“I don’t think things have gone downhill that quickly, but if it was an organized attack, then they could have hit all the major cities at once. How are we doing on the vaccines?”
“You know, Cooper, we haven’t been producing the amount of vaccines needed for years, but in just a matter of two weeks, we’ve managed to produce almost 500,000 injections. I was simply waiting on your go ahead to get things moving beyond the initial phase. Now that we’re at moment zero, you and I both know there are millions of people out there who aren’t covered.”
“How far did we get with the vaccinations?”
“Statewide in Utah, all the hospitals and first responders have all gotten their injections. We’ve encountered quite a few in the religious sector who have refused, but we knew that was going to happen. Some of the civilians lined up, and we’ve been working on the less populated states, which takes longer while shipping the bulk of our supplies to the larger cities of Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake, Albuquerque, and Flagstaff.”
“That’s not nearly good enough. We’ve got more major cities on both coasts that haven’t even been touched. How many can you get done this week?”
“The longer we produce these, the more we can make, because just like the virus, the antivirus can also be grown to make more to distribute just as quickly. We should have close to one million by the end of the week. We’re pulling three shifts so that the machines are running at all times. We’re doing the best we can with the cuts they made. We’re lucky we’ve gotten things going this quickly.”
“I know, Martin. It’s just…you should’ve seen these things move in on those guys. They tore them apart. You know how they work, but seeing them in action is something else entirely. I’ve got to make it to my family. I need to know they’re safe before I worry about the rest of the world. Let me know as soon as you hear anything from the higher-ups. I’ve got our stash from here.”
“Stay safe. I can’t believe the very thing we’ve been preparing for all these years has finally happened,” I mused, drawing little doodles on the paper in front of me, needing to do something with my hands.
“Me either. All my training didn’t help me or Judith when we needed it the most. I just froze. It’s been years since I had to use a gun, other than at the gun range.”
“Don’t beat yourself up; it’s a normal reaction. Besides, your job wasn’t to save her, but all the others that will die if someone gets hold of that protection protocol. Do you know who they were?”
“Nope. They were young, and although they had a few skills, it wasn’t from being trained properly. They had inside help, because they walked right to Jack’s office and typed that password into the computer within seconds. It was the only one he had written down.”
“So you’re thinking he knew they were coming. That he left it for them to find.” It wasn’t a question, really, but more a statement of fact.
“I think so, which means we have someone with a lot of information that knows who we are. Or, at least, suspects something,” he replied, sounding worried.
“Look, Cooper, go to your family. They need you, and you won’t be any good to the rest of us unless you know they’re safe,” I urged, wanting to check on my own fires to see what needed to be put out.
“Got it. I’ll wait to hear from you. If there’s nothing in the next week, then I’ll make my way out to you. We need to get ahead of this sooner rather than later.”
“We’ve got it. The emergency networks are all in place, and things will go as smoothly as anything can in a situation like this. Look, I’ve got to go start checking on stuff.”
“Right, right, of course. Be safe.”
The line went dead, and I leaned back with my eyes closed. He didn’t know anything, and I had a job to do. We had to make sure that this thing didn’t spread across the entire country. I just hoped that what I was doing made a difference.
As we produced the much-needed serum, we also knew it was just a matter of time before someone tried to shut it down. There were other forces at work that wanted to wipe out most of humanity so they could be the saviors.
Chapter 4
Concerned Citizen
I’d been told that this was extremely important to the survival of our country. There were so many who lived here that didn’t appreciate the gifts they’d been given. They were bent on destroying all that we, our parents, and grandparents had worked so hard to build. I couldn’t take a chance that they were going to hurt us.
The flight to Paris had been easy enough to board since I was the copilot, but it wasn’t until the next day when I’d boarded the return flight home that I began to get nervous.
What if it didn’t go off properly? Would the oxygen mask really distribute the virus the way it was supposed to? Only the foreigners were susceptible to this virus, so I wasn’t worried about hurting innocent people. The people who were meant to get sick would, while thinning out those who didn’t belong in our country.
From what I’d been told, even my copilot didn’t know what was about to happen.
“I’m going to hit the head and stretch my legs for a minute. You got this?” He took off his headset and stood, barely waiting for my nod.
The door closed behind him, and the security latch clicked.
It was time. I lowered the plane by only a few degrees and into the bumpier area, enough to make the oxygen masks drop. That was all I had to do. Oh, and make an announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing a little turbulence. Nothing to be alarmed about. But as a precaution, please put your oxygen masks on until the fasten seat belt signs flash off. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“There.” I breathed a sigh of relief as the captain hurried back into the cockpit.
“What happened?” he demanded as he slid into his seat, looking frantically at all the instruments to fix the problem.
“Just a rough patch. We’re almost out of it now. I’m climbing up a few more feet to help even things out,” I answered confidently. No one would ever know what happened. It was a done deed.
