Continuing on with
Storyaday.org and their May writing challenge, here is a short story from my Zombie Games Series. There is some adult humor, in case you're wondering.
Hope
For A Happy Ending
A
Zombie Games Short
By
Kristen Middleton
“Henry,
open the door!” yelled Mary, one of the attendants at the Pine Valley Nursing Home.
“Hold
on to your britches!” he answered and then lowered his voice. “Ginny, Barbara
Jean - I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to finish this game later. I think
we’ve been ousted.”
Ginny
threw her cards down on the table. “Oh, phewy. I think I may have gotten a
royal flush this time, too. All I needed were two more cards.”
Barbara
Jean snorted. “You’ve been saying that all day. The only thing you’ve gotten is down to your brassiere and
panties.”
“Ain’t
nothing wrong with that,” cackled Henry, as he pushed himself away from the
table. “You’re still in mighty fine shape for a woman in her sixties.”
Ginny
waved her hand, blushing. “Henry, you know I’m eighty-four, you sweet talkin’
devil, you.”
“Yeah,
but you’ve got the figure of a fifty-year old, and these days, fifty is the new
forty,” he said, picking her robe off of the floor. As he stood back up, he
winced. “Oh, I only wish I could say the same thing about me. This back of mine
is giving me a lot of trouble, lately. I may have to ask one of you to give me
a massage once I get rid of Mary.”
“Certainly,”
said Ginny, smiling up at Henry, who was still a very handsome man at
eighty-nine. He kind of reminded her of Clint Eastwood, always wearing a
Stetson and a pair of cowboy boots. Of course, with his tall, lanky body, and
full set of teeth, he was definitely the best catch at the nursing home.
Barbara
Jean smirked. “I’ve heard about you and those massages, Henry. Nancy James told
me all about that ‘happy ending’ you were trying to talk her into the last time
your back supposedly ‘went out’.”
His
watery blue eyes sparkled mischievously. “I don’t rightly recall the ending
being happy or what that particularly means, Barbara Jean. Maybe you could
explain it later when the two of you return to my room and work out some kinks.”
Barbara
Jean rolled her eyes. “Oh, you’re kinky alright-.”
“Henry!”
hollered Mary, pounding on the door, much more loudly this time. “Open the damn
door. This is serious!”
He
sighed. “Oh, hell. Well, I can’t believe
I’m saying this, but Ginny, you’d better put some clothes on before Mary somehow
pushes that chest away from the door and starts going ninja on us. When she gets riled up, she’s a handful, by golly.”
Barbara
Jean, who hadn’t yet lost a hand of poker or an article of clothing, stood up
and reached for her cane. “Well, I guess this party is definitely over. Perfect
timing, I suppose,” she said looking at her watch. “I think they’re running
some old reruns of Matlock on cable,
later.”
“Oh,
I’ll bring the popcorn to your room and we’ll watch it together,” grinned
Ginny, zipping up her housecoat.
“You’re
on.”
“You
girls want to help me move that chest out of the way, first?” he asked, walking
over to the door. “Before you trade me in for Andy Griffith?”
“Oh,
Henry. Andy could never replace you,”
said Ginny, eyeing him appraisingly. The man still looked good in Levis. She
only wished she would have known him back in the day, when he was still in the
rodeo, riding those bulls.
“Speak
for yourself,” said Barbara Jean. “Back in the day, nothing beat a bottle of
Chardonnay, a Matlock marathon, and my B.O.B.” She sighed. “Boy do I miss those
days.”
“What’s
that, you say?” asked Henry. “B.O.B?”
Ginny
giggled. “She means her 'battery operated
boyfriend'.”
His
eyebrows shot up. "Is that right?"
“Henry!
Please,” yelled Mary, her voice frantic.
“Hold
tight,” said Henry as he and Ginny began pushing the chest away from the
doorway. Unfortunately, the staff had removed the lock on his door after he’d
gotten his hand slapped for a few minor escapades, like the naked pillow party
he’d inspired the week before after his grandson’s visit. Tiny had slipped him
a bottle of his favorite bourbon. After sharing it with a couple of his
friends, both female, they’d all gotten giggly and a little frisky, tossing
more than just pillows. Now, the staff made it a habit to check up on him throughout
the day. It didn’t stop Henry from doing what he wanted, however. Nothing was
going to keep him from enjoying his last days above ground.
