The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 1): Zombie Park

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  “I’m Chloe Gantz. You’re Ben Cutler, one of the owners, aren’t you? I saw your picture on the wall inside the innovation center.”

  “You’re correct. I can’t believe they have a picture of me in there. I’m not anybody special.”

  She laughed. “Well, you’re definitely modest. I think it’s a nice picture of you.” She watched as another whale crashed into the glass. “As a matter of fact, I wanted to meet you. Would you like me to take you on a tour around the building? If you love the whales, you’re going to love the dolphins.”

  “If it’s no problem.”

  “I assure you, it’s no problem. I’m in charge of the building. I’m the one responsible for everybody’s safety inside here.”

  He looked down at her ring finger. She wasn’t wearing a ring. She laughed realizing what he was doing. She raised her hand up so he could have a better view.

  “I’m not married if that’s what you’re wondering, nor am I seeing anybody right now. I’ve never had the time for a relationship until now.”

  Her hint seemed to go over his head. She waited to see if he was going to respond. She quickly realized he didn’t understand her flirtation. She shrugged it off and led him to the dolphin viewing area where a dozen dolphins were swimming together. They walked over to the glass and stopped.

  Ben looked at her and cleared his throat. She looked at him anticipating something. “Chloe, would you like to go to dinner with me?”

  “I thought you would never ask,” she responded, taking his hand. “Come on, I have something special to show you. It’s something you don’t even know about.”

  He wondered what she was going to show him. He already knew every animal they had in the park. She led him to another viewing area with a much larger tank than the other two. He could see something large swim by as he entered the room. He couldn’t tell what it was at first, but he figured it had to be at least thirty feet.

  “This is our main attraction,” she said, moving closer to the viewing area. “She’s a thirty-six foot great white.”

  He had never seen a shark before in person, especially not one as big as this one was. He wasn’t sure it was even smart to have one this big, especially being a zombie. He looked at her surprised. “Now I understand why she was kept a secret. She could pose a threat to the park.”

  “She will only be a threat if somebody jumps inside with her. She can’t get out of her tank. This glass is extremely thick. It would take a lot of force to break through it. I promise you, nobody is in danger from her. Just think how much money she is going to bring the park. Not to mention she is going to have her own show. I can already imagine how wet people are going to get around the splash zone during the show.”

  He looked at her and then back at the shark. He hoped she was right that nobody was going to get hurt or killed by her. He had never imagined having anything as big as her as a zombie in the park. Chloe took his hand and led him away from the shark. “Come on, I have so much more to show you.”

  She led him away from the main attraction. She wanted to show him the walrus they had. It was her favorite animal, and she knew he would enjoy seeing it.

  “I hope you’re enjoying yourself,” she said. “This place is everything I always dreamt of. I can’t imagine a better place to work.”

  “You’ve dreamt about working with zombies?”

  “Not zombies. I’ve dreamt about working with sea life. I don’t care they’re zombies. I know I have to be careful around them because they’re dangerous. Trust me; I don’t get any closer to them than I have to.”

  “This is a remarkable place. I can’t believe we have so many different species here. People are going to love them. I have a feeling I’m going to spend a lot of time here.”

  “Is it because you’ll find me here?”

  He smiled at her. “Well, that’s one of the benefits of coming here. Actually, it’s because of my fondness for the sea life. Not to mention I want to keep a watchful eye on the great white. Something scares me knowing she’s here in the park. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone that I know about the shark. I’ll act surprised once they inform me about her.”

  “Thank you. I don’t want to get fired for telling you.”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry; you won’t get fired. I’m one of the owners, remember?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The park was finally completed and Professor Hollman was busy with the new smart zombies he had developed. He had since perfected his wife’s serum, and it seemed to work the way General Poe had wanted it to. So far, Professor Hollman had developed a dozen of the smart zombies and had them lined up for inspection as General Poe entered the building. He went over to his future soldiers and stood in front of them. He looked at each one proudly until he met eye to eye with Kathy. He turned to look at the professor.

  “What’s she doing here?”

  “I thought you would want her here. She’s one of the smart zombies.”

  “Well, you thought wrong, professor. She doesn’t look like the others. They all look like obedient soldiers. She, on the other hand…she doesn’t look like much of a threat. Throw her in one of the enclosures for public viewing.”

  Professor Hollman looked appalled. Even though he disliked her, he didn’t feel she should be put with the other zombies. She wasn’t considered an eater like the other ones. He knew they would destroy her if she was placed with them. He had to come up with another solution to satisfy General Poe.

  “She can do tricks,” he said, hoping the general would understand what he was getting at.

  “What?”

  “I said she can do tricks. Let me keep her separate from the others. We can use her to perform tricks. She’s not an eater like the rest of them.”

  The general stared at him for a moment. “You want her to do tricks? Isn’t that considered cruel and unusual punishment? She was your wife. Why would you want to put her through that?”

