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

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  “Don’t look at me that way!” she screamed. “You’re not making this easy for me.” She closed her eyes and brought the ax down. The big blade buried itself in his skull. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was still staring at her. He was looking at her wondering why she had put the ax through his skull. She screamed.

  He fell forward and toppled over to his side, falling to the carpeted floor. She reached for the ax but stopped. The sight was too much for her to bear.

  “I’m sorry,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I promise I will never forget you.”

  She took the blanket off of the couch and covered his body with it. It was the best she could do for him. She wanted to give him a proper burial but with all the zombies outside, she knew she wouldn’t have the opportunity. She went over to the window and looked outside. Most of the zombies outside were concentrated mainly in the middle of the street heading toward the mall area. It was going to make maneuvering her car around them almost impossible, but what choice did she have. She needed to get to the mall even if she had to plow through the horde. She stole a glance at Officer Delgado’s covered body. Now she was left to fend for herself.

  She quickly made it to her car unnoticed and slammed the door shut. The horde hadn’t paid any attention to her as if they had another purpose on their minds. She didn’t understand it, but she was thankful they hadn’t noticed her. She brought the car to life and looked in her rearview mirror. All she had to do was wait for enough of a gap to get on the street, and then pray she could find a safe way to drive through them. All I have to do is get to the mall. All I have to do is get to the mall. All I have to is… She gunned it. The car sprang backward, plowing into several zombies, either knocking them down or forcibly moving them out of the way. As she shifted the car into drive, several zombies pounded on her windows, threatening to break them. If only I can get to the mall.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Brinke sat at the table quietly wondering how her so-called husband was holding up during the outbreak. She didn’t know why she cared. He was probably holding up with some young intern, not realizing a zombie apocalypse was happening outside. She knew he wasn’t thinking about her or even cared if she survived or not. As a matter of fact, he’d probably removed his wedding ring and pretended he wasn’t married to her. She slammed her fist on the table, gaining everybody’s attention.

  “Are you all right, Mrs. Taylor?” asked Christina.

  “Christina, just call me Brinke. I’m not Mrs. Taylor any longer. I don’t want to be associated with that name any more.”

  Terrance looked at her curiously. “Having trouble at the home front?”

  “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.” She glared at him. “Why do you even care? We have more important things to worry about. Things like how are we going to get through this zombie outbreak? I feel trapped like a mouse inside this place.”

  “I’d rather be trapped inside here, than being outside with those creatures,” said Daniel. “At least we’re safe inside here, for now, anyway.”

  “I know you’re right, but I feel helpless. I feel like I should be doing something to make the situation more tolerable. I’m not used to sitting around wasting time. We should be helping the military keep the mall safe, not sitting around here waiting for something to go wrong.”

  “What can we possibly do?” asked Patricia. “The military is getting paid to keep the mall safe. None of us are qualified for anything like that. There isn’t anything we can do.”

  “We can watch the doors like Captain Spanner wanted us to. We all set out to do just that, but then we changed our minds. It’s our duty to help them.” She looked at Terrance. “You’re mall security. Why are you sitting here? You should be helping them.”

  “They don’t pay me enough. My life is worth more than a measly ten dollars an hour. Let the higher paid government employees have their fun.”

  Brinke stood up. “I’m going back to my post. I can’t relax knowing that at any minute those zombies could break through the glass and invade our safe haven. I just can’t sit here; I need to do something productive.”

  Terrance watched as she stormed away. He looked at the others wondering if they all felt the same way. He didn’t want to look like the only bad person sitting at the table. “Do you all feel the same way she does?”

  “She does make a valid point,” said Daniel. “None of us are doing our part to keep the mall safe.” He stood up and looked at Terrance. “Come on, security guard, it’s about time you start earning your pay.”

  “And what do you suppose we do?”

  “We go back to watching the doors.”

  Terrance smirked. “And if the zombies manage to break through the doors, what do you suppose we do then?”

  “We go alert the others so they can have a fighting chance. Listen, we’re all in this together. We need to start acting as though we care and do whatever we can to keep each other safe.” He looked around the table. “I know watching the zombies outside is scary, but it’s necessary that we watch them as much as they watch us.”

  “But they’re scary looking,” said Patricia. “I don’t like the way they stare at you.”

  “You don’t have to look at them. All you have to do is watch the glass. If it cracks or breaks, you need to go inform somebody so we’re not taken completely by surprise.”

  “And what do we do if they get inside with us?” asked Emily. “Where are we going to go to hide? We’ll be trapped inside the mall with them.”

  “We can get to the roof if necessary,” said Terrance.

  “Then we’ll be trapped on the roof. That’s even worse than being trapped inside with them.”

  He stared at Emily. “I don’t know about it being worse, but I can see how it could put us at a disadvantage.” He looked around the table. “Let’s hope they don’t get inside.”

