Jane Zombie Chronicles (Book 6): Running Rampant

by Katz, Gayle

  “I know. I got this,” Jack responds to Chris. Turning back to me, Jack continues his plea, “Please don’t do this. I love you. Whatever is happening, we can work through it together, just like we’ve done in the past. We’re a team.”

  “You don’t understand. It’s in me,” I say, pointing to my neck. “That chip is buried deep in my neck. I’m contaminated. I’ve been activated. My life is over.”

  “No it’s not. There’s nothing happening that we can’t fix, but we need to do it together.”

  “We can’t. I have to do this alone. I’m sorry,” I say, crying and cocking the gun still pointed at my head. I can see Jack’s desperation on his face and I can’t bare it anymore. I close my eyes. If I don’t die immediately, I don’t want to see what it looks like when I pull the trigger.

  As I’m about to squeeze the trigger for the last time, my anxiety goes away and I suddenly feel a sense of calm wash over me. I hear the same garbled, staticky noises from before, but now they seem to solidify into words and I recognize Ben’s voice talking to me.

  “What are you doing? This isn’t the way it’s supposed to end. Jane, you’ve made it so far. Don’t give up now. You’re stronger than you’ve ever been before. You’re resilient. This is a new beginning for you, not an end, but you have to believe. Before you throw it all away, have confidence in yourself to take one last leap of faith.”

  “What are you saying?” I ask.

  “Don’t take the easy way out. Make your actions mean something. Make them count.”

  “I think I understand now,” I say aloud to the Professor.

  “Once you take this chance, everything will be over. I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m sorry for everything I put you through. No amount of apologizing will ever give you back the stolen years of your life, but I’m trying to do the right thing now. Goodbye, Jane.”

  I pull the pistol away from my head and look at Jack and Chris, who begin to smile at the turn of events. But it’s still inside me and I can’t have that. With the gun still in my hand, I put the barrel up to my neck. “I love you,” I say to Jack.

  “No!” Jack yells, rushing toward me.

  I squeeze the trigger. The explosion of the bullet escaping the barrel of the pistol is loud enough to quell the noises in my head. Collapsing onto the floor, I see blood all around me. As I stare at the bloody landscape, my eyes catch a glimpse of a few dots of twinkling, which is soon covered over by my sticky, red blood.

  Jack rushes over and scoops me up into his arms. Lying there in his lap, I can see his mouth moving, but I can’t hear anything now. As my peripheral vision starts to fade, I see people scattering about the airport. Jack leans over and kisses me. The warmth of his lips keeps me going for another moment or two. I do my best to stay with him. I don’t want to leave, but it's the choice I made to save Jack, Chris, and the rest of the city from an outbreak. It has to finally come to an end, no matter the cost. It isn't fair. It isn't right. But at least it's done. My limited vision gets blurry and everything goes dark.

  Chapter 18

  ________________________________________

  I wake up when I feel something hit my face. Eyes open, I’m surrounded by darkness. The only light is coming from above. Am I dead? As my eyes adjust, I see I’m stranded in a ditch and someone or something is throwing dirt down at me.

  “Hey! Hey! I’m still alive down here!”

  Another shovel full of dirt rains down upon me.

  “Stop it! I’m not dead! Can you hear me? It’s not my time!”

  I look around the dirt hole frantically in order to find a way up or to signal to whoever is up there that I’m down here. There’s nothing. More dirt piles up around me. Maybe I can climb up the dirt walls and pull myself out of this hole?

  Jamming my right foot into the dirt wall, I reach up as far as my arm will go and sink my right hand into the same dirt wall. As my hand reaches for something to stabilize my body so I can move up, I feel something long and bumpy. A tree root maybe? Where there’s one tree root, there are definitely more of them. I leverage the root in my right hand to help lift my body up a little more so my left hand can reach higher. Once I’ve moved as far up as possible, I dig my left hand into the dirt, hoping another tree root will present itself.

