Before Darren could shout a warning to the group, the zombie wrapped its arms around Dennis’ neck.
Dennis thrashed back and forth. The zombie was a kid, no older than eight or nine, but the infection gave it considerable strength. Dennis swung around in an attempt to loosen the creature’s grip around his neck.
The others yelled to Dennis to stop thrashing about.
Dennis’ movements only made the zombie hold on tighter. Joe and Samantha yelled at Dennis to stop moving so they could help, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Dennis panicked as he felt the creature’s arms tighten around his neck. Dennis stabbed at the monster with his knife, but missed the creature and stabbed himself in the shoulder instead.
“Get this fucking thing off of me!” Dennis shouted.
“Stop moving around!” Joe shouted back.
As Samantha brought the bat up to attempt to knock the creature off of Dennis’ back, she saw the thing sink its teeth into Dennis’ skull. Samantha looked on in horror as she heard its teeth crack through the bone.
Dennis’ eyes went wide and he stopped thrashing about. Blood flowed down his face as he realized what had happened.
Samantha couldn’t stop her tears as she watched Dennis fall to the ground. The zombie had pulled off a teacup-sized portion of Dennis’ skull and was greedily shoveling Dennis’ brains into its mouth.
Dennis collapsed onto his stomach, and three other zombies fell and tore apart his body.
“Come on!” yelled Joe as he grabbed Samantha’s arm. “We need to get the fuck out of here.” Samantha snapped out of her trance as she watched the monsters eat Dennis. She looked up and saw Darren’s boot leaving the cellar door. He was outside and needed all their back up. She hammered the baseball bat into the forehead of an attacking zombie and went to join Darren and David outside.
*****
On the other side of the basement, Walt and Cheryl walked up the staircase toward the false wall.
“You know this is a terrible plan, right?” Cheryl calmly asked.
“Yes, I do,” Walt responded.
The staircase was wide enough that Walt and Cheryl could walk side-by-side. The pounding on the fake wall was getting louder.
“It is like those bastards know we’re in here,” Walt said somberly.
“Great,” Cheryl said. “We can add ‘super hearing’ to their list of powers.”
Walt looked at Cheryl and smiled. Walt was glad to have Cheryl next to him. She was a fierce fighter and never backed down.
Walt flinched as a zombie threw itself against the other side of the fake wall. Walt and Cheryl watched as the wood splintered and dust flew in the air.
“It’s almost through,” Cheryl said anxiously. “What’s the plan, Walt?”
“I really don’t have a plan,” Walt admitted. “I never got past the ‘we need the drugs in the pharmacy’ stage.”
Cheryl looked at Walt with hardened eyes, but before she could say anything, a zombie’s arm broke through the false wall.
Without hesitating, Cheryl grabbed the creature’s arm and pulled it through the wall and down the staircase. She ran after it, slammed her broomstick into its throat, and pinned it down. She used her other foot to stomp on the zombie’s head until all that remained was a bloody, pulpy mess.
Cheryl ran back up the stairs. In her absence, Walt had been forced to hold back two other zombies from getting through the hole.
“I think there may be one or two more behind these!” Walt yelled.
Cheryl grabbed Stevie out of Walt’s hands.
“Pull the fucker through the door,” Cheryl said.
Walt stepped back, and the zombie that held onto his shirt appeared through the hole.
Cheryl brought Stevie down on the creature’s arm. Its bones shattered beneath Cheryl’s blow, and Walt was able to escape the zombie’s grasp.
Cheryl handed Stevie back to Walt, and he thrust Stevie into the zombie’s stomach, pushing it back further into the kitchen.
Cheryl jabbed the broomstick through the hole in the door and caught a zombie in the eye socket. She pushed with all her strength until monster stumbled back.
This allowed Walt and Cheryl enough room to safely enter the kitchen.
Walt crouched down and went through the hole first and was greeted by the reanimated body of Barry. Barry had bite marks all over his body and his cheeks had been torn off his face. Barry’s eyes had the same look as Hector’s had. There was nothing remotely human left inside. Barry was nothing more than a meat machine who acted on pure instinct. All that drove Barry now was to kill, eat, and infect.
Walt immediately brought Stevie up from his crouching position and caught Barry underneath the chin. Barry’s head snapped back, and Walt could’ve sworn he heard a cracking noise from Barry’s neck.
Walt saw Stevie’s nails as they poked through Barry’s mouth. Walt kicked Barry in the chest and sent him stumbling back as he dislodged Stevie from Barry’s chin.
Barry ran back toward Walt, but this time Walt was ready.
Walt stood in a batter’s stance, and when Barry was at arm’s length, Walt swung Stevie.
Stevie sunk into the side of Barry’s neck and head and temporarily stopped Barry’s assault. Using Stevie, Walt pushed Barry to the ground, freed Stevie from its fleshy target, and then crushed Barry’s head with one final blow.
Walt turned and saw Cheryl had pushed the refrigerator on top of two zombies. One of the creature’s heads had been crushed by its weight, while the other zombie was pinned by its legs.
As Walt and Cheryl caught their breaths, Walt walked over to the trapped zombie and smashed its skull.
