Z-Boat (Book 2): Z-Topia

by Suzanne Robb

  Five seconds later a blast ripped through the room. Bits of wood and drywall covered them. They both coughed from the thick dust in the air. A small hand guided him to the new exit. A draft almost knocked him off balance.

  The explosion left a hole almost ten feet wide and eight feet high. Before he had a second to debate what he was doing, the girl shoved him. They both plummeted to the ground, Dale screamed the whole way down.

  With a hard thump they landed. The girl scrambled down the collection of debris and waited for him to do the same. He avoided looking at the mess touching him, the dirt and grime contaminating his suit and skin.

  With a slight misstep he landed on the ground and moved toward his car. His men had it ready at the back door. A sudden intake of air made him glance over his shoulder, and then he almost choked.

  The pile they’d landed on was hundreds of dead bodies, heads a mess of bone fragments and scraps of brain. Rats wound their way in and out of the grotesque monument, eating as they went.

  A large pool of green ooze glistened on the ground and Dale grabbed the girl away from a tendril making its way toward her. They hustled to the car and she opened the passenger door. He bumped into her as he went to take the seat.

  “You have to drive,” she said as if he should have known this.

  “Why? I never drive, that’s why they provide me with a driver.”

  “I’ve never been in a car that works, let alone operate one. If you want to get out of here I suggest you get in the driver’s seat.”

  Dale rounded the car and opened the door as a horde appeared out of nowhere. He sat and waved his hand over the ignition panel, thankful his DNA was programmed into the car’s memory and he didn’t have to worry about a manual start.

  The first few minutes were jerky, but he did run over a few zombies in the process, so he chalked it up to a win. Once he got the vehicle into an open area he accelerated.

  “Map route to Washington Old,” he said.

  On the screen a red line wound its way on different roads and highways still operational. He engaged the auto-drive option and took a deep breath.

  “We have some time before we get to our destination, why don’t you tell me about yourself,” he said as he leered at the girl.

  He hoped to pass the hours in a different way. But the ease with which she handled a gun scared him.

  Chapter Fifteen—

  Ally stood with Hank and Joseph. Trevor and Richards were arguing about something she didn’t care enough to find out about. All she wanted to do now was come up with a plan to put the United States back in control of things, stop the end of the world as they knew it, and survive any zombie run-ins they had, simple.

  “We need to grab all the weapons and other supplies we can and make our way to one of the media outlets. Joseph, you need to get on the air, let people know you’re alive. They need to listen to you and not riot in the streets to become zombie bait.”

  “I agree, but which one. Allgood has spies everywhere, not to mention those two over there would turn us in to try to save their sorry asses.”

  Ally turned her head toward the fighting duo and knew he was right. She also knew what she had to do and hated it, despised it so much she tried to rationalize killing them instead. Truth was, she needed them, grandfather always told her to keep her enemies close.

  “Hey, you two, when you’re done with your lovers spat get over here.”

  “Go to hell, I don’t take orders from you,” Richards spat.

  Four seconds later Richards was on his back staring up at Ally, his eyes bulging and a tremor of fear rippling across his face.

  “From now on you do. Erdman made me chief of staff and I’m hiring you and Trevor for the part of snivelling back stabbing spin doctors. We’re going to find a broadcast base and you’re going to let us know whether or not Allgood has spies there.”

  “Are you serious? You want us to work together? Did you hit your head, or are you just really stupid? We’re enemies, catch up.”

  Ally kicked him in the ribs. “Trust me, I haven’t forgotten. And I also know you’re responsible for me losing my fiancé and home. I don’t want to work with you, I’d much rather put a hole in your head and call it a day. But it’s not my choice, if this country is going to rise again, it will not be with the likes of Allgood.”

  “You think Erdman is better? He’s the damn head of the Israeli firm. Have you seen some of the shit he’s responsible for?” Richards pushed her off and pulled himself into a sitting position.

  Ally kept her eye on Trevor, waiting for him to make a move while she spoke to Richards. “Can you think of a single person on this plane not guilty of something? Murderers, thieves, liars, and cowards run the whole world, the rest of us are just trying to survive. Joseph was born here, and everything he’s done has been to better the world. No one ever saw it though because Williams and Roark blocked him.”

  “And he’s ready and willing to turn his back on his firm?”

  “Smarten up, Richards, there are no more firms. The super powers have all fallen, and like before new ones will take their place. This is our chance, Joseph Erdman is a good man.”

  Richards stood with a nod but glared at her. She sighed, why did everything have to be so hard? For once couldn’t things be easy?

  * * *

  Dale admired the girl next to him as the car wound its way out of the city limits. They were leaving Chicago behind, the shadows of ancient skyscrapers disappeared into the background. The cloud of smog overhead crackled every now and then with lightning, though thunder never followed.

  He watched her tap the implant in her temple and talk to someone about taking off for a bit, and not to worry. Her chatter irritated him so he tuned her out to think about his plans once they reached Washington.

