Survive (Book 1): Salvation

by Veronica Smith

  Both zombies followed the coyote and stumbled as their feet hit the edge of the worn-down road. Antonio turned at a faint voice and saw one sentry elbowing the other and pointing at the zombies.

  Bingo!

  Ted hated sentry duty. It was easy but so boring. He’d rather be out hunting or hurting. His two favorite ‘H’s. He thought that Greg, who was sharing sentry duty, was a lazy wimp who actually enjoyed it. When Greg bumped him and pointed at the zombies, he almost pushed him away and told him to get them himself. He realized he could somewhat fulfill both ‘H’s in one shot. They were dead and couldn’t feel it but it’d still feel good to swing his axe at something. Nothing was coming down the road, nothing ever seemed to come down the road, so they both left their posts and each went after a zombie. He was happy to see they were both female.

  One zombie was much faster. Maybe the missing arm on the other interfered with its abilities to walk. Greg reached it first and stabbed it in the head with his machete. Ted grinned then sped to catch up to the other. He didn’t see Izik’s arrow that silently dropped Greg with a shot to the back of the neck. He swung his axe and cut the female zombie in half as soon as he reached it. As it went down, he saw the name Krystal sewn on the tatters of her outfit.

  Sounds like a stripper. Wish there were a few more of...

  He never even saw or felt the arrow that felled him. Edd got him right in his eye socket.

  “Now!” Tamar whispered to Zach as they opened the cage doors and ducked away.

  They backed out through the fence to meet up with Tracy who was splattered with blood and nodded at them. They heard a scream break the silence and they split up to sneak back in between the tents. Within minutes, the camp was in chaos.

  “He’s down,” Susan said. “Didn’t even yell.”

  She lowered her bow and climbed out of her nest. It was time for her, Antonio, Izik, and Em to go in.

  “Faster!” Chuck yelled. “Gun it!”

  He was so pumped up on adrenaline that he was banging the dash with his fist and putting dents in it. Richie grinned and put the pedal to the floor. The truck bounced and threatened to lose control but he had a tight grip of the wheel with both hands and kept the truck straight. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw JJ right on his tail with a determined look on his face. Rodrigo was bracing himself from the bumpy drive with a hand to the ceiling. Paul was bouncing around between them and looked terrified. For some reason this made Richie laugh and for a brief moment wondered if he’d gone insane. He may have been scared but he was laughing like a maniac.

  “What is that?” Richie asked, squinting in the new sun’s glare.

  Something was crawling across the road. At the speed the trucks were going they didn’t dare swerve for fear of losing control. Chuck focused on the slowly moving object.

  “It’s one of our bait zombies!” he yelled. “Well, half of it any way.”

  There was thud, then splat, and the truck bumped up slightly as they ran over it.

  “Richie!” Chuck laughed, “You just ran over JJ’s ex!”

  Richie grinned and replied, “And he can thank me later. Almost there!”

  The gate was increasing in size quickly as they crossed the distance. Within moments, they smashed the gate and drove through. Chuck held his pistol ready, expecting gunfire but was surprised when there was none. As planned, JJ swerved to the right and Chuck lost sight of them.

  “There!” Chuck said, pointing to the only wooden structure placed in the middle of the camp.

  Richie slammed on the brakes and they stopped twenty feet from the door. They both jumped out and Chuck ran to the door first. It was locked and didn’t break on his first kick.

  Damn what a tough door!

  “Chuck!” Richie screamed.

  Chuck turned to see Richie fighting one Z.E.D. and a zombie simultaneously while another pair of both came running and shambling at him. He began to lift the pistol and realized they hadn’t shot at him. Maybe they were low on ammunition as well. He quickly holstered the pistol and pulled out his massive hammer. One Z.E.D. soldier actually skidded to a halt at the sight of it. The other Z.E.D. glanced on the other side of Chuck, where the two zombies were staggering up to him. With a grin, the Z.E.D. stopped and crossed his arms smugly. He expected the zombies to do his job for him. Chuck roared and swung around. With a twist of his wrist, he angled the large spike and it slammed into the temple of the closer zombie. With a jerk, he pulled it out and the zombie fell to the ground. He swung down and then back up over his head, swiping the long blade on top through the head of the other zombie. The top half of its skull and green tainted brain fell to the ground and its body dropped a few seconds later.

