He stood there like a statue staring at the door, as if it were going to alert him to the trespasser on the other side. He wondered why he was having such a rough time reaching a decision. Either he was going to open the door or he wasn’t going to open it. There were only two decisions he could make. Finally, against his better judgment, he began unlocking all the locks, and slowly opened the door. There wasn’t anybody there. He swung open the door and stood outside looking around. He didn’t see anybody or anything in the area. He decided he would search behind the nearby trees and bushes just to make positively sure nobody was hiding out of view. He didn’t want to have to keep coming outside of the shelter if whoever was pounding on the door became persistent. He looked back at the open door to the shelter and decided he wouldn’t be gone long enough to close it. He didn’t think he had anything to worry about.
He made his way across the yard to a cluster of trees that could easily hide a person without being seen. He kept his weapon ready to fire at a moment’s notice and stood in front of the cluster.
“If anybody is hiding behind the trees, I would show yourself now or I will be forced to kill you.” He waited several painstaking minutes before repeating himself. Still, there was only silence. His heart pounded in his chest. He took a step forward and peered around the trees. There wasn’t anybody standing there. He lowered his weapon and breathed a sigh of relief. He had let his imagination get the best of him. He turned and decided he had wasted enough time. He returned to the shelter and closed the door behind him. After securing the locks, he returned the shotgun to the shelf and snatched a can of peanuts. He decided he would relax by reading a book and snacking on the nuts.
He made his way over to a desk and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He heard a noise coming from inside the shelter. Ice shivered down his spine. Did someone get inside when I wasn’t looking? He put the can of nuts and the book down on the desk and stared in the direction of where he had heard the sound. Something was moving near the rear, directly behind several tall stacks of cardboard boxes. He retrieved the shotgun from the shelf and turned to head to the back of the shelter. A hand suddenly reached out and grabbed him around the throat. He stared wide-eyed at his attacker. It was an unholy thing staring at him with clouded over eyes. He tried to raise his shotgun, but the force around his neck was rendering him helpless. The creature continued to squeeze until it had brought him down to his knees.
The creature sank its teeth into his living meat and tore easily through it. Dixon tried to scream but his screams were lost in the gurgling of blood. Pain shot through him like lightning. He quickly brought the shotgun up to his face and fired, falling limp into the creature’s arms.
Chapter Thirteen
Officer Delgado fought against his restraints, trying to free himself. If everybody in the hospital turned into a zombie, he wanted to have a fighting chance to escape the hospital alive. He struggled but it only made matters worse. The more he struggled, the tighter the restraints became. He could hear several people coughing on the other side of the closed curtain, and it worried him. He knew he was rapidly running out of time. He had to find a way to escape his restraints before it was too late. The curtain swung open and Doctor Crownover returned, but it wasn’t actually the doctor. It was as he feared. Doctor Crownover had turned into a zombie. He had blood dripping from his lips, and his white coat was stained with a red substance. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize he was covered in blood. Beyond the opened curtain, he saw a couple more zombies and several dead bodies littering the floor in pools of blood. Some of them had their chest cavities exposed.
“Damn!” he screamed. “This is not the way I want to go!” He looked around trying to find a way out of his grim situation.
Doctor Crownover growled and took a step toward him. The only thing on his mind was feasting on Officer Delgado’s body.
Officer Delgado fought harder against his restraints. It couldn’t end like this. There had to be a way to free himself. He stared at the doctor as he drew nearer. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to free himself in time. He relaxed his head against the bed and thought about the accomplishments he had made in life. He thought about the friends he had made and the girl who had gotten away. He remembered the day they split up and went their separate ways. He remembered it vividly as if it were yesterday. It was the day after prom. They were having a romantic dinner together. He had spared no expense, serving steak and lobster and a fine wine. He didn’t care how much it cost. He had exciting news he wanted to tell her. It was the type of news she wasn’t expecting to hear. He told her after dessert of chocolate mousse he was becoming a police officer and had been accepted into the academy.
She had looked shocked by the news. She thought he was there to propose to her, but instead he announced the news she refused to believe. She was adamant about him not joining the police force. She refused to be married to anybody who worked in the military, on the police force, or in any other hazardous occupation.
He hadn’t considered she would be upset with his career choice. He was more surprised when she gave him a choice between her and being a police officer. For reasons he still didn’t understand today, he chose to be a police officer instead of marrying her. It was one of the decisions that still haunted him today. But none of that mattered now. Soon the world would be ruled by mindless zombies and all human emotion would be erased from the planet. He looked at Doctor Crownover who was nearly upon him. He closed his eyes and prayed. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and the doctor was standing near him with an ax sticking out of his head. A young woman with long, brunette hair retrieved the ax and looked at him lying on the bed.
“Are you human or zombie?”
