Z Strain

by SJ Morris

  Troy finally jumped in.

  “Abby is right. Once the virus takes over, it kills its host...er, the person. What’s left after the virus takes over is not truly alive and it’s not reversible. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? You’re sorry! You let this happen to him and now you’re sorry! Oh, that makes everything all better. Thank you for being sorry. You’re telling me that my baby is dead when he is clearly in pain and alive right in front of me? This is ridiculous. You are not God’s children. You are Satan’s spawns, sent to test me. I am a righteous believer in the power of the almighty Jesus Christ and my son will be saved!”She bit Chris and he loosened his grip just enough for her to get away. She lunged for the bed and ripped the belt and sock out of Cooper’s mouth and hugged him petting his hair telling him that it was going to be okay and that mommy would save him.

  Chris jumped after her as she did this but, it all happened so fast. Chris was trying to pull her of off her son, without getting bit, as what was left of Cooper began using his newly freed mouth to tear away at Nicole’s neck and chest. Even as he ripped awayher flesh and devoured it, she still sat on his bed, stroking his hair as if she didn’t feel the pain.

  Chris was finally able to pull her away and she was babbling the same soothing words she had just said to her son over and over again as the blood poured from her wounds.

  Tom ran in with towels and pressed them to her neck and chest, but Troy and I already saw that her jugular was ripped open and there was no way to repair the damage. The rest of her artery that we would need to help stitch her back up, was being consumed by the monster that was now thrashing furiously, trying desperately to get at the fresh meat it had just tasted.

  “Tom, please just let her go. Get the towels and wrap them around its head so it stops making noise and trying to get out.”I was crying through my words as I reached out for Nicole’s almost lifeless body.

  There were no words coming out but her lips still mouthed the last words to her son.

  I looked up and Chris, who was standing over me with his knife out, ready to do what we all knew needed to be done. I looked over at Tom and he put the big towel over Cooper’s head and he did something I was not expecting. He grabbed the creature by the chin and pulled sharply to his right. There was an audible snap and the infected body stopped moving but you could tell the head was still alive, trying to bite, so Tom took his knife and buried it into its temple. Now, there was no longer any movement coming from what used to be little Cooper.

  Chris saw what Tom had done and asked me to step out, so he could do the same before Nicole turned and started to attack us.

  I walked out of the room and sat against the wall. I felt absolutely helpless and useless.

  What am I doing here? I thought. What am I trying to accomplish with these people? This was Jack’s vision, why am I stuck doing this?

  I switched from sadness to rage, as I was now mad at the world, and Jack for putting me in this position.

  I wanted to scream, but I’d heard enough of that today, so I just sat there, brooding and crying. Troy came out of the room after a few minutes and sat next to me.

  “I was not expecting that at all.”

  “Yeah, you and me both. I wanted to give her closure and I walked her straight into the jaws of her own death.”

  “Come on, Abby! You didn’t do that, she did. Who knew she was a Jesus freak and would think she could save her son?”

  “I should’ve expected it. I was responsible for what happened in that room. It was my decision and I should've thought about every possible contingency before I did it. We should have killed him first and told her he died from the virus or something else. Anything, other than what just happened.”

  “You can’t blame yourself, Abby. You are doing the best you can here. If it weren’t for you, she would have probably died where you found her from starvation, dehydration, or the infected. She is at peace now, knowing that her son is gone and she did what she thought was right to try and save him.”

  “How can you think that Troy, you’re a scientist? You of all people know that there’s nothing after we die! We’re just meat, bone, and water. When we die, we’re gone. There's no afterlife, no God!”

  “Well, speaking of being a scientist, it only took thirty seconds for the virus to begin reanimating Nicole after she actually died.”

  “What? You’re talking to me about how long the virus takes to reanimate? What the fuck is wrong with you? I might not have been best friends with the woman, but she was still a human being. She had a family that she loved and that loved her. She’s not a test subject!”

  I couldn’t stand being there anymore. I got up and ran out of the infirmary. I ran to the closest unoccupied apartment and threw myself in the shower. I needed to get her blood off of me.

  I knew that Nicole’s blood would forever be on my hands, but I had to, at least, get the sight of it off my body and my clothes.

  Chapter 14

  I don’t know how long I was in there, but the water was really hot when I started and it was now like ice.

  I heard a soft knock on the door and I said nothing. I just sat on the shower floor and let the water fall over my head. The knock came a little louder and like I child I yelled for whoever it was to go away.

  They didn’t listen, because I heard the door open. The door to the shower opened a little. I looked up and it was Chris peeking his head in.

  “What are you doing in here, Abby?”

  “I’m thinking. Go away.”

  “You have been in here thinking for a long time. Do you want to talk about anything?

  “No.”

  “The water must be cold by now. Come on out and get dried off.”He reached his hand in to turn the water off and felt how cold it was.“You’re going to get sick from this. The water is like ice. You don’t need to punish yourself, you know that right?”

