89.4 Zombie Radio

"Shit! This is not fucking good!" Roxy shouted.

"How did these things get in the sewer in the first place!?" Dean shouted.

"The same way we did dumb ass! Do you think that's the only opening to the sewer there is!?" Jack replied.

"But that shit was locked! How the fuck them mothahfuckahs get through that shit!?" Kwame asked.

"Well, if you keep pounding on something for a week straight it probably gives way eventually!" Brock answered.

"Or, someone opened it for them!" Dr.Grant added.

"Queens!?" Bob asked.

"Queens," Dr.Grant replied. We were running as fast as we could down the tunnels, guided by the four flashlights that weren't near enough to light the tunnels. We had no idea where we were going, and it was clear that the ones from the street were starting to gain some ground.

"Fuck! How the fuck did these things open a fucking manhole!?" Roxy yelled.

"Probably had a queen get it off for them. I'm next to positive these things are led by one of them," Bob answered.

"Is it that army that we ran into before!?" I asked.

"Probably not, I don't think that blind one could help get these covers off," Layla replied.

"There's a blind fucking queen!?" Dean shouted. "That's so fucking stupid!"

"I thought that too, until I remembered its super senses of hearing and smell," Dalton said.

"Topped with the ability to send anything after us, that shit is not good," Bob added. In front of us, a light appeared from overhead, and more zombies were coming down from the street. It was clear we were going to have to fight. Everyone with a gun started firing away at the zombies as they dropped from the street. Most weren't even concerned about reaching the ground gracefully. They just jumped, and landed, then picked their broken bodies off the ground and started hobbling towards us.

The shots we fired kept them from getting close, but in the time it took us to shoot the ones in front of us down, the ones behind us had caught up. We made a clearing through the front, and ran underneath of the opened manhole. We had just gotten past it, and that's when I heard the blood curdling scream from behind. It was human, and it was obviously one of ours. I looked back and shined the flashlight I was carrying in the direction the scream came from. I almost froze when I saw who it was.

By the time I seen him, he was covered in about three of them, and one of them was working on pulling his arm off of his body. I didn't keep watching to see if he succeeded. Poor Carter, I'll never forget you. You'll always be the cute British guy I was afraid to talk to at the magazine in my mind. I'm just glad you got to experience bowling before this happened. There was no time to grieve now though, we had to keep running. I was too scared to really cry anyways. Dalton had me by the arm, pulling me through the tunnels. A few more tunnels down, and it was seeming like we'd never get out of these disgusting sewers.

"Fuck! We need to get above ground!" Bob shouted. "we need to get somewhere we can actually see! This is never gonna work!"

"Next manhole we see! We'll head for the street!" Jack replied. We ran down another tunnel, and saw what we were looking for up ahead. Jack hurried up the ladder first, and made sure the coast was clear. He waved us all up, and one by one we made our way up the ladder. The zombies must have been distracted enough with eating Carter to give us some time to make our way up the ladder. Bob stood at the foot of the ladder and made sure anything that got close didn't make it to us. Dalton headed up the ladder behind me, and we had made it onto the street above. I heard three shots, and I started to fear the worst. Layla was already up the ladder and she started to do the math.

"Bob! No! Hurry!" she frantically screamed. The shots stopped, and all of our attention was turned towards the manhole. It was pitch black inside, and all we could hear was the unintelligible screams of zombies below. Dalton reached his hand down the manhole, and we all prayed for Bob to be all right. It seemed like an eternity passed, and I was starting to get sick to my stomach. First Carter and now Bob. Layla couldn't hold back the tears, and Brock had to grab her to keep her from jumping down the manhole herself. Suddenly, there were two more shots, and not even a second later, a hand grabbed Dalton's. It was Bob, and from the looks of things, he was fine. Dalton pulled him out of the sewer, and Jack covered the hole as quick as he could. Layla ran to Bob and squeezed the life out of him.

"Are you okay?" Roxy asked. "Nothing bit you or anything right?"

"No, I'm fine, sorry for the delay, Reiragado fell off of my belt and I was trying to find it in the dark," Bob explained.

"You risked your life for a sword!?" I shouted. Layla hit Bob in the arm after he revealed what had scared her half to death.

"Hey! I'm sorry! A samurai's soul is in his swords," Bob replied as if it were no big deal. Roxy punched him ten times harder than Layla had, and I knew he was about to hear it.

"You stupid fucking asshole! If you ever pull some shit like that again I swear to God!" Roxy screamed. "Layla almost jumped down that manhole after your ass! You have fucking priorities now! Don't fucking scare us like that!"

