“Salty.”
Connor snatched the box back, and grabbed a few. The rest of them did the same.
“Too bad we don’t have cheese.” Abby said.
“Nah, cheese would spoil. No fridge, remember?”
Abby sighed. “Oh, right.”
They finished the box of crackers, and continued walking.
“I’m pretty sure the human body can only go a few days without water.” Logan noted.
Leah nodded. “We know, we all have water.”
Abby raised her eyebrows. “No, we don’t. Do you?”
Leah reddened, and pulled two water bottles from her backpack. Connor did the same.
“Four bottles, five of us.” Snake said.
He took one from Leah. He shook it around.
“Have any Vodka?”
Leah choked. “Why would I carry around any Vodka?”
Snake shook his head with disappointment and handed the bottle of water back to Leah.
She distributed the water bottles to everyone.
Snake pulled a leather strap around his neck up, revealing a small canteen made of skin.
He patted it.
“Bear.”
He popped the top off and took a swig. “Good stuff. I like Vodka more though.”
He smacked his lips.
Abby wrinkled her nose. “What is that awful smell?”
Snake looked around. “What smell? You mean this?”
He waved the canteen around.”
Leah grimaced. “Abby’s right. That smells awful. What is it?”
Snake took another drink.
“No clue. I was here on my job, to kill man. He didn’t give mafia money he owed them. I get to his house, but he isn’t there. So, I look around. In a drawer, he has many glass bottles. Look like Vodka. So, I fill my canteen with one. I think the bottle said whiskey.”
Connor snorted. “You’ve got whiskey in a bearskin canteen?”
Snake shrugged. “You have a brain in that small head of yours?”
Connor snapped his mouth shut.
“Hey! I think I see the ocean!” Logan pointed at the horizon.
Abby squinted at it. “I think I see it too. Let’s move faster! The sun is setting.”
They increased their pace to a slow jog.
They reached the beach, and turned to head to the docks, which could now be seen clearly.
There was a roar from behind them, and a small motor powered boat sped past them.
Snake instantly drew his daggers, and the boat stopped.
Abby unstrapped her massive sword, and put it over her shoulder.
The boat stopped on the sand, and two people hopped out.
“Dad!” Leah yelled, and jumped into his arms.
Chuck laughed, and spun her around. He put her back down, and headed over to the group.
“Thank you for helping my daughter out.”
Snake peered at Chuck.
“You’re the guy who thought of bringing a map.” He said.
Chuck nodded.
“And you are?”
Snake pressed his tongue up against his teeth.
“My name is Alyosha.”
“Hold up. You tell him your real name the first time you see him, but you never told us until now?” Leah asked.
Alyosha shrugged. “He was smarter that you. Offence intended.”
Chuck laughed.
“I’m Abby.” Abby shook hands with Chuck.
Logan grinned weakly at him. “Logan.”
Chuck nodded. “It’s nice to meet you all. I just wish it were under better circumstances. This is Thad.” He jerked a thumb towards the thin man next to him.
Thad nodded at them. “Let us be off. Your dad made us patrol the coast for almost a day to wait for you guys. We must get to the hotel.”
They piled their stuff into the boat, and pushed off.
Thad turned the boat around, and pointed the nose away from the land.
The motor started up, and they began to slide across the water.
“What happened after you left the house?” Leah asked.
Chuck grimaced.
“Well, I drove to Costco to see if I could pick your mom and sisters up. But, there was a huge mob of zombies at the entrance. They were clawing at the building, but they couldn’t get in.”
Leah looked up. “So that means that they’re still…”
Chuck shook his head.
“The government couldn’t let such a large mob survive. They dropped bombs on the area around Costco. I had already turned the car around and was trying to find another way in. The car was destroyed by shrapnel. I got out, and after a while of looking through the rubble, I started heading towards the house. Thad found me heading towards the house, and picked me up. The block had a bunch of zombies in it. We drove to the dock, and we waited here for you.”
“There’s the hotel!” Thad yelled.
“It’s huge!” Logan gasped.
The hotel wasn’t very tall, but it was wide. The building was a huge concrete bunker, stretching like a half moon around a dock. There were a few windows high up in it, but none at ground level.
Thad parked the boat in the docks, and they all got out. After they grabbed all their stuff, they headed into the hotel.
The inside was lavishly furnished. The lobby had a huge reception deck, and there were several little shops.
“Where is everyone?” Chuck muttered.
“Nobody goes to a hotel in the middle of a school year. Besides, we don’t know nobody is here. Stick together.”
They nodded. Thad jumped over the dividing wall between the desk and customers, and rummaged around inside it.
He pulled out a few keys and grinned.
“Great! They’re old fashioned. A normal key lock.”
He passed the keys around.
“We stick together until we find everything out about this place.” Chuck warned.
Chapter Six
They headed past the reception desk, and walked out of a door in the side of the lobby. They emerged into a large dirt field. There was nothing on the field except for targets at the far end. There was a small shelter for shooters, and a large chest.
Alyosha walked over to chest, and slashed the lock right off of it. He opened the top and whistled.
“It’s a staircase into a gun closet.”
He put the cover back over the chest.
