Zombies On The Rock (Book 3): The Republic of Newfoundland

by Carberry, Paul

  Tina looked out of the window nervously. “What happens if we get overrun?”

  “We won’t.” Warrant Smith wasn’t going to let that happen. He hadn’t seen any signs of the wandering corpses and he figured that they had wandered off in search of food. Most of the people who survived in the city had lived on the outskirts of town and the armories was centered perfectly in the middle. “We will be in and out before you know it.”

  Warrant Smith pressed down hard on the gas as the truck reached the bottom of the hill trying to gain as much momentum as possible. He could feel the snow building up underneath the truck. The wrecked remains of cars lay buried underneath the fallen snow, making the drive treacherous. The tires spun and slipped across the road as he manoeuvered back and forth between the discarded automobiles. Losing speed quickly, the truck struggled in the deep snow and sputtered to a stop just before the turnoff to the armories. “How far of a walk is it?” Tina asked mildly.

  “Less than two minutes.” He knew that he could make it in under a minute if he was alone, but Tina would slow him down. Smith shut off the engine and grabbed his rifle. Throwing open the door, the warm air from the cab was stolen away by the cold wintery air. He jumped down into the snow, his boots sinking deep down through the icy crust. “Wait here until the guys catch up to us.” Smith closed the door gently, trying not to make too much noise. He didn’t want to draw any more attention than he needed to. Driving through the city would cause enough commotion.

  A loud bang boomed behind him on the road. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the other truck had lost control and crashed into a buried truck. The two soldiers appeared to be fine, both of them reaching for their weapons before exiting the truck. Tina could be seen fidgeting inside the truck, trying to hide out of view of the window. “You two okay?” Smith asked the approaching soldiers.

  “We slid across the road and banged into that truck, thankfully we weren’t moving very fast.” Clarke answered. His weapon dangled loosely from the strap slung over his neck, the barrel of the gun flailing around uncontrolled.

  “Get a grip on that weapon.” Smith barked. The young private grabbed the scope of his rifle to steady it, making the warrant angry. “Who the hell taught you to handle your rifle like that?” Clarke stood still, frozen in place. “Tighten the fucking strap and hold it properly.”

  Keough had a smirk on his face, but quickly wiped it from his face when he saw the warrants death stare. “Here, let me help.” Keough started to fidget with the strap holding Clarke’s weapon over his shoulder.

  Smith turned back to his truck and pulled the door open. It groaned loudly in the cold night air. “Lets go. We don’t want to be out here any longer then we need to be.”

  Tina nodded and opened the passenger door and jumped down, the snow nearly reaching her knees. She dragged her feet through the snow and joined the soldiers. “What do you want me to do?”

  “You just stay close behind me.” Warrant Smith turned to look at the two troops as they struggled to tighten the strap. “You two watch my back and keep up.” He growled at them. They all started to walk down the frozen tundra that used to be the city streets of Corner Brook. Warrant Smith scanned every ally between the houses and looked for movements amongst the trees, everything appeared quiet. Moving through the deep snow was made more arduous by the crust on the top layer; every time he pulled his boots up they would get stuck in the hardened surface.

  Private Clarke tripped and fell face first into the snow. A hand had grasped a hold of the cuff of his combat pants. “Get it off me.” He tried to swing his rifle around, discovering too late that the strap had been pulled to tight, and he couldn’t get the weapon off his chest. The decrepit creature pulled its frost bitten corpse from underneath the snow. Shards of ice carved deep into its blackened flesh, shredding its face apart. Clarke managed to kick his leg free just in time. The zombie lunged its teeth down and smashed its face against the frozen surface. Keough stomped his boot down into the back of the creature’s head with a loud pop as its skull split wide open. A large, dark red splash of thick blood shot across Clarke’s pants and soiled the snow.

  Warrant Smith walked over and held out his hand to Clarke. “Come on.” He pulled the young private up to his feet and close to his chest. “Get your shit together.” Smith whispered in his ear as he reached down to loosen the gun strap. “You could have gotten yourself killed because of this.” The armories were just around the corner, the lurking threat of zombies waiting underneath the snow was worse than swimming in the ocean with sharks.

