The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 2): Z-Day [Day of the Zombies]

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  “Are you finished now?” asked Donnie. “We’re wasting time and fuel.”

  “I’m going to follow the bus in my truck,” said Roger. “I don’t like the way the bus smells.”

  The rest of the group filed onto the bus and looked for a clean spot to sit. The stench was hard to stomach, but at least they felt safe inside. Donnie put it into gear and made his way across the parking lot, followed by Roger in his truck. Donnie made a right onto the highway and carefully navigated his way around the carnage spread out in front of him. He wasn’t going to let anything or anybody get in his way now. He looked in the rearview mirror. Everybody was sitting quietly, probably praying that he could get them safely out of the area. He looked out the side mirror. There were still several zombies spread out along the side of the street. He continued driving down the highway. Something caught the corner of his eye. He looked long enough to see the wolf pack that had nearly got him earlier fighting with a bunch of vultures. It looked as though the vultures were winning the battle. He laughed and continued driving until he came to an abandoned roadblock. He hit the accelerator and smashed through it. For the next thirty minutes he kept driving and laughing. They had escaped the city, and he was focused on getting back to the bunker. All he wanted to do was get back there safely, get off the damn bus, and lock himself away and take one long well-deserved nap.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Doctor Krage watched as the smart zombies were brought into the secret warehouse inside Area 51 in Nevada. They were exactly what he was hoping for. They filed in orderly and stood in front of him in formation waiting for their orders. He watched as General Milkwood stood in front of them preparing to give them their first order to see how they would respond.

  He barked his first order and the smart zombies obeyed his command. He gave another and then another. The zombies were obeying his every order. He looked back at the doctor.

  “I don’t know what other test you think you need to perform, because these zombies…soldiers are ready for duty. There aren’t any doubts in my mind.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that, general. I’m in charge of them, not you. I will decide if and when they are ready for duty.”

  General Milkwood didn’t like being talked down to. He was an important man in the military. He had seen battle. All the doctor had ever seen was the inside of labs. They came from two different worlds. He looked at Doctor Krage. “Whatever you say.”

  “Follow me, general. Let me take you on a tour of the part of the facility you haven’t seen yet. It’s where all the action will take place.” He led him down a long hall to where several golf carts were parked. “Get in; it’s a long walk from here.” They made their way down another long hall and made a right hand turn. They continued down another long hall until they came to an eight foot white door with a keypad mounted on the wall next to it. They got out of the cart, and the general waited as the doctor punched in a secret code. They went through the door.

  The general’s eyes widened. They were standing in one of the largest rooms he had ever seen in his entire life.

  “Follow me, general. We have to take the elevator down to the ground floor.”

  Once on the ground floor, the doctor led him to an office to the right of the elevators. He took a white lab coat out of a locker and handed it to him.

  “You will need this. Now you will look like one of us. Come on; follow me.” He led him out of the office to another golf cart. “I’m going to take you to the far side of the facility. Professor Kathy Hollman’s research is being furthered there. We’ve made many improvements to her research. You see, general, Kathy was small time. You are now about to enter the big leagues. Here, we won’t make the same mistakes she made.”

  “I thought her husband was the one responsible for the smart zombies.”

  “Nicholas? He was just an amateur. His wife was the real brains behind the smart zombie program. She was one of us; her husband, on the other hand, was riding on her coattails. I was glad to hear of his passing. Men like him give the rest of us a bad reputation.”

  He stopped in front a set of wooden doors. He led the general into another large area. It smelled like a zoo inside. He followed the doctor into an area off to the left. He could hear elephants and other animals coming from the area. The doctor stopped to look at him. “We call this place ‘The Ark’, general. We have one of every species of animal that we could locate. Yes, we even have some here from the endangered species list. Our research here could put an end to such a list. We can duplicate any species of animal on the planet, and believe it or not, we can bring the dinosaur back out of extinction. None of that should concern you, general. All you should be concerned about is how we can turn these animals into zombies that follow orders–smart animal zombies. I figured out what Kathy had done wrong in her experiments and fixed the problem.” He looked at one of his lab techs. “Bring Ares in.”

  The tech returned with an adult male lion. The general took several steps backward. The doctor laughed.

  “Relax, Ares won’t hurt you. Go ahead and approach him. You can pet him if you want; he’ll let you.”

  General Milkwood stared at the doctor suspiciously and then approached Ares. He slowly reached out his hand and touched the lion’s mane. He turned to look at the doctor. “This is amazing!”

  “No, general, it’s progress. Man can now control animals. We no longer will have to fear them.”

  “But God never intended this.”

  “But science has made it happen.”

  The general looked into Ares’ eyes. They were milky-white. “He’ll obey every order given to him.”

  “He’s the perfect soldier. Go ahead and give him an order.”

  The general looked at the lion. “What should I order him to do?”

  “Use your imagination, general. Order him to fetch you the book on the desk. That would be something to see.”

