The Infected Trilogy

by Doris Qualls

Tears streamed from her face as her eyes met the man of her dreams. He cried, well, we all cried. It was an emotional night for us all. Her mother burst out in sobs as she passed her, and her mother’s new husband Jack stood there emotionless. He was probably the only one there with a dry face. Maria approached Zeke and lifted up her gloved hand. He grabbed her hand, kissed it and held it tight as they faced the minister.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the holy matrimony of Zeke Woods, and Maria Hernandez.”

  “Today you will be joining yourselves in a union that should be founded on affection and mutual respect. Your lives will forever be changed, and your joys multiplied.”

  “If there is anyone here who thinks these two should not be joined, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  Then there was a long silence.

  “Zeke, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, forsaking all others, keep you only unto her for so long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” Zeke gushed.

  “Now Maria, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him and comfort him, honor and keep him, forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, so long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” She squeaked.

  “Now take hands and repeat after me: I Zeke, take you Maria to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward.”

  Zeke repeated.

  “Maria, repeat after me, I Maria, take you Zeke to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward.”

  Maria repeated.

  “Do you have the ring for the bride? Place this ring on her finger and say, ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”

  He placed the ring on her finger and repeated.

  “Do you have the ring for the groom? Place the ring on his finger and say, ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”

  She placed the ring on his finger and repeated.

  “Let these rings be given and received as a token of your undying affection, sincerity, and fidelity to one another.”

  “In as much as Zeke and Maria have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other, by the authority vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Zeke grabbed Maria by the back of her head, smoothly pulled her close to him and they shared a passionate kiss. Gleaming, they turned to face their loved ones and walked hand in hand down the lit up walkway.

  They had a dessert reception following and a short night of dancing. Suddenly they disappeared from the crowd and did not emerge from their room until the next morning at breakfast. They were both glowing. The love they shared inspired me. They ate and quickly went back to the room. I don’t think those love birds came out for a whole week.

  After a few days, in early February I awoke to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the sound of chirping blue birds. The security guard approached me at the breakfast table to ask of Maria’s whereabouts because her cousins, Jose and Gabby Hernandez were at the gate. After letting them in, they sat with Maria for a while out in the gazebo and shared coffee, fruit and chit chat.

  Maria emerged and called for a house meeting. We cautiously gathered around the table waiting for Maria to speak her mind.

  “So my cousins Gabby and Jose are here as you all know and they have approached me about needing a place to stay. My mother told them we were staying here and suggested they ask me if we have room for them. The home they lived at in Oceanside has been compromised by zombies. They need a safe place to stay and want to stay here with us mainly because the property is secure. Any thoughts?”

  “What kind of people are they Maria?” Demanded Zoe. Zoe appeared a tad irritated at the thought of bringing new people into the home.

  “Gabby is my cousin and Jose married into the family. I am very close to Gabby and she is a very quiet and clean person. I’ve never had any problems with them. Jose is very outgoing, athletic and an outdoors type. He won’t cause any problems because we probably won’t see much of him,” Maria replied.

  “Well, I don’t see a problem with it sweety,” Offered Zeke. He was always aiming to please his new bride.

  “I don’t either,” I added.

  “Can we bring it to a vote then?” Maria asked.

  “Is there anyone opposed?” Chris questioned.

  Silence.

  “All for them moving in?” Zeke inquired.

  All hands were raised.

  “Ok, I’ll let them know. Thanks so much guys. It really means a lot to me.”

  I marveled at the fact that Maria owns this house and she has allowed us to stay here rent free, and then ask us if we are uncomfortable with her cousins moving in. Maria truly was a good person. I was lucky to be her friend.

  Gabby and Jose went straight out to their truck and began unloading stuff. It took them only a few hours to get settled in and met us for dinner that evening.

  The cook made us grilled shrimp kabobs with pineapple and bell peppers. I loved it when cook grilled for us. We sat around the gazebo that evening for dinner. The weather was a cool 59 degrees and the sky was clear. It was a good day to eat alfresco. We took some time to get to know Gabby and Jose. My opinion of them wasn’t bad at all, they seemed like great people. Jose was a fit, 5’8” and 150 lbs. He had deep brown eyes and black hair and his skin was an even tan color. He wasn’t bad looking, but wasn’t my type either. He seemed a bit religious for my taste but I planned not to hold it against him. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. He didn’t seem like the pushy religious type so he was ok in my eyes.

  Gabby wasn’t as religious as Jose, but she wore a cross around her neck. She was short, 5’3”, 110 lbs and had the same hair as Maria, just a little shorter and had a bad frost job done to it. She was pretty although not as pretty as her cousin. She had beautiful green eyes though and long eyelashes. I think that is what made her face so alluring. She was a quiet person and didn’t say much the rest of the night.

