89.4 Zombie Radio

Dalton and I were on our way to B-View, which I couldn't find on any map. I knew B-View wasn't the actual name of the place we were looking for, but I couldn't find anywhere on the map where the name even made sense. The texts had stopped after that, and I just hoped that the last text was truly our destination. I looked over at Dalton who I could tell was panicking after the texts had stopped. He grabbed Roxy's phone out of his pocket and dialed Layla's number. He was cussing under his breath when they didn't answer his call.

"I know how you feel, but don't give up hope, we'll find them," I said.

"I feel so guilty about this, I have Jessie's gun on me. If she would've had it, this might have never happened. I was with her that night! I should've stayed with her! I should've made sure she was safe!" he shouted.

"This is nobody's fault Dalton!" I replied. "You know Jessie, she's going to do what she wants. There's nothing you could have done. She would have told you she was going back to her cabin just to make you not worry about her, and just because you have her gun doesn't mean anything. This could have happened a lot of different ways."

"I went and got her skateboard while Brock was working on this car. I know it means something to her, and I can't wait to give it back to her," he said.

"That's noble of you," I told him. "I know that will mean a lot to her. I wish I had something to give back to Layla, but I don't. I just hope when I get there... Fuck I don't know."

"It'll be fine," he said. "She'll just be happy to see you I'm sure."

"I'm honestly not as sure," I replied.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"I told you last night she was with Trevor. Jessie caught them making out," I said.

"Really? Oh man, I'm sorry. I mean, I knew he was trying to get in her pants and all, but he was always trying to do that, so I didn't think anything of it," he explained.

"There's nothing you could have done," I said.

"Well, look at it this way, you're here, and he's not. That has to mean something right?" he asked me.

"Yea, I guess you're right. It doesn't even matter to me, I couldn't live with myself if she wasn't safe, and there was something I could do to help her," I replied.

"Exactly, if she doesn't see that, then... I don't know. I guess she isn't the genius everyone says she is," Dalton said. I smiled and seen the sign for the highway we were looking for up ahead. Route two, I found it kind of odd that it had to be that number. People will call me crazy, but I have a weird superstition when it comes to the number two. I've always found it to be bad luck, the opposite of that would be I find the number five to be good luck. Am I crazy? Maybe just a little bit, but I think its the good kind of crazy. The son of a bitch who had Layla was the bad kind.

Dalton and I continued down the highway, swerving around traffic, and the occasional wandering zombie. I tuned into 89.4 and checked on good old DJ Double Tap. I hadn't heard anything from him in a while, and I wanted to make sure he was still alive. I started to wonder if the station would even come in all the way in Ohio, but to my pleasant surprise, it did.

"This is zombie radio! And you're listening to the one, the only DJ Double Tap! Why DJ Double Tap? Because when you knock that zombie down once, you had damn sure better make sure he's dead! Double tap that ass folks! That's my advice for the day! I have heard from people all over the nation since traveling uptown to the big studios and starting the nation wide broadcast. The response has been great, and I'm glad I can be of any help. I haven't heard from some of my old friends from when this madness started though. Bob! Jessie! Where you at!? Give DJ Double Tap a ring-a-ling!"

I knew I had to give him a call. I had Dalton pass me the phone and I dialed the number up. It rang twice and DJ Double Tap immediately picked up the phone

"Hello caller! You've got DJ Double Tap! How may I help you!?"

"Hey DJ Double Tap, its your old friend Bob," I said.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOB! It's so good to hear from you my man! How have you been? What's been happening? What's new? DJ Double Tap is worse than a gay guy talking to a girl about her sex life! I want details!"

"Well, actually things haven't been the greatest," I replied.

"DJ Double Tap is frowning right now," he said. "Did you guys rescue that Jessie girl okay?"

"Yea, we did. We lost one in the process, but we rescued six more and a dog," I told him. "Since then a lot has happened. Have you heard about the talking zombies?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Talking zombies Bob!? This is news to DJ Double Tap!" he answered.

"Yea, we're calling them queens, and they have control over the other zombies. They can think, plot and do everything you and I can do. I think your listeners should be aware of them," I said.

"Of course! You know DJ Double Tap will spread the word! What else is new?" he asked.

"Well, right now, my friend Dalton and I are off to rescue Jessie and Layla. We think they're in the hands of a psychopath right now," I said.

"Its just you and your friend? What happened to the other people that were with you?" he replied.

"Well, they made up these rules, and I guess there's no more rescue missions. So me and Dalton are off to save them, or at least try to. Before you ask why, I'm pretty sure me and my colleague are in love. I've never been in love, so I don't know for sure, but I think love makes you rush off on you're own and not give a fuck what happens to you," I explained.