Bob didn't reply as he held his arm in pain. The look on his face said it all, he knew he messed up. Layla hugged him again, and he whispered something in her ear. The manhole cover started to move, and Brock and Jack stood on it, to keep whatever was under it from getting above ground.

"Guys, we need to move," I said.

"You're right Jessie, but where should we go?" Dean asked.

"Well, before we get too far out of the way, Brock and I will head back and pick the bus up. Don't worry, we'll find you guys," Jack replied.

"You better Jack! Be careful!" I shouted.

"Brock I swear to God you better make it back in one fucking piece!" Roxy yelled.

"I'll be fine Roxy. Don't worry," Brock replied as he and Jack started to head back for the bus. Bob and Dean took their place on top of the manhole cover to keep the zombies down, and we continued to make up our plan.

"Well guys, its been real, but I think I'm out of here," Dylan said.

"What the fuck!? Where the fuck are you gonna go!?" Roxy shouted.

"Don't know, but I'm getting the fuck out of here. This shit is just asking for trouble," Dylan replied. "You guys just lost two people, and you have a whole fuck-load of zombies after you. I think I'm better off by myself. If one of you tries to follow me, I'll shoot you. Appreciate the ride, and the gun, and I'm still sorry about the bus. Maybe we'll see each other again down the road."

"You stupid fucking cunt!" Roxy screamed as Dylan headed down the street.

"Let her go Roxy, if that's the way she feels, just let her go," Dr.Grant said.

"I just want that fucking gun back! That's bull shit!" Roxy shouted.

"We don't have time to bitch about it right now... Who did we lose by the way?" Bob asked. "I heard the scream, but I didn't get a chance to see who it was."

"It was Carter," I replied, starting to choke up just a little bit. "They were..."

Dalton pulled me into his arms, and I buried my face in his shoulder and cried. It was an image I'll never be able to erase. We all heard the zombies screaming from down the street and I knew they were headed towards us.

"Sorry to cut this moment short guys, but we need to get the fuck out of here," Bob said.

"Where are we gonna go?" Lucas asked.

"The opposite direction as them," Dean smartly replied.

"God will show us the way," Esther added. "That is, if he hasn't already turned his back on us for all those people you killed back there."

"Bitch what the fuck did I tell you!?" Roxy screamed. "So far God just killed two of our fucking people off and I swear if I lose one more I might just blame you! Who knows what the fuck I'll do then! So please! For your own fucking safety! Shut the fuck up! These aren't fucking people anymore! God's not going to save them! Fuck! If anything we're the ones saving them! So if I hear you keep talking the same shit, I swear to that same fucking God you think will solve everything that I will fuck you up!"

The look on Esther's face said it all, and it looked like Roxy had finally intimidated her into shutting up. As someone who is somewhat religious, even I'll admit that Esther was a bit much. Anyone who relied that much on God, and thought it was wrong to kill these things before they killed us is quite frankly, an idiot. I was glad that Roxy had shut her up.

"Okay, well where are we gonna go? When Dean and I take our weight off of this manhole. all hell is going to break lose," Bob said.

"Let's just start going down side streets and try to lose them," I replied.

"Sounds like a halfway decent plan Jessie," Bob added. "Better than anything I can come up with. Okay, on three we take the fuck off. One... Two..."

When Bob said three, we all ran as fast as we could down the street, and I cut down the first alley I seen. I knew the more confusing the path, the harder it would be for them to track us. I was just hoping everyone else would be able to keep up with me. I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. I was just running and hoping that wherever I made it to, there weren't any zombies. After all, I didn't want to pull a Bob, and get us all trapped somewhere with no hope for an escape. We ran at full speed for a solid five minutes, until the sounds of our pursuers were feint at best. We were all pretty sure we had lost them, and decided to rest in a little bar that was right across the street from where we had ended up.

"Well... I have to say Jessie... You did a pretty damn good job losing them," Bob said.

"I know. Heck of a lot better than you. At least I did almost get us killed," I replied.

"You're never gonna let me live that one down are you?" Bob asked.

"Nope," I answered. Bob laughed and sat down at the bar.

"Ah... I need a drink after all of that," Bob said.

"Shit... Me too," Roxy added. "What'll you have?"

"Corona... And before you ask, I don't need a lime," Bob replied.

"You guys shouldn't be drinking!" I scolded.

"We're not getting drunk Jessie calm the fuck down!" Roxy shouted back. I could hear Esther next to me saying some sort of prayer. Roxy popped the top on Bob's beer, and Bob proceeded to take one large, satisfying gulp.