  Still searching, my feet start to crush the dirt supports beneath them. As my body slides down the wall, I’m still holding onto the root with my right hand. I’m hanging there, trying to get a better grip on the wall and not having much luck. My right hand slips and I fall back down into the hole. Landing face up, I try to shield myself as more dirt rains down on me.

  “Help me!” I try to shout, but my voice doesn’t sound louder than a whisper. The dirt is heavy and presses on my chest making it difficult to breath, let alone yell for help.

  Lying there, I start to see movement on one section of the dirt wall. More dirt comes piling down on top of me, releasing a cloud of dirt particles into the air. A hand reaches out and tries to grab me. I pull away and back up into another wall, but this time something pokes me in my back. I turn around and see myself breaking out of the dirt wall, shrieking and pulling even more dirt down upon us. And then there’s another and another, until I’m surrounded.

  I cover my ears to dull their horrible high-pitched screams until I don’t hear them anymore. Suddenly, one of them speaks to me.

  “Don’t be afraid.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t be afraid. You’re one of us now,” one of my zombie clones puts her hand on my shoulder.

  “No! I’m not.” I pull away from her touch. “I did everything to make sure I didn’t turn into one of you.”

  “Then why are you here with us now?”

  “I-I don’t know how this happened, but I’m getting out of here!”

  “Do what you must, but we’ll always be a part of you. Always.”

  Using the only tools available, I start digging into the dirt walls with my hands. More and more dirt falls on me and starts to bury my zombie clones. As I keep digging, I notice the piles of dirt begin to form what looks like steps. After some time, the light above me gets larger, and somewhat brighter. I have to keep going. This is my only way out.

  ***

  “How is she, doctor?” I hear Jack ask.

  “She’s healing quite nicely after what she did to herself,” an unfamiliar voice responds. “Her recovery is faster than I’ve ever seen anyone heal before actually. Nevertheless, in my professional opinion, I recommend getting her some counseling. No sane person does what she did today.”

  “I know she wouldn’t have done something so drastic unless it was warranted, but it’s a good idea. I think we both need someone to talk to after this mess,” Jack says. “Will she fully recover?”

  “I believe so, but one thing definitely stood out and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it to you. We took blood from her when she first came in and it looks like she’s got some sort of cellular degradation. We’re not exactly sure of the extent of the damage, but she may be in a lot of pain while she’s recuperating and healing. We’ll know more when she wakes up.”

  When I open my eyes, I see Jack, Chris, and a woman wearing a long white coat. And I’m hooked up to a bunch of machines and have some tubes inserted into my arms.

  “Welcome back, baby!” Jack says, smiling from ear to ear.

  “How are you feeling?” the doctor asks. “Can you talk for us?”

  I clear my throat. “I’m OK.”

  “Can you tell me your name?”

  “Jane.”

  “Are you in any pain?”

  “No. No, actually I feel fine.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe I’ll ask you again once we ween you off of the pain meds.”

  “I’m sure. You can stop the drugs. I feel pretty good.”

  “Hmmm. Well, that’s great news. And, if I may say so, you’re one tough cookie. Anyway, now that we know you’re on the mend, you must have a lot of catching up to do, so I’
ll leave you be. If you need me, I won’t be far and the nurses station is right outside the room,” the doctor says, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

  “How are you, baby? For real this time,” Jack asks.

  “I guess OK. Just A little disoriented.”

  “Is there anything we can get you?” asks Chris.

  “Yeah, there is something. Can you tell me what happened after I blacked out?”

  “It was horrible. Just horrible. I thought I lost you," Jack says. "You were limp in my arms, but you were still breathing. I stayed with you until the ambulance arrived. They moved you onto a gurney and rushed you here so they could patch you up.”