Mary
burst through the door with a frightened look on her face. She slammed it shut and then motioned towards
the oak chest. “Henry, hurry up,” she said. “We’ve got to block this door.”
Henry
smiled. “Oh, why didn’t you just say you wanted to join in the fun? Hell,
Ginny, take off your robe again. We’ve got us some more hands to play.”
Mary, who Henry swore was the spitting image of Paula Deen
before she stopped eating fried foods, shook her head vehemently. “This isn’t a
time for jokes, Henry. Something is happening. Something horrible!”
“Calm
down,” he said, raising his hands in the air. “Or you’re going to
hyperventilate, Mary.”
A
loud thud on the outside of the door made her cry out. “Oh my God!” she
shrieked. “They’ve gotten to this floor, already! Help me hold them off!”
“What
in tarnation is going on? Who has
gotten in?” he asked as she put her weight against the door.
“Dead people!” she cried.
“It’s
a nursing home,” said Henry. “Obviously, some of us are close to death, but
that’s what old age does, Mary. It drains us of our youth and leaves us shells
of what we used to be. It’s part of life. Now, you of all people should know
that. You’ve been working here long enough.”
“No! I mean zombies. Dead people that
shouldn’t be walking!”
Ginny’s
face turned white. “What?” she asked, covering her mouth. “What are you talking
about?”
Another
loud thud made them all jump.
“Help
me!” pleaded Mary, as the door handle began to jiggle.
Henry
rushed over to help as the door shuddered against Mary’s weight. Leaning
against it, they stared at each other in stunned silence until a low, guttural
moan broke it.
“Did…did
you hear that?” whispered Barbara Jean.
“What?”
asked Ginny.
“Turn
your hearing-aid up!” hollered Henry.
Something
began snarling loudly outside of the door.
“Good
going,” said Mary. “They can hear you. They can probably smell you, too.”
Barbara
Jean smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I think I may have peed a little. That last
growl caught me off guard. Scared the hell out of me, and then some.”
“It’s
okay, Barbara Jean,” said Henry. “It happens to the best of us.”
“What
are we going to do?” asked Ginny, ringing her hands.
“I
know one thing- we can’t let them trap us in this little room. Whoever these
people are, they’ll get through, eventually. We’ve got to make a run for it,” answered Henry.
“Are
there a lot of them?” asked Barbara Jean.
“Yes,”
said Mary. "Too many to count."
“How
did this happen?” asked Henry. “Do you know where they came from?”
Mary
shook her head. “No. Some soldiers came to the nursing home earlier and said to
keep everyone inside. Said there were some riots going on downtown. That’s the
last I heard until a group of crazed, dead people wandered into the entrance
and began attacking everyone in sight. Biting, scratching… God, it was
horrible.”
“You’re
sure they’re dead people?” asked Barbara Jean.
“Sure
as we’re still alive.”
“Well,
what’s happened to the others? Maggie, Jeff, Betty? All of the other
residents?” asked Henry.
“Most
of them have been sick with the flu,” she said, blinking back tears. “Oh, Henry… I’m
not exactly sure what’s happening. I just ran to your room. To make sure you
were okay.”
“Thanks
Mary,” said Henry, squeezing her shoulder. “You’re a mighty good woman.”
The
zombie, or whatever it was on the other side of the door, made a crazed
screeching noise and began scratching and clawing at the door. This was
followed by growling from a second creature, apparently now joining in the fun.
“Give
me your cane, Barbara Jean,” said Henry.
“Why?”
“Because,
as soon as we open this door, I’m going to kill me some zombies,” he said
grimly. “Just be prepared.”
She
snorted. “Right. You’re going to kill someone.”
“I’m
serious. We’ve got to get out of here and it’s the only way. Now, give me your
cane.”
Barbara
Jean sighed and handed it to him. “Fine. Just don’t break it. It’s my favorite.”
“If
I break it, I’ll buy you a new one.”
“You
break it, you get me your grandson’s autograph,” she smiled. “Love me a picture
of Tiny in his speedos.”
“The
wrestler?” asked Ginny.
“The
one and only,” she replied.
“I
think the zombies are gone,” whispered Mary, listening against the door. “I
don’t hear anything.”
