Zombie Attack! Rise of the Horde (19 page)

“You don't need to apologize to us,” I said, cautiously
reaching out and putting my hand on her shoulder to comfort her. “We came
barging in unannounced and I have been kind of a jerk. I promise I will mind my
manners from here on out. No more excuses.”

She laughed as tears streaked down her face.

“You have been kind of a jerk,” she said, wiping her face.
“Thanks for that.”

Benji looked back and forth from her to me like a confused
dog. To be honest, I didn't really know what was going on either. I just stood
there awkwardly with my hand on her shoulder for too long. I stepped back to
give her some space and she took a deep breath.

“I've gotta check on him first,” Felicity said. “Hang back
and wait for me to call you in. Okay?”

“Got it,” I answered.

Felicity opened the large doors at the end of the hallway.
Inside, it was dark and cool. I could make out a huge bed but not much else.
The sound of the ocean was mixed with some kind of chanting, coming from
somewhere inside the room. She left the door cracked slightly as she went in.
It seemed strange just standing there but I was determined not to do anything
else to set her off. Eventually she came back, stepping out and shutting the
door behind her. Benji looked crushed.

“He says you can stay as long as you like. There are guest
rooms you can sleep in. Most of them have clothes in them. You’re welcome to
help yourself to whatever you need including food and water from the kitchen.”

“Do you have hot running water?”

“No,” she said. “We still get cold water from the faucet and
it's clean, for now. The toilets still flush but there is no way to know how
long that will last. It's not like someone is working at the sewage plant
anymore. I think we're just lucky that most of this neighborhood is abandoned,
like you said.”

“What about drinking water?”

“Jackson has a huge supply,” she explained. “We moved it to
the kitchen after things quieted down.”

“From where?” I asked.

“From the panic room,” she pointed out. “We were in there
for over a week. Once the electricity went out, we decided to get out. They say
you can't get stuck in there but your mind starts to play tricks on you in
small spaces like that.”

“You must be running pretty low on supplies.”

“Not really,” she said. “Jackson was raised Mormon.”

“I knew that,” Benji said, proud of himself.

“I don't get it,” I said. “What does that mean?”

“It means he kept a stockpile of food and water hidden in
the house,” she said. “Mormons believe in being prepared for the end of the
world. They will probably play a role in rebuilding the country if the military
ever gets things under control. Jackson left the church when he was fifteen but
old habits die hard, as they say.”

I was growing more tired by the second. Now that I knew we
could actually relax and rest, it was like my body was rebelling against me.

“What do you do about lighting? What I mean is, do you use
candles?” I yawned. I didn't feel like waking up in pitch black in an
unfamiliar place, even if it was a mansion.

“Sometimes,” she said. “If it’s overcast. The stars provide
a lot of light, believe it or not. We have a backup generator that’s capable of
providing plenty of electricity but Jackson doesn't like to use it at night.
He's worried that light will bring looters or zombies.”

“That's actually really smart,” I said.

“You look exhausted.”

“I am.”

“Go ahead and crash out,” Felicity suggested. “We can talk
more when you get up.”

I was happy to have an excuse to go lie down. I was almost
feeling dizzy.

“Thanks,” I said. “I'll take this room.” I cracked open the
door to see that it was beach-themed with soft shades of blue.

“You gonna crash with your brother?” Felicity asked Benji.

“He's not my real brother,” Benji said.

Thanks kid
, I thought.
Throw me under the bus to
the hot celebrity chick.

“Okay then,” she said with a smirk. “How about your own
room?”

“Thanks again,” I said, making eye contact with Felicity.
She held it for a second too long then pulled away.

“It's not a problem,” she countered. “I'll get him set up.
Go to sleep.”

“Promise me you'll wake me up right away if anything
happens,” I said fiercely.

“I will,” she replied casually. “Don't worry. Like I said,
you're the first people to set foot on the property since the zombie outbreak—living
or dead. We're safe here.”

