89.4 Zombie Radio

Dalton and I took off our backpacks and made our way into the house, weapons drawn and ready for a fight. I really didn't want a fight, I just wanted to beat the son of a bitch until he stopped breathing. The house was a wreck and we found ourselves in what looked like a kitchen. I looked upon the table in the middle of the room, and saw two cups of coffee, both were so hot you could see the steam rising from the top of them. I walked over to the table and looked at both cups. One was basically tan from all the cream and sugar, and the other was still black. Next to the cups, there was a note. I picked it up and started to read.

Dear Bob,

I hope you try the coffee, I give you my word there's nothing wrong with it. Its very good coffee. I only drink the best. I hope the ride over wasn't too bad, and I'm sorry this note was so sloppily written. I kind of wrote it while driving. See you soon.

Sincerely,

Lucky

I wanted to drive my ball bat through the table right then and there, but I knew it wouldn't help. I was trying to be stealthy here, and destroying furniture is usually not a good way to do that. He knew we were in the back of the truck. He knew we were coming in the house, and he even to the time to make coffee beforehand. This guy was insane, and methodical, the worst kind of person. I suddenly felt like we were the ones being hunted.

"Bob, I don't think he's on this floor," Dalton said.

"Well, there's an upstairs, and I'm guessing a basement," I replied. "If I were a psychopath keeping women hidden away for torture, I would probably hide them in the basement."

"Well, then I guess we need to find the basement," Dalton said. We started opening doors until we found one with a staircase. The lights were already on and I knew we were on the right track. That sick feeling crawled into my stomach, and I looked back at Dalton. The look on his face said it all, he was scared too. We started to descend the stairs, stepping as lightly as humanly possible. Every step I took, I could hear the wood squeal beneath my feet. Damn these old squeaky stairs.

When we got to the bottom I looked down the hall and wanted to feint at what I saw. It made sense why the rest of the house looked like shit, the basement was immaculate. The walls and floors both were tiled and if there was a speck of dirt anywhere, I didn't notice it. I could only wonder why all the doors were glass, and I slowly approached one to see what was inside. I saw a girl huddled in a corner, and when she spotted me, she charged at me, pressing her body against the glass, and trying to break through it with all of her strength. She was drooling blood, and I knew without much thinking what she was. I just thanked God it wasn't Layla.

Across the hall was another door, with another zombie inside. Dalton kept tapping the glass and taunting it. Both were girls, one blond, one brunette. Then it occurred to me who they were. Betty and Veronica, the names he had given me over the phone. Was that an Archie reference? I always found the Archie comics to be retarded quite frankly. Now I had a new reason to beat the shit out of this guy, his poor taste in comic books. Dalton and I continued down the hall, looking into the rooms, and hoping to see Jessie and Layla in one of them. We were almost to the end of the hall when something hit me in the back of the head, causing me to drop my bat. I went down and everything faded to black. Lucky had gotten the drop on us.

"Ah, good to see you again Bob," he said as he grabbed Dalton and threw him head first into one of the glass doors. Dalton's face smacked the glass and he fell to the ground right next to me. His sword slid down the opposite end of the hallway.

"Did you find the place okay? I left you coffee. I know you don't like coffee, but I wanted you to try mine. Coffee is good, gives you energy. Keeps the mind sharp. I don't know what I'd do without it myself."

"Fuck coffee!" I yelled trying to pick myself off the ground. Lucky landed a sharp kick to my ribs and I rolled over onto my back.

"Fuck coffee? Well, that's not nice at all Bob. I mean, did you try the coffee? It may have changed the way you feel about it," Lucky said as he picked up the bat I dropped after the first blow. "This is a pretty beat up old bat. Looks like a little league bat, but judging by the dried up blood on it, I'm guessing this is your weapon of choice right? Well, I happen to love the zombies! I fucking love them Bob! I think they're the best thing to have ever happened. Sometimes I just sit in the middle of the hallway jerking off to those two. I don't know what it is about zombies that turns me on but... It seriously turns me on! So, I think I'll have to be the one to show you how all the zombies you've killed with this little bat feel when they get hit. Why? Because zombies have feelings too."

Lucky put both hands on the bat and lifted it behind his head. He swung down and landed another shot right in my ribs. I could feel my ribs break as soon as the bat landed, and I rolled over in pain. I could hear Lucky laughing his ass off as I moaned, and spit up blood all over my shirt. I had to get up, I had to fight through this. I had to do it, for Layla, but everything in my body was telling me to curl into the fetal position. I looked over and Dalton had grabbed Lucky's leg trying to take him to the ground. Lucky stomped on his hand, and took a swing at Dalton, who managed to roll out of the way just in time.

