Plague of the Living Dead (The Z-Day Trilogy Book 3)

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  He took another swig from the whiskey bottle and looked around. Except for the occasional raccoon poking its head out of one of the wrecked cars, he was alone. Alone with his thoughts about how life had failed him. He rested his head back against the wrecked car he called home and closed his eyes. At least it was a pleasant night. The kind of night you wished you could enjoy with a significant other. Even marriage had eluded him. He had never met the girl of his dreams. The only women he ever had contact with were the tough looking ones he met at the truck stop. They were the ones that wore flannel shirts and drove big rigs. They weren’t the type of women he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Now he was all alone, and he enjoyed it.

  The sound of breaking glass alerted him he wasn’t alone. He opened his eyes and looked around, but he didn’t see anything. He stood up and listened. He could hear something approaching from across the way. At first, he thought it was a coon or another animal of some sort, but this sounded much larger. It sounded more like a human was slowly walking toward him.

  “Who’s there?” he asked in a loud voice. “If someone is there, you’ll need to leave! This is private property!”

  He listened. All he heard was the sound of crickets chirping. He stood frozen for several minutes before realizing he was just hearing things. He sat back down behind the fire and took another drink.

  “You’re starting to lose your mind,” he said, looking around. “The next thing you’re going to be seeing things. Damn cheap whiskey. You’re my best friend and my worst enemy.”

  He heard a cat screech near him as if it were in a lot of pain. He dropped the bottle and stood back up. Something wasn’t right. He felt cold chills cascading down his spine. He took a step away from the fire, too scared to call out to see if somebody was near him. He listened. He heard a faint sound of ripping flesh and chewing coming just on the other side of the pile of wrecked cars he was standing in front of. He peered through the broken windows of the lower car. He could barely make out a young girl with long, dark hair wearing a white nightgown. She had a tan cat in her hands and was ripping the flesh off of it and devouring it. Blood was flowing freely down her lips, dripping to the ground. He held in a gasp of horror.

  The girl stopped chewing and looked around. She dropped the carcass onto the ground and sniffed at the air. She could smell something that was more pleasing to her senses. She looked at the stack of cars Willie was hiding behind and sniffed again. She approached the bottom car and stopped in front of it to look through the broken windows.

  Willie met face-to-face with her. She opened her mouth and hissed at him and reached through the broken glass of the car, but he was too far away. Twisted fingers of fear clawed his guts. Something was definitely wrong with the girl. He backed away from the car and looked around. He wanted to turn and run, but his feet were frozen in place. He fought back the urge to expel his stomach contents and took a step to his left and then stopped.

  The girl stood there growling hungrily at him with blood dripping from her lips. She took a step toward him, biting at the air sinisterly.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” asked Willie frightfully. “Are you diseased or something like that?”

  She didn’t answer. Instead, she kept biting at the air and drawing nearer to him. He wanted to turn tail and run, but he was transfixed on the girl. He thought perhaps he was dreaming, or even worse, drunk from his whiskey. He thought he would wake up at any moment, realizing there wasn’t any girl at all; it was all just an illusion. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. This time the girl was much closer to him. He could see strips of the cat’s flesh stuck in between her teeth.

  “Get away!” he screamed. “You’re not going to eat poor Willie tonight. Go away! I don’t taste good! I’m saturated with alcohol! I’m poison!”

  He slowly backed away keeping his eyes transfixed on her. A few steps later, he tripped on a pipe and fell backward. Within seconds, the girl was on top of him. Screams were caught in his throat as he watched her ripping his abdomen open. She pulled his intestines freely from the wound and stuffed them inside her mouth. His blood cascaded like a waterfall. He watched her smile menacingly at him as the darkness drew in. He watched until all went black.

  News was spreading across Illinois rapidly about the current outbreak of attacks on humans. Zombies were attacking and eating humans at an alarming rate. The military was called into action and were sweeping through the city, trying to stop the attacks. They were quickly being outnumbered and were forced to retreat from the most populated areas to set up fences to keep the zombies contained inside the infected areas. No one knew what was happening, but it was speculated it had to do with the zombie park in Indiana. The government was soon blamed by the media, reporting the terrorists attack was made up, and the military, in fact, was responsible for the bombing. Neighboring states were concerned the zombie attacks would soon invade their borders. Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan had their military guards on standby in case the epidemic couldn’t be contained in Illinois. The country was anxiously waiting for news from Washington concerning the outbreak, but Washington had remained silent.

  The zombie version of General Poe was feasting on another unsuspecting victim when he was discovered by Officer Delgado. He was still searching for the missing girl named Amanda. He had been searching the neighborhood for her, but there wasn’t any trace of her. He feared for her since reports were flooding the airwaves about citizens attacking and eating each other. He was on his way to answer a call regarding a person eating the neighbor’s dog when he came across General Poe eating an elderly gentleman in the middle of the street. He stopped his car directly in front of the general and shone his spotlight in his face. He got out of the car with his weapon drawn and took a step toward him.

