Demigods vs Zombies (Demigod Story) (Rot & Ruin)

Chapter 11

Heat fled from my face as I stared at the rifle. Its aim switched from me to James every few seconds as though it were deciding who should be shot first. My hand's grip loosened around the handle of the dagger that earlier had made me feel unstoppable. There was no way that old thing could out-perform a gun. James paid no attention to the gun as he gazed at the man who held it.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" the stranger barked at us. Although I knew that he spoke quietly, fear grasped my heart as though he were yelling in my ear. "Close the frickin' door!"

My body refused to budge; I feared that if my back was turned, a bullet might blast into it. Thankfully, James calmly reached out behind him and silently shut the door without removing his eyes from the stranger. Now that the door was closed, no zombies would be wandering in.

The stranger heaved a deep breath as though getting ready for an audition. "Any of you two get bit?" he growled through yellowed teeth, one of his fingers rubbed against the trigger slowly.

"What" I stuttered, finally able to find my voice. The gun then focused on me, aimed at my heart. "No! No one's been bit."

"Look me in the eyes when you're talkin' to me, girl," he slowly slurred.

My eyes lifted from the gun to the man, observing his features. He looked like a guy in his thirties and had the rough look of a sexy hunter from a vampire show. He clearly hadn't shaved in a while, the whiskers that poked out of his face started to form a beard. The beads of sweat shone on his slightly reddened face.

"Neither of us had been bitten," James calmly assured the man.

The gun stopped aiming at me and turned to James. "Wasn't talking to you, boy. Keep your trap shut," he sneered before returning his intimidating glare to me. "Girl, stop daydreaming. Did you get bit?"

My eyes managed to lift from staring at his nose to his cold brown eyes. It felt as though my eyes were staring into the sun. "I've never been bitten."

"Alright," he approved of my answer and lowered his gun, but he still carried it with him. "Now, girl, you need to learn a bit about hygiene because-"

"It's tuna," James interrupted. "We rubbed rotten tuna onto our shirts, that way there weren't any zombies that could smell us."

"That's disgusting and smart at the same time," the man told us. "Take it off, I don't want to be smelling that no more."

My arms instinctively wrapped around myself in a hug. "I would prefer to not take my clothes off."

He breathed heavily and headed down the hallway to one of the bedroom doors. "Stay there," he demanded before he opened the door and entered.

With him gone, I decided to finally ask the question that was on my mind. "Do you think he's a monster?" I whispered lowly to James.

"I doubt it," he whispered back. "But keep alert anyway."

We stood in silence for a few seconds before the stranger exited the room with a handgun poking out of his pocket and a pile of clothes stacked in his arms. He took a blue thing off of the top of the pile and handed one to me and another to James. With it in my hands, I could see that it was a doctor's mask that they wear in work. It covers their nose and mouth so they won't get a sickness and pass it on easily while working.

"If any of you turn, there's no way to bite," he explained as though he read my mind. I sniffed the inside of it first to make sure that it wasn't a gag before pulling the string back and putting it on. After I adjusted it, the stranger handed me some clothes from the top of the stack and gave James the rest of the small pile.

"Put them on," the man roughly stated. "Don't worry missy, I'll turn my back for you."

I rolled my eyes as he turned his back to me and examined the clothes that I had held in my arms. There was a Hello Kitty t-shirt on top, and jeans on the bottom. I was about to say that I need something to wear underneath until I noticed a bright yellow bikini set rolled up in the clothes.

I was able to change clothes underneath my old tuna-covered black shirt, which is a talent that I had gained through the years of feeling as though I'm always being watched. James had also changed into the fresh set of clothes; he wore a Chicago Bear shirt with camo shorts.

"Where would you like us to put our dirty clothes?" I politely asked through the mask, my voice was slightly muffled and I caught a whiff of my breath. It truly did smell like I had never brushed my teeth for months.

"Just open the door and throw them out," the man suggested as though it was obvious.

"There's a high chance that there's a zombie right outside this door. Do you honestly want to take that risk?" James reminded him while gripping his clothes.

"Don't mess with a man with a gun," he threatened, his aggressive side threatened to come back.

James stood there for around ten seconds, staring the man in the eyes. "Cress, hand over your clothes," James murmured. "So it'll be quicker."

I wasn't sure what to think. James was basically the prince of the dead, so he could probably sense it if there was a zombie on the other side of the door. I figured that it would all just be easier if I just give him my dirty clothes, he'd probably win in the end anyway. In the back of my mind, I felt as though it would be a stupid idea to give up my disgusting-smelling clothes, I found out why it was such a big deal later. I gave him the wad of dark clothes and he had it in his arm along with his.

James quickly opened the door; a dead arm fell inside immediately. James was just grabbing for his sword when the head of the dead creature got through the door. A loud crack and the foul smell of gun powder followed after it, the zombie fell to the ground with its black blood leaking out of its forehead. I quickly kneeled down and stabbed the back of the neck, already knowing that it'd be completely put down if I did so.

James used his legs to kick the body out of the doorway and through the wad of clothes outside before slamming the door closed. His attention went straight to the stranger. "Are you an idiot?" he hissed. "Wait, you don't need to answer that. I already know the answer."

"What did you just say?" the guy challenged him.

"I just told you that you're an idiot. You shot a gun, haven't you realized that noise attracts zombies and soon your entire house will be surrounded by them?" James continued lecturing. I stood there in my over-sized Hello Kitty shirt and sighed through the blue doctor mask.

"I ain't got no problem with using another bullet, so you best be shutting your mouth," he snarled. "My name is Billy Bob Joe. You can call me Billy, Bob, or Joe," the man grinned a toothy grin. "Now, are you two raiding the neighborhood? I already emptied the entire block and you best not even try stealing from me."

"No, we don't steal," I stepped in, deciding that it was better that I talk instead of James. He was standing by the door with his arms crossed, upset because I was right about there being survivors or maybe ticked at Bob for shooting a gun. We both knew that it'd be a lot harder to get back to our hideout if the house was surrounded by zombies. Now that we weren't allowed to have our tuna-covered clothes, I wasn't sure whether it was possible for us to get back. "We were trying to find out what has happened over the last few weeks."

"You two want to know?" Bob asked with a tone of pure judgment. I nodded my head slowly since I was unsure whether he was asking for an answer or not. "Well then, look it up. Computer on the right in the living room."