The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 4): Zombie World

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  Carl shuddered. He looked at his sister with tears threatening to cascade down his cheeks. He wished he knew if his parents were all right. Neither of them had reached out to them since they left America. He didn’t want to presume his mother was dead, but he knew she was bitten. He heard the rumors of what happened to people once they had been bitten. He decided to keep how he was feeling to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was alarm his sister. He knew she thought she would see their parents again. She hadn’t realized as yet that their mother could have turned into a zombie. She stared back at him as he wiped tears clinging to his cheek.

  “What’s wrong, Carl? Why are you crying?”

  “I…I…I just don’t want to be here.”

  “There isn’t anything to do here. The park isn’t open yet, so we can’t ride any of the rides or play any of the games.”

  “Who told you that?” asked Aunt Julie, making her way into the room. “I’ve just arranged for the rides and games to be open tomorrow night. It will be a special night for the families of employees. Even the restaurants and food carts will be open. The only area that won’t be open is the zombie section. It’s the only area we still have to finish.”

  “That’s fine with me,” commented Carl. “I don’t want to see that area, anyway. I don’t like zombies, and you’ll never get me to visit them.”

  “That’s fair enough,” replied Aunt Julie. “You can go ride the rides any time you like, as long as your homework is done. You’re going to join the other children on the island at the school next week.”

  Kylie looked at her aunt. “Have you heard from my parents yet? How long will it be until they get to the island?”

  Julie felt sorry for them. She had just received word that her mother had died, turned into a zombie, and killed her father. She wanted to tell her, but she decided now wasn’t the time to give her the news. She had also received word the zombie outbreak was spreading across America in both directions. Only the coasts hadn’t been affected yet, but it was believed it wouldn’t be long before America fell completely. The president labeled it the United States of Zombie before he was forced into hiding at the White House. “Follow me. Let’s go to the arcade. You can play as many games as you want. I have a bucket of tokens waiting for you. And I made sure the ice cream parlor stayed open late so you can have ice cream.”

  “Do you have any video games?” asked Carl.

  “You’re in luck. We have a room with every game system and game we could locate. We should have the games you want to play. I’ll tell you what. I’m free for the rest of the night. Why don’t we go there now and I’ll challenge you to any game you want to play.”

  Carl looked at her for a moment. He knew playing a game would be the perfect distraction he needed. Besides, he knew he was going to beat his aunt. She was a grownup; how good could she possibly be?

  Chapter Eight

  The following morning, Julio Rojas stood with Mao Salas as the ship was being loaded with more homeless people to head for Isla Zomblar. Mr. Rojas was dressed as one of the crew who would be unloading supplies for the island off of the trucks. If all went according to plan after the supplies were delivered, he was going to swim unnoticed to the opposite side of the island and wait for the perfect opportunity to make sure chaos erupted at the park. He knew what he needed to do. His spies had informed him of everything happening on the island, and he needed to put an end to it. His drug empire depended on it. Until the day Shelton Franks purchased the island, he was using it to manufacture his drugs. No one knew about his operation but since he was forced off of the island, he had suffered major losses. His first attempts to free the island of the trespassers had failed. He decided if he was going to succeed in clearing the island, he would have to do it himself.

  Mao Salas gave him the papers to prove he was a part of the crew and had permission to pass through the security checkpoint on the island to load the trucks that would deliver the supplies farther inland. He thanked Mr. Salas and boarded the ship with the rest of the crew. Once the ship set sail, he knew he would have some time to figure out how he was going to penetrate the island without alarming security. He knew cameras had been strategically placed along the beaches, so he would have to wait until the cover of darkness before he could sneak farther inland toward the park. His spies had provided him with the layout of the park before security was tightened. He was confident he could find a weakness. He didn’t have a choice. The financial stability of his empire depended on it.

  He decided to take a nap during the journey to the island. He knew it could be a long while before he had a chance to sleep again. He checked his supplies. He had everything he was going to need including food, water, a change of clothes, matches, the map of the island, and weapons and ammunition. Everything he needed was secured inside a large waterproof bag. Confident everything was going to go according to plan, he found a dark place below deck and settled in for the journey.

  Julie met Carl and Kylie at the cafeteria and got herself a plate of eggs and bacon. After getting a cup of hot, black coffee, she found a free table in the back of the room. Carl followed soon after with a large plate of pancakes and sausage and took his place next to his aunt. As he waited for his sister to make her way over to them, he looked at his aunt.

  “They’re not coming.”

  Julie looked up from her plate and looked at him curiously. “What did you say?”

  He didn’t look up. Instead, he sat there staring at his pancakes. “My parents are dead. They won’t be coming.”

  Julie stared at him wondering if someone had told him about his parents. She hoped nobody had told him. She was waiting for the right time to break the bad news to him. “What makes you think your parents are dead? Did somebody on the island tell you they were dead?”

  “No, I just have this feeling. I know they are dead.”

