Zombie Slayer Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3] Page 7

  “Over here,” called Stewart. “That should have been the last of them. I’ve been fighting zombies all day long.”

  The group headed over to where he was standing. He led them down the stairs to the bottom. At the very bottom, he pulled a set of keys from his pants pocket. He found an old brass key and opened up the dark metal door there.

  “I didn’t even know that was down here,” said Owen.

  They followed Stewart inside. He flicked on the light switch. Once they were all in, he closed and locked the door.

  They walked down a long hallway that spanned the length of the school. Unlike the floors above, the walls and ceiling hadn’t been painted in years, and the floors were filthy and covered with leaves.

  “Good job finding the weapons,” said Allan to Stewart.

  “I brought the book from my safety deposit box,” said Stewart. “We’ll make you a copy as soon as we can.”

  Finally, they reached the end of the hallway. Stewart unlocked the room at the end. They all headed inside. He flicked the switch on.

  The room lit up. On every wall were cases and cases of zombie hunting weapons.

  “Wow! This is impressive,” said Charlie. “I’d like to try some of these out.”

  “You can,” said Stewart. “But first, I have a gift for you.” He removed a box from the table and handed it to her.

  “Oh my god,” she said, opening it up. “It’s the dagger!”

  “That’s right. This is a special dagger that can kill the zleader. But you must remember to use it only once, and use it only on her, no one else,” Stewart explained. “It’s important to keep the dagger in its sheath until you need it. You do not want Tonia to see it before you have a chance to use it. She might be able to steal it or destroy it first. It’s also been enchanted so you must only use it for its one true purpose.”

  Charlie carefully removed the package from the wooden box. Stewart took it from her, tossing the box on an old shelf, as it was no longer required.

  Charlie peered at the knife’s hilt. It was inside a sheath of brown leather. To look at it, you would not know there was anything special about it. The hilt was made of titanium, making it a dull silver color. It had a texturized surface, likely to make holding the dagger much easier in the hand.

  Charlie slid the dagger out of its sheath. The blade was sharp, polished to a high shine. “Wow,” she said. “Very nice.”

  “OK, stop playing with it,” said Stewart.

  She quickly re-sheathed it and carefully attached it to her belt so it couldn’t accidentally slip out. There was something extremely familiar about this dagger.

  “OK, what do we know about this zombie uprising?” asked Principal Allan. “There are an unusual number of zombies on the loose.”

  “Right,” said Stewart, going to the table where a large book sat. The book looked like it was from centuries ago. The cover was made from real leather and had small cracks and peels in it. It was a deep dark red but faded in many spots. Strange gold letters were printed on its surface. The words were in Latin so Charlie didn’t know what they said.

  Stewart flipped the book to the page that had a large red bookmark in it. Covering the page were multiple colorful illustrations of zombies in various states of decay.

  “All right,” Stewart said. “We’re on the pertinent page.”

  Everyone stood looking expectantly at him.

  “This book already mentions everything we know about the zleader. Usually they are female, and they are born when the last zleader bites them and dies. Usually that is the intention, as biting and then eating someone will disqualify them from being a leader. After a new leader is born, they move into a new city. The zleader eventually regenerates their wounds or anything that would make them resemble a zombie so that they can fit in as a human,” explained Stewart.

  “OK, so where is the part about raising all these zombies?” asked Charlie.

  “Yes, here it is. More zombies are made when the zleader bites a human. A human who turns into a zombie can also bite other humans and turn them into zombies. Apparently, the zleader has some sort of influence over her zombies. My best guess is that she’s encouraging zombies to create more zombies at a faster pace, as she is aware that the uprising failed in Texas,” he explained.

  Chapter 10

  ________________________________________

  “OK, that sort of explains stuff,” said Charlie. “Now, what do we do about Zan?”

  Zan had been fairly cheerful up to that point, but now her skin was turning gray. Her lips were pulling back from her mouth, and her eyes were still glowing green.

  “Oh, it’s simple,” said Stewart. “Zlayers are partially immune to turning. With the right spell, we can reverse the process.”

  Owen nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s do it!” he said.

  “OK, but we need the death of a human first,” said Stewart, reading from the book.

  “Great,” said Charlie. “Why are these spells so difficult to do?”

  “It’s magic, Charlie,” explained Stewart. “If anyone could do them, imagine how chaotic the world would be.”

  “Umm,” said Charlie.

  Everyone laughed.

  Principal Allan paced the room, thinking. “OK, what if it’s someone who is near death?” he asked.

  “That might work, but it has to be someone who is between dying and turning,” said Stewart. “They can’t already be dead and they can’t already be a zombie.”

  “On it,” said Principal Allan, grabbing one of the weapons on the way out.

  “OK, let’s prepare the rest of the spell,” said Stewart.

  “I’ll go with him,” said Owen. “Two people looking are better than one.”

  Charlie led Zan over to a chair and carefully tied her to it.

  “Here, measure these ingredients out carefully,” said Stewart. She did as she was told.

  A few minutes later, a small table had several small vials on it. In the center was a small black cauldron, with a small Bunsen burner beneath it.