“Only
one way to find out,” replied Henry. “Open the door.”
Mary’s
eyes widened. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“We
have to make our escape. There’s no other way.”
She
bit her lower lip. “Okay. I’ll go first.”
Henry
stared at her in surprise. “You?”
“Obviously,
I’m the youngest and the most agile.”
His
lips tightened. “I may look older than dirt, but there is no way in hell I’m
letting you go first. Just cause I’m living in this place doesn’t mean I’m no
longer capable of being man. Now, you open that door so that I can get you
ladies to safety.”
After
a long pause, she relented. “Fine.”
Henry
opened the door.
“Oh
my God,” gasped Ginny as they stared in terror at the horrifying scene in front
of them. Two mottled, disfigured men were lying on top of another resident,
chewing on pieces of what was surely, the man’s intestines.
“Is
that Ben Smith?” asked Barbara Jean, her voice strangled.
“Looks
like it might have been,” mumbled Henry.
The
two zombies ignored them and continued to tear into their victim, who stared up
at the ceiling, mercifully, with lifeless eyes.
“Let’s
go,” said Henry, holding the cane in front of them as they moved away from the
gruesome scene.
“Someone’s
coming,” whispered Ginny as she pointed down the hallway to something moving in
the shadows.
“It’s
Lizzy,” sighed Mary in relief.
“It
was Lizzy,” mumbled Henry as the
woman, now obviously a zombie, shuffled out of the darkness, and towards them
with a look of glee. Before she could get too close, Henry raised the cane
towards her. “You stop, right there.”
Instead
of obeying, Lizzy lurched towards him, her hands outstretched. Before she could
reach Henry, who was in the front, he hit her in the stomach with the cane.
“That’s
not nice, Henry,” said Barbara Jean, stepping around him. “She was a nice
woman.”
“Was, Barbara Jean, was,” sighed Mary.
With
a growl, Lizzy lunged at Barbara Jean and they both toppled to the ground.
“No!”
screamed Ginny, rushing towards them as Henry and Mary stared in shock. Ginny grabbed
Lizzy’s arm but instead of releasing Barbara Jean, the zombie turned around and
bit her on the top of her hand, tearing off a chunk of skin. She made a
guttural moan and began chewing, a satisfied grin on her face while Ginny
howled in pain.
Henry
sprang into action, hitting the dead woman in the head as hard as he could with
the cane.
Stunned,
the zombie fell to the side.
“Ginny?
Are you okay?” he asked, pulling her away from the creature.
“It
hurts,” she moaned. “Feels like someone threw acid on my hand.”
Lizzy,
who’d obviously recovered, let out a screech and crawled towards Barbara Jean, who
was still sobbing hysterically, on the floor.
Swearing,
Henry raised the cane, hitting the creature on the head several more times,
until she finally stopped moving.
“You
okay Barbara Jean?” he asked, pulling her up off the ground.
“Yes,”
she replied. “I’m fine.”
Mary
grabbed Ginny’s hand and examined it. “This looks bad. God, you poor thing!
We’d better find you a bandage and some peroxide.”
Ginny
tried to swallow, but found it was difficult. Her entire mouth was dry and her
tongue felt thick. “I feel so warm and…I just…”
“Watch
out!” screamed Barbara Jean, backing away.
The
two other zombies, who’d obviously finished feeding on Ben, were already upon
them. Before anyone could react, one of the creatures grabbed Barbara Jean,
tearing into her cheek with its teeth while the second, reached for Mary, who
screamed at the top of her lungs.
“No!”
hollered Henry, raising the cane, towards Mary’s attacker. He slammed it into
the back of the zombie’s head and it dropped to the floor.
“Oh,
no….Barbara Jean!” gasped Mary.
Henry
turned back towards the woman, who was already dead from the glazed look in her
eyes. The zombie was greedily attacking her bloody neck with vigor, ripping and
tearing at her skin with teeth and fingers.
“Lord…
have mercy,” choked Mary, backing away.
Horrified,
but sensing that Barbara Jean was beyond help, he grabbed Ginny’s good hand.
“Come on, Ginny. We have to get out of here.”
Instead
of obeying, she fell to her knees. “I…I have to lie down,” she whispered
breathlessly.
