The Z-Strain Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3]

by Morris, SJ

  It was my turn to be dumbfounded. “She what? How is that possible. I thought she was going to die in my arms earlier. She had a bullet wound to the gut and the shoulder...”

  “I guess they weren’t as bad as you thought they were.”

  The question and answer session was interrupted by screams toward the front main gate. I instantly broke into a run after the noise. It sounded like more of the super-infected.

  I quickly climbed one of the platforms around the giant iron gate, and the smell that hit me was immensely overpowering. If I had eaten anything in the last few hours, it would be splashing all over my boots right about now. Even then, I was about to lose what little contents I had in my gut. The rancid stench from the moat of dark liquified remains was disgustingly pungent.

  Down the end of the driveway, I could see a pack of thirty or so undead. Some were the super-infected that stood still and watched me watching them. Some were the slower kind with their tattered and stained clothes. The blank look on their shredded and unrecognizable faces twisted as decay pulled what was left of their lips up and over their teeth, making them look like they were snarling while they shuffled towards us.

  One of the super-infected let out an ear-piercing scream, and before it could rally anymore of its troops, I raised my rifle and shot it between the eyes. One of the other super-infected looked down at its fallen comrade and let out a scream of its own before it turned and bolted into the trees.

  More shrieks rang out all around us.

  “What’s going on? What is that noise?” Tyler asked from below me.

  “That’s the cry of the super-infected, son. I think we’re about to have more company.” I replied, looking down at the faces below me.

  Benning looked around and shook his head. “No matter how badly I want to kill these undead fuckers, I don’t think we’re in any shape to take on another herd if that’s what is coming, sir.”

  I looked back over the wall, and I saw them. There were hundreds of zombies headed directly for us. The wooded drive was crowded with the walking corpses. Almost as one, they let out a collective moan and reached their decaying hands towards me. Mouths opening and closing, gnawing with the hiss of air being sucked into lifeless lungs.

  “Everyone, get inside now!” I yelled as I jumped down from the ladder. “There’s too many of them for us to take on.”

  Chapter 26

  Abbigail Norrington

  I had just put Ella and Kasey down after feeding them when there was a massive commotion in the hall. I ran to see what it was, and Chris practically bowled me over. He and the others were storming down the hallway with worried looks on their faces.

  “What the hell is going on?” I asked Chris as he grabbed me and pulled me into a huge hug.

  “There was a massive herd swarming the gates when we landed. We took care of it, but now we don’t have any serum left, and there’s another herd on the way. By the way, how the hell are you standing here talking to me right now? You were on death’s door an hour ago,” he said, pushing me to arm’s length, looking me over.

  “It seems the Antivirus 1015 not only made me invisible to some of the infected, but it also made my body develop super-fast healing, and I seem to have a bit more strength as well, but that’s a long story for another day. How close is the herd?”

  “It’s almost right on top of us, and the exterior fence is down from the first undead bombardment. Now the only thing protecting us is the concrete wall, and the first herd piled up so high they breached it and got inside. Chuck... Chuck is...”

  I felt the tears burning in my eyes. “No, don’t say it. Not him, he was such a good, kind-hearted man. Please tell me Chuck isn’t one of them, is he?”

  Chris bowed his head before burying his face in my neck and hugging me again. “No, I took care of it.”

  Kamil grabbed my elbow. “Ugh, I hate to break up the love fest guys, but we’ve got a serious problem. We’ve got to get out of here now, or we’re going to end up trapped down here, and when the super-infected figure out how to get in, we’re all dead.”

  “The super-infected? What the hell are you talking about, Kamil?” I asked.

  Kamil shook his head in frustration, “We can’t stand around and talk about this! We have to get out of here!” he yelled, marching off angrily down the hall. “I’m packing the essentials and getting the hell out of here. I suggest you all do the same.”

  I looked around frantically, realizing Tyler was missing from the group filling the hall. “Where’s Tyler?”

