Zombie Park (The Z-Day Trilogy Book 1)

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  She glanced at her watch. He still hadn’t showed. She shook her head and went to find Simon to inform him his show was being broadcast early. She found him in the lounge hobnobbing with the station’s owner. He saw her heading in his direction.

  “Good morning, Mr. Peaks.” She looked at Simon. “You have to go on early today.”

  “Jerry hasn’t showed up yet?” asked Mr. Peaks. “He’s never missed a day of work. Something must have happened to him. Have you sent anybody to his house?”

  “Wait a minute,” said Simon. “He has to be here. I saw his car in the parking lot.”

  “His car is in the parking lot?” asked Janice.

  “My spot is two spots down from his. I’m telling you, his car is parked there.”

  “Janice, go check it out. Simon, go ahead and prepare to start your program while I try to find him. I hope he’s all right.”

  Janice stood next to Jerry’s car. She tried all the doors, but they were all locked. She felt the hood of his car and it was cold. She could only imagine two scenarios why he wasn’t answering his phone. He was either dead inside the building or somebody had kidnapped him. She looked around the lot just to make sure he wasn’t playing a joke on them. There was no sign of him. She decided to head back inside and search for him there. She looked at her watch. It was time for Simon to start his program. She decided to get his show started and then go searching for Jerry. Once she had reached Simon, she found he had already started his program. She thought about where she could find Jerry. She was sure the bathrooms were already being searched and probably the cafeteria. She decided to search the basement in case he went down there searching for something. She didn’t really want to venture down there. The basement was dark and gloomy. It was where all their unwanted things were stored. She made her way to the door leading down to the basement, but she was stopped by Mr. Peaks.

  “I’ve already searched down there. I’ve searched most of the building. I don’t think Jerry is in the building. I’m going to check the security cameras to see if he ever made it to his car. Something had to have happened between here and his car.”

  “I hope he’s all right. I can’t imagine anybody wanting to hurt him.”

  Mr. Peaks looked at her. “Have you already forgotten about all the people he torments on his program?”

  She sighed. “Anybody out there could have done something to him.”

  “Not just anybody, Janice. Somebody out there knows where he is. Follow me to the security room.”

  She followed him inside the security room where two security guards were filling out paperwork on a desk in the rear. One man sat behind several monitors watching the activity in the building. He acknowledged Mr. Peaks.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Peaks?”

  “We need to look at yesterday’s view from the parking lot. We need to see when Jerry left the building.”

  “I saw him leave yesterday with General Poe. The general gave him a ride somewhere.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Mr. Peaks. “Are you sure he was with General Poe?”

  “I’m sure. I saw the whole thing. Jerry was leaving the building and went over to the car General Poe was driving. Then he got in the car with him and left.”

  Mr. Peaks looked at Janice. “We have a problem. All this has to do with the zombie park. If Jerry has gotten on General Poe’s bad side, I’m afraid there is nothing we can do about it.”

  “What are talking you about?” asked Janice in a panic.

  “Mayor Johnson warned me not to let anything negative about the park go live over the air. If Jerry has crossed a line, I’m afraid I’m helpless to do anything about it.”

  “Can’t you talk to the mayor about it? He might be able to find Jerry for us.”

  “Haven’t you been listening to what I’ve been saying? The matter is now out of my hands. We’ll have to find a replacement for him.”

  “What happens if Jerry returns?”

  He looked at her for a moment. “Just find a replacement for him.” He walked away mumbling something to himself.

  She glared at him as he walked away. How could he turn his back on him? She wished there was something she could do to help Jerry. She didn’t want to have to find a replacement for him. His radio program informed the public of the truth. If something had happened to him, the public deserved to know the truth behind it. She knew Simon wouldn’t help her. He was too much of a company man. If the public was going to be informed about Jerry’s disappearance, she would have to do it herself. She was fortunate Jerry had taught her everything she needed to know to operate all the equipment in the room. After Simon was off the air, she was going to lock herself in the room and inform the public about everything she knew.

  Simon had just finished his program when Janice walked into the control room. She was carrying a stack of papers and she put them on the table in front of him. He glanced at them and looked at her.

  “You don’t waste any time, do you? Do I have any guests scheduled for tomorrow?”

  “Just the pizza guy about his new pizzas.”

  “Pizza, huh. Let’s see what his new pizzas are.” He read the first sheet of paper from the stack and looked at her. “A new hot dog pizza. It’s a thick crust pizza with tangy barbecue sauce, a sliced hot dog, banana peppers and onions, covered in melted cheddar cheese. I like the sound of it. They are also introducing their new mini bites line. They have a hot dog bite with a garlic cheese crust; also they have ones with sausage, bacon or pepperoni. They also have three desert ones as well. They have a peanut butter and jelly one inside a cinnamon sugar crust and a pretzel one as well as a chocolate one. My mouth is already watering.”

  “Speaking of pizza, isn’t your lunch break before your next program?”