  “It’s better than throwing her in a cage with eaters. Those zombies know she’s not like them. They’ll rip her to shreds. I can’t let that happen to her, no matter how I feel about her.”

  General Poe looked frustrated. “I don’t care what you do with her. Just get her out of my sight so I can concentrate on my new project. When you get back, I want to know what your progress with the vultures is. Will they be ready to deploy once they are needed? I need to report to my superiors on your progress. They want to know if they will be efficient weapons.”

  Professor Hollman shook his head. “That’s all you care about. You’re all alike. All you ever want to know is if we’re ready to go to war. You’re planning on sending smart zombies to any country who opposes us. Then, if that isn’t enough, you want to send birds in to peck people to death. Listen to me, General Poe. It’s not going to stop there. How long will it be until we turn the zombies against our own people? How long…”

  “Spare me the lecture. What’s done is done. Let me remind you of one thing, professor. You developed the zombies, not I. If you want to lecture anybody about anything, you should lecture yourself. If mankind goes down, you’ll be responsible for it happening.”

  He glared at the general as he grabbed Kathy’s arm. “That’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life.” He led her out of the room and put her by herself in a cage in the back. He returned and watched as General Poe had the zombies standing at attention and saluting him. He was bothered by everything the general had said to him. Everything he had said was the truth. He watched as the zombies marched in place. It sickened him that he helped develop an army that knew no fear, that would kill without remorse, and that followed instructions as ordered. They were unnatural. The whole concept of zombies fighting wars was unnatural. The whole damn zombie park was unnatural.

  General Poe joined him and grabbed his shoulder. He led him to another part of the building where the zombie vultures were housed. “Will they follow my orders?”

  He pushed the general’s
hand off of his shoulder.” They should. Why don’t you ask the parrot? After all, he does talk.”

  General Poe looked at the four vultures inside their cages. Next to them was another cage with a parrot. “That’s right. I almost forgot about the parrot you were developing.” He approached the parrot. “Will they follow my orders?”

  “Death comes tonight,” it said loudly.

  He shook his head. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear. “Let me know once you are finished with them.”

  He walked over to the cage holding Kathy. She sat in the corner sulking. She was smart, but she was disobedient. No matter how much they tried, she wouldn’t respond to them. He wanted her destroyed, but as a courtesy to the professor, he was going to allow him to make her perform tricks for the public. He turned his back to the cage and then suddenly turned around. She was standing at the door of the cage with a ferocious look on her face as if she meant to do him harm. He stepped away from the cage. She snarled at him. She had suddenly become the vicious zombie he had wanted her to be. He moved farther away from the cage, but she never took her eyes off of him. He retreated to the other room. He looked at the professor.

  “I don’t understand. What suddenly got into her?”

  “You did. If I were you, General Poe, I wouldn’t push my luck with her a second time. I think she means business. I believe she just gave you a warning.”

  “Just make sure she doesn’t get out of her cage. Now I have to go take care of some things at the Innovation Center. We open tomorrow, and I have to make sure all the exhibits are functioning.”

  The professor watched as he left. He turned to look at his creations and ushered them into their cages and went back to work.

  General Poe wasn’t amused by Kathy’s actions. He was driving his red jeep to the center to check on things. He was having a hard time concentrating on the road because the image of Kathy kept filling his mind like a bad nightmare. It was the first time any of the zombies had threatened him. He didn’t like the idea of anything challenging his authority. He made a mental note to himself that if she ever threatened him again, he was going to shoot her in the head. That would show all the zombies exactly who was in charge.

  He parked his jeep next to the front door to the Innovation Center and walked in. He found Robert Forenstein with his wife and son watching one of the displays. It was a short movie presentation about the differences between humans and zombies. He approached them and stood next to Billy.

  “Have you visited the zoo yet, Billy? I’m sure you and your mother would enjoy seeing the animals. I hear they’re giving away free popcorn to our special guests today.”

  “I thought the zoo didn’t open until tomorrow,” said Billy.

  “It’s only open today for reporters and family members of park employees. Go ahead and check it out. He took a lanyard out of his pocket and put it around Billy’s neck. It read ‘VIP: Very Infected Person’, which let vendors and ride operators know he was a personal guest of a board member. Billy smiled and looked at his mother.

  “Can we go see the animals and get some free popcorn?”

  See looked at her husband. “I guess we’re going to see the animals. I’ll look for you later to eat lunch.”

  Mr. Forenstein gave her a kiss. He looked at his son. “Keep your mother out of trouble.”

  “I will; I promise.”

  He waited until they had left the center before turning his attention to General Poe. “Are you satisfied with the results? I know turning birds into zombies was not in the original plans, but if we control them, I don’t think they will pose a threat to anybody. That’s why we are only using vultures.”

  “My bosses are going to be pleased with the results. What time are the reporters getting here? I don’t have all day to wait on them. We still have a lot to do before tomorrow.”

  “Look behind you. They’re all set to go. I think they’re waiting on us.”

