“Do you believe the situation will be under control by morning?”
The captain stared at the camera. “You better believe it. This zombie apocalypse will not extend into the daylight hours. This will not become the day of the zombies. We’re urging citizens within the infected area to stay behind locked doors. Help is on the way. Do not try to approach the infected. They will only attack you. Don’t trust anyone. One of the zombies could very well be your mother, your brother, your girlfriend, or even your pastor. If you encounter any of the infected, just turn tail and run. Leave them to the National Guard. It’s what we’re here for.”
The image switched back to the man behind the desk. “This is just in. All the zombies have left the zombie park. Teams from the local police have cleared the park and are leaving to join with the National Guard. I’ve also been informed that more than sixty animals have also escaped. This is a serious situation. Stay in your homes and let nobody inside with you. Do whatever you have to do to survive.”
Melinda switched the TV off with the remote. “I can’t stand hearing any more. That guy from ‘PETZ’ warned us this would happen. Why didn’t the city listen?”
“I don’t know. I do know we’re safe in here. Listen, they’re already leaving. As longs as we stay inside, we’ll be safe. Besides, you heard what the captain said. The National Guard is going to fix everything by morning. Tomorrow is going to be a different day. Look on the bright side. There will be a lot of job openings tomorrow.”
She glared at him. “That’s an insensitive thing to say.”
“You’re the one who keeps harping at me to get a job.”
“Not like this, Chip. Not like this.”
He walked back to the window and stared outside. The parking lot was now filled with hundreds of zombies. He shook his head. He wondered how safe they really were locked inside their apartment.
He turned to face her. “Do we have any weapons?”
“What?” she asked. “Why would we have any weapons? Unless you’re referring to a butcher knife or something like it.”
“It will have to do.” He went into the kitchen and brought back a butcher knife. He placed it on the coffee table. “Just in case.”
The plague swept the city in one broad stroke. It got worse the closer you got to downtown where most of the nighttime activity was taking place. The downtown area was overrun with zombies. Several fires were burning. A police car was flipped over with a smashed and bloodied windshield. There was a large, black SUV smashed into the side of it with a pedestrian pinned between. A half-eaten dog was lying next to the SUV’s front passenger door. Its jaws nipped air. An ambulance was smashed through the front window of the pizza parlor with its back doors opened and the gurney hanging out. An elderly woman was strapped to the gurney, partially eaten, and reaching out with her arms, grabbing air. The white sheet covering her was soaked with blood. There was blood splattered all throughout the town. There were several ghouls stumbling along the sidewalks, spilling into the street. No one seemed to be left alive.
A red truck made its way down the street being followed by several of the zombies, hoping to make a quick meal of its occupants. The truck stopped in front of a corner drugstore, and the driver jumped out and ran into the store and locked the door behind him. A tall, black guy stood there pointing a shotgun at him.
“How did you get in here? The door was locked.”
“It was unlocked, I swear,” said the man. “Look, my name is John Perry. I was on my way to Westville when the highway jammed up. I’m just trying to find a way out of this place.”
The man lowered the shotgun. “My name is Clive. I own this shop and I could have sworn I locked that door.” He looked out the window noticing several zombies crossing the street toward his shop. “God is punishing us. And he’s sending the dead to do it for Him. Are you a religious man, Mr. Perry? Do you believe in God?”
John looked at him trying to figure out where the conversation was heading. “I’ve looked at a Bible or two.”
Clive laughed. ‘Those things out there know you’re not a religious man. They can see the blackness of a man’s heart. Yours must be blacker than my skin.”
“Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but I doubt God has sent an army of the dead to punish me for anything. These zombies are the result of a big mistake this city made. They should never have let a zombie park be built in the area. What were they thinking?”
Clive placed his shotgun on the counter and brought out a Bible and showed it to John. “It’s not too late to do something about your heart. Let’s fill it with the joy from the word of God.”
“Let’s not.” He watched as sticky, infected fingers smeared blood and bile across the glass windows. “We have to find a better place to hide. They might be strong enough to break through the glass.”
“If it be God’s will. I don’t question the work of the Lord. Haven’t you heard about judgment day? Some of us will live and some of us will die. Every single one of those zombies is playing God’s judges today. If you’re meant to live, then you will. Right now, this is the only place I want to be.”
John pushed past him, heading for the back area. “Is there another way out of here?”
“It’s the same back there as it is up here. The building is surrounded by them. If you try to open any of the doors, they will sink their blood-stained teeth into you for sure.”
“Do you ever let up? You’re really annoying me.”
“I can keep it up all night. I can go all the way into tomorrow if I need to.”
John stared at the shotgun lying on the counter. Clive realized what he was doing. “You want it, don’t you? You think you can go out there and defend yourself against a hundred zombies. I bet you wouldn’t last ten minutes out there with them. If that’s what you want, go ahead and take it. We’ll see how long you last.”
“At least they don’t talk.”
Clive laughed. “No, I suppose they don’t.”
“Do you have a radio?”
