Dead Endz Read Online Free Page A

very surly.
    “Come on, babe,” said Tiny, grabbing Kristie’s hand. “You told me earlier that you’d stopped smoking for a couple of years. You can handle this.”
    Kristie scowled. “That was pre-zombies. Now I’ve found that smoking is the only way I can manage my Z.S.S.”
    “Z.S.S.?” he asked.
    “Her Zombie Stress Syndrome,” muttered Paige.
    “Jesus Christ, I think I have that, too!” hollered Henry, sitting up straighter. “I knew there had to be a name for it.”
    “For the love of God…we’re wasting time!” cried Paige. “Forget Z.S.S and B.S.S. and let’s do what we came here to do; find our friends? They might need our help. Heck, they could be dead for all we know while we’re tooling around town on the hunt for nicotine!”
    The van was completely silent after Paige’s outburst. Nobody said a word, not even Henry.
    Kristie cleared her throat, then grabbed the map and started charting a course to the C.D.C., which, fortunately, wasn’t very far. When they arrived, Paige’s heart took a plunge; the place looked utterly abandoned.
    “What now?” groaned Paige.
    The large glass building which had always seemed impressive on CNN, looked very dismal now. Windows were broken, trash blew across the once manicured lawns, and zombies stumbled in an out of the entrance. It was like a bad horror movie.
    “Don’t worry, Paige. We certainly didn’t come all this way for nothing,” said Kristie. “We’ll just sit and wait for something to happen.”
    Tiny nodded. “Or… I could go in and look around if you want.”
    Kristie smiled. “Aw…you’re such a sweetie,” she said grabbing his scruffy chin and kissing his lips.
    His face was solemn. “Hey, they’re your friends and without them, we may have never met. I owe them for bringing you into my life, babe.”
    Kristie’s eyes filled with tears. She touched his arm. “You know, your heart is as big as your biceps.”
    He flexed. “You get my blood pumping in many places, mama. Just like I told you before, though, it’s destiny. We were meant to be together. And now I’ve found you, I will never let you go.”
    Ugh , thought Paige as her mom threw her arms around Tiny and smothered him with kisses. They’ve only known each other for a few days and now they’re like… soul mates?
    Henry grunted. “I’m truly happy for you both. Now someone better get their ass inside and look around before I grow a tail and can’t make it to the shitter. If you haven’t noticed there isn’t a public restroom anywhere close.”
    Tiny sighed. “Don’t worry, gramps. Well get you to a toilet.”
    “You have about an hour before my intestines push one out. It’s clockwork with me, by golly.”
    Paige shuddered. “I can’t believe I’m listening to this.”
    Henry’s eyes narrowed. “When you’re my age you’ll appreciate a healthy dump, young lady.” He sighed and then continued. “Once I was backed up for two weeks…”
    “Okay,” said Paige, holding up her hands. “Sorry, now can we change the subject?”
    Henry mumbled something under his breath and then looked out the window.
    “Let’s just wait until the zombies spread out a little more,” said Tiny.
    They waited awhile and watched as the zombies wandered aimlessly around the building without even so much as a glance in their direction. When the undead seemed manageable, Tiny decided it was time for him to go in and investigate.
    “I’m coming with,” said Kristie, grabbing her gun from the glove compartment.
    He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous, hon. Just let me go and you stay back to protect the girls. I’ll take Henry.”
    Kristie shook her head. “Not a good idea. You’ve never met Kris, you won’t recognize her. Plus, you’re kind of intimidating for someone who’s never met you.”
    “Yeah, she’ll think your some biker dude wanting to start trouble,” said Paige.
    “Doesn’t anyone watch pro-wrestling anymore?” asked Tiny incredulously.