  He turned back to the Z.E.D.s and spoke one word, “Surrender.”

  The hesitant Z.E.D. put his hands up and nodded, too shocked to speak. The other one backhanded him and yelled “Coward!” before pulling out a machete and running at Chuck. Chuck looked at the still solider and winked at him,”Duck.”

  He didn’t hesitate and dropped to his knees, his hands still on top of his head. Chuck ducked back from the machete swing and took a huge upward swing with his hammer. He caught the Z.E.D. under the chin and his head exploded upon impact. Brains and bone fragments flew through the air over the kneeling soldier.

  He gaped at Chuck, then pointed and yelled, “Behind you!”

  Chuck swung around to find another Z.E.D. running at him with a wickedly sharp blade in his hand. Chuck stepped to the side and swung the hammer, smacking him in the back. The ‘crack’ heard was either from his hammer hitting the body or the Z.E.D.’s spine breaking from the impact. From the way he dropped and didn’t move, Chuck was sure it was the latter. He glanced around and helped the knelt soldier to his feet.

  “Thanks,” Chuck said.

  “I have a family,” he replied simply, “I never wanted this.”

  Chuck wasn’t surprised to see tears of relief in his eyes.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Gary,” replied the relieved man. “Get me and my family out of this, and I’ll help you any way I can.”

  “I think we have everything covered, Gary,” Chuck said, “but I do need to get in this building.”

  “The commander’s quarters.” Gary replied, ripping off his uniform shirt to expose a dingy white t-shirt. “Some big-wig from Scout Company showed up yesterday. They’ve been in there since he got here. Once that door is shut, it’s locked.”

  Chuck noticed that most of the Z.E.D.s were busy fighting the freed zombies. The undead swarmed the camp.

  How many had been in the cages?

  He saw Jim and Tamar fighting two Z.E.D.s and a zombie. He hoped all his team were inside by now and was rewarded by the sight of Antonio, Izik, Susan, and Em running in and immediately taking on enemies, both dead and alive.

  “Em!” he called out as she dispatched a zombie in front of her.

  At a tilt of his head, she came running over to him.

  “This is Gary,” he indicated with his hammer, “he needs to get his family then taken to a safe place. He wants out.”

  Em looked Gary in the face and could see his obvious relief.

  “Wait, take that machete,” Chuck said, pointing to the dead Z.E.D’s machete next to his hand.

  “I have my own,” Gary said, patting the sheath on his hip. “You need to know that there are others like myself here. They feel as I do.”

  “How many?” he asked Gary, “How will we know who they are?”

  “About six to eight. Six that I know for sure, but two were still unsure. Chances are they are surrendering, too,” he replied, glancing around quickly. “This is just the chance we’ve been hoping for. If they look hesitant just say resistance to them. You’ll know then.”

  Em stopped during the conversation and took out a zombie that came too close, lopping off its head in one swipe of her machete.

  Chuck thought quickly. “Change of plans, Em,” he told her. “Gary’s goin
g to take you to his family and you will take them to safety. The rocks we released the zombies at is the perfect place. You need to stay with them. I’m going to have Gary come back here and help me find the others and their families. We’re going to send those families to you. The zombie activity is going to get pretty active beyond the camp so it’s up to you to protect them.”

  Em nodded and followed Gary.

  Chuck turned his attention again to the door. He kicked it as hard as he could but it only shuddered.

  Guess the peons only get tents while the real cowards stay safe behind closed doors.

  He looked at his hammer and smiled. Taking a step back, he swung it and hit it with one of the blunt sides. He had expected the door to shatter into splinters and was surprised to see only one board break.

  He was about to hit it again when he heard Gary’s shout, “To your right!”

  He turned and saw two zombies lurching towards him. Briefly, he wondered why Gary didn’t take them down.

  Have I been had?

