The Zombie Chronicles - Book 5 - Undead Nightmare (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series)

by Peebles, Chrissy

  She smiled back at me. “Heh. I’ll be fine. If drunks can do it, so can I.”

  “We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can,” I said.

  She smiled. “If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have let him lock me up.”

  I walked over to Jackie’s cell while Nick said his goodbyes to Val. Jackie hadn’t moved since Nick had put her down on the bed. “I’m gonna do everything I can to save your life. Hang in there, honey.”

  There was no response.

  “Jackie?”

  Nick slapped my back. “Let’s go, buddy. We have to go get the chloroform and get Lucas out of the truck.”

  Jonathon glanced at Nick. “I’m afraid no one on my team is going to be willing to go in there and sedate her. She’s just too dangerous,” he said.

  “Don’t worry,” Nick said. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Jonathon’s gaze narrowed. “Are you sure you can handle that?”

  “You wouldn’t be asking me that if you knew what we’ve been through. This is nothing.”

  This time, I actually believed Nick’s cocky statement. I’d been through hell with him, and I couldn’t even imagine what Lucas and he had been through before I’d found them.

  Jonathon opened the door. “I’m blown away by your support and commitment to Jackie. Most would have killed her or ditched her along the way.”

  “I’d do anything for her,” I said. “Leaving her was never an option.”

  “Are you ready?” Jonathon asked me.

  “Yeah.” I glanced over my shoulder and shot Claire and Val a nod.

  Claire blew me a kiss, and Val saluted.

  Jonathon led us down the corridors and back outside to the truck.

  Hesitantly, I knocked on the window, and Asia opened the door. I was terrified to break the news to her, knowing it wasn’t going to go over well at all.

  “Where’re Val and Claire?” she asked.

  I explained the entire story while Nick waited outside by the door and Jonathon got the chloroform.

  Asia reacted just the way I’d expected and exploded in a fit of rage, loud enough to attract a zombie in a ripped-up, dirty business suit. It lumbered out of the vegetation and released a long, hungry moan, but she quickly grabbed a tire iron. “This thing works great when you don’t wanna alert zombies with gunfire.” She charged at the zombie and kicked out its knees, then slammed the tire iron into its skull. It fell backward onto the hard concrete street.

  “Nice job,” Kate said.

  Asia slung a black bag over her shoulder and reached for her rifle. “As you can see, I’m more than capable of surviving out here. Nobody’s throwing me in lockup.”

  “If you turn, there’ll be no one to help you,” I said. “At least here, you might have a chance.” I gripped her hands. “I know we’ve had our disagreements, Asia, but please stay.”

  “I just…can’t.”

  “Just let them run a few tests so we can see what’s going on,” I begged.

  “A few tests will turn into a whole lot of tests. Once I’m behind those bars, I might never get out, and I’m nobody’s lab rat.”

  “I wouldn’t let that happen.”

  “They aren’t going to find any answers, Dean,” Asia said. “Val and Claire are fools if they think there’s some miracle cure for them. We’re all going to change eventually, and nobody can stop it or reverse it for good.”

  “I don’t believe that,” I said. “I can’t give up that easily.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’d rather live my last days on my own terms than behind bars, being poked and prodded by scientists. None of us know when our time is going to be up, and I wanna enjoy the ride. When it’s my time to go, it’ll be my time to go, and I’d rather die watching a sunset than staring at a prison wall.” She inhaled deeply, then let it out slowly. “I’m not afraid to die, Dean.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Because living hurts as it is. If this is the way I’m supposed to go out, then so be it.”

  I begged her to stay, but nothing I said worked. To make matters worse, Kate insisted on leaving with her. We had come to a crossroads, and there was no way to force Asia into that jail cell. The scientists would never let Asia stay with us if she didn’t follow their rules, so parting ways was inevitable. Our band of eight was breaking up.

  “Take some more guns,” I said. “You’ll need them.”

  “Thanks,” Kate said, reaching into the back of the U-Haul and grabbing some weapons and ammo.

