Indeadpendence Day

by Gregory, S. K.

  "If I don't answer they'll send someone in here," he said.

  I tightened my grip on the gun, "You say anything to alert them and..."

  I didn't need to finish the sentence. The doctor pressed the intercom button, "Yes?"

  "Doc, we have an escaped infected aboard the ship, any sign of it on your end?"

  "No, nothing here."

  "Lock yourself in until we find it. Out."

  They both looked at Rachel, "Yeah, it got away. Adam went after it."

  "Don't you think you could have mentioned that?" I snapped.

  A headache was starting to form, the more I sobered up.

  The doctor took the sample and began examining it under the microscope.

  "Okay, I see evidence of infection...What the...?"

  "What? What is it?" I said.

  He looked up at Rachel, "Have you ever been infected before?"

  "How the hell could I have been?" she snapped.

  "What do you see?" I demanded.

  "Uh, do you know how a flu shot works?"

  Rachel nodded, "Yeah we covered it in class. They give you a tiny amount of the virus so that if it infects you again then your body will recognize it and fight it off."

  "Exactly, well this seems to be something similar. You've been introduced to a weakened form of the virus. Your body is attacking it."

  "Does that mean she'll turn or not?"

  He shrugged, "It doesn't look likely."

  "Really?" Rachel said. She looked so relieved.

  "If we knew how you were infected originally, we could possibly produce an antivirus."

  Rachel rubbed absently at her shoulder, "I haven't been bitten by any of..."

  She pulled back her t-shirt to reveal a small bite mark, "Cady?" she whispered.

  "Who's Cady?" the doctor asked.

  "The kid," I said. “Acker was looking for her. Her mother wasn’t infected either.”

  "Her parents were the ones who invented the virus."

  The doctors eyes nearly popped out of his head, "This is...amazing. We need to examine the child immediately."

  "No," Rachel protested.

  I blocked the doctors’ way, "You already have a blood sample. Work with that for the time being."

  The doctor nodded, "Okay, I'll run an analysis on it now."

  "I'm going to find Adam," I said.

  I took off across the ship. I tried raising him on the radio, but got nothing. I heard a couple shots from above me and headed up. I reached the upper deck.

  The infected was standing in the center of a group of armed soldiers. It growled and lashed out at them. I noticed that its head was bent at an unusual angle.

  "What are you waiting for?" I yelled.

  But none of them made a move to shoot it. They still wanted the damn thing alive.

  No chance, I thought. I grabbed a gun from the nearest soldier and blew its head off.

  The others began shouting, but I stopped listening. I handed back the gun. Let them throw me in the brig if they wanted to.

  I spotted a body lying face down on the deck. It got some poor bastard. I would have to check the body, in case he got back up.

  I knelt beside it, and flipped him over.

  "Shit," I said, staring at the blood soaking through his shirt, "Adam."

  Eleven

  Rachel

  I sat in one of the cabins, on top of a desk. I stared at the blank wall in front of me, waiting on Gabe to come back and confirm whether or not Adam was dead or not. They found him on the deck.

  I didn't want to believe it. I let him go out there alone, while I was too busy worrying about myself.

  The door opened and Gabe walked in. The look on his face confirmed it.

  "Oh, God," I said, feeling bile rise in my throat.

  Gabe kicked out at the desk chair, sending it hurtling across the room into the wall.

  "Fuck!" he raged. He swiped at a shelf, sending the contents onto the floor.

  "Stop, Gabe. It's not going to bring him back,” I grabbed his arm.

  He glared at me, breathing hard. Then he wrapped his hands around my arms, pulled me against him and kissed me. I pulled back, shocked, and slapped him in the face.

  "What the hell?" I cried.

  He looked shocked, but then he kissed me again, pressing his body against mine, his tongue invading my mouth. I could taste alcohol on his breath.

  I didn't push him away this time, but instead wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. I needed this. Things began to grow heated quickly as his hands roamed my body.

  What am I doing? I thought, but I didn’t stop.

  He pulled my t-shirt off, followed quickly by his own. He tugged my shorts off while I fumbled with his belt. The rest of our clothes followed.

  His eyes roamed over my body and I felt desire flush through me. His hands went to my thighs as he spread my legs wide and then he was inside me.

  I clung to him as he thrust into me. The desk creaked under our frantic movement. His mouth was on mine.

  I had no idea what I was doing. Gabe was an asshole, but I just wanted to forget about everything that was happening outside this cabin.

  This is so wrong.

  But I still didn't stop.

  He sped up. I let out a loud moan, digging my nails into his arms as I came. He collapsed against me a few seconds later. I guessed what Adam said was right. He did like me.

  *

  Gabe

  I opened my eyes, wondering where I was. I was facing a grey wall, lying on a camp bed.

  Turning over, I found Rachel lying asleep next to me. Memories of last night came back to me. I hadn't meant to lunge at her like that. I was surprised she had responded. I thought she was into Adam.

  Shit. Adam.

  I remembered the blood. The look on his face. I’d hoped there was a chance to save him, but the doc said he was gone.

  I should have been watching his back.

  Rachel shifted under the covers, mumbling something in her sleep. Last night was the hottest sex I’d had in a while.

