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

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  “Sarge, I’ve just been informed his footprints ended on the other side of the island and then just vanished.”

  “Something must have caught his attention. Search the entire area. He has to be out there. Keep me posted. I have some things to finish here.” He looked at Cheng. “This is becoming a hectic day. I’ll send a team to remove the crab. I don’t know where we’re going to stash it. It’s too big to fit through any of the doors.” He watched as Cheng remained silent. “Are you all right?”

  “It’s nothing. I just have this feeling we’re losing control of the park.”

  “Why? Just because a few zombies attacked and Captain Jonas is missing. Right, I guess it’s one way you could look at things. Don’t worry about Captain Jonas. He’s quite capable of defending himself. I’m sure he’s all right. I’m sure he has a reasonable explanation for why he’s keeping radio silence.”

  Cheng looked at the dead zombie lying on the floor. “I hope you’re right. I would hate to find out we have another problem on the island.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Julie wondered if having Carl and Kylie was the best thing for them. Most of her attention would have to be on her work. A stack of paperwork littered her desk, most of them needing her signature, the others important changes to the park. It was a great deal to contend with, and she knew the children would be bored waiting for her to sort through the mess. She wished Chris would have been more helpful. Even with their rough history, he was still the only one she trusted. She looked over at the children who were engaged in conversation about what the best flavor of cotton candy was. She smiled. At least they were discussing something other than zombies. Mr. Franks walked into the office and approached the desk. He stared at the pile of paperwork.

  “I need these signed by the end of the day. If you don’t, we’re going to fall behind schedule.”

  She looked at him exhaustedly. “I’ll have them all signed by the end of the day. I’ll make sure they all get faxed tomorrow.” She looked over at the children. “I’m not really good at this.”

  “Good at what? Are you referring to them? Don’t stress yourself over them. They’re doing fine; you’re doing fine. Listen, I know being a mother is hard work. It’s like being in a never ending movie.”

  “Thanks,” she commented, smiling. “Taking care of them is going to be a big challenge. I don’t know much about them. The only thing I know is what they like to eat. How can I be a good mother to them if that’s all I know about them? And how can I be a good mother to them by bringing them up at a zombie park after all they’ve been through?”

  Mr. Franks didn’t say a word. Instead, he walked over to the children. “How would the two of you like to help me plan the meal for opening day? I have to plan a special meal for the VIPs. It has to be something they will talk about for a lifetime.”

  They both looked at their aunt wondering what she was going to say. She smiled at them and nodded her head. She was thankful her boss was coming to her rescue. She knew he had more important things to do than babysit, but he was giving her the opportunity to finish all her paperwork. “You both be nice to my boss.”

  “We will; we promise,” they said in unison.

  She watched as they followed her boss outside of the room. She sighed as she looked at the stack of paperwork she had to conquer. She pulled the first sheet from the stack and stared at it. It was a requisition form for two dozen homeless people. She looked up for a moment. The constant request for homeless people was getting out of hand, but she didn’t have any choice but to sign it. Her job was to make sure all departments received the supplies they needed, even if she didn’t agree with what they were asking for. She signed it and looked at the stack. She slammed her head on the desk. At the rate she was going, she was going to be here all day. She heard commotion coming from outside her office. She lifted her head and stared at her door, trying to muster the strength to get up and find out what was happening. Whatever it was, it had to be more exciting than signing paperwork. She slowly got up and went over to her door and opened it. Several people were making their way down the hallway to an open area where a report was being broadcast over the large TV. Apparently, the first report about the park was favorable, and the reporter was reporting it was worth visiting. She noticed Carl and Kylie standing next to Mr. Franks, cheering with him. She was thankful he was making an effort with them. They needed something to get their minds off of what happened to their parents. She only hoped she would be able to keep them safe at the park. She turned around and headed back to her office. The longer it took to get her work done, the longer she would have to stay. At least, she didn’t have to worry about the children.

  Mr. Franks turned off the TV and turned to face his employees. He had a smile on his face that lit up the room. If all the reports were the same about the park, he knew they were going to be busy. Now was the time to remind everybody to make sure they had plenty of supplies at their stations. The last thing he wanted was for someone to run out of supplies while the park was open.

  “All right, listen up. You’ve all seen for yourself what is being reported about the park. If this holds true with all the reports, I suspect we’re going to be busy. I need you to make another inspection of your areas and make sure you have plenty of supplies for when the park opens next Thursday. I’m talking from packages of ketchup to stuffed animals. I don’t want to hear any reports we ran out of something. That would be a bad reflection on our park. If you need anything, get a request form to Julie by the end of your shift. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication. Without you, I’m sure we would be behind schedule.” He looked around at everybody’s faces. “Also, if you have any concerns that need addressing, feel free to stop by my office and let me know. We all need to do our part to keep the park safe and profitable. Thank you very much. Remember, get your supply request to Julie by the end of the day.”

  He looked at the children. “How about we spend some time at the arcade? Your aunt is going to be busy for a while. We can get some pizza or burgers afterward. How does that sound?”

