Undead Dilemma
Chapter 9: Unwanted Truth

By the time we met back up at the other end of the gully she was off the phone and did not look happy at all. “What?” I asked her. “James says that we are not in the same gully that he set up the trap in.” she stated. I just stared at her for a minute, until a Zom tried to grab me. We ducked ourselves back and started circling back around the Zoms again. “Did he say anything about what we should do?” I asked her as we met back up. “He figured it would be easier for us to keep the deadies here while he brings the trap to us.” she stated. “And did he tell you how long that might take him exactly?” “He said to give him about thirty minutes and he would be here.” “He also told me that in the shoulder bag he gave me is around twenty of those glow in the dark sticks.” She told me smiling. “I say we divide them up and on our next circuit around we crack and drop them around the perimeter of the gully.” If we had, had the time I would have hugged her, as it was though we danced around for a bit as she extricated the sticks and passed me my share. Then we started to crack them and place them around us. We did it just in time to because as we placed the last sticks down the sun dipped below the tree line and plunged our little gully of death into darkness. Okay well...little exaggeration because we did have the pale glow from our circle of blue glow sticks.

As we circled around and around the little gully keeping the Zoms from escaping I had the distinct urge to start singing that old childhood song of Ring Around the Roses. As we closed the circle close to each other again I started busting up laughing because just under her breath Cake happened to be singing that exact song. She looked at me like I had grown a second head. “I was just thinking of that song in my head.” I told her. We both chuckled and went around the zombies singing the song together. I checked my watch quickly and noticed that James should be showing up any minute. So as I walked the edge of the gully I kept my eyes peeled for my friend. I was starting to get worried when I heard him call out, “Holy cow looks like there is a whole lot more of them when they are all piled in together.” “Dude you better get your butt down here we are tired of corralling this herd of rotting flesh.” I yelled out to him. “Well I am going to need you to do it for just a little bit longer while I set up the show.” He quipped back. “Hurry it up will ya.” Cake told him. “If you guys have forgotten I haven’t eaten all day and I am starting to lag just a little.” I glanced over at those words and noticed that she was looking tired and a little rough around the edges. “Since it is you, sweetie I will gladly pick up the speed.” He called out to her.

" Oh I see how it is now.” I yelled, as I dodged from two Zoms that had almost reached me. I heard him chuckling somewhere off to my left. We circled round and round some more while we waited for James to set up his little death trap. Tick tock went the clock until finally, he said, ” Okay when I say I am going to need you guys to put on the speed and get your butts out as fast as you can.” “You need to run off to the right side of the gully it has the most coverage and that is where I will be.” Cake and I were just circling close to each other when he called out for us to move. We took off towards him as fast as we could and I hoped all the Zoms would be caught up in this trap. Just as we crested over the hill a flash went off behind us and then I could swear the 10th Calvary was there breaking all hell on the undead. I slid down the small hill next to James, Cake right behind me. “What the heck is that man?” I asked him. “I have a Protection friend who lives over on the Oklahoma side of Fort Smith.” “He doesn’t like to go out and do much of the protecting part any more so he spends a lot of time inventing things that might help the rest of us.” He explained. “Lucky for us he is also a big believer in the Zombie Apocalypse.” “So this was his little toy?” Cake asked. “Yeah, he says that we still might want to go check and make sure that all of them have been gotten though.” “This was actually the first field test on this thing.” He said

I gaped at my friend for a minute and then bopped him on the back of the head. “Ow Wit what the hell man!” He yelled out. “Thank you dude, but next time warn me when my life depends on a proto-type.” I told him. “Yeah please let us know next time.” Cake agreed. “K man...you didn’t have to hit me though.” he mumbled out. “Let’s go see if we need to finish any off and then we will need to clean up.” “And then please for love of god can we get some food?” Cake asked. James and I agreed whole heartedly. We walked back up the small hill to see into the gully. Thankfully whatever had taken care of the Zoms hadn’t destroyed any of the glow sticks. I couldn’t see any movement. Looked to me that even though it had been a proto-type the thing had done its job. ” “Well to me it just looks like all we have is clean up to do.” “Want to do another flash burn.” James suggested. “Yeah let’s get this done quick.” I said. So for the next hour we piled up all the poor undead dead bodies. Sprinkled our silver flakes and UV globes then watched the flames until everything was gone. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” James said. I snatched up several of the glow sticks and passed them to the others, then we started to make our way back to my car and away from this place.

I unlocked the car and we all piled inside. I laid my head back against the headrest for a moment. Then I reached across Cake and popped open the glove box. Inside I had a stash of granola and candy bars. I smiled when Cake literally attacked the contents. She passed some of it to James and I then dug in like it was a feast. I didn’t blame her at all. I devoured one granola then started the car and turned us towards home. We didn’t speak much on the journey home. Truthfully I wasn’t ready to talk quite yet. For the second time I had saved Cake which I was glad I did, but for the second time the unknown leader had escaped and we really needed to stop him. I had to figure out who in the blazes he was. I didn’t want the third time that I ran into him to be over Cake’s unconscious body. We needed to end this before he got what he wanted from her. I peeked over at her. She had wedged herself into the corner a little and was currently passed out. I was glad though that the darkness in the car didn’t seem to be bothering her, which reminded me of my promise. I stopped at the town close to my home and went into a store for all the supplies I wanted to get. Then I climbed back in and drove the rest of the way home. As I turned off the car James levered himself up from the backseat. “I will get the bags man you can wake up sleeping beauty.” He grabbed them up and made his way to my house. I looked at Cake still passed out in the seat. Sleeping beauty huh. Just the thought had me looking at her lips and feeling an uncomfortable ache in my heart. I wanted to so much...but then again I wanted our first true kiss to be from her not me. So resisting the impulse I instead kissed her gently on the cheek and immediately got conked on the head when she flailed herself forward in the seat. I held my head trying to will the pain away as I watched realization dawn on her face.