  Simon looked at the clock on the wall. “I guess it is my lunch time. I think I’ll go over to the Gourmet Pizza Planet and see if they started selling the hot dog pizzas yet.”

  “Have a good lunch. I’ll clean up in here for you.”

  “Thanks, Janice. Would you like me to bring you back a slice?”

  “No thanks. I don’t think hot dogs should be on a pizza.”

  “Your loss.” He left the room carrying the stack of papers. She heard him say something about wanting his hot dog pizza with extra cheese. She closed the door and locked it. She didn’t want anybody to come barging in while she made her report over the airwaves. She sat there behind the control panel trying to decide if she should go through with it. It could cost her the job she held dear, but it also could save Jerry’s life. She had to decide which one was more important to her. She looked at the control panel. Simon had left everything on. It must have slipped his mind while he was thinking about the pizza. She looked back to make sure the door was still closed before putting on a headset. She cleared her throat and introduced herself over the airwaves. At first, she was nervous, but she quickly relaxed. She explained how she was against the zombie park and so was Jerry. She continued by informing the listening audience he had suddenly disappeared after interviewing General Poe on the radio. She also said Jerry was last seen with the general which was her proof Jerry had succumbed to foul play. She further talked about what problems the park could cause, and how no matter how much money it could bring in, it wasn’t worth risking people’s lives. She heard a knock at the door and Mr. Peaks shouting something threatening from the other side. She didn’t acknowledge him and kept speaking. She knew it would only be a matter of time before he unlocked it from the other side. She hoped she would have an opportunity to go into further detail about the things Jerry had informed her of, but she was cut short by Mr. Peaks entering the room. He went straight for the control panel and switched it off. He pointed to a young girl standing behind him and told her to play music over the air. He snatched the headset from Janice and tossed it aside.

  “Do you realize the problems you just caused the station? Mayor Johnson is going to come down hard on us because of you!”

  Jani
ce stared at him, refusing to believe he could be so calloused. All he cared about was what the mayor would say, not the problem of Jerry’s disappearance. She wanted to scream back at him, but she kept her composure. So far he hadn’t fired her, and she wanted to keep it that way. She watched as he stormed out the room and then abruptly stopped. His face grew a deeper shade of red.

  “You’re suspended for two weeks. I don’t want to see you back here until then. Simon will fill in for you around his programs.”

  She felt sick to her stomach. He isn’t going to do anything to find Jerry. Now he has the gall to suspend me for two weeks. She left the room to make her way back to her office. She had a few calls she had to make before she could leave on her suspension. She was fortunate she had a lot of money saved in the bank for a rainy day; otherwise, a two week suspension would hurt her pocketbook. She passed Mr. Peaks standing in the hall watching her make her way to her office. She didn’t care if he was angry or not. All she cared about was Jerry Lee. Now she was going to have some free time to try to find him. She knew there was going to be a protest coming up at the construction site. She would start there. She knew she would most likely find General Poe there. All she had to do was blend in with the crowd and watch him. She decided to follow him after the protest and see where he went. If she was lucky, he would lead her straight to Jerry. She walked into her office and closed the door behind her. She didn’t want to see or hear from Mr. Peaks until she returned from her forced vacation.

  She sat down behind her desk and made two phone calls. The first one to the paper informing them about the protest coming up and that they should be there to cover it. The second one was to her mother. She decided to ignore the other calls she had to make. If Mr. Peaks wanted the calls to be made, he would have to do it himself. She had officially finished her duties for the next two weeks.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gus Haddon was tired of flipping burgers for a living. He had turned eighteen two weeks prior and was ready for the next chapter in his life. He’d rather have stayed at home playing video games with his geeky friends, Jake Reynolds and Marie Shelby. Both of them were serious gamers and made money by entering gaming competitions. Gus wasn’t as good at games as the other two, but he made it his life’s work to reach their level of gaming. He made only pennies to the amount of money the other two made together. He supposed it was the main reason they started dating each other. It didn’t matter to Gus. They all had been friends since they were seven, playing the early video game systems like Atari and Nintendo. Those systems had been put in storage and now they were using the PlayStation 4 system. His thoughts were interrupted by the shift manager standing in front of him.

  “Gus, you need to flip the burgers. You’re going to burn them on one side. Our customers want evenly cooked burgers.”

  “The customers don’t care if I burn one side of them. We smother them with a ton of mayo, so how will they know if I burn them?”

  “Trust me; they will. Besides, why do you want to serve them burnt burgers, anyway? I don’t want this franchise to get a bad reputation because of you.”

  Gus laughed. “Apparently you haven’t eaten our food. I wouldn’t serve this crap to my pet rat.”

  “I eat our food every day. I don’t have any problems with it.”

  Gus looked at the shift manager’s stomach and pointed. “I can tell you eat our food. Weren’t you skinny a couple of months ago?”

  “No, I’ve always been this big.”

  “My bad, perhaps I was thinking of somebody else.” He paused for a moment. “What’s that smell? Something is burning.”

