Z Chronicles Box Set [Books 1-3]

by White, A. L.

  After eating a full breakfast, Lori and Jonas set out for town. Lori had been mildly bothered by Jonas deciding that he was driving without discussion but had let it go by the time they were passing through the gate. Seeing how muddy the dirt road was helped smooth her annoyance over quite a bit. Both rode in silence past the leafless trees and bushes. Things looked very different than when they had first driven through there. Lori said nothing, maybe she was mistaken, and it had looked like this and she had missed it while concentrating on not getting stuck.

  They reached the end and they both saw something out of place. Pointing across the paved road at a blue compact car, “That wasn’t there when we came in,” Jonas said.

  “Neither was that one,” Lori said pointing in the direction they needed to go. A minivan was stopped in the middle of the lane with the doors wide open.

  Jonas clicked the automatic door lock, locking both doors, and reached for the pistol laying on the bench seat between them. He took the safety off and verified that a round was in the chamber before swinging the truck left onto the road. Creeping slowly past the car and van looking for signs of any movement, they moved on toward downtown, satisfied that there was nothing lingering in the vehicles. Once on Main Street, Lori pointed to a resale shop three buildings down. They pulled up in front of the door and watched for signs of movement again.

  “I don’t see anything in there,” Lori said.

  “I don’t see anything either. Let’s see if it’s open. Be careful,” Jonas replied.

  Leaving the keys in the truck, in case they needed to exit hastily, Jonas got out first. He looked all around one more time for movement, then nodded to Lori it was okay.

  They met in front of the glass doors to the resale shop and Lori reached for the handle. She had been expecting it to be locked, but it wasn’t. Without waiting, she raised her crossbow up, and entered the shop. It wasn’t a large shop, and most of the clothing racks were short enough that Lori could see over the tops of them. She went straight to a rack that had winter coats on it and started pulling off as many as she could. Unfortunately, the bulk of the coats were women’s coats, but she found a few that would fit Jonas and Jack. Bob had lost weight since she first met him but he was going to be a challenge. The thought had never occurred to her that Jonas might want to look for his own coat until he came out from the back storeroom.

  “All clear back here.”

  Lori smiled at him and handed him the coats so he could put them into the truck. There weren’t any blankets to be found but there were a lot of empty houses Lori figured they’d sure find blankets in one of them.

  Lori grabbed clothes and shoes that she thought might possibly work for some of the group and went out to the truck, tossing everything in the bed. Finding herself alone, she started to get worried. Then Jonas appeared, emerging from a bar two doors down, hands clutching a box of booze. He smiled at her and put it into the back of the truck.

  “Over there, by the gas station is a Mini-Mart. Maybe they have some canned goods left,” Jonas said as he started walking down the street.

  “Shouldn’t we take the truck?”

  “Nah, we are quieter on foot and I don’t think there is anything here to worry about.” He winked at her. “I stayed here for a few days before I met you guys; never saw anything until you drove up.”

  Lori wasn’t so sure about leaving the truck, but she did trust Jonas, so she went along quietly. The Mini-Mart had been ransacked and picked clean, so they moved on to the next building where they found blankets and a few extra-large coats for Bob. Everything was going better than Lori could have hoped for—not a sign of anyone living or dead. It was a little like being in the world’s largest mall and everything was free for the taking. She had even found a few newer DVD’s and games for the long evenings ahead.

  They loaded everything into the bed and extended cab of the truck and moved up the road, stopping in front of a three-story building with a sign that read: ‘Wilmington Retirement Village, Assisted and Non-Assisted Living.’

  Their sense of caution that had dominated earlier was gone. Feeling how at ease Jonas was, Lori let her guard down as well. On the first floor they found the offices of the administrators, a meeting hall, and the cafeteria. All were empty, including the kitchen food pantries. On the second floor they found more clothing and bedding, along with some minor food supplies. Bob had asked for any type of reading materials, so Lori gathered up “old people” magazines for him to read. When her hands were full, she let Jonas know that she was taking them out to the truck. He handed her a large hospital bag he had found to put them in. Lori gladly took the bag, depositing Bob’s reading materials in it, and left for the truck. The elevators weren’t working so she took the stairs, marveling at the view of the river.

  On her way back inside after stashing her yield in the truck, the silence was disturbed by the crack of gun shots echoing through the building. Lori pulled the crossbow from its strap over her shoulder and ran toward where Jonas had been.

  Reaching the second floor, she called out to him but there was no reply. Cautiously she moved down the hall, checking each room as she passed. She called out to Jonas again but still no reply. Moving further into the hall, she could hear movement in the last room off to the right. Focusing all of her attention on the doorway, she moved a little quicker.

  “Jonas, are you in there?” she called out again, stopping to hear if he replied.

  “Get out of here! Go back to the truck and leave now!” came his reply in a labored voice.

  Lori turned the corner and burst into the room ready to fire her arrow off at any target that presented itself. There on the floor, was Jonas bleeding from his neck and arm, to his right was a zombie lying motionless.

  “I guess I let my guard down. It took me completely by surprise,” he said in a pained and shaking voice.

