Girl Z: My Life As A Teenage Zombie (18 page)

Darn. I was so tired of this…Tired of them. Tired of it all.

We passed the next three houses, hoping we were far enough from the crazy neighbor. I turned on Lawton and followed another bumpy road, hoping the house up ahead was as well-kept and welcoming as the bright red mailbox before it.

The car knocked, clunked and clanked with each thump and bump. Each sound made me fear I'd glance over and see a bunch of pieces we'd left behind.

Would we make it? I shivered, not ready to spend the night stuck huddled behind the wheel in the middle of some dank, dirt path.

Carm's whoosh of breath echoed my own feeling of relief as we reached the end. “
Whoo
, we made it. Seems better than the last place.”

“That's a good thing.”

So far,
I thought.

I pulled into an open spot in the gravel and got out with a growing sense of hope. Unlike the house from hell we'd just left, this place had a nice stone drive and walk lined with pockets of sunny yellow and deep maroon red coleus. Zoey jumped out and started down the path by herself. I let her go and waved at Carm to ignore her. If she wanted to go off by herself, I wasn't about to stop her.

The place appeared normal, but I grabbed my gun and urged Carm to get hers, in case we needed them.

More flowers peeked between the mounds of gravel in the planting beds surrounding the front porch. Carm seemed more nervous with each step up the green and white painted stairs. I knew she wondered, like I did, whether someone would jump out the door and come at us.

Zoey sat in a chair on the porch, eyes vacant, her face as bored as before. Carm and I crept to the window, peeked in, and stared at each other in shock. Although the well-used wood deck chairs and tables could've used a fresh coat of paint, they weren't bad. They'd been cared for. This had probably been a favorite place to sit on a warm night, (it would be mine, I knew)—pre-Z, of course, if not lately.

Carm shook her head in disbelief. “Nobody lives here. There's nothing inside.”

Zoey glared at Carm, her contempt evident. “Could've told you that.”

“Never mind.” Better to cut my cousin off before the fight started. “Guess this is as good a place to stay as anywhere else.”

We peeked through the window at a spacious living room next to a small kitchenette. Nothing covered the painted gray floor except some puffs of dust and a couple of discarded piles of sheets. The only visible piece of furniture, a lone broken chair, globs of foam billowing from a hole in the back, sat discarded.

Carm grabbed my arm as I reached to knock on the door. “Wait, maybe we shouldn't,” she warned.

“Don't worry, no one's home.” I opened the screen door and turned the doorknob. Locked tight. “We still have to make sure no unwanted guests have moved in, right?”

I leaned closer and listened as her knuckles rapped on the wood. Nothing stirred inside. Good. Now to get in.

Stepping off the porch, I picked up one of the rocks next to the walk and came back to the door.

“Wait, if you break a window, then
they
can get in,” Carm cautioned.

“They can get in anyway if they want.” Zoey glanced at Carm and snorted. “Is that a squirt gun? What are you gonna do? Drown 'em?”

Shaking my head, I managed to stay silent as I searched under the mat and everywhere else for a possible hiding place. “I didn't find a key anywhere. You see one?”

“Nooo,” Carm answered, her voice cheery. “But I have something that'll work.”

My eyes widened (well, one did
)
as I watched her slip a credit card from her wallet and insert it between the door and the jamb. With a smirk, she flicked the card a few times. “You know that saying, don't leave home—”

“Yeah, yeah.” I gave in to my dark side, unable to resist being snotty. “What's wrong, Carm Angel, magic card not working?”

“Just wait, smartie.”

The card flicked again and then seemed to get stuck. A second later, I heard a click and the card slid down. She turned the knob with a triumphant giggle. “See? Ta-dah! Please enter.”

Zoey gave a shrug of admiration and slipped inside ahead of us. “Clever. Hope there's something to eat in this dump. I'm starving.”

Her remark got my attention. I followed the two of them in wondering how she handled her condition since she didn't have a cooler or anything. “You eat food?” I asked. “Real food?”

Goth Girl looked disgusted and pulled out several packets of powder, “Huh? Hell, no. I prefer liquid protein, except I have a sweet tooth. Lucky, I can still eat that stuff.”

