Z Strain

by SJ Morris

  Kamil pulled his finger to his lips and nodded his head in the direction of Dana, who was still happily stuffing MREs in her bag as she was eating others.

  Kamil shook his head no and I’m guessing he wanted me to keep quiet about what we both saw.

  His reaction took me by surprise since he knew I was infected in some way. I guessed if someone promised me a ticket out of this zombie-infested world and into a safe haven, I would put up with the possibility of them being infected also.

  As long as I wasn’t trying to eat anyone, I figured we could keep our secret.

  It was hard to think about anything but the timetable of how long it had been since I was cut up.

  I had blacked out once I got in the van and I had no idea how long I was out for. I knew I was rescued at night and when I first came to, the sun was just rising.

  We were in the van for at least an hour before I jumped Ben and shot Liam. It was frustrating to have so much time unaccounted for.

  However, I had to put that in the back of my mind. Now, I needed to wrap my ribs tightly, take some painkillers, and get off my feet as soon as possible. There was no way I was spending any more time near this van, so we had to find someplace safe to get to soon where we could spend the night.

  “Hey, Kamil, can you help me wrap my ribs please?”

  He shook his head yes and walked me further around the side of the van. We both looked around for infected and when we were satisfied there were none at the moment, he grabbed the Ace Bandage from me and I lifted my shirt.

  He started wrapping tightly, which hurt, but it was good that he knew it needed to be snug. He looked me in the eyes when he got to the top of the black cut.

  “Do you want to put some gauze over that before I wrap it? It doesn’t look like it’s bleeding but it does look wet.”

  “Yeah I guess gauze is a good idea.”

  He grabbed the gauze pads out of the first aid box and opened them with his mouth without thinking about it. When he realized what he did he started frantically checking the cover of the gauze for any black blood.

  “There was nothing, you didn’t get any in your mouth,”I said sadly as I knew that him helping me was the reason for his anxiety.

  “Okay, thanks. No offense. I don’t know what happened to you, but I don’t want to take any chances. I’ve seen that crap get in someone’s eyes and they didn’t last more than two hours before we were fighting him off.”Kamil whispered.

  “Understood, no offense taken. I’m not sure what to make of it either since this happened early last night. It’s been well over eight hours and I’m still okay. Like, not eating people okay. It doesn’t make sense that I’m not infected, dead, and chomping on people yet.”

  Dana popped her head around the side of the van.

  “You guys okay?”

  “Yeah, I am helping Abby wrap up her broken ribs is all,”Kamil said quietly as he placed the gauze quickly and resumed wrapping.

  “Okay, do you guys want to eat now? I can set up one of the quick set stoves and get us something warm to eat.”

  “No. We should get going. Grab as many MREs as you can carry comfortably and we need to head out. We need to try and find somewhere safe to spend the night.”I said as I scanned the area around us for anymore infected.

  Dana looked up at Kamil and he nodded his head in agreement.

  Kamil handed his pack to Dana and she filled it with MREs too. With all of us as packed up as we could comfortably be, I decided to venture to check out what was left of Liam, just in case he had anything that might be useful to us on him.

  I went to the front of the overturned van and reached through the shattered window.

  What was left of Liam was starting to smell pretty bad in the high afternoon sun, but I needed to check. I reached up and over his dangling remains and released the seat belt. His upper body dangled from his legs that were still trapped between the seat and the steering column.

  His body only dropped as far as his pinned legs would allow.

  I saw that he had a holstered handgun and a few extra clips on it. I relieved him of the belt and wrapped it around my waist.

  It didn’t even come close to fitting, not even on the last hole.

  I handed it to Kamil, who was standing beside me, looking up and down the abandoned street, watching for any unwanted visitors.

  “It doesn’t have a silencer but you can use it in extreme circumstances. There are two full extra clips here, too. Do you know how to use one of these?”I asked as I handed the belt over to Kamil. He grabbed it with his pointer finger and thumb like it was going to bite him and looked at me funny before answering.

  “My dad took me hunting when I was a kid, so I’m okay with guns for the most part. I’d rather not put on a dead man’s belt, though. Especially one that is covered in... whatever this is.”

  “Well, wipe it off with something and put it on. Just in case. Where are your weapons, anyway? You two have been on your own for the last week, you said, right? What have you been using to defend yourselves against the infected?”

  “Nothing. We avoid them as much as possible and when it’s not, we run like our lives depend on it…because they do. We never stop in one place for too long and only move during daylight hours.”

  “That is what’s worked for you all this time?”

  “Well, there were the others in our group that had machetes, guns, and other weapons but when we lost them, we didn’t have time to grab anything. We had to get out of there or we would have been dead, too. Since then, we’ve opted to stay out of sight and be too fast to catch.”Kamil said sadly.

  “You did have time to go back, for one thing, Kamil and I’m glad you did. Kamil here saved me.”Dana said as she smiled at him.

  “I didn’t save you. I just did what anyone else would have done in that situation.”

  “No. The others all scattered as soon as Bobby turned. You rushed in and when you saw what was happening, you jumped into the fight and pulled us out.”

  “A lot of good that did Paul, though.”