“I’m human. And don’t worry, I haven’t been bitten or anything.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve been bitten. It’s airborne, remember? I heard them tell you it was. Let’s get you out of your restraints and blow this joint.” She went to work on his restraints.
“How do you feel?” asked Delgado. “Are you going to become one of those things?”
“Do you always ask so many questions?” She paused for a minute and laughed. “That’s right, you’re a cop. You spend your life asking questions. Come on; you can get up now. I don’t want to spend another minute in this place. Hospitals give me the creeps. And before you ask, my name is Roxy…Roxy Woodbury. Now follow me; I’m not sure if I killed all the zombies or not, and I don’t want to stick around long enough to find out.”
“There is nobody else left alive around here?”
She led him through the ER. “I didn’t find any humans if that’s what you’re asking. Everybody was sick when they got here. I’m sure they’ve all turned.”
“That doesn’t explain either of us. Why haven’t we changed into zombies yet?”
“I think I’m immune to the whole thing,” she said, taking his hand and dragging him to the exit. “As for you…well, you’ve been infected. I peeked at your charts. By all accounts, you should have changed by now. I don’t know why you haven’t, and I don’t have time to figure out why. All I know is you are still human and you know how to shoot to kill. Right now, you’re the person I need to survive until I can get to a safe place to ride out this apocalypse. How are you feeling right now?”
“I’ve had better days.”
She glared at him with a stern look. “I mean how do you feel right now…do you have any symptoms I should be worried about?”
“I have a headache.”
She felt his forehead with the back of her hand. “You have a fever. Right now I don’t know if that’s good or bad for you. You do realize if you turn into one of those creatures, I’ll have to kill you. I’m not going to think twice about it.”
“Do what you have to do. I don’t want to spend the rest of my unnatural life walking around as one of those things.”
“Good, then I think we have an understanding. Follow me, my car is over there.” She led him over
to a black Ford Mustang and helped him inside and closed the door. She got in on the other side. She looked at him seriously.
“Don’t confuse my kindness as a sign of weakness. In a different world I would rather kill a cop than help one.”
“Are you saying we’re friends now?”
She laughed. “Don’t press your luck. I just might find a reason why I don’t need you anymore.”
She tore out of the parking lot, barely running over a small group of zombies shambling toward the hospital. Officer Delgado watched the look on their faces. Every single one of them looked menacing and eager to rip into the living flesh of an unsuspecting human.
“You better get some rest. We’re heading to the mall. I need to pick up a few things I’m going to need if it hasn’t already been overrun with zombies.”
“What’s at the mall?” he asked quietly, closing his eyes.
“They have a gun store. If we’re going to survive, we’re going to need guns.”
“What happens if the mall is overrun with zombies? You don’t think we’re going to walk past them and enter the gun store without a fight?”
“Look in the back seat.”
He opened his eyes and stole a glance behind his seat. He smiled when he saw what goodies were lying back there. There were two chainsaws, three machetes and two swords. “I see you’re ready for battle.” He coughed.
She looked alarmed. He was sounding worse off than she was hoping. “Don’t you turn on me yet. I still need your help. I can’t take on all the zombies by myself.”
He closed his eyes. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m a stubborn man. I’m going to fight this thing right to the very end. I’m going to take your advice now and get some rest. Wake me up when we get to the mall.”
Chapter Fourteen
Captain Spanner gazed out into the crimson sea of defeated zombies, sickened by the fact the world had succumbed to such a violent end. All these dead bodies had once been real people with real lives. Now, they lay vicariously throughout the mall, as if their lives hadn’t any meaning any longer. It was times like this he regretted being a soldier. He wasn’t into the blood or gore, and he definitely wasn’t into the dead coming back to life. He made his way through the first level of the mall looking at the different bodies. Even in death it looked as though some families had died together. He stopped short of a woman lying on top of a man dressed in a suit. She was wearing a blue dress with white lace. Her arm was draped around the man lovingly. The scene reminded him of Romeo and Juliet. Even in death their love remained strong. He looked around him. The virus wasn’t prejudice against any religion, any race, any age, or any gender. It was an equal opportunity killer. He watched as several of his men were busy moving random bodies and taking them to a nearby restaurant where the bodies would be piled inside a cooler to keep them fresh. The last thing they needed was for the mall to get ripe with rot. His thoughts were interrupted by Brinke.
“What can we do to help?”
Captain Spanner looked at her curiously. “Are you sure you want to help? Your friend didn’t seem like he wanted any of you to get involved.”
“Listen, we’re not with him. He doesn’t control us. Now, if there is anything we can do to help?”
He looked around at all the pools of blood covering the floors. “We need to get this place cleaned up so we have a clean place to set up our command base. If it’s not too much trouble…”
“I know what needs to get done. I know where the janitor’s closet is located. I will grab the others and get to work on mopping the floors.” She turned to leave and then stopped. “You have checked the janitor’s closet for any of those things, haven’t you?”