  Charlie glanced at Zan. “So, if we do this spell, it will reverse her zombiosis?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Stewart said.

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Good. Too bad the spell won’t reverse all zombies,” she commented.

  “No, we’re not miracle workers,” said Stewart. “We still have to kill the zleader in order to kill all of her minions. However, the spell does cover the immediate vicinity, so we can at least reverse the zombie subject and anyone they have recently bitten.”

  Just then, the power went out.

  She could hear Stewart rummaging around the shelves. Soon, a candle was lit.

  “I was wondering when that was going to happen,” he said. “I do believe we are in stage four of our zombie infestation.”

  “That’s crazy,” she said. “It’s never progressed this far.”

  He nodded. “I wonder how the others are doing upstairs.”

  zzz

  Upstairs, Principal Allan and Owen carefully wandered the school, seeking survivors. They found one kid who didn’t look too far-gone. He was in one of the younger grades. His eyes weren’t turning green yet. Principal Allan carefully picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. “Quick, let’s get back to the basement,” he instructed. He and Owen headed to the stairwell.

  zzz

  All went well as they carefully headed down the stairs, until they heard strange noises coming after them. They tried to move faster, but the footsteps sped up.

  They were on the last set of stairs when they saw the monstrosity behind them. It was a zombie, in a fairly advance stage of decomposition. The pair moved faster, but the zombie moved faster too.

  “Quick!” said Principal Allan. “We have to make it back to Stewart.”

  Owen let him go ahead. It was imperative for Allan to get the student to Stewart, as he held the key to saving Zan.

  Owen pulled his dagger from inside his jacket pocket and got rea
dy. The final step took the zombie close to him. He plunged the dagger into its head. It had little effect.

  “Darn it,” said Owen. “Not deep enough.” He raised the dagger again and plunged it into its eye socket. Still, it kept moving.

  “Ahhh!” cried Owen. “It bit me!”

  “Damn!” said Principal Allan, but he didn’t help. Instead, he pulled the door open and raced down the hallway, leaving Owen to fend for himself.

  Owen raised the dagger one more time and this time managed to plunge it hard into the zombie’s skull, half in anger, and half in fear. It worked. The zombie dropped to the ground, dead.

  Owen followed Principal Allan back to the basement storage room.

  “Just in time!” cried out Stewart. “Quick, get him over here!” He had a syringe in his hand. He quickly stuck it into the zombie’s neck. Then he raced over to the table and carefully squeezed it into one of the vials there.

  “Oh my god!” cried Charlie. “Owen’s been bitten!” She carefully led him to a chair, and then grabbed a first-aid kit to treat his wound.

  “No time for that,” said Stewart. “This will destabilize fast. OK, I’m going to add them to the main pot, one at a time.”

  “There. That’s it,” he said. Then he raised his voice to do an incantation. “Nolite ortum a immortui,” he said.

  At first, it seemed as though nothing happened. Then a green swirling mist rose up from the pot. It lifted into the air and headed toward the ceiling. Finally, it was gone.

  “So, that’s it?” asked Owen. “Did anything happen?”

  The group looked around the room.

  Zan sat in her chair, looking human. Her eyes had reverted back to their normal brown color. The student was lying in another chair, dazed, but he had zero zombie traits.

  “I do think it’s worked!” said Stewart.

  “Yes, definitely,” said Principal Allan. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get home to check on my wife and kids. I’d say it was fun, but I hope you’ll be able to handle things from now on.”

  “Of course,” said Stewart.

  “Wait!” called Zan. “Does this mean you’ll be my mentor?” she asked.

  “No, you’re on your own,” explained Principal Allan. “I don’t do that any more.”

  “Great,” she said. “Say, can someone get these stupid ropes off me?”

  Owen rushed over to her and removed the ropes.

  “Owen, can you get that student back upstairs? The fewer questions asked, the better,” Stewart said.

  “Yeah, of course.” Owen went over and helped the groggy student up. “Take it easy,” he said. “You just drank too much.” Soon they were gone from the storage room.

  Getting back to business, Charlie spoke up. “We need to figure out where Tonia could be hiding out.”

  “Yes,” he said. “We can’t forget she’s still out there. What I can do is go through her files in the office upstairs. We can start with where she lives, for one thing.”

  Charlie helped Stewart to clean up. He placed the spell book back in his briefcase to return to the safety deposit box. He made a note to remind himself that he still had to copy the contents of the book for Principal Allan, even if he was a reluctant mentor.

  “Hey, are you feeling better?” Charlie asked Zan.

  She nodded. “I just want to sleep for a hundred years. Say, I didn’t eat anyone, did I?” she asked.

  “Yep, but he was one of the bad guys, so that’s all right.”

  “Ha-ha. Very funny,” she said, laughing. She managed to stand up, feeling a bit unsteady. “Any chance we can sleep now? I think I’ve been going for 48 hours.”

  “Yeah, you and everyone else. I think the city is on its own for a few hours while we sleep,” Charlie said.

  “I’ll just finish up here, then we can have Owen drop Zan off at home, while I get you home.”

  “OK,” Charlie said. “I’m glad I had the excuse that I was away at camp. Otherwise, I’d never be able to explain this to Gran.”

