Exit Zero (Book 2): Nuke Jersey

by Neil A. Cohen

  Once all bay doors were sealed, the holding area was filled with the high-expansion fire retardant foam. The foam prevented the infected from exposure to any oxygen absorption, rendering the creatures immobile and medically deceased within seven minutes. The remains, which were considered highest-level biohazardous, were bulldozed into containment cases, which were loaded into the trucks parked at the bays in the back of the building, and carted away for incineration. Since the foam and incinerated Skells were both biodegradable, it was a pretty green facility as well.

  They had just received a large shipment from the Trenton area. Randy Aspiras was working in the main control center overseeing the entire operation.

  “Why is camera 1 rotating?” He asked one of his techs. Camera 1 was supposed to be a stationary camera on the front of the building. It should never be moved.

  “Um, I don’t know, sir. I just noticed two other cameras acting erratically as well,” the tech responded.

  In front of them, a wall of monitors that they called the Knowledge Wall displayed over a dozen cameras that were positioned around the facility. Some of the cameras seemed to be zooming in and out, as if being focused.

  “Could you please figure out what is going on with these things, we’re on a tight schedule here,” Aspiras requested.

  The cameras showed the front bay doors opening and thousands of Skells moving from the trucks into the main warehouse floor. There must have been well over two thousand by the time the trucks emptied their loads. Men in hazmat suits were prodding any stragglers. The Skells were not aggressive, merely uncoordinated and horrific to look at. Some came to their current state by consuming MEAT, but the vast majority had been turned through attack, and their bloody and mangled bodies reflected the encounters that turned them.

  The lights in the facility flickered. The electronics in the command center switched off briefly before coming back on.

  “What is—”

  The fax machine rang and picked up. There was a whir as paper fed through the rollers and a single-page message dropped out into the tray. It said:

  Welcome to Taco Tuesday. You’re the taco.

  Only then did they notice that the men in hazmat suits were unsuccessfully fighting off thousands of Skells. Other monitors showed the facility hallways teaming with infected as they went from office to office finding prey. Workers were running out the front door with ragged bloody monsters hot on their tail.

  CHAPTER 47

  Ronan and Majesty sat together and watched the images flash across the screen. They watched the citizens get ripped to shreds on traffic camera cams, shopping mall CCTV cameras, and hacked home security cameras.

  Ronan reached over and closed the laptop lid, ceasing the video, but not the screams. The cries from terrified residents emanated from outside their apartment window, which was located above the offices of Autumn Marketing on Main Street, Red Bank, NJ. They were the first people to enter New Jersey since the quarantine. It had been a difficult journey, but luckily, they had followers all around the world and in every vocation.

  They even had one that prepared the Kraken broadcast units before they were parachuted in. A thrilling ride, floating down in the Connex box, but the two of them were sure to have broken a record for the most unique mile-high club experience.

  How could they miss this, sitting all the way across the country, when the action was here, in Jersey? What would be the purpose of throwing the greatest, and possibly, the last, party in the country, and not attend in person?

  CHAPTER 48

  An electronic, stilted voice that sounded as if it came from some alien computer spoke to anyone listening:

  Stand by for an urgent message from the state emergency broadcast network.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  The following is a message from the state emergency broadcast network. This is an actual emergency not a drill.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  A shelter-in-place order has been issued.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  Shelter-in-place requires all citizens in affected areas to remain inside your current location, home, work, school, store.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  Citizens in the affected areas are not to attempt to leave the premises until the order has been lifted. You are not to attempt to reach family or loved ones. You are not to attempt to move from one location to another. You are required to stay indoors. Lethal force may be used against those who disregard.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  Counties affected are:

  Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  A live briefing by the state emergency operations center will broadcast in 15 minutes.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  The affected areas have been expanded to include Burlington, Camden, Atlantic Counties.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  The live briefing has been relocated due to safety concerns. Stand by for more information

  Affected areas have been expanded to include all northern counties.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  The briefing has been cancelled, more information will follow.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  The affected areas have been expanded to include Cumberland and Cape May.

  Stand by. Stand by.

  Stand by.

  Stand by.

  Stand by.

  Goodbye.

  CHAPTER 49

  The four friends drove through the early evening, a violation of the state of emergency curfew that had been enacted across all of Delaware, but they were high school seniors and that meant breaking the rules and testing the boundaries from time to time. A six-pack of beer was being passed around between three of the four teens, not enough to really get you drunk, but enough to make you feel like a rebel.

  Noel was the non-drinker. A Mormon transplant with a Christian name, she was a paradox. She did not find her new hometown a welcoming place for someone with so many social restrictions and so free from personal vice. Noel No-Fun was her name at school, and once the boys realized the pretty, friendly blonde was not a potential lay, they lost interest. As for the girls in the school, there were two types: Meat Eaters and Grass Eaters. Grass Eaters were minor sinners; drinking beer or Jell-O shots at a party, letting guys get to second base, the typical teen nonsense. The Meat Eaters were the alpha girls. Sexy outfits at parties, drinking, getting high, going all the way with boys. If Meat Eaters did not have some dirt on you, even a little dirt, Grass Eater-type dirt, then you could not be trusted in their eyes. Noel No-Fun offered them nothing to hang over her head, so she was ostracized.