  “I don’t? Are you kidding me? Everything that happened in that room is my fault! Nicole is dead because of me! Cooper getting infected might not have been my fault but him being here and me not being able to do anything to help him certainly is! I had the chance to stop this eighteen years ago in Georgia and I failed. I failed that little boy and now he’s dead and everyone else that is walking around killing their loved ones is my fault because I failed! All of it, I could have prevented all of this and I didn’t. I didn’t try hard enough to stop it when I had the chance.”

  My sudden burst of angry words took the rest of what little energy I had left. I let my head drop to my knees again in defeat; Defeat of my body not having enough energy and defeat from the virus taking over everything we used to know and love.

  “Are you done?”

  “I don’t have anything left, so yes. Just leave me alone. I don’t deserve comforting right now. I deserve nothing. Just leave me be.”

  Chris stood there and stared at me for a few long moments and I thought he would leave.

  Finally, though, he spoke up in a very quiet, calm voice.

  “No. I will not. And no matter how much you beat yourself up about everything that’s happened, I will not let you believe this is your fault. You were taskedwith the impossible all those years ago in Georgia. This virus was created by people that didn’t want it to have a cure. They wanted it to destroy everything and it’s doing what it was created to do. That means men, women, children, and even babies have and are going to continue to die, Abby. We have to do what we can to help each other survive this. We may never find a cure and you have to know that. That is not a reason to give up and die willingly. We can beat this thing by taking care of each other and moving on with our lives. We have to adapt to a new world that’s more ruthless and crueler than we’ve ever known. You have three wonderful kids that love you and need you, now more than ever. Because of your kind heart and desire to help others, there are also four small kids, that don’t have a family anymore, that need you too. Come on, get up and let’s get you dried off. We will get you into some cl
ean, dry clothes and let’s have some dinner. There are people upstairs that need and love you. Let’s go.”

  “Whatever.”I did what I could to stand and it wasn’t enough. Chris reached in and helped me up and out of the bathtub. As I stood, he pulled me in close, wet clothes and all, hugging me tightly.

  “I might not have been ready to say this yet, Abby, but I don’t know what I would do without you. I can’t lose you now. Just like a lot of people here, I need you too.”

  He didn’t look at me when he said this, but I could tell he didn’t want any response from me. He wasn’t ready to share what he felt for me and he knew I wasn’t ready either. There was no time or room in our lives for an‘us’right now.

  If there was ever going to be an us, it could wait a little while, so we could all get settled into some semblance of normalcy in this new world of ours.

  We did just as he said.

  He took me upstairs to my room and made sure I had time to get dry clothes on and we ate dinner.

  Everyone was happy making his or her own conversations with each other.

  No one noticed or mentioned that Nicole was gone. I figured that Tom or Chris had said something to the adults by now, so I sat silently and listened to the conversations around me.

  Allycia and Christine were chatting about doing their nails later.

  Apparently, Allycia had thought when I said to bring the essentials to survive, that I meant nail polish and makeup.

  Hey if it was going to keep her happy, busy, and out of trouble, then she could have at it.

  Tyler sat next to Dan and they were talking about what little news they were able to find on the Internet about what was going on with the virus in the rest of the world. The news did not sound good. They talked about how infrequently new information was available already. Television was only broadcasting the emergency notices to evacuate if your area has been compromised or to stay in your homes if it wasn’t. It sounded like much of the world’s information structure had crumbled already and we were only three days in.

  This made me sadder, but I put on a happy face every time someone looked at me.

  The rest of the table chatter was positive. It was about what everyone was looking forward to doing the next day or about what they had already done that day. The kids’table was positive too. They were all chatting about the new markers and coloring books I’d brought them from their school. I’d completely forgotten that I had grabbed some of the artwork off the walls that had the kid’s names on it. They were all so happy to have something they made at the preschool up on the refrigerator now.

  Gia was happy that Allycia told them they were going to watch The Little Mermaid tonight before their sleepover in the living room again.

  Even Michael was in on the conversation. He was happy to be a part of the sleepover tonight too. I guess anything is better than sleeping in a closet, worried that your friend’s father is still waiting outside the door to eat you.

  Chris sat next to me for dinner and nudged me every so often when I was just moving my food around instead of eating it. Turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy are one of my favorite meals but I didn’t have much of an appetite after today’s ordeal. Chris nudged me again and I looked around to see that everyone had started cleaning up.

  I looked down at my plate and it was a big lump of food mixed together from me moving it around. Chris whispered to me that I should eat but I just got up and dumped my plate in the garbage.

  I turned to everyone and faked a happy face and told them I was tired and was heading off to bed. Chris looked at me sadly, but said nothing, and made no motions to stop or talk to me.

  I hugged my children goodnight and they each gave me an odd look. I guess I was giving off the‘something’s wrong but I don’t want to talk about it’vibe.

  I said goodnight to the little kids, checked them all for fevers, which they didn’t have, and I was off to bed.

