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

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Sergeant Buckley and his men were losing ground against the growing horde. Several of the park’s guests were now rising back from the dead and focusing on them with hungry desire. They were running low on ammunition and Sergeant Buckley knew it was time to retreat back to the beach. There wasn’t any way to defend the park any longer.

  “Retreat!” he screamed so his men could hear him. “Make your way back to the beach and take out as many of the creatures as you can.”

  He turned and sprinted toward the exit of the amusement park. He had several jeeps parked near the exit that could get him out of the area in a hurry. He felt beaten; he had never thought he would see the day when he would retreat from a battle. He also never thought the enemy he would fight would be hordes of zombies. He heard screaming coming from the haunted house, but he didn’t dare go to investigate; he figured whoever was screaming had come across one of the creatures and was about to lose the battle with it. He no longer cared about the living. If he did, he would most certainly meet with his own death. He blocked the screams from his mind and kept running toward the jeeps. He could see them as he ran. He knew he was doing the dishonorable thing by leaving those who needed his help behind, but what else could he do? He had never been trained to defend against zombies. He never took an oath to protect anybody or anything from zombies, nor did he want to. He heard several grenades explode from behind him. He didn’t falter; he knew it was his men defending themselves. He knew none of his men had been trained for this, either. He was positive they were following closely behind him, trying to reach the jeeps, as well. Nobody should have to follow orders to protect anybody from an enemy you knew nothing about. He reached the first jeep and jumped inside and brought it to life. He looked back at the park to see how close the enemy was. He saw several of his men lying on the ground with the creatures ripping them apart before his eyes. He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. It appeared he was the only one who had survived. He couldn’t wait any longer to see if any of his men would appear. He put the jeep into gear and gunned it. The jeep lurched forward, leaving the carnage behind. He drove past several animals fighting over remnants of what once used to be human. He was thankful they hadn’t turned their attention toward him. He knew he was through with anything involving security. It was now time to retire and live off of the nest egg he had been saving since he joined the military. He had been planning for the day when he would spend the rest of his days on a tropical island…one that wasn’t filled with zombies.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Julie’s heart raced as the chimps continued jumping from tree to tree as they ran. She knew they were keeping up with them as they scrambled to get away. She was afraid they wouldn’t be able to reach the beach in time and would fall victim to the creatures.

  “We need to move faster,” she said frightfully.

  “They’re keeping up with us,” commented Carl. “They’re going to attack us!”

  “Just keep running, Carl. You too, Kylie. We can’t give up now. I’m sure we’re almost there. I know you’re both getting tired, but we’re almost there!” Deep down she wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth. She hadn’t any idea how far they still had to run to get safely to the beach if being there was actually safe. Her legs felt like heavy logs, and she was having difficulty breathing, but she knew if she slowed, the chimps would attack. She had to believe they would escape them before it was too late. She suddenly heard the sound of a running engine getting close.

  “Somebody’s coming,” said Kylie wearily. “Somebody is looking for us.”

  “I don’t know if they’re looking for us, but hopefully they’ll find us,” said Julie out of breath. “Just keep running.”

  Owen and Brant watched from the speeding jeep as the chimpanzees moved from tree to tree. Brant watched them curiously.

  “Owen, I think they’re chasing somebody.”

  “If we don’t keep moving, they’re going to chase us.”

  Brant keep watching them. He knew they were focused on something, but he didn’t know what. “What if they’re chasing people trying to get to the beach?”

  Owen stole a glance toward him. “What if they’re chasing zombies? Did you stop to consider that?”

  “Why would they be chasing zombies? Weren’t we told zombies don’t eat zombies?”

  Owen swerved to avoid a fallen branch. “Nobody knows that for sure. We don’t know if zombies will attack or eat other zombies. Just forget about the monkeys. We need to get to the beach and get off this island.”

  Brant knew he was right. They needed to get off the island before something happened to them. He was frightened beyond belief, but he was still human inside. As much as he wanted to get off the island, something inside was telling him they needed to investigate what the chimps were doing. “We need to check this out.”

  “I’m sorry, Brant, we can’t risk it. Don’t you watch horror movies? That’s how people end up getting killed. They do stupid crap like stopping to investigate something. Do you want to end up dead?”

  “No.”

  “Then it’s settled. We’re continuing to the beach.”

  Brant thought about it. If somebody needed help, he couldn’t consciously leave whoever it was behind. He suddenly grabbed the steering wheel and turned it quickly to the right, hoping to get Owen to change directions. Instead, Owen brought the jeep to an abrupt halt. He glared at Brant. “What’s the problem? Are you still focused on those damn monkeys?”

  “Come on, Owen. We can’t leave them if they need our help. I know you’re better than that? It will only take a moment.”

  “All right…all right…all right, let’s go find out what your monkeys are doing. But if they attack us…they better not attack us!” He took the jeep off the road they were following and followed behind the monkeys.

  “Thank you, Owen.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. Whatever they’re following, it’s right through the trees in front of us.”

  Julie knew whatever was coming their way was almost upon them. She recognized the sound as a jeep. She felt relieved.

  Carl was the first to see the jeep. He pointed at it excitedly as it came into view. Julie looked at it and smiled. She instantly recognized who was driving it. She waved her hands in the air to catch Owen’s attention.

  He brought the jeep to a halt and screamed, “Get in quickly before the monkeys attack!”

  The three of them swiftly made their way to the jeep and jumped inside. Julie tapped Owen on the shoulder.

  “Hurry; we need to get out of here.”

  “You don’t need to tell me twice,” he said, looking over at Brant. “I guess you were right.”

  “I knew they were following something.”