“I think we could plant the seeds here.” Abby said.
Chuck looked at her. “You brought seeds as well?” He asked.
Abby nodded. “Yeah.”
“I have a bunch of random ones. I just grabbed as much as I could and ran.” Chuck said.
Abby nodded. “I think we have some grain and a few more. I’m not really sure either.”
Alyosha made a dismissive noise. “Food is food. Doesn’t matter what type you brought. For now, I think storing the grain in the closet is a good idea.” He said.
Chuck nodded. “You’re right. I don’t think any bugs can easily get into it.”
They took the backpacks that had grain in them and entered the closet.
“This is huge!” Logan said.
Leah looked around the massive room. “Well, we chose the right place for a zombie apocalypse.”
Connor snorted. “I can’t believe we tried to play a zombie game before this happened.”
Thad looked at them. “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to kill enough zombies to get the high score.”
Logan shuddered. “I’ll skip. You mindless brutes can go fight zombies while I rebuild human civilization.”
“Hey! Are you calling me a brute?” Leah asked.
Logan scratched his head. “Nah, take the brute part out.”
Leah glared at him for a moment, then shrugged. “Go ahead. At least I won’t have to break my head over trying to figure out how to cure the common cold.”
Connor sat down. “Now that I think back on it, I just
realized that we don’t have medicine. We could die from a fever.”
Chuck took a rifle off of its holder and looked over it. “Or, we won’t die at all. Stop looking at the dreary side of everything.”
Connor nodded. “Sorry. It’s just rather hard to be upbeat at a time like this.
Alyosha shrugged. “Not much different than normal. Bunch angry idiots trying to kill you in one way or another. Just in this time, they don’t try to feed you any mcpoision.”
Chuck burst into laughter. “Mcpoision? I think Mcobesity is closer.”
Alyosha shrugged. “We should continue inspecting this place. It would not do well to be surprised.”
Chuck nodded. “Everyone who can shoot, take a gun.”
Abby pulled a shotgun off the shelf. She also picked up a strap with shotgun shells on it.
“This is really impractical.” She noted.
“Only takes one bullet to kill nezhit.” Alyosha replied.
He pulled a medium sized gun off the shelf.
“Are you sure you want that one? It looks like some type of modified gun. You can’t be sure it works.” Chuck said.
Alyosha grinned, and pulled a small switchblade from his pocket.
“Where are you pulling all these weapons from?” Leah grumbled.
Alyosha ignored her, and put the switchblade back in his duster. He pulled another one out.
Leah sighed. “I want a magic coat too.”
Alyosha dug the knife into the gun’s barrel, and dug around a little.
He took it out, and peered into it. He stuck the knife back in.
There was a loud click, and a small metal piece popped out.
“Ah. Autofire.” Alyosha flipped the safety on.
Leah pulled the pistol out of her backpack.
“I’ll use this for now.”
Connor tapped his axe.
“I’m not going to run out of ammo with this one.”
Alyosha nodded. “I agree. Just blood.”
Connor backed away from him. “You are one creepy dude.” He decided.
“Come on. We have to clear out anything on this island.” Chuck said.
They exited the gun closet, and headed into one of the hotel buildings.
“How do we get inside the rooms to check?” Leah asked.
Connor frowned. “Do we even need to get into a room? Zombies aren’t supposed to be very smart.” He said.
Chuck shook his head. “This Isn’t a video game. We have no clue how smart the zombies are. And we get in like this.”
He plucked the axe from Connor’s hands, and slammed it down above the doorknob. He pulled the damaged doorknob off, and pushed the door open.
He handed the axe back to Connor. “Go do that to all the doors. Don’t open them. I’ll check each room.” He said.
Connor nodded, and turned to the door behind them. Alyosha was messing with the door handle.
“I’m going to smash the door…” Connor warned.
The heat in the room seemed to increase suddenly, and Connor took a step back.
Just as quickly as it had come, the heat disappeared, and the door swung open.
Alyosha returned his daggers to their holders on his back.
“What the heck just happened?” Leah asked.
Alyosha shrugged. “Small cigar bomb.”
Connor looked down at the melted remains of the doorknob laying on the floor, and shrugged.
Chuck entered the room, and pronounced it safe.
They headed to the next room, the incident forgotten.
Leah stayed behind for a moment. Her eyes combed the floor, but she could not find what she was looking for.
There laid the destroyed doorknob, destroyed by a “cigar bomb.” That had apparently lit without a match.
Chapter Seven
Leah ran to catch up with the others. She made no mention of what had happened.
“How many bloody rooms are there in this hotel?” Logan groaned.
Chuck shrugged. “Probably a few hundred.”
Connor sighed. “I hate to say it, but I think we’re wasting time. We should split up. There are two people with hand to hand skills, and three who can use a gun. We should make two groups.” He said quietly.
Leah nodded. “One should check the rooms, and the other should try to see if this place has a library. Who knows, it might have something about farming.”
“I hate to say it, but you two might be right. I don’t want to split us up, but we don’t’ have time to waste.”