  He glanced back and saw that Gary was occupied with a Z.E.D. who was trying to take his head off with a knife. He backed up and faced the oncoming zombies. Then he barreled towards them, his hammer already building momentum. Just as they were about to collide he smacked one in the shoulder, slamming it into the other one. They both hit the commander’s building with such force that the head of one exploded on impact. The other fell, its head misshapen and oozing green. He stepped over and stomped on its head to finish the job.

  He heard a yell of pain and turned, afraid he might see Gary at his last. But as he looked, he saw Gary twisting his machete deeper into the neck of the opposing Z.E.D. Blood gushed as his artery was severed. He yanked it out and ran to Chuck.

  “Rick is over there!” he pointed with his bloody machete to a man who was blocking the entrance to a tent from two zombies, “He’s one of us.”

  Chuck did a quick nod to him and they both ran to help.

  Edd snuck in between the armory and the parking area. He saw JJ’s truck but no one was inside. He looked around for them and saw the door on the top of the tank closing. He grinned.

  Wait until the Z.E.D.s get a load of Rodrigo!

  He was about to sneak into the entrance of the armory when there was a tap at his shoulder. He whipped around and almost slammed his machete into Paul’s side.

  “Whoa!” he breathed as he realized just how close he’d come to killing him.

  “Sorry,” Paul said, “I warned you guys I wasn’t that much of a fighter.”

  Edd chuckled and jerked his head at the tent, “This is the armory. I think we need to take it over.”

  Paul laughed and gripped his axe.

  “There’s hardly anything in here,” Edd said in shock.

  There was no one guarding the entrance but that could’ve been because of Sabaton and undead invaders. They looked around and saw maybe a dozen rifles and two crates with AMMO crudely written on them. There was an open box with less than a dozen grenades and a couple flares in it.

  “Just this for a whole camp?” Paul wondered suspiciously.

  “Damn Z.E.D.s must be hurting for ammo too. No wonder I haven’t heard any gunshots,” Edd said, “I think they’re all fighting with blades.”

  He whipped out his pistol and said, “If they don’t have ammo we might manage to stop this fight without a lot of bloodshed. They may just surrender at the sight of a gun.”

  Paul cocked his head, “I don’t think they’ll give up that easily. If they’re desperate, then a gun won’t faze them a bit.”

  Edd laughed, “Would you take a knife to a gunfight?”

  He threw aside the flap at the entrance and ran out.

  Paul was about to follow when Edd rushed back in and they collided, smacking their foreheads together.

  “Oh shit!” Paul sat down hard as he lost his balance.

  He felt his forehead to make sure it wasn’t bleeding, “Damn, what was that about?”

  Edd pointed at the ammo and said excitedly, “I just realized I could probably fill up on ammo before we go back out there.”

  Paul was getting more nervous about this.

  There should be more here. This isn’t even enough to be considered backup supply. Unless it’s all somewhere else?

  Edd ran over to the crates and was about to lift the first lid.

  “Edd, wait—“

  There was an audible click as the lid went up. Neither of them felt the explosion.

  Em paced nervously behind the rocks. The number of refugee families had increased to four. The women held their children and watched her suspiciously despite their husbands’ insistence that it wasn’t a trick. Em was keeping one eye on the women and wondering if they had any weapons or planned to use them on her. She didn’t blame them for their suspicions; they were the attackers here; not the Z.E.D.s. She didn’t want to kill anyone, especially in front of the children, if she didn’t have to. She also kept an eye out for any undead wandering their way. She hadn’t yet seen any but that didn’t mean they weren’t on their way. So far, she’d heard no gunfire over the shouts and screams. She was about to take a drink of water when an explosion rocked the ground. She ran around the boulders and saw a black cloud over the area where the Armory tent was.

  “So why aren’t we moving?” JJ asked Rodrigo inside the cramped tank. This was his first tank experience and he had no urges to have a second one. It was hot and uncomfortable and he forgot to bring his water with him; it was all out in the truck.

  “Dammit!” Rodrigo yelled, pounding at the controls.

  “What?” JJ asked, afraid that whatever Rodrigo did might blow them up.