  “Freeze! Stand up with your hands in the air!” He watched as he was ignored by the general. Instead, he took another chunk out of his victim’s limp body. “I won’t ask you a second time! I will shoot you!”

  General Poe turned his attention toward the police officer with chunks of flesh hanging from his bloodied lips. Officer Delgado took several steps backward after seeing his face. General Poe slowly stood up and growled at him. He opened his mouth exposing his blood-stained teeth and chunks of chewed flesh.

  The sight of the monster standing in front of him sickened him. He kept his weapon targeted on the general and reached inside his car for his cell phone. There was too much traffic coming over the radio, so he knew it would be quicker to call the situation in through the station’s secure line. There was no answer. He tossed the phone back inside the car realizing he was on his own.

  General Poe took a step toward him with his arms outstretched. Officer Delgado knew he was in trouble. He fired two shots into the general’s chest, but it had no effect. The general kept moving toward him, biting at the air to show the officer he meant to eat him alive. Officer Delgado fired another shot, this time aiming for the center mass of his head. General Poe fell forward, hitting his head on the hood of the squad car before sliding to the ground. A pool of blood formed around his head. Officer Delgado stared at the creature lying at his feet.

  His cell phone rang and he reached inside his car to retrieve it. He answered. “What’s your 20” asked a person on the other end.

  “I’m in the north neighborhood responding to a call.”

  “Head back to the station. The entire area is under siege and we’re regrouping here.”

  “10-4. I see what’s happening out here. I’m heading back.”

  He got back inside the car and closed the door and maneuvered around General Poe’s deceased body and left the gruesome scene. To the right, he watched as three young girls attacked a woman and ripped her apart and stuffed their mouths with her entrails. The woman was screaming and looking in his direction. He knew there wasn’t anything he could do to help her. Everywhere he looked, it was the same. People were attacking people and eating them alive. He didn’t know what they were deali
ng with. He figured it had to be some kind of virus spreading through the community causing all the violence.

  All the commotion over the radio went silent. He looked over at it. Then he heard screaming being broadcast over it and then a frantic voice. “The station…it’s under attack…don’t come to the station…find somewhere…” The radio went silent. He pulled over to the side of the road and tried the radio. All he heard was static. He picked up his cell phone and tried the secure line, but it rendered the same result. Everybody must be dead. He tossed his phone aside and looked up. His car was surrounded by several of the walking dead staring hungrily at him. They pounded on all of his windows, trying to smash through the glass.

  “You’re not eating me alive!” he screamed, hitting the accelerator. The squad car lunged forward, toppling the group in front of the car to the ground. He continued forward running over one of their heads. He didn’t care. He wasn’t about to let one of the creatures make a meal out of his body. The car sped away from the scene and down a corpse filled road.

  The scene around him was surreal. Cars were stopped on lawns with zombies pulling the occupants out of them, zombies were walking in the yards engulfed in flames from being set on fire from the local residents, local residents were in their yards shooting at the zombies, and zombies were pounding on windows and doors of the homes trying to get to the residents hiding inside. It reminded him of a movie set for a horror movie.

  A soft woman’s voice came over his radio. He looked over at it and held his breath. He didn’t know what to expect. “I’m trapped…station full of zombies…if anybody can hear me…please, I need your help.”

  He knew he had to go help the woman who was trapped inside the police station. He didn’t recognize her voice, but it didn’t matter. His job was to protect the public and that was exactly what he was going to do. He sped through the neighborhood, maneuvering around the zombies as best he could. They were slow, so it made it possible without afflicting any major damage to his squad car.

  He reached the city limits and was shocked by what he saw. The city streets were choked with smashed cars and the walking dead. They were pouring out of cars, out of city buses, and out of every building. It looked as though a horror convention had come to the city.

  He made it to the police station and parked behind the building, hoping it would have fewer zombies behind it. He parked his car and saw another officer had arrived shortly before him and was making his way toward the station.

  “Wait up,” said Officer Delgado, running toward Officer Cline. “You’re going to need backup.”

  “It’s good to see I’m not the only one still alive on the force. It sounded like a massacre coming over the radio.”

  “Someone is trapped in the radio room.”

  “I heard her, too.”

  They stood in front of the door, peering through the glass. They could see movement in the hall leading to the main areas. Officer Delgado took the lead and slowly opened the door and walked in followed by Officer Cline. They could hear the sound of flesh being ripped apart and the sound of shambling feet across the tiled floor. They looked at each other, wondering if they should continue farther inside. There were only two of them, and they didn’t know how many zombies were inside with them.