  Julie watched as Kylie joined them at the table. She didn’t want to continue the conversation now that she had joined them at the table, but she knew she couldn’t keep the truth from them for long. She decided she would wait until dinner to give them the news in private. She needed more time to prepare what she was going to say. She also knew it could mean they most likely wouldn’t want to spend the night at the park riding the rides. She finished her breakfast and excused herself. She promised she would meet back with them for lunch. She had important work she needed to accomplish before the end of the day.

  Julie drove her car across the island to Chris’ house. She needed to talk to him about the zombie exhibits. She wasn’t aware of the incident with the escaped zombie and didn’t realize the park was behind schedule. As far as she knew, there were only a few minor details left to iron out before the park was to open. She found Chris standing in his front yard cleaning the tires on his motorcycle.

  “Men and their toys,” she said, standing behind him. “Where does it end?”

  “You didn’t seem to mind my bike a few months ago. As I recall, you enjoyed our nightly rides.”

  Julie looked uncomfortable. “You were a different person then. I don’t know…somehow you’ve changed for the worse.”

  Chris glared at her. “Maybe you’re the one who changed for the worse. I’m still the same adventurous person I was a couple of months ago. You used to be adventurous. Look at you now…wearing your business suit, ordering everybody on the island around as if you were the queen.”

  “It’s my job. I’m sorry if you feel that way. Perhaps if people listened to me once in a while around here I wouldn’t have to be so commanding.”

  “Yes, your highness.” He bowed to her. “I await your further orders.”

  “Now cut that out!” She scowled at him and followed him as he went inside his house and tried to close the door. She blocked it with her foot and pushed her way inside. “That was uncalled for. You promised me you wouldn’t let our feelings get in the way of your job. You promised me that while you were here, nothing would happen on the island. As I recall, you said no
thing would happen while you were on watch.”

  Chris was angered by her remark. He knew she was referring to the incident on the island involving the attack from Mr. Rojas’ men. “I can’t believe you’re going there. None of that was my fault. We didn’t have proper safety measures in place yet. Those men just walked onto the beach and made their way inland. There wasn’t anything we could do about it.” He approached her and gave her a menacing look. “If you don’t mind, I have to get to work. I have zombies I need to move around today.” He stormed past her and out of the house.

  She hurried after him. The last thing she wanted was for him to be mad at her. She needed him if the park was going to be successful. He was the only one willing to work with the zombies. Most of the people on the island were afraid of them. That was mostly because of what had happened in America. Some of the workers on the island claimed they had brought evil to the island and now the island was cursed. Some of them had terminated their employment and left the island. The others threatened to follow until Captain Jonas and his men were hired. She was at her wits end. Not only did she have Chris to contend with, but she also had her employees to contend with, along with Julio Rojas and now Carl and Kylie. It was getting too much for her to cope with. Maybe Chris was right about her. Too much responsibility had been thrown at her, and it caused her so much stress that she couldn’t have fun anymore.

  “Wait up, Chris. I don’t want to leave things like this. You have to understand I’m under a tremendous amount of stress. Mr. Franks is expecting me to accomplish the impossible. He relinquished all the responsibilities of getting the park open and put me in charge. If I fail, the whole park fails.”

  “That’s your fault. You should have told him you’re only human and not capable of handling so much responsibility.”

  She was surprised by his remark. “You want me to admit failure to him? You want me to admit I can’t handle it? Well…that’s never going to happen.”

  Chris laughed. “Then neither are we…not until you relax a bit. You’re going to have a heart attack at a young age. Look at yourself…you look tired. When’s the last time you really had a peaceful night of sleep?”

  “I get sleep.”

  “You keep telling yourself that.” He paused for a moment. “By the way, why are you here?”

  She stared at him as if she was trying to remember why she paid him the visit. “It’s nothing,” she finally said. “I have to go. I’m going to pay you a visit later to make sure we’re on schedule. I also need to make an inspection of your area.”

  “Whatever makes you feel better. I’ll be there when you get there.” He watched as she left before going back inside his house. He made his way into the kitchen as his cell phone rang. He listened curiously to the voice on the other end. “I’m on my way,” he responded before hanging up. He laughed. Nothing was going his way.

  Chapter Nine

  Captain Jonas stood anxiously at the boat dock as several crates of supplies were unloaded. Several trucks stood idling and waiting for the crates to be loaded to take them inland to the storage facility to be distributed to the different areas of the park. He watched as several of the workers on the boat showed their papers to the guards to prove they were hired to make the deliveries.