  “Did they happen to find the chip, er… device that was in my neck?” I ask, looking at Chris. “When I was lying there on the floor, I saw something reflect light. It was in my blood on the floor. That’s the reason I shot myself. I’m not crazy. I had to get it out of me. It was turning me into a zombie. And that man I shot, he wanted to infect all of the big cities using the airports as entry points. It’s all in the compound. Search it. You’ll find evidence that confirms what I’m saying.”

  “Shhh. Calm down. The authorities are searching the facility now. To answer your question, though, no. There wasn’t anything to find at the scene in the airport terminal. If there was something, whatever it was in your neck was completely destroyed,” Chris says.

  “That’s good. Wait. You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “Of course we do. We’re just glad to get you back in one piece.”

  "And the guy she shot?" Jack asks.

  "As for the man she shot, he doesn't exist. There is no record of him so it makes it difficult to press charges."

  Just then, my hospital room door swings open to reveal a few old, familiar faces. Two women were there, who helped years ago with the cure to the original strain. Kelly, the ex-wife of a military scientist who was caught mutating the virus, and Liz, a former intern at a local hospital, who helped us catch him. They’re both standing at the doorway, taking in the scene.

  “We came as soon as we heard. Jane, how are you?” Kelly says, rushing to my side.

  “Getting better. Thanks for coming down. How is your daughter, Julie?”

  “Good. She’s good. Thanks for asking. She just graduated from her training wheels and is riding a two-wheeled bike.”

  “Awww. That’s great!”

  “We also have another reason for visiting. You won’t believe it,” Liz says. “The strangest thing happened. We received an email from Chris over there with details on the newest zombie virus cure. It’s supposed to help cure and possibly reverse all of the latest outbreaks. Can you believe it?”

  “I hope it works,” I say.

  “It should. Chris also forwarded the researchers’ clinical trials, which after some failures and tweaking of the formula, seem to be successful. We’re baking a batch right now in conjunction with the WHO. If we can aerosolize it, theoretically we could fly over and cure entire cities and countries at once!”

  "It's my pleasure, ladies," Chris said.

  “That’s the best news I’ve heard in a while. Uhhh. I’m afraid to ask, what about my clones? What’s happening to them? They were activated to turn and spread the zombie virus, just like I was.”

  “Most of them were killed alongside the zombie fighting. There shouldn’t be many, if any, of them left. You should be the one and only Jane left.”

  I know I should be happy, but somehow I’m a little sad. Not all of the clones were bad. The two who helped me fight off the zombies while we were in the compound seemed to be good, along with the one who stayed with Damar. They sacrificed themselves to help and save me. And the Professor’s clone wanted to atone for his previous transgressions.

  As I’m digesting all of this information, the door opens again to reveal a man dressed in a very nice, expensive looking suit, holding a bouquet of flowers.

  “Hey there, Mr. Roberts,” Liz says.

  “This is the CEO of Scrycor, Scott Roberts,” Kelly says.

  “I know,” I reply. “I’ve seen his commercials.”

  “Anyway, he and his company continue to help the government in their recovery efforts. He’s given millions of dollars in aid to affected families for whatever they need, some of which have lost the ability to provide for themselves. They’re also contributing funds and countless resources to help combat the spread of the infection.”

  “Is that so?” I question.

  “Yes! And Scrycor has been instrumental in furthering our research. Now that we have a new, more versatile cure, they’ll be right there at the forefront helping until the last zombie is killed or cured.”

  “We will. At least, that’s the plan. It’s the least we can do. I was briefed on your situation, and I wanted to stop by personally to say thank you for your help in bringing this ugly situation to a close. I’m so sorry about what’s happened to you. There were some bad actors at the company who were going rogue. I know I’m the head honcho and it was on my watch, so there’s absolutely no excuse for it, but we’re doing what we can to make the situation right.”

  “Uh-huh,” I say, not sure if I believe him or not.

  “I brought you some flowers. I thought they would make your room brighter.”

  As he steps closer to my bedside, I scoot to the other side so as to put as much distance between us as possible.