  There was a knock at the door. One of Higson's men came in without waiting for a reply.

  "A little fucking privacy," I growled. I checked that Rachel was covered with the blanket.

  The soldier ignored the comment, "You're wanted on deck. It’s urgent."

  "Fine," I replied.

  I dressed quickly. Rachel opened her eyes as I was leaving.

  "What's going on?" she asked.

  "I'm not sure, wait here."

  Up on deck, Higson was waiting for me. The soldiers flanking me had their guns trained on a man on the ground. He was sweating, his skin was grey and his eyes were bloodshot.

  "Is he infected?" I asked.

  Higson pulled his sidearm and put one between the man’s eyes.

  "Yes, and he may not be the only one. I want this ship searched now!"

  *

  Rachel

  The second the door closed behind Gabe, I leapt up and pulled on my clothes. I needed to get out of here before he came back. Last night was a huge mistake.

  As I opened the cabin door, I heard a gunshot from up on deck. I froze. There would be only one reason why someone would fire a gun. Another zombie. Adam?

  I closed my eyes, trying to force the image of him as a zombie, away. No one deserved that.

  Hurrying back to the cabin Lynn was in, I found her playing with Cady.

  "What's going on?" Lynn asked.

  "Adam is dead. He was killed by a zombie that was on board."

  Lynn went pale, "No, I thought we were safe."

  "So did I. We need to get off this boat now."

  Lynn picked up Cady and we headed up onto deck. One of the soldiers leapt out at us, pointing a gun.

  "HEY!" Gabe yelled, marching towards them. "They're clean, let them by."

  The soldier reluctantly stepped aside.

  "What's going on?" I said.

  "We think that the zombie infected more peop
le before Adam caught up to it."

  "Did Adam..?" I started.

  "No, it was a soldier. I think it’s time the three of you got off this ship."

  "How?" Lynn asked.

  He led us to a lifeboat at the far side of the ship.

  "Get in," he said.

  I held Cady while Lynn climbed in. I passed Cady to her and hopped in myself.

  Gabe began lowering the boat.

  "Wait!" I said, "What about you?"

  "I need to take care of this. Head for shore, I'll be there soon."

  He lowered the boat into the water. There was a motor attached. I started it up and headed towards shore. I could see land in the distance.

  We were halfway across when something exploded. We turned to see flames erupting from the side of the ship. Several people threw themselves overboard.

  "Oh my God, what do we do? Should we go back?" I asked.

  Lynn shook her head, "They're soldiers, they can handle themselves. Let's keep going."

  Half an hour later we reach the dock. We climbed out and headed towards the town. Several people passed us on the way. Everything looked normal. There were no zombies anyway.

  "Let's find the police station," Lynn suggested.

  I had no idea how we were going to explain anything, especially if no one knew about the zombies.

  A police officer was behind the desk when we entered the station. He glanced up as we came in.

  "Good morning, can I help you?" he asked.

  "Yes, this is going to sound crazy, but we just came from a town called Williamsburg. There was an..."

  "Explosion," he finished for her. "I heard all about it. A lot of people were killed. You say you came from there?"

  We decided to go with his story, "Yes, we left town just before it happened."

  "You weren't the only ones. We have another guy who came from the town too. He was upset and lost control so we had to put him in a cell. It's not his fault, the shock of what happened, plus I think he's sick."

  "Sick?" I asked.

  "Yeah, flu or something. He's asleep at the moment."

  Asleep or dead?

  Twelve

  Rachel

  "We have to tell him," Lynn insisted.

  "Tell him what? That the guy could be a zombie? He wouldn't believe us," I replied.

  "Well if he is one, he'll find out soon enough."

  We were seated in the reception area of the police station waiting for someone to talk to us. Lynn rocked Cady on her lap. I admired her ability to look after Cady. The child had really taken to her. Maybe Lynn could look after her. I immediately cursed myself for being so selfish. Cady was my responsibility now.

  Once we left here, we would have to go back to our normal lives. Well, not normal. Nothing would ever be normal again. I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. College was probably out. I would have to get a job to support me and Cady.

  Maybe I could sell my story to the papers and make a fortune. I almost laughed at the thought. I was sure the army were smart enough to cover up all traces of it. The only thing an interview would get me was locked up in a padded cell. Which at this moment in time did not sound like a bad thing.

  "What do we do now?" Lynn asked, "Should we wait for Gabe and the rest of the soldiers?"

  I shifted in my seat at the mention of his name.

  "I don't know," I said. I wasn't sure I wanted to see him again. Last night was...well I wasn't going to deny that it was good, but it should have never happened. I almost felt like I was betraying Adam. Which was stupid because nothing had happened between us, except a kiss. Although I wanted it to.

  There was a cry of rage from somewhere down the hallway, followed by a loud bang as something struck a cell door.

  "What the hell?" the cop said, rushing into the back.

  I stood up. Had the guy changed?

  "We should leave," I said.

  A second later the cop returned. He stumbled towards us, clutching his neck. Blood leaked through his fingers.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strangled gasp. He collapsed at my feet.

