Free The ZWD Trilogy (Book 1): Zombie World Dominance [The Destruction Begins] by L.D. King Page A

block over, so it is not too far out of
the way. They keep most of their goods locked, so this should only be a one-time
thing. Their booth is at the end of the row, quite a way from ours.”
    “Sure,
we know them,” said Gumercindo. “Let’s get going, then, because we also need to
pick up your ice before we go to the pier. I want everyone to keep watch to see
if there is anything that doesn’t look right.”
    Both
families lived in the Santa Teresa section of Mazatlan, east of the downtown area.
Gumercindo drove around the block to pick up the Huertas. As they got close to
their house, Gumercindo was the first to notice that something did not look
right. He told the others, “Everyone stay in the truck. I will go to the door
and get them. Esperana, will you move into the driver’s seat? Keep the engine
running in case we need to get out of here quickly, please.”
    Gumercindo
walked up to the front door, but it was standing wide open. He shouted for the
Huertas to come out, but there was no answer.
    He
stepped into the house and immediately saw Miguel’s wife lying dead on the
floor in the front room. Their daughter was dead as well, lying in the hallway.
Their bodies had been ripped to shreds. There was blood everywhere. Gumercindo
quickly turned and ran back to the truck, shouting, “Esperana! Move over! We
need to get out of here now! Something terrible has happened!”
    He leapt
into the truck, slammed it into gear, and screeched out of the driveway.
    “What’s
wrong? Why are you driving so fast? What is it? Talk to me!” Esperana shouted.
    “Yvonne
and the girl are lying dead in there! Their bodies have been torn to pieces!
There was blood everywhere. I didn’t see Miguel, but everything in the house
was torn up. This has to be something to do with the screams we heard last
night!”
    Gumercindo
was driving as fast as he could. His hands were shaking and he had broken out
in a hard sweat. Esperana had her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him
down. They stopped to pick up ice, but the plant was closed. There was no note explaining
why or when they would be back.
    Now all
Gumercindo wanted was get to the gate at the military base at Playa Sur. The
military controlled all access to the pier. At the far end of the pier where
the cruise ships docked, the tourists either had to take a long walk into the
city or take one of the cabs that lined up outside the gate. The walk to the
gate took them right past all the families’ booths . That took them right
past all of the families’ booths. When they approached the guard gate, Gumercindo
noticed that there were only two guards on duty. Normally there were five or
six, especially when a cruise ship was expected.
    One of
the two guards was a man Gumercindo knew, so he let them all pass without
stopping them.
    It was
nearly time for the ship to arrive, yet many of the booths were still closed. Normally
any time a cruise ship was due in, the booth operators would be there, ready
for the tourists’ arrival. Today many of the booths were still locked up tight.
with no one around.
    The
pier was on a large peninsula that extended into the Pacific Ocean from the
mainland. The Ortegas and Castillos had booths next to each other, two of a
long line of booths. The first few booths, including theirs, were shaded from
the morning sun by an abandoned warehouse, which gave them cool shade to sit in
during the morning.
    As the
two families finished setting up their booths, they could see the cruise ship
entering the harbor. It was being guided in to the dock with the help of the
harbor’s tugboats. Once the ship was properly docked, it would take an hour or so
before the tourists would start coming down to the pier.
    At the
rear of the ship, the crew was unloading garbage. The ship also took on water,
fuel, and any other supplies for which they had contracted.
    As the
tourists began to disembark, the children tended the two booths. Children were
a better draw for the