Closed: Zombies for Christmas Part two

Prequel to Summit The Zombie Hunter Series

Coming to Hellfire Publishing in 2012

Prequel- Zombies for Christmas

First installment- New World Order, Coming soon

Second Installment- The World Must End, Coming soon

Zombies for Christmas

By Keira Kroft

Part 2

24 hours earlier...December 23^rd

“Raven Rebecca Ramón, please clean your room,” her mother instructed, half cleaning it herself.

“What?” Raven huffed. Did she just tell me to clean my room?

“You never pick up your clothes and we are having the entire family here tomorrow. And I don’t have time to pick up after you, while you go play at that medical center.” She would think the old woman was joking, since she was a resident at one of the leading hospitals in the country. But her mother never joked. Her father was very serious too, that probably came from what he had to go through to get out of the poverty of Mexico and come to the states. He always had his eye on Chicago, so when Raven was shopping around for medical schools, she was instructed that her father would pay for it as long as she stayed in Chicago for her entire career. Seemed like a fair deal at the time, but she really needed her own place.

“Mom, I am thirty-five years old and—”, she said, feeling proud as she noticed her numerous awards, from medical school on the wall.

“Aren’t you doctors supposed to be shiny, happy people?”

“I am Mom, but’s it’s Christmas time,” Raven huffed.

“Oh, not that old hat again.”

Her mother’s English was good, but old fashioned, like that of a ninety year old woman. “Old hat? It was last Christmas that my finance died in Iraq,” she snapped. “A brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, wasted. And you forget that the reason I am a doctor in the first place, is because my high school boyfriend died on my eighteenth Christmas from cancer. So yeah Mom, I get a little testy around the holidays.” She could feel her blood boiling. Her mother was always a cold unfeeling woman, but this was too much! Her mother needed to get the hell out of her room. Raven couldn’t take her nagging again. “Can’t you be proud of me…just once?”

“You boast enough about yourself, enough for ten people,” her mother said, face turning red with what Raven could only assume was anger.

“Estefania,” her father scolded from the doorway. “Raven, I am so proud of you and honored that you are my daughter.”

“Papi,” she clung to her father. “I love you,” she said looking up at him. Then she noticed a mole on his neck peeping under his collar. It was probably caused from the deep tan he used to get years ago when he was migrant worker. Since then, he started his own billion dollar corporation. The sun. Oh no. The sol as her papi called it does cause spots and moles, but it also causes Melanoma.

“Oh Luis, you know how ungrateful this girl can be, the most spoiled out of the three and the most ungrateful too,” her mother said wiping her hands on her apron.

Jealousy, she could see it her mother’s eyes. She begrudged her daughter trying to save the world.
“You know what Mom?” Raven smiled the biggest smile she could conjure up. She had to be convincing, if she was going to talk her mother into helping her. “I will clean my room. But I need your assistance with something, first.” Raven did her best to seem as easy going and sweet as possible, as to not alarm anyone.

“You need my help?” her mother smiled, as if they weren’t at each other throats less than a minute ago.

“Papi, can I talk to Mom alone for a moment?” Raven said calmly, her heart racing a mile a minute.

“If you promise not to kill each other,” He demanded, pressing a kiss to her head.

“I promise.” Raven made a sign of a cross on her chest.

As soon as he was out of sight Raven turned quickly toward her mother. “I need you to talk Papi into going to the hospital with me to get that mole checked out.”

“What? Why? It’s just a freckle.”

“I don’t think so.” Raven felt grim.

“But I’m telling you, if I learned one thing as an Oncologist is that the earlier you can catch something the better the chances to get rid of it and the less evasive the treatment too,” Raven explained.

“Here you go with your big doctor terms,” her mother scoffed.

“What big doctor terms?” She learned a long time ago not to use medical terms with her mother. Her father understood them because he studied with Raven every step of the way.