“No.
Get up! I can’t carry you, woman. Not after that hip replacement last year.
You’ve got to get up!”
She
shook her head. “It’s okay. You know…I’m just going to take a little nap.”
Tears
filled Henry’s eyes. “Mary, you have to help me lift her.”
Mary
nodded, but before she could move, two more zombies turned down the hallway and
began staggering towards them.
“Forget
leaving the building. Let’s get her back into my room,” said Henry.
“Yes,
quickly,” agreed Mary.
They
pulled Ginny up and grabbed her around the waist, when the other zombie, who
was snacking on Barbara Jean, decided to intervene. It grabbed Ginny’s
housecoat from behind and bit her on the back of the leg.
“Henry!”
she cried out, as the zombie ripped a piece of skin from her leg. Blood gushed
out of the wound and she fainted in their arms.
“Damn
you to hell,” snarled Henry, glaring at the zombie as they tried pulling Ginny
out of its reach.
But
the zombie wasn’t finished yet. It got on its feet and then lunged towards her,
biting Ginny on the back of her neck, its teeth gnashing and tearing at her
skin.
Mary screamed in horror and released Ginny,
who toppled to the ground.
Henry turned around, raised his boot and
kicked the zombie in the pelvis with his boot.
The
monster fell backwards, but instead of lying still, it quickly crawled towards
Ginny, viciously biting and tearing into an exposed thigh.
“Ginny!”
cried Henry.
“Watch
out, Henry!” gasped Mary as the two other zombies arrived, joining the one on
the ground feeding on Ginny.
Henry,
horrified and defeated, turned to Mary. “We have to get to Neil’s room. He has
a gun. I almost forgot!”
“He
does? How in the hell did he hide it?”
“In
his guitar case,” said Henry, grabbing her hand. “I’m surprised nobody noticed
when there was never any music coming from his room.”
“This
is insane,” moaned Mary, taking on last glance at the two older women who’d
been alive and playing strip poker less than five minutes ago.
“Try
to focus on getting out of here,” mumbled Henry, wiping a tear from his cheek.
“Can’t help them now.”
They
raced towards the elevator and found it wasn’t working.
“The
electricity must be out in the entire building,” said Mary, pushing the button
several times. “I thought it was just a fuse or something.”
“The
stairs,” he pointed to the stairwell. “No other choice.”
“At
least Neil’s room is on the main floor. Let’s go.”
They
went down two flights until they reached the main floor.
“There
were several zombies on this floor, the last time I checked,” she whispered as
they stood outside of the doorway.
“Let’s
hope they’ve scattered.”
Fortunately,
there weren’t any zombies when they opened the metal door and glanced down the
hallway.
“Let’s
go,” said Henry, pulling her out of the stairwell.
They
snuck down the hallway and rounded the corner, when Mary sucked in her breath.
“Zombie.”
“Oh,
hell,” sighed Henry, recognizing the man whose gun they were about to borrow.
“It’s Neil.”
They
watched as zombie Neil shuffled down the hallway, away from them. When he
rounded the other corner, Henry and Mary made a run for it, rushing to his room
and slamming the door.
“Dammit,”
groaned Henry, limping. “These hips aren’t made for speed anymore, Mary.”
“Are
you okay?” she asked, looking concerned.
His
eyes twinkled. “Well...nothing a little T.L.C. couldn’t cure. Unfortunately,
there’s no time for that. If we make it out of here alive…”
“If
we make it out of here alive,” she said. “I’ll massage your hip and even let
you cop a feel. This time I won’t even slap your hand away.”
He
grinned, remembering the last time he’d tried touching one of her breasts.
She’d cussed him out, but there was something in her eyes that told him she’d
been a little flattered. Angry, but flattered. “Oh, you’ve just given me
something else to live for, by golly. We’re getting out of this place- you can
count on it, Mary. I won’t let you down.”
“Good.
Now, let’s find a gun and get the hell out of here. I don’t understand why
there hasn’t been anyone out here to help us?”
“It’s
the zombie apocalypse, Mary. I told you it would happen someday.”
She
nodded solemnly. “Yes, you did. As crazy as it sounds, you might not be too far
off. I’ve heard rumors….Anyway, I’ve tried calling nine-one-one, and they
aren’t even answering. That right there tells me, things are bad all over.”