After another three minutes, we had evened out and things were back to normal.
“This is the captain. We’re sorry for jostling you around, but it is now safe to remove your masks. We hope you enjoy the rest of the flight,” he reassured everyone.
“Hopefully, the rest will go smoothly,” I commented as we continued to keep the plan on course over the large ocean water.
“From your lips to God’s ears.” He smiled as a patch of sun broke through the clouds below, onto the gorgeous blue seas.
I waited patiently for about two hours before excusing myself to use the facilities.
Walking through the plane, I couldn’t find any visible signs that our plan had worked. A few people had a cough, but that was fairly normal for a long flight with over two hundred people.
Disappointed, I returned to my seat to finish up the last six hours until we arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina.
------
Somewhere in New York City
I took the backpack with canisters through the tunnels and toward the area where the subway cars were stored between runs. My instructions had been specific: connect each of the canisters up to the air system. Once the train cars were hooked up in the morning, then it would initiate the “test” virus in the air, spread it to all those on their way to work.
I was one of the many who lived under the city, but went to work and school aboveground. It was a job, and I really needed the money.
The guy had said it was just a version of the flu to see how prepared the government was to handle a massive illness in case of terrorism. Almost like a test of the emergency system.
From what the man in charge had said, it would take anywhere from twelve to forty-eight hours for people to become really sick and head toward their local hospital or clinics. Some of the more stubborn would simple try to tough it out at home, adding to the general confusion and chaos.
“Do
n’t worry, kid. This will just cause them to throw up and have the chills. It’s nothing serious. I don’t want to hurt people. We’re just making sure the city is ready for anything that’s thrown its way.”
He hadn’t explained it all until I’d gone back to get paid, but I knew there was a reason I hadn’t felt comfortable with him. Something just felt off.
Not trusting him, I’d gone back to my small space below and done a little digging into exactly what was in those canisters. They had been labeled with the words: ZIV.
There was nothing online about it, but I had a great connection to the fiber optic network because I’d hacked into one of the cables and set it up for public use down here in the underground.
Taking a chance, I used my knowledge and went on the dark web, using only the words ZIV and virus.
I let out a low whistle. Every file that came up was considered classified. A few more keystrokes and I was looking at exactly what the ZIV virus did, and it wasn’t good. It was time to tell the leader of our section about what was going to go down.
It was too late to stop the trains from running, but if what I’d found was accurate, then we might have a chance to save our people in the upcoming days.
-----
I approached Spike. He was one tough guy with tats covering every bit of his skin. Former military, he kind of scared me, but I knew he was the one to help me figure out what was going on with this ZIV virus.
“Uh, Spike? I’ve done something not so great.” He looked up from stirring whatever he was cooking on the hotplate at my approach.
“What makes you think that, kid?”
“Well, I did a job for someone, and I think they lied about what it was really for. I was supposed to put something on one of the subway cars, then afterward, he told me what it was going to do to people. I just got a bad vibe, so I looked it up.” I shuffled nervously from foot to foot.
His face was etched with concern as he motioned to one of the crates for me to sit.
“You searched the internet? What did you find?”
“It’s called ZIV in all the documents, but I swear, I’m not making it up,” I pleaded, hoping he wouldn’t dismiss me.
“Beck, I’ve never dismissed what you come up with. You’ve been an asset to this section of our home. Just spit it out. We’ll figure a way to fix it once I know the whole story.” He held out a bowl of stew.
I’d learned years ago not to ask what was in the food that was offered down here. It was food, and after you knew what was in it, you might wish you hadn’t.
“Zombie Infectious Virus. It’s meant to make people sick, and then when they die, they’ll turn into zombies,” I confessed nervously.
“Zombies? Well, there was a few mentions of them during some of our training and missions. I only ever fought them once, and that was more than enough. Kid, I think you just helped start the next world war,” he advised calmly—too calm.
“I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t done it, someone else would have. I can’t worry about that because I found another document that tells of an antidote and weapon cache. If we can get to it first, we can help all those in our section and the rest of the underground prepare. You know whatever happens up on top always come down here eventually.”
“You know where this is?”
I held out my tablet with a map on the screen. “It’s located in a warehouse about ten miles from here in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There’s another one farther up, but this is the closest to us.”
Spike finished emptying his bowl of stew before standing up and placing it in the small pot of water to rinse it out.
“Greg, Johnny, and Ned, we’re needed to go get some items that will keep us safe in the coming weeks. Tell the others that there will be a council meeting when I get back.” Spike waved to a few others that were hanging around. “Got something that we need all of us on. Come with me.”
He headed toward the stairs that opened into one of the many parking garages in the city, where we parked the common use vehicles. Everyone pitched in a few dollars a month, and that way, no one had the horrendous expense of keeping up a vehicle on their own.