  Until she found Kyle.

  Sitting directly behind her was her polar opposite, Michelle. Drinking warm beer that she had stolen from her stepdad’s garage was not how she usually spent her nights. Michelle was in exile. She once ran with the popular girls, the coolest crew in school. She partied, she dated the most popular guys, and she was promiscuous. A bit too promiscuous. She loved being the center of attention, to have the type of power that comes when you can walk through the halls of school knowing every guy wants you and every girl wants to avoid being the subject of your insults. She had that until one of the other popular girls found a sexting exchange between her boyfriend and Michelle. The messages and photos spread through the school like a virus, and just like that, Michelle was an outcast. Friendless and alone, until she, too, found Kyle.

  As Michelle gazed out the window, sipping the warm beer and wishing she was back on top of the high school power structure, she did not notice the longing gaze from Mark sitting next to her.

  In another time, another place, Mark would have also been happier. Nicknamed Love, as Mark seemed to instantly fall in love with every girl he fancied, but they never reciprocated. His emotions were as raw as if his skin had been removed and his body consisted of nerve endings. He was a nice guy, so could never break out of the “friend zone” with girls. Girls to him were like a beach ball in a p
ool. The more aggressively he chased the ball, the more his actions pushed the ball farther away. Now his eyes and heart were on Michelle. He was so in love with her that he felt as if his heart would explode. Mark was just too sensitive to fit in with other high school boys. He could not understand why the girls he tried to romance were only interested in dudes who treated them like shit. He just did not fit in, until he met Kyle.

  Kyle was an enigma. He was handsome and athletic, but not popular. He was on the wrestling team, as wrestling was one of the few sports that did not require teamwork. Him against his opponent alone. No relying on others, no false camaraderie. He preferred being alone. He didn’t even socialize with the team other than practice. He felt he needed to oppose whatever was the norm. He felt no sense of ease around anyone and could not tolerate anyone’s interest in topics that he did not feel were serious. He could be insufferable, even beyond that of a normal seventeen-year-old. People saw him as arrogant, aloof, and rude, but he saw himself as honest, and lacking in pretense. Both views were accurate.

  He liked Noel because she held to her religious convictions, but did not try to force them on others. He liked Mark because the kid offered no challenge to Kyle’s need to be in control of everyone that was within his space. He was still ambivalent about Michelle, as he could tell she was out with them was because her only option other than sitting home with her mom and stepdad, whom she loathed. Also, her presence kept Mark focused on her and not talking all the time.

  They had originally gotten together to go to a party at a classmate’s house, but upon pulling up and seeing the rowdy group of teens chugging from two kegs on the back deck, they decided to leave and just hang out together. Three of them were not interested in staying, though Michelle was still very eager to be welcomed back into the collective fold.

  They drove around the empty streets, listening to music, watching the night sky and the endless trees whiz by.

  Noel No-Fun saw them first: two Skells up ahead, standing aimlessly on the side of the road. Kyle slowed the car down so they could get a look. It was the first time they had seen the infected in real life. They had been watching scenes of infected being rounded up on television, but so far, none had been seen in their own state. The Skells awkwardly turned and their eyes followed the slow moving car as it went past, four young faces inside staring wide-eyed at their first real zombies.

  Kyle pulled the car over to the side of the road.

  “Why are you stopping?” Noel asked, frightened. “Keep going!”

  “No, wait, I want to see them,” Michelle chimed in, relishing the chance at some excitement.

  “So what do we do?” Mark asked. “Does anyone have that WALKR app on their phone? Should we report them?”

  The two Skells, both men in blood-soaked suits, walked towards the stopped vehicle.

  “My God, they’re coming. Go,” shrieked Noel, growing more panicked.

  “They can’t get in the car, everyone lock your doors,” Michelle said with a bit of a thrill in her voice.

  Mark realized he needed to man up. “Yeah, when they come close, I’ll take their picture and report them.”

  “They’re zombies, shouldn’t we kill them?” Michelle asked

  “No!” yelled Noel.

  “Umm, I don’t think that’s legal. You can’t just kill people,” Mark said.

  Michelle wanted to see if there were any real men in the car. “But they’re not people, they’re zombies. The news said that if you are in a life-threatening situation, you can kill the infected.”

  “We are not in a life-threatening situation, we need to just drive away. I want to go home,” Noel said, her voice trembling.

  Lights appeared behind them from another car. They must have also seen the Skells. The second car also slowed, then pulled over. There was little hesitation from the occupants. It also carried a foursome, two seniors from the school’s football team and two girls from the sophomore class.

  Immediately after pulling over, the two football players were out of their car, taunting the Skells, making a big show of it for the younger girls still in the car.