  The city, vacated eighty years ago when the Americans had their last stand and fell, was full of drug addicts, homeless, and other undesirables. He smiled. Nothing much had changed. The reason he needed to go there was because the city name was significant, it still held the allure of power. As did the remains of the house there.

  Nothing much by traditional standards of world leaders, but something about it reached into people, it was a symbol. All he had to do was get there, meet up with his army, and take over. Once done, he would be in the office of the president with no one to refute him.

  Dale noticed the girl staring at him and he smiled. Perhaps the trip would go by faster than expected. He reached over and put his hand on her leg.

  “You’re very pretty you know. I can make you happy.”

  A second later she had his hand in some sort of death grip, and it was all he could do not to throw up from the pain.

  “First, I’m a woman. Second, I’m already happy. I just needed to get out of the city and you were my ticket.”

  He gave her one of the reassuring smiles he gave people at his underground rallies. As the grip eased he made a mental note to either teach her a lesson or offer her a position as one of his personal guards.

  Slumping back in his chair he realized the trip was going to be a long one.

  * * *

  Ally grabbed all the weapons, armor, and food supplies she could from the basement of the cabin. A few boards still sparked with embers, but the incendiary Charlie used was designed to burn hot and fast.

  There were thirty-seven weapons, twenty-three decimators, a few handballs, assorted other gear to aid in infiltration, and enough rations to keep them retching for weeks. Between her, Hank, and Erdman’s guard they had enough weapons. Richards and his lackey Trevor were to be armed only when necessary.

  “All right, we’re done here. Let’s get a move on. Richards and Trevor, take one of your vehicles. We’ll take Erdman’s truck.”

  “Hey, some weapons would be nice, so we don’t die and stuff,” Richards said.

  Ally glanced at him and without blinking her hand shot out. Richards heard the impact of the knife in metal and a then the warm drip of blood fall
from his nose. She watched the movement of his throat as he worked up a response then thought better of it.

  Once in the car she called up the navigation unit and asked for the coordinates of the nearest news station. Three popped up, one was south, the opposite direction they wanted to go. The other two were both north, the closest one 150 miles north, perfect.

  “Looks like we’re heading to Dallas.”

  “Good thing we have guns, Dallas was hit hard by the epidemic. In fact, we might want to make sure the place is still up and running.”

  Ally programmed the car to take the quickest possible route then switched on the display panel. She scrolled through the channels until she hit 1,674 WTF Dallas. Static garbled much of what was being said, but the place seemed to be active.

  “These creatures are not to be fought, run away and secure… a shot to the head… help is on the way… Dale Allgood promises to eradicate…”

  She shut the unit not wanting to hear any more about Allgood. She pulled out one of the meal bags and opened it, the label as usual was misleading. The contents were supposed to be scrambled eggs and bacon, it smelled more like stale urine.

  Forcing down the gorge in her throat she ate the meal, she needed to gain back some weight and build up her strength. Erdman cleared his throat and she motioned for him to grab one, she sure as hell hoped he didn’t expect her to take care of him.

  “Ally, how can we trust those two? They can call ahead and warn any spies we’re coming, or ditch us.”

  “As much as I wish they would leave, they won’t. Trevor is loyal to the cause, and will see this as an opportunity to prove himself to Allgood by gathering information. Richards is driven by revenge. Doesn’t mean we can trust them, but for the time being we have mutual goals.”

  “And you can be sure how?”

  Ally tilted her head to look at him. “This isn’t my first dance. I took their display panels, and also rewired this unit to alert us if either one of them activates his implant.”

  Erdman smiled then turned his attention to the desolate landscape outside. Ally followed suit, missing the ocean more than ever as the desert wasteland stretched in front of them. There were dilapidated homes, and a few stores were still open their neon signs offering sex, drugs, and other assorted things to get people through the day. Shaking her head she wondered if they had gone too far, if it was even possible to repair the damage done.

  The rest of the ride was silent, Ally spending the time contemplating how they were going to get into the news station and put Erdman on air. She glanced at him, his suit covered in soot and full of jagged tears and spatters of blood. A normally neat goatee looked haggard, and his hair had seen better days. She closed her eyes to rest her aching body and prayed the studio had a great make-up person and perhaps a fresh suit they could persuade someone to loan them. Then again the down in the trenches look might work better in the end to gain the public’s support.

  An hour later a beep alerted them to their proximity to their desired target. Ally sat straight and did a visual scan of the area, then put on some of the glasses she’d grabbed from Charlie’s and did a more detailed exam.

  Several bodies moved around, a few degrees warmer than the cool air outside. She swivelled her view to look inside the building and saw multiple objects stacked on top of one another by the front doors. The employees barricaded themselves inside.

  Getting in was going to be tough, but not impossible. First things first, Richards would tell her if there was a spy in the building or not. Part of her hoped he resisted, she was in the mood to kick his ass a little more.

  The man in question got out of the car behind them and approached. Ally exited and met him between the two vehicles. She noticed him glance around, anxiety showed in his every move. The smell of decay and something salty hung in the air.

  Before she could open her mouth to ask if any of Allgood’s men were inside a can rattled off to the side. Something dark lurched toward them, a growl carried to them on the wind. Ally grabbed her gun and saw Richards run back to his car.

