Z.E.D.S. Series (Book 1): Z.E.D.S. Rising

by Botts, Bradley

  As the numbers were diminishing with one bullet at a time, a faint voice became apparent to my ears. My name was being called from a distance. It was an echo of a faint voice but recognizable. My eyes searched the grounds for the person calling my name, but there was no face present. I thought maybe my mind had been playing tricks on me because of my faith for a shimmer of hope that my family had survived the inferno of their house. My focus became short for the undead because of that particular voice. Shaun doubled his effort for protecting me. While the dead fell before me, a gap appeared in front of my eyes to where I could see where the voice was coming from. A figure was standing in a field waving their arms uncontrollably.

  “Shaun! Look,” I said as I pointed to a distance.

  Shaun focused his attention to whoever was waving their arms in a crazed manner.

  “Shaun, we have to get through these evil assholes right now.”

  I don’t know what it was that clicked in our heads, but we became the zombies’ worst nightmare. My guns ammo had expired and my mind was set on making it across the field. I put my Beretta in its holster and the Desert Eagle in my belt on my waist line in the middle of my lower back. I reached over my head, gripped my machete and pulled it out in front of me. Shaun and I started running through the hoard with no intention of stopping. Shaun was shooting every zombie that came across his eye sight as I was slicing the heads off of each walker and stabbing their torso. Bodies were falling and blood was pouring. The battle between us and them reminded me of medieval era because of me cutting my way through mobs of the dead. We had cleared a path to the person, but we were still being chased across the grass. Our pace didn’t decrease until we caught a glimpse of a barbed wire fence in the distance. We stopped for a moment to glance at the zombies running towards us and the barbed wire fence blocking our passage way.

  Shaun looked at me and asked, “We going for it?”

  “Hell yeah we are.”

  Shaun reloaded is UMP and began mowing down the dead across the fence line. They fell onto the barbed wire lowering the top wire just enough for us to jump over it. We began running towards it once more with nothing blocking our way. One of the zombies refused to stay down and began to rise up off of the fence. I gripped my machete tightly and threw it at the zombie before it was in a full stance. The blade slid through the zombies skull and rested there with no intention of moving. As the zombie fell onto the barbed wire lowering it just enough for us to leap over it, Shaun and I ran towards the fence and we dove over the top. We stood on our feet and sprinted. As we became closer to the person, he became more familiar. I was close enough to see his face and recognized it to be my childhood neighbor Sarah. This was the girl that I played XBox with when I lived with my parents.

  “Holy shit Sarah, you made it.”

  With worry on her face, she gave Shaun and I a hug and signals us to follow her. We raced across the grassy field into a boarded up two story home covered in ivory and vines. Sarah knocked on the door three times and to my amazement a man answered the door. Drenched in dirt and torn clothes, my father stared at my face and began to cry. He extended his arm and pulled us into the house while trying to hold back his tears. We hurried inside and a group of people shut the door behind us while boarding it back up. My dad grabbed me and hugged me tightly to where I couldn’t breathe. His fingers clinched my shirt and a sob exited his mouth He leaned back and put his hands on each side of my face and stared into my eyes. His smile was gracious from the intent of happiness with my presence. Shaun caught glimpse of his parents and his sister standing across the room. He let his gun rest from his shoulder and ran to them as they opened their arms.

  I looked around the house and saw everyone sitting and standing with tears streaming down their faces. Blood covered some of their clothes and hands and most sat in silence rather than discussing what they had seen today. The terror each of them had in their eyes worried me. As I looked at the rest of the room where everyone was residing, I noticed disaster. I noticed luck. They weren’t prepared like I was. They were probably watering their flowers, folding their laundry, playing tag with their kids or even just enjoying an ice cold beer on their porch. They were lucky to have found a temporary safe haven when they did. My dad still had a terrified look in his eyes. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the side to speak privately.

  “Hey are you OK? Where is everyone? Where are my brothers? ”

  “Yea I’m fine. Seth, Emmitt and Sloan stayed at Emmitt’s house. I told them to stay there until I could come get them. I tried to get to them, but everyone here needed my help and I couldn’t leave them wondering around outside with all of those things out there. I couldn’t even get to my ambulance because the zombies were able to turn it over.”

  “Is everyone else ok? Where are Laura and the others? ”

  My dad replied, “Laura, Jackson and Melinda are ok. Melinda and Jackson are in the back resting. Laura hasn’t stopped keeping an eye out over the back field.”

  “What about Charlie?”

  Dad shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. I gave him another hug and assured him everything was going to be all right. I turned away from him and made my way towards the room Laura had been standing. She was in a blank stance with her hands on the window frame. Her stare through the opening in the boards was vague as she seemed to be searching for something. Her appearance showed exhaustion as she did not move.

  “Laura. Are you ok?”

  She turned around and saw me standing in the doorway. A slight smile appeared on her face.

  “I’m glad you made it Atlas. I knew you would make it through this.”

  I walked up to her and held her hand with both of mine. She pulled me in and hugged me tightly.

  “It’s good to see you Laura. I was terrified when I saw the house on fire. I didn’t know if you guys had made it out.”

