Zoey and the Zombies (A Mondamin Court Adventure)

Chapter Twenty One

The next day Caleb, Zoey, Kyle, Philip, and Maria prepared to head out. Caleb had the halberd strapped to his back and the katana at his waist. Kyle carried the spear with a machete at his waist. Zoey had her scimitars, and Philip and Maria both had machetes. They carried mostly empty backpacks.

"I wish I could be going," Jack grumbled.

"You ain't walking so good, old man," Caleb joked. "We don't want some survivor to see you shuffling and kill you for a zombie."

"Caleb, shut up," Zoey snapped.

"He's right though," Lydia said. "You need to rest. Your back ain't so good. And if they run into a horde, they are going to run, right?" She stared at Zoey as she said this.

"Yes, we will," Zoey muttered.

"And you have a radio, water, some loaves of flat bread?" Jack said. "If need be, you can hole up somewhere for a day or two. Just let us know so we don't worry."

"It's okay," Philip said. "We got this."

They headed west. A grocery store was in that direction, and Philip hoped it might provide enough for the entire community for several days.

Maria discouraged that hope. "Most stores have been hit hard already by big groups. Plus, many are wide open with the doors broken. Zombies can get inside and lost in the aisles. Buildings like that can be death traps."

Philip nodded. "Still, we can look. If it's like you say, we won't go inside."

At the first corner, Maria glanced around. "Two that way, three this way. I don't see any straight ahead. Move slow-ish fast."

She crossed the street at a trot. Running, she claimed, made too much noise and attracted too much attention. Walking gave the monsters too much time to spot a victim. A healthy trot was best.

There was one zombie in the middle of the street on the next block. "Got this," Caleb said as he unslung the halberd. Zoey followed behind as he approached the beast. It didn't notice them until they were only a few feet away. It turned and let out one loud moan before Caleb hacked its skull in two. It fell.

"Over to the side," Philip hissed. "Quickly."

They trotted over, and all of them stayed quiet, looking to see if any other zombies were attracted by the other one's moan. After a few minutes, they moved on.

They wove from block to block. Along the way, they killed three more zombies. They changed direction twice to avoid larger clumps of undead.

The plan was to reach the grocery store and case it. If it proved, as Maria claimed, too dangerous to approach, then they would head back, hitting as many houses along the way as possible.

They approached the store from the north. The doors were facing westward. This was the most major intersection they had hit so far, and Zoey's heart was in her mouth as they drew near. The roads were thankfully empty of any traffic, human or undead.

"Oh, the Tastee Freeze," Zoey said, looking across the street. Caleb gave her a look. "What? I used to walk up here and get ice cream all the time as a kid. I loved that place." A small fifties-style ice cream parlor sat on a small lot, with picnic tables out front. It was a local landmark.

"It will make a good vantage point to check out the entrance," Philip said. "Let's head over."

They crossed the street and headed to the Tastee Freeze, keeping their eyes on the grocery store entrance. They were startled by a bang in front of them as they approached. A zombie glared at them from inside the Tastee Freeze kitchen. It banged on the glass trying to get at them.