  “Thanks.” Clarke spoke softly.

  Tina stood behind warrant Smith and looked down the road. “I can’t do this.” She held back tears.

  “You have too.” Warrant Smith snapped. He was starting to lose his patience. “Just walk in my footsteps. You’ll be fine.” He tried to lower his tone. He couldn’t leave her back in the truck. He wasn’t sure if they were going to be able to come back the same way. His plan was to take the long way out of town because the hill wouldn’t be as steep.

  Tina stared down at the ground, her hair blowing across her face. She looked like a scolded child stomping through his footprints. “Whatever.” She sulked.

  Smith was already starting to regret his choice of partners for this trip. He should have taken Byrne, even though he would be a valuable asset during the assault on Grand Falls. “Everybody watch their step and keep your weapons ready.” Every step that Smith took he expected a hand to reach out and grab him. They moved slowly up the tiny slope that lead to the armories. The fallen fence stuck out of the deep snow in places and was buried in others. “This way.” Smith pointed towards a fallen section of fence that would lead them into the parking lot.

  CHAPTER TWENTY:

  THE MISSION

  Jason stood in line at the cafeteria. No one spoke directly to him. A few people said “Hi” as they passed, they all seemed to be surprised that he was there. Gawking at him with awkward looks on their faces, most people avoided looking at him as they hurried towards the tables to sit down for their lunch. When Jason got to the front of the line he didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

  “Where’s your meal card?” A burley man in a white uniform asked.

  “My meal card?” Jason patted the pockets of the shirt he had been given to wear. “I don’t have one.”

  “You must be new here,” said the worker, annoyed. “What’s your name?”

  “Jason Cook.”

  The worker turned around and pulled open a drawer, pulling out a cardboard clipboard. “Very good then. Don’t lose it.” He unclipped the metal clamp and handed Jason a plain white plastic card with a thin black strip running lengthwise down the card.

  “Thanks.” Jason tried to look into the kitchen, finding the doors were shut tight. Large metal carts with several shelves were nearly empty. Only a few trays were left. The man handed Jason a wrapped tray without saying a word.

  Sitting alone in a room full of people was hard to do, luckily Jason had plenty of help. People avoided him like the walking corpses outside of the mine. The cafeteria buzzed with low pitched chatter. Jason could see people looking at him and he was sure they were all talking about him. He thought he could hear his name scattered about the conversations, he avoided eye contact with the workers. He found it strange that they all wore uniforms with the Pharmakon logo embroidered over the breast pocket. The room was divided by the different colour uniforms and it reminded Jason of high school. All of the people wearing white sat together, the people wearing dark blue sat in the back together and even the workers wearing red huddled together. They all seemed to be avoiding each other besides the odd pleasantry as they passed each other. Maybe they weren’t allowed to talk to each other?

  Pulling off the plastic, the faint smell of savoury stew wafted up from the bowl. A bun wrapped in tissue and a silver packet rested on the side of the plastic tray along with a spoon and a napkin. Jason dipped his spoon into the stew he had bee
n given. It was mostly gravy and turnip with a few pieces of potato and carrot mixed in. The gravy was loaded with pepper and a green herb that didn’t have much flavour. The vegetables were bland and needed more salt, at least the meat tasted fresh at least. Jason soaked up the juices with his bun and was surprised to find that it had been baked recently; it was soft and still warm. He chugged down his milk and opened a silver package that had been placed on his tray. It appeared to be a brownie. Jason took one bite and was disappointed by the bitter taste. He didn’t know what it was supposed to be, but it wasn’t chocolate. Tossing it back onto the trey, Jason wiped his face with a napkin before crumpling it up and placing it over his remaining food.

  Jason started to get up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Got anywhere to be?” Alvin asked as he sat down next to Jason.

  “I guess not.” Jason knew that when David needed him, he would find him. “Your food looks way better than mine.” Jason’s mouth watered as he looked down at Alvin’s tray. A large square piece of lasagna loaded with cheese and two pieces of toasted garlic bread sat on his plate. He had a glass of pop and two chocolate chip cookies.