  The next morning I woke up to Frank the gardener mowing the grass. Breakfast was already served as usual. Cook made us some amazing bacon omelets. I think he had it out for me. He wanted to make me fat. Zoe approached me at the breakfast table and said she wanted to leave the manor to visit some friends from school and asked if I wanted to come with her. I declined because I had a date with my Twilight book in the garden today. I read the whole day away, marveling at the love Bella and Edward shared for each other. They were so different but made for each other. It was just a shame Edward had to wait over 100 years to find his true love.

  I had to eventually stop reading though because I was quickly becoming a couch potato. We had another nice dinner and afterwards I retired to the family room to catch the news. Zoe then decided to bless us with her presence. Chris, Zoe and I were very interested in the newer developments. So much has changed over the last few weeks, it was scary.

  The news showed widespread devastation not only in the country but now all over the world. One news cast showed infected people on a plane in the middle of the ocean causing so much carnage that the plane crashed right into the sea. The U.N. has declared a worldwide food shortage. The scenes following showed decimated creatures moaning and attacking people, blood streaming everywhere and zombies feasting on carcasses.

  “This looks like some crazy horror flick.” Chris announced. “These things really do look like zombies. No wonder everyone is calling them zombies now. It really has happened. We’ve reached a zombie apocalypse.”

  Just then the president’s address came on.

  “Dear American citizens. This count
ry is in an uproar like none we have ever seen. Many people have been murdered in cold blood and infected people are taking on the appearance of horror movie creatures. Many are calling them zombies. No one is safe at the present time. Authorities are doing what they can to keep you protected, but there is only so much that we can do as the problem is much larger than we can handle. The government is offering a way for you to protect yourselves. Local police stations have stockpiles of weaponry for your disposal. Bring with you a photo Id and they will give you a handgun with 3 months worth of ammo. If you come across one of these creatures, do what you can to avoid them, but if it comes down to it, protect yourselves. If you must leave your home make sure you are fully clothed so that you may not accidentally become infected. We are not fully aware of the damage they create at the time but we do know that those that are changed are dangerous. We are doing what we can to stop the infestation.

  We are also offering money, ammo or food in exchange for any zombies that are captured and taken to any of our “Z” clinics. If you do not have any combat training, please do not attempt to capture any of these creatures. Your local fire department is holding classes that will teach you how to capture zombies and exterminate them if they need to be. Please keep yourselves safe America!”

  “Wana go on a zombie hunt Breanne?” Teased Zoe.

  “No thank you. We should leave that to the desperate people who need to eat,” I laughed.

  Just then Gabby and Jose joined us and watched the news for themselves.

  “Well, I hope none of those zombies try to come at us. They’re gonna be in big trouble. I won’t hesitate to blow their heads off,” declared Jose.

  “Should we go and get some guns? I mean they are free right?” Gabby offered.

  “Heck yes I am going. Who’s with me?” Zoe demanded.

  After a house meeting we decided that we should all go down there and get some training and guns.

  Chapter 10

  ZOE

  The next day we spent most of the morning at the fire department. They wouldn’t let us enter unless we did the breath test.

  We had to watch an hour long video on how to handle zombies. The video stated we should approach with caution and that if zombies come too close we should be prepared to shoot them. Shooting them in the limbs would do no good as the video showed that does absolutely nothing to them besides stun them for a second. Zombies should be decapitated or have a bullet placed in their brains.

  Apprehending zombies was an entirely different segment. Zombies should have cloth bags placed over their heads and arms and legs tied up. We were warned of being scratched, drooled on or bled on by these creatures and that no one should attempt to apprehend one without full body clothing on. The risks as well as benefits were discussed in this meeting. I left there pretty confident that I could kick some butt.

  Next we went to the police station. We were handed a packet that detailed on how to use the gun, when to use the gun and who not to use the gun on. We were asked to pretty much sign our lives way. After showing some identification were handed our guns and ammo.

  On the way home Bre brought up what the old man said to her at the convenience store when all this madness began.

  “Do you remember how he said the government would give us free guns and ammo? And do you remember how he talked about how people progress through the disease? It all makes sense now.”

  “Yeah I remember thinking he was just a crazy old man,” Zoe laughed.

  “Well I guess we know what’s gonna happen next huh?” Bre retorted.

  Bre filled in the rest of our family on what happened that evening and they all just sat there in shock.

  “Hey! Do you guys see that?!” Zoe shouted.

  There were approximately 20 people in front of our gate trying to claw their way in. As we approached the gate we had a good look at what we were dealing with. Zombies. They were trying to get to our poor security guard Bruno. Bruno looked scared for his life. I quickly commanded everyone to load their guns if they knew how and demanded them to get ready for a shooting party.

  I heard about 4 clicks in my Suburban and knew there were at least 4 others with me.

  “Whoever is closest to the windows point your guns out and start shooting. Try to aim at their heads as much as you can!”

  Boom, bam, blast. There was so much gun fire I couldn’t count how many shots were fired. 5 zombies dropped from shots to the head. Not many of us were good shots but I assumed I killed at least 3 of them.

