Z Strain

by SJ Morris

We were going home.

  Chapter 26

  We followed the map exactly and there were only three times we had to stop so the drone could lead a group of infected away, but it all worked out, just as planned.

  It was almost too good to be true.

  However, it didn’t really sink in that I was almost home until we drove past the gas station where I had the incident with Mr. Potty Mouth and his friend, Curtis.

  It all looked exactly the same; quiet and abandoned.

  At this stage of the game, quiet and abandoned was amazing.

  The sun was starting to set and I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning, to be getting home.

  Finally, we turned down the long dirt drive, that I knew ended with the cabin and my family, waiting for me.

  However, just as I was about to sigh with genuine relief, suddenly, the drone took off.

  At first, I assumed it was because we were home, but that hope died tragically, the second the drone came back and blinked three times, before taking off again. Shortly after leaving us, we heard the all-too-familiar siren blaring, as Chuck stopped the truck.

  “I guess you guys have a few stragglers hanging around. They’re probably just being overly cautious, to make sure there are no issues with us getting through the gate. You said there are two fences right? And one of them is concrete?”Asked Kamil, with a small tremor in his voice.

  I could tell he was weary of the cabin and the sanctuary I made it out to be.

  After what he and Dana had been through together before meeting me, I was sure he didn’t want to get too excited about my cabin, but at the same time, he had put a lot of hope into the idea that it truly was everything I said it would be.

  I knew it was when I left, I just hoped it had stayed that way.

  I hadn’t been gone all that long, after all, but in this new world, I was all too familiar that things could change drastically in a matter of moments.

  “Yes, there is a row of spike strips just outside the chain-link fence, with razor wire on top and when you get inside the fence, the gate shuts behind you and there is a concrete wall with a huge metal gate, about thirty feet in front of you. I told you, my husband and his military friends thought of pretty much everything when it came to securing this place.”I said, with as much courage I could muster hearing the siren blaring as it faded in the distance.

  “Do you think we should still wait the fifteen minutes after we stop hearing the siren before we go further?”Asked Chuck, drumming his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.

  “That’s what has worked for us the last few hours and we made it here without a scratch, so I think we should stick with it. No harm in waitinganother fifteen, minutes right?”I responded, even though I wanted to go now, probably more than anyone.

  “Sure thing, Abby, whatever you say,”Chuck replied now biting his nails, checking his watch and turning on the headlights.

  With the sun setting and the tree cover overhead, it was much darker than I expected, but if I looked hard enough ahead of us, I thought I could see the fence glimmering in the headlights. Just as I was about to mention the fence to everyone there was a slam against my door that rocked the truck.

  Both Bernice and Dana began to scream. I looked out the window to see the snarled, bloody and broken face of what used to be a man, clawing and biting at the window, trying to get at us.

  All I could think of in this moment was this man used to be someone’s son, brother, husband, or friend.

  This man used to mean something to someone and there’s even a small possibility that there’s still someone out there wondering what happened to him.

  However, I also knew that the man they were thinking of, no longer existed, all thanks to some grotesque, experimental, weaponized virus, some asshole cooked up in a lab.

  Fighting the thoughts of any lingering humanity, this thinglikely didn’t have, I reminded myself that he was no longer a man, he was now an it, and it was a tool of destruction.

  A tool, that not even the people who created it could control.

  Remembering that humans created this, made me incredibly angry again.

  In a rush of furious rage, I grabbed my handheld stake and shoved the door open with such force, it pushed the infected to the ground.

  I slammed the door closed behind me, muffling Bernice’s screams of terror, even more than Kamil’s hand, which was now covering her mouth.

  I turned back to the infected just as it was about to get up and attack the truck again, completely ignoring me, as usual, and I plunged the wood deep into its brain, straight through its eye.

  It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done.

  Just as I pulled the stake out, I heard more rustling in the trees nearby.

  I knocked on the window and told Chuck to turn the high beams on.

  When he did, I almost fell over, seeing the number of infected that were heading down the road, directly toward us.

