It's Complicated: A Zombie Romance Novel

Break Away

I never thought I'd run from Lee Ann, but I didn't have much choice. She'd seen me and blown my cover. Now a crowd of money hungry zombies were on my tail.

I tried to recall what Michael had said.

"Which door Michael."

"Third on the left."

"This one," I confirmed.

"Yes," he yelled in my ear, "that one."

I closed the doors behind me. They would be pounding on them soon. I looked around the room for something to jam the doors with.

A mop was laying on its side just within reach. That was handy. I didn't question its existence. It was a nice break. Now to find the elevator and get out of there before the hoard broke down the doors.

"Which wall is the elevator on?"

"The south wall," Michael said.

"That's not going to help me," I said.

"It's the best I can do. Let me check the schematics."

"Just take your time. It's not like I have zombies pounding on the door," I mused. I walked a few steps into the room. Michael had said it was clear, but I wasn't so sure.

There in the dentist chair he used to make his creations was Derrick.

"What kind of mastermind runs his operation passed out?" I wondered out-loud. I scooted closer to the body to see.

He was passed out, eyes closed, with no headset in sight. I poked his body. Nothing. I knew better than to try anything else. The girl in the doll room had taught me that much. The hairs on the back of my neck raised up just slightly.

"A dead one," I said, mouth dropping. Derrick was just a patsy, too. Trapped here like everyone else. His creations were forced labors of love, just like he'd told me.

"Don't you have a filter?" Michael asked. I shrugged before realizing he couldn't see me shrug in the dim lighting of the room now that he'd turned the brights off.

"Guess knowing you have to die turns thought things off. Let's just hope you never find out," I mused.

"Funny, try the back left corner." I took his advice and ran to the left around the dentist chair. I tripped over a disembodied limb, again. This time it didn't freak me out. Maybe my adrenaline was way too high.

I saw an opening in the wall with a button next to it. I frantically hit the button.

"So if it isn't Derrick, who is running this show. It couldn't be Brian, could it?" I said out loud. Michael didn't respond. He was too busy doing something with the elevator. Thud.

They were hitting the door with more force now. I rapidly pressed the call button.

I needed to keep my head clear and not on the zombie hoard or the zombie in the middle of the room that could pop awake at any moment.

'No, all Michael's research showed that this house was at least four years old,' I reminded myself. "Brian would have been a college freshman. He'd been a victim. It couldn't be him."

"What about my roommate?" Michael asked.

"Oh, nothing. When's that thing going to show up?"

"I'm tracking it live. Just one more floor before it gets to you. Apparently it was on the fifth floor. The thing is, all my maps say this building only has four floors. Weird, right?" I agreed that weird was right. This whole place was weird.