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

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  The audience was quiet as the dolphin was lowered into place. Chloe watched the crowd as they anticipated the shark jumping for the dolphin. “Now, I can’t guarantee you how long it will take for the shark to respond.” She was about to speak again, but the shark didn’t give her the chance. It sprang from its tank and snatched the dolphin from the air. It came back down causing most of the audience to be covered in water. Cries of both surprise and excitement arose from them.

  “Let’s give a round of applause for our shark!” screamed Chloe, laughing. The crowd applauded and cheered as the tank lowered back inside the building. “If you want a closer look at our shark, you can view her inside the building. I want to thank you for joining us here and enjoy the rest of the day at the park.”

  She watched as everybody stood up and shook off the excess water. Billy was excited about what he had witnessed. He turned to his father. “I want to do it again.”

  “We can only do the show once a day, Billy.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because we can’t keep feeding it dolphins. We’re working on deer right now to feed it, but we have some red tape to cut through right now. Its adult stuff you wouldn’t understand.”

  Mayor Johnson overheard what was said about the deer. “I can help with the deer. I will make sure it happens for you. I don’t want anybody to miss this show. Perhaps we can make it so you can do two shows a day. I will get to work on it after I enjoy my lunch here, of course.”

  General Poe liked what he heard. He was hoping he could eventually increase the shark’s feeding to two shows. He looked at his watch. “I guess it’s time for lunch.”

  Gus Haddon was busy flipping burgers. It wasn’t what he had in mind when he got the job at the park, but now he was making nearly double what he was making at the fast-food joint. For once he felt pride in what he was doing. He slapped slices of cheese on several burgers and covered them. Until now, he had never made so many burgers at once. This job was going to make time fly by and not give him any time to think about how pathetic his life was. Instead, he now felt a sense of pride since he was told his cheeseburgers were the best around. He heard his name being called, and he turned to see his friends Jake Reynolds and Marie Shelby waving at him. He waved back and turned to take his burgers off of the grill.

  General Poe led the mayor and Mr. Forenstein with his family into the burger restaurant and ordered several double cheeseburger dinner platters. He had them taken to the tables with the others and sat down. Around them he could hear people talking about the park. He heard several conversations about the shark, a couple conversations about the zoo, but one conversation he heard alarmed him. Somebody was on their cell phone talking about how PETZ was right about what they were saying. She was saying all the creatures at the park were an abomination and, they all should be destroyed. She continued to say everyone involved with the park should be arrested and thrown away to rot in prison. General Poe was about to address the situation but was stopped by Mr. Forenstein.

  “Not everybody is going to enjoy the park, general. I’m sure our zombies aren’t going to appeal to everyone who visits here. They’re Americans and it’s their right to hate the park.”

  General Poe glared at the woman who was still blabbing on her phone, oblivious to the fact he was listening to her conversation. People like her made his blood boil, but Mr. Forenstein made a valid point. He would have to accept the idea there would be people who hated the park. He turned his attention back to his dinner. As he bit into his double cheeseburger, he imagined what it was going to be like for the enemy when they encountered his army of smart zombies. He had an army that could withstand any climate–hot or cold. They would have to deal with an enemy that was relentless and thirsty for the substance that flowed freely through their veins. He imagined an army of undead eating machines that left nothing in their path. Nothing was going to be able to stop them. He took a bite from the burger and smiled. America was never going to lose a battle while he was alive.

  Chloe walked with Ben across the building listening to the crowd as they viewed the different exhibits. She was gratified by how well the shark show had gone on its opening day. Now she was free to roam around, to answer questions, to make sure nobody got into a fight, and to hang out with Ben. She was amazed how well her year was going. A year ago, she was sitting alone in her house watching the discovery channel, dreaming about working with sharks and whales, and in the middle of it all, realizing how lonely she was. She had nobody to share her life with. Of course there was the occasional fling, but none of them ever amounted too much. Either she was a dull date or people were intimidated by her. She didn’t know which one it was, or perhaps she wasn’t meant to be paired with anybody. She had watched a program on TV about lonely people. It claimed that some people go through life never finding their soul mate. It’s not like they didn’t try, and some even tried marriage a few times, but still, there was an empty void in their hearts. Love had to be more than a physical thing; it also had to be an emotional thing. Sex played too much of a role in finding true love. She wanted stimulating conversation, romantic dinners, and walks across the beach, and most of all, someone to care about her and love her unconditionally. Until she had met Ben, all of that seemed like the impossible dream. He was different from the others guys she knew. He seemed to take an interest in her world and treated her as though she mattered. She had never felt so comfortable around a guy in her entire life.

  “What time is your break,” he asked her, stopping in front of the jellyfish tank.

  “Any time I want one,” she said. “Why? What do you have on your mind?”

  “I have something special arranged for us in the stadium. I promise you, it will only take a moment.”

  She smiled. “All right, I suppose I can spare a few minutes.”

