounded downstairs, startling both of us.

  I jumped up and reached for the 9mm gun in my pack. I didn’t want Dillion to come downstairs, but I knew he wouldn’t stay by himself.

  “Stay behind me, no matter what,” I warned him as we walked to the stairs.

  Just as I rounded the corner to open the door closing off the stairs, I saw River in the doorway from the small light coming from the exit signs.

  “It’s just River, buddy. She had to make sure to block the door downstairs, remember?” I knew the reassurance wasn’t just for him, but for me as well.

  “Did you get it all closed up?” I questioned as she closed the door.

  “Yes.” She gave a slight shake of her head. “Nothing came this way after they left, so I think we’re safe. I put the plywood up with the couch in front of it again. They’re on their own out there.”

  The one nice thing about the dorm we were in was that it was built out of cinderblocks. Each floor had secure doors with push bars on the inside to keep attackers out.

  I’m sure this wasn’t what the designer had planned to keep out, but it was working to our advantage.

  “Hey, I think it’s time to put a video on to sleep with, buddy.” I needed to keep Dillion occupied so that he didn’t ask any questions that River and I couldn’t answer.

  River

  After Jeff and Abby were gone, there wasn’t much that Stacy and I could do but stay inside. We were starting to see more dead people wander across the grounds, but because of the slow nature of the ZITs, we were able to stay ahead of them if I couldn’t kill them with my bat.

  There was no telling when we’d run into them, but they were no longer going to be alive.

  We had done everything we could to keep things working normally. No noise, only going out when it was necessary, but we just returned from breakfast when there was an actual knock at the door.

  I glanced at Stacy, who ducked behind the counter with Dillion. Only a human would knock, but we didn’t know who was standing on the other side.

  Two guys in military gear were clearly surprised when I opened the door.

  “What can I do for you, gentlemen?” I questioned, like it was an everyday occurrence for the army to be at the door.

  “Yeah, I’m looking for a girl named Stacy Morris,” the guy with reddish-brown hair asked politely.

  A squeal erupted from behind me, and I moved out of the doorway, just as Stacy’s bright red hair flashed by into the man’s surprised arms.

  “Doug, you’re alive!” Stacy let out another squeal, quickly covering her mouth. “Crap, I forgot. Those ZITs come to loud noises, but there aren’t many here on campus. What am I doing? Would you guys like to come in?” Stacy asked.

  I just raised an eyebrow at her politeness while backing inside, out of the way.

  “Do you mind if we search the premises?” another military man asked.

  “Oh, sure, but hold on for a second.” Stacy paused in what she was saying and raced to the counter, returning with Dillion holding her hand.

  “Is there something you need to tell me, sis?” her brother Doug asked skeptically.

  “No. I’m Dillion’s nanny. His mother is at one of the hospitals here in town. We were almost out of food when I ran into River and some friends. This was the closest dorm to the cafeteria, so it made the most sense to stay somewhere I know.”

  “This is fascinating, but we’re supposed to clear each building so we can start moving the civilians in. Is it safe for us to go ahead and search?” The other guy directed the question to Stacy, but watched my reaction.

  Stacy glanced at me before answering. “Sure. River, would you like to show…uh, I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

  “Specialist Jackson, at your service.”

  “River can show you what we’ve set up.” Stacy wasn’t catching the vibes I was sending her way.

  “Sure, why not?” I answered sarcastically, unhappy with Stacy.

  “This way, guys.” I started down the hall at a fast pace, wishing they weren’t trained to keep up.

  “Evan, you watch the front and let us know if you see anything. Doug, stay right where you are and don’t mind us doing all the work.” Specialist Jackson gave him a fake salu
te.

  He gave Jackson the finger in response. I might like Stacy’s brother after all.

  There were three floors to show them, and since Stacy had opened all the doors, except for the two rooms we’d been using, it didn’t take us long for them to complete their search.

  They were impressed with the small garden up on the roof that would have fresh vegetables, but it was way too early to expect much growth yet. With the solar power, the army guys agreed it would be the perfect setup to stay alive long-term if you could secure the bottom floors properly.

  Back on the main floor, Doug was still sitting there, talking to Stacy.

  “Let’s leave him here, and when we finish clearing the cafeteria building, we can come back for him before we report in to the sergeant,” Specialist Jackson suggested, waiting at the front door.

  “I might as well go with you because we’ve cleared it out, but I have the keys to the building.” Doug got up and gave Stacy another hug.

  “Whoa, hold up. You have the keys to the buildings, or just the cafeteria?” Specialist Jackson asked, excited.

  “No, but she does.” He pointed at me.

  “When all this started, I grabbed the keys from the janitor’s closet in case I needed to get in somewhere. It made it easier than ruining the doors. Plus, the cafeteria is open already.” I reluctantly held out a ring of keys.

  Specialist Jackson reached for his radio. “Sarge, I’ve got someone here with the keys to all the buildings, and I think she knows where others are if she doesn’t have the ones you need.”

  “Roger that. Where are you?” The radio squawked loudly.

  “We’re in dorm A,” Specialist Jackson replied.

  “Cease all entry into the buildings and meet at the main quad by the cafeteria.”

  “Yes, sir,” all the units responded.

  “Doug, I hate to break this up, but you’ve got to come with us. Since River has the keys to the buildings, we can search much quicker.”

  “Crap. Stacy, you stay here and I’ll get the sergeant to let me stay on guard tonight.”

  “Um, you guys don’t have to do that. We’ve been just fine on our own. I know you’re supposed to do a sweep, but this is our home.” I leaned on my bat with the keys hanging from my other hand.