  Alvin tapped his lunch card against the trey. “You earn points for what you contribute to the cause.” He dug his fork into the lasagna and twisted it around in circles, gathering the cheese in long strands around the utensil.

  “I guess I’m at the bottom of the food chain.” Jason laughed.

  “Not far from it, but after you complete a few missions you’ll be eating much better.” Alvin noticed Jason staring at his tray of food and offered him a piece of garlic bread.

  “Thanks.” Jason eagerly took a bite, the bread crunching in his mouth. The bread was coated with butter, garlic and Parmesan cheese. “That’s amazing.” Alvin chewed his food without responding. Jason finished the tasty bread quickly and couldn’t believe how much better it tasted. “So do you get to pick your food or how does this all work?”

  Alvin finished the last bite of lasagna and wiped the red sauce from his face. “Not exactly. There are five different levels of food. You have level two and I have level four. It’s all prepared before hand and wrapped up on the same colour treys as the cards. You show the workers your card, they grab you a trey.”

  “I bet level five is good. How much longer until you are at level five.” Jason eyed the chocolate chip cookie, hoping that Alvin was still in a sharing mood. Maybe the old man didn’t have any friends here or it was possible he felt bad for him, either way it didn’t make any difference to Jason. He was glad to have a friend, someone he could talk to.

  “Level five is only for the leaders of Pharmakon.” Alvin took a cookie, it slowly broke apart as he bent it in half. The chocolate chips were still warm and gooey. “You can have the other one, I don’t eat much these days.”

  Jason snatched up the cookie and stuffed it in his mouth before Alvin could change his mind. Instantly he felt the rush of sugar course through his body. It had been so long since he ate anything so delicious, he wanted to cry. He closed his eyes to savour the flavours. He was starting to understand why Tracy had decided to work for Pharmakon. Things were unbelievable down here in the mine. The smell of rotten flesh and shit didn’t exist in here. People didn’t reek of body odour, their clothes were clean, and the smell of fresh linen was a welcome change to sweat and piss.

  Jason opened his eyes and saw Alvin sitting there with a giant smile on his face. “I think I understand why you wouldn’t risk getting thrown out of this place. It’s like heaven down here.”

  “I haven’t been outside with those creatures for a long time. I forgot how bad it was. I’ve learned that they aren’t the only monsters on this earth.” Alvin drank the last drop of his drink. “You’ll wish you were back amongst the walking dead soon enough.”

  Jason wondered what the old doctor meant. David was a horrible monster, but even he couldn’t ruin how great things were down in this fortress. The fact that he didn’t have to fight for his next meal, or worry about sleeping in shifts so the dead didn’t surprise you in the middle of the night took a huge pressure off his shoulders. “How bad is it down here?”

  “I couldn’t begin to explain it to you.” Alvin furrowed his eyebrows. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Mr. Cook how are you doing today.” David chuckled maniacally.

  “David...”

  “It’s ‘Mr. Steele’ or ‘sir’.” David cut Jason off before he could say anything. “Get up. We have work to do.”

  Alvin looked at Jason with sad eyes. “Hopefully I will see you again.” Alvin got up quickly and left in a hurry.

  Jason started to stand up slowly, his movement aided by David as he grabbed him underneath the arm and dragged him up. “Get your fucking hands off me.” Jason tried to push David away, but he was barely able to budge him.

  “Unless you want to watch me gut your wife, I suggest you do as your told.” David got in Jason’s face, his crazy eyes burning a hole through Jason’s head. The wrinkles on his forehead bunched together and his nostrils flared with anger, begging Jason to make a move.

  Jason couldn’t believe how the little comforts had made him forget how evil David was. Now he knew what Alvin had meant. Jason trembled at the thought of working for Pharmakon. “What do you want?” Jason said obediently.

  “We are heading out.” David turned toward the cafeteria exit and kept talking as he walked away. “Don’t fall behind, we don’t have much time to get ready.”