  “All right.” He looked at the lion and ordered it to fetch the book off of the table. It obeyed and went over and got the book and brought it back to the general and dropped it at his feet. The general looked at the doctor. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Believe it. America will never lose a battle or lose an American citizen again. We now have the smart zombies to fight our battles for us. And this is just the beginning. We’re developing a zombie virus we can spread chemically.”

  The general stared at the doctor like he was mad. Something like that could be devastating to the planet. “Someone could take over the world with a weapon like that.”

  The doctor laughed. “Only if it falls into the wrong hands. Come on, general, I have so much more to show you in such little time. This is just the beginning of all the new technology. Soon America will be invincible and no one will ever be able to stop us. That is the kind of world I want to live in.”

  He led the general into another area of the facility, followed by Ares, proud of the advancements they had made.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Lieutenant Morris sat in his jeep, bored that nothing was happening. His men were standing at the roadblock talking amongst themselves, discussing either what they were going to do next weekend or what time they were meeting at the bar later that evening.

  “What are you going to do next weekend, LT?” asked one of the soldiers.

  Lieutenant Morris thought about the question for a moment. What am I planning on doing next weekend? “I’m not sure yet, but I know one thing, it won’t involve guarding the road from zombies. I think I’ll order a pizza and maybe watch a movie with my girlfriend. Beyond that, I really don’t know.”

  “Chris is thinking he’s going to finally pop the question to Roberta. I guess he’s tired of being a free man.”

  “I’m just tired of hanging out with you numbskulls. Besides, she’s been hinting at it for so long, she’ll never see it coming.”

  “What happens if she turns you down? She can always come over to my place and hang out with a real man.”

/>   Lieutenant Morris wondered how much longer he and his men would have to remain at the roadblock before finally getting to leave. He was just waiting on a call from General Athens to inform him it was time to close down shop. He stood up in the jeep and searched the area through his binoculars. Something had suddenly told him something was wrong. He scanned the area until he saw something moving within the trees. He adjusted the binoculars and kept watching. A wave of apprehension washed over him. He dropped his binoculars.

  “Zombies! They’re coming through the trees!”

  The soldiers stopped talking and looked in the direction of where he was pointing. Zombies were spilling onto the street directly in front of them and making their way in their direction. They opened fire. Some of the zombies took direct headshots and tumbled forward to the ground as several more emerged from the trees.

  Lieutenant Morris knew they weren’t going to be able to hold the line. There were too many of them to fend off. He aimed his sidearm and took one of the creatures to its knees. It got back up and moved toward them.

  “Damn!” he screamed, firing several more shots. “We’re completely outnumbered! Retreat! Retreat!”

  It was too late. The horde had already come into their range and many more were coming out of the woods from both sides of them. There wasn’t any time left for a quick retreat. The zombies quickly overthrew the men and began a feeding frenzy while they fought for their lives. Lieutenant Morris stood in the jeep frozen in terror. He couldn’t believe what was happening before his very eyes. Blood was flowing all around his men, and he watched in horror as several zombies were playing tug of war with his men’s entrails. One of his men’s head was tossed aside like a basketball, landing near his jeep. He regained his composure and slid down into the seat and put it into drive just as two female zombies snatched him from the seat and took huge chunks of his flesh off of the bone. He could hear his flesh being chewed by the monsters.

  He was coming in and out of conscientiousness. The pain he felt was excruciating. Another chunk was taken from his arm. He tried to cry out but another zombie had torn through his throat. He fell limp into the zombie’s clutches as they continued to feast upon his body.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “It’s now or never, Mr. President,” said Gerald Thornton. “It’s time to make our move.”

  President Andrews stared at him blankly. He had hoped the hour wouldn’t come when he had to give the clearance for the bombers to make their bombing runs. They had lost contact with General Athens, so for now, they were completely in the dark about the situation in Indiana. He looked at Gerald and nodded to him. He couldn’t speak the words he needed to say. He didn’t want to speak the words. He lowered his head as Gerald left his office. God forgive me. He had finally given the order he was desperately trying not to give.

  He sat quietly behind his desk, trying to rationalize his decision. He wished he could talk to his wife about it, but she too, had been left in the dark about the situation.

  Gerald reentered the office. “It’s been done. The bombers are en route.” He saw how remorseful he looked. “You haven’t been left with any other alternatives, Mr. President. Our only hope was with General Athens and he’s gone dark. You’ve made the only choice you could make.”

  “It doesn’t mean it was the right choice, Gerald. If I had more time, I’m sure another alternative would have presented itself.”

  “But we don’t have the time. We can’t risk the zombies leaving Valparaiso and infecting other areas. It has to be contained before it spreads. You’re saving the rest of humanity with your decision.”

  “You don’t have to explain it to me, Gerald. You’ve spent the whole day convincing me this was the right thing to do. When I took the oath of office, I never dreamed I would be the first president to deal with a zombie outbreak. How did this happen?”

