“Something large is inside the amusement park.”
Randus stole a glance toward the park. “Are you sure it isn’t one of the workers working late? I’m sure many of them are going to be working late so the park can open on time.”
“No, I know all the workers. Whoever or whatever it was probably stood over seven feet and was muscular.”
Randus stared at him wondering if he had been hitting the bottle. He could tell Chris was nervous about something. He pulled a handgun from its holster from the back of the jeep and handed it to Chris. “Here, let’s go find whatever it is you saw. I’m sure it’s nothing. If there was an intruder on the island, Captain Jonas and his men would have already spotted him.”
Chris took the weapon from him and held it firmly in his grasp. He followed behind Randus as he entered the park. Randus took his flashlight and switched it on and looked back at Chris. “Where should we look?”
“I lost sight of it around the rollercoaster. I don’t know where it went from there.”
“All right, let’s go find whatever it is.”
Randus led them toward the rollercoaster and stopped once they reached it to look around for any evidence that something had just been there. It was getting dark, and Chris worried it would give whatever it was the advantage. He pointed away from the ride. “I’m sure it went that way.”
Randus lit the way with the flashlight, hoping he could locate what they were looking for. His light focused on an overturned garbage can. “Something came this way. I know the garbage can was upright when I was down this way earlier. Make sure the safety is off on your weapon.”
Chris checked his weapon and followed closely behind him as he made his way past the garbage can. They came to an overturned park bench a few feet farther. Randus stopped and looked around. He had a feeling they were being watched. He made sure his shotgun was loaded and looked at Chris. “Be ready for anything. I think we’re being hunted.”
“What?” said Chris silently. “We’re not following an animal.”
Randus ignored his remark and took another step forward and abruptly stopped. He saw something massive lurking in the darkness. “I see it.”
“Where?” asked Chris. “I don’t see anything.”
“It’s standing in the darkness watching us. You’re right about it. Whatever it is, it’s large.” He stood trying to decide what course of action he should take. He didn’t want to make a hasty decision that could get the both of them killed. He raised his shotgun and took another step forward. Without warning, the intruder moved from the shadows and stood in the middle of the street, staring them down. Randus knew exactly what they were dealing with.
“Back away slowly, Chris. This is something we don’t want to deal with. I don’t know where it came from, but we have a large zombie on the loose.”
Chris looked at the creature in disbelief. He had never set eyes on this zombie before. He knew every zombie created for the park, and then he remembered. It looked like the one Cheng was creating in the back room of the lab. It somehow managed to escape its cage and was now standing directly in front of them. “I think you’re right. I don’t think we’re going to win a battle against that thing.”
They heard shots fired from behind the zombie and they both fell to the ground, fearing they would be hit by stray bullets. They watched frightfully as the zombie turned around and ran toward the sound of the gunfire. Bullets whizzed by them as they both crawled toward a tree to take cover.
More gunfire and shouting broke the silence. Neither Chris nor Randus had any idea who was doing the shooting, but they were relieved they showed up when they did. The zombie had been poised to attack them, and they didn’t have the fire power to defend themselves. The night went still and the sound of gunfire ceased. Chris and Randus left the safety of the tree and cautiously made their way down the street until they came to Ted and Cheng standing over the fallen body of the zombie. Ted was holding a large rifle used for elephant hunting. He was the first to see Chris and Randus approaching. He wasn’t happy to see either of them. He moved around the slain zombie to intercept them before they drew any nearer.
“Not a single word about what happened here tonight. It was an unfortunate accident this thing got loose. It’s dead now so it won’t pose a threat to anybody.”
“How did it get loose?” asked Chris. “And why wasn’t I informed this thing had been created?”
“I just found out myself right before it escaped,” said Ted. “It doesn’t matter now; it’s dead. You have to promise me you won’t tell a living soul we lost control of it. The next one we create we won’t make the same mistake. We now know what we will be dealing with.”
“What about the people it killed?” asked Cheng. “How are we going to cover that up? Not to mention a couple of them were Captain Jonas’ men. I also lost a couple of respected scientists I won’t be able to replace.”
“I’ll deal with Captain Jonas, and we’ll bury everybody else on the remote part of the island. We have to keep all of this a secret or we’ll send a panic throughout our community. That wouldn’t be good for the morale of our workers.”
“I would advise against making another one of those things,” said Chris.
“The park needs a main attraction, Chris. We have to create another one. This time we’ll create it inside its permanent enclosure with extra security surrounding it. That way we won’t have to move it. I will make sure its enclosure will be strong enough to keep it from escaping,” commented Ted.
Chris looked at Cheng. “And you’re all right about this?”
“Ted is right, Chris. The park needs a main attraction. I underestimated its strength, so I take full responsibility for what happened here tonight,” said Cheng. He looked at Randus. “Have Chris help you move the zombie and bury it along with the others.”
“I will make sure you both get extra money in your paychecks for all the trouble,” said Ted.
Randus looked suspicious. “Just remember, we’re both going to go through a lot of trouble covering this entire incident up.”