"Ha ha! Yes it does Bob! Love does some crazy things sometimes. I'm wiping tears out of my eyes as we speak. I hope you find them. Still heading to Alaska?" he asked.

"No, not exactly. Now its Florida. Don't be surprised if the women we're with change their minds about a hundred times either. I've got something you can do to help though DJ Double Tap," I said.

"DJ Double Tap is more than glad to help! You know that, and that goes for anyone out there listening!" he replied.

"Well, I promised everyone I would call this station every night, and they promised to call in too. We're going to keep each other updated so we can hopefully find each other again. So if a girl name Roxy calls, you'll know her because every other word will be an obscenity, just make sure you have her tell you where they are," I said.

"Then I'll pass the message on to her for you. I understand Bob. DJ Double Tap will make sure the nation knows what's going on with Bob and Roxy at all times. I solemnly swear to do this!" he exclaimed.

"Well, thanks again man. I think that's all I got today, I'm off to go save my girl," I told him.

"Good luck Bob! And good luck to you too Dalton! Both of you be careful and kick that crazy bastard's ass!" he shouted.

"I will, I promise you that," I said. DJ Double Tap and I both hung up at roughly the same time and Dalton and I continued down the highway until we finally reached our exit. Or at least what we thought was our exit. State route four the sign said. Layla's directions were perfect so far. I just hoped there wasn't one little road missing. I knew when we got to this town, it wasn't going to be easy to find them, but I had the feeling we would. I'd burn that whole place to the ground to find Layla, and I'm pretty sure the guy next to me felt the same way. After we found the exit, a zombie ran out in front of the car, and Dalton almost hit it. I suddenly felt a lot less comfortable letting him drive.

"Pull over and let me take the wheel," I told him.

"What? We didn't hit it or anything. Its alright, I got it," he replied.

"I'd just feel much more comfortable driving. I'm weird, just let me drive," I said. He finally gave in and pulled to the side of the road. I got out of the car and started to make my way to the driver's side. That's about the time I heard Dalton yelling at me to turn around. I looked just in time to catch the zombie running at me, and I caught her in one fluid motion. I threw her up against the side of the car by her shoulders and pinned her down. I pulled out my gun and put it to her head. Without thinking, I pulled the trigger. She was dead, but that was the least of our problems, the shot went straight through and hit the tire, causing it to go flat almost instantly.

"Shit!" Dalton yelled. "This is not good man! You should have thought that through just a little more."

"It was kind of a knee jerk reaction!" I shouted back. "Let's see you get attacked and have time to think every detail of it out!" I looked behind Dalton and seen another one approaching from behind him. The shot must have attracted more of them. Damn, that really was a bad idea.

"Behind you!" I yelled. Dalton turned around, and spun the attacker into the car, in a slightly less graceful manner than I had previously executed. He was struggling to pull Jessie's gun out of his backpack, so I decided to lend him a hand.

"Catch!" I said, tossing him my gun. He looked up just in time to bat it down with his hand.

"You're supposed to catch it!" I shouted. He didn't respond as he picked it up off of the ground and fired two shots into the zombie's head. I could hear the air leaking out of the other tire, and I couldn't hold back my laughter.

"Should have thought that one through a little more," I said.

"Alright, you got me! I'm sorry!" he replied as he tossed me the gun back. As funny as it was, this was not good. Now we were going to have to walk the rest of the way, and it was starting to get dark. I didn't want to be out in the dead of night with the zombies, but I wasn't sure how much time Jessie and Layla had left. Stopping for the night wasn't an option in my mind. I knew the shots we just fired were going to attract some attention. There weren't many houses where we were, but I'm sure whatever was left in them was going to be coming our way very soon.

"I say we play it quiet from here Bob, what do you think?" Dalton asked.

"I say that's a pretty good plan, but if we get overwhelmed, don't hesitate to get the gun out," I replied. He nodded in approval and we continued down the road. We weren't even a mile into the walk before we heard the screams of a large group headed our way. Dalton and I didn't even look back, we just started to run as fast as our feet would take us. I kept looking over the scenery for a place where we could make a stand against them, but so far there was nothing. I started to make out some more figures up ahead, and when I heard them start to roar, I knew we were as good as fucked.

"Look! Another road! Maybe we should cut down it and try to get away!" Dalton yelled. I nodded, and we both started to head down it, our pursuers not far behind. It was an old county road, with a christian gift shop placed right on the corner of it. I was starting to get tired of running, and I was praying there was some place we could use to make a stand. Another mile or so down, and I saw the perfect spot. It was a small graveyard, right on the corner of another road.

"Dalton! The graveyard! Dig that fucking gun out now, and we're going to make our stand there!" I shouted. We both ran through the graveyard and took cover behind a few of the better decorated graves. I could hear the hoard approaching, and knew we were in for one hell of a fight. It was going to get loud, and I knew we were probably going to attract even more attention when it was all said and done. By the time we were finished, this entire section of Ohio was going to be zombie free. I felt like some sort of new age exterminator. Dalton looked over at me and smiled.