There was a soft wrap on the partially open door. At the site of her trouble making sister appearing in her doorway, Raven knew her chances of getting her mother to take her father to the hospital were now decreased from 50 percent to zero. Her sister Raquel always sided with and defended their mother. And the little wench actually hated their mother; she was in it for the money.

“Raquel!” Her mother squealed and placed her arms around Ravens sister, squeezing her tight. The bartender with fake blonde hair was the one she was proud of. Raven herself was pretty Americanized, but her mother and Raquel were downright ashamed of their Mexican heritage. There weren’t even allowed to speak Spanish around their mother. Raven and her brother Raphael learned Spanish from their papi, her sister didn’t know one word.

“Hey Raquel,” she hugged her sister, quickly. She needed to get down to business. “Raquel, I think we need to take Papi to the hospital.” Raven held her breath.

“What?” Raquel crinkled her nose as Raven noticed that her sister got yet another boob job, they were twice the size of last year. “Papi! What’s wrong with Papi? I just seen him downstairs and he was fine.”

“Raven, you don’t need to involve your sister in this.” Her mother scooped her arm around Raquel and walked away.

“Mom—”

“Auntie Raven,” the five year old bronze colored angel said, running into her room. “I brought you something.” She loved her brother Raphael’s daughter and his son too. But why was her room turning into a freakin freeway, when she needed a minute with her mother. Every one must have been starting to arrive for Christmas already.

“For me?” Raven fluttered her eyelashes.

“What is it?”

“You have to guess,” instructed little Estrella, with her arms folded behind her back.

“Hmmm, is it a Hershey’s chocolate bar?”

“Yeah, it’s just like the giant one we bought you for Christmas, only this one is way smaller.”

Raven loved that little girl, because she was so innocent and she had choc-late! She had no idea that she just told Raven what they bought her for Christmas.

“Ahhh, man, how did you know Auntie Raven?”

“Because I have a super power and I can sense Chocolate in the room.” Her laughing prompted the little girl too giggle.

“Thank you so much.” Raven said, hugging her niece tightly.

“Where is your daddy?” Raven thought maybe her brother Raphael could help with their mother.

Raven’s mother came back into her bedroom glaring at her.

“Go find your brother, Miguel and I will be there in a while to play with you.” Raven patted her niece lightly on the behind.

Estrella skipped out right past Raven’s mother. That kid has it right, just start ignoring her now. Raven thought, but would never say something like that to her mother. Raven opened her chocolate bar, snapping off a piece and put it her mouth. Oh, that’s so good. Raven sighed.

“You are not ruining our holiday with this nonsense of yours Raven. I won’t allow it.”

Raven new her mother meant it. “But mom, he needs to go to the doctor right away, he can’t wait until after the holidays,” she pleaded, as a very bad feeling settled in the pit of her churning stomach.

“He is my husband and I say that he can. And if you bother him, you will be kicked out and cut off.” Her face twisted in a scowl.

“You have always been a cold callous bitch and I am the one who is done. I hate you!” Raven was stunned by the words that flew out of her mouth. But that was it. She was finished with her mother. “I will be here for Christmas and then I am gone forever. But if this is my Papi’s last Christmas, I—”

Her mother raised her hand, slapping Raven across the cheek—hard.

That was it! Time to leave. Raven rewrapped her Hershey bar and walked out her room, down the long winding staircase and quickly to her father’s study. She never looked back at her mother.

“Papi, I need to talk to you,”

“Of course Mija, come in,” he said, placing down Catman, Raven's cat who had been sitting his lap. She could hear him purring all the way in the hall. It was clear that the cat loved Papi, too. He ran his hand down his neck until he felt it. “Right here, honey?” he asked, tugging on his collar.
She sat across from him. The feline rubbed across her legs, prompting her to pet under his chin. “Papi I noticed a mole on your neck.” Raven said, choking back the tears she'd been fighting since she first saw it.

“This old thing, I have had this for a couple of years.”

Oh god, her heart sank. If that was cancer, it very well, may be too late. “Papi, it would make me feel so much better if I could do some tests.”