“The pharmacy isn’t too far away,” Walt said as he breathed heavily.
“I sure hope your plan works,” said Cheryl.
“Barry had the same look in his eyes as Hector,” Walt said. “I’m more certain than ever that my plan is going to work.”
4
Lago Vista Clubhouse
Lago Vista, Texas
“Hold on, hold on,” Trunst said as he stood and held his hands up. “You’re telling us you want to detonate a nuclear weapon with the hopes it will possibly destroy the nanotechnology that’s controlling the infected?”
“Not exactly,” Butsko said.
“Then where the hell is the EMP blast going to come from?” asked Hall.
“Warfare,” replied Butsko, “is a funny thing. It’s not enough to just have the nukes. Nuclear weapons required a lot of upkeep.”
The others were focused on Butsko’s words. They’d all been around Butsko long enough to know that he never spoke just to hear his own voice. Whenever Butsko spoke, whatever he said was important.
“Nuclear weapons aren’t Legos,” Butsko explained. “As the technology advances, so does the upkeep. Some warheads get replaced, others get refurbished, and various equipment gets upgraded. This all comes at a very high price.”
“If I’m not mistaken,” Melvin interrupted, “the U.S. government spends around twenty-billion dollars a year on its nuclear arsenal.”
“That’s a pretty close number,” replied Butsko as he looked at Melvin. “And buried within that budget is money spent on the research and development of new, cutting-edge nuclear weapons.”
Butsko let that sink in as he looked at everyone. Sitting in the VIP room in the golf clubhouse as they talked about nuclear weapons and EMP blasts was surreal. If not for the topic of conversation, Butsko could almost trick himself into believing they were just a bunch of friends sitting around chatting.
Butsko knew, though, that what they were talking about might just save the world.
Maybe.
“Buried in the nuclear weapons budget for decades,” Butsko continued, “was money set aside for researching non-nuclear EMP technology.”
“Not too far from here,” Wilder said, “was a place called Schoepke Springs. It was a popular place to go hiking, camping, and swimming in naturally heated springs.”
“I know I could use a vacation,” said Vasquez.
Ignoring her, Wilder continued.
“All the land that the camping, hiking, and natural springs was located on,” said Wilder, “was owned by the Schoepke family, and had been for decades.”
“Since the early 1950s,” added Butsko.
“Underneath the springs is a top-security research lab,” continued Wilder, “that has been the leader in non-nuclear EMP research since the late 1990s. And like Butsko said before, not only were the scientists there successful—they weaponized it.”
“So sitting about fifty miles away from us is an arsenal of non-nuclear EMP bombs?” asked Mears.
“That’s what we’re hoping,” answered Butsko. “One thing I know for sure is that the research facility underneath Schoepke Springs was not conducting research on bio-nanotechnology.”
“Well, thank fucking God for that,” Steele added.
“The military decommissioned Schoepke back in 1990,” Butsko continued, “but suspected that the Schoepke’s kept their research going. The military kept a close eye on the Schoepke family from a distance.”
“So what the hell are we waiting for?” asked Jones. “We need to get our asses over there and find that bomb.”
“I hate to break it to you,” said Wilder, “but we’re already on that mission.”
“What we need is an organized and carefully planned course of action,” Butsko continued. “Other than having a layout of the facility, we have absolutely no other intel on the Schoepke labs.”
Butsko looked around at everyone as he spoke.
“We have no idea if the facility is overrun with the infected, we have no idea if there’s anyone holed up deep inside the labs,” Butsko continued, “and we certainly have no idea if the bombs even work.”
“Or if the bombs are even in the facility,” Melvin added.
“That’s a lot of ‘ifs,’” Fisher said.
“What we do know,” added Wilder, “is that if we sit here and do nothing, we’ll be dead in the next six months.”
“Okay,” said Cain as he stood from his plush, leather chair. “What’s the plan?”
“Gather around,” Butsko said as he smiled.
The others didn’t know what to make of Butsko’s smile. Either Butsko had everything all planned out, or he was about to suggest a plan so insane that the others would run away.
Butsko rarely smiled.
5
Will to Heal Center
Spicewood, Texas
Darren was surprised there wasn’t a horde of zombies outside the cellar doors for them. There were only six creatures waiting for them as they emerged from below, but Darren didn’t get a good look into the woods.
Darren was afraid the trees might hold more than a few surprises.
David, Samantha, Joe, and Darren formed a loose circle as they held off the zombies.
“Don’t forget the plan!” Darren yelled over the noise of the attacking creatures. “Once we kill these six fuckers, we’ll separate into pairs, and then we’ll meet up at the gas station.”
Darren was able to drop two of the creatures with head shots as they advanced, but the remaining four were too close.
Darren grabbed the machete and swung at the closest zombie. The creature’s arm fell to the ground, but didn’t slow the damn thing down.
Joe slammed the butt of the M1 against the one-armed zombie while Joe pushed the bayonet through the zombie’s skull. Joe knew this wouldn’t kill the creature, but at least it would slow it down.
David ran over to the zombie Joe had dropped and cut off the creature’s right leg under the knee.
“It won’t be getting up now,” David said as he winked at Joe.