Even though I had no way of verifying her words, they made
me feel better. I shut and locked the door. I checked the closets and under the
bed, making sure they were all clear. I checked the bedroom window. It was
high. If someone wanted to get in that way they'd have to break it and climb in
at chest height. I'd have plenty of time to defend myself. I locked the window
carefully. I set my sword by the side of the bed. After what happened in New
Lompoc I wanted it within easy reaching distance. We really were lucky to get
out of that place in one piece.

Far luckier than the twins
, I dismally remembered.

I sat on the bed and looked around the room. It was quiet.
Almost too quiet. I was overly tired and anxious and excited by everything that
had happened. The last thing I remembered thinking was that I didn't know if
I'd be able to fall asleep. I woke up briefly some time later, on top of the
bed in my clothes, fingers touching my katana. I took my shirt off, rolled
over, and fell back asleep. If I dreamed at all, I don’t remember it.

I woke up a few hours later, feeling calm and refreshed. It
was still dead quiet outside. I put my shirt back on, grabbed my blade, and
opened the door. The sun hadn't quite gone down yet but the light coming down
the hallway had that golden quality to it that suggested we weren't far from
night. I could hear the sound of music and voices mixed with laughing. I walked
out, rubbing my eyes.

“Hey, sleepy head,” Felicity greeted me. She seemed in a
much better mood. Light danced in her sea green eyes as she stared at me.

Maybe she got some sleep too
, I thought as she asked
me how I slept.

“Like the dead,” I said.

“That's either the best joke in the world or the worst pun,”
said a guy's voice to my left. I turned to see Jackson Everrest standing and
holding a toy guitar in his hands, smiling amicably. He didn't look sick at
all. Benji was next to him, smiling. It took me a second to realize they were
playing Guitar Hero, one of my favorite video games of all time. Jackson was
actually a character in one of the latest versions. If you got to the highest
level you had to battle him to complete the stage.

“Thanks for letting us crash here,” I said, trying to play
it cool.

“Well it's not like I had a choice, did I?” For a moment I
thought he might be mad that we had let ourselves in after all. “We the living
have to stick together now. No more ‘mine and yours.’ We have to work together
if we’re going to survive.”

I let out a huge sigh of relief at the words.
He really
is cool
, I thought.
Imagine that.

“You actually play Guitar Hero?” I asked, changing the
subject.

“I love this game,” Jackson said. “Have you ever played it?”

“I have,” I said, laconically.

“Are you any good?”

“I've cleared the game once before,” I said, trying to sound
modest. You don't just brag about your fake guitar skills to one of the world's
most legendary guitar soloists of all time. “I assume you shred at it.”

“Believe it or not I'm just mediocre at the game,” Jackson
said. “I've talked to other musicians who have the same problem. Playing
buttons is totally different than playing strings. I do okay though. Benji here
has been giving me a run for my money. Wanna give it a go?”

No way
, I thought.
One of Rolling Stone's top ten
guitarists of all time just challenged me to a game of Guitar Hero in his
living room. I can't believe this is happening!

“Sure,” I shrugged, trying to keep my cool even though my
heart was racing in my chest harder than if a hundred zombies were chasing me.
“I'll give it a shot.”

Benji gave me his fake guitar controller and I slid the
strap over my neck. They'd already unlocked most of the levels so we selected
intermediate play and I started playing some
Slipknot
. Benji's character
had been the girl with the pigtails in the pink skirt. I didn't bother to
change it, odd as it was. Jackson had selected himself.

Fitting enough
, I thought as I made short work of the
song, racking up extra points with the glowing blue notes and the whammy bar.

Jackson had a little more trouble than I expected. He missed
a bunch of notes in a row. Then again, he had been sick according to Felicity.

When we polished off
Slipknot,
we played some
Metallica
and then
Black Sabbath
. At that point I could see that it wasn't just
feeling under the weather that was holding Jackson back. He had serious timing
issues hitting the buttons. What was going on?