"Does anybody else want anything?" Roxy asked as she poured herself a glass of orange juice mixed with vodka.

"Shit, I want a mothahfuckin' Incredible Hulk!" Kwame replied.

"That's the last fucking thing you need right now!" Roxy shouted.

"I'll have a screwdriver like you've got going there," Layla said.

"I would have never taken you as a drinker Layla," Roxy replied.

"Well, as Bob always says, I guess I'm full of surprises," Layla answered. "My dad always used to drink these."

"Screwdriver just sounds good to me right now," Roxy said.

"I'll take a Manhattan," Dean requested.

"And I'll have a glass of wine. A nice glass of riesling if they have it," Dr.Grant added to Roxy's list of drink orders. She pulled out a wine glass and found the wine Dr.Grant had requested. As she poured him a glass, Dalton and I made our way to the window to make sure the coast was clear, and Aiden and Celeste found a table and sat down.

"Do you think we really lost them?" I asked.

"Well... It'll be hard for them to track us," Dalton answered. "We're going to have to figure out a way to show Jack and Brock where we are... That's if we don't have to leave this spot... I sort of have this feeling its not over."

"I have that feeling too," I said. "They're all over there drinking like we're not getting chased by zombies... Maybe I should say something."

"I don't think it will do any good," Dalton replied.

"Alright everyone, finish your drinks and lets get out of here, this isn't over yet," Bob said out of nowhere.

"We were just over here thinking that man," Dalton added.

"Yea... I got that gut feeling dude," Bob answered. "So far my guts have been dead on, and now's not the time to start ignoring them. So everyone drink up, and let's go."

"I don't get no mothahfuckin' Incredible Hulk?" Kwame asked.

"Dude, you're carrying a kid around, the last thing you need is a buzz," Roxy replied. Dalton and I were still looking out the window, and now combined with Bob's gut feeling, I was almost positive we'd see something. It didn't take long before my fears were confirmed and a small group of zombies came out of the alley we had taken to get here. I looked at who was at the head, and my blood ran cold. It was the blind queen who had chased us before. How did they make it this far, this fast?

"Bob! Its the blind one! He's back!" I shouted.

"Oh motherfucker!" Bob yelled back. "No wonder I had that feeling! Alright! Everyone out the back door! Now!"

Everyone put down their drinks and sprinted out the back door. Esther was the first one out, and as soon as she got outside, she took a wrong turn, and went in plain view of the pursuing zombies.

"Bob!..." Bob didn't let Layla finish what she was going to say.

"I see it Layla, just let her go, if anything she just saved our asses."

"I guess God showed her stupid ass the wrong way," Roxy added.

I could hear Esther scream as the zombies caught her, and the rest of us headed the opposite way down the alley. All I could think about is how did the blind one track us all this way? The only thing I could think of was it was pure coincidence. Just a crazy twist of fate that took them in the exact same direction as us. Then another part of me thought maybe they we really had underestimated them this whole time. They had a few nights worth of travel to catch up. The Mustang was not only loud, but you could probably smell the engine from miles away. It was probably more than enough for something with senses like his to track us down. It didn't really matter, however they found us, they found us, and all we could do was keep running.

A few zombies caught wind of where we were running and I could hear them getting closer to us. I looked back to see the entire alley was filled with nothing but zombies running full speed at us. Then I happened to look forward and seen a chain link fence blocking the way we were running. It was a dead end, and my heart felt like it was about to stop when I realized it.

"Fuck! Everyone get ready for this fence!" Bob shouted. "Climb and then turn around and shoot until you run out of ammo!"

We all hit the fence and started climbing. Pure adrenaline was guiding every motion I made and it looked as if we had all made it over the fence okay... Until I looked back and seen Kwame boosting Nolan over the top of the fence. They were almost right on top of him, but in one swift motion, Kwame hopped the fence, and made it look easy. When the zombies hit the chain link, everyone with a gun opened fire. We cleared about half of the horde before running out of ammo, and in the background, I could see the blind queen with, still in pursuit of us. Next to him was a big, muscle bound zombie. I couldn't get a very good look at him, and I started debating on whether we were being chased by two queens or just one. There were probably zombies throughout the city looking for us, and I couldn't help but think about the people who weren't with us. Jack, Brock and even Dylan were out there with almost no help. Even though Dylan had abandoned us, I still hoped she was alright.