  I heard the door open and close behind me, as Kamil got out of the truck, with my silenced handgun at his side.

  “Do you want some help, or are you going to tell me to get back in the truck again?”Kamil said with a smile.

  “No, since it’s dark, I could use the cover,”I said smiling back.“Get behind me, back to back, and make sure nothing sneaks up on us from the sides, or the rear. Hey, Chuck! Kamil and I are going to walk forward slowly, taking out the infected, but can you keep the truck moving just behind us, to cover us?”I yelled as Kamil and I got situated, right up against Betsey’s front bumper.

  I wanted to make sure we were between the headlights, so we weren’t blocking any of what was quickly becoming our only source of light.

  “Sure, Abby, I got your six!”Yelled Chuck from the truck, as he rolled the window back up, quickly putting the truck back into gear.

  We walked slowly and thankfully, the infected that were heading for us were all pretty badly decomposed, so they were slower.

  When one got within about five feet of the closest infected, I would run up and stake it in the head, before rushing back up, to cover Kamil again.

  We did this for a few minutes before I heard what was now one of my favorite sounds in the whole world, the quick, soft thunk of silenced rifle shots.

  I stopped and Kamil instinctively ducked down, in front of the truck, for cover, which made me laugh. He looked at me like I had gone crazy.

  “Sorry, Kamil, to me that sound is a blessing. It means our heroes have arrived and were all going to be safe.”I laughed, with a huge smile on my face.

  I scanned the area to our sides because all I needed was to get Kamil killed now, when we were so close to home, with reinforcements on the way.

  “Get back in the truck, Kamil. We can take it from here.”

  He quickly jumped back in the truck, handing me my gun. I walked back to the front of the truck and took aim, taking out five more infected, with only five shots.

  I was so focused on taking them out and watching the other infected in front of me drop with every silenced shot I heard, I didn’t notice the three infected, walking past my right side, now dead-set on getting to the three heavily armored men, who were continuously stepping over bodies to get to us.

  As the infected walked past me, the three men, only fifteen feet from me now, stopped dead in their tracks.

  I put my gun in my belt and retrieved my stake as my eyes caught sight of the infected.

  I walked up to each of the three infected and took them out, one by one, plunging my stake it into each of their heads without a moment’s hesitation.

  Chris was the first to take off his helmet, with his mouth dropped open, wide, in wonder.

  Tom and Dan were soon to follow.

  Each of them looked at me like I was the ninth wonder of the world.

  I guess I forgot they didn’t know I was zombie proof. Well. they knew now.

  Finally, Chris dropped his helmet and ran up to me, picking me up in a huge bear hug, as I cried out in pain
from my ribs.

  “Oh my God, Abby! I’m so sorry! What did I do? What hurts?”He questioned frantically, as he put me down like I was made of glass.

  “It’s okay, I just banged up a few ribs pretty bad in a car wreck, getting away from Liam and his stooge. I’m alright…It’s just that they’re tender and you have the strength of a Mac truck.”I said, smiling up at him.

  “Well, let’s get you and your friends inside and have the doc take a look at you. We’ll get you patched up and then we can have a thorough conversation, regarding what happened with these infected, and why they walked right past you.”He said with a serious face, as he pointed to the three bodies on the ground, at my feet.

  I had no response to that yet, so I walked around Chris to give Tom and Dan both a big hug before I climbed back in the truck.

  Our armed escorts took us to the gate, which beeped as soon as they walked up to it. The spike strips disappeared and the three men stood aside, motioning for Chuck to drive through to the next gate.

  As the chain-linked fence closed behind us and the massive metal one opened, each of us in the truck let out a collective sigh of relief.

  We were here, I was home…

  Finally, we were safe.

  Chapter 27

  It was difficult to see, with the sun setting, but all around us, as we drove up to the cabin, the fields had started sprouting.

  The crops were still growing healthily and everything looked pretty much as I left it.

