Z Island Series (Book 2): War After Z Island

by Osborne, Terrence Jr.

  Everyone stopped and looked at David with shock. David was breathing heavily, but he immediately looked at Sam, “Sam, I-”

  “No excuses David! You did this!” Jason interrupted.

  “Sam, how do you feel now that one of your best surviving buddies turned out to be a lying, no-good, bad guy?”

  “He didn’t kill anyone. He was going to, but he didn’t. He’s not a weak fuck who kills people with zombies.”

  Jason nodded his head, “Well, good thing I’m here.”

  Jason gripped his knife and forced it into David’s stomach and sliced it up to his chest. Jess and Faith cried, but Sam was yelling loudly to stop the pain from overcoming him. He watched David’s eyes roll to the back of his head and shake in the chair as his intestines slid onto the ground around him. Jason pulled the knife out and rubbed the blood on David’s leg. Dexter looked away and Steven just stared. Jason was intimidated by Steven and walked up to him.

  “You’re not afraid?”

  Steven leaned closer, “No!”

  Jason chuckled and walked away, but he grabbed the bottle again, “Round Three!”

  “Wait! Just take me. Just let them go!”

  “Wow, that’s actually a good offer, but I’ll have to pass. See, you still don’t get it Sam! I want all of you dead.”

  He spun the bottle again, but everyone was crying and staring at David’s body. It drilled a reminder in their brains that anything can happen at any time.

  “Stop! Please, stop!” Faith yelled.

  “Oh, the moment of truth!” Jason laughed.

  The bottle swung in front of each person and Sam knew it wasn’t him. He was about to witness another death. Faith, Jess, Dexter, and Steven. The tension in the room built as the bottle slowed down, but Sam closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see anything that was about to happen. The bottle suddenly stopped and Sam heard screams and crying from everyone, in which he was forced to open his eyes to the horrific sight.

  “Jess!” Sam yelled.

  “Please.” Jess cried.

  “Oh, no! Not the queen of the group! Well, this is going to be heartbreaking.”

  Jess looked at Sam and for a second, it seemed as if no one was in the room and their heartbeats intertwined. Sam saw how scared she was, but he didn’t want her to worry.

  “I love you.” Sam cried.

  “I love you too.”

  Jason creeped behind her and pointed his knife in front of her, “It’s okay Jess. Just forget about everything.”

  Jason lifted his knife and Sam looked away, but the door in front of them blew open and a couple of men came in and started shooting Jason’s men. Jason watched as his men dropped one by one, but he started running to the back of the room while Drew managed to sneak past them unnoticed.

  He opened the door and pulled out his radio, “Kill them!”

  Sam looked at all the men run inside, but he suddenly noticed that the men coming in was from his group. Eddy walked in and gasped at the sight.

  “Oh, my God!”

  “Eddy. Hurry up and get us out of here!” Sam shouted.

  Eddy ran up to one of the men and hit him while another man stabbed him in the neck. The man gagged on his own blood, but Eddy pushed him away. Dexter saw how frightened Eddy was to kill someone and it scared him. More than he anticipated.

  “What happened?” Eddy asked.

  “They captured us. Jason killed David.”

  Eddy finished untying Jess and the other men rushed to untie Sam and the others. Sam fell to the ground and rubbed his wrists, but he instantly jumped up and ran to Jess. He hugged her tight and kissed her, something he never thought he’d be able to do again.

  “I’m so glad you’re alive.” Sam whispered.

  “Me too.”

  Dexter stood up and walked up to Eddy, “I told you to stay at the community!”

  “But you’re glad I didn’t, right?”

  Dexter hugged him, “Of course.”

  Sam grabbed a gun from one of Jason’s men and walked up to Eddy, “Get everyone back to the camp. Protect them.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “Now!”

  Sam ran to the back of the room, but Jess shouted for him, “What are you doing?”

  “Jess, I have to do this! It’s the only way.”

  Sam kissed her and looked into her eyes, “Whatever happens, I will always remember you. Promise me you’ll fight.”

  Jess struggled to speak, but she finally noticed what needed to be done, “I promise.”

  Sam ran out of the room and Jess rushed back to the group and grabbed a gun.

  “So, what do we do?” Jess asked.

  “Now we get out of here before-”

  The sound of zombies approaching sent chills down everyone’s spines. Jason had a plan in case it went south and they were all aware of it.

  “That.” Eddy continued.

  Sam walked into an empty room and pointed the gun around. He didn’t know where Jason was, but he knew he had to be around and close. He didn’t take Jason as one of the running types. The unfinished build of the floor was confusing. Plastic wrapping floating around metal poles in the room. Suddenly, he hears noises coming from every angle around him. There was nothing around. Just…the sound of wind. The other half of the building opened to the world and the sun gazed inside, blinding Sam's eyes and leaving him vulnerable. He turns around quickly to figure out where the sound is coming from, but he doesn’t look fast enough before Jason tackles him to the ground. Sam points the gun at Jason, but he slaps it out of his hand. Sam grabs Jason around his neck and chokes him, but Jason punches Sam in the face multiple times, causing Sam to let go. They both stood up, but zombies burst into the room.