Her tongue snaked across her lips as my mind pondered what she meant. Pills didn't work for her either, I guessed. So she ate junk and…I didn't want to know what else she ate that I couldn't—or wouldn't. Uh-uh.

My attention went back to my cousin though she was too interested in searching around instead of listening to any part of the conversation.

I shut the door and made sure it locked. “So, smart-aleck, where'd you learn that? How come I never knew about it?”

Carm shrugged and went to check out the kitchen. “Spence showed me. Never had a reason to use it 'till now. Hey, we're in luck. There's stuff to eat. Not much, just some crackers and cookies.”

“Enjoy yourself,” I mumbled, my bad mood growing.

Zoey wasted no time in wolfing down several chocolate cookies Carm dug from the back of the cabinet. My momentary jealousy was forgotten as I watched my cousin. Her quick change of subject made me wonder what else she might've kept from me.

The thought made me pause. I trusted Carm, I always had. My cousin was my rock. She'd always been there for me. I didn't expect her to tell me about every single thing in her life, I mean we're not clones or anything, but still…

We'd always counted on and helped each other, but the truth was I now needed Carm more than she needed me. That hurt.

I pushed the thought away and scanned the main room. There was a ragged, dirty chaise lounge under one bunch of sheets. At least one of us had somewhere to sleep.

Carm opened the fridge and held out a bottle. “Water and OJ. It expires next month. Whoever lived here hasn't been gone long. I wonder why they left?”

Getting more annoyed, I took the bottle of water, filled it with protein powder and gave it a good shake. Half went down in a big gulp before I headed for the stairs. I really didn't like how things were going. Zoey kept shoving junk in her mouth and ignored us. “As long as they didn't leave a bunch of Zs behind, I don't care. Let's go. We have to check upstairs, get our stuff, and block the place off.”

“Now who's kind of crabby?”

“Whatever.”

I clumped up the steps, not bothering to wait.

Crabby? Yeah, maybe I was.

My uneasiness grew. I didn't like being stuck out here. Not good, either, if we were getting on each other's nerves already. “We're not camping out, you know.”

“Hey, cuz, I don't like it any better than you. Just trying to make the best of it.” She turned and went back down the stairs. “You know what? You go. I'm goin' to get our stuff and call Mr. J. again.”

“Fine, Miss Smiley Face, you do that,” I sniped.

Her leaving didn't make me feel any better, but our yelling at each other told me we had nothing to worry about as far as surprises went. Nobody else was home.

The first bedroom was decorated all over with pink, pastels, and big flowery wallpaper. Stuffed animals covered the bed. Nothing out of place. Same for the bath, neat and orderly. Closet, ditto.

I flung open the next door and reeled back. The rotten smell of death and decay wafting smelling it. I grabbed a towel and held it over my nose, trying to breathe only through my mouth.

I gagged but continued in, hoping the source of the smell wouldn't come after me.

Not this time.

On the floor at the end of the bed lay the lady of the house, or what was left of her after she'd become a hungry Z's main course. Yuck.

Lucky for us, with no one else around, the thing or things ate and ran. “Fast food,” I muttered.

My eyes averted, I set down my gun, stepped over the body, and rummaged through the dresser drawers, glad to find a handful of cash and some nice jewelry. Real stones, too. I crammed them in my pockets. Never knew when we'd need something to barter. Why leave it for someone else?

A noise in the hall got my attention. I stopped rummaging. “Who's there? Carm?” No answer.

I stepped over the body and searched for something to defend myself with. Idiot. I left my gun too close to the door. “Carm? Zoey? You out there?”

Why wasn't anyone answering? Another noise in the hall. I had to see what was going on.

Taking a flying leap, I jumped onto the bed and grabbed the gun, my mental image of an action hero far different than my actual clumsy attempt.

Rolling over, I took aim at the doorway now blocked by Goth Girl whose stare made me feel like I had two heads. I wondered at her smirk, considering how I had the gun barrel pointed straight at her face.

My finger itched on the trigger. All it would take is a little squeeze and…

Ignoring me, Zoey shuffled over and took a good long look at the gory remains on the floor before heading for the dresser and rummaging in the clothes. “Cool. So what's left you didn't take?”

