Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi Page B

I’d never have missed that.”
    Chase shot the ball into the net with ease. “I’ve been practicing,” he said. “Not much else to do once the chores are done.” He dribbled twice, then passed. She took another shot. This one went in.
    She cheered, feeling a moment of happiness. Chase gave her a high five, then chased the ball, which was rolling away from them and into the greenhouse. She watched him go, a flush warming her cheeks. Damn, he looked good in those leather pants. And it was nice to feel normal, to think about how things might have been, if only for a few minutes.
    What would have happened if she had left with Chris and the gang instead of going into the shelter? It was something she’d thought about every night before going to bed for the last four years. Would they still be together, in love? Would they both have survived? Trey and Chris had left with a bunch of other students from school, but Peyton hadn’t seen any of the others here. Had they all died except for the two of them?
    Chase returned with the ball, checked it to her. She bounced it back. He dribbled toward the hoop. She stayed in front of him, anticipating his path. He stopped just under the backboard, lifted his hands to shoot. She knocked the ball from his grip, sending it bouncing away.
    “I’m starting to remember,” she said.
    “Guess I should stop taking it easy on you then.”
    They played for probably a good half hour, the lead always changing. Chase’s jump shot had really improved, Peyton noticed, and she was impressed that he played well, though there was little light. Throughout the game, they traded verbal jabs. For a brief period there was no apocalypse, no betrayal; they were just two friends playing one-on-one.
    Until they heard the scream.
    Peyton and Chase looked at one another. Chase’s face was white as a ghost under the sheen of sweat. Peyton was sure she looked similar. He dropped the ball and started toward the door. “Come on,” he said.
    Peyton didn’t need a second invitation.
     
    *
     
    Chase darted down the aisle, not looking back to see if Peyton was following. His heart pounded and adrenaline pulsed through his veins. On the way through the Sporting Goods section he used his flashlight to find a golf club—not exactly the perfect weapon, but it was the best thing in reach.
    Another scream. Oh God, what was happening?
    He could feel Peyton behind him, her footsteps echoing his. They swung around a corner and burst into the Toys section. What once had been an oasis of children’s laughter and games was now a horror show. The lights were tipped over. Toys were strewn everywhere. The children were all running and screaming.
    At first Chase couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. Then his eyes fell upon the problem: Spud. Or, more accurately, what had once been Spud.
    The boy before them was no longer his goofy friend who tended the community garden and liked to hide cans of SPAM in the women’s lingerie section of the store. In Spud’s place stood a horrifying monster with red eyes, razor-sharp teeth and bleeding, pus-filled sores. His clothing was shredded—it must have torn in the metamorphosis—and only scraps still clung to his body. A Rolex dangled from his wrist—the one Spud and Chase had stolen from Neiman Marcus one day when they were bored. The last remaining shred of who he once was. But Spud was one of them now. An Other. And somehow he’d gotten out of his cage. The cage Chase was supposed to be guarding instead of playing basketball with Peyton.
    There was only a moment to hesitate, to mourn the loss of yet another friend, because Chase knew what was coming next, what had already begun. His friend was now a destroyer and needed to be put down. There was no alternative.
    He sprang into action, swinging his golf club at the creature with as much force as he could muster. The nine iron struck Spud’s head with a sickening thud, sending the zombie sprawling. But that wasn’t