  Julio Rojas was third in line to show his papers to the guards and was scouting the area as he waited. He was hoping to find a weakness in the operation that could be used as an entry point onto the island. What he saw convinced him he would have to try the other side of the island. A command center had been built near the loading dock and two guards were stationed near the door. He also saw several guards walking along the shore in opposite directions and another one on a tower farther down the beach watching them through binoculars. He also saw Captain Jonas keeping a watchful eye on the unloading of the crates. Mr. Rojas knew this part of the island was too heavily guarded; he would be spotted the minute he tried to enter the area. He heard the guard ask for his papers and he handed them to him. He remained silent trying not to draw any unnecessary attention to himself. So far, nobody recognized him and he wanted it to stay that way. The guard handed him back his papers and told him to move along. He was sure he would be able to find a way to get around all the security, but he knew he had to be careful. He went back to the boat as the homeless people were being unloaded and swiftly taken to an awaiting truck. He wondered what they were going to be used for. He shrugged it off for the moment. He had to concentrate on how he was going to find a way past the security. Something suddenly caught his eye. Mounted on poles across the beach were security cameras. Security cameras were going to pose a problem for him if they were located all around the island. His inspection was interrupted by one of the guards telling him to keep moving. Getting ashore was going to be harder than he anticipated.

  Soon all the crates had been unloaded and he got back on the boat. He needed to get his bag and once the boat was far enough away from the island, he was going to jump off and swim to another part of the island. If everything went according to plan, he would reach the opposite side of the island unnoticed. Then all he had to do was find a way through security and make his way farther inland.

  Cheng and Ted were back in the lab after hanging up with Chris. They wanted to make sure Chris was going to keep their secret. They knew Randus was already on board since Ted had slipped him a large amount of money to keep his mouth shut about the whole ordeal. Ted had sent him to make sure there wasn’t any evidence inside the park to alarm anybody something sinister had happened the previous night. Ted was in deep conversation when Chris entered the lab. He was the first to see him.

  “Just the man I wanted to see,” said Ted, approaching him with a briefcase in his hand. “We have much to discuss.”

  “I already know what you want to see me about. Don’t worry. As far as I know, nothing has happened out of the ordinary. Your secret is safe with me.”

  Ted handed him the briefcase. “I want to make sure you keep feeling that way.”

  “Is this what I think it is?”

  “I just want to make sure we stay on the same page. You would be out of a job if word got out about what happened around here. I’m sure you don’t want to lose your job.”

  Chris stood holding the briefcase. He looked at Ted wondering if he should accept it or not. He was worried there would be more strings attached to it. The last thing he wanted was to be indebted to his boss. The last time he was indebted to anybody, it almost cost him his life. He looked at Ted wondering what he was really thinking.

  “Aren’t you going to open it, Mr. Kaeb? Aren’t you the least bit interested?”

  “I don’t need to. I already know you’re paying me off so I can never talk. I get it. Like I said before, you don’t have to worry about me. I need this job and I wouldn’t do anything stupid to jeopardize it.”

  “Good, I can rest peacefully knowing I don’t have to worry about you. I would take the briefcase to your home and then get to work. Make sure the special exhibit is ready. We’re going to have someone brought there as soon as he arrives with today’s shipment.”

  Chris didn’t need to ask any questions. He already knew they were going to make another one of the monstrosities that nearly tore the park apart last night. His only concern was whether they were going to be able to control this one. If this one got loose, they might not be able to cover it up as easily as they did the first one. He snatched the briefcase and made his way out of the lab. He had a lot he had to accomplish before they brought the shipment to him.

  Once Chris was gone, Cheng walked over to the main door to the lab and looked in the hall to make sure nobody was in the area. He was tired. They had spent the better part of the night cleaning the lab and disposing of the bodies. He now had to figure out how he was going to account for the missing scientists and guards. He was hoping Ted would have a solution to the problem. He had enough to worry about. Last night’s escapade put him behind schedule. At least he knew the new serum worked, so dup
licating another zombie to replace the other one wouldn’t pose much of a problem. Having the serum meant he didn’t need to replace the murdered scientists; he could easily run the lab on a skeleton crew. He also knew he didn’t need to contact anybody about their deaths, because their contacts in America were most likely dead. He looked at Ted who was busy making sure there wasn’t any sign of an attack in the lab. He was on his knees looking under all the desks and chairs to make sure there wasn’t any splatter that had gone unnoticed. He stood back up and made his way over to Cheng.

  “I think we’ve cleaned everything. I can’t find a single drop of blood anywhere.”

  “We still have one major problem,” said Cheng. “People are going to notice they’re missing.”

  “I know. I put some thought into the matter last night while we were cleaning the lab. That’s why I’m glad Chris didn’t open the briefcase. I put evidence inside it that will link him to their disappearance.”

  “What evidence? And won’t he tell what happened in the lab. He’s a witness to our project.”

  “The briefcase is smeared with blood and so is some of the money. I can say it was a robbery gone bad. I look at it this way. One of the scientists had money hidden in his desk and Chris knew about it. He committed the murders here to get the money. It’s an open and shut case. Captain Jonas will believe my story. We don’t have anything to worry about. He can say anything he wants about a so-called zombie attack. Nobody will believe him with the evidence we will hide in his house. He didn’t notice I was wearing gloves when I handed him the briefcase. His fingerprints will be the only ones they find.”