  “Goodbye, Dean,” Asia said. “We can’t thank you enough for your generosity and kindness. Maybe I’ll conquer this thing. Who knows? If that’s the case, I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

  I gazed into her eyes. “I’d like that.”

  She softly kissed my cheek. “Goodbye.”

  “Find shelter before nightfall,” I said.

  She laughed. “You don’t gotta remind me of the rules, Dean. I’ve been playing this game for a long time myself.”

  Kate pulled me into a tight hug. “I still can’t believe we survived Kingsville.”

  “I know. That was just…crazy.” I glanced around to make sure no zombies were trying to creep up on us, but the place was more deserted than a tomb.

  She blew a blonde strand of hair out of her eyes. “Think of the stories we’ll tell people about that arena. Maybe when the world gets back on its feet, we’ll be on the same talk show.”

  “I’m sure of it,” I said with a chuckle. “You’re a survivor, Kate,” I said. “Remember that.”

  “Bye, Dean,” she said. “I hope everything works out for all of you. Take care of yourselves and each other.”

  It was frustrating that I couldn’t change their minds, but I had to let them make their own choice; they would have done the same for me.

  “Lucas is inside and safe, and we’ve got the chloroform for Jackie,” Nick announced, walking up behind me. “So what are you doing out here?” I asked.

  “They said we have to be taken to an isolation unit first,” he said.

  “And that’s why we’re leaving,” Asia said, hugging him. “Take care, Nick.”

  As soon as Asia let Nick loose from her embrace, Kate pulled him in for one of her own. “Keep these guys safe, Nick…and thanks for all your help with Kingsville and the nursing home and—”

  “You’re welcome, but why don’t you two stay? These people might be able to help you.” Nick tried all his tricks to get them to stay, but they refused.

  As the two girls took off down the street, I wondered if I’d ever see them again. I was a bit worried about Kate; if Asia turned, Kate would be in real trouble, and even if she did escape that, she’d be out in the big, cruel world all by herself. Still, there was no convincing them, and as they walked down the road, the cruel realization hit me: Our group was dwindling, with one hybrid, one injured, two potential hybrids among us.

  Chapter 15

  Once Jackie was sedated, a team dressed in isolation suits came down and took blood and skin samples and ran other tests on all three girls. I could tell they didn’t know what to make of Jackie and were scared to death that they might somehow get infected themselves.

  Nick and I were then led into the building and up the stairs, into an isolation chamber. I wasn’t sure where they had taken Lucas, but they were clearly worried that his wound was a zombie bite. I insisted that it wasn’t and reminded them that he needed antibiotics. Jonathon retrieved Val’s medicine bag and made sure Lucas got the precious pills we’d almost died trying to get.

  After twenty-four hours of observation, all three of us were deemed safe and virus free and were given permission to walk around freely with the other survivors.

  A man squinting into a microscope looked up. “Hello, Dean.”

  I set my black bag and rifle down against the wall, then reached out and shook the man’s hand.

  “I’m Charlie.” He then introduced me to ten other scientists, who greeted me like I was the mos
t amazing person in the world.

  “It’s an absolute miracle!” one said, gripping my hand.

  Another one hugged me. “We can end this nightmare once and for all because of you. You and your brother will go down in history as heroes.”

  “I didn’t create it,” I said humbly, then went on to elaborate, telling them about the greatest scientist I knew and explaining that he’d worked endless hours on the serum back on the island in Ohio.

  “If this formula does what you and Jonathon have told me it does, we can make the necessary modifications to it to save humanity. This is the closest thing to a cure we’ve come across, and we’d just about given up.”

  “Can you help Jackie?” I asked desperately.

  “It’s a little too early to say. We’ve taken tests and are waiting for the cultures and preliminary results to come back.”

  “And how long will that take, Doctor?”

  “Call me Charlie,” he said with a smile.

  “Okay. How long will that take, Charlie?” I asked.

  “We’ll need a week.”