  The two infected turned their focus from Kyle’s group to the two new bodies that were more accessible. The first football player ran towards one of the Skells and gave him a hard kick. The emaciated man in the suit flew backwards to the cheers and laughter of the jocks. The two then set their attention on the remaining walker and positioned themselves on either side for a monkey in the middle session, throwing a beer can back and forth between each other seeing which could get closer to the snapping, reaching Skell.

  The roof light in the car went on and everyone jumped. Kyle had opened his door and began getting out.

  “Kyle, stop!” yelled Noel.

  He closed the door and walked towards the Skell-bullying.

  “Just leave them alone,” Michelle said through the window to Kyle. She looked closer at the two jocks. “I think I hooked up with one of them once,” she uttered more to herself than anyone in particular.

  Mark realized this was his chance to show off for Michelle and also got out of the car.

  “Idiots,” Michelle said and leaned over, locking all the doors to the car.

  Noel was now near tears.

  One of the jocks, named Brian, saw Kyle coming over. “What’s up, dude, am I being too rough on your date?”

  “Why don’t you guys leave that person alone?” Kyle said. Calm.

  Mark fiddled with his phone. He had tried to dial 911, but was not getting through. He scrolled through the app store on his phone, trying to find the new zombie-reporting program.

  “Why fucknut?” was Brian’s response. “You sticking up for these things now?’

  The Skell that had been kicked down the hill regained its footing and was walking back towards the assembled group.

  The two younger girls yelled from the jocks’ car. “Let’s go!”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Brian’s friend Chris yelled back, now posturing for a fight with Kyle.

  Brian grabbed the arm of the monkey-in-the-middle Skell as it lurched for him and swung it around towards the car containing the two young girls, causing them to shriek and jump down below the seats.

  “I’m not looking for a fight.” Kyle said.

  “Didn’t think so, pussy. The only fighting you wrestlers do is rolling around on a mat with other guys. Fucking pussy,” said the jock who was running out of insults to call Kyle.

  “Knock it off, Brian,” said Michelle. She was out of the car and walking up to them.

  “Oh, shit, how the skank has fallen. You reduced to hanging out with these losers now?” Brian said.

  The Skell that had been thrown against the car was clawing at the windows, trying to get at the two screaming sophomore girls. The other jock grabbed the Skell by the back of his belt, revealing a 9-millimeter gun in a holster at the small of his back.

  “Holy shit, this one’s packing!” Chris yelled, pulling the gun free. He toyed with the pistol, having never held one. He pointed it in the direction of the woods and pulled the trigger, getting no reaction.

  “Check the safety.” Brian suggested. He had never held a gun, either, and he had no idea what the safety was, but he had heard it on enough TV shows.

  Brian’s pal saw a small lever above the handle and pushed it down, revealing a red dot. He again pulled the trigger and fired a round into the ground, startling everyone.

  He said, “Whoa. Awesome. Dude, we are so killing these fucking zombies.”

  “Hey, Michelle, last chance, get in the car with us after we blow these things away, or stay with your losers.”

  Michelle did not respond. She had stopped moving forward and was taking hesitant steps backwards. As were Kyle and Mark.

  Out of the woods, two more Skells emerged, staggering forward, their clothes hung from their emaciated frames soaked in blood.

  “Oh, shit,” said Brian, but his eyes should have been on the Skell he had been throwing to the ground
. It had not bothered getting up this time, but crawled over and sunk its teeth into his calf. The teen yelled out in pain and surprise and slammed his other foot down on the attacker’s head. He fell backwards and with legs spread wide, he offered up the Skell free access to his most sensitive of regions, and the creature lunged forward, digging his teeth in.

  The shrieks were horrific.

  Chris pointed the gun and began firing at his friend’s attacker, but the screams from the girls in the car made him turn around to find that two more Skells had closed in. He pointed his gun at the closest and pulled the trigger, blasting half the attacker’s left temple off, but leaving his snapping jaws enough intact to sink its teeth into Chris’s forearm.

  The two sophomore girls began locking their doors as Chris struggled to fight his way through three more Skells on him, firing the gun wildly. One bullet shattered the front windshield and another tore through the blonde sophomore’s shoulder. The other girl dove to the floor beneath the steering wheel, pulled up on the emergency brake, and put the car in reverse. It began rolling backwards down the hilly road as Chris yelled for them to stop. As soon as the car was far enough away, the young girl turned on the ignition and floored it, slamming into Chris and the three Skells tearing into him. She slammed her foot on the brake and put the car in park.

  She was hysterical and distracted by her young friend, who shrieked in pain and terror from the back seat—plus she just ran over her date. She could feel the men struggling beneath the floorboards of the car.

  It was all too much. Her vision was reduced to a single dot, as if she were looking at the world through a mile-long black tube. She was catatonic.

  A million miles away, someone was yelling for her. Yelling at her. Telling her to do something.

  Something large flew past her. She looked over her right shoulder. Brian had propelled himself through the missing front window and his teeth were ripping into the bloody wound on her friend’s shoulder.