“Don’t worry about it, Randus. You’ll both be well compensated as long as you keep all of this a secret.” He turned and walked away from them confident nobody else on the island would ever find out about the failed experiment.
Chapter Seven
Kylie and Carl were sitting in the bedroom provided for them by their aunt. Neither of them wanted to be alone on an island that had several zombies not far from where they were about to sleep. They were both from Illinois and had been rescued by Shelton Franks’ men as the outbreak gained momentum. Their parents had been in contact with their aunt during the first sightings, and she advised them all to come to the island because a new community was being built there for a zombie park, and they would be safe there. Their aunt had assured their parents that the same thing that had happened in Valparaiso, Indiana, wouldn’t happen on the island. Every possible doomsday scenario had been considered once construction was underway. Their aunt didn’t know all the details of what had happened in Indiana or what was starting to happen in Illinois. Nobody, not even the government, thought it would spread across state lines. They thought they would have it contained to one area of the United States when they dropped the bomb on Valparaiso, Indiana. Their parents knew it would spread and they were prepared to do whatever it took to get them out of the country to somewhere safe.
Carl recalled his father speeding down the highway, trying to get across Illinois before the bomb was dropped on Indiana. His father had learned about it from his brother who worked in the White House. He had called his father and warned him to get as far away from Indiana as he could without going into all the gory details of what was about to occur. They made it out of Indiana in plenty of time and were staying at a busy motel in Joliet, Illinois, until other accommodations could be made. They thought they would be safe. They were dead wrong. It was on their third night in Joliet when the first zombie was discovered. It all started with a
helicopter crash and emergency personnel responding to it. That’s when the first recorded attack occurred. The virus quickly spread like wildfire from there and made its way to Joliet where people were completely taken off guard. A warning went out over the airwaves and through television, but the warnings came too late. Nobody had time to react or even find a safe place to hide.
Carl, Kylie, and their parents were huddled safely inside their room watching the news on television when they heard screaming from the parking lot outside of their door. Their father reached for the remote and turned off the television so they could listen. It was early evening, and they had just finished eating pizza for dinner. They were planning to leave in the morning and head to Missouri to put some more distance between them and Indiana. More screaming sounded from the parking lot and their mother looked alarmed. They didn’t know what was happening outside of their room, and they were too afraid to go over to the window to have a look.
A car horn sounded loudly as several shots were fired, and someone knocked hard on their door but stopped abruptly. They heard loud growling and a sound they had never heard before. It sounded as though flesh was being ripped from the bone. They sat there staring at each other as more screaming was heard above the sirens coming from the distance. Kylie looked at her mother.
“Mother, I’m afraid.”
“I know, Kylie, I’m scared, too. Just stay where you are and be quiet. We don’t want anybody to know we’re inside here. Maybe they’ll go away and leave us alone.”
Finally after several minutes of uncertainty, their father stood up and slowly made his way over to the window to have a look. He reached the window and went to pull the curtain back but stopped and looked at his family. He didn’t want to alarm them, but he could hear chewing and the ripping of flesh directly on the other side of the window. He knew the zombie apocalypse had found them. He looked away from his family and slowly drew the curtain back just enough so he could see the parking lot outside of the window. His eyes widened as he saw a young woman lying on the sidewalk with a couple of men gnawing on her massacred body, tearing flesh from her bones and chewing it without remorse. He looked past them and saw a zombie pull a man half way out of his car and viciously rip his head from his neck. Blood flowed freely, forming a pool of crimson on the ground. He quickly closed the curtain and turned to face his family, frightened beyond measure. He tried to whisper what was happening outside, but the words were caught in his throat.
“What’s out there?” Carl finally asked, not really wanting to know the answer. He watched as his father remained silent and went over to his mother and sat next to her on the bed. He was in a trance as if he were too scared to talk.
Nobody said a word but stared blankly at the door to the room, listening to the sound of a milling mass of the undead ripping off flesh from the young woman outside of the window. It was the most frightening thing any of them had ever heard before. Gunfire erupted and they could hear men ordering people to raise their hands, but soon they heard the same men screaming and begging for their lives.
There was a sudden knocking at the door and then it was replaced by the sound of scratching. Their presence inside the room was known. Their father led them into the bathroom and closed the door behind them. There was barely enough room for the four of them to hide, but they managed the best they could. They were trapped like mice inside the bathroom. The only way out of the room was through the front door. They all stood holding their breaths, hoping the zombies would forget they were inside and move away from the front door and give them an opportunity to get away.
“Will they get inside?” asked Kylie.
“The door is locked,” said her father, looking at his wife. “They can’t get inside without a key.”
They remained inside the bathroom for what seemed an eternity before they decided it was safe enough to leave. Carl’s father once again slowly made his way over to the window to have a look. He slowly drew the curtain back and was relieved to see there weren’t any zombies near the door or anywhere he could see in the parking lot. He looked toward the parking lot. The young woman’s body was no longer lying there. He could see a large bloody smudge leading away from the door and across the parking lot. He knew something had dragged her body away. He turned to look at his family.