  “Sir, you know how it happened. Some ranking officers were unqualified for their positions in this operation. Most of the blame falls on the shoulders of General Poe. All this happened under his watch.”

  “The zombie park should never have been authorized. Even though I knew all the risks, I remained silent. I hope Doctor Krage has more luck with his operation.”

  “That’s why the operation was moved to Nevada. We can control the situation at a more secure location. If anything were to happen again, it can be contained in one of the most secured areas in America. Trust me, Mr. President; there is no chance of another zombie outbreak happening on our soil.”

  “You better be right, Gerald. I will hold you personally responsible if it does. Now leave me alone, and let me know once the situation is taken care of.”

  Carol was racing down the road avoiding all the obstacles in the middle of the road. Stanley was sitting next to her, holding on for dear life. Three military fighters had soared by them, leaving her to think they were going to start bombing the area.

  “They’re heading for the city. We should be far enough away from ground zero before they drop them,” she said, hitting the accelerator. “If we’re not, we’re going to be cutting it close.” She knew they wouldn’t be far enough away, but she didn’t want to admit it.

  Stanley rolled down his window and stuck his head out. “Hang on back there; it’s going to get rough,” he said to his children. He stuck his head back inside the truck. “Hit it!”

  Carol had the truck speeding down the road at top speed. She knew she was in a race against time. She took Stanley’s hand and squeezed. “I’m sorry I got so upset with you.”

  He looked at her with a smile. “Don’t worry; I would have been angry at me, as well. I should have let you watch our backs.”

  “It’s all in the past now. What is done is done. I just hope you can forgive me if I can’t get us out of here in time.”

  “You’ll get us out of here; I have faith in you.”

  A series of thunderous sounds could be heard from the truck as flashes of red and orange light flickered inside the clouds. A large dark mushroom cloud rose high into the sky bellowing a great wind in all directions. Then in a violent explosion, the truck was lifted off its wheels and tossed into the air, landing across the field onto its roof.

  The earthshaking shockwave blew everyone in Valparaiso and the surrounding area off of their feet. All throughout the city both people and zombies were either incinerated or blown away. Buildings and trees crumbled under the force of the wind. Nobody survived the blast at ground zero.

  Donnie pulled the bus over after seeing the mushroom cloud rising in the horizon. He could hardly believe the government dropped a bomb on Valparaiso. Of course he believed it, it’s the thing the government did when it made a crucial mistake–they made the problem disappear. He had driven the bus far enough away to escape the shockwave from the blast. He looked at the gas gauge; they were running on fumes. They would have to either find another large vehicle or continue on foot. The others exited the bus and looked in the direction they had just come from. None of them said a word. They didn’t know if anybody else had escaped the blast, but they knew one thing for sure, they had.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  General Poe sat in the helicopter feeling nauseous. He was feverish and felt as though his blood was running hotter than lava. The disease was spreading quickly through his body. He looked at the wound that had been inflicted by the parrot. It was raw and infected. He knew he was turning into a zombie and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. The fever was burning his brain; he couldn’t think. He was afraid to alert anybody onboard about his situation. He didn’t want any of them to shoot him. He had to keep his secret to himself until they got to Nevada. He only hoped he had that much time left. He wiped away the sweat from his forehead and fought the urge to vomit. He had to find a way to slow down the process until he had a chance to see if Doctor Krage had managed to develop a cure. He was his only hope.

  The disease ran its course. He died fifteen minutes later and turned into one of the creatures he ha
d been fighting hard not to become. He looked hungrily around the helicopter until he located the pilot. He slowly made his way over to him and took a large hunk of meat from the back of his head.

  Panic spread throughout the helicopter like a plague as the general systematically killed each and every man aboard.

  The helicopter hit the ground with such a force, the general was thrown several feet away from it. The helicopter erupted into an angry cloud of red-orange fire. He slowly stood back up and looked hungrily around. Two teenagers who had witnessed the helicopter falling from the sky approached him.

  “Mister, are you all right.”

  The general growled at them and grabbed the closest one to him by his arm and drew him in close. He tried to fend him off, but the general was too strong. He brought his arm to his mouth and bit a large hole through it. A crimson rain burst from his wound. He tossed the teen to the ground and turned his attention to the second one who stood there frozen in place. He made a move toward the teen in a threatening manner.

  “Stay away from me, mister, I’m warning you.” He bent over and picked up a large rock lying on the ground and showed it to the general. “I swear I will use this if I have to.”

  The general ignored his warning and took another step toward him, daring him to make his move. The teen turned to run, but the general lunged forward and knocked him to the ground. He ripped at his clothes, trying to expose his fleshy dinner, but the teen kicked him in the jaw, and sprang to his feet. He turned to run, but the general knocked him down again. This time he took a large chunk of meat from the teen’s leg. He peered around, chewing noisily on his prize, and saw Officer Cartwright from the local sheriff’s office standing over him with his sidearm poised for the kill.