  “There’s no fuel in this at all? Really?” Rodrigo was incredulous, “There’s not even any ammo for it. This damn thing is just for show. It’s just sitting here to make the camp look intimidating.”

  “Then let’s get the hell out of it,” JJ replied, already climbing up the ladder, palm sweat making his hands slip on the rungs. “I never knew I was claustrophobic until I got inside this damn thing.”

  Without warning, an explosion rocked the tank, and Rodrigo swore it tipped slightly. JJ was screaming and in the enclosed tank, it was deafening. Rodrigo was about to punch him but instead put his hand over JJ’s mouth and shook him.

  “We didn’t blow up?” JJ asked.

  Rodrigo laughed, “Is that what you thought? I think it came from the Armory tent. That’s what‘s next to us.”

  “Oh shit, I think I pissed myself,” JJ laughed nervously. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They climbed up the ladder and opened the hatch cautiously. The Armory tent was flattened, and only scraps were burning.

  Two Z.E.D.s that had been too close to the explosion were on the ground, burned but not yet dead. Five zombies were eating them alive and their weak gurgling was horrible to hear. JJ and Rodrigo jumped down and pulled out their weapons; Rodrigo–his axe, and JJ–his machete. They ran up and took the heads from three zombies that had their backs to them. The remaining two continued eating the same man. His stomach had been ripped open and his intestines were spread out, still clutched in the hands of one decapitated zombie. He moaned and tears flowed from his eyes. He hitched a breath when he saw Rodrigo and JJ. Rodrigo positioned himself over the man who mouthed Please before closing his eyes. Rodrigo nodded, swung his axe, and buried it into the dying Z.E.D.s brain. JJ walked around behind the other two zombies and cut off their heads with two swipes. Rodrigo stepped over to the partially eaten, but still alive Z.E.D. He’d finally lost consciousness so Rodrigo finished him as well.

  “Behind you!” he yelled to JJ.

  JJ swung around to see a burning zombie lurching towards him. He jumped back and swung his machete but he couldn’t get close enough with the flames. A thudding, smacking sound was heard and the zombie dropped, an axe embedded in the back of its head. JJ expected to see Rodrigo there but it was a Z.E.D. who was wearing uniform pants and a dingy white T-shirt with holes
in it.

  “Em sent us back to help. I’m Travis,” he said with a relieved grin. “She’s watching our families.”

  “‘Our’?” Rodrigo asked with a sideways glance at JJ.

  Travis looked over his shoulder and pointed to two other Z.E.D.s in T-shirts fighting zombies and uniformed Z.E.D.s.

  “That’s Carlos and Jack,” he told them.

  Rodrigo’s heart skipped a beat at the name. He still missed his brother fiercely and just the name brought back memories.

  At the sight of more zombies staggering around, JJ asked, “Damn! How many zombies were in that cage?”

  Rodrigo shrugged and they ran to the fight with their unexpected ally.

  “Izik!” Antonio caught sight of him as he was dispatching a zombie with a swing of his axe; his bow and quiver on his back.

  Izik looked around at hearing his name and ran to him.

  “Em is watching some of the families of the ones who joined us,” Antonio said. “That explosion is bound to attract more zombies in the area so it could be crawling with them if it isn’t already. She’s guarding them by herself and I have to send another woman and baby over to her. I need you to get them there safely then stay and help defend them.”

  “How many more are joining us?” Izik asked.

  “At least a couple more,” Antonio answered him as he turned quickly and smashed in the skull of a newly turned Z.E.D. zombie. “What was the explosion?”

  Izik shrugged, he had no idea, he called out and waved to a woman who was huddled against the wall nearby. She carried an infant wrapped in her arms had a bag slung over her shoulder. She rushed over with an expression of relief.

  Izik had to kill two more zombies that attacked them before he even got them outside the encampment. Then a Z.E.D. with rage on his face ran at them.

  “Traitor!” he screamed at the woman, who turned her body around to protect her child.

  Izik jumped in front of her and kicked out, connecting with the man’s left knee. He went down screaming and clutching his leg.