"Its the zombie apocalypse, and we're in a graveyard," he said. I had to laugh, it was a rather humorous situation. Dalton had finally found Jessie's gun in his back pack, and had it ready to shoot. We heard them get closer and whipped out around the gravestones, opening fire on whatever moved. After a few shots, Dalton ran out of ammo. I slid him my back pack and told him to find the ammo in it. I did what I could to hold what was coming off, but it wasn't long before I had run out of ammo myself. One thing you'd think I would have learned by now is to carry a few extra clips at all times, but of course, that was a lesson that escaped me.

Dalton finally had gotten his gun reloaded and started to open fire once more. I decided the hell with the guns, and I pulled out my trusty little league bat. Dalton kept firing until he was out of ammo. Their numbers were thinned out enough by now that I knew I could handle the rest with a little stealth. Dalton followed my lead and pulled out his bastard sword. I didn't care what Jessie called it, that thing was the bastard sword. After all, it had killed one sick bastard so far, and I knew it would kill more when it was all said and done.

I came up behind a morbidly obese zombie, and landed a shot on his head with my ball bat. It didn't seem to phase him however, and he turned around. I started to back up slowly and get ready for when he finally decided to charge. Just then, I seen the blade from Dalton's sword pierce through the zombie's stomach. The fat bastard looked down and seen the sword, still looking unfazed. Another zombie came from behind me, and I turned around to swing just in time, knocking it to the ground with one shot. Then I finished the job by bashing away at it's head.

"Bob! Its stuck!" Dalton screamed. I ran up the big guy and swung the bat downward into the sword. It started to cut downwards, and I continued to swing until it went all the way through, exiting between his legs. Blood was flowing everywhere on the ground, and he finally went down. Dalton didn't hesitate to make one final swing, decapitating him. More were coming and Dalton and I separated, hiding behind tombstones and waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

The zombies must not have seen where we went, and slowed down as soon as they entered the graveyard. Dalton and I looked at each other and nodded, we knew what we had to do. We circled around the group, keeping low as not to be seen. Then both of us charged in from behind and unleashed hell. These zombies didn't put up much of a fight, at least not compared to the big guy still laying on the ground. It looked like it was finally over, and Dalton and I stopped to catch our breathes.

"That was... crazy," Dalton said.

"I just hope its over," I replied. We walked to the edge of the graveyard and looked around. I knew what Dalton was going to say before he even said it.

"Uh, do you know where we are right now?" he asked.

"Nope, not a clue," I answered. "It all happened so fast that I lost track of where we were supposed to be going."

"Well, this sucks," he said.

"Yea, it pretty much does Dalton," I replied. "Let's just follow one of these roads, and pray to God it takes us to the right place."

"Want to flip a coin to decide what way?" he asked.

"Who are you? Two Face?... Yea fuck it, flip a coin," I told him. Dalton dug an old quarter out of his pocket and flipped it into the air. I always hated when anyone else other than me flipped a coin. They never flipped it good enough in my opinion. I don't want to brag, but I was pretty damn good at flipping coins.

"Call it Bob!" Dalton said.

"Heads we go right, Tails we go left," I replied. We both looked down at the coin, and saw good old George Washington's face on it. It was heads, and I prayed to God this coin flip didn't screw us over somehow.

"Why do you still have change?" I asked Dalton.

"I don't know, you just never can tell when it's going to come in handy. Hell, it worked out for this coin flip right?" he answered. I just scratched my head and we continued down the road. It was pitch black outside, and this road was void of any traffic lights. I dug through my back pack and got out the flashlight, which miraculously still worked after the whole mall incident. I knew if we encountered anything it was going to be bad, but we had no choice. Time wasn't a luxury we had at this point. I kept having sickening thoughts of Layla being tortured and raped, and it just made me walk faster. Dalton and I finally reached the end of the road and were faced with yet another decision of right or left.

"Coin flip?" Dalton asked.

"Coin flip," I answered. We were leaving our fate in God's hands right now. Hopefully he would guide us in the right direction. Dalton flipped the coin and this time it landed tails.

"So I guess if we're going by the same rules as before, we go left now," Dalton said.

"That's kind of what I was thinking," I replied. I seen the sign for what road we were on. Two sixty nine didn't sound like anything that was in the texts. We were lost and I was just praying to God that this town I didn't know the name of was at the end of this road. I looked over at Dalton, and he didn't look a bit tired. The truth was, we both were ready to collapse, but we knew if we did, it was game over. Please God, let everything be okay. Please let us find them. Please let this be the right road, and please, in the name of all that's holy, don't let the bad things going through my head be true.