scary, voice said.
“But
he’s yer’ cousin Pa!” The girl shouted.
“Doesn’t
mean I don’t hate his durned guts!” snapped ‘Pa,' followed by a booming belch.
“Yer
a sick bastard!” A second girl joined.
“Shuddup,
Merlda! I’ll show ya what’s what when I take this pretty little thang into the corner to purify her.”
Rage
boiled through me. This Pa guy seemed to be the leader and an evil asshole.
“Henry
may ‘ave been poor in the sack, but you were even worse! Hell with the both of
ya!” Merlda shouted.
They
continued arguing as the guy next to me, Henry, began to tug my pant leg. I
looked into his eyes, and he knitted his brows.
“Merlda’s
muh wife.” he said.
I
regarded him with a frown. “Sorry.”
“No,”
he said. “Ye done me a favor, now do me another one and kill that cheating
bitch. Make sure you feed that double crossing Pa to the deadies .
Henry
lifted a bloody hand to the side of his head. I wasn’t able to register the gun
in time to stop him. I covered my mouth as he pulled the trigger.
It
was one thing seeing a Corpse get its brains blown out. Somehow you become
quickly desensitized. You recognize they’re monsters. When you see a grown man
beg to die, pull out a gun and blow his head off, it changes you forever.
I
stared at headless Henry, my jaw slack. My burning rage had been put out with
terror.
“Y’all
hear Henry’s gun?” Pa asked.
“Maybe
you should go check it out, Santa?” said one of the women.
“Can’t
ya just look through that there security thingy?” Santa asked.
“No,
ya twit,” Pa said. “Stuff ain’t voodoo. It’s a highly
technical thingamajig.”
Their
inbred speech made me want to put an end to their family.
“You
check, Kessa.” Merlda laughed. “It was yer idea.”
“I
don’t even wanna be here,” Kessa said.
“Perfect
time to get ye plump little ass gone then!” Pa said.
“There’s
no way I’m going down there alone!”
“Fine,”
Santa said. “I’ll take my machine gun and go blow up some deadies .”
The
one named Santa stomped down the escalator. Time to move. I snatched Henry's
heavy handgun and darted toward the back of the store. I needed another way up.
They seemed to be camped by the escalators. That left two options, the
elevator, which created noise, or the stairs.
I
dodged between the clothing sections, and came across mangled dead bodies here
and there, but all of the Corpses had been cleared out.
Ducking,
I peeked toward the front of the store, but couldn't see anything. I had to keep
moving, faster than Santa could search. The longer he spent downstairs, the
better.
I
made my way to the hall with the restrooms, stairs, and elevators. Down the
hall I ran. Halfway, I found the door to the second floor. Exactly what I
needed. I pushed, but it didn't budge.
“Oh
come on!” I grumbled.
I
slammed my shoulder into the barrier, and it opened a few inches. A Corpse's
hand shot out and grabbed my sleeve.
“Crap!”
I gasped. I pulled the door and slammed it on its Corpse's wrist. On the sixth
or seventh slam, its bone snapped, and I fell back against the opposite wall. “Okay,
not that way.”
As
I searched for the elevator, I cursed a storm. Someone would check the dinging
doors. I'd be a fish in a barrel unless I pulled some ninja moves and I didn’t
have any ninja moves.
As
soon as I pressed the button, the door opened. A ding rang out, and my heart
caught in my throat.
“What
was that?” Santa shouted. “One y’all using the lift?”
I
darted inside and hit the ‘2’ button.
A
calming song played in the elevator, but my heart thundered for the short ride.
I drew both guns and held them out, sure an enemy
would be waiting.
The
doors opened, and I nearly pulled both triggers. An extremely cute girl with
blonde hair and green pigtails stood before me. Her long, bare legs ran up to a
pair of overalls, and down to cowboy boots. Other than that, she wore only a
small tube
“But
he’s yer’ cousin Pa!” The girl shouted.
“Doesn’t
mean I don’t hate his durned guts!” snapped ‘Pa,' followed by a booming belch.
“Yer
a sick bastard!” A second girl joined.
“Shuddup,
Merlda! I’ll show ya what’s what when I take this pretty little thang into the corner to purify her.”
Rage
boiled through me. This Pa guy seemed to be the leader and an evil asshole.
“Henry
may ‘ave been poor in the sack, but you were even worse! Hell with the both of
ya!” Merlda shouted.
They
continued arguing as the guy next to me, Henry, began to tug my pant leg. I
looked into his eyes, and he knitted his brows.
“Merlda’s
muh wife.” he said.
I
regarded him with a frown. “Sorry.”
“No,”
he said. “Ye done me a favor, now do me another one and kill that cheating
bitch. Make sure you feed that double crossing Pa to the deadies .
Henry
lifted a bloody hand to the side of his head. I wasn’t able to register the gun
in time to stop him. I covered my mouth as he pulled the trigger.
It
was one thing seeing a Corpse get its brains blown out. Somehow you become
quickly desensitized. You recognize they’re monsters. When you see a grown man
beg to die, pull out a gun and blow his head off, it changes you forever.
I
stared at headless Henry, my jaw slack. My burning rage had been put out with
terror.
“Y’all
hear Henry’s gun?” Pa asked.
“Maybe
you should go check it out, Santa?” said one of the women.
“Can’t
ya just look through that there security thingy?” Santa asked.
“No,
ya twit,” Pa said. “Stuff ain’t voodoo. It’s a highly
technical thingamajig.”
Their
inbred speech made me want to put an end to their family.
“You
check, Kessa.” Merlda laughed. “It was yer idea.”
“I
don’t even wanna be here,” Kessa said.
“Perfect
time to get ye plump little ass gone then!” Pa said.
“There’s
no way I’m going down there alone!”
“Fine,”
Santa said. “I’ll take my machine gun and go blow up some deadies .”
The
one named Santa stomped down the escalator. Time to move. I snatched Henry's
heavy handgun and darted toward the back of the store. I needed another way up.
They seemed to be camped by the escalators. That left two options, the
elevator, which created noise, or the stairs.
I
dodged between the clothing sections, and came across mangled dead bodies here
and there, but all of the Corpses had been cleared out.
Ducking,
I peeked toward the front of the store, but couldn't see anything. I had to keep
moving, faster than Santa could search. The longer he spent downstairs, the
better.
I
made my way to the hall with the restrooms, stairs, and elevators. Down the
hall I ran. Halfway, I found the door to the second floor. Exactly what I
needed. I pushed, but it didn't budge.
“Oh
come on!” I grumbled.
I
slammed my shoulder into the barrier, and it opened a few inches. A Corpse's
hand shot out and grabbed my sleeve.
“Crap!”
I gasped. I pulled the door and slammed it on its Corpse's wrist. On the sixth
or seventh slam, its bone snapped, and I fell back against the opposite wall. “Okay,
not that way.”
As
I searched for the elevator, I cursed a storm. Someone would check the dinging
doors. I'd be a fish in a barrel unless I pulled some ninja moves and I didn’t
have any ninja moves.
As
soon as I pressed the button, the door opened. A ding rang out, and my heart
caught in my throat.
“What
was that?” Santa shouted. “One y’all using the lift?”
I
darted inside and hit the ‘2’ button.
A
calming song played in the elevator, but my heart thundered for the short ride.
I drew both guns and held them out, sure an enemy
would be waiting.
The
doors opened, and I nearly pulled both triggers. An extremely cute girl with
blonde hair and green pigtails stood before me. Her long, bare legs ran up to a
pair of overalls, and down to cowboy boots. Other than that, she wore only a
small tube
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