  He led her into the stadium and over to a table with candles lit on it. A waiter and a young woman stood there waiting for them. Ben helped Chloe in her chair and motioned to the young woman. She began playing the violin for them while the waiter handed Ben something in a small, velvet box. Chloe stared wide-eyed at him as he got down on one knee.

  “Chloe, I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but I feel as though I’ve known you for my entire life. I never knew what finding your soul mate was until I met you. I love everything about you and your world, and I want to be a part of it. I can’t imagine my world without you in it. Chloe, would you take my hand in marriage?”

  She didn’t know what to say. She was taken completely by surprise. She looked at the ring he was holding for her to see. It was beautiful. She could tell by the way the ring looked that he was serious about his proposal. She looked him in the eyes and said, “Yes.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The day before the costume party, Mr. Forenstein sat in his office with Ben Cutler going over the numbers. The park was bringing in more money than was expected. Mr. Forenstein looked at Ben. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Sure about what?”

  “About Chloe, Ben. You just met her. How could you possibly know she’s the one already? It’s like taking a leap of faith.”

  “My heart told me she’s the one. Listen, I’ve never met anybody like her before. She’s the first girl I’ve met who acted as though she cared. Most girls I’ve met only wanted one thing, and once they got it, they were gone leaving me with a bogus phone number. I’m tired of girls like that. I want somebody to enjoy life with and to grow old with.”

  “I see you put a lot of thought into it. When are you getting married?”

  “In June if we can get a banquet hall for the reception.”

  Mr. Forenstein stood up and walked over to a filing cabinet. “Nonsense, Ben. You’re part owner of a zombie park. Have the reception in the aquatics building. Hell, have the ceremony in front of the shark cage. If you really want to impress her, suggest it to her. I’m sure she will love you even more for it. Hell, if it works out, it’s something we can offer to
more couples wanting a place to get married.”

  Ben thought about it. It did make sense to have the wedding there. The shark was something Chloe held dear to her heart. Why not include the shark in the ceremony? He looked at Mr. Forenstein. “I will ask her at the costume party tomorrow night.”

  “What are you two dressing up as tomorrow? Remember, everybody who wears a costume to the park tomorrow gets in for free.”

  “I’m going as Prince Eric and Chloe is going as Ariel.”

  “The Little Mermaid,” laughed Mr. Forenstein. “She’s going to love getting married in front of the shark.”

  “Well, I’m heading home to the family, Ben. I will see you at the park tomorrow. Or should I say Prince Eric.”

  Billy was watching cartoons when his father arrived home. He was carrying a pepperoni pizza and a bag of breadsticks.

  “Daddy’s home, and he brought home pizza!” he screamed, running to greet him at the door.

  “Whoa, cowboy. You don’t want me to drop the pizza on the floor. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

  Mr. Forenstein carried the food into the kitchen and placed it on the counter and gave his wife a kiss. “You have the night off from cooking.”

  “My knight in shining armor. What will I do with my night off? I’m kidding. I do appreciate you bringing dinner home. I will get the plates.”

  “By the way, Billy wants to spend the entire day at the park tomorrow. He can’t get enough of the zoo.”

  “The entire day? I thought Billy would be tired of the zoo by now. Why didn’t you ride any of the rides?” asked Mr. Forenstein, putting a couple slices of pizza on a plate and placing in front of Billy.

  “You can’t eat cotton candy or popcorn on the rides. I like looking at the animals, especially the ones who attack the glass,” said Billy.

  Mr. Forenstein laughed. “There are certainly a lot of them that do that. We had a snake this week I was certain was going to break through the glass. Lucky for us it didn’t.”

  “Are you sure they can’t break through the glass?” asked Mrs. Forenstein, taking her place at the table. “Should I be worried about Billy?”

  “Relax, the park is perfectly safe. I assure you, nothing will happen at the park. I showed you all the security precautions the park has.”

  “How come the park doesn’t have a petting zoo?” asked Billy, dropping pepperoni on the floor.

  “Billy, that’s a silly thing to ask. Why would you want to pet any of them, anyway?”

  “I don’t want to. I just want to eat cotton candy.”

  “And popcorn…and candy…and ice cream,” laughed his mother.

  Donnie Jorsen sat at the table with Luke Anderson looking through the notes he had jotted down the night before. “How many of our people agreed to help in the cause, Luke?”

  “A couple dozen. The rest are too damn afraid to let the zombies free. One of them went as far to tell me we’re worse than the people running the park.”

  Donnie looked at him. “Perhaps we are. Remember one thing, though, we didn’t create the zombies, they did. Now they can die with their creations. The underground bunkers are fully stocked. We can house two hundred or so people in them and survive a long time through a zombie outbreak.”

  “It will get ripe down there with so many people.”

  Donnie shuffled his papers. “Don’t worry; I have a plan. We won’t have to stay underground forever. We’ll find a place with a security fence like a prison, clear it out, and live there. That’s how they did it for a while in the Walking Dead. We just have to keep it secure and hope nobody brings a tank to destroy it.”

  “Are you sure you want to go through with it? I mean, is a zombie apocalypse really what you want?”