  Lori nodded and turned, checking the rest of the apartment for zombies. When she had searched every room and found them empty, she returned to Jonas with some towels and knelt down.

  “Can you walk?” she asked as she tried to stop the bleeding.

  “If there are more the shots I fired off will bring them. You have to go now.”

  “I can’t just leave you here for them. Can you walk?”

  Jonas put his hand on top of hers and pulled it and the towel away from his neck. “If the Lord wills me to die today then who am I to question Him?”

  Lori brushed his hand away and placed the towel back over the gaping wound on his neck. She didn’t think that Bob would leave anyone behind while they had a doctor back at the bunker and medicine. She wasn’t going to leave anyone either.

  “Look out the window and tell me what you see,” Jonas requested. “Please, look for me, Lori.”

  Lori gazed down at him, exasperated that he wasn’t even trying to help her. Standing up, she went to the window and froze in horror. The street was filling with zombies, coming from all directions. Jonas could tell by Lori’s expression what she was seeing. He knew they would be there.

  “We have to go out the back way and try to get to the river,” she stated.

  “I don’t think I will be going with you, Lori. We both know you can’t make it with me slowing you down.”

  Lori returned to his side and continued to work on the bleeding.

  “We both know they can’t go upstairs, right?” he asked her. “I will be safe enough here for you to come back and get me.”

  “You will bleed out while I am gone,” Lori replied.

  “If the Lord has a purpose for me, I will not bleed out.” He smiled at her. “I believe he has a purpose for me. Why else would I have lived through all of this and met you?”

  Lori felt the tears welling up in her eyes as she pulled him close and hugged him.

  “Don’t you cry for me, girl, you need to stay sharp and get passed all of that out there. Then come back and get the truck and me, okay?”

  Lori let her arms fall away from Jonas and nodde
d her head. She pushed all of the towels next to him. “Keep as much pressure on them as you can. I will be back soon.”

  “Take this,” Jonas said, handing her the pistol. Lori pushed it back. “You need that in case the two-point-zeros are around. We don’t know if they can climb stairs or not.”

  Seeing that he would not win the argument, even if they had time to have it, Jonas let the pistol fall into his lap. Further discussion would lead to Lori thinking about the sole zombie on the second floor. He didn’t want that, didn’t want her concluding he had when the creature flew across the room at him with lightning quick speed. The dead monstrosity lying next to him was one of those 2.0s she talked about. If Lori came to the conclusions there was no way she would leave him. And he knew she had to leave him.

  Lori checked the front window again and forced herself to say goodbye to Jonas. Promising to be back as soon as she could, she made her way back to the stairway. Through the windows on her way down she could see that the back was relatively empty. She couldn’t remember if she had noticed a fence or not back there. She decided it didn’t matter one way or the other at the moment. On the first floor there were sounds of movement all over the place. She pushed on the door leading to the back, and it swung open easily. Behind the building there was no fence to be seen. A sidewalk led down toward the river and a gazebo. There were a few zombies but only one had noticed her and headed her way. An arrow pierced it through the eye, and she continued on.

  Chapter 12

  Jonas smelled them before he heard or saw them. It was the worst smelling thing to have assaulted his nose in his entire life. Looking up he saw them in the hallway eyeing him through the doorway. The one he had shot after it attacked him seemed more alive than those in the hall. Maybe it had just turned, Jonas thought. He chuckled to himself at that. He wasn’t man enough to convince Lori that he was already a dead man but easily accepted it himself in thoughts, especially now as he could feel life slowly slipping away. Never taking his eyes off of the creatures, he grasped the gun in his left hand and started to slowly lift it. The weight of the pistol had grown enormously in the last few minutes as Jonas’ strength began to fade. Smiling at the zombies, he raised it to his head placing the barrel just below the lips.

  “I will see you guys”

  in hell was his last thought.

  Lori heard the gunshot as she followed the river back toward the bridge on the main road. She paused for a minute and thought about going back to where she’d left Jonas but decided there wasn’t much point. Without being able to get the truck to help take him back to the bunker all she’d be able to do is stay there with him. She resolved to carry on and continued. A few times she had to duck down into the icy river when she heard the sound of zombies growing close.

  First dip int the frigid would paralyze her but then she’d will herself to start moving again. She didn’t think it would be possible for her to cross the river—her willpower could only push through her body’s reaction to the freezing water for so long. Crossing the river wasn’t an option, all she could do was use it for cover when she had no other choice.

  It seemed to be clear when she reached the bridge. Lori decided to backtrack up toward Main Street and see if it was still full of zombies. As she approached the street, she noted what had seemed like thousands had dwindled down to only a few here and there.

  “Where could they have all gone?” she wondered out loud.

  Not knowing was the worst part. If she continued down the street toward the truck they could be hiding anywhere, ready to strike when it was too late to do anything—like the one that had gotten Jonas.