Henry
shuffled over to Neil’s closet and opened it. Finding the guitar case, he
pulled it out and set it on the ground. “Well,” he said, opening up the case.
“We have a couple things on our side.”
“What?”
she asked, kneeling down next to him.
He
pulled out the gun. “A loaded rifle,” he said, checking it and nodding. “Some
extra bullets… and us still breathing. I call that pretty damn lucky.”
“I
never thought I’d be happy to see a gun in a retirement home. But as far as I’m
concerned, this is a gift from God.”
He
snorted. “Well, I doubt God had anything to do with this, Mary.”
“No,
but if you had died and I’d have never known about this gun…”
“Can’t
argue with you there. That means I’m the gift, though Mary, not the gun.” He
grinned lecherously. “Feel free to unwrap me later, if you’d like.”
She
shook her head. “You just never give up, do you?”
His
face became serious. “Laughter gives me hope, Mary. If I can still make you
laugh, then there’s hope.”
She
patted his arm. “I understand. Now, let’s gather some things and then drive to
my house.”
“Sounds
like a plan.”
She
stood up. “Um, Henry?”
“What?”
“You
ever fire a gun before?”
He
stood up. “Damn tootin’, I’ve fired a gun! Now, my eyes aren’t what they used
to be, but I can still shoot.”
“Okay.
I just had to ask.”
“Don’t
worry. I’ve got you covered. And Mary?”
She
looked up into his eyes. “Yes, Henry?”
“I
want you to know that I appreciate you coming for me. You risked your life to
save mine and I’ll be forever grateful.”
“Of
course, Henry. I’d do it again. You and I have become really good friends.
There is no way I’d leave you behind.”
“Same
goes here. Now, let’s saddle up and get out of Dodge. Something tells me we
have a dangerous ride ahead of us, Mary. That what we’ve just seen here is
nothing compared to what we’re going to be involved with later.”
“You
think it’s worse out there? That it’ll be even more dangerous”
“Damn
right I do.”
“Then…why
are we leaving?”
“We
have no other choice,” he replied, staring off into space. “And, something
tells me…we’re needed somewhere else. I don’t know how or why, but I feel it in
these old, rickety bones.”
“Oh.”
He
turned back to her. “That reminds me- I need to get something for the trip.
Something back in my room.”
“It
might be too dangerous, going back up there.”
“I
need my pills, Mary. You forget, I’m almost ninety.”
Her
eyebrows shot up. “What pills? You’re the only one here not on pills.”
“Just
some vitamins, to keep me going strong.”
“Well…okay.
If they mean that much to you.”
As
they walked towards the doorway, she reached into her pocket. “I almost forgot…I
took the bus today, but I found someone’s car keys on the ground when I was
running to your room.”
He
reached for them. “Oh, Cadillac. Good going.”
“I
think they’re Lizzy’s,” she said somberly. “That poor woman.”
He
nodded. “Well, she certainly won’t be needing them anymore.”
“I
know.”
As
they stood next to each other by the doorway, he turned to her and cleared his
throat. “It’s just us now, Mary. I can’t promise you that we’ll make it out of
here alive, but I can promise that I’ll fight tooth-and-nail to keep you as
safe as an old cowboy, like me, can.”
She
smiled. “I know, Henry.”
“Do
you believe in happy endings, Mary?”
“I’d
like to think so.”
“Happy
endings come in many shapes and forms. If I die tomorrow, the fact that you
came to my room when all of this was happening, that for me isn’t just a happy
ending, it’s a chance for me to pay you back.”
“Oh,
Henry…you don’t need to pay me back.”
“Believe
me, Mary. There isn’t anyone who can give you a happier ending like old Henry
can.”
She
stared at the shit-eating grin on his face and smiled in disbelief. “You are
one sick individual, Henry. Nancy James told me all about your happy endings.”
He
winked. “I made you smile, though, didn’t I?”
“Yes,
you certainly did.”
“Like
I said before, smiles mean hope, Mary. It keeps us all going.”
She
touched his cheek. “That it does, Henry. That it does.”
****
To read more about Henry and
Mary, you’ll need to read Zombie Games Two (Running Wild). Book one of Zombie Games- Origins - is always free on most ebook stores.