“We have to leave now.” He was interrupted by his cell phone. He answered before anything outside could hear it. It was Aunt Julie calling and letting them know a helicopter was on the way to the mall area to pick them up and take them to an island near Costa Rica. He hung up and looked at his family. “We have to get to the mall down the street. A helicopter is coming to get us.”
“Is it safe to go out there?” asked Kylie in a frightened voice. “I don’t want to go out there.”
“We have to Kylie,” said her father in a soothing voice. “We’re not safe here. There is a helicopter coming to get us, but we have to get to the mall so we can catch it. If we’re not there to meet it, it will fly away and leave us here. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”
“No, Daddy.”
“Good. Now I’m going to go out there and make sure we can get to the car safely, then I’ll come back and get the rest of you.”
“Honey, you can’t go out there without a weapon.”
He looked at his wife. “Hand me the lamp from the nightstand. I can use it as a weapon if I need to.”
She handed him the lamp, and he slowly opened the door and peered outside to make sure the coast was clear. It was eerily quiet outside and it had gotten dark. The outside lights were on so he had a clear view of his car in the parking lot. From his vantage point, he didn’t see any sign of zombies lurking in the area. He took a look back at his family and closed the door behind him. He stood for several minutes before finding the courage to go into the parking lot. The parking lot was littered with corpses that all appeared to have severe head injuries. He knew they wouldn’t be able to come back to life and pose a problem for him. After a quick sweep of the area, he looked back toward his room and saw the door was standing wide open. He could see someone stumbling toward the back of the room. Panicked, he sprinted across the parking lot, hurdling over dead and mutilated bodies and sprang through the open door and then stopped as he realized it was a zombie inside the room. He stole a glance toward the bathroom door and saw it was still closed. He knew his family was safe for now. He held the lamp firmly in his hands and screamed at the zombie to leave his family alone. It clumsily turned around and looked at him. Its clothes were soiled and badly torn as if it had been in an accident or attacked by a pack of vicious dogs. Its eyes were milky-white and clouded over. It reached out its arms and let out a horrible low growl and shambled a step toward him. He wasn’t about to let the zombie separate him from his family. He raised the lamp above his head in a threatening manner and lunged toward the zombie, smashing the lamp hard on top of its head. The lamp shattered into several pieces, splitting the zombie’s skull open revealing its brain. It took two steps forward and then toppled sideways onto one of the beds in the room. He stood there making sure it wasn’t going to rise once again and try to attack him.
The bathroom door burst open, and his wife was the first to exit. She looked frightened. “Is that thing dead?” she finally asked in a shaky voice.
“I think so. It hasn’t moved yet, so that’s a good sign.”
“Honey, we need to get out of here before any more of those things find us.”
“Agreed. Let’s get to the car. I didn’t see any of these things out there so we should be all right.”
He led them outside and over to their car. They all got inside and locked the doors. He sat catching his breath and trying to recover from killing the zombie. He had never killed anything in his life, not even a mouse or a common household spider. If he found one inside their house, he would try to catch it and release it back outside. Violence wasn’t in his nature. He started the car and was about to back up when a deformed face came crashing through the w
indow on the front passenger side, taking a bite from his wife’s arm. He hit the gas and managed to knock the zombie off its feet, knocking it to the ground.
He peeled out of the parking lot trying to fight back a river of tears. He looked at his wife’s arm while Kylie was screaming from the backseat. “How bad is it?”
“Bad,” his wife replied. “It’s bleeding badly.”
“I need to get you to a hospital.”
“No! We need to get the children to the mall. I’ll use my belt to try to stop the bleeding for now.” She slipped off her leather belt and tied it above the wound and tightened it as tightly as she could. She looked at her husband. “Get us there as quick as you can. I need to know my children are going to be safe before anything happens to me.” She heard Kylie crying hysterically in the backseat. “Kylie, mommy is going to be all right. We’re all going to be all right.” She didn’t believe her own words. She knew she wasn’t going to survive without medical attention, but her children had to come first. Nothing else mattered to her but them.
The road was an ocean of wrecked and abandoned cars, making it hard to make it to the mall. They came across several zombies who were feasting on the remains of the passengers in the vehicles. Both Carl and Kylie shielded their eyes from the carnage and thought about pleasant things. They heard sirens coming from behind them and saw an officer on a police motorcycle pass them dragging two zombies behind him holding firmly onto the seat. The officer was having a rough time keeping the bike upright, and he finally toppled over when trying to maneuver around a large RV blocking the middle of the road. Dozens of slack-jawed monstrosities pounced on top of him and sliced through him and feasted on his body.
They finally reached the mall as the helicopter came into view. It landed near their car and two soldiers dressed in black jumped out and rushed to their car and opened the doors. Both Carl and Kylie were snatched from the car and carried to the helicopter. Carl stared at his father who was waving at him from the car. Carl knew his parents weren’t coming with them. He didn’t understand why his parents had stayed behind. He didn’t understand why the soldiers couldn’t help his mother. He didn’t understand why the zombies had appeared. He didn’t understand any of it.
The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 4): Zombie World Page 4