  Donnie glared at Luke. “Are you having a change of heart? I thought you were on my side.” He produced a handgun from his holster and pointed it menacingly at him. “You better make up your mind quickly. I can spare you from all of it. All you have to do is say the word.”

  “I’m on your side, Donnie. I’m just making sure you know what you are getting yourself into. A lot of innocent people are going to die.”

  Donnie laughed and put his gun back into its holster. “There is no such thing as an innocent person. We are living in sinful times. The world is filled with fornicators, rapists, child molesters, cheaters, liars, hell; I can keep this up all day. Let me spell it out for you; God flooded the entire world once because of the same damn thing. Tomorrow I’m going to play God and bring this world into judgment. I hope I can count on you to do what I’ve instructed you to do.”

  “You can count on me, Donnie. I’m responsible for letting some of the animals loose.”

  “And my team will be responsible for letting the zombies loose. What happens if they attack us?”

  “Damn it, Luke. Do I have to hold your hand? Shoot the damn things in the head! Don’t you watch movies? You have to shoot them in the head!”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Kathy’s head ached. She didn’t understand it, but she knew something was wrong. She knew it had something to do with her husband’s cure. She needed to see his notes regarding it, but she didn’t know where he was keeping them. She knew he was busy working with his smart zombies, so she had some time to search for them. She knew he would have them written down on paper because he didn’t trust the security of computers. He didn’t trust the people using the computers. He hated the thought of a hacker combing through the internet highway searching for unsecured information, so he could wreak havoc on the unsuspecting victim. She knew he was being his paranoid self, but she knew there was something valid behind it. Her work had been hacked a couple of times, but nothing that threatened national security.

  She glanced around the room searching for anything unusual catching her eye. She was searching for a stack of paper piled haphazardly or strewed about like a tornado had rearranged them. Her husband didn’t have a reputation for neatness, and she was hoping she could use it to her advantage. Nothing seemed to fit the description she was searching for until she saw a metal table in his office with several beakers securing several stacks of paperwork in place. This has to be what I’m looking for.

  To say she felt ill was an understatement. Pain coursed through her body alerting her to the fact she was running out of precious time to counteract the effect she was experiencing. She couldn’t let the urge to leave and seek out meat and rip through its fleshy surface overcome her. She knew the monster she was changing into. It would be more violent and blood thirsty than the zombie she had once been. She knew she wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to kill a second time. On uneasy legs, she staggered to reach the metal desk before it was too late.

  She made it to the desk and steadied herself. Another wave of nausea threatened to bring her to her knees. She fought to regain her footing and grabbed the corner of the desk and brought herself upright. She waited impatiently for the nausea to pass before reaching for the first stack of papers. They had nothing to do with the cure. She tossed them aside, oblivious to the fact she was causing chaos in her husband’s office. She reached for the second stack and grabbed the top sheet containing everything she needed to know about the serum.

  Suddenly, she felt as though she had been exposed to radiation for an extended amount of time. She dropped the paperwork and dropped to her knees. Keloids were rapidly developing on her body like a page from hell’s coloring book. She was then hit with a wave of bloody vomit and diarrhea. She felt a monster inside trying to overthrow her brain–bloodthirsty and relentless. She crawled slowly to the back of the office and over to a glass cabinet door so she could see her reflection. Death stared back at her. The grim specter of disease haunted her once beautiful face. The germs ate her flesh, leaving just enough for them to survive. She passed out and let her head fall hard to the floor. The disease was about to rob her of her humanity, leaving only a bloodthirsty monster behind.

  Hearing the commotion from the other room, Professor Hollman
entered to come face to face with a monstrosity. He was taken aback with the thing that stood in front of him, snarling like a rabid dog. It was no longer Kathy. His eyes bulged in fright at the thing. With blood drooling from her lips, she shambled toward him. He stood frozen in place. The flesh-hungry ghoul batted the air and growled. He turned to run, but tripped and fell to the ground. He suddenly heard a shot ring out.

  General Poe stood near the crazed creature with his weapon drawn. He fired two rapid shots and then fired a third just to make sure. She fell forward, barely missing the professor as she fell to the ground. Blood showered him like a torrential downpour. He looked up and saw a hand outstretched to him. He grabbed hold and was brought to his feet.

  “Damn, professor. If I had been another second late, you might have been zombie food. What the hell happened?”

  He stared at the creature occupying the floor. He was at a loss for words. His serum needed tweaking. He looked at the general. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I don’t know what went wrong.”

  “I do. Your damn serum doesn’t work. Now I have to cleanup all of this. I already reported your serum was a success. I can’t backtrack on my word now. Do you know how much funding we’ll lose if word of your failure gets out? None of what happened here today can ever leave this room. Do you understand me, Professor?”

  “People will wonder what happened to her. What will I tell them?”

  “Idiot. Tell them I banned her from the park. She went home to her parent’s house in disgrace. Something like that. It doesn’t really matter what you tell them. Just don’t tell them the damn truth!” He turned to leave. “Have the smart zombies help you move her body out of here.” He left.