We continued down the road, and seen what looked like a football stadium in front of us. I knew it would be a good place to try and lose them, and I knew without asking that Bob felt the same way. Roxy had reloaded her gun on the run and shot through the doors guarding the stadium. One hard kick from Dalton sent the glass shattering to the ground, and we all ran inside as quickly as we could. We had a little bit of distance, but we needed a plan.

"Okay, we need a plan," I said.

"You're absolutely right Jessie, we do... Got one?" Bob asked.

"I was hoping you had one," I replied.

"Well, if you ask me we need to take out that fucking queen," Roxy said.

"Take out the head, and the body will fall," Lucas added.

"Alright, well how do you we propose we do that then?" Dean asked. Bob looked like he was deep in thought and I knew he thought of something... Or at least I hoped he did.

"Okay, I think I got it," Bob said. First off, we need to fuck up his sense of hearing. Let's split up, one team will go and turn on the sound system here. Doesn't matter what you play, just make sure its loud and obnoxious. If your ears aren't ringing, turn it up louder. Then the other team is gonna hide in one of the bathrooms, and when the time is right, come out behind the pack and pop a cap in his ass... Okay maybe not literally his ass, but you know what I mean."

"Bob, what if there's two of them? I saw another big muscled guy standing next to him... I don't know if it was a queen or not, but it would make sense wouldn't it?" I asked.

"Yea, it would explain the first group that's for sure... Well, if there's two, shoot em both," Bob said.

"Love how you made that sound like it was the easiest thing in the world," Dalton replied.

"I have a knack for understating things Dalton. Okay, who's going with who? I think I'm going to head for the control room... Or whatever the place that does all that is. Just because I don't trust what Jessie will pick out music wise," Bob explained. We both exchanged dirty looks, and Bob continued his speech. "Jessie and Dalton, I'm trusting you with the important task of not missing. You may only get one shot at this. Someone has to go with you both.

"I'll go with them," Roxy said. "I'll feel better if I take the other shot."

"Okay, sounds good," Bob replied. "Okay, Layla and I are going to go find the sound room, I say Kwame, Nolan and Lucas come with us. The rest of you guys go with Jessie. We'll meet outside."

"Where outside?" I asked.

"I don't know, somewhere outside," Bob answered.

"This is sounding like the worst plan ever," I said. "How are we even supposed to let you know we got him?"

"Ah, I thought you'd never ask," Bob replied. "Just pull the fire alarm. Should be more than enough to let us all know the job is done. After that, run like hell and pray we all make it out alive. The zombies shouldn't be too hard to lose after the queens are gone. Okay, that's the plan, any objections?"

"Well... I have a few but... I can't think of a better plan," I answered. "Why'd you stick us with the dangerous job? You're such a jerk."

"Hey, we have to make it down from the top floor Jessie, I think its even myself," Bob replied. "Also I gave you more people... We don't have time to argue, just go!"

"Fine!" I shouted. Our two teams separated as Bob left up the stairway next to us. We were by ourselves, and now we were searching for a restroom to hide in.

"How the fuck is this supposed to work anyways?" Dean asked. "I thought this blind asshole had smelling too? How are we going to get around that?"

"I think that's why Bob suggested the bathroom. The smell should be so strong that we should be covered," Dr.Grant answered.

"Huh... That son of a bitch," Aiden added.

"Yea, I didn't really know how that was supposed to work either," Dalton replied.

"Well don't praise him as a genius yet guys, this plan isn't quite over," I said. I took a glance out the window, and seen the approaching hoard coming into the stadium. I took a close glance and noticed they were all carrying something... Or rather someone. I made Dalton hand me his binoculars, and zoomed in on who or what it was. I cringed and dropped the binoculars in shock when I seen who it was.

It was Dylan. They must have found her somewhere, and they were carrying her like a puppet on a stick. They had her hoisted on a stake through her... Well her bottom would be the nicest way to put it. Dalton took a look through the binoculars and grimaced when he seen it. A zombie was busy trying to bite her foot as she dangled over the top of the army headed into the stadium. This was looking bad... Very bad.

"Here they come," Dalton said.

"No shit Sherlock," Dean replied. "Let's just get into the fucking bathroom, and pray this dumb ass plan works out."

We huddled into the bathroom, and got ourselves ready. I knew this was a crazy plan, but if anything was going to work, this was it. It wasn't long before the sound system came on, up as loud as it could go. Bob was playing "Crazy Train," by Ozzy Osborne. I think he thought it was good motivational music. Despite the music, I could hear the army of zombies as they began marching past the bathroom. It took a solid minute before they all passed, making their way to the stairs where Bob was controlling the music from. When we were sure they all passed, we all ran out under the cover of the music, and just like we had thought, the blind queen was at the rear of the pack. He must have sensed us, and he turned around to look me right in the eyes. as soon as he did, so did the muscular one beside him, and I seen the black mark on his forehead. Our theory was right, there were two queens.

