Zombified (Book 1): The Head Hunter

by Sowder, Kindra

  Zombified Book 1:

  The Head Hunter

  Kindra Sowder

  Santiago Cirilo

  Burning Willow Press, LLC (USA): 3724 Cowpens Pacolet Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29307

  This edition published in 2017 by Burning Willow Press, LLC (USA)

  Copyright © Kindra Sowder 2017

  Copyright © Santiago Cirilo 2017

  Cover Art © K Sowder Formatting Services 2017

  Editing © Donna Marie West 2017

  Formatting © K Sowder Formatting Services 2017

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Dedication

  From Kindra Sowder:

  To, first and foremost, Santiago Cirilo who believed in my talents so explicitly that he chose me to write this amazing story with him. To my husband Edd, for sitting with me during countless hours of focus and excitement. To my mother, for believing in me throughout this entire process. And last but not least, my beta reader and friend Thomas Leeland, for listening to me freak out over and over about working with Santiago and reading new additions nightly for nine months straight.

  From Santiago Cirilo:

  To all of those that spend hours upon hours of time in the make-up chair and on screen to bring us the zombies we love, but don’t see the recognition. Hi-Yah and live life!

  Chapter 1

  Nashville, Tennessee

  May 2020

  Caesar Meldano still had not gotten used to the fact that his family knew what he did for a living. Not that it was as sinister and horrid as everyone thought it had been while the government denied its existence until three years ago. Even then, he was still afraid his lovely wife of eighteen years, Camilla, would leave him, feeling that Caesar couldn’t trust her with his secret. Now there was no secret to keep as far as he was concerned, and there was no longer a threat to the family he had built. At least, not anything where lies and secrets were concerned and God forbid anything else would roll into the picture that could destroy them.

  Caesar worked for Area 51, which used to be a massive government secret that all thought had to do with aliens. Especially after the incident in Roswell, but the real purpose of Area 51 was far from that. It had to do with quite a lot of things including biologicals, cryptids, and anything else that the human race was afraid of. Aliens could have very well been part of the issue, but he had never seen one. The only reason Caesar was able to live in Nashville with his family and not have to move them was the fact that Area 51 had a significant number of field offices hidden throughout the country, one located in Nashville as well as another close by concealed in the Great Smoky Mountains. And when they said hidden, they truly meant it. Caesar knew it would be difficult for anyone who only knew of its general location to find. They just had to look for the small blinking light, but he had never divulged to his family where it was located. His lab was situated in the field office in Nashville so he could be close to his experiments and the rest of his work.

  Camilla was scoping out patrons as a waiter seated them at a table at the Cheesecake Factory in The Mall at Green Hills, which was one of the many places to dine at the mall. This was a habit that she and Jenny had picked up from Caesar, who was always looking over his shoulder. The Cheesecake Factory was one of Camilla and Jenny’s favorite places inside of the mall including Starbucks and Auntie Anne’s, and he could always go for a slice of cheesecake. Every single flavor they offered never disappointed.

  “So, Jenny. There’s a boy at school you like? Your mom had mentioned it, and I wanted to ask you about him,” Caesar said nonchalantly as he browsed the menu, looking over the menagerie of cheesecake and other confections that they offered. Many wouldn’t believe that they even served lunch and dinner there, too.

  “Mom, really?” Jenny whined as she rolled her eyes and turned her furious gaze on her mother, who barely noticed as she looked over the menu.

  Camilla had developed the impeccable talent of ignoring her daughter’s crowing when she did something that Jenny wouldn’t care for, including telling her dad about their chats concerning boys. She wasn’t sure if she wanted cheesecake or actual food. It was named the Cheesecake Factory, after all, and one slice of the dense, tart cake was just as filling as any meal they served.

  “I don’t know what your father’s talking about,” Camilla denied with her slight Hispanic accent. You couldn’t tell she was Hispanic by her voice except for the small lift in some of her words when she spoke. Nothing highly noticeable unless you knew about her lineage.

  “You’re sixteen. I couldn’t keep you away from boys forever, even though I did wish for it. I even prayed to God he’d help me stop you from dating till you were thirty when you were born, but it looks like that didn’t work out,” Caesar teased, a smile spreading on his face as he saw the blush on Jenny’s cheeks out of his peripheral vision.

  Jenny was becoming perturbed, snatching the menu from the table’s surface and thinking of making her parents order her not just lunch, but a piece of cheesecake as well. She would make them wait while she ate and savored every bite, grinning in apt delight at their impatience since her mother wanted to go shopping for new clothes for Camilla to start the new school year.

  “I want pizza, Dad,” Jenny told her father.

  “Go for it, baby doll.” Caesar eyed his wife. “Camilla?”

  “I want the farfalle with chicken and roasted garlic. Maybe even some desert afterward.”

  Jenny watched as her mother’s eyes slid across the table and up to her face. She knew exactly what her mother was insinuating. They would both get dessert and make Dad wait for them. The perfect plan. Not like he wasn’t used to it. He’d probably order some for himself, too.