  I was just about to fall asleep when there was a soft knock at my door. I should have known I wasn’t going to be able to get away that easy. I pulled the covers up to my chin and invited whoever was at my door in.

  To my surprise, it was Allycia.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hey Ally, what’s up?”

  “You tell me. You were in a funk all throughout dinner. Is everything okay with you and Chris?”

  “Me and Chris? What are you talking about? There's no me and Chris?”

  “Okay Mom, you may think there isn’t but I know that there’s something between you two and I think it’s great.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, yeah. Chris seems like a great guy and you deserve to be happy, Mom. I know you still think of me as just a little kid, but I know that dad is gone and he’s not coming back. You still need someone in your life to be there for you other than Lance, Tyler, and I. I think Chris would be a great fit to be that someone.”

  “Listen to you,Miss Well Beyond Her Years.”

  “Cut it out, Mom, I’m serious. Christine thinks it’s an awesome idea, too. She said she thinks her dad is crazy about you! Come on, what’s not to like?”

  “Thanks, Ally, but I have other things on my mind at the moment. My love life or lack thereof is not high on my list of priorities right now.”

  “Come on, Mom. You have to live in the here and now. I know I haven’t really seen what’s been going on out there the last few days, but I can imagine it’s pretty crappy from what we experienced getting here. Whatever happened out there that made you come back with this defeated attitude, I’m sure it was something that had to happen to keep us all safe. You would never do anything that wasn’t for the benefit of Tyler, Lance, me, or anyone here.”

  “I love you, sweetie. You know that right?”

  “Yes and that’s how I know that whatever is going on in your head is just in your head. I love you too, Mom.”

  With that, Ally gave me a big hug and left to go make sure that the little kids were still occupied with the movie. I curled up in my blankets and had some of the best, dreamless sleep I’ve had in a long time.

  Chapter 15

  For the next few weeks, everyone at the cabin got used to our new lives within our fenced in walls.

  Everyone took on chores at the house and we worked as a team to make sure that everything that needed to get done was getting done. The crops were planted in the small fields and in the greenhouse, the animals were tended to and the house was never dirty. A few more of our families and friends arrived as the weeks went on, but unfortunately, not everyone showed up. We all still held out hope that they were still alive and making their way to us, but that they were taking it slow to be safe.

  The ones that arrived all had horrible stories of how the outside world was falling apart, into the mouths of the infected.

  Yet, all of these horrible stories, thankfully, had happy endings with their arrival here. Most of the groups that came in didn’t lose anyone on the trip here and now, they were safe.

  The apartments were just about filled and Allycia was very worried about her boyfriend, Jake, and his mother who hadn’t arrived yet.

  Thankfully the arrival of her friend Denise and her family was a welcomed distraction. At least they all made it and no one was infected. However, they did pick up two people on the way who did not make to the cabin with them. They were not ready to tell the story, so we left it at that. We all had already experienced enough bad stories to be okay avoiding hearing another one.

  Troy and I worked together in his lab, trying to run as many tests as we could with the limited supplies we had. Troy had brought some high tech equipment with him but the solar panels could only give off so much power and that limited us in what we could do.

  Chris said there were extra solar panels in the barn and all they needed was someone to find a place to put them and install them. So, we were off to a new project.

  It was difficult to find a place to put them. Every available spot on the roof was already full.
/>   Eventually, I came up with the idea to fasten them to the tops of the concrete wall that was surrounded by the outer fence.

  It was just wide enough that we could fasten the panels to them and they were out of reach, so no one could mess with, or break them.

  We had the extra panels installed in two days with the help of Dan’s father, Tony, who was a contractor.

  Dan and both of his parents were proving to be invaluable to all of us. Nancy fussed over every little cough the children made and enjoyed being a doctor again.

  Tony, other than helping with the solar panels, decided to make a swing set for the kids. They all loved that, especially since when he finished the swings, he started building them a tree house. He even built Jacob and Ginger, Linda and Stephen’s Lhasa Apsos, a doghouse.

  Lilly wanted nothing to do with it or the foo-foo dogs. She followed Allycia everywhere she went.

  She was Allycia’s little guard dog.

  Jasmine eventually healed from her injuries and Nancy cleared her medically to resume normal activities.

  It was very hard for her to accept that everything she knew before her and Lieutenant Tangle answered the call to the gas station was gone, but Tom helped her through it.

  He was like her shadow and she didn’t seem to mind. It turned out that she was married to her work as an officer before the outbreak and now that she wasn’t a police officer anymore, she had time to spend getting to know Tom, learning to cook from Kristen, and she liked to help Tony with whatever he was building at the time.

  Even Megan, the eighteen-year-old teacher’s aide we saved at the preschool, was doing better and learning to cope with her PTSD.

  She and Lance became very quick friends. I made sure to revisit the birds and the bee’s discussion with Lance one night after dinner and that didn’t go well. He was extremely embarrassed and thought I should understand that he knew better. I certainly hoped so. I remember being a teenager, thinking I was in love.