  Officer Delgado looked at his partner. “We have no choice. We have to try to rescue her. It’s what we’re paid to do.”

  Officer Cline nodded. “We can secure some more weapons while we’re here. I’ve learned you need to shoot them in the head. It’s the only way stop them.”

  “10-4, I figured that one out for myself. Come on; we have the element of surprise on our side.”

  They inched their way down the hall with their weapons prepared for action. They made it to the main office area and peeked around the corner. Chairs were toppled over, desks were askew, paperwork covered the ground, and blood was splattered all over. By the front counter they saw three police officers crouched over a teenage boy, taking turns ripping flesh from his body. They looked at each other. Officer Delgado motioned he would take one side of the room and Cline should take the other.

  They separated and went around the desks, trying to make as little sound as possible. Officer Delgado was the first to reach them and placed the barrel of his weapon directly at the base of the skull of the nearest one next to him. He fired a shot, alerting the other two he was in the room with them. They stopped eating and turned to face them as two bullets found their mark, embedding themselves inside their skulls.

  Officer Delgado looked at Officer Cline. “Be prepared; I’m sure every zombie in the building heard those shots.”

  Officer Cline went around the front counter and made his way to the front door leading inside the station. “I’m going to lock the doors so none of them can get inside. If we can clear the building and secure it, we can hold up inside to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

  “That’s a good idea.” He heard moans coming from the adjacent hall. “Hurry, we have more company coming.”

  Officer Cline leaped over the counter and made his way over to the front door. He looked through the glass. An infected woman was standing on the other side of it with her unholy fingers curled into claws, scratching on the glass. He quickly locked the door and took several steps backward. The look on her face was going to be etched inside his brain. He turned to run back to his partner who had already moved into the adjacent hall. He caught up to him and stopped behind him. Their captain was lying in a pool of his own blood with his chest cavity exposed. His intestines were pulled from his abdomen and were stretched down the hall leading into a back room.

  Officer Cline turned away. “This is more than I can stomach. I don’t know if I can continue.”

  “Take a deep breath. We have the training for this.”

  “What do you mean we have the training? I don’t have any training in dealing with zombies.”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant. It doesn’t matter. We have to get to the radio room.”

  They were about to move, but were immediately stopped. The captain’s body was being dragged across the hall. Something was pulling on the intestines from the room on the left.

  “I think we should deal with this first,” said Delgado. “We owe it to our captain to put an end to whomever or whatever killed him.”

  They moved to the side of the hall and crept toward the room on the left. They both knew what they would find and were prepared for it. What they found, neither of them was expecting. They peered around the door thinking they would see one of their friends feasting on the captain’s intestines. Instead, they saw one of the drug dogs chewing on them. It looked up in time to see them. It didn’t seem to care. It continued with its feast and pulled on the intestines once more.

  “Oh hell no,” said Officer Cline, firing a shot. The dog yelped and toppled over on its side. He checked his ammunition. He looked at Delgado. “We’re going to need more ammunition soon. Let’s check the radio room, and then go get some more weapons and ammunition.”

  They made their way back down the hall toward the radio room. As they went down the hall, they could hear banging echoing from behind several of the closed doors. They knew they would eventually have to come back to deal with whatever was behind them.

  They stood in front of the closed door to the radio room listening for any sound leading them to believe a zombie could be inside. They heard a woman’s voice begging for help on the radio. Officer Delgado opened the door and rushed in. The woman screamed and immediately put her hand over her mouth.

  “I’m Officer Delgado. I’m here to rescue you. This is Officer Cline. Follow us; we’re going to get you to safety.”

  She stared at them. Fear knotted inside of her. She wanted to believe they could help her, somehow protect her from the monstrosities outside the room, but she was apprehensive. There were only two of them and there were dozens of zombies. She felt as though her chances were better hiding behind the closed door to the room
. She shook her head in defiance and moved farther behind the desk she was hiding behind.

  “Listen lady, we don’t have all day,” said Officer Delgado. “The longer you wait, the harder it will be for us to get out of here alive. We can’t wait on you all day.”

  “How do I know I will be safer with you?”

  “Listen, lady, you were the one who radioed for help. I risked my life to find you. If you weren’t serious about being rescued, you shouldn’t have wasted my time.” He paused for a moment to let her absorb what he had said. “My name is Jamie. What’s yours?”

  “Becky.”

  “All right, Becky. This is your only chance to let me help you. If not, we’re going to leave and close the door behind us. It’s your choice, but you need to make it quickly.”

  She lifted her head so he could see her face. “Do you promise to keep me safe?”

  “All I can promise is I will do my best. As long as you follow my orders, you make it out of here alive. I can promise you that for sure.”

  She slowly stood up and moved around the desk. “I’m going to hold you to that.”