They started to move as one while keeping their circular positions.
“Let’s move towards the fire pit!” David yelled to others.
Darren had a confused look on his face.
“The pool,” said Samantha to Darren. “We drained the pool and turned it into a fire pit to burn bodies.”
They moved as one. The three zombies followed them, but kept their distance.
“Why aren’t they attacking us?” Joe asked.
“Because we outnumber them?” Samantha answered with her own question.
“That’s never stopped them before,” David added.
The zombie closest to David was foul-smelling. Its eyes were milky white and it was surprising that it could even see. Most of the muscle in the creature’s leg was torn out. It was surprising the damn thing could even stand up, let alone walk.
The zombie also had most of the flesh on half of its skull stripped away. This gave the creature an even more horrifying look as it turned its head from side to side.
As David’s eyes remained fixed on it, the zombie took three quick steps forward and got closer to the group.
David didn’t hesitate and swung the axe at the creature. The zombie dodged back and avoided the blade, but David put his weight behind the axe and connected with the creature’s foot.
The axe removed the front half of the zombie’s foot and the creature hobbled as it tried to regain its balance.
Samantha cracked the bat against the zombie’s chest and the creature fell, but immediately crawled toward to group.
“Determined fuckers, aren’t they?” Joe asked.
As they turned the corner, the pool came into view, but so did four more zombies.
“Shit!” Darren yelled. “Four more by the pool!”
“I think I have an idea,” Joe said as he saw the bright red canister of gasoline by the pool.
“We’re all ears,” said David.
“We need to get all the zombies into the pool!” Joe shouted to the group. “We get them in there and then light them up!”
“How the hell do you suggest we get them in the pool?” asked Samantha.
As Samantha asked her question, Darren broke away from the group and ran toward the pool.
One of the zombies gave chase.
Darren, machete in hand, got to the edge of the pool and stood his ground. The zombie ran toward Darren and had no intention of stopping.
As it got closer, Darren raised the machete, but instead of swinging the blade at the zombie, Darren dove out of the way.
The others watched the creature fall into the pool, but there was nothing to celebrate.
As soon as the creature hit the bottom, it stood back up and moved toward the side of the pool. Darren wasted no time and shot the zombie in the head.
Darren ran back over to the group to see Joe pulling his bayonet out of the skull of a zombie. Samantha brought the bat down on the creature’s head several times until she heard its skull crack.
Around the far side of the pool, the group saw five more zombies emerge from the woods.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Darren said as he nodded toward the new zombies. “The woods are probably full of those bastards.”
“Joe,” Darren said, “your plan is only going to work if we can get all these fuckers in the pool at the same time.”
“I don’t think they’re gonna cooperate,” added David.
“Me neither,” agreed Darren.
Darren looked at the gas can.
“How much gas is in that can over there?” Darren asked.
“It is full,” David answered. “It’s the last of the gas. I filled it up by draining all the other equipment in the shed.”
The group looked at the eight zombies around them.
“We need to get them into a cluster,” Darren said.
Before anyone asked how, Samantha ran toward the five new zombies.
“Go!” shouted Darren to the others. “Follow Samantha! Run towards them!”
Two of the zombies broke away and followed the group as they ran toward the other creatures. One remained behind for Darren.
Darren darted toward the zombie in front of him and buried the machete into its side. He then kicked the creature backward.
Darren took advantage and quickly ran toward the gas can.
When Joe, David, and Samantha were fifty feet from the zombies, the creatures started to run toward them.
“Run behind the shed!” Darren yelled. “Get behind the shed!”
The three veered to the left and headed toward the structure. The five zombies in front and the two behind them followed.
Darren ran toward the shed and waited for Joe, David, and Samantha to run into the wooden shelter.
Darren stopped twenty feet from the zombies, who were now gathered around the flimsy shed, clawing to get inside. He removed his Beretta M9 side arm and cocked the hammer. With all his strength, Darren threw the gas can at the shed. He then aimed his pistol at the gas can and fired three bullets in rapid succession.
The gas can exploded in the air, igniting the flammable liquid. Fire rained down on the zombies as it engulfed them in flames.
Darren walked briskly toward the shed and shot three of the burning zombies by the door in the head.
The door was kicked off its hinges as Darren saw David emerge from the burning shed. Samantha and Joe were right behind him.
“That was your plan?” asked David. “Igniting everything on fire?”
“Why do you think I didn’t tell you what I had planned?” Darren asked as he smiled.
The four used their weapons and pushed the zombies that were on fire into the pool. They looked over and saw that the shed was engulfed in flames.
“Okay,” Darren said as he looked around. “I don’t see any more zombies coming out the woods.”
The others helped him scan the property.
“Joe, you and David head over that way,” Darren said as he pointed to the left. “Head into the woods and start making your way to the gas station. Samantha and I will head over that way,” Darren said pointing to the right.
“Do you think it’s still a good idea to separate?” asked Samantha. “There’s only four of us left.”
“Two people travel faster and are more quiet than four,” Darren answered.
“Should we go back and see if Walt and Cheryl need our help?” Joe asked.
Outbreak (Book 2): The Mutation Page 15