  General Poe turned around to face several reporters waiting for him to take them on the tour. He approached them and gave them each a folder that Mr. Forenstein just handed him.

  “I would like to welcome each and every one of you to Zombie Park. This park is obviously one of a kind and is home to several varieties of zombies both human and animal. Inside the folder I gave you is a park map. If everybody will take it out, I will go through it with you.” He waited until everybody had taken the maps out of their folders. The front of the foldout map was the park emblem, which depicted a couple of zombies walking toward a pair of hands coming out of the ground. Below it was a picture of the Innovation Center. “We’re standing inside the Innovation Center. Inside here you’ll find several interactive displays, a learning center, a three screen movie theater, a snack shop, several restrooms, a gift shop, and any special exhibits that will be hosted here. We also have a large conference room for companies wanting to have their meetings here. This place is like a giant museum for all things zombies. Tomorrow one of the movies being shown is Night of the Living Dead. Now if you will refer to the map. It is divided into several sections. I won’t bore you with all that information; you can see it for yourselves. If you will please follow me, I want to take you to the zoo first.”

  He led them outside to a waiting bus. They all got aboard and it transported them to the zoo. They stood in front of a large set of wooden doors that looked as though they were trying to keep something large inside. General Poe motioned for a worker to open the gate and led the group inside. Once through the gate, they were met by several employees taking everybody’s pictures that would be used on souvenirs they could purchase later in the souvenir shop. Beyond them was a road leading forward that branched in four different directions. A sign was posted at each branch informing them what attractions were in that direction. General Poe led them straight toward the aquatic building where the main attraction was being housed. He wanted the reporters to have a look at it as soon as possible. He knew the great white would definitely bring the crowds to the park.

  Once they arrived at the building, they were met by Chloe Gantz who introduced herself and ushered the group inside. She took over the presentation and took them through the building and stopped to answer questions before moving them into the underwater viewing areas. After answering several questions, she took them to see the whales and then the dolphins. Finally, it was the time the general had impatiently waited for. She led them in to see the large great white shark. The response from the reporters was as General Poe had hoped for. They took several pictures of it and asked several questions. Chloe was ready to answer each one of them. She looked at the general who had a smile across his face. Everything was going according to his plan.

  After fielding all the questions, Chloe turned the reporters back over to General Poe who was satisfied they would help spread the word to the world about his main attraction. He led them around the rest of the park until they made it back to the Innovation Center. The reporters took several final photos and interviewed both the general and Mr. Forenstein. They promised it would be televised on the evening news and be sent to all their sister stations around the nation. Once the reporters left, Mr. Forenstein invited the general to walk with him to the zoo where his family was visiting.

  “Did their reaction to the shark meet with your expectations?” asked Mr. Forenstein.

  “It was everything I was hoping for. If you could have seen the look on their faces. It was priceless.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. The shark is going to make us a ton of money.” He stopped to look at the general. “I do have bad news.”

  “Please don’t tell me we’re going to have a delay.”

  “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s about Donnie Jorsen and the rest of the protestors. They were all released from jail today. Of course the judge gave them all restraining orders to keep them from visiting the park, but they still could cause us problems from a distance.”

  General Poe’s demeanor changed. He no longer felt the excitement he had
a moment ago. He looked around him as though somebody was spying on them. “We can’t let them become a problem for us.”

  Mr. Forenstein heard something in his voice he didn’t like. “We can’t do anything to any of them unless they break the law.”

  “That’s not your department, Robert. Nothing says I can’t have them watched at all times. Mr. Jorsen won’t be harmed if he stays out of our business.”

  They began walking again. “If anything happens to him, we will be the suspects. Everything must be done delicately.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Mayor Johnson and the entire police force are on our side. If anything was to happen to him, everybody is going to turn a blind eye.”

  “Speaking of Mayor Johnson. Is it set with him for tomorrow’s grand opening?”

  “He’ll be here first thing in the morning. He’s giving a speech and cutting the ribbon. This will give him the sense he’s doing something great for Valparaiso.”

  Mr. Forenstein laughed. “Anything that can help him in a reelection year.”

  They found his family watching two zombiefied elephants smacking their trunks against a tree. Billy was the first to see his father approaching engaged in conversation with the general.

  “Daddy!”

  “How do you like the elephants, son? You’ve never seen any like these before.”

  Billy laughed and ran up to his father, grinning ear to ear. “They don’t sound like the elephants from the other zoo. These ones sound really mean.”

  “You definitely don’t want to mess with them,” said General Poe. “They don’t eat peanuts.”

  Mr. Forenstein rolled his eyes. “What the general is trying to say, Billy, is you have to be extra careful with the animals around here.”

  “I know,” said Billy sarcastically. “It’s because all of them are zombies. I can’t pet any of them.”

  Mr. Forenstein smiled and looked at his wife. “Come on; there is a banquet waiting for us at the main restaurant. We’re having roasted duck and filet mignon. And I have also been told we’re having some sort of chocolate lava cake. How does that sound, Billy?”