  I didn’t realize how worried I was that things were going to have changed for the worst while I was gone, until just this moment.

  Hastily, though, I was pulled from my thoughts by Dana, bouncing happily in her seat.

  “I told you guys, we were going to get here and here we are! I am so excited; I can’t take it! Look at this place, Kamil. It’s everything we hoped it would be, it’s everything Abby said and more.”She said as tears of joy burst from her eyes. She reached over and shook Chuck’s arm, she grabbed Bernice in a huge hug, and then, she turned to Kamil and kissed him hard, on the lips.

  I don’t think he was expecting it because I felt him freeze in his seat and his eyes popped open, wide.

  As she continued to kiss him, he finally relaxed, and Bernice averted her eyes.

  “Alright, I love you guys, and I know we have been through a crapload of shit together in the last few days, but this is too much for me. I’m out!”I said as I slowly cracked the door open, waiting for Chuck to slow down enough so I could hop out of the tightly packed truck.

  “If I’m stuck with this, so are you, Abby!”Said Chuck, laughing as he sped up slightly, before coming to a complete stop in front of the cabin.

  Everyone was outside waiting for us.

  There were people on the porch, people sitting on the stairs, and more people scattered all over the front yard, all with big smiles on their faces.

  The ones I cared about the most were already running for the truck before I could even pick their faces out of the crowd.

  Allycia, Tyler, and Lance each reached for the door as I was opening it and they pretty much pulled me from the truck.

  Allycia tucked herself tightly under my arms, hugging me, as she cried. Tyler wrapped his arms around my shoulders and Lance wrapped his arms over Tyler’s.

  This was not the welcome I was expecting, but I was definitely not complaining at all, no matter how much it hurt.

  Almost instantly, I broke down, crying, but my kids’embraces kept me standing, even if I was blubbering like a baby.

  “Alright, guys, let your mom breathe. She does have busted ribs too, so be gentle,”Chris said as he walked up to the truck.

  “Mom, are you really hurt? We have to get you in and get Dr. Baker to look at you right away!”Allycia said letting go of her hug and pulling me to the stairs.

  “I’m not that bad, and yes, it’s a good idea for me to see the doctor, but right now, I need to introduce everyone to my new friends. Everyone, this is Chuck, he owns a feed store and knows pretty much everything there is to know about farming and all the equipment that goes along with it. This lovely young lady is Bernice, and she is a wonderful cook. And these two are Kamil and Dana. Kamil is as strong as an ox and Dana is also a great cook. Without these four, I don’t know that I would have made it back home, safely, to all of you.”I said with more tears in my eyes.

  My four friends smiled shyly at the forty-or-so people staring at them and waved awkwardly.

  “We’ll make sure that each of you gets cleaned up, looked over by Doc Baker, fed, and moved into an apartment, where you can rest, and get settled. Thank you for bringing our Abby back to us in one piece.”Chris said with a huge smile.

  After our quick introductions, we were whiskedaway downstairs, to the infirmary, where Nancy, Dan’s mother, was waiting for the five of us. Jasmine was there too, because apparently, her love of learning new things had guided her toward medicine.

  Hey, the more doctors and nurses we have at the cabin the better, right?

  I made sure everyone else was checked out before me and they were all taken to open apartments, so they could shower and get settled.

  Kamil, Dana, and Bernice chose to stay in one all-together. Chuck said he was ok with just a shower, and didn’t want an entire apartment to himself, so Nancy suggested that he get settled in the second bedroom in her and Tony’s apartment since it wasn’t being used.

  Finally, it was my turn to get checked out. I made sure Troy was around for this, too.

  “So, I know I have either badly bruised, or broken ribs, and a few cuts and scrapes from the accident. I need to warn you all, though, that when I was kidnapped, while we were going after Jake and his family, one of the guys cut me up a little, too. The thing is, I am pretty sure he had something on the blade he was cutting me with.”I said looking Nancy, Jasmine, and Troy each in the eyes.