  Laura’s eyes faded into the background. Her head turned away from me and she began to speak.

  “Most of the neighborhood made it. After we started boarding up the house, those things kept trying to come in. With each board being placed over the windows they effortlessly tried to break them down. We weren’t too far from having the house completely barricaded. We didn’t even know that one of them broke one of the windows out of the bedroom. We were too focused on the windows we were trying to block at the time. One of those things broke through. Before we realized it, that damn thing had come into the house. It had already made it to the middle room to where Jackson was hiding. That thing, that zombie almost had Jackson. It was so close to him I thought I have lost my son.”

  Laura wiped the tears from her eyes and I placed my hand on her shoulder. She gripped my hand and held back her sobs as she continued her story.

  “But luckily Charlie had seen it out of the corner of his eye. He ran up to it, grabbed it by its torn shirt and threw it across the room. That thing stood right back up and went after him. He wrestled with it for a minute but it got loose from his grip.”

  Laura’s voice became scattered and raspy from the sadness that was exerting from his voice.

  “Before I could get to him, it latched onto his arm with its teeth. Charlie punched it in the face and gripped its head. He then twisted it completely around its body and it fell to the floor as he did. He seemed as if he couldn’t catch his breath.”

  “Where is Charlie now?”

  Laura began to whimper once more.

  “He was inside the house when it caught on fire. He knew what he was going to become and the drifters weren’t stopping. They kept trying to come in after us. So he told us to get out of the house. Melinda ran up to him crying. She wanted to stay next to him but he wouldn’t allow it. He held on to his arm and started crying. I told him to come with us. I did not want to leave him there, but he just kept telling us to go. He stood onto his feet and gave Melinda a kiss. She wiped the tears from his eyes as he told her to go. He then looked at me and told me to give him my lighter. He said that
we needed to leave right now. So as I picked up Jackson, I saw him lighting the fabrics and the curtains on fire. He told us to escape through the bedroom window. We each jumped out the window and started running towards this house. I kept my eyes on our home as I saw Charlie fighting each one that entered. But he finally vanished into the smoke. He didn’t scream and he didn’t give up. My son was a warrior today and he killed a lot of those bastards. Those stupid, lifeless demons kept running into the house until it was completely engulfed in flames.”

  Laura began to cry as she put her hands over her eyes. I felt regret because I didn’t make it to them in time. I should have been there to protect my family but I was too late.

  “I am sorry Laura. I should have already had you guys at the safe house. I wasn’t quick enough.”

  Laura raised her head and said, “Don’t blame yourself Atlas, he died protecting us. If there’s any way to die, that is how you do it. He died with his boots on and I am proud of my son.”

  Laura turned back around to keep guard on the field. All I could see was remorse and sadness as she stood watch with her shoulders arched and hands on her waist. But she knew she had to protect her family and she stood there with eyes gazing across the field.

  Shaun approached me from behind and tapped me on the shoulder.

  “Atlas, you need to see this.”

  I looked at Laura one more time before turning away and she did not move from her stance. I turned my head and we walked down the hallway into a small bedroom to where a man was lying in a bed broke out in a sweat. He was shivering from head to toe. I asked him if he had been bitten, but he was verbally unresponsive. He kept gasping for air. All I could focus on is his pale white skin and the troublesome look upon his face. I slowly reached for my gun and pulled it out of its holster. The man’s eyes gazed upon the gun and a tear shimmered down his cheek. Before I could raise my gun, I heard a child’s voice from behind me.

  “Is my daddy going to be ok?”

  I kept my gun from her sight by quickly turning around and placing it behind my back.

  I kneeled down to her and placed my left hand on her shoulder.

  “Sweetheart, I need you to answer me honestly ok? Was your dad bitten by one of those things outside?”

  She shook her head yes and began to cry. I assured her everything was going to be ok. I gave her a hug and told Shaun to take her into another room. Before he could grab her hand, the little girl ran over to her dad and kissed him on the cheek. The man obtained a slight smile on his face and nudged his daughter away from the bed. Shaun grabbed her hand and led her into a different room that was far away from her father. The man looked at me in my eyes and shook his head in approval to rid him of his suffering.

  I walked over to him and whispered, “I am so sorry about this. I promise there is a better life after this one. We will take care of your daughter for you. I’ll watch over her.”

  As I stood back to my feet, my eyes were still locked onto him. The man began to cry and he turned his head to look at the wall as he started to fade away. The man gripped his sheets as he searched for his final breath. His clammy white fingers clinched the bed in pain and terror. His body suddenly became limp but his eyes stayed open. I gripped my gun from my back and placed a magazine into the handle. Slowly stepping away from the man, I cocked it back and aimed it towards him. A few moments of silence surrounded that small room and I waited for him to turn. His hand began to twitch and his head began to move. I slowly closed the door behind me and waited for the distinct moan that all walkers make. As I predicted, the faint moan appeared in the room. So I slowly pulled back the hammer on my gun and pressed the trigger with my index finger. I relieved him of the evil inside of him with two bullets to the head. Once again, his body remained in that bed with no sign of life.

