Tommy tries to get her breathing under control as she hides from the two men chasing after her. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to her that they did to the man she witnessed being murdered and tried to help. The thing was, the person murdered was a federal agent working undercover for some law enforcement group. She didn’t know which branch, but she had seen him meeting with someone else.

She had been hiding in the alleyway behind a dumpster, trying to stay warm and hidden. She was woken up by two people talking. There had actually been three people, but the second one had stood quietly by while the first guy talked with the woman in front of them.

She had stayed hidden and listened to their conversation, but couldn’t hear much. It sounded like the first guy was getting upset by what he was hearing from the woman. The next thing she saw was the second guy shooting the woman and searching her afterward as she dropped to the ground.

The first guy kept lookout, while the other person searched the woman and found nothing. She heard some cursing and then the two men walking away from the body. She knew she should call the police, but her cellphone was low on power, and she had no way to charge it. She waited a few minutes before quietly moving over to the woman to see if she was still alive, but discovered that the woman wasn’t a woman at all but a man disguised as one.

The woman opened her eyes and looked at her. The woman pressed a cellphone and a key into her hand and told her the code was 2262. After that, the woman let out her last breath and died right in front of her.

One of the men had spotted her near the woman and yelled at her. That’s when Tommy decided to run as fast as she could, with the men chasing after her. She knew these streets and took them on a merry chase.

Now she was hiding behind a stack of pallets, watching as the two men searched for her. She kept very quiet and didn’t move. She continued watching the men until they gave up searching for her. The guy who shot the woman was frustrated as he kicked a nearby trash can and cursed.

Tommy watched as the second guy looked at the first guy and said something in a language she didn’t know. She continued to look at the two men until they left. She waited an hour and a half before she came out of her hiding spot.

Tommy looked down at the cellphone, which had the woman’s blood covering it, and the bloody key in her palm. She didn’t know what she should do with either item. She slipped them into the inner pocket of the sweatshirt she was wearing under the oversized army jacket. Her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten anything for the past two days.

Tommy pulled the wool hat down further, covering her curly brown hair. She knew the bakery she liked going to was only six blocks from her current location. She still had a few dollars from the money she managed to beg for two days ago in her pocket. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to buy a loaf of bread from the bakery and a cup of coffee from the same place.

Tommy steels herself as she walks into the wind from the alleyway she hid in. She blends in with all the other people as she makes her way to the bakery. Getting to the bakery was a little difficult, but she managed. She waves to Tiffany as she walks into the store. She stands in line to be helped.

Gail looked at Tommy as she approached the counter. She knew the poor girl was a runaway and was living on the streets. She didn’t know why the girl preferred to live on the street, but she figured it had to be something serious.

“Well, good morning, Tommy. What can I get for you today?” Gail had a soft spot for homeless people.

“Do you have any bread left over from yesterday or burnt, Gail?” Tommy watched Gail’s face as she stood on the other side of the counter.

“I think I have a loaf or two. Would you like them and a cup of coffee?” Gail knew Tommy drank coffee with sugar added.

“Yes, ma’am. I can pay for them.” Tommy pulled a crumpled five-dollar bill from an inner pocket of the jacket.

She handed it to Gail.

Gail accepted the five-dollar bill and rang up the order. She went to get the two loaves of bread and a large cup of coffee in a travel cup for Tommy. She handed the items to Tommy.

“Here you go, Tommy. Be careful with the coffee.” Gail carefully handed the coffee cup to Tommy.

Tommy took them and sipped the coffee. It was hot, and it warmed her insides. She looked back at Gail. “Thank you, Gail.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Now be careful outside today. It’s supposed to start snowing soon.” Gail hoped Tommy had somewhere warm to stay.

“I will, Gail, and thanks again.” Tommy turns and walks back outside.

She heads to the public library and sneaks in with her coffee and bread. At least for a few hours, she could warm up from the cold weather.
Tommy finds a quiet spot where she can eat in private and charge her cellphone. She looks at the charging port on the phone she was given and notices the port is different from the one she used.

Tommy plugs her cellphone into the computer to charge it while she searches the web. She goes to the Yahoo channel and watches several music videos from bands she likes. She has always loved music and couldn’t believe her stepmother sold her electric guitar. It had been the last gift her father gave her before he died.

Her stepmother didn’t waste any time before she started spending the inheritance money her father left her. The thing was, the majority of his money had been left to her, but she couldn’t touch it until she turned twenty-one years old. Should something happen to her, the money would automatically go to her stepmother and stepbrother, who were older than her.

She listened to music from some of her favorite bands while carefully eating half a loaf of bread and drinking her coffee. She saw an ad that the Zombie Girls were coming to her town in a few days. She wondered what it would be like to be in a band and play music all the time.

Tommy rinses and dries the coffee cup before putting it in the tattered backpack she carries. She spends the day in the back of the library watching music videos and reading news articles. Her father always told her to read the newspaper and online news articles to keep up with current events.