  Captain Spanner was getting alarmed that all the posts were reporting the glass doors were cracking and could shatter at any given moment. Where are my reinforcements? He looked around the mall hoping something would spark an idea. He refused to believe there wasn’t anything he could do to remedy the situation. All the stores in the immediate area were worthless unless he could do something from a jewelry store or a lingerie store. The only store that could prove useful was the gun store, and they already raided it and moved all the weapons to the command center. What he really needed was time. If he had more time, the reinforcements would arrive, and they could begin the battle against the zombies. He suddenly heard one of his soldiers shouting something from down the hall. He swiftly made his way to him and watched as he pointed at the glass on the door. It was starting to give way. The entire length of the door was spider webbing. He knew they were running out of time. The glass doors weren’t going to hold much longer.

  “Come down by me,” he ordered Specialist Moran. “I don’t want you to be too close if that glass shatters. If it does, head for the command center. We’ll rendezvous there. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to stop the zombies long enough for everybody inside to get to safety.”

  “Where will we go? This place will be filled with zombies.”

  “We’ll head to the roof and wait for reinforcements. It’s the only option we really have.”

  They both saw an ambulance drive by the door and keep going. Captain Spanner looked curious.

  “They’ve been circling the mall for a while now, sir. I don’t know what they’re up too. I figured they’re trying to find a way inside the mall,” said Specialist Moran.

  The thought of somebody trying to get inside the mall worried Captain Spanner. Not that he was expecting them to get through the zombies, but there was still a small chance they could do something unexpected. He shook his head. “I have to check the other doors; keep me informed if anything changes.” He left the soldier and made his way across the mall where he found Brinke standing at one of the doors focused on something.

  “Something really has your att
ention.”

  “That little girl wearing the blood-stained white nightgown,” said Brinke, pointing at a zombie pressed against the glass. “I was standing here feeling sorry for her. Can you imagine everything she went through to become a zombie. I wonder if she suffered or if her death was quick and painless.”

  Captain Spanner looked at the zombie and then back to Brinke. “I try not to think about things like that, especially about the young zombies. We can’t associate these things with being human; it will only make it difficult to kill them if and when the time comes. We have to keep things in proper perspective. These creatures want to kill you. They want to eat you. That’s all you need to know about them.”

  “Does it make us seem inhuman to feel that way?” She looked at him. “Doesn’t it make us one of them? Having no feelings, shutting off what makes us human. Maybe inside every single one of us is a zombie trying to get out. Perhaps this was our destiny right from the start. I don’t claim to understand any of this, but look out there. Look at each and every one of them. How different are they really from you and me?”

  Captain Spanner was at a loss for words. He hadn’t looked at it from that perspective before. He knew in a way she was right, but on the other hand, if those things got inside with them, he knew they wouldn’t be thinking what she was thinking. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of cracking glass. He looked at her.

  “We’re running out of time. I don’t believe the glass is going to hold much longer.” He looked at the young zombie staring hungrily at him through the cracked glass. Her mouth was gaped wide, eager to devour his flesh if she had the opportunity. “Move farther down the hall. If they get through, I don’t want you to be too close. And about the young girl out there; you need to stay focused and realize she means to do you harm. You have to treat her like a zombie. All of her humanity died as soon as she became one of those creatures out there. The sooner you realize that, the better your chances will be of survival.”

  Through the moaning and scratching on cracked glass, he heard the sound of several helicopters approaching in the distance. He grabbed Brinke’s shoulders and smiled. “Our reinforcements have arrived.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Mr. Billings watched as the ambulance made another pass around the mall. He was sitting in the idling car scanning the area for a way inside the mall. It looked hopeless; it was surrounded by hundreds of zombies who were eagerly trying to gain access. He looked at his wife who wasn’t looking well. Her skin was turning pale and her eyes were clouding over. In the last few minutes her breathing had become labored.

  “Are you feeling all right?” he asked her. “You look pale.”

  She didn’t answer him. Instead, she continued having difficulties breathing. He was worried something serious was wrong with her, and he didn’t have the means to help her or get her to a doctor. He was stuck in the parking lot of the mall being surrounded by zombies who appeared to be ignoring them inside the car. Their attention seemed to be focused on the mall itself. He looked in his rearview mirror. Hundreds more zombies were entering the large parking lot. Something was making them come to the mall. He looked at his wife; she had suddenly become silent. He reached over to her and shook her shoulder, but she was still.

  “Jennifer, are you all right?”

  She remained silent. He felt the back of her neck. Her skin was ice cold. He raised her head and looked at her. Her eyes were staring blankly straight in front of her. He lowered her head.

  “No, Jennifer, please don’t leave me. Our daughter is inside the mall and she needs us. I need you. Please, wake up. Everything will get better if you just wake up, please.”

  He stared at her lifeless body, fighting back the tears. He felt guilty about not realizing she was sick. He thought she was just in shock over the incident at their house with the zombie. Had he known, he would have tried to get her to the hospital. Now it was too late. He had failed her. He watched as several zombies moved slowly by the car, still ignoring him sitting inside. He turned to look at his wife, and to his surprise, she was staring at him with milky-white eyes. He tried to back away from her as her fingers splayed out, questing for his flesh.