  “I know you must have a lot to sort through, but if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I want to help everyone affected by the zombie virus move past it and start to live normal lives again.”

  “Sure. That’s a nice thought.”

  “I mean it.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Turning to Jack, Scott presents the offer again, “If you need anything, please call.” Handing his card to Jack, he smiles and shakes his hand before walking away.

  Staring at the vase with the flowers down on the end table, I see another bouquet that I didn’t notice before. There’s a card, so I reach over to see who they’re from. All it says is, “B & B.”

  “Who’s it from?” asked Jack. “I didn’t see anyone else with flowers come into the room.”

  “I don’t know,” I say. In truth, I had already given it a lot of thought and the only B and B I could come up with is Ben and Brie, but it didn’t make any sense and I couldn’t be sure.

  Turning back to Jack, Chris, Liz, and Kelly, I can’t help but express my reservations about Scott’s visit. “How can you believe anything that guy says? His research team is the main reason why this zombie plague started in the first place. He pushed Ben… er Professor Carter to the tipping point.”

  “Wait a second. Are you defending Carter? Why are you on his side? He’s just as much to blame as anyone,” Jack said.

  “That’s silly. I’m not defending him, but I do wonder. Even if he refused Scott’s offers and demands from the very beginning, Scrycor might have still sought out someone else to do the job.”

  “You can talk about what-ifs all you like, the Professor is still to blame.”

  “Agreed. So is Scott and his company.”

  “He’s making amends for that,” Kelly says.

  “Making amends? I guess. Millions of people are dead, lives are ruined, and he’s walking around in snazzy suits throwing cash at everything and everyone. Are you telling me that makes it better, or erases what he’s done?”

  “It wasn’t him, Jane. It was his team. He’s one of the good guys.”

  “Good guys? He’s the CEO. He’s responsible for his team and their actions.”

  “Listen, I don’t want to argue. You’ve been gone for a while and adjusting back into society may take some time.”

  “Yeah," said Liz. "We know you’ve been through a lot, more than we’ll ever know, so get better and we’ll continue this conversation again soon, all right? Maybe you can help with the recovery efforts? There are a lot of people who need help, someone to cheer them up,
someone to talk to. You could really make a difference in people’s lives, and your own. It’s time for all of us to pick up the pieces and begin the process of healing.”

  Chris’s phone rings. He picks it up, excuses himself, and walks to the door, holding it open for Kelly and Liz, leaving me alone with Jack for the first time in what seems like forever.

  “Finally,” Jack says. “I thought they would never leave.”

  “I know. It’s good to see them, but I’m glad they’re gone. I love you, and I’m so glad you’re safe and that this whole mess is over. Come here,” I say, reaching out my arms. “Hop in.”

  “Isn’t that against hospital rules?”

  “Probably,” I say, grinning from ear to ear. “Who cares?” I shrug. “Get over here!”

  “In a minute.” Jack walks over to the door and grabs the handle.

  “What are you doing?”

  “There’s someone else who wants to say hello, and since we’re already breaking the hospital rules, I figure now’s a good time.” Beaming, he opens the door. Rocky gallops into the room and onto my bed.

  “How did you get him in here?” I ask, with Rocky licking my face. “I thought pets weren’t allowed?”

  “I paid an orderly to play with him and hold his leash,” Jack says, walking back over to us.

  “Just another reason why I love you.”

  Jack carefully gets into the hospital bed and lies next to me while Rocky makes himself comfortable at the foot of the bed. “You know, when I lost you, well… er… your clone, I couldn’t believe it. I was devastated. My world was over, but then I got word that you were alive. I was confused, but elated. Talking to you over the satellite phone was like a dream come true for me. I didn’t believe any of it until I saw you at the airport. And then you shot yourself, and I went through it all over again. It was like someone stabbed me in the heart. The pain, it was so deep. I couldn’t breathe. Never do anything like that to me again, do you hear me?”

  “Under one condition,” I reply.

  “What’s that?”