Dalton fought to his knees, and Lucky kicked him in the face. I watched as his head snapped back and Lucky cocked the bat back and swung, landing a shot right in his chest. I could hear the air leaving Dalton's lungs, and knew he was probably coming for me next. Adrenaline was finally starting to kick in, and I rolled to my feet and charged at Lucky. Lucky laughed when I dug my shoulder into his stomach and he didn't even budge. He dropped the bat and lifted me up onto his shoulder. My ribs started to stretch and I hollered out in pain. He laughed again before throwing me into the tile wall head first. I landed on my back and spit up even more blood. Things were getting blurry, and every breath I took burned from the broken ribs.

"Oh, Bob, you're precious," He said as he put his hand around my throat. "The knights in shining armor, out to save the damsels in distress. Its so fucking cute!" I spit the blood that had entered my mouth into his face and he laughed. He started to squeeze tighter and everything started to go black once more. Damn it, I wasn't strong enough Layla, I failed you. Lucky wiped the blood off of his face and I could make out through the fog in my brain that he was still smiling. Dalton was starting to get up behind him, and he could sense it. He let go of me and turned around before Dalton could get to his feet.

He punched Dalton in the face and Dalton went right back down. I used the time to try and slide down the hallway towards Dalton's sword. I felt like if I could get to it, there was some chance that I could turn the tide. I was an eyelash away from reaching it when Lucky caught me, and stomped down hard on the small of my back. He stepped over me and positioned his foot by my face. I inched up and got my finger on the sword. He cocked back his foot and kicked me in the mouth, and then knelt down to pick me up by my shirt.

"Going for the sword huh?" he asked. "Not a bad plan Bob, you're a fighter, I like that. So before I kill you, I just want you to know how soft Layla's skin is. That's the one you like right? Cupcake over there likes the feisty one. I like the feisty one too, she's my favorite. If you tell me her name, I'll do you a favor. When I'm inside of Layla, I'll make her call me Bob in your honor. That sounds fair right?"

"Fuck you!" I screamed, still trying to reach the sword. I looked down and by some miracle of God I saw my chance. He left his crotch wide open. I made a fist and backhanded him in the dick as hard as I could. For once the smile left his face, and it gave me just enough leeway to grab the sword. Lucky snapped out of the pain and headbutted me. I did my best to shrug it off and slid the sword behind my back towards Dalton, who I seen was starting to get up. He picked up the sword and Lucky slammed my head down onto the hard tile. He made a beeline towards Dalton, who was just getting his handle on the sword. I seen the sword go through Lucky's back when he got to Dalton and if I had the strength to cheer, I would have. Lucky stood up with the sword through his chest and started to laugh. He knew he was as good as dead, and yet he was still laughing.

"Oh, isn't this just the happy ending we were all hoping for!" Lucky yelled. "You got me! You got me!"

Lucky fell to the ground, and continued to repeat the phrase "You got me," until his eyes finally went dead. That sick smile was still perched on his face. I slowly made it to my feet, and all the pain from the fight started to take effect. Every part of my body was throbbing, and it was a struggle just to breath. I looked into Lucky's face one last time and ran through my list of thank you's. I'd like to thank God, Jesus, Buddha, Thor, Zeus, Allah, and hell Satan while I'm at it. Whoever was in charge of that bastard's death, was alright with me. Ding dong, the dick was dead, now it was time to get the girls and get out of here.

Dalton and I staggered down the hall and found the girls in the last room on the right. Jessie was lying face down and Layla's eyes were rolling into the back of her head. This was not what I wanted to see. Adrenaline kicked back in, and I rushed over to to Layla.

"Toss me that fucking sword Dalton!" I screamed.

"It's still stuck in that guy!" he yelled back. "Here! I have a pocket knife you can use!"

Dalton tossed me the pocket knife and I cut Layla down. Dalton flipped Jessie, over and it was clear that both of them were inches away from death. I looked in the corner of the room and saw a black bag, with a syringe lying on top of it. They were OD-ing, and we didn't have much time to save them. Why God? Why would you do this to us?

I rushed over to the black bag and threw the sack of white powder across the room. Underneath one of the flaps of leather there was a few more syringes labeled "Naloxone." I was praying to God this was the miracle stuff that snapped people out of this horrible state.

"What do we do!? They're dying!" Dalton screamed.

"Don't you think I fucking know that!?" I yelled back. "I think this stuff is what we need! We're going to give them this, and pray to fucking God they snap out of it!"

"How do you give it to them?" he asked, as I tossed him one of the syringes.

"Haven't you ever seen Pulp Fiction!? You stab them right in the heart with it, and we pray to God they come out of it!" I shouted.

"I've never seen Pulp Fiction!" Dalton yelled.

"What the fuck!? Why not!?" I asked.

"What the hell does that matter now!? We don't have time to argue movies right now!" he replied. I hurried back to Layla's side and placed her head on my lap.