  Footsteps were heard in the corridor. The three tensed, but then relaxed when it was only Owen coming back in.

  “What’s it like out there?” asked Charlie.

  “Messy,” he said. “Blood everywhere. But a lot of the students are fine. I’ve told everyone to go home.”

  Stewart nodded. “That’s good. Let’s get out of here before the police arrive. I don’t know how anyone is going to explain it all.”

  Zan followed Owen to his car and hopped in. Soon, they were on their way home.

  Charlie hopped in Stewart’s car. “Thanks for driving me home. I feel so tired and shaky that I don’t think I can drive.”

  “No problem. It’s been a long weekend. Just crazy. I’m so glad we stopped the uprising, at least temporarily. Now that it’s done, it seems far more manageable to deal with a zombie or two.”

  “Yep,” she said. “Tomorrow I’ll just go around and hunt the few remaining ones left. I can do that, yeah.”

  Stewart drove in silence for the rest of the trip. Charlie kept on nodding off.

  “OK, here we are,” he said, pulling into her driveway.

  “Great, I’m looking forward to seeing Gran… shit!” she said, kicking open the door of the car. She raced out and ran to the front of the house. Stewart raced after her.

  “Now, be careful,” he said, as she threw open the front door and raced into the house.

  “Gran! Gran!” she yelled.

  “In here, dear,” said Gran.

  Gran was in the living room setting up an elaborate display on the table, involving lit candles, incense, and herbs.

  “Did you see?” Charlie started to ask.

  “I saw it, dear. Someone painted ‘I know where you live’ on the outside of the house in blood.”

  “I’ll go and wash it off,” said Stewart. He left the house and headed to the garden hose outside.

  “You’re all right then?”

  “Of course, dear. You don’t get to be 65 years old by being stupid.”

  The setup on the table looked like it was for spells.

  “How do you know all this?” she asked.

  “You pick stuff up as you get older,” she explained. “Some knowledge and power is hidden, even from the greatest zlayers.”

  “You mean spell stuff? Like Stewart?” exclaimed Charlie.

  “In a manner of speaking, dear,” she said. “Fighting evil runs in our bloodline as far back as we can trace it. Your mother fought before you, just as I did before her.”

  “Really? I had no idea.” Charlie sank onto the couch.

  “Yep, retired now, obviously.”

  Stewart came back inside. “I’ve removed the marks from the house. I see that the inside is well protected. You have some protection now, but I suggest that you both be careful. Perhaps you should stay somewhere else tonight,” Stewart suggested.

  “Nah, we’ll be fine. If you’ve magically erased the blood, then the zleader won’t easily find her way back here. She’s smart, but each day she loses just a little bit more of her reasoning power,” explained Gran.

  “Say, is there a lifespan for a zleader?” asked Charlie. “I’ve always wondered.”

  Stewart nodded. “Usually about a year.”

  She did the math. “Darn it. It’s not that far along then.”

  “Well, the last thing we need to worry about is a new zleader. At least we have some info about this one.”

  Charlie started nodding off on the couch.

  “OK, let her rest,” said Gran.

  Stewart agreed and left the house. He made sure she closed and locked all of the doors and windows before driving away. Inside, Gran put a cozy blanket over Charlie, as she had collapsed in her chair, fast asleep.

  During the night, she carefully tended the candles, keeping watch.

  Chapter 11

  ________________________________________

  “It’s good to get back into the routine again,” said Charlie. The sch
ool was minus several students and teachers though. There were services being held on the weekend. Charlie enjoyed hanging out with Zan and Owen. She knew that eventually Tonia, the zleader, would be up to no good and her presence would be made known again.

  So far there hadn’t been much in the news. They said it had been a typhoid fever outbreak, caused by a family coming back from Mexico. They’d infected many other people in Portland and the surrounding cities. But now, everyone was in quarantine and the infected water system had been thoroughly drained and cleaned. Things should be reverting back to normal.

  Charlie shook her head, thinking that they should just be honest with what was happening in the world today. It was a zombie plague, not typhoid fever. In fact, typhoid was much deadlier and quicker.

  “So, any plans for the weekend?” asked Owen.

  “Not sure,” she answered. “I might just chill out or something. Last week was a bit too intense.”

  “I know what you mean. My parents flipped out. They want to permanently ground me or something.”

  “Right,” she said, laughing. “Because being in school is a hundred percent safe.”

  “Yeah, I told them how some students died at the campsite and the school. They were quiet after that. Any sighting of you-know-who?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. She’s been lying low. They do get tired like we do.”

  He smiled. “Well, might as well rest and catch up on schoolwork while we can. Never know when the next strike will be.”

  “Yep.”

  “OK, so I’m thinking, Saturday night we should do something normal, like take in a movie.”

  She smiled. “That’s a plan.”

  “I already asked Zan,” he said.

  “Good. Oh and you and Zan are welcome to go alone. I’m sure you don’t want me to tag along,” she said, smirking.

  His eyes grew wide. “Oh no, just as friends! She’s great and all, but sometimes I can’t stand her self-righteousness.”