  I stepped out of the room with my head facing the floor. As I closed the door behind me the little girl walked up to me. Her eyes were saddened and had been filled with tears. I kneeled down and picked her up into my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder as her arms wrapped around my neck. I carried her across the house as Shaun joined me at my side.

  “What are we going to do now? We have to get these people out of here and get back to the safe house.”

  As I was walking next to Shaun I answer, “I know bub. Just hold on one second.”

  I grabbed my radio from my belt and attempted to establish contact with the rest of the team.

  “ZEDS, what’s your status?”

  A quick reply came over the radio.

  “Team Alpha here, we are zombie free and twenty miles away from Watch Tower with everyone accounted for.”

  “Good job. Be safe and get to Watch Tower as soon as you can. If you run into any trouble, be sure to let me know.”

  “Team Hunter is kicking ass and killing zombies. We are a couple of minutes away from the safe house. Not everyone on the list survived. We did manage to rescue some along with finding some survivors hiking down the road.”

  “OK, you did what you could. Just be careful going back to Watch Tower. There’s no telling what you may run into.”

  “I hear you man. We got all eyes open, Team Hunter out.”

  As I stood waiting for a response from Team Eagle, a strange feeling overwhelmed me.

  I held up the radio and asked, “Team Eagle, do you copy?”

  There was complete silence at the other end. There wasn’t even a heavy breathing noise.

  “Team Eagle, are you there?”

  I had no response.

  “Atlas, this is Mark. Do you need Team Alpha to go search for them?”

  It was too risky for them to go searching for Brock and Chase without proper planning and with all the civilians that were with them.

  “No, get back to the safe house. We will have to figure out a plan before we go anywhere else. Watch Tower, have you heard anything from Brock or Chase?”

  Watch Tower quickly responded, “Haven’t heard a response since they left.”

  I looked at Shaun and saw a worry in his eyes that I had never seen before. I saw my dad walk across the room so I approached him hastily.

  “Dad, I need you to grab Jackson and round everyone up. We need all the supplies you have because we need to go now.”

  He began walking up to everyone and telling them to get ready because we had to move them to a safer location. I told Laura to gather up everything she could use as a weapon. I sent Sarah on a scouting mission to find a safer path to the truck. Some people agreed to come with us, but others were too afraid to leave the house no matter how much I tried to reassure them that Watch Tower was safer.

  Sarah returned to the house and pointed out a path to the truck that had no fence line. A dozen walkers roamed the area, but it was a more reliable passage. I told Shaun to stay in the back of the group to protect us from behind and I’ll stay in the front. I told everyone that was coming with us exactly what we had to do. I saw worry in each of their eyes but they seemed to trust me.

  I tapped the little girl on the shoulder as her head rested upon my shoulder to get her attention.

  “Hey, are you ready to leave?”

  She raised her head and looked into my eyes and asked me, “What’s your name?”

  I looked back at her and replied, “My name is Atlas. You’re safe with me.”

  She smiled and said, “I’m Kiere.”

  This sweet little innocent girl was about to journey through more hell than she deserved, and I was going to carry her through it. I felt as if Kiere wasn’t sure about what she may see outside these walls. She understood the jest of the events, but she didn’t know exactly what was happening. If one person deserved to not see this in their lifetime, it would be her.

  I was walking around to all of the people to see what they were equipping themselves with. My dad was armed with a Forty-four magnum and Laura had Jackson on her back while gripping Melinda’s hand. I told Sarah to use the Desert Eagle and lead us to the truck on the path that she had e
ncountered. With Kiere in one arm and my Beretta in the other hand, I was ready to run. Two of the people staying behind began to open the door.

  The dark room became lit and with sun hitting our face.

  I yelled, “RUN!”

  Our legs kicked into high gear and we bolted through the door way. I held up my gun and began shooting at every zombie blocking our way. Shaun was shooting every roamer that caught glimpse of us from behind. Kiere buried her face into my left shoulder and I started running faster than I thought I ever could. With the truck becoming closer, a glimpse of hope appeared. I looked behind me and saw Shaun carrying a woman on his shoulders that apparently fell during the run. I told Sarah to pick up speed and run to the truck in order to get it ready for transport. With bullets flying in the air, Sarah was killing zombies that were in her way. She approached the truck and let the tail gate down and ran around to the driver side to cover us from the walkers approaching from the side. Shaun and I ran to the back of the truck and I started helping the group get inside. I handed Kiere to Shaun and told him to put her in the front seat. Everyone got in the back and I ran to the passenger side to get in. Shaun cranked the truck, put it in first gear and stomped on the gas. Kiere climbed onto my lap and dug her face into my shoulder once more. I put my hand on the back of her head and held her so she couldn’t see any more of the carnage around us.

  Dad’s burning house and the building where the people stayed behind became a memory. I never heard anything about the group that stayed behind so I don’t know what happened to them, but hopefully they found a way to survive. That image of my childhood home on fire never escaped my mind. I never thought that the yard would be invaded by the dead, but that’s exactly all it was; a thought. I had a new responsibility now and her name was Kiere. She wasn’t even seven years old and just had her life taken away from her. I didn’t know how I was going to take care of her, but believe me when I say I am going to try my best to protect her. I will do whatever it takes.