I followed, staying with him, because I knew he would need the directions.
Dividing up into two groups, he drove the lead truck. We soon arrived in a very deserted section of numerous, yet what seemed like empty warehouses.
“That’s the one.” I pointed to a large warehouse with garage doors made large enough for semis to enter and exit, transporting goods.
Within seconds, the guys had the doors open, and we were backing into the room with no one the wiser.
Jumping down from the truck, I looked around the room curiously. It didn’t look like a place that housed weapons and antidotes.
“This way.” Spike waved toward the crates stacked in the center of the room. Prying the lid off of one, we found loads of guns nestled inside some straw.
“Beck, go over and check that large room in the back. I think it’s a refrigerated room holding what we’re looking for.”
Unsure as to how he could think that, I approached and pulled open the door.
“Yep, there’s enough little vials in here to vaccinate half of the underground. It’s going to take us longer to get it all moved carefully. I’m not certain if it has to be kept at a certain temperature to stay active,” I reported as they worked on loading a flatbed truck with the crates.
“I’ve called Gomez and Peters over. When they’re finished with their deliveries they’ll head this way, and we’ll use the truck before they head back,” Spike assured me. “You’re going to wait here and find out how much to give everyone to make them safe.”
“Yes, sir.” I went back to the cold room and started looking around to see if there were any manuals or instructions just sitting around, which was why I didn’t hear the other call that Spike made.
------
“It’s happening here in New York. We found a government safe house that has weapons and the vaccine. I’ve got one of the kids working on it to get our group vaccinated. What do you think we should do?”
“Get your people ready and see how long you can survive. New York’s not the place I’d want to get stuck, but I understand that they’re your family,” Indiana Jones answered carefully. “Let me know if you need anything, but all you can do is hunker down and hope that it’s over quickly.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of. I’m going to have them start bringing down supplies once we get this going. It looks like we’ll have to police the streets on our own.” Spike made sure that he didn’t say anything that would flag his call from those who were monitoring the phone lines.
“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll let the others know and see if we can get the network up and running. It’s going to take a little work with some of them. I’ll call you back in a few days with an update. Or, if something happens before then, send out the code.”
“Will do, sir.” I closed the phone and took the driver’s seat as we headed out with the first load of weapons that were going to help us secure our home from the end of the world.
------
PREFIT—Sean
I hadn’t expected to hear from Spike, but it brought back all those days of careful planning. It was time to alert the others and make sure they were prepared for what was about to happen.
“Master Chief,” I greeted him, unable to contain the excitement in my voice. “Have you heard anything about a possible attack?”
“Yeah. I’m with a group that’s starting preparations. They’ve just reached the city and are working on the vaccinations as we speak. There aren’t enough, but we’re giving them out as quickly as we get a new supply.”
“I just heard from Spike. He found a warehouse that appears the government has been safeguarding in the event of such a day. Check into what you might have available over there. He estimated there were about 100,000 doses, but it’s a start.”
“There have been rumors here for a while. I have
a contact that I can reach out to and see if he has more specific information. Until then, I’ll get my tech guys on it and see what they can come up with. I never thought I’d be a part of the battle on American soil, but here we are.”
“You take care, and leave a message on the channel in case we lose power.” I hung up, satisfied that I’d done what I could for the moment on the West Coast.
I needed to find out where they were making these vaccines so we could get Toretto to transport them to the hotspots.
With no response from him or Bones, I had to leave a message and hope they got it in time. It wasn’t going to be easy to find everyone with all of my team spread out over the entire U.S., but I was going to try.
When Swan picked up the phone, I felt relieved. “It’s happening. I’m not sure how long we have until it’s everywhere, but Spike just got word that it’s about to start in New York.”
“I’ll gather as many together as possible to get them safe,” he promised.
“Food is going to be the biggest problem. You should stock up with enough to last for at least a month,” I cautioned.
“It’s what we’ve been preparing for our whole lives, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise when it really happens. We’ve got it all covered. I’ll message when I’ve got all my people situated. Thanks for the warning.”
“Always. Do I need to call Willow or will you do it?”
“No, I’ll call her. She’ll be checking in tonight. We’ll be okay. You just make sure that you and your family stay safe.”
“I intend to. If it’s just a false alarm, we should know in the next two days, but I think it’s the real thing.”
“I’m torn. It’s so exciting, but then again, it’ll be the worst thing we could have imagined as well,” he said distractedly.
“Stay safe.” I hung up, dreading the last phone call I needed to make to my parents.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Honey, is everything okay? You never call in the middle of the week.”
“Not exactly, Mom. Remember how I told there was going to be something horrible that happened in the future, and you guys just laughed at me?”
Against Zombies Series | Book 6 | Governments Against Zombies Page 4