  “Well,” Caesar snapped as he clapped his menu shut, “I know what I want.”

  “Of course you do. You always get the same thing,” Camilla badgered. “The chargrilled coulotte steak with fries, cooked medium rare.”

  Jenny mouthed the words as her mother spoke them, Caesar rolling his eyes and laughing in response to their mischievous bantering.

  “You two don’t know me at all,” he mocked, waving his hand at them as they at him. “If you think you’re so smart, what do I get after that?”

  Camilla and Jenny rubbed their chins like they were thinking, grins plain on their faces as he saw the imaginary light bulb pop on over Camilla’s head.

  “The fresh banana cheesecake. Yes,” her smile broadened, “that’s what you’d get.”

  Caesar rolled his eyes again, knowing full well that his wife was correct in her guess, but not wanting to admit it. His faced turned serious all of a sudden, and he pointed playfully at his daughter. “Seriously, Jenny. Boys.”

  “What about them?” Jenny asked quizzically. She was interested in a boy at school, but did she really want to speak to her father about it? No, not really. She hadn’t even given much thought as to whether Brandon even liked her back, even though the sultry, brown gazes from him were somewhat of a hint. Even her friends had see
n them. Plus, he was adorable with his disheveled blond hair and constantly clenched, strong jaw.

  He sighed and said, “Don’t get mixed in in all that too fast. Boys are only after one thing.”

  “Oh, Caesar,” a hint of Camilla’s accent with his name, “you know how it goes. She’ll see a boy she likes, fall head over heels, and then the guy will break her heart, and she’ll come crying to us to fix it. It’s the same old song and dance just like when we were growing up. It doesn’t change. You’ll just have to let her learn it for herself.”

  He nodded, knowing his wife was right for the second time in the last five minutes. He didn’t want to accept the fact that his little girl was growing up. Soon she would be dating and going off to college and then getting married and having children. He wasn’t prepared for it. You would think that sixteen years of preparation was enough, but it wasn’t. Not even close. He wasn’t ready for his little Jenny to grow up, become an adult, and to experience the injustices of the world. From the moment she was born, he swore that he would never let anything or anyone hurt her, but there was a time to let go, and he didn’t want this to be it. And Jenny was only too eager to be let go of, especially by her father.

  Caesar knew how Camilla felt about her little girl becoming a woman. She was all right with letting go, but did show some resistance at the thought of her little girl being out in the big bad world on her own without her parents’ guidance. They had discussed it at length and had decided, no matter how far away she moved or how often it was between phone calls or texts, that they were there for her and would do everything they could to fix what needed fixing. If anything, that was what parents were good for after the baby bird left the nest. Caesar was even known to give Jenny a little nudge towards independence now and then so she wouldn’t have to depend on anyone at all. Just in case anything was to happen to himself and Camilla.

  “Dad?” Jenny asked, a concerned tone to her voice.

  She always noticed when her father had that faraway look in his eyes that meant he was thinking about something deep that had a tendency to put him in a funk for the rest of the day, whether it be about work or his family. Jenny knew her mother had noticed it on plenty of occasions, but she always let him work through it on his own. Jenny preferred the carefree version of him that she had just seen not even minutes ago.

  “Yes, baby,” Caesar replied. He had been startled out of his dark thoughts even though his daughter’s voice was soft. She knew what those moments meant for him, even if she didn’t

  know what was on his mind at the time.

  “Are you okay?” she asked him, skeptical of any cheery answer he may give her.

  “I'm all right, honey. Just got in my head a little bit,” he replied, a somber tone to his voice that he knew both of the women in his life could sense.

  Camilla quietly observed them, taking in the relationship between the two people she adored more than anyone else in the world. When they spoke, it was always with reverence towards one another, never yelling or shouting even when Jenny had done something wrong. They never had to. Jenny was a fantastic child who had turned into an amazing adolescent and would be an even more amazing woman. And her husband. She loved him so very much and had no idea what she would do without him, and she hoped that it would be years before anything happened that caused them to part ways, whether it be death or otherwise. A pang of sadness touched her heart at the thought. She pushed the thoughts away and let her attention turn back to the here and now, choosing not to focus on the too distant future that she couldn’t see. This moment, right here, was all that mattered.

  “Thinking about work?” she pried.

  After learning of his involvement with the government and Area 51 after all those years together with a secret hanging between them, she had felt the sting of the lie and betrayal. She knew he couldn’t divulge the information to her and even now there was information that was classified and family didn’t have clearance to know these things unless instructed, based on exceptional circumstances.

  “No, nothing about work,” he answered,

  He was hiding something, but she didn’t know what and she desperately wanted to.

  “What is it, my love?” She placed her hand on his, which was balled up in a fist on the table.