“Of course. Do I have to go the hospital?” His eyes moistened and he fidgeted as if he was uncomfortable.

“No it’s okay I can take care of it, right here.” Not that she had a choice. Her mother was already going to be infuriated by Raven even mentioning it to him.

Her father took off his dress shirt, the t-shirt he had on underneath was perfect. She had a clear shot to his arm and neck. She quickly took a small sliver from his mole and drew some blood. When she had gathered her samples and labeled them, she needed to stop for just a minute to try easing her father’s fears, but she knew her mother would soon find them, so she had to go. “It’s going to be okay, Papi,” she said gently rubbing his arm. “I am just going to run these to the hospital and we should have results by the 26th.”

As Raven walked out the door, she exhaled sharply. He’s going to be okay. Isn’t he? He has to be…

*****

The thought of her mother getting her way at Christmas, really irked Raven. She walked over toward her, regret already eating at the lining of her stomach. “I have packed my things and brought them over to Bailey’s house, where I will stay until I can find a place of my own.”

Her infuriating mother just ignored her and walked away, as if Raven hadn’t said a thing.

Raven went into the next room, going over to the crystal whiskey bottle. She thought for sure her mother was going to say something as she poured the amber liquid into the rock glass. It was amazing how quickly that she forgot her mother wasn’t talking to her. Her mom nagged her entire life. But she was already feeling a disconnection and was already missing her mother’s incessant ragging. She looked over to see her mother, who was smiling as she spooned the cranberry sauce into the dish. Raven’s father delicately placed a piece of turkey in her mother’s mouth. “That’s so good.” Raven heard her say.

What am I doing? Raven thought, placing the drink down. Maybe she was too harsh on her mother. Although moving was probably a great idea, she needed to say that she was sorry. No way could she turn her back on her family. In spite of the many troubles she faced over the years with her mother, she loved her, she loved all of them.

Choking sounds where heard from the dining room and she swore she heard a scream.

Without hesitation Raven bolted toward the family dinner table to see what the commotion was, surely she could help. Her lips quivered, her knees gave way as her body cascaded to the floor. Her family was not only dead, but they seemed to be rotting. She shook her head. Surely this was all a dream. She found strength from somewhere and got up to feel her mom’s neck…nothing.

Raven went around the table checking everyone. “Estrella, thank God. You’re okay.” Her eyes were blood shot and her skin looked disgusting. Raven jumped, her hand clutching the rosary on her chest. She silently prayed. One by one, they all awoke, growling like hungry animals. Raven could see that something wasn’t right. Her heart ached, her hands shook, her lip still trembling, she wasn’t sure what she felt. Suddenly she sensed the heat of anger on her face; she thought her blood was going to boil. Why! Why would this happen, Oh god…the children! No, not my papi, not my brother, my niece and nephew. None of them. Not my family! Tears flooded from her eyes and her heart pounded.

She ripped the table cloth from the table letting the plate’s crash to the floor, the turkey rolled across the dining room. Her family fought each other and ravaged the turkey carcass. Ironically, it was almost like they usually were with each other. Raven was losing her mind, she took dish after dish and threw them at the wall, she screamed and thrashed. Nothing made her feel better, in fact she felt worse...scared and alone. The last thing I said to my mother is I hate you…

I hate you. She felt a hand on her shoulder; she saw her mother’s gigantic pear shaped wedding ring. “I love you Mom,” she whispered, and ran…

Tomorrow on Zombies for Christmas

Find out what happened to Raven, Bailey, Summit and a five year old Mia, who were last seen trapped by zombies with no way out. There only comfort—singing Christmas carols.

If you enjoyed this story you may like Keira Kroft’s other works
Glow in the Dark
http://www.decadentpublishing.com/
Bad Moon Rising Over Oz
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66466
Coming soon, Inamorata

Everyone that comments will get a free download (of their choice) of Bad Moon Rising Over Oz the horror take on the classic tale, Wizard of Oz and one lucky commenter will also win a free EBook of the smok’in hot romantic suspense novel, Glow in the Dark.