Captain Spanner motioned for one of his men to join him. He approached the captain. “Yes, sir.”
“Private, escort this young lady to the janitor’s closet and make sure it’s been cleared.”
“Yes, sir.” He turned to Brinke. “Do you want to show me where we’re going.”
“I’m Brinke by the way. The closet is farther down the hall.”
“I’m Private Godard. Go ahead and lead the way.”
Brinke motioned to Emily, Patricia and Christina to join her as she walked down the hallway of the mall, carefully moving around the dead bodies littering the floor. She knew cleaning the blood from the floors wasn’t going to be an easy task, but it needed to be done. The others joined her and followed behind her and the soldier.
“How does it look outside the mall?” she asked the soldier.
“It looks like the pit of hell opened and released its demons. You don’t want to go out there, ma’am.”
“You don’t have to call me ma’am. My name is Brinke.”
“Sorry, ma’am…I mean Brinke. I was being courteous.”
Brinke took a right down a side corridor. “The janitor’s closet is down this hall and off to the right. It’s down from the bathrooms. I hope that area has been cleared.”
“Our orders were to make sure the whole mall has been cleared.” He looked at Brinke. “I’m sure the area has been cleared.”
Brinke stopped and looked around. “I don’t think this area has been cleared.”
Private Godard looked at her curiously. “Why do you think that?”
“Look at the floor. There are only a few zombies and hardly any blood. The other areas of the mall are all covered in blood.”
He looked around to confirm what she had just said. She was right. The area looked too clean to have been cleared. “Stay right here. I’m going to check the hall where the bathrooms are. I’ll come back to get you once I know the area is cleared.”
The group watched as he made a left down the hall leading to the bathrooms and janitor’s closet.
“What if he doesn’t return?” asked Patricia. “What do we do if something happens to him?”
“Relax, Patricia,” said Brinke. “He’s going to return. I’m sure the area has been cleared.”
“You don’t sound like you believe it.”
Brinke stared at Patricia. Something inside was telling her something was wrong, but she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted Private Godard to come back. She needed him to come back. She wished she knew what to do or say to ease the tension. It was hard, though. She knew whatever she did say would be a lie. She was imagining the worst in her mind. She kept her eyes focused on the hallway, thinking he was going to show up any second.
“This is taking too long,” said Patricia. “Something has happened to him.”
Private Godard cautiously made his way down the long hall. It was the same as the one he left Brinke and the others in. There wasn’t any bodies lying around and the floors were clean. He was sure somebody would have cleared the hall. He thought about turning around and leaving, but he had a job to do. He stopped to listen. He didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. He felt uneasy. Nothing in his training had prepared him for having to take on zombies. He was all alone, and he didn’t want to have to face zombies without any help from his comrades. Sweat was forming on his forehead. He continued down the hall thinking about pleasant things like Christmas morning. He loved Christmas. It was the holiday he looked forward to the most every year. It was his chance to take a leave from the military life and join his family at his mom’s house with her homemade cookies and her homemade triple berry pie. He came from a large family. He had two brothers and three sisters. All of them were married with families of their own except for him. He chose a different path that eventually led to him joining the military. He wasn’t the type who wanted to settle down and have a family. Instead, he preferred to stay single and enjoy the other aspects of life. Never in his wildest dreams did it ever lead to a zombie apocalypse. He thought about his family as he made his way over to a wooden door he figured was the janitor’s closet. He wasn’t sure how large the room was inside, so he knew he would have to be ready for anything.
He stood staring at the door thinking about Christmas last year. One of his broth
ers had announced he was moving to China with his family for a job promotion. He vividly remembered the look of sadness on his mother’s face. He could tell she didn’t want her son to leave the country. He remembered how she tried to talk him out of taking her grandchildren out of the country. She was afraid she wouldn’t get to see them again for a long time.
Tears stung at his eyes as he remembered the next part. She made an announcement she was trying to avoid discussing during the holiday season. She had recently gone to see her doctor and was given alarming news. She was dying from liver cancer, and the doctors didn’t give her much longer to live. In fact, this was most likely her last Christmas with her loving family. He wiped away a tear and continued to stare at the door.
She died three months later, one month after his brother had moved out of the country. It was the last time anybody had spoken to his brother. None of them had spoken since her death. He wondered why he thought about those memories. He sighed and thought about the mission at hand. He grabbed the door handle and slowly turned it. To his surprise, the door was unlocked. He turned the knob the rest of the way and slowly opened the door, and braced it just in case something was on the other side. He breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing was standing directly on the other side. He opened the door and felt for the light switch. He found it inches from the door and flipped it on.
The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 3): Plague of the Living Dead Page 11