  “A week? Is it safe for her to be on chloroform for that long?” I asked.

  “I know you said she might be able to call zombies, so we’ll try some other sedatives,” he said, looking at me doubtfully. “What makes you so sure she can summon them?”

  I ran a hand through my hair. “We’ve dealt with this before, and it seemed as if they can communicate somehow.”

  “Interesting,” he said, squinting at me and looking as if he might laugh at my novice observations.

  “I’m glad you find it amusing. I just want my girlfriend back to normal.” I sat down on a stool that was propped against the wall.

  One of the scientists cleared his throat. “With all due respect, Dean, this isn’t a lounge area. Why don’t you set up camp down the hall so we can concentrate on curing Jackie?”

  Jonathon walked over and motioned me to follow him. “Don’t mind him,” he’s whispered. “Everybody’s running on too little sleep and even less food. Let me take you to your quarters.”

  “Where are Nick and Lucas?” I asked.

  “Nick is talking to one of our scientists, helping him create a detailed case file. Lucas is sleeping.”

  I followed Jonathon into to a large room that reminded me of a crowded bunker. “Who are all these people?”

  “Our friends and family and a few stragglers who’ve become friends.” He pointed to Lucas. “There’s your buddy over there.”

  I maneuvered around the beds to get to him. “You feeling any better?”

  He opened his eyes and smiled. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said, grinning up at me. “Though I’d rather still be dreaming of Megan Fox, truth be told.”

  “Very funny,” I said.

  “How’s everybody?”

  “Pretty good, I guess, but Asia and Kate left.” I explained the entire story.

  “Well, let me give ya some advice, kid.”

  “I’m not really a kid, but go ahead.”

  “When it comes to chicks, you can’t really ever change their minds. They’ll do what they wanna do, and if you think otherwise, that’s only because they let you think that way.”

  “Thanks, for the advice,” I said.

  “Hey, just call me Dr. Phil.”

  In spite of his jokes, he was just as worried about Jackie’s hybrid problem as I was. He also didn’t like the fact that Val and Claire had to be locked up next door.

  After I caught him up on everything he missed, I told him to get some rest, then set my stuff on the bed next to him and staked a claim on the next bed over for Nick.

  Jonathon had said they were low on food, so I knew walking around the lab and courthouse wasn’t going to do anyone any good. The tests on Jackie and the serum would take time, so I thought it best to gather a team to find supplies. Everyone told me to wait until morning. I knew they were right. It would be getting dark soon anyway and that was the worst time for a supply run.

  “Where’s Nick?” I asked Jonathon as he walked into the bunker.

  “He’s still answering questions.”

  I thought about making waves and threatening to leave with the vials to put a bit of a fire under the scientists, who seemed to be taking their own sweet time, but Nick thought it best that we listen to their demands and follow their rules. “We’ve gotta do as they say for now,” he had told me. “We need answers, and at least Val is safe here. We can’t just jump ship and head back to Ohio, not knowing if she’s gonna turn or not.”

  ***

  The next day, Nick and Lucas went with a group of survivors to hunt down food and supplies. The city had exhausted its supply, and they’d have to go farther out, so I knew they’d be gone all day. Unbelievably, Nick and Lucas had fought for me to come along, but the leader refused to take anyone under twenty-one. I argued that I’d gone well beyond proving myself out in the wild lands of the world, but it didn’t do much good. In the end, they still left without me.

  After dinner, I heard panicked cries and shouts coming from the lounge room, and I rushed in to find out what was going on.

  A thin woman with long, sandy-blonde hair had fallen to the ground and was sobbing. “We have to save Rachel! I can’t just leave my baby out there to die. She’s all I have left. I love my daughter with all my heart. She’s my world.”

  I was saddened by the woman’s pleas for help to save her daughter, and I wondered if I could help in some way.

  “We can’t just desert her!” a sixteen-year-old boy shouted. He had dirty brown hair and was dressed in a plaid, button-down shirt, black jeans, and leather boots. I’d met him the previous day, so I knew his name was Steven.