  The truck was that way with all the supplies that she and Jonas had gathered. Her mind would not let go of that fact. Moving to the other side of Main Street, Lori began checking cars for unlocked doors and keys. She wished in that moment that she knew how to hot-wire a car like virtually anyone in movies seemed to. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in a movie, and didn’t have the know-how to hot wire anything. She kept moving from car to car, keeping a close eye on any zombies in the open. They didn’t seem to notice her until she came within twenty or thirty yards. The wind was blowing in the wrong direction and they could not smell her sent, Lori thought.

  As soon as one noticed her, down it went. It was more of a reflex than a planned move. As soon as their bodies crumpled Lori moved over as stealthily as she could, placed her foot on their head, and pulled her arrow out. She’d wipe it off on whatever clothes they had and replace the arrow in the sheath. She wasn’t going to let herself be caught with an empty quiver. As far as she was, everything was going her way. Lori nine-zombies one.

  The closer she got to the truck, the more zombies there were in front of her. At one point she began to wonder if it would be possible to recover it at all-and more importantly, if it was worth doing so. She could find more supplies later on, when she was safer.

  Her thoughts kept going back and forth that way as she moved forward. At last, the truck was in sight, in reach with a few obstacles in the way. The obstacles weren’t even paying any attention to her. Something on the far side of the parking lot had their attention. Lori decided she would use that to her benefit and she’d just walk to the truck, like it was the normal thing to do.

  With each step she could hear muted screams coming from the other end of the lot. In her heart, she knew what those sounds were. Briefly, a thought danced in Lori’s head, to see if she could help. The thought passed quickly when the rancid smell overwhelmed her, distracting her just long enough for something to move upon her without being noticed.

  Lori felt an iron grip envelop her shoulder, dragging her backwards. A scream escaped her lips, drawing the attention of the herd feeding across the parking lot, causing it to move in that fluid way a flock of birds does. Lori spun around as best she could, pointing her arrow in the zombie’s face, and fired her crossbow. It fell to the ground still grasping her shoulder.

  To Lori it was like all time had stopped. The pain was surreally intense, coming from her shoulder, blood oozing down her arm. Her breathing was heavy. The zombies were moving toward her in a slow steady movement as she had seen so many times in the past months. There was no fear inside of her, no anger, nor anything else for that matter. Lori existed in a place that all of humanity’s ancestors clear back to the earliest had been in—survival mode. The will to survive had taken over every part of her.

  Dropping the crossbow and grasping the zombie hand that clutched her shoulder, Lori ripped it off with all her might, breaking herself free of it. Standing up she again retrieved her arrow, like she had earlier repeatedly, placed it in the crossbow, and nailed the closest zombie. She took a few steps toward the truck and nailed another one. A few more steps put her at the door. Opening it, she turned and brought down another one. Once safely in the truck Lori started the motor and locked the doors.

  “Let’s see who is ‘Queen of the Street’ now!” she yelled at the zombies as she laid on the horn. Certain that she had gotten their attention, Lori put the truck in gear and revved the motor up. Popping the clutch, the truck lunged into the herd trapping all in its path. Lori drove the truck around and around, mowing down the dead like she was mowing the lawn back home. For the first time she felt like she was in control they were at her mercy. There would be no mercy and no quarter. She was determined to crush every moving corpse she could see.

  She didn’t know how many went down under the truck, didn’t care one way or another, as long as they didn’t get back up. The numbers of the dead crowding around the truck continued to swell, drawn by the sound. Knowing it was futile as the herd around her grew didn’t make a difference either; striking back was all that she could think.

  After a while the rage within her simmered down and she was able to recognize the battle there couldn’t be won. She also took notice that it was growing dark. With gas down to just over a quarter of a tank, it was time to go home. Lori made one more circle through the zombies and broke off when th
e truck was facing in the right direction to head up Main Street. Up the middle of the street she plowed over the zombies until the truck broke free. Her mind was a well-tuned machine now. She felt like she could see better, hear better and react faster. The pain in her shoulder was dulled, reduced to a mild irritant. Distinguishing what blood on her was hers and what was Jonas’ didn’t cross her mind. Getting back home before dark was all that Lori could think about. By the time she reached the bridge, the zombies were behind her and nothing was in sight ahead. Lori didn’t even slow down as she passed the two vehicles by the dirt road, they had seen that morning.

  Chapter 13

  The gate leading into the bunker was laying on the ground. It looked like something had flown into it, bursting it from the posts. Lori slowed down to a crawl and turned the lights on bright. There was still enough sunlight to see for the most part; she just wanted to make sure she could see everything and see it well.

  There was no sign of anyone as the truck glided to a stop by the shed that held the generator. The large steel door was open but there was no light inside. Lori’s stomach dropped.

  She looked toward the RV and then the trailer—still nothing. Where the will to survive had been terror replaced it. She was petrified she was alone. Worse yet was the wonder about the fate of her sister.

  It took a long time for her to build up the courage to get out of the truck. A part of her said to stay there until someone came for her. No one would come, she told herself. The door was open, if something happened the best hope was, they were are all hidden in emergency bunker that Bob had forgotten to tell them about. But in her heart, she knew there was no emergency bunker. The door was open which meant the place held nothing good.