  “Well, this just got more interesting.” Jason smiles.

  Jess and the others ran down to the first floor, but zombies surrounded them. Runners ran ahead of them, but Eddy opened fire on all of them. They all shot at the zombies, but one of them didn’t see the zombie crawling up the ceiling. As one of the men spotted it, he tried to warn the people, but he screamed too late.

  “Crawler!”

  The zombie hopped on top of him and began clawing his chest open. Jess and the others screamed, but Dexter shot its head multiple times. The man was nearly dead, but alive enough to feel the pain.

  “We have to go!” Eddy yelled.

  Zombies kept pouring in and Eddy pushed everyone back and went out of the back of the building. Eddy shot the glass and walked outside. As soon as they ran outside, Eddy looked around for a way out, but Jess was nervous. The others tried barricading the opening, but the zombies were closing in too fast.

  “There's too many of them! We have to go now!”

  Everyone ran out with him, but Jess paused and thought about Sam. Faith noticed Jess’s stillness and ran up to her. Jess wasn’t here. Her mind had drifted away and brought tears to her face. Jess knows Faith is there, but for some reason, she can’t respond. She knew if she left, it would mean that Sam would die. Faith slapped Jess and got her attention.

  “Jess! Come on!” Faith yelled.

  “I’m not leaving!”

  Jess grabbed her gun and shot most of the zombies behind them while Jason's men ran in the opposite direction. They all were surrounded by the zombies and there was only one way to make it: fight.

  Sam kicked Jason in the groin and caused him to stumble near the zombies, but he stabbed one of them in the head and pushed it against the others. More and more zombies came into the room and Sam and Jason fought away from them. Jason cut Sam's arm and punched him to the ground. One zombie leaped on Sam while Jason killed some of them. Sam struggled to push the zombie off him, but as Jason was getting ready to stab him, Sam moved the zombie in the way and Jason killed it instead. Sam watched the knife appear in between the zombie's eyes and slide out. Sam pushed the zombie out of the way and dodged Jason's knife yet again, only to be encountered by another zombie. Sam jumped up and grabbed the zombie's head. He pushed his th
umbs into its eye sockets and dragged it around. The zombie still tried to bite him, but he was able to throw the zombie against Jason and watch the both of them fall. Sam ran for the gun and grabbed it. When he turned around, there were only a few zombies left and Sam finished them off. Jason stood up and Sam pointed the gun at him.

  “Go ahead. You know you want to!” Jason laughed.

  Sam pulled the trigger, but there were no more bullets left. Sam gasps and looks at Jason. Jason picked up his knife and smiled.

  “Ready?”

  Sam grabbed the front of the gun and held it in his hand. Jason laughed and charged after him. Jason swung his knife, but Sam dodged it and hit Jason in the back of the head with the gun. Jason fell at the edge of the building, but Sam suddenly had an idea. Jason turned around, but Sam gave him no time to recover and ran after him. Grabbing him and breaking the glass, Sam and Jason fell out of the building, and fell on the top of a tall vehicle. Sam rolled off the top of the vehicle while Jason laid on the ground unconscious. Jess and Eddy watched as it happened and Jess screamed. She killed the zombies in her way and ran towards Sam, but when she got there, her heart dropped. Sam was bleeding from his stomach where Jason’s knife had pierced his skin. He struggled to move, so he began crawling away from the zombies. He gripped the knife and snatched it out of his stomach, gasping for air then falling to the ground.

  “Sam!” Jess screamed.

  Many zombies were in front of them, but Jess didn’t care. She kept killing them to get to him along with the others. Sam struggled to breathe, but managed to stop Jess.

  “Stop!” he yelled, “go back!”

  Jess kept fighting to get to him, but Sam sat up, “Jess! Stop!”

  “No!”

  Faith grabbed Jess and pulled her back around one of the vehicles, “Jess. We won’t make it.”

  “If we fight back, we can save him!”

  “That’s if the zombies don’t get him first.”

  “I have to try!”

  Dexter ran up to Eddy, “Me and the others are going to head for the community. We have to go.”

  “I have to help Sam!”

  “Eddy! Look around. He’s gone!”

  “No. Unless I see him actually dead, I’m fighting!”

  Sam laid on the ground and stared. He saw the zombies closing in on him and Jason walk in front of him. He was limping and bleeding from the head. He laughed over Sam as he grabbed his knife.

  “Sad to see you go. I’ll let the zombies finish you off.”

  “Fuck…you!” Sam weakly grunted.

  A gunshot sounded and Jason flew back. The bullet grazed his head and he screamed with pain. Drew grabbed him and led him away from the zombies while Sam continued to bleed out.