  “We have to wait for Jared,” a red-headed woman said. “Our best fighters are with him.”

  Steven’s brow furrowed, and his mouth pulled into a tight line. “They’ll be gone all day looking for supplies.”

  A group of men assembled and talked amongst themselves. “We’ll go after Rachel,” one said. “We’ll take Broad Street.”

  “You can’t. It’s overrun by zombies,” Steven said. “The sewers are better. They’ll take us directly to her.”

  “The sewers?” the redhead asked. “Are you insane?”

  “I’m not getting trapped down in the sewers,” a man with a black beard argued. “We’re better off on the streets. At least on the surface, we can’t get cornered, and there’s some light to see by.”

  “Are you crazy? You’ll never make it to her in time going that way!” Steven yelled.

  As the group talked and discussed possible rescue strategies, I called Steven over. “What’s going on?” The kid looked tough, but I could tell from his bloodshot eyes that he’d been crying; in fact, I’d never seen someone look so devastated. “Talk to me,” I said.

  “I can’t lose her, man. I just can’t. She’s my girlfriend, the love of my life. Rachel’s only sixteen, like me, and she’s trapped. She’s completely surrounded by zombies, dude! She’s in the town square, hanging on to a giant sculpture.”

  “Hanging on to it? How long can she possibly—”

  “No, I didn’t mean it literally. I mean she’s stuck up there, like a cat up a tree. If she comes down, those things will rip her to shreds. You’ve fought zombies before, and you know they can hold out for days. They’ll never leave, and she’ll eventually fall or starve or have to come down.”

  “Are you sure they can’t get to her?” I asked, terrified for the girl’s safety.

  “Positive. Zombies can’t climb.”

  “Well, not your average zombie.” I thought back to the rainstorm, to the city of hybrids, and shuddered at the vision of zombie hybrids climbing out the window to reach for me.

  He arched a brow. “What?”

  I shook my head. “Never mind.”

  “We could get around the herd and almost bypass them completely if we took the sewers.”

  “It’s a brilliant idea,” I said.

&
nbsp; “It doesn’t matter, because these old idiots won’t listen to me. I’m almost ready to go after her myself. It’s my girl, man. I can’t just leave her out there.”

  “You can’t go out there to rescue her without a good rescue plan and no one to cover you.”

  “I know. I’ve got no idea how to go up against a herd of them, but she’s worth it. I have to try.”

  “I’ve got a girlfriend myself, and I understand, but that kind of thinking is gonna get you killed, and that won’t do you or Rachel any good.” I clapped his shoulder. “We’ll go.” I knew Nick wouldn’t like the idea of me leaving the safe zone, but I didn’t care. I almost contemplated breaking Val out to help me, but I knew that would only cause problems and possibly get kicked out.

  He gasped. “You mean you’ll help me? But why? We just met yesterday.”

  “Because you need me and because I know what it’s like to be in love. We’ll need a smoking-hot plan. We need to distract the zombies.”

  He arched a brow. “How?”

  I thought for a moment. “Rats would work.”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, man. I’m fresh out of rodents. I don’t even have a hamster.”

  “Hmm.” I looked around, thinking carefully about anything that might work. “Hey, weren’t the women listening to music in the kitchen earlier?”

  “Yeah. They were playing CD’s on a MP3 and CD player. It’s like one of those boom boxes from Best Buy.”

  “Is it battery operated?”

  “Yeah, and they must have Energizers in there, because it just keeps going and going and going. I swear, if I have to listen to Celine Dion or Whitney Houston one more time, I’m gonna go feed myself to the zombies.”

  I laughed. “Well, maybe we can get rid of that boom box and the zombies all at once. Do you need a weapon? We have plenty.”

  “I’m already armed,” he said. “It’d be dumb not to be these days.”

  “You’ve got a point there. Come on,” I said, and motioned for Steven to follow me while all the men and women were busy arguing about the best plan of action.

  ***