  Jason followed the mad man out of the cafeteria and down the long hallway. Jason could hear David mumbling, but he couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying. All he could do was think about how he was going to escape once he got outside.

  The locker room reminded Jason of a hockey team’s dressing room. Long blue benches ran parallel to the red lockers forming a ‘U’ shape. A door broke the line of lockers along the back wall with the word “washroom” inscribed in white on a black plaque. Seven other men stood in front of their lockers. There was only one left so Jason walked over to claim it. He wasn’t sure if it belonged to him, nobody seemed to mind. They all kept to themselves and went about their own routines.

  Jason opened the locker door and started to get dressed. Everything was laid out in order of how it needed to be worn. The first layer was a thin black, full body thermal suit. It was hard to get on; the fabric was made from a rubber-like material. Then he had a grey fleece top and matching bottoms. Next was a thick water-proof suit that resembled a diver’s suit. It was black and dark grey. A pair of leather gloves and a sturdy pair of hiking boots laid on the bottom of the locker. On the top shelf was a helmet with a dark black visor that reflected the light back at Jason.

  Jason watched the other men get dressed so he knew which article of clothing to put on next. They all had the exact same uniform as Jason. He tried to find anything that could be used to identify one from the next, they all looked exactly alike in their uniforms. Jason didn’t know how, but he knew that he was going to have to use this fact to his advantage to escape. Once the others were dressed they filed out of the locker room with their helmet cradled in their arm and gathered around in the next room. Jason grabbed his helmet and ran out to join them. Nobody spoke. They stood in a circle just staring blankly at one another. Jason stood in the only gap and looked around at the other men, surprised by their striking resemblance to each other. They may have been family members but Jason wondered if they were the super soldiers Gordon Purchase had told him about back on Fox Island the day of the outbreak. They all had short ,cropped black hair, and dark brown eyes. Their skin was dark, and they all had sharp jaw lines.

  “So what are we doing here?” Jason asked and wished he hadn’t said anything. Everyone stared at him with angry snarls, no one responded to him. Jason tried to look around the room, but he couldn’t escape the glares from the Pharmakon soldiers. The room was barren expect for the large door in the back. No light came through the small, round window in the middle of the steel
door. The cement floor was wet and a puddle of water had gathered around a drain in the middle of the circle.

  A red light flashed on the other side of the window in timed intervals. The men pulled their helmets over their heads and all turned to face the door. The red light started to flash faster and faster until it turned solid. A loud buzzer rang before the light turned yellow. The soldiers formed a straight line and Jason fell into place at the back. The light turned green and suddenly the door opened. The soldiers walked through the door one at a time. Jason could feel a gust of wind blowing into the room and the men disappeared into the pitch dark room.

  Jason was the last man left to go through the door. He didn’t want to step into the darkness. He had no idea of what was waiting for him on the other side. This could have been an ambush to end his life and he wouldn’t see it coming. Jason stepped into the darkness and it was as if the light had been sucked from existence. He couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. He tried to turn back and leave the room, feeling that the door had closed behind him before he could find his way out.

  “Put your helmet on.” A gruff voice startled Jason from the darkness. Jason spun his head around trying to pin point the voice, unable to find its origin. He felt like the darkness was washing over him, suffocating him. A hand tapped his helmet, nearly knocking it from his grip. “I said put your helmet on.”

  Jason slipped the helmet over his head and a bright light nearly blinded him. He squinted to block it out. His eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light and he could see every detail in the room as clear as day. “How?”

  “The visor on your helmet adjusts to the conditions in the room and allows us to work in the shadows.” The gruff voice belonged to one of the soldiers, but Jason couldn’t tell which one was speaking to him. They all looked the exact same in their matching uniforms. They were even the build.

  It only took a few minutes before Jason realized that two people had entered the room and walked to the front of the circle. One figure was much larger than anyone else. The hulking body and wide frame must have belonged to David. He stood facing everyone else and the soldiers slowly took a knee. The other soldier was much smaller and slender, clearly belonging to a female, the tight suit unable to hide the slender curves of her body.