  Carl peered over at Kylie and back at Mr. Franks. “I guess that will be fine. Kylie likes to play skee ball.”

  “All right, let’s see if we can win a prize.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Penelope Heart stood in front of the giraffe enclosure watching the two giraffes stare hungrily at her. They were housed safely in a glass enclosure so they couldn’t use their long necks to attack the guests at the park. She was the head zookeeper, and she was out and about inspecting the animals. Her main job was to make sure there weren’t any problems with the enclosures. She had a lot of ground to cover. This was the largest zoo in the world and it covered several miles. She wished she was in better shape. She tried to diet several times unsuccessfully. With the amount of time she spent walking back and forth in the zoo, she was hoping to lose a lot of her excess weight. Next she was heading to the big cats exhibits. It was her favorite area of the park. They had several species of cats, ranging from sand cats to tigers. She had several benches placed in front of the enclosures so she could sit and watch the tigers. Even though they were the zombie versions of the cats, she still enjoyed watching them move back and forth, never taking their eyes off of her. She often sat with a sketch pad and made drawings to help pass the time. Her artwork was displayed at the animal museum on the other side of the zoo. Also, several of her paintings were for sale in the gift shop. She split the proceeds with the park. It was one of the arrangements she made with Mr. Franks when he hired her to work for him. As she continued to sketch, several employees ran past her in a panic. She looked at them curiously. They were all wearing park uniforms and worked at the aquatics building. She knew something must have happened there, and it was her duty to go investigate it.

  She stood in front of the building as Sergeant Buckley exited. He looked at her and stopped. “You’re not needed here, Penelope, everything
has been taken care of.”

  “Listen, if you’re hiding something, I need to know about it. It’s my job to know what’s happening in the zoo.”

  He scowled at her. “If you must know, one of the enclosures cracked and the large crab got free. You don’t have to worry about it. It’s dead and it’s being dealt with.”

  She stared at the building. “Was anybody hurt?”

  “Do you really want to know the answer to that question?”

  She sighed heavily. “Yes, I want to know. If anybody was hurt, I have to make a report. I need to know if they’ll need workers compensation.”

  “I think they’re beyond that.”

  She thought about it for a moment. “What are you saying, Buckley? Are you saying they’re dead?”

  “Once again, the problem is being dealt with. If I were you, I would just turn around and act as though nothing happened.”

  “That’s easy for you to say! They’re my employees and my responsibility. How many people are dead, and who are they?”

  “I don’t know their names. I don’t know everybody who works at the park. It doesn’t matter. I’m dealing with the situation. If it makes you feel any better, I will inform Mr. Franks myself about the situation. I’m sure he’ll understand it was an unfortunate accident.”

  “He’ll want to know why I’m not the one who is reporting it to him.”

  “Relax, Penelope, I’ll tell him you’re busy with the problem, and I told you I would report it to him.” He saw she was holding her sketchbook. “Why don’t you go back to your sketching, and if you’re needed, I’ll come back and find you.”

  She looked at the building and then back at him. “You better report it. I don’t want to lose my job because of you.”

  “You won’t. I promise.”

  She stared at him suspiciously. “All right, but you better keep your word. I really need this job.” She took one last look at the building and then turned and walked away. She knew no matter how much she tried, he wasn’t going to let her inside the building. As she walked away, she wondered who had been killed inside the building. She made her way back over to the tigers and took her place back on the bench. She opened her sketchbook and tried to sketch the tiger again, but she couldn’t concentrate. People had been killed at the zoo and here she was sketching. She closed the sketchbook and stared in the direction of the aquatics building. She was at a loss for how to handle the situation.

  Sergeant Buckley didn’t have time to handle the situation right away. Captain Jonas wasn’t answering his radio, and he needed to know why. He knew the captain well and knew he wouldn’t ignore his radio. It worried him, mostly because he didn’t know what it meant. He hadn’t heard any reports of escaped zombies, except for the crab. He was almost positive the radio silence wasn’t because of a zombie. The other alternative was just as bad. There was a chance somebody had gotten on the island and was keeping him from answering his phone. It was a more reasonable possibility. If this was the case, then he had another problem on his hands. He had more problems than he could handle at the moment. The incident with the crab would have to wait. He needed to make Captain Jonas a priority. He made his way toward the rear of the zoo and unlocked a security gate. He was now at the area of the zoo he was informed the captain was heading toward. There wasn’t anything on this side of the island yet. It was supposed to be reserved to expand the park at a later date. He locked the gate behind him and made his way inside the wooded area. Somewhere in the area, something had happened to the captain. He stopped to look around. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He was hoping he would. Now he would have to spend the day searching every square foot until he found some evidence leading him to the whereabouts of Captain Jonas.