  “Kamil, you know you did what you could to save Paul, but it was a really awful situation and you can’t stop everything bad from happening. At least you tried.”Dana turned to me now.

  “Bobby was the unofficial leader of our group and we were staying in an abandoned garden store. It was the only building along the highway for miles in a farming town more west of here in Pennsylvania. Bobby, Kamil, and a bunch of other men went out to find some supplies. When they came back, Bobby had been cut by his own machete while killing a zed and Kamil said he got the things blood all over his face and in his eyes. When they all got back, Kamil wanted to separate Bobby from everyone else until we knew he wasn’t going to change. I agreed, for the safety of everyone, but Bobby had more friends than we did. His wife Lisa and son Paul were in our group too. They refused to separate Bobby from the rest of us because they said it was too dangerous to split up and barbaric to tie him up. We all went to sleep and Kamil was on watch outside when it happened. Bobby turned while we slept and everyone woke up to Paul screaming as Bobby devoured his wife next to him. Kamil came running in as everyone scattered. I ran for Paul, grabbed him and we huddled in a corner of the room since our exit was blocked by Bobby and now his wife, who were grabbing and tearing at others in our group. As they were bitten and died they each, in turn, came back and started going after the others. It happened so fast.”Dana started to cry and Kamil put his arm around her shoulder as he continued to scan the street.

  “Bobby was heading right for Paul and Iwhen Kamil came charging over. He tackled Bobby to the ground. He grabbed me and started pulling me to the exit. I had Paul’s hand, but Bobby grabbed Paul's leg and bit him. He bit his own son! Paul screamed in agony as I tried to pull him away from Bobby. Kamil looked back and saw what happened. He looked me in the eyes and told me that I should let him go, so I did. Kamil got me out of there and we ran. We didn’t see any more of our group and when I asked Kamil, he sai
d they were all dead, so we kept running. He’s kept me safe this whole time. So, yes, Kamil, you did save me and you continue to save me every day.”

  There was nothing else to say to that, so Kamil grabbed the blanket from the back of the van, wiped off the belt and put it on.

  I continued my search of Liam and found a map with coordinates on it and some areas circled in red with question marks in his pocket. I didn’t know why these places were important to Liam and his group of thugs, but I sure as hell was going to try and find out.

  First, though, we needed to get back to the cabin and I needed to make sure the rest of the group and my kids were safe.

  I just hoped that Chris, Tom, and the other guys made it away from the farmhouse safely and went back to the cabin too.

  All of this was running through my head at the same time as the thoughts of being infected. I was scared to go to sleep around my newfound friends after Kamil’s story and I’m sure he wasn’t going to sleep either, knowing I might be infected.

  I could see it in his eyes that there was something between Kamil and Dana. It might have only been that they had survived something so horrific together but I thought it was something different.

  I knew he would die to protect her.

  Maybe that’s what Chris and I have...I thought. If he’s still alive, that is.

  Chapter 20

  I shoved Liam’s map in the front zipper of my pack and we headed out on foot.

  From the road signs I saw, I figured that Liam was driving south and it looked like we were in the Columbus area, just off of Route 206.

  I looked at the map as we walked in quiet and figured out how we were going to get on 206 and follow it north to High Point State Park.

  If we made it there, I could figure out how to get to the cabin pretty easily. I shared my plan with Kamil and he said it was a good idea, but that it would be difficult to travel on the highway since there were wrecks everywhere, and where there were wrecks, he said, there was always a large number of infected.

  It didn’t take long to decide that we needed a vehicle; something small and quick. There were only the three of us and we didn’t have a lot of gear, so we didn’t need something as big as my Land Rover, but still, what I wouldn’t give right now for the safety of my big truck.

  “So, Kamil, what have you learned about the infected or zeds, as you call them, in your time with them?”

  Kamil looked over at me with a face that said,‘where do I start?’

  “Well, they can come by themselves, in small groups, or in huge groups. They don’t seem to care if they’re together or not and when they’re eating something, they don’t fight over it like you would expect from knowing other predator behavior.”

  “So they don’t seem to be pack hunters and they don’t really acknowledge the presence of the other infected. Okay, what else?”

  “Well, they don’t have the best sight, but their sense of smell and their hearing are better than an average human. Dana and I were hiding in an abandoned car one night. She was trying to get some sleep so I was keeping watch. It was pitch-black outside, there was no moon, and I heard the telltale shuffling of a zed coming. I wasn’t making any noise or moving at all and I thought it was going to wander past us. Just as it got to the back of the car, though, it stopped. It put its head up to the air. It seemed to smell the air and then, it just stopped. It stood as still as a statue, facing right where we were in the car, but it didn't see us at all. It stood there for a good ten minutes, not moving at all when Dana let out a small noise. I guess she was having a dream and the zed moaned loudly, trying to claw at the window. Dana woke up screaming and the zed started freaking out, punching the window so hard it started to crack. I grabbed our stuff and Dana. Then, we jumped out of the other side of the car before any more showed up. We found another place to hide after running for about thirty minutes, this time in a house. Sure enough, a few hours later that same zed showed up sniffing the air again. This time, he stood at the window we used to get into the house. It was like he remembered what we smelled like. Like, he followed our scent all the way to the house and was just waiting for a sound to confirm that he’d found us again. This time, I found a broomstick in the house, sharpened the edge a little with a kitchen knife and snuck up on the bastard to stick it in his skull, so he wouldn’t follow us anymore.”