I can't believe I'm beating Jackson at Guitar Hero
, I
thought.
This just doesn’t seem possible.
I tried not to focus on it too
much for fear it would distract me. I could see him getting frustrated that he
wasn't doing better at the game. He tried to hide it, like when he missed a
note he'd turn and play it off like he was distracted, or start telling us a
story from when he was on tour.

“Ozzy's tour manager worked with us on the Australian leg of
our last world tour,” he said, when he missed a bunch of notes in a row on
Paranoid
.
“Great guy. Real solid.”

We reached the battle stage of the rock legends version.
That meant we had to play against the computer's choice for us to advance to
the last level of the game and win. The guitarists included Dave Navarro, Joe
Satriani, Jimmy Hendrix, Slash, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, Jack White, and
last but not least, Jackson Everrest. I was randomly matched up against
Hendrix. Luckily I had played against Hendrix before. I matched him note for
note on
Purple Haze
for the first part of the song and did a decent job
keeping up the rest of the way through. It was enough to advance, but just
barely.

“Not bad,” Jackson complimented me. “If they ever figure out
how to turn these things into real instruments you'll have a smashing future.”

“Thanks,” I said, setting the plastic guitar down and taking
a seat on the couch next to Benji. I hadn't noticed while I was playing, but
Felicity had moved closer and was watching us both intently. I turned to look
directly at her and she looked away toward Jackson, trying to pretend she
hadn't been looking. Her nacre skin seemed so soft and white, like light from
the moon was glowing off her. Her hair fell in bright red vibrant curls against
her neck, standing out in shocking contrast. I got the feeling she could sense
I was staring at her so I looked away quickly, trying to pretend I was yawning.

The computer began to shuffle through the remaining
guitarists, looking for a match for Jackson. All the characters whooshed past
at once until one was left—Jackson Everrest.

“This is like a nightmare,” the real Jax said. “Like an evil
computer version of myself come to life to torment me. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck!” Benji practically shouted.

Even though it was one of his biggest hits,
My Soul to
Take
, Jackson seemed to have trouble with it from the start. He needed to
switch fingers to hit the lower keys and his timing was really off. He quickly
grew frustrated as his artificial avatar blazed through the notes effortlessly
while he kept getting loud reverb clangs from hitting the plastic keys too
late. He cursed and spat on his own floor. No one said anything. During the
long guitar solo he stopped and took the controller off altogether, giving up.
I looked over at Benji who could barely hold in his surprise.

“It's a stupid game anyway,” Jackson vented in frustration.
“I don't know why I keep messing with it.”

The screen flashed the words YOU LOSE as the avatar Jackson
flicked his pick at us and threw up a devil finger salute.

“Jackson,” Felicity said calmly, “it's okay. It's just a
game.”

“I know,” he said, reaching over and flicking on his guitar
amp. He picked up a black Les Paul guitar from the stands near the console and
plugged it in. He put his foot on the amp and rested the bottom of the guitar
on the top of his thigh. “Can a game teach you this?”

Jackson ripped into a guitar solo filled with racing notes
and mind melting progressions. Benji's jaw literally fell wide open. I'm pretty
sure mine did too. It was far beyond anything we could possibly have imagined.
Jackson looked up at us and laughed out loud.

“You really are fans?” A satisfied smile spread across his
face before we could nod in reply. Was Jackson really begging for our attention
by putting on a private show for us in his living room? I didn't have to ask
because before we could answer him he began laying into the instrument again,
giving it all he had. The sounds coming out of it were unreal and we were
transported into his world. His hands moved so fast, they almost seemed to
blur. He was like a guitar god! He finished and Benji and I wildly began to
applaud him. The look on his face said it all. His ego was just getting a taste
of what it really wanted.

“You want more?” Benji practically leaped to his feet in
response. I turned to look at Felicity. She looked slightly annoyed that
Jackson was acting up for attention. I shot her a look that was somewhere
between 'I told you so' and 'what can you do?' She let out a heavy sigh, like
the whole weight of the world was on her shoulders. This wasn't just her being
upset that Jax was showing off. This was something deeper, something not
visible on the surface.