  “The burgers! I told you to flip the burgers, and you didn’t. How many burgers did you burn?”

  “Eight.”

  “I will be taking the cost of those burgers out of your paycheck.”

  “Huh?”

  “Never mind. Throw away those burgers and make some fresh ones. We have customers waiting for their orders.”

  “Whatever. I’ll eat them. I like my burgers like this.”

  The shift manager glared at him. “I don’t care what you do with them. Just don’t serve them to my customers.”

  Five miles away, Jake Reynolds and Marie Shelby were playing the new zombie video game. They wanted to enter an upcoming contest and needed to learn everything they could about the game. The premise of the game was basic. All you needed to know to defeat the game was the different ways you could defeat a zombie. There were over thirty weapons you could use, but you had to search each level of the game to find or steal the weapons. Also, you had to locate ammunition, dynamite, lighters, and medical supplies. The zombies also carried items needed in the game. You were awarded the item the zombie was carrying once you killed it. On level one you started off with a handgun and a box of ammunition.

  The game dealt with a point system. You received points for the different types of zombies in the game. A basic zombie would give you fifty points and you would get a thousand points for killing the boss at the end of the first three levels. After the third level, each boss would give you an extra thousand points per level. There were also hidden points in each level found in trunks of cars, in stores or schools, in grocery carts, or in different apartments in the apartment buildings. They had the player’s guide that explained each level.

  Marie made her way through the first level. She entered the museum and was met by a security guard zombie. She made easy work of it and walked inside. She could hear the moans of several zombies. The phone rang, and she dropped the controller.

  Jake laughed and reached for his phone. “It’s Gus. Should I ask him to bring us some of his famous burnt burgers?”

  “I’m sure he has another sack of them for us. Tell him to bring fries with him this time. I want to put them on my burger this time. They help cover up the burnt taste.”

  Jake looked at her. “He has a sack of burnt burgers and three large fries. He’s on his way home.”

  “Good, I’m starving. Playing video games makes me hungry.”

  Jake placed his phone on the coffee table and peered over at Marie. “You promised me you wouldn’t hog the game.”

  “Honestly! I just started level one. So far, this game is rather easy. I hope it gets more challenging as it progresses.”

  Jake looked at the player’s guide. “According to the guide, the boss of level one is a gang leader you will encounter farther into the city. There are only two weapons on this level and they’re both in the museum.” He laughed. “Get a load of this. Some of the taxidermy animals in the museum are zombies. How is it even possible for that to happen?”

  “It’s a video game. Anything can happen in a video game. Damn! The dinosaurs are zombies inside the museum. All I have right now is the handgun. I need to leave this area and try to find the shotgun.”

  Gus walked into the apartment carrying the food. He looked at the TV as he made his way to the kitchen. “Are you playing ZDAY: Day of the Zombies? It’s supposed to be the most realistic zombie game on the market.”

  “So far it looks cool,” said Marie. “I wish they started you off with a better weapon, but it makes it more challenging I guess with a handgun. Now bring me a burger and fries. My stomach won’t stop growling.”

  “Are you sure it isn’t one of the zombies growling?” asked Gus, laughing.

  “No, it’s my stomach.” She put the game on pause and went into the kitchen. Her brunette hair was tied into a ponytail and she wore black cutoff jeans with a black shirt with a zombie imprint. She grabbed a couple of burgers from Gus and put them on a plate. She took a bag of French fries and put them on the burgers and sat at the kitchen table. Jake brought her a soda and placed it in front of her. She didn’t seem to notice as she took a bite from her burger.

  Gus brought his meal to the table and sat down across from her. “Can you believe they’re going to open a real zombie park? It’s the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. Why would you want to bring flesh eating zombies into the world?�
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  Jake wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his navy blue shirt. “They’re not going to use real zombies. They’re going to be animatronic or something like that. Come on; where would they get real zombies, anyway? They would have to create them, and I don’t think we have the capabilities to do it.”

  “It’s the government,” said Marie, using a napkin and showing Jake how to use one. “They’ve made robots. Why do you think they can’t make zombies?”

  “It would be irresponsible,” said Jake, wiping his hand on his shirt.

  Marie shook her head in disgust. “It’s the government. They do whatever they want. I’m sure they would love a world full of zombies. It’s one way they could eliminate the human race. I’m sure they would rather live in a world where none of us existed.”

  “That scares me,” said Gus. “Imagine a world full of zombies.”

  “It scares me, too. The zombie park idea scares me, the government scares me, and these burnt burgers scare me,” she said, putting more fries on her burger. “Maybe I need to drown the burger in Mayo or mustard.”

  “I like my burgers this way,” said Gus. “If you don’t like them, why do you always eat them?”

  “Because all we have here is snack food. I’m tired of eating chips and popcorn.”

  Jake switched on the news while Gus and Marie debated how to properly cook a burger. There was a story being reported about the zombie park. Jake turned up the volume so he could hear.