“In the back. The authorities are cautioning us to stay indoors. The National Guard is supposed to take care of the problem.”
“The National Guard,” he said sarcastically. “I’ll believe it when I see it. I wouldn’t be surprised if, instead, they try to nuke this place and cover it up. This is the kind of thing that could cause a panic. If they come, they’re not going to leave behind any survivors to tell about how the place was overrun with zombies. I like my chances better without the National Guard.”
“Then we should pray about it,” said Clive. “Let God help us through this.”
John had heard just about enough from him. He turned and angrily pointed a finger at him. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear about it anymore. God has abandoned us. It’s about time you realize it. He’s not here to protect you. If you went outside right now, you’d be torn to pieces like I would.”
Clive was shocked by his outburst. “Well, you didn’t have to get so mean about it. I was only trying to help. I’m sure God wouldn’t start yelling at people.” He turned to head to the back. “You do what you want, Mr. Perry. I’m going to the back to pray and read my Bible.”
John watched as he disappeared to the back. He turned his attention back to the windows. Several of the zombies were trying to gnaw through the glass. He could see the street beyond them. A zombified rhino trotted past the store and down the street. Yup, the National Guard is going to blow this place up for sure.
He knew he couldn’t stay in the store. He had to find a way to get back to his truck and leave Valparaiso. He would have to take his chances outside the store if he was going to survive. If the National Guard found him here, he knew his chances would diminish. He looked at the shotgun lying on the counter and back to the zombies outside of the store. He had to take the chance and make it to his truck. He stole a glance to the back area. He thought about informing Clive he was leaving, but it was survival of the fittest. He was going to take the chance and leave Clive be
hind. He had God to look after him. John didn’t have anybody to look out for him.
He snatched the shotgun and proceeded to the front door and unlocked it. He held his breath and stormed outside, slamming the butt of the shotgun into the first zombie’s head. Its head split open like a ripe watermelon. He swung the shotgun around him, making a narrow path to his truck. He felt the hands of the dead ripping at his clothes, threatening to slow his progress. With some effort, he made it to his truck, got inside, and closed and locked the door. The zombies attached themselves to his truck like flies in a pigpen trying to break through the glass. He brought the truck to life and plowed through the crowd of zombies.
He stared in his rearview mirror. To his dismay, he watched as the zombies were pouring through the open door to where Clive was praying. He knew he had screwed up. He didn’t inform Clive he was leaving. “Screw it, God can protect him.”
On the way out of the city, he drove from lane to lane, avoiding crashed cars and picking zombies off one by one. It was dark, but the street lights were on. The undead were nothing but dark shadows against the dimly lit downtown area.
He finally made it to the highway and made a left hand turn, fighting through a horde of zombies tearing several police officers into a bloody pile of internal organs and brain matter. He continued down the highway until finally the zombie hordes had thinned out. They hadn’t reached that far out of the city limits yet.
He thought about Clive as he cruised down the highway to freedom. He knew leaving him behind was the wrong thing to do, but staying any longer to get eaten by a zombie wasn’t smart either. He reached for his pack of cigarettes and snatched one from the pack and tossed it back on the seat. He lit it and flipped on the radio. His favorite Blue Oyster Cult song was playing. Don’t fear the reaper… He laughed as he sang the song through puffs of smoke. It’s not the reaper you have to fear. It’s all the damn zombies. He took another drag from the cigarette and peered into the rearview mirror. The darkened sky had a reddish hue. He knew what it meant. Something was on fire. He took another puff. Don’t fear the reaper…
Chapter Two
General Wilbur Poe stood in the lab looking for any sign of Professor Hollman. The last he had seen of him, he was tearing through stacks of paper trying to find the solution to some equation. He knew he was trying to fix the cure. He had seen what had happened to the professor’s wife. He stood near the cages where several smart zombies were still encaged.
“At least none of you have escaped. You’re very valuable to me right now.” His phone rang. He looked down to see who the caller was and answered. “I knew you would be calling once the news broke. I’m looking for the professor now. I don’t know if he’s alive. I understand how important the project is. No, the smart zombies are still here. I will have them transported out of here as soon as I can get a detail here. I don’t know if Ben Cutler is dead. I hope he is. We’re going to blame this whole fiasco on him. I have control of the National Guard. We’re setting up a perimeter to minimize the outbreak. No, we don’t need any nukes yet. Let’s not go there until they’re needed. I understand. We can’t have any survivors. I will get back to you as soon as I know something. No, Mr. Forenstein is dead, as well. I’m the only one. Don’t worry; it will be taken care of.” He hung up. He heard a sound coming from somewhere in another room. “Professor, is that you?” He looked around but didn’t see anything. He moved closer to where he heard the sound and heard it again. This time it sounded like something being torn apart and somebody chewing.
He walked into the other room fearing the worse. The professor was hunched over a dead soldier. He was no longer human. He was gnawing on the soldier’s broken body, sucking up the last of his life’s juices. Next to the soldier, lying on the ground in a pool of blood was his M16.