  Crap, she thought. As the zombie neared her she realized it was covered in charred clothes, the hair and skin singed off of its body. Raising her weapon she fired, landing the shot between its eyes. The thing fell to the ground in an ashy lump.

  Glancing around she saw that at least a dozen others approached from various spots. She turned her head to Richards and glared. A noise behind her, and Hank and the guard were at her side.

  “We need to get to a more defensible position, and draw them away from Erdman,” she said.

  Options limited, she decided on a small building that looked like it might have been a convenience store at one time. On the side she hopped on a pile of crates and prayed they would support her weight. She reached for the top, grasped the edge, and pulled herself over. Hank and the guard followed seconds after.

  Ally picked a position he liked and the other two men followed suit. Shots rang out, and after a few minutes the ground was littered with zombies. Something about it made her uneasy, it was too easy. She stayed put for ten more minutes waiting to see if something moved, or made a noise giving away its position.

  “I don’t like it,” Hank whispered.

  “Me either.”

  The guard was silent, standing vigil over Erdman’s vehicle. Then out of nowhere Hank jumped over the side, yelled, moved around, and did whatever else to get noticed. At least Ally hoped that was the intention, otherwise the guy was a whack job.

  Before she could think of an adequate name to call Hank, hordes of zombies appeared from every direction, surrounding Hank. Ally fired at those she could, the guard did the same and Hank panicked, screaming while firing shots without aiming.

  “Damn it, we need to get him out of there. Help me clear a path,” Ally yelled to the guard.

  They concentrated on killing the zombies in a direct line leading Hank back to them. Problem with their idea was the poor guy was too scared and didn’t realize what they were doing.

  “Move it Hank, get your ass back here!” Ally yelled.

  Several of the creatures moved toward her but Hank stood still, he fired in crazy patterns. Out of nowhere Trevor appeared and grabbed him, pulling Hank back to their car. Ally sighed and turned around to sit on the grime-covered rooftop. The guard reloaded his weapon, his eyes never leaving Joseph’s truck.

  “Do you have a name?” Ally asked.

  “Hunter.”

  At least he’s not a talker, she thought.

  “Okay, Hunter, we need to take out the zombies down there and we don’t have enough ammunition on us. Any ideas?”

  She watched his face as he surveyed the situation, eyes calculating each and every escape scenario. Ally had an idea, but wanted to see if he came up with something that didn’t kill them.

  Hunter glanced at her and shook his head. “One of us causes a distraction and the other gets more ammunition from the vehicles. Probability of one us dying is high, but one would survive.”

  “That’s what I thought. I can move faster than you since your leg has to be hurting.” She pointed to the area bleeding through the bandage. “I’m going to hop over the side and get as many as I can to follow me. You go down the way we came and get to the cars. I’ll know you have ammo when I hear gunfire when you come to save my ass.” She smiled, he didn’t.

  Ally leapt over the side before her brain registered the fact he wasn’t going to come for her. On her own as usual. She rolled into the fall and stood coming face to face with a zombie. The smell was noxious and it opened its maw, letting out a groan. A rancid smelling hand grabbed her wrist and she looked down to see a torso with arms climbing her body.

  She shook it off while reaching out with her other hand to stop the appendage of the standing one from wrapping itself around her neck. Using her left hand she grabbed her knife from its sheath, shaking the damaged one loose. Sparing a second she made sure her aim was true and stomped the head of the one on the ground.


  The group of undead were about eighty feet away and closing.

  The head of the halfsie was harder than expected and took five attempts to crush. The other zombies were moving in fast, forty feet now, and the one in front of her thrashed in her hold. Taking the knife she jammed it in its eye socket and twisted. A twitch later and the corpse fell to the ground. Three feet away two dozen zombies marched toward her.

  * * *

  Richards watched Ally take care of two zombies. The guard appeared a moment later and climbed into the driver’s seat of Joseph’s truck. The car lights went on, but the vehicle didn’t move. Suspecting something wasn’t right he checked the area around them and approached.

  He tapped on the window with the butt of his knife and waited for the guard to acknowledge him. When it was obvious he was going to be ignored he swung the door open and pulled the man out.

  Richards ground his foot into the injured man’s leg, enjoying the agonized scream. He snatched the rifle from the man’s grasp and leveled it at his head while he questioned him.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “That woman, she’s crazy. Wants us to take on the zombies and get Erdman into that building. Goes against my orders to keep him safe.”

  “So, she acted as a distraction for you to get help and you took the opportunity to save your own ass? Did you tell your boss?”

  With a motion of his hand Richards motioned Trevor over. The man approached with an annoyed expression.

  “Get one of the sniper rifles from the back, I need you to cover me and Ally when we get out of there. And you better do it or I swear to God I’ll feed you to those things myself.”

  Richards released the back hatch, a meaty hand stopped him. The dark eyes of Joseph Erdman made Richards’s blood run cold. There was a fury there, and something else he couldn’t name.

  “Problem, Joseph?”