Page 56 of Zombie

Over the next hour, all of the shipments arrived and buyers began filtering in. I met their beady eyes as they took their seats.

One large man especially caught my attention. Steven Bysworth. He was one of the top buyers from Ricci and was known for his prostitution of women and children. The pedophile was on the top of my kill list tonight. Too many lives had been affected by him, and I wouldn’t let him hurt anyone else.

He walked up to me with his belly sticking out of the bottom of his dress shirt. His clothes were too tight, and he smelled of cheap cologne.

“Dante, how good to see you in the flesh,” he said, holding out his hand for me to shake as if we were old friends.

I shook his hand. “Nice to see you, Steven. It will be quite the show tonight.”

He gave me a sinister smile. “Glad to hear it. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us.”

I walked away with my heart beating faster than it had ever before. Within minutes, everyone was seated, ready to listen to what I had to say. It was time for the end to begin.

FORTY-FOUR

ZOMBIE

I stood in the middle of the room and took a breath before welcoming everyone. “Tonight is a special night. Tonight is a buy one, get one deal to the highest bidder.”

The buyers whispered excitedly amongst themselves as if I were giving them a special treat.

“First things first, you all know the drill; weapons need to be placed in the center of the room.”

Begrudgingly, each buyer followed my instruction, falling for my trap. Step one was complete. Once everyone was back in their chairs, I looked at the organization's men and ordered them to line the far wall.

Sarah sat next to me, looking bored. She wasn’t expecting my next words.

“I would like to start the evening with something special. As you all know, my sister here has run this organization since our father passed. But now she wants to learn the other side of the business.” I paused and glanced over at Sarah, who looked back with confusion. “The first item for purchase is none other than Sarah Myers.”

I placed a strong hand on her shoulder, gripping a piece of flesh that still hadn’t healed completely.

Sarah let out a nervous laugh. “He’s joking.”

I shook my head and gave her a cruel smile. “Oh no, sis, this is no joke.”

The smile wiped off her face, replaced with horror as she realized she was about to experience what so many of her victims had.

I turned my gaze back to the buyers. “We will start the bidding at half a million dollars.”

Steven’s hand shot up.

“Do I have one million?” I called.

Another man named Renaldo raised his hand.

Just as I went to speak again, a familiar voice boomed out as the front doors burst open.

“Twenty million dollars!”

FORTY-FIVE

ZOMBIE

Buddha walked toward me with a sinister smirk on his face and his gun pointing into the room. Behind him, Badger, Phantom, Monte, and Chief walked in with their guns drawn, flanked by Kaden, Machine, Bohdi, and some other men I didn’t recognize.

Chief looked at me with a knowing grin. It was as if he had known that I would be here trying to take down the organization by myself.

Everyone got into formation, effectively blocking off the only exit.