  “Well, I’m sure we can get you cleaned up and good as new, Abby.”Replied Nancy.

  “Well, that’s the thing. I’m not sure anyone can get me as good as new, because I have no idea what was on the blade, and it seems to have infected me with some form of the Z-Strain.”I said quickly, getting it out in the open.

  “What?”Said Troy quickly.“What do you mean? Show me. When did this happen? When were you cut? What are your symptoms?”Troy continued to quick-fire questions at me.

  “Relax, Troy. Let’s let Abby show us what she is talking about before we jump down her throat.”Said Nancy, softly.

  Jasmine looked at me questioningly and Troy sat down on one of the nearby gurneys to calm himself. He took his notebook and pen from his shirt pocket.

  I slowly lifted my shirt over my head with my left arm, since my busted ribs were on my right side. Nancy came over to cut off the dingy wrapping I had around my ribs and revealed the now gray gauze covering the infected cut.

  I guess with all the action taking on the infected outside the truck opened my scab and I was bleeding again.

  The blood wasn’t black and it wasn’t red, but it was definitely darker than normal blood.

  I lifted my right arm as high as I could and Jasmine came over to help me get it higher.

  Troy came over to watch as Nancy slowly pulled the gauze away from my body, revealing a thin, black cut that went from my armpit, down my side, to the top of my hip.

  The entirety of the gash was surrounded by black veins.

  The three of them just kind of stood there, looking at me like I was a piece of artwork to contemplate.

  “Hey, guys? I can’t keep my arm up much longer. How about we get some peroxide or something to clean it, so I can take a shower and get my ribs wrapped again?”

  “Ugh yeah, Dr. Baker can you clean the wound. I’d like to get a better look at it, please.”Responded Troy, still staring at my side.

  “Troy! Hey, earth to Troy!”I yelled a little louder than I meant to.

  “Yeah, sorry, Abby. This is just pretty amazing to see.”He stammered out his words.


  “Amazing, Troy? Try fucked up! Are you kidding me? Ugh, I knew you would only be interested in the science part of this. I should have known better than to think you would look at me as anything more than a test subject now. Anyway, the guy that did this wiped something on his blade. I have no idea what it was, but I do know it was on a cloth because that was the only thing on the table with his torture kit, other than more knives. While he was cutting me there was a white-hot, burning pain. I remember vividly how it felt like the blade was on fire. In less than twenty minutes, I was extremely nauseous, hot, and I had lost control of my arms. I remember wanting to grab my stomach to try and stave off the nausea,but my arms wouldn’t move. Then, I got very dizzy and blacked out from the pain.”

  “This is great, Abby, keep going. What else do you remember? What happened when you came to?”Asked Troy as he scribbled in his notebook frantically.

  “I know I was out for a while because before I blacked out, it was night and when I woke up, the sun was starting to rise, but I’m not sure how many hours it was. When I did get up, I had extremedry mouth, I was incredibly dizzy, my entire body was sore, and I was sweating profusely, with a very high fever. The dizziness might have been from hitting my head on the floor of the van, though, because that cleared up rather quickly. I had to act fast to get away from the two jackasses that took me. I ended up killing both of them while we were driving and the van flipped over. That’s where I got tossed around and ended up unconscious again, for another few hours.”

  “My goodness, Abby, you really have been through the ringer. It’s really a testament to your strength that you made it back to us, after all of that.”Nancy said with tears in her eyes.

  “Well, the weirdest part is to come. When I woke up…again, I was in the back of the van and the back door was partially open. One of the guys I killed was in the back with me during the accident, but I assume during the crash, the door opened, and he ended up a few feet outside of the van, on the street. The infected were all around the van during the crash, but looking out the windows, I only saw one and he was just standing over the body of the guy I killed who was completely picked to bones and clothes…There was nothing else left of him. My clothes and a gun were underneath his body, so I had to move him. I tried as quietly and as slowly as I could, but eventually, the infected that was standing over him noticed me and we ended up face to face. He sniffed me, and then…just left.”