  Julio Rojas made his way through the trees keeping low. He didn’t know where the captain’s men were. All he knew was they were out searching for him. He knew there was another secret underground bunker farther inland where more weapons and drugs had been stashed. There were several hidden areas on the island where weapons and supplies were kept. It was their guarantee they could survive an attack while they were operating on the island. If he could get to the next hidden area, he could stay there for several days until he could put his plan into action. He knew he wasn’t far from it. It was roughly an hour walk from the tunnel. He heard something moving in front of him, and he ducked behind a group of thick trees and held his breath. He heard movement to the north of him heading in his direction. He crouched down and waited. He wasn’t sure what was making the noise. It could be a large animal or one of the soldiers. In any case, he didn’t want to be discovered. The noise was getting louder. He then heard a voice sounding close. He now knew it was a soldier trying to locate him. He kept watching from behind the trees as the soldier emerged from behind a tree to the side of him and stopped to have a look around. Mr. Rojas sat motionless, keeping his eye on the soldier. He wanted to rush out and slit his throat, but he didn’t want to risk being seen. He didn’t know if there were any other soldiers in the area. Instead, he patiently waited until the soldier moved past him, disappearing behind more trees. He sat motionless for another twenty minutes before deciding it was safe to move. He knew he most likely had another twenty minutes of walking before arriving at the next bunker. He stood up and stretched his legs and stopped to look around. He was sure the soldier was out of earshot by now. He moved away from the trees and headed in the direction the soldier had emerged from. He felt fortunate he had seen him behind the trees. Now he was confident he could get to the next bunker and hide undetected until he decided to move again. Twenty minutes later he found a large pile of stones covering a manhole cover. He moved the stones out of the way and lifted the cover. He looked around to make sure nobody was watching him and carefully made his way down into the darkness. As he lowered himself, he slid the cover back into place.

  Sergeant Buckley was exhausted from his search for Captain Jonas. He tried reaching him several times over his radio, but to no avail. He was having a rough time believing the captain had vanished without a trace, and he stood there looking in every direction. He heard loud thunder approaching and knew it was time to end his search. He feared the captain was dead and probably wouldn’t be found. He was sure with everybody searching for him, he would have been found by now. Sadly, he turned around and headed back toward the park. Until Captain Jonas could be found, he knew he was the next in command. He didn’t have a choice. The search for their captain would have to wait. The safety of the island had priority, and he had to make sure it remained that way, even if somebody else was already on the island. He thought about the possibility for a moment. He knew if there was an intruder on the island, there wasn’t any sign of him either. There wasn’t anything he could do about the situation but come back later with more men if Captain Jonas hadn’t shown up. Without evidence of an intruder, he didn’t want to continue assuming the worst. For now, he decided to keep the captain’s disappearance a secret and out of the log book. As he made it through the trees, the rain came, dampening his spirits. Sadly, he radioed his men the search was over and to head back to the beach and get prepared for the change of shift. He stopped and looked around. If there was evidence that could lead to the captain, the rain was going to quickly eradicate it.

  Chapter Twenty

  Opening day finally arrived and several secrets were still being kept as the last-minute preparations were being attended to. Mr. Shelton Franks was oblivious to the disappearance of several employees, including Captain Jonas. He had been preoccupied with the opening of the park and had stopped visiting the employees in the different sections of the park. He also wasn’t aware about the missing giant crab. Great lengths had been taken to make sure he never discovered its disappearance. Cheng secretly created another creature to put in the vacant enclosure. As far as Mr. Franks knew, everything was on schedule and was ready for opening day.

  He made his way to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee and saw Julie sitting with
Carl and Kylie eating breakfast. At least the children were eating. Julie sat there looking a complete wreck. He could tell she was nervous about the opening and decided to join them at the table.

  “What a perfect day for the opening of the park,” he said, taking the empty spot next to Julie. He looked at her with a smile. “You know you can relax now. Everything is on schedule, and I haven’t been informed of any problems. I thank you for making that happen. You’re a big part of all of this.”

  She stared at him and managed a smile. “I feel like I’m going to have a coronary. My nerves are completely on edge and I have a migraine…”

  Mr. Franks laughed. “You would think I would be the one feeling that way this morning…but for some reason, I feel fine. Everything is going to be fine. All the reports of the park have been favorable, everybody’s areas are fully stocked, all the rides are functioning, and the zombies are ready to perform. As I see it, we can relax a bit.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” she said in a raspy voice. She cleared it and looked at him. “You’re right. I’ll be in the command center all night watching the computers. You’re the one who has to deal with the VIPs.”

  He took a sip of his coffee. “I can handle them. Besides, they’re going to be here to have a good time. Nothing else is going to be on their minds but having a night to remember. Well, I have to meet with Ted and Kurt. We’re going to make one final sweep of the park before we open.” He stood as Julie grabbed his arm. He looked at her.

  “Shelton, thanks for everything you’ve done for me this week and with helping with Carl and Kylie.”

  “Don’t mention it; I am glad I could help.”

  Mr. Franks met with Ted and Kurt at the entrance to the zoo. They were there having a conversation with Penelope. He could tell she was nervous about something.