He knew what needed to be done. Without thinking, he ran toward the weapon and in one swift motion, snatched it from the ground and shot the professor between the eyes. He slumped forward onto the carcass of the soldier.
He was angry. The professor had taken his secrets to the grave with him. Without the professor, the cure was going to be lost forever. He checked his clip to see how much ammunition he had left and made his way back into the park. He needed to make sure there weren’t any surprises waiting for him in the shadows.
Ben Cutler sat there with Chloe’s head on his lap. Her eyes finally opened. She lifted her head and immediately put it back down.
“What happened?” she asked, feeling dizzy.
“You passed out and hit your head. I carried you inside the vault to hide. I don’t think any zombies are in the shop. I haven’t heard anything for a while.”
She looked at the engagement ring she was wearing. “We’re getting married.”
He smiled. “Stay here; I’m going to go see if the coast is clear. We can’t stay hidden inside the vault forever.” He left to check out the store. It was quiet. He slowly walked to the window, keeping low so he didn’t attract any unnecessary attention. Outside, it was calm. There weren’t any signs of zombies staggering around. All he could see was piles of shredded clothes and pools of blood. A decapitated head with its dead eyes staring at him lay near the shop. Bloody handprints were smeared across the front window like a scary Halloween decoration. He sauntered to the front door and slowly unlocked it and opened it a crack. He held his breath and waited five painstaking minutes, listening for anything out of the ordinary. All remained still. He opened the door the rest of the way and walked into the street, careful to avoid putting his foot in a large pool of blood.
He looked up and down the street, wondering why it was so quiet. The darkness was lit by several light poles stretching along the street. All he could see was eerie shadows being cast on the buildings. Still, there weren’t any zombies in sight.
Chloe joined him, holding herself steady with the frame of the door. Her head felt like it had been hit by a brigade of cannons. “Where are all the zombies?”
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right.” He saw a park jeep parked down the street with the driver slumped over against the steering wheel. “Let’s try to make it to the jeep.”
He helped her down the street, never taking his eyes off of his surroundings. He feared the zombies could be lying in wait. Once they reached the jeep, he helped her in the passenger seat and then had the task of removing the dead park employee. He lifted his head from the steering wheel. A horror of pulped brains and ground meat slid off him. Chloe opened the door and the contents of her stomach upended on the ground.
“I guess we don’t have to worry about him turning into a zombie.” He removed the driver and took off his shirt and wiped off the steering wheel before getting inside the jeep. He looked at Chloe.
“Are you going to be all right?”
“I need to check on her.”
“Check on whom?”
“Check on my shark. I want to make sure she’s all right.”
His voice rose in a shrill of surprise. “Seriously? That place could be filled with zombies. It would be like willingly walking into a trap.”
“We have to, Ben. It’s not her fault she was turned into a zombie. Please…”
He brought the jeep to life and put it into gear. He looked at her. “Are you sure? This could be really dangerous.”
“Just go; we’re wasting time.”
General Poe watched as the park jeep raced past him. He could barely make out the driver, but he had a hunch it was Ben. He knew exactly where they were heading. He turned to head back toward the aquatics building, but his leg was grabbed, causing him to spin around. He looked down to see what had latched onto his leg. The grime-covered ghoul was using his leg to try to regain its balance. He kicked it in the head, but it didn’t release its hold. “Damn it, I don’t have time for this!” He took his M16 and aimed with speed and precision and fired. The ghouls’ head exploded like a blood-filled water balloon. He was covered in its warm blood. He reached down and pried the clasped hand from
his leg.
He stared toward the aquatics building. If he didn’t have any more interruptions, he was going to intercept Ben there. He needed him so he could have him arrested and could blame the whole zombie ordeal on him. If Chloe was with him, he would accuse her of being his accomplice. He slung his M16 across his back and headed for the aquatics building.
He stood staring at the jeep. He pulled his cell from his pocket and wiped it off. He placed a call to the National Guard to send out a team to the park to retrieve the smart zombies and to pick up two traitors. He was told they would be directly on their way. He unslung his weapon and entered the building. He didn’t have to guess where he would find Ben. He already knew.
He made his way to the shark viewing area. He was right. Ben and Chloe were standing there watching the shark swim back and forth.
“So the both of you thought you could get away with it,” he said, pointing the weapon at them. “Turn around and put your hands up.”
They turned around and stared at him confused. Neither of them knew what General Poe was referring to.
“Get away with what?” asked Ben.
“Don’t play coy with me. You know exactly what you and your girlfriend did. You let the zombies go. Now look at the mess you’ve cost me.”
“Honestly, General Poe, we had nothing to do with it. We don’t know how they got loose,” she said, lowering her hands.
The general signaled for her to raise them once again. “You’re both under arrest. Your ride is on its way to take you to prison.”
“On what charge?” asked Ben.
The general laughed. “Treason, for starters. I can think of several others, but I don’t have the time to go through them all.”
“You won’t get away with this,” said Chloe. “We’re innocent.”
The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 2): Z-Day [Day of the Zombies] Page 2