  We did that over and over until we dropped each and every last one of them. Bruno was shaken and didn’t know what to do with himself. Stepping over heaps of dead bodies, I assisted Bruno to the manor. We left the car outside the gate until we could come back later and clean this mess up.

  Gabby sat inside the entry and wept. The rest were all shell shocked. I was a natural leader and gathered up a security guard from inside, gave him a loaded gun and put him back outside. Zeke and I put on gloves and clothes to cover us completely and started moving the bodies away from the gate. The CDC was alerted and didn’t hesitate to remove the bodies from the street for us.

  As per my suggestion we deemed it movie night and retired to the theater for the rest of the afternoon. Chris suggested we watch Dawn of the dead and was showered with popcorn shortly thereafter. We ended up watching Dear John, because we all needed a break from reality. Then we finished off with The Cider House Rules. After another amazing dinner from cook we wandered off to our bedrooms.

  Another day is over, I thought. In times of crisis, you learn to live just one day at a time. Thinking about the future could become overwhelming. As I settled into my Batman pajamas, I opened up my ugly blue curtains and next, the window. Fresh air was exactly what I needed. Watching the beautiful moonlight and bright starts reminded me of being a little girl and sitting on the roof of the house at night to count stars and study constellations. Those were some of the best times of my life; it was just me and nature. Memories flooded back of mom calling me in for the night. Oh how I missed her. She was always my light. How I wish I could talk to her right now and tell her how much I love her. I was sad so I climbed into my bed and slept until the early morning hours.

  Today I woke up deciding that we don’t need another incident like yesterday. I was going to call a house meeting after breakfast. I gathered everyone into the family room and asked them to sit and listen to me for a while.

  “I brought you all here this morning to discuss something very important with you. I went to bed last night thinking about how upset some of you were yesterday when we were greeted at the gate by zombies. That was a problem for me. I know our home is safe but we should be able to come and go without executing a mob of zombies every time. I don’t think we should give into fear and keep cooping ourselves up in this place. We will eventually need to venture out to get medications, supplies, clothing, ammo ect. What I propose to you is we take shifts and hire another security guard to replace Bruno since he quit. Everyone will take a shift doing perimeter checks and executing any zombies that come near our fence. I suggest we arm everyone in the house at all times and give the security guards semi-automatics, especially the one in the box at the gate.”

  “I think that’s a great idea Zoe,” Bre chimed in.

  “Are you gonna be willing to do a check Bre?” I asked her.

  “What do you think I am ZOE? A baby? I can defend myself!” Bre cried.

  “I didn’t say you were a baby Bre, I am just saying that you are probably going to have to shoot to kill. Are you gonna be ok with that?”

  “Yes, and you don’t have to be a jerk about it!” Bre snapped back.

  Gabby organized a chart for us where we each took turns. Night shifts were shorter so we could get more sleep. I brought out the stash of semi-automatics that my grandfather gave me when he came to visit and gave them to the security guards.
Everything was set and I felt much safer.

  The next two weeks were uneventful. We rotated shifts like clockwork. The news was guessing a good quarter of the public was infected at this point. We slowly started seeing more zombies, but mainly at night. A quick drive through town showed me that the news was probably right. My new family wasn’t afraid of them anymore. When I said shoot to kill, they shot to kill. Over the next few weeks we started seeing more and more zombies and they were always trying to get through the fence. Having people on shifts was definitely helping.

  Maria’s shift was that night. She started with the early shift. She reported to the security guards that there were more than she could handle and asked for back up. Since I am the proposed leader they grabbed me out of bed. She and I sat in the moonlight for most of the night taking these things out one by one. She was becoming a good shot, I thought. Next thing I know I fell asleep. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I awoke to Maria’s blood curdling screams.

  Startled wide awake, I grabbed my gun, stood straight up, and frantically looked around. Right behind me I found where the sound of ripping flesh came from. Maria was crouched to the ground with blood covering her and a zombie was chewing on her arm.

  My heart stopped for just a second and I felt like I was going to throw up. The only thing I could think to do was to make sure my gun was cocked and aim. I got a good opening of the demon face and BOOM. I blew its brains all over the side of the building.

  “MARIA! Are you ok? How did this happen? How did it get in here?” I yelled in a panic.

  Hearing moans directly behind me I frantically turned around to be met face to face with another zombie. I got a good look at the zombie’s face and it was our neighbor Mr. Gong. I couldn’t believe it. His face was a pale grey and his eyes sunken and black. He had gashes in his cheek and his left arm was missing. His fine black Armani suit was ragged, dirty and full of blood and brain matter. He was hardly recognizable. Knowing who it was stopped me for a second, but I cocked my gun anyway and blasted his face off just in the nick of time.

  I called to the security guard on duty and he wouldn’t answer. I called again. Nothing. Making sure Maria wasn’t bleeding out, I went to check on my guard. As I strolled though the yard I dreaded the worst. Approaching his booth, I found a trail of blood. He lay in his booth bloody and beaten. They had gotten to him too.