  The zombie came hurtling out of the back, his mouth smeared with blood. It spied the three of us and charged.

  Before it reached us, the side of its head exploded, spraying the wall with brain matter. The body fell sideways onto the floor.

  Gabe stood in the doorway, gun raised.

  "Oh thank God," Lynn said.

  "We need to go, right now," he ordered.

  Lynn and Cady hurried forward, but I moved more slowly, staring at the bodies on the ground.

  "Rachel?" Gabe said. I looked up at him.

  "I thought it was over."

  He heaved a sigh, "It got beyond the borders."

  "How bad?" I asked, not sure I wanted to know.

  "Bad. We're being moved to a secure army base."

  He put a hand on her shoulder, "We'll be safe there, I promise. I'll keep you safe."

  Right now I needed that. By ourselves, me and Cady wouldn't survive.

  I stood on tiptoe and kissed him. He looked surprised and relieved.

  "Let's go," I said.

  He led us out to a truck that was filled with soldiers. Several people ran by, screaming. They were being pursued by a group of zombies.

  Gabe and several of the soldiers opened fire on them. Lynn, Cady and I got into the back of the truck. The rest of them jumped in too and the truck took off.

  Gabe stood above me, holding onto a strap attached to the roof. He was staring out of the back of the truck.

  "How long before it ends up like Williamsburg?" I asked.

  "Not long," he replied. He glanced down at me, "It'll be okay. Before the ship blew, the doc said if he can get a sample of Cady’s blood he thinks he can make an antivirus."

  I looked over at Cady, who was watching me with her big blue eyes, sucking on her thumb.

  They would only need a few vials of blood from her, they wouldn't hurt her. She could be the key to saving us all. I just hoped it wasn't too late.

  Thirteen

  Rachel

  Two months later

  The sound of gunfire in the distance had become a regular thing. I stood by the window of the mess hall in the army base, looking out towards the gate that separated us from the chaos outside.

  Every day the soldiers left to fight the zombies and not all of them returned. I had no idea how far they had spread, but it wasn’t looking good.

  So far we were able to hold up at the base, only just keeping them at bay. The scientists were experimenting with Cady’s blood and apparently they were close to an antidote. At least that’s what they said.

  I glanced over at Cady, who was sitting on Lynn’s lap. Lynn had become her surrogate mother lately. Mostly because she was the only one who could calm Cady down when she threw a fit. I think Lynn liked taking care of her. It gave her something to focus on.

  Lynn saw me looking, “He’ll be here,” she said.

  “I know,” I said, trying to smile. Gabe was late.

  Cady had a place here at the base; there was no way they were letting her go. Lynn took care of her and Gabe was a soldier. That left me as the odd one out. They had no reason to keep me here if they didn’t want to. Once they extracted a few vials of my blood in the beginning, they lost interest.

  The doors crashed open and Gabe came running in. He was in his black military uniform.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “Finally,” I muttered. We moved to the front of the room.

  “Are we ready to begin?” the minister asked.

  We both nodded.

  “Very well. We are gathered here today to join Rachel and Gabriel in marriage.”

  I glanced up at Gabe. I couldn’t believe this was happening. The only way I could stay on base was if I was related to one of the soldiers. Or married to one. It wasn’t my dream to be married at eighteen, but the thought of being kicked out, to face whatever was beyond the gate,
was terrifying.

  I realized the minister was looking at me.

  “Oh. I do,” I said.

  He finished the ceremony and Lynn started clapping. I think she actually believed this was a real marriage. It was true, Gabe and I were sleeping together, but this was just about security.

  Lynn hugged me, “Congratulations,” she said.

  “Thanks,” I muttered.

  I reached a hand out to Cady, but she pulled away from me and hid her face in Lynn’s shoulder.

  “She hates me,” I said.

  “No, she doesn’t,” Lynn replied.

  “Yeah, she does. And she should.”

  After all I was the one responsible for her being stuck with needles every other day. But what else could I do? She was our only hope at a cure.

  “We’re going to head back to our room. Cady’s tired,” Lynn said.

  Gabe pulled me to one side, “I have to go out again in a few hours.”

  I sighed, “Today?”

  “I have orders. But I have some time, if you want to go back to our bunk.”

  Nodding, we left the mess hall.

  Once we were back in our room, I unzipped the white shift dress I had managed to snag for the ceremony. I let it drop to the floor.

  Gabe grinned as he checked me out, “Damn, I have one hot wife.”

  I rolled my eyes, “Oh my God, don’t call me that.”

  “What hot?”

  “No, wife. It sounds weird.”

  “Well like it or not, that’s what you are now.”

  He seemed pretty happy about that. He wasn’t taking this thing seriously was he? It’d been his idea to get married, but I thought he was just being practical.

  “You’re not in danger of actually developing feelings for me, are you?” I joked.

  He unhooked my bra and slipped it off.

  “I’m only after one thing,” he said.

  He stripped off his clothes and I pushed him onto the bunk, straddling him. I lowered myself onto him, moaning as he filled me. I began to rock back and forth.

  His hands gripped my hips as he moved with me. A few seconds later I found myself on my back as he began thrusting into me. I wrapped my legs around him. He preferred to be on top.