Zombie Girls Tour Bus:
Zane was enjoying a fresh cup of coffee and sitting in one of their custom-made T-shirts and a pair of black lace panties. Her pale-colored skin was milky white and looked like she hadn’t had any sun in ages. She was enjoying the sweet taste of her dark-roasted coffee mixed with French vanilla creamer.

She was still wasted from the after-hours party they attended. She took a sip from her custom coffee mug and enjoyed the coffee as it traveled down her throat.

“I’m surprised you’re up, Zane.” Beverly, aka Tarot, poured herself a mug of black coffee and added brown sugar to sweeten it. She was still wearing her blood-red pajamas and had bed hair. She sat down on the recliner of the sectional their tour bus was equipped with.

Zane looked over at the strawberry-haired woman sitting a few feet away. Her head was still pounding, and her stomach was upset. “My body wouldn’t let me sleep anymore. It’s paying me back for that party we went to last night.”

“Well, you did hit the drinks rather hard last night.” Beverly knew Zane liked to drink, especially if the drinks were free.

“I couldn’t help myself. They had an open bar last night.” Zane never turned down an open bar.

“What happened to your New Year's resolution of giving up drinking?” Beverly knew how hard it was to keep promises made on New Year’s Eve.

“Hey, I’ll try a little harder. At least I didn’t let some of the men use me like a sex toy.” Zane had seen Juniper, aka Bloody Mary, disappear with two guys upstairs to have some fun. Both of them knew Juniper had been on a six-month sex free life style. Ever since she found out her last boyfriend was seeing three other women while she was out on the road.

“Well, I hope she satisfied her libido, because we have a bunch of venues to perform at.” Zane, aka Madam Widow, knew they had a bunch of performances lined up. She hated performing during the winter months and would be glad when they headed south to play.

“What are you two ghouls talking about this early in the morning?” Olivia, aka Lady Death, looked at her other two bandmates, wondering why they were up. She had long, pure white hair and porcelain skin. Her lips were ruby red, and she had a busty chest. Her eyes were the color of glacier ice.

None of them normally got up this early unless they were performing. They were all children of the night, like their namesakes. It was how they based their band's theme on being creatures of the night.

“Our bodies wouldn’t let us sleep any longer, Olivia.” Zane looked at her best friend since childhood. Every member on the tour bus had served in the military, but in different branches.

“Well, I’m not surprised that after all the drinks you downed and all the marijuana you smoked last night, Beverly.” Olivia looked over towards Beverly when she said that.

“Hey, how was I supposed to know the doobie they were passing around last night was laced?” Beverly loved smoking pot, but she knew when to draw the line.

“You should have tasted it from your first hit, cousin.” Olivia knew her cousin was a talented musician, but could be an airhead at times.

“Her taste buds are dead.” Raven came walking into the common area after stopping to pour herself a mug of coffee. There was enough left for Juniper if she ever got up.

Unlike the other women in the band, Raven had a warm, golden-olive complexion, with average-sized breasts and brown eyes. Her hair was pitch black with purple highlights. Juniper and Olivia were the only band members with busty chests. Zane, Beverly, and Raven all had normal-sized chests, ranging from a B cup to a D cup. Juniper and Olivia wore bigger bras. Olivia was the biggest between the two women.

Their bus driver was named Adam “Lurch” Jones after the butler from The Addams Family. He was a former truck driver and a US Marine. His assistant driver was named Jennifer “Chyna” Hawkstorm, after the famous WWE wrestler.

She was a former female weightlifting contestant and later became a bodyguard. She also drove track trailers for J.B. Hunt for 10 years.

“You ladies are just too loud for me to continue sleeping.” Chyna came walking towards everyone from the bunk area. She was wearing pink silk shorts and a light pink tank top shirt with Hulk Hogan’s face on it.

She poured the last of the coffee into her own mug and made some more coffee for Juniper if she ever woke up. Their manager/road manager Kevin Godfrey and producer/sound technician Thomas “Skat Cat” O’Malley were still asleep. They had been up until the wee hours, making sure everything was packed properly.

The girls knew they wouldn’t see them until around noon. Chyna walked over and flopped down next to Zane on the sofa. She knew Zane didn’t care, because Zane liked strong women like herself.

“How much longer are we going to be on the road, Chyna?” Olivia looked at their secondary driver.

“We’ll be stopping in a few hours to grab some lunch at a restaurant. Normally, you ladies are sound asleep around this time. But since you ladies are up, we might as well stop for lunch.” Chyna knew each of the ladies was a nighttime person. It was unusual for them to be up before noon.

“And where to after that?” Raven was curious, as she sipped her coffee.

“You better check with Kevin when he wakes up. I think you have a show in two days at a place called The Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim
Thorpe, Pennsylvania, but don’t quote me on that.” Chyna knew they had several stops, but wasn’t sure where. Only Lurch knew the whole schedule.

By noon, the tour bus pulled into an IHop for lunch. The ladies would have preferred a healthier place, but they didn’t mind IHOP. It also had a large parking lot for the tour buses. Their equipment trucks were several hours behind them.