Ugh. She didn't mean—?

I didn't miss the way she smirked at me before digging in the drawers.

Jerk.

Giving her one last glare, I slung the gun over my shoulder. If only she knew how close she'd come.

That I'd considered offing her without any hesitation did make me think, at least for a minute. The whole Z thing had hardened me, I knew, but I hadn't expected having such a cold reaction to someone who was almost like me.

After awhile, being around those things, and being infected, must have a long-lasting effect, I suspected, and not a good one. I wasn't raised to be like that. Hopefully Goth Girl would be on her way soon. I certainly didn't need her getting any weird ideas about me.

A search of the closet turned up a couple extra blankets and pillows. As luck would have it, there was a small air mattress and a pump, too. Glad I didn't need to haul a real mattress down the stairs after all.

Zoey ignored me and dug around in the dresser, pulling out a couple black shirts and a pair of pants. I headed for the door, tired of waiting for her to do something other than help herself.

“We're sleeping downstairs so we can watch the door,” I mentioned, hoping she'd take the hint. “Better bring some blankets down for yourself.”

The way she turned and stared gave me the creeps.

“I'll stay here. I'd rather sleep by myself. Anything coming up the stairs, don't worry, I'll take care of it.”

I tried not to show any reaction when she pulled up one pants leg, giving me a glimpse of the giant knife stuck in a leather sheath wrapped around her calf.

Huh. I bet she would.

My arms full of blankets, I headed for the hall. My last sight of her dragging the sheet-covered body and shoving it in the closet was NOT one I wanted appearing in my dreams tonight. A weird Friday the 13th kind of grimace lit her face as she eased the door shut.

Okay. Enough.

I bounded down the stairs, dumped the blankets and called for Carm. I hoped she'd reach Mr. J. soon. Morning wouldn't come fast enough.

Downstairs, I found Carm sitting cross-legged in a corner of the kitchen floor, bags and boxes of cookies and crackers around her. She sighed, clearly content.

I had to laugh. She was the image of a kid who'd found the key to the cookie factory. Hard to stay mad at someone having such a good time, even if I couldn't join in.

She took a bite, brushed off the crumbs, and held up her phone. “I think the signal's getting stronger. Maybe we won't have to stay here long.”

“I hope not. This all our stuff?”

“Except the clothes. Didn't think we needed 'em. Cookie?”

I shook my head at her offer and went for my bag among the pile on the floor next to the counter. “I'll make myself a cranberry juice. Any visitors?”

“No Zs around, except…” She poked her head at the ceiling. “Where's our hitchhiker?”

“Goth Girl's staying upstairs. In the same room with the dead lady of the house…what was left of her.”

Carm glanced at me in horror. “Ugh, gross. How can she stand the smell?”

“Beats me.” I lowered my voice, filled a glass with water, and dumped in my protein powder. “Strange thing is I swear she liked it.”

Carm shivered again. “Ick.” She held up her phone again. “More bars. Almost all of them. I think I'll get through soon.”

After our snack, we lowered the shades and checked that all the doors were locked. The lounge chair covered with a sheet and the air bed blown up, we got comfy, Carm with a puzzle book, me with a mystery paperback I'd found in my bag.

As the sky darkened, it was like every little noise magnified. The crickets grew louder. A frog's chirp became shriller. I got up and shoved a chair under the front doorknob for extra security. All the windows made me wish we'd gone upstairs after all.

“Kind of creepy, isn't it?” I asked, rubbing my arms for effect.

“Yeah. Did you try Mr. J. again?”

“I got two rings and then it shut off. Maybe next time.”

The room fell quiet and filled with shadows except for the circle of light around the small desk lamp I'd plugged in. It wasn't much, but at least we weren't sitting in complete darkness. Plus, I didn't want to make the house too bright for fear of attracting unwanted guests.

Carm's head dropped lower as she fell into a doze. I gazed at the book's page, not seeing the words. It was going to be a long night.

We both jumped at the loud computer-like ding from Carm's phone signaling a new text had come in.