  “Sam! Keep breathing! I’m coming!” Jess yelled.

  Zombies got closer and Sam looked at Jess through them. She saw his eyes and knew it was too late. Jess backed away and noticed how many zombies were surrounding them. Eddy and Faith kept killing the zombies, but Jess finally listened. Sam took his ring off and threw it at Jess. Jess watched the bloody ring bounce near her and roll in front of her. She grabbed it and cried as she debated whether to save him.

  “We have to go! It’s too late!”

  Faith and Eddy killed a few more zombies, but listened to Jess and backed away. Jess cried and ran away, but she quickly turned around and looked at Sam.

  “I’m so sorry.” Jess cried.

  Sam smiled when he saw them run away because he knew then that they were going to be safe. As the zombies grew closer, he just stared into the sky and cried softly. He knew his end was coming, but he couldn’t think about what was coming. Suddenly, he stared into the sun’s glare and noticed someone blocking the glare. His eyes grew wide and he smiled.

  “Mom.”

  Tina appeared in a perfect appearance. She was glowing. Beautiful. Along with Tina, others appeared. Sarah, Dylan, Trey, Matthew, and a smaller shadow: his son. Sam cried and laughed when they all stood over him, smiling and reaching their hands out for him. Sam smiled and drew his bloody hands in front of them as the zombies surrounded him.

  “I’m coming home.”

  Jess kept running as she listened to Sam screaming with pain and she instantly started crying. She slowed down and dropped to the ground weakly. Faith stopped and picked her up, but Eddy noticed many zombies following them. A runner emerged from the pack and headed straight for them, but Eddy ran in front of it and stabbed it in the head. The zombies were getting closer and Jess didn’t get up.

  “Eddy, help me!” Faith yelled.

  Eddy picked her up and began running. A truck drove in front of them, but when the door opened, Eddy smiled with hope.

  “Get in!” Dexter yelled.

  Eddy placed Jess in the back seat and ran in the front. Dexter drove away while the zombies continued to follow behind them.

  “Where’s Sam?”

  “Just drive.” Eddy replied.

  Dexter sighed quietly and kept driving while Faith held Jess in her arms as Jess continued to cry. Steven felt bad for everyone, but thought of his own people he’s lost too. Eddy looked behind his shoulder and listened to the amount of grief that filled the back seat. Faith couldn’t hold back either. Eddy and Dexter didn’t understand how much it hurt them, but they had a feeling. Knowing Sam for a long as he had, Eddy felt a connection between the two. It was almost as if Sam was another brother that protected him. Now that Sam’s gone, who was going to take his place?

  Eric was walking around his camp, looking at the panic that surrounded him. Everyone was on edge and Eric was upset. He looked at the men Jess killed and frowned harder than he ever did.

  “Sam!” Eric mumbled under his breath.

  “There’s someone coming!”

  Two men ran to each post and looked though their rifles to see Dexter in the driver's seat. They put their guns away and proceeded down their posts.

  “It’s one of us. It’s Dexter.”

  They opened the gate and Dexter drove in quickly and stopped in the middle of the community. As they all exited the vehicle, Eric approached them angrily and pulled out his knife. One of the civilians saw him and jumped in front of Eric.

  “What are you doing?”

  “These assholes ruined my community!” Eric screamed as he swung his knife in front of them, but the civilian kept him back.

  “Where’s Sam?” Eric asked.

  Jess just looked away and ignored his question.

  “So, he’s dead. That’s what he gets for bringing these people towards us. We didn’t ask for any of this!”

  Jess ran up to Eric and punched him in the face. As he fell, Jess kept charging after him, but Faith managed to hold her back.

  “Jess, don’t do this now! He’s not worth it!”

  “I don’t care! This motherfucker wants to keep running his mouth, so come on Eric! Keep talking! I’m going to kill you if you ever talk about Sam again!”

  Eric stood up and wiped his mouth, “So now that’s all on the table…I want you to leave. All of you!”

  The community stared and murmured to themselves about what he just said, but most of them begged to differ.

  “They saved us!” one woman yelled.

  “They brought danger to us! How is that saving us? If you feel that way, then you go with them. I oversee this damn community and I will not stand for-”

  Maria slapped Eric looked up at him. Everyone was in shock, but Jess was thankful. Maria was one to never do anything so drastic, but as they could tell, she was sick and tired of him also.

  “Nobody's going nowhere. You helped us, now we’re going to help you.”

  Maria extended her arms to Jess as she hugged her tightly and let her cry in her arms. Maria rocked a little and patted her head while everyone stood around them and others went back to doing something else. Maria understood her pain in a way that they never thought she would. Eric frowns and walks away.

  “Jess.” Maria lifts her head up, “
It’s not the end of the world. Sam may be gone, but that doesn’t mean you can give up. The rest of the group needs you. This community needs you. Don’t give up on us. Follow him to the house. I’ll talk to him later.”