  He honestly hadn’t been thinking about work, but now that she had mentioned it he couldn’t keep one tidbit of information from her. And it was something she and his daughter weren’t supposed to know. Caesar looked around him, making sure no one was paying attention to them or anything they were saying. No one was paying attention to them at all. Not even the table closest to them cared about what they did or said. He pushed out a silent sigh of relief, knowing that Area 51 officials were always watching somehow, but doubting they were following them at the Cheesecake Factory. The mundane family stuff people tended to do was something they typically ignored most of the time. That was unless you had a track record of leaking confidential information, which Caesar never had. Even when Area 51 came out of the closet, he still had a hard time telling his wife and daughter that he was a part of the whole thing. Plus, he hated keeping secrets. Especially ones that could kill so many. He didn’t think it was an issue anymore. No one did, and he wanted to say something, but the hammering in his chest and his paranoid mind stopped him. Being a part of special ops would do that to a person.

  “It’s nothing, really. Let’s just have a nice lunch, and then we’ll go shopping for whatever you guys want,” he assured them, laying his other hand on top of his wife’s and giving it a comforting pat.

  Jenny beamed at the prospect of getting whatever she wanted. She knew her father made great money and they never had to worry about a thing and didn’t have to look at the price tag. Her father wouldn’t even bat an eye when she told him how much something cost. Some would call her spoiled, but her parents managed to keep her down to Earth and centered. Independent and, because of her father’s military experience and his involvement with the government, she knew how to take care of herself in the event that they could no longer care for her, and she was on her own. Caesar had made sure of it.

  The waiter walked up to their table, pad and pen in hand with a nervous look on his face. All three of them could tell he was new based on the pristine style of his hair and the fact that his uniform looked ironed and exceptionally clean. The apprehension in his deep brown eyes also gave him away. His nametag ready ‘Jeremy’ and he eyed the three of them as if they would strike him if he got their order wrong. Nothing like that would happen, and the Meldano family was extremely laid back when it came to things like that, understanding that he was human and that humans made mistakes. Plus, they had plenty of time to enjoy their day.

  “Wh—wh—what can I get for you today? Can I start y—y—y’all with something to drink?” he stammered, having the most difficult time pushing the words past his lips.

  Jenny looked up at him and smiled. She thought the slight stutter of anxiety was cute, and his face didn’t hurt, either. It was strong with high cheek bones and a slight baby face that meant he was still in high school or barely out of it working his first job. Camilla watched him with interest while Caesar had picked up the menu again, pretending to scan the items even though he knew exactly what he wanted. They all ordered their drinks. Water for Caesar along with a Coke for Camilla as well as for Jenny. Caesar was the only one who didn’t partake in soda or candy even though he did enjoy the occasional slice of cheesecake. They ordered their food and desserts at the same time, Caesar asking that the dessert not be sent out until they had finished their meal. With a nod, Jeremy left the table and walked as quickly as he could to the computer to put the order in on the touch screen. Caesar chuckled, seeing he had made the boy nervous without even trying. He just happened to intimidate many like that, considering his size and demeanor.

  “Dad, could you have been any more weird?” Jenny said as she took a sip of the Coke that Jeremy had brought out.

  “What are you talk
ing about, honey? Your father has always been this weird. He hasn’t gotten any more or less so since I met him,” Camilla teased as she gave her daughter the stink-eye, squinting them so they could only see slits of deep brown and a little white.

  “Ha ha, very funny you two,” Caesar said, laughing as he stared at the two women in front of him. “Now, the faster you eat the faster I’ll walk you guys around this place to get you some new stuff.”

  “Can we go to Hot Topic first?” Jenny asked, taking another sip of the fizzy, sharp beverage. She knew how much her parents didn’t like that particular store, but she loved it. She did agree with the hard-core rockers that it had gone downhill since they introduced Justin Bieber t-shirts and other things not even close to the culture they had initially been trying to convey, but there were still items in there she loved. She saw both parents breathe out an inaudible sigh and took that to mean they would do it and weren’t happy about it. “I love you guys, too.”

  ***

  Somehow what was supposed to be a two-hour spree turned into a much longer stint. The sun had set, and it was getting dark outside, a small chill in the air that spoke of the need for a light jacket. Caesar decided it was a good thing he had told the girls to wear long sleeves because the temperature was going to get down in the sixties. That wasn’t normally too cold, but with global warming and all, the nights seemed to get a little bit colder than they had been the previous year. He didn’t believe in global warming, and it didn’t matter how many times Area 51 had shown it wasn’t a thing, people around him still believed it. All it was was the usual cycle of the planet, according to their studies and research.

  Caesar, Camilla, and Jenny walked towards their car, only a couple of bags in hand as they crossed the asphalt. They all felt sluggish and slow, taking their time to get to the car even as the few others that filtered out with them swept past them as if they were gliding across the ground. One person even bumped shoulders with Caesar, who had to resist the urge to ram into him with all of his momentum. Jenny moved ahead of them, ready to be in the car and on the way home. She had had fun while shopping, but she had the worst time making up her mind on what she wanted.