  Chris pulled me back to focus on him. “He’s with Christine in the security room watching the monitors. He’s going to let us know how bad it’s getting out there.”

  “Good. I think it’s best if we all hunker down in the apartments. We have more than enough room for everyone and enough provisions to last a good long while. We have Ella and Kasey to think about, and we can’t exactly go running around out there, holding two newborns trying to fight against the dead. We have all of our family and the Wawayanda group’s safety to think about, too. Plus, Troy’s lab equipment to make the serum, it’s all here. We can’t just leave.

  “Abby...” Chris said with alarm in his eyes. “You haven’t seen how these super-infected operate yet. If anything was going to figure out a way down here to us, it would be them. Also, if they know they have us trapped, I don’t think they’ll ever give up. I’ve seen them use the other infected like a battering ram while they stood by and watched. They even appeared to get angry and frustrated when we got away.”

  “Are you serious? These things have that kind of intellect now?”

  “I saw it for myself on the Hudson when we were headed to New York to rescue you and again just outside. These things are especially dangerous. I don’t think we have any other option but to leave. Or we run the risk of getting overrun down here with no way out except through the escape hatches, and by that time, there will be so many undead out there that we won’t make it two feet before being swarmed. I hate to say it, but I think we have to plan on leaving our home as soon as possible.”

  Chris’s words carved a hole in my chest. I felt crushed. We held this cabin against the undead and Brigantine’s men, and now we were going to lose it to these new super-infected. All I wanted to do was sink into a ball and cry. Then Stuart burst into the hallway, yelling, “Guys! Hey guys! The bombs! Didn’t you guys secure the bunker Peter had me hide Brigantine’s bombs in?”

  Chris looked down at Stuart as if he was going to punch him in the face for accidentally letting us in on how he was the one who helped Peter secure the weapons.

  I grabbed Chris by the shoulders to settle him. “Now hold on a second, Chris. Let Stuart explain why he helped Peter. I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational explanation.” I looked at Stuart angrily, indicating that he better have a damn good story.

  “I didn’t help him per se. He thought I was, but I was double-crossing him while I was doing the same to Brigantine. Before the compound up north was overrun and Brigantine was killed, Peter wanted me to sabotage her work. He wanted to show her up and be the one to solve the mystery of the antiviral. She kicked him out of the compound months before. Neither of them told me why, but Peter said he hated her for what she had done to him.” Stuart paused to rub his temples as if recalling everything he had done caused him physical pain. “Peter wanted revenge, so he told me to bring the bombs and the vehicles that could deliver the VX nerve agent along with as many soldiers as I could gather to that bunker after I sabotaged her work. After everything went down at the compound with you and Jack, I showed up with everything as planned. But when I told him I’d never help him gas the planet or work on his ridiculous super-soldier project, everything went south. Some of the men I had with me tried to take Peter into custody, but he drew a knife, stabbed one of my guys, and took off down one of the tunnels. Then the dead showed up banging on the doors, so we left down the tunnels too. We never found Peter, but we did find Dr. Nasser and her group at th
e Wayayanda Park, so we decided to stay with them while I tried to figure out a cure to this mess.”

  Chris didn’t look impressed with Stuart’s version of events, but he didn’t hit him, so that was good. “Okay, Stuart. You made the best decision you thought you could while working with two psychopaths. So, how do the bombs in the bunker have anything to do with our current situation?” I asked him.

  Stuart cleared his throat uncomfortably, realizing what a tense situation his confession created. “Well, ugh... there is a massive ground direct-fire weapons vehicle called the Stryker in that bunker. I drove it there myself. That’s the truck used to launch the chemical weapon shells. Troy told me that you guys loaded his serum into the shells and were unsure of what to do with the VX nerve agent that was previously packed in them. If some of us can make it to that bunker, I can fire the weapon, so the serum explodes over the cabin wiping out all of the infected in the area.”