Logan nodded. “I’ll take over here. Abby, Chuck, and Thad will check the rooms. Leah, Connor, Alyosha and I will find a library. It shouldn’t take me too long to find one if this place has it.” He said.
Chuck nodded. “A good enough plan. Do you guys think the phones still work?”
Logan shook his head. “I doubt it. It’s been days since the apocalypse started, nobody will be maintaining the radio towers. But, it doesn’t hurt to try. Each room should have a phone in it. Try using one to call the front desk in about ten minutes. That’s where we’ll check for maps on the hotel.” Logan said.
Abby grinned. “It’s a good plan. Good luck!”
Thad said nothing. He stared at Logan for a bit, and spun around .he followed Abby and Chuck to the next room.
“Let’s go.” Logan said.
Alyosha nodded. “You lead. Your plan.”
Logan gulped. “Ok, but if anything pops up, you guys better save me.”
Alyosha nodded. “I will fill them with bullets.”
“Just don’t go trigger happy. We don’t’ want to end up shooting the others.” Leah warned.
They headed back to the lobby, and began digging around the front desk.
A few minutes later, Logan crowed triumphantly.
“Found it.”
They hurried over to the map he held in his hand.
“Dang. Their library is really big.” Leah said, pointing to a large square near the edge of the hotel.
The silence was shattered by the sound of the telephone on the front desk ringing.
Logan hesitantly picked the phone off the receiver and pressed the speaker button.
“This working?” Chucks voice came through the telephone.
Leah grinned. “Dad! The telephones work!”
“That’s great! Is there a library?” Chuck asked.
“Yeah! It’s really big. I’m sure they have something useful in it.” Logan replied.
“Where is it?”
“It’s at the top right corner of the island. If you go back to that dirt shooting range, just head straight up and take a right when you get to building…seven.” Logan said, glancing down at the map.
“Great! You guys go to the library, we’ll meet you there in a few hours.” Chuck said.
“Ok. See you soon.”
There was a click as Chuck put the phone down on the hook.
There were several scratches through the line, but the line did not fuzz out for a second or two.
Logan hung up.
“Did you guys notice…”
Leah nodded. “The line didn’t end. Maybe they didn’t hang up right?”
Connor shook his head. “Not to be paranoid, but this doesn’t add up. This hotel is too convenient. Why do they have a huge library? This is a shooting range! And, I’m willing to bet there were three people on that line.”
Logan paled. “No evidence. We can’t do anything about it. Let’s just head to the library.”
“We can’t do anything. We continue with original plan for now.” Alyosha said.
They walked out of the lobby, and headed towards the library.
“Whoa, That thing is huge. Its two stories? That can’t possibly all be library.” Logan muttered.
Alyosha narrowed his eyes. “Connor had a point. This is very…convenient. Smells like bait to a trap.”
“Let’s go in. We’ll just be careful.” Leah said.
Connor nodd
ed. “I’m with Leah.”
Logan shrugged. “If you say so.”
“We need the information. In we go.” Alyosha said, and the entered the library.
“Wow. This place is huge!” Logan said.
His words echoed for nearly a minute.
He gulped. “We just have to find stuff under “farm”” He whispered.
“No, what about plant, growing, and all the different things we need to know? We might have to split up.” Alyosha said.
Logan shuddered. “I guess so. Just move quickly! We all have ten minutes to go to our assigned section and take all the books that might be useful. Then we meet back here.”
They all nodded.
“Ok. Leah, you check “P” for planting and such. I’ll check farming. Alyosha, you check growing. Connor, you can check fertilizer.”
They looked at each other, and split up.
Leah crept through the library, her gaze flying over the letters on the bookcases.
“Where the heck is P?” She whispered to herself.
She reached the wall, and looked at the staircase next to her. There was a little sign that read “O-Z upstairs”
“Oh great. I get to walk up the stairs.” She muttered.
Leah climbed up the long flight of stairs, and peeked at the upper level.
It was identical to the lower level, but it was colder.
She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
She crept towarards the section she needed.
“S…R…Q…P!”
She stopped at the section.
“Planting should be at the end of these.” She decided.
She walked up two rows, and turned to walk between the shelves-and found herself face to face with a zombie.
Leah shrieked, and stumbled back.
The zombie lunged forward, and tackled her.
Leah’s breath rushed out of her, and her scream abruptly stopped.
The zombie grinned, but it might have been a trick of her mind.
It lunged forward to take a bite out of her, and Leah jerked her head to the side. The zombie took a bite out of the floor.
It spat it out, and grabbed her shoulders with its hands. There were slight claws growing out of it.
Its breath smelled like…brimstone?
It snapped forward again, and in a panic, Leah gave it an uppercut in the chest.
The zombie lurched upwards, and its head snapped forward against its chest.
Leah felt its flesh rip, and her hand emerged the other side of it.
The zombies eyes were open in a state of shock.
Leah yanked her hand out of the zombie, and there was another ripping sound.
She stared at her gore covered, clawed hand.
“What the hell?” She screamed, shaking it.
The claws disappeared, and the zombie toppled forward, dead.
Alyosha appeared from the stair case, his gun pointing at the dead zombie. There were several rapid flashes, and the bullets tore the already killed zombie into pieces.