  He tried to push her away with every ounce of strength he could muster, but she was too strong for him. Her unholy fingers curled into claws and sliced through his skin like butter. Blood flowered from his wound like crimson petals. Fear was writ on his face as he watched his wife sink her teeth into his living meat, ripping off a hairy chunk of his arm. He screamed in agony as dozens more zombies moved slowly by the car.

  Overhead, several black transport helicopters were coming into view. They were heading for the mall ready to fire upon the zombies in the parking lot. They didn’t want to fire upon the ones near the mall in fear they would hit it or give the zombies an entrance point. General Milkwood was anxious to land and put his smart zombies to work. It would be their first field test, and he was confident they would be victorious over the ordinary zombies.

  After clearing much of the parking lot, the helicopters landed near the front of the mall, and the soldiers prepared themselves for an assault on the deadly horde.

  General Milkwood was the first to exit his helicopter, followed by his smart zombie army. Once they all had exited the helicopter, he gave only one order–Attack!

  The soldiers were making some progress against the zombies pressed against the doors leading inside the mall, but they were having difficulties pushing through the fallen ones. They were blocking their view of the ones closest to the building.

  Brinke stared in horror as the glass broke near her position, granting entrance to the zombies who were pressed against it. The young girl zombie was the first to enter. She hissed softly and shuffled in her direction. Behind the young zombie, she heard the shuffling of feet on broken glass as the rest of the horde followed behind the young zombie. Brinke screamed and turned to go alert the others, but it was the same all over the mall. The zombies were pouring in from every entrance.

  Captain Spanner stood beside Private Godard, firing shots into the heads of the walking dead as they continued to slowly enter.

  “We’re not going to hold this position, sir,” said Private Godard. “We’re going to run out of ammunition quickly.”

  “We have to make do for now; we have to stop them here while the rest are being dealt with on the outside.”

  “Too late; sir, I’m almost out of ammunition. We need to retreat.”

  Captain Spanner knew he was right even though he didn’t want to admit it. Retreating was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew he didn’t have much of a choice. “All right, fall back to the command center. They’re slow-moving, so we should have ample time to reload and take them down.” He followed Private Godard as he made his way to the middle of the mall. They found Daniel and Terrance getting more ammunition. Captain Spanner approached them in a hurry.

  “Where are the others?” he asked, snatching a fully loaded magazine from the stack.

  “They’re heading for the roof,” said Terrance. “That’s where we need to go.”

  “Not a chance,” said Captain Spanner. “Reinforcements are battling the zombies on the outside. We need to control the ones that got inside. If we don’t, none of us is going to survive.”

  “I’m right behind you,” said Daniel. “Let’s send these flesh-eating machines back to the grave.” He slapped a magazine into his M16. “I’m locked and loaded!”

  Captain Spanner watched as dozens of zombies slowly came into their line of fire. “Let’s show them what we’re made of!”

  The sound of rapid gunfire filled the mall as magazine after magazine was spent. The mall floor was rapidly being littered with the fallen dead. They were making headway, but the zombies kept coming. Captain Spanner wondered if the invasion would ever end.

  “We have to hold this position!” he shouted. “Eventually, we’ll get ahead of them. Keep firing!”

  General Milkwood fought hard against h
is attackers as his smart zombie army was losing ground against the ordinary zombies. He couldn’t understand what was going wrong. His smart zombies should have been stronger and smarter than the ordinary ones, but it didn’t appear they were succeeding. He watched as several ordinary zombies took down one of his smart ones.

  “This can’t be!” he shouted. “Why are the zombies attacking my smart zombies? This doesn’t make any sense.”

  It was beyond his belief. His zombies were supposed to make quick work of the ordinary ones–unless there was something else wrong with Professor Hollman’s formula. He looked around. Not only was his smart zombie army being destroyed, but so were his soldiers. There were simply too many zombies to battle. He looked back across the mall parking lot. Hundreds and hundreds more zombies were pouring in from the street.

  “Retreat!” he ordered. “Retreat back to the helicopters before it’s too late!” He took another look at his smart zombies. Ares the zombie lion was ripping apart a zombie with his claws. It made him smile. Perhaps the mistake they made was relying on human smart zombies. They should have only developed animal ones. He got inside one of the helicopters. He was already formulating a plan. He was going to scratch the human smart zombie program and sink all his resources into creating a larger animal one. As the helicopter rose, he kept his eyes on Ares. He was swatting the zombies as if they were pesky flies, quickly ripping them to shreds. He was making General Milkwood proud. He knew if he stuck around to watch a little longer, Ares might win the battle and prove how powerful his creation truly was. He watched as Ares was suddenly surrounded by two dozen ordinary zombies and was finally brought down to the ground, but he never stopped fighting. Even as the zombies ripped through his flesh, he kept fighting. General Milkwood was impressed. He now knew how to develop the perfect army. He continued to watch as Thelma came to Ares’ aid and tried to help him before she was completely surrounded by the growing horde. She knew she was outnumbered and quickly turned to retreat leaving Ares to be completely devoured. He turned away; he had seen enough. They had lost this battle, but he vowed he was still going to win the war.