  “Owen, how far are we from the beach? I’m disorientated.” asked Julie, trying to catch her breath.

  “Five minutes. That is if we don’t get attacked.”

  Brant watched as the monkeys continued through the trees. They weren’t paying any attention to them. “I don’t think we’re going to have a problem. They’re not paying any attention to us.”

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” commented Owen. “Now let’s get to the beach and get off this island.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The air was saturated with the sound of whup…whup…whup as several helicopters came into view. Several soldiers watched from the beach as they made their descent. It had been reported to the remaining soldiers that there weren’t any survivors at the park and any rescue missions should be averted. The first helicopter made its landing as the jeep with Owen and the others reached the beach and headed toward it. Behind them another jeep rushed onto the beach driven by Sergeant Buckley. He parked directly behind Owen and jumped out and ran to the awaiting soldiers.

  “We need to get out of here now! Everybody at the park is dead!”

  Two more helicopters landed and were filled by the survivors. Julie sat nex
t to Carl and Kylie and held them tightly against her body. She promised them she would never leave their side again. She watched as the helicopter ascended and looked at the island. It looked normal as if nothing had happened, but she knew better. The island was now totally infected by a disease that would keep spreading unless something was done to eradicate it. She knew better. Soon, the word would spread about the outbreak on the island and someone’s military would be sent there to take advantage of it. She even thought that it might be contained and turned back into another zombie park. When it concerned somebody making a dishonest buck, anything was possible. All she knew was she wasn’t going to be involved in it. She had her fill of zombies and a job that demanded her experience around the clock. She now planned to move to Australia where people didn’t know who she was, purchase a modest home and bring up Carl and Kylie in a country free of zombies.

  Chapter Thirty

  The large zombie came across two zombies standing outside of the enclosure it had been chained inside. It ignored them and continued farther inside the amusement park where it came across an elephant, a hippo, and a rhino crashing through the windows of a restaurant. There wasn’t any more screaming; everything had been silenced. It made its way over to an overturned jeep and climbed on top of it and scoured the area surrounding it. The entire area was occupied by both human and animal zombies. It continued to look hungrily around the area, trying to find something it could satisfy its hunger with, but there wasn’t any sign of life in any direction it looked. Hungrily it peered to the sky and let off an ear-piercing scream, alerting the island it was about to go on the hunt.

  Randus reached the beach as the helicopters vanished into the horizon. He had been frantically making his way after being attacked by several parrots he had managed to escape from after bashing their heads against several trees. He was tired and bloodied. He knew there were several boats hidden around the island he could use to escape the island. He looked around; there wasn’t any sign of zombies in the area. It gave him a false sense of security as he headed toward the security building to try to find some fresh water to drink. As he took his first step, he realized he wasn’t alone. Encircling him were several chimpanzees growling at him. He lowered his head. He knew he didn’t have the strength left to protect himself. He dropped to his knees and said a silent prayer. He waited several minutes and looked toward the chimpanzees standing threateningly in front of him. He stared at them angrily and put his hands in the air.

  “Go ahead! I surrender!”

  Without wasting another minute, the chimpanzees growled one last time and attacked. The air was saturated with Randus’ blood as he toppled over with them on top of him.

  The End

  Thank you for reading Zombie World. Whether you liked it or not, I hope you’ll take a moment to leave a review on Amazon. Reviews are vitally important to me as an author both to help me market my book and to improve my writing in the future. Thank you.

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  Mark Cusco Ailes

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  I would like to dedicate this book to all my fans that have enjoyed my books. I appreciate all the kind words about my stories and for believing in them. I would like to thank my brother, Derek, for spreading the word about my books and helping me market and promote them. I would like to thank my mother for her work on editing and giving advice where it was needed. I would like to thank all the businesses that host my autograph signings which include The Hammond, Valparaiso, South Haven, and Lake County Public Libraries.

  About The Author

  Mark Cusco Ailes is the author of several novels including The Day The Earth Cried and Zombie Park. He currently resides in Valparaiso, Indiana, where many of his novels take place. His hobbies include meeting celebrities at conventions, reading books, writing stories and acting. He was the drummer for the 80’s heavy metal band Latem, an extra in the movie Moon 44, and has been in several stage plays. In the eighties, he designed haunted houses in Stuttgart, West Germany, three years in a row and won two awards for best design. He also has done several radio and television commercials.

  Mark Cusco Ailes is currently hard at work writing his next book around his current book tour.

  Http://markcuscoailes.com

  Facebook @Mark Ailes

  Twitter @Mark Ailes

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination, or used factiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 Mark Cusco Ailes

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  For information and permission request contact:

  Markailes2008@comcast.net.

  Published by Weekland Press.

  Website: http://markcuscoailes.com.

  Facebook @Mark Ailes

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  Other books by Mark Cusco Ailes

  Bunga, Book One: A Ray Cycle Adventure

  Tashla, Book Two: A Ray Cycle Adventure

  Rhysnor, Book Three: A Ray Cycle Adventure

  The Day The Earth Cried

  One Magic Christmas

  The Creator’s Game

  The Storm Inside My Head

  A Handful Of Raindrops

  Heir To The Throne: The Final Ray Cycle

  Adventure

  Rich Man’s War, Poor Man’s Blood

  Zombie Park

  Z-Day: Day Of The Zombies

  Plague Of The Living Dead

  Creation Of the Living Dead

  Books written with brother Derek Ailes

  Catfurnado, Zombies And One Killer Doll

  Second Journey Into The Unknown

  Catfurnado: Oh Meow No

  AVZ: Aliens vs Zombies (Coming Soon)