  “Wow. I knew the sense of smell and hearing was good but I couldn’t imagine it was good enough to track. Especially with them continuing to decompose the way they do.”

  “Well, this one, the one that followed us was fairly new. He had fresh bite wounds on his neck and his clothes weren’t that dirty. He looked like he might have been a survivor that had a recent run in with a zed.”

  “That explains it a little better. The ones that you’ve seen, have they mostly been older or newer infected, by the waythey looked?”

  “Other than that one and Bobby, most zeds we come into contact with are decomposing pretty badly, especially in the warming weather.”

  “That sounds about right. Most of the infected would be from the initial outbreak, over a month ago. They would be from that time and the week that followed, which was when most of the population was infected. I’m hoping that if we can wait this out, eventually they will decompose so badly that they’ll literally just fall apart and no longer be a threat. Or at least, they’ll be a threat that can be handled pretty easily.”

  “What do you mean? Like a dying bear is any less a bear?”

  “Well, a dying bear is slower and easier to get where you want him to be, so you can finish him off.”

  “That’s true, I guess. The zeds aren’t any less scary when they’re slower, though.”Dana chimed in.

  “Yes, I agree, but I’ll take any advantage I can get, at this point. So, do you guys know this area at all? What way did you come from?”

  “We have been walking for the last week since the incident with our group. We were in the woods over here when we stumbled on some zeds eating a deer and we ran away to the street where the van was. We thought we’d lost them, but you know the rest. I don’t know this area too well. Like you, I know the north of the state better, but only from childhood.”

  Kamil was answering my questions but he didn’t seem to want to talk right now. I got the impression that he just wanted to get somewhere safe, so we could plan our next move to get back to the cabin and who could blame him?

  So, we walked a while in silence, which was nice, since the birds were chirping loudly. I took the wildlife being so active as a gesture that there weren’t any infected in the area.

  We passed a field of what used to be grazing land for sheep. I could tell, because their mutilated corpses were dotted all over the pasture. The smell was pretty bad, but the sight of all the reddish black gore splashed against the white coats of the animals was the worst. I don’t know why, but it was truly a sad sight for me.

  Upon seeing the carnage, I realized that the quiet and calm sounds of nature that surrounded us, being the soundtrack for the terror in the field, made it worse.

  I was lost in my thoughts of the poor sheep when I heard a quiet whining from up ahead. I stopped to listen and heard it again.

  I took off as quickly as I could, with my pain medication starting to kick in, down the desolate street, toward the sounds, with Kamil and Dana following closely behind me.

  I wasn’t running all that fast, thanks to the broken ribs, but I finally made it to a large white farmhouse with a fenced in horse corral next to it.

  Five beautiful horses were clumped together in the far corner of the pen, clamoring over each other, fighting to be the one closest to the outside fence.

  At the opposite side of the corral, I saw what the horses were trying to get away from, more infected.

  There were about twenty of them clustered up against the fence, reaching into the air, towards the promise of fresh meat. Their moans were muffled and I guessed it was because they were all pushing against one another so ha
rd, it was probably difficult to get sound out.

  The fence strained under the constant pressure of the infected and I was surprised it was holding. By the sound of it, it wasn’t going to remain stable for long, though.

  I looked to Kamil and Dana, who were now at my side.

  “We have to clear out these infected. We could use the horses to travel to the cabin without worrying about finding a car and keeping it gassed up!”I yelled excitedly as I started to make my way around the fence, toward the infected.

  “I haven’t ridden a horse in I can't tell you how long. Can’t we just find some bikes or a small car?”Kamil yelled after me.

  I ignored him, mostly because I didn’t want to leave these horses to meet the same fate as the sheep.

  I wouldn’t let that happen if I could help it.

  Also, riding horses would be a much easier mode of transportation when it came to fuel and being able to navigate around traffic wrecks.

  I stopped, just outside the corner of the part of the fence that was holding the infected back. There was an old bale of hay, rotted in the mud, and it had a pitchfork sticking out of it.

  Perfect, now I wouldn’t have to use my gun.

  I was going to use being partially infected to its fullest advantage for as long as I could and so, I grabbed the pitchfork.

  I hopped the fence and stood right in front of the angry mob of zombies. The ones directly in front of me looked right past me and tried to maneuver themselves so they could see around where I was standing, to the horses behind me.

  I guess I’m still zombie-proof. I thought as I pulled the pitchfork up to my shoulder like I was going to throw a spear. Without hesitating,

  I jabbed the closest infected with the prongs. The metal pierced his skull and he fell, heavily, into the restless crowd of infected.

  I made sure to have a tight hold on the pitchfork, so the infected didn’t pull it out of my grasp and when he did fall, I yanked the tool back.

  I was pleased with the result and turned to find Kamil and Dana, just behind the group of scared horses staring at me with wide eyes.