The
Zombie
Chronicles

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Finished works:
   Billions
    ---
   Outbreak
    ---
   Undead
     Advantage
    ---
   Found
    ---
   About a Woman
    ---
   Short Stories

Works in Progress:
   TZC2: Discovery

Works on hold:
   Zombie Nation
    ---
   Zombieboy

Found

Chapter 02

Kaylee was keeping an eye on both mouths of the alley looking down one way, then off to the other, making dang sure not to look too far back at Stacey, as it would only give her friend more leeway to make off color remarks. Kaylee was not a prude. She owned a vibrator for goodness sake! How could she be a prude when she owned a vibrator? True it hadn't seen much use, maybe tonight, maybe, that man in the bar, early on he had seemed so earnest and the comments he made about Stacey and Kaylee sharing him for the evening, so long as they shared each other too, so bold to even voice such a thing! Kaylee was not from Iowa, she was from Kansas, western Kansas, when the first zombie came to her town she and her father got out, they never learned what happened to her mother and her father was diabetic, almost a sure death sentence even if he had not been killed helping bring in the harvest on a farm a mere two months after they had arrived in Des Moines. Ironic that in world with flesh eating zombies that her father should die from trauma induced by farm machinery. Not even the diabetes got him and insulin had been in very short supply at that time.

Kaylee had been left all alone in the world, until meeting Stacey. Stacey was descended from true Swede stock, or so she claimed, and had lived in Des Moines all her life, born in the Lutheran hospital, planned to give birth to her children there and planned to be buried in a local cemetery, after the state mandated cremation, of course. Stacey had met Kaylee at a temp agency where both women were trying to get some work, any work. Something clicked with them and they had started talking, the night ended with Kaylee bawling her eyes out in Stacey's arms as she told her sorry tale. To Stacey the story was all too common and not as bad as most that she had heard, it was the next night with a bottle of rum and coke, what money such items would fetch now, that Kaylee learned Stacy's tale. Stacy's life was pretty normal, she had younger brother and parents who lived in Indianola a small town 20 minutes or so south of Des Moines. At 19 she had left her small town to live in the 'big city' as she called Des Moines, settling in an apartment off of Grand Avenue near Greenwood Park, a nice neighborhood, close to downtown where she worked as an administrative assistant for an insurance company. Two years of putting herself through classes at the area community college, well, okay, three years, and she had an associates degree in Business Administration and a promotion to Junior Project Manager with the insurance firm. Things were looking up, then the call came. She was twenty three years old, three years before 'Z-day' and her parents and brother had been killed in a head on collision coming back from a high school football game. Normally her brother would have been on the bus with the rest of the team, this evening their parents had permission to give him a ride home because they were coming up to Des Moines to pick up Stacey's grandfather from the airport. On hearing the news that his son, daughter in law and grandson were dead the old man had a coronary and collapsed in the airport.

Stacey had been the one to meet him, there was no one else. The old man had just looked her in the eyes, gave a sad little smile and fell over sideways, dead before the paramedics arrived. This horrendous loss steeled Stacey against all future horrors, even tales of zombies eating whole school buildings full of children didn't phase her for long. She had a zest for living that few other people Kayle had met possessed. She also had a very dark sense of humor sometimes and made jokes and allusions to lesbian sex that were about the only things that bothered Kaylee anymore. The two women suited each other well and became friends quickly, with Kaylee moving into Stacey's apartment after only knowing her for three weeks. It was only a one bedroom apartment, but boasted a very large living room/dining room area. The women slept in the same king sized bed that Stacey had before Kaylee came along, there was no romance between them.

On the anniversary of Stacey's families' death this last spring they had gotten really drunk on a bottle of corn mash and they had kissed, it had happened before Kaylee could really think about it and almost before she knew what was happening. Almost. This was not a cute 'goodbye grandma' sort of peck, it was something Kaylee had only seen in a men's pornography movie, it lasted beyond a normal French kiss and bordered heavily on being called a 'make out' session. It was only when Stacey had moved a hand to Kaylee's breast that Kaylee backed away. She loved her friend, she just didn't have sexual feelings for her or any woman. Kaylee didn't bring the event up in any way with Stacey, who took cruel humor in mentioning it at awkward moments. Tonight at the bar was a good example, Stacey had been flirting with that guy, what was his name? Dan? Essentially Kaylee was an honest woman, lying about a truthful event was difficult for her so when Stacey had flirted with Dan, talking about a three-way and discussing how she and Kaylee had made out before, Kaylee was at a flustered loss, which led to Dan's tentative acceptance of Stacey's implied offer. Only Kaylee had shot that down as soon as she regained her voice.

Finally the strong smell of urine hit the air and Kaylee heard the noise as her friend peed in the alley. Nothing at either end of the alley's, all clear, then Kaylee's world turned sideways, she heard a thumping sound and realized it was her head hitting the cement she had been standing on.

“Wha-wha?”, she tried to say, then was pulling herself to her hands and knees. She felt a kick on the side of her ribs and felt something give as she was lifted up and tossed into the wall next to a dumpster, as she was fading from consciousness she saw a man turn back to Stacey, who was also down and moving slowly. The man picked her up by her throat with one hand and lifted her off the ground and shook her like a dog shakes a rope. Kaylee saw Stacey's hand come up with a knife, one that she kept in her purse even on nights out like this and the last thing she saw was Stacey stabbing the man's arm repetitively while he laughed quietly.

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