  Chris looked Stuart over with hard, angry eyes. “I might not like you very much right now, Stuart, but that is one hell of a good idea. If we can pull it off that is. I’ll tell Kamil and get a team together so we can head out. This plan better fucking work, Stuart, or so help me God I will murder you with my bare hands.”

  Stuart looked as if he was fighting back the urge to cry. “Understood. I can do this, Chris. Just get me to that vehicle, and we’ll clear out this herd. The cabin will be safe again, I promise.”

  Chris stared at Stuart fiercely. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. That’s how people die,” he said through gritted teeth as he turned away to talk with Kamil and gather the others.

  Stuart looked at me with grief in his eyes. “Abby, I’m sorry everything went down the way it did. I’m sorry I had any hand in what Brigantine did to your family... to the world. I’m glad that she and Peter are dead. They ultimately got what they deserved. They were two examples of the worst humanity has to offer and I never should have agreed to help either one of them, but I thought playing them against each other would assure their mutual destruction. It did in a roundabout way, but I’m sorry for the lives that were lost getting it done. I hope you and Chris can forgive me someday.”

  “I get it, I do. But Chris hasn’t been in the same situations as you and I have been. Insane people haven’t unwillingly used him to try and end the world like they have to us. Let’s just get through this current catastrophe, and we can work on mending fences later when all of our lives aren’t in certain mortal danger.”

  “Thanks for understanding, Abby. I won’t let you down.”

  Chapter 27

  Christopher Bryant

  I can’t believe that little shit Stuart helped Brigantine and Peter. I wanted to wring his neck, but he did have a decent idea. We needed to ensure the safety of the cabin, and that weapon with Troy’s serum was the way to do that. I hated knowing I needed Stuart’s help, understanding now what part he had played in all of this, but I did. I’d never driven a Stryker vehicle before. I’m sure it was the same as any other military vehicle, and I could handle it, but I was not about to bet my family’s lives on it.

  Right now, I needed to focus on getting geared up and getting the squad out of here and to that damn bunker.

  I fitted my team with riot gear, face masks, and all. We taped up the breaks in our clothing and loaded up on ammunition. Everyone got a machete just in case we were forced into hand to hand combat. I was preparing for the absolute worst out there, and I wasn’t willing to risk any of my team getting infected in the process. Admiral’s guys were so excited to see our weapons storeroom. They were like a pack of dogs with a pile of bones.

  We were planning on taking the helicopter since it was faster, and my team consisted of Stuart, Benning, Arrow, Jet, and Garrison. Everyone else was staying behind to protect our home. Within five minutes, we were strapped and ready to head out.

  I stopped by the security room to say goodbye to Christine and Troy and to see how things were looking outside. The cameras that were still functioning showed the same thing as before. There were masses of the undead piling up on top of one another, building a mound of infected that reached halfway up the wall in multiple spots around our compound. I checked all of the screens, and sure enough, there were super-infected watching like spectators at a sporting event.

  You could tell the super-infected apart by the way they stood. They postured like crazed animals, hunched over with their arms out, waiting for something to get close enough for them to pounce. That and they were nowhere near as rotten and decayed as our slower, more friendly neighborhood zombies.

  “Tyler, I’m leaving you and Kamil in charge. You stay here and watch the cameras and radio to Kamil and me if there are any developments outside. I’ll be on station one, and I’ll make sure Kamil has a radio on the same channel.” I gave Tyler a brief hug. “You may not be my blood, but I’m proud of you all the same, son.”

  “Don’t go getting all sentimental on us. You’re going out, nuking the shit out of these zombies, and you’ll be back to help us clean up the mess. Don’t forget; you have diapers to change too,” Tyler laughed.

  “Oh, Daddy, promise me you’ll be okay.” Christine demanded as she hugged me.

  “I will, baby girl. I will. I love you both. See you in a few hours,” I replied, refusing to let my emotions get the better of me and leaving the room before they could.