Roxy and Dalton unloaded all their ammo into the queens, landing shots in the head and body. Both of them went down, and as soon as they did, the rest of the horde turned their attention towards us. We took off in the opposite direction, and Dean somehow managed to pull the fire alarm along the way. Bob regretted to mention how exactly we were supposed to lose these things. I guess that was the one hole in his plan. Note to self: Yell at Bob if we make it out of this.

We took a turn and ended up on the field. Bob had cut the sound off, as we made our way across it, the army of zombies not far behind. A few shots rang out in the distance, and I looked in the stands to see Bob, and his small group. Bob had taken a few shots at the zombies in front, turning the attention of our pursuers towards him. It bought us just enough time to make it to the other side of the field. We ran back indoors, and locked the door behind us. The rest of the run was mostly a blur, but we ended up outside of the stadium, all of us trying desperately to catch our breaths.

"Fuck... That was crazy," Roxy said.

"I don't think crazy is the word Roxy," Aiden replied.

"Do you think they'll make it out okay?" I asked.

"We'll find out I guess," Dr.Grant answered. "I personally think they had such distance on the zombies that they should make it out okay. Just wait here, and hope they make it back without anything chasing them... That's really all we can do. The fact that the zombies have no direction now, really helps their escape."

"I'm kind of mad Bob didn't think of the escape," I said. "I mean... God! He's such an idiot!"

"Ha! Yea, but that idiot came back and saved our asses," Dean replied. I looked over in the distance and saw a small group headed our way. A part of me was hoping it was friendly, but another part of me wasn't sure. I clutched my skateboard and got ready to fight... Just in case.

"You would be afraid of us after all that!" Bob shouted. We all took a deep breath and let our guard down. They made it... We made all made it. This had been the closest call yet.

"Bob! You idiot! You're lucky you showed up! Because if I would have died I would have come back as a ghost and haunted you for the rest of your life!" I yelled.

"Sorry Jessie... But hey, we made it. Plan worked, lets just... Rest for a second," Bob said.

"So how'd you guys lose them?" Aiden asked.

"We just... Outran them," Lucas replied.

"It was fun!" Nolan shouted excitedly.

"Shit it wasn't fun carrying your ass!" Kwame replied.

"Yea, it wasn't the most complex of plans," Bob added. "I'm pretty sure we lost them, but lets still get the fuck out of here just in case."

We headed down the road, our pace a little quicker than average. Slowly we realized that nothing was chasing us, and we slowed back down to a comfortable speed. I was trying to think of a way to signal Jack and Brock with the bus, but nothing was coming to me at the moment. We told Bob and the rest about what we seen happen to Dylan. The sheer brutality of what the queens did was chilling. Zombies were scary enough, but the fact these things were toying with us like that, just made my skin crawl. Not only that, but there were two queens leading that army, and I'm sure that wasn't the whole thing. They worked together for a common cause, and that was to eradicate us. The thought of it all made me uneasy. We made our way outside the city, and stopped at a little run down bar to rest up. Bob and Roxy immediately went for the bar, and they called me over.

"Jessie, have a drink with us," Bob said.

"We know you're not into the whole getting drunk thing, and trust me when I say, you're right, its not smart right now to get wasted," Roxy added.

"But I think we should all have a drink right now. In remembrance of those we've lost. We made it this far guys, and that's a lot more than some of us can say," Bob explained as Roxy handed out drinks to everyone. "I propose a toast. To Riley, Carter, Dylan, Raven, Randle, Gabe, and hell... Even Trevor and Esther. This one's for them. This one's for everything we've lost, and everything we're going to work our asses off to get back. To our new family, and to our old ones. To the friends we've made, and the friends we've lost. This one's for the fucking zombie apocalypse, and that crazy bastard named God who came up with the whole ordeal. For the past and the future... And most of all... For ourselves. Salud!"

We all lifted our glasses and took a drink. It was something I felt more than happy to drink to. Everything Bob had said was the truth, and if he wouldn't have been on such a roll, I would have added Maria, the girl we met in the parking garage when this whole thing started to his list. We had to be thankful for what we still had. Things could be worse... As I drank my glass of champagne, I couldn't help but worry though... Jack and Brock weren't here for this... Why do I have such a bad feeling about that?