“Oh Wit I am so sorry.” she exclaimed reaching out to me. “Not exactly the reaction I expected when kissing a girl awake.” I laughed out trying to make her feel better. She lifted out of her seat a little until her face was level with mine. I held my breath in, wondering. She tilted her head up a little more and kissed me on the head where we had bumped together. My heart started to pound like a drum and I cupped her face in my hands. I gently kissed her head and then just leaned my head against hers with my eyes closed. “Wit...” she breathed out. I slowly pulled back and looked at her. Her blue eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed making her look so beautiful. I could feel my cheeks heat up as well. She looked down quickly and I knew that this was probably moving a little faster than we both wanted at the moment so I cleared my throat and said, “Let’s go inside before James eats all the food.” She looked up at me gratefully and we climbed out of the car. But when we cleared the hood I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to hold her hand. She slid her hand into mine and squeezed just a little. Too fast but at least we seemed to be on the same page. We walked up the steps and opened the door. And there lay James across the floor.

He was laying with his face up and I could see his chest moving up and down. The bags lay all around him with the contents spilled out. I let go of Cake’s hand and moved quickly toward him. I looked him over but couldn’t see any kind of wound. Cake knelt down on his other side. Just as I was about to try and roll him gently to check his back I heard a noise from the dark hall. I stood up and moved myself in front of Cake and James. “Hello Boy.” I heard from the darkness. “How did you replace my house?” I asked. ” I had the ghost tell me after he had retrieved the girl.” He replied just a little bit closer. Suddenly he walked forward into the light. The unknown leader. “I have to admit that I am quite impressed that you were able to survive my little Zombie horde.” He said. ” I really only expected the girl to make her way back here, but what the heck, we can have some fun before I finally finish this once and for all.” “You won’t be finishing anything.” I told him. I angled myself towards him a little more so that his attention would stay on me and Cake might be able to make some kind of escape with James. “What did you do to my friend?” I asked him in a bid to keep him talking. “Oh just the usual conk on the back of the head.” he replied. “And your next move?” “I guess I could tell you since I plan to kill you anyway.” In a move so sudden that I had no warning he pulled back his hood and destroyed my world.

“Pops.” I squeaked out. He laughed cruelly in my face. “It can’t be you.” ” Oh but it is...well I guess partially” he said. “See I got tired of cleaning up after the monsters and being the good guy keeping the lessers from knowing about our world.” “So I came up with a little plan.” “I had a group of witches working on a way for me to retain myself and not decay when I was turned into a Zombie.” “Then of course I had to die.” “And mom?” I yelled at him angrily. ” “I tried to get her to join me but she just wouldn’t agree...looked at me like I was crazy in fact.” He said. “You are crazy.” “Maybe just a little but to come up with a plan to become truly immortal and rule the world you have to be just a little mad.” He quipped. ” I thought... did you not love mom and me?” I choked out. ” I did of course in the beginning but I looked at you and your mom there towards the end and just felt like you were shackles keeping my tied to I life I didn’t want.” ” Now.” He said gesturing grandly. ” I can do and be whatever I want to be.” “And what better person to rule all the monsters and lessers than someone who is both.” “Monsters will no longer live in the shadows.” “We will live on top and the lessers...well they will learn their true place in the world.” “And what place do you see for the lessers?” I asked fearfully. “On the bottom of course, being the cattle and slaves life meant for them to be.”

I stared in horror at my father. The man who had taught me everything I knew. Who used to dance in the rain with Mom? He was gone, in his place stood a shell. I crumpled to the floor trying hard not to scream out the pain. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him fold himself down onto the couch and smile. SMILE at destroying every memory I had of him. My breath wheezed in and out as the shock of it all poured down on me. He had planned it all. His death...killing my mom. Still slumped and facing the floor I asked him, “Why didn’t you just have me killed as well?” “Now that is an excellent question and the answer is two-fold.” He raised his arm and held up one finger. ” One I had planned to but then your mom sent you off right before the attack was supposed to begin.” He raised another finger. “Two once you were gone I thought…well what the hell why not.” “I truly thought you would off yourself from the pain of our deaths.” “But as I have stated to you before you keep surprising me.” “And I haven’t killed you so far because I thought that it was such a lovely irony that it would be my son that would replace out about my plans and try to stop me.” “As if you could, I taught you your knowledge and techniques.” “But now you are getting quite annoying and so son it is time for us to end this.” I levered myself off the floor and stood with my head held high and my shoulders straight. “Fine...Pops, lets end this farce.”