  I led the team to the door leading back up into the cabin, and Abby was waiting for me. She had tears in her eyes but was standing tall with her back as straight as she could doing her best to appear strong.

  “You come back to us safe and sound, won’t you, Santa?”

  I laughed as she called me by the nickname she knew I hated. “I will, Mrs. Clause.” I kissed Abby more passionately than I ever had before. I felt the heat of her body pressed against mine as I pulled her close. Abby moaned softly into my mouth, and I never wanted to let her go, but I did. I had to in order to save our home. I pulled back, bending over to press my forehead to hers. “I love you so much, Abbigail. Stay safe, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  She whispered, “I love you too,” as a single tear rolled from her eye and down her cheek.

  Arrow and Jet started making kissy noises behind us. “Save some of that lovin’ for me big daddy,” Jet laughed as he poked Arrow in the ribs, and they pretended to make out with each other.

  “Okay, guys. Enough of that. Get your game faces on, boys. Let’s go liquefy some of those undead shitbags!”

  We exited the cabin, and Garrison ran ahead of us to do the preflight checks on the helicopter. We all prepared to cover him, but thankfully there were no threats to face... yet.

  We got the bird in the air rather quickly, and the flight to the bunker was a short one.

  There was a small open field just big enough to land the chopper with a few feet on each side to spare. I didn’t like having the tree cover so close to us since I knew the noise of the aircraft was like ringing the dinner bell for any infected in the area. But you have to work with what you got, right?

  We hustled out of the chopper and hoofed it quickly and quietly to the massive doors of the bunker. It was a large metal plate the size of a double garage door wedged in the side of a hill with a smaller door off to the side for people to come and go. It wasn’t very inconspicuous, but I guess the government hadn’t proved to be all that smart up until now anyway. Why should I expect them to hide a secret shelter well?

  Stuart made it to the door first and began plugging in the code Troy had reset the doors to, when screams broke the stillness of the forest.

  “We’ve got incoming boys. Keep your assholes puckered, and your eyes open on that tree line!” I yelled at the men.

  Guttural moans and snapping jaws could be heard all around us. A bloody, mangled hand appeared behind one of the trees as its owner screamed and jumped toward us. I pointed my rifle at the super-infected and fired. The monster dropped to the ground, but a mob of more than thirty filled its place. I looke
d around, and the zombies were now breaching the tree line all around us. Almost as if it was a planned ambush. Everyone else saw what I did, and the sounds of gunfire fractured the air. The zombies began to swarm tighter around us, but we blasted our way through them.

  A teenage infected with a mangled leg rushed at Arrow unexpectedly and wrestled him to the ground. The undead lifted its head high, and its mouth opened wide as it was about to strike Arrow like a snake. Jet heaved his machete down on the thing, splitting its head, and it fell motionless on top of Arrow. He pushed the gory body off of him and jumped back, grabbing onto Jet to help him stand.

  “Fuck those things are nasty up close!” Arrow shouted.

  I yelled at him as I continued to pick off my targets one by one with headshots, “Make sure you don’t get any of their blood in your mouth, or I’ll have to put one in your brain next. How’s it coming with that door there, Stuart? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re kinda getting overrun out here!”

  “I’ve almost got it. Troy added more security measures to be sure Peter wouldn’t come back and try to steal the weapons. Give me a few more seconds!” Stuart yelled back.

  I looked to my right, and Garrison was firing away with his Mossberg 500 shotgun. One of the infected broadsided him, but he deflected by turning his body away from the would-be attacker. He lifted his gun, and it landed flush with the bridge of its nose. Garrison pulled the trigger, and the zombie’s head exploded with black brain matter and fragments of skull splashing the trees and the incoming undead alike. Another couple of quick shots and the remaining threat to Garrison was down. A giant boom came from my left side as a zombie’s head exploded in a carnage infused spray just feet from me. Benning smiled at me as I wiped the gunk from my visor. “You’re welcome,” he laughed before he turned around, unloading his shotgun into the remaining five infected mere feet from him.