"Watch me man! This is how you do it!" I screamed as I stabbed Layla in the chest with the syringe and injected her. She sprung up and gasped for air, the syringe still stuck in her chest. She looked down and started to scream. I grabbed the syringe and pulled it out as she continued her shriek of terror.

"Layla! Its okay!" I yelled. "Dalton! Hurry! Do it!"

Dalton didn't waste any time in imitating what I had done. Jessie popped off the floor and started to scream. I was glad she wasn't as loud as Layla when she screamed. I don't think it was possible to scream louder than Layla to be quite honest. Jessie pulled the syringe out of her own chest and Dalton wrapped his arms around her. I looked down at Layla who was now vomiting all over my arm. I didn't even care, I was just glad she was okay.

"Jessie! Are you going to be okay?" Dalton asked.

"Uuuhhh, I don't know," Jessie replied.

"She's gonna be fine Dalton, don't worry about it," I said.

"Bob? Is that you?" Layla asked.

"Yea, its me," I told her. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. Dalton and I kind of killed the car."

"No you killed the car first! I just... did the same thing you did!" Dalton yelled.

"What kind of car was it?" Jessie whispered.

"It was a 1966 Cadillac Convertible," I answered.

"Bob... You're an idiot," Jessie replied.

"I know Jessie, I'm glad to see you too," I said.

"Bob, you're glowing," Layla informed me.

"He looks pretty normal to me," Dalton said. "It looks like he just got his ass kicked."

"You don't look too sharp yourself there Dalton," I replied laughing.

"No... you're both glowing," Layla said.

"Dalton, why does your face keep moving around?" Jessie asked.

"Uh, Bob, I think they're still a little... Under the influence," Dalton replied.

"What all did he give the both of you?" I asked.

"Oh... I don't remember," Layla replied. "Bob, I have something to tell you... I... I..."

"Just save it for now Layla," I told her. "Save your strength, okay? For now, I just want to get out of here. You ready Dalton?"

"Jessie, stay still, I'm going to pick you up," Dalton said.

"No, I want to walk out of here. I can walk Dalton, I'm alright enough to do that," Jessie replied. Dalton didn't argue as he helped Jessie to her feet. She got up and immediately rushed to the corner to vomit.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

"Just shut up Bob," Jessie answered, still keeled over in the corner. I couldn't help but laugh. I lifted Layla into my arms, which hurt like a bitch. My ribs started burning and it was hard to breath, but adrenaline kicked in again, making the task easier.

"Bob... that book down there... pick it up," Layla whispered.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Its all that's left of Gabe," she answered. Dalton walked over and picked it up for me, and we made our way down the hall. Dalton picked my bat and pulled his sword out of Lucky. Jessie kicked Lucky in the crotch on the way out. The zombie girls came rushing at us when we reached their rooms, and we didn't even give them a glance. I wondered if killing them would be the right thing to do. I thought about feeding Lucky to them, but I had a feeling that was what he would have wanted and quite frankly, fuck what he wanted. We continued down the rest of the hall and up the stairs.

"Why don't we just stay the night here?" I asked.

"No, I'm not staying here!" Jessie yelled.

"Yea Bob, we're leaving," Dalton said.

"Ah, I guess you're right. Sorry, just my ribs are on fire right now," I told them.

"Just let Layla walk the rest of the way," Dalton said.

"She's asleep right now," I replied. "I'm not going to do that, she looks way to peaceful right now."

"Dalton, we need our clothes too. I almost walked out of here half naked," Jessie said.

"Wait here, I'll go get them," Dalton said, as he went back downstairs to get the girl's clothes.

"Why can't you just go outside half naked? What's wrong with that? There's nothing but zombies around, and well, the cat's kind of out of the bag now for me and Dalton," I said. Jessie turned about five shades of red before coming back with a comment. I couldn't help, but laugh.

"Wow Bob, now you're not just an idiot, but you're a pervert too," she replied. "You shouldn't be looking."

"I'm sorry, next time I rescue you in you're underwear I'll be sure to gouge my eyes out beforehand," I told her, still trying my best to stop laughing.

"Its not funny Bob," she replied. "And yes, make sure you do that next time."

"Will do," I replied. Dalton made his way back upstairs, he now had an armful of supplies on him. Jessie grabbed her clothes and put them back on.

"Let's just head to the house next door," Dalton said. We made our way outside, grabbing our backpacks on the way, and headed to the house next door. When we got to the door Jessie made the suggestion to ring the doorbell. It was a trick Jack showed her to lure anything inside to the front door. Nothing came, so Dalton kicked the door in and we went inside. I laid Layla on the couch and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. I spent the next few minutes just watching her sleep, thanking God she was still okay. We did it, we saved them, and after all of this, I think telling her how I felt was still going to be the hard part, but I had until she came to, and the drugs wore off to figure out how I was going to tell her.