by Joseph Zuko
The Infected: Torn Apart
By Joseph “Zombie” Zuko
This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living, dead
or undead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2018 Joseph Zuko
All rights reserved
Thank you to Josh McCullough, Linda Kim, Katie Zuko and Pam Anderson for helping me edit my book.
Thank you to my Mom and Dad for always being so supportive.
Thank you to Sam for the idea to start writing books.
Thank you to my wife, Katie Zuko. She cheers me on like I am her local sports team and thank you for not letting me give up on my dreams.
Dedicated to all three of my zombie loving children.
Thank you to the fans of The Infected Series.
Without your support I wouldn’t have had the guts to finish any of The Infected series. You have all changed my life for the better. Your positive reviews and comments kept me motivated to finish these books. Thank you again.
Cover art by Paul Copeland
[email protected]
How this whole damn thing started.
A short story about Joe Zuko.
In 1997, I was a freshman in college, had a full-time job and had just turned nineteen. I still lived at home with my folks and they told me that if I wanted to start building credit I should go to Sears and get a credit card. I was a man now, so I needed to have credit in order to buy things in the future, right? No one wants to marry a man that isn't up to his eyeballs in soul crushing debt. At least that's what I thought back then. I ran down to Sears, applied for a card and got approved for about three hundred dollars. I didn’t need a Kenmore washer and dryer. I didn’t need Craftsman tools. I owned a TV already and computers cost too much. I did the manliest thing I could do and bought a Playstation and the game Resident Evil 2. The game scared the poopoo out of me. I played late at night in my dark room and jumped at every scare. After that I was hooked. Zombies terrified me, and I loved it. The idea that anyone could get infected and be turned into a lethal killing machine thrilled me to the bone. Grandma gets bit on the hand and now she can’t be trusted. She wants to eat your face. That’s really, really scary. I don’t care who you are. If Grandma wants to tear out your guts and chew on them, that’s scarier than sharks, chainsaws, dying in your dreams or camping with a maniac. I hope you enjoy reading my nightmare.
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Character Recap:
Jim Blackmore - Husband to Karen Blackmore, father of Valerie and Robin. Yesterday he was an average appliance salesman. Now he is doing whatever it takes to keep his family safe from the infected monsters roaming the streets. Armed with his trusty spear and a heart full of determination, he fought his way out of Oregon and into Washington State to get home to his loving family. On his way across the city he was aided by his store’s warehouse worker, Devon, a young woman Jim saved in the graveyard, Sara, and the gun expert, Frank. Sadly, Sara is the only one to survive the first twenty-four hours.
The group was only a mile from Jim’s apartment when they were captured by an organized church run by a man known only as, Brother Paul. Jim’s team was released after they promised Brother Paul one thing: No killing. No matter what, they were forbidden to murder the living.
A gun battle forced Jim’s team to break that promise. Now they are targeted by a man that is even deadlier than the infected monsters roaming the streets of Vancouver. The group borrowed/stole a fortified school bus and are heading north to Battle Ground, Washington. After his fistfight with Dallas, Jim has more bruises and cuts.
Jim was just dealt the worst blow of this whole ordeal. In a horrible twist of fate, he hid his children on their armored bus, but what he wasn’t aware of was Shawna’s plan to escape at that very moment. She drove away with his weapons, supplies and most importantly his little girls. Heartbroken and on the brink of insanity, he has one goal. Get the girls back safe.
Karen Blackmore - This stay-at-home mother of two put up one hell of a fight the day the infection broke out. Armed with only a pistol, she kept her five-year-old and two-year-old out of the hungry zombie’s mouth. Karen traveled across the war zone, Vancouver, Washington, with her shotgun toting older brother, Troy, and their wheelman, Leon. The group headed for the safety of Karen’s mother’s house only to find that Penny had turned into one of the undead. Leon and Troy went searching for supplies while Karen was visited by a nasty crew of men led by a bastard, Eric.
She fought the son-of-a-bitch tooth and nail, damn near killing him, yet he was able to cling onto life for a few more hours. Once he woke up from his head injuries, Eric attacked Karen’s children. Her Mama Bear instincts kicked in and with Frank’s help she was able to save her girls. As she waited for Frank to pull the trigger and end the prick’s life, Karen felt her humanity slipping away. The fight to stay alive has pushed her passed the breaking point.
The straw that absolutely destroyed the camel’s back was watching Shawna drive away with her two babies. Will Karen be able to stay alive when she’s completely lost her mind?
Sara Foster – Don’t let this fiery redhead’s age or size fool you. This tough as nails college student can dole out zombie deaths as good as anyone in the group. Whether she’s using her custom bat blade or a rifle, she can hold her own. Jim found her being attacked in a graveyard by four teenagers. Filled with gratitude for the man that saved her, she’s in this fight till the end. In her time at Penny’s house she found herself drifting toward Troy. His rugged good looks and powerful arms were what she needed to calm her rattled nerves. After a nasty run in with a despicable pile of shit by the name of Ryder, Sara’s mind is set. If you threaten her, you better be ready to die. Today, she will be put to the test. Ryder caught back up with her, knocked her out, bound her limbs, tossed her onto his shoulder and raced away from her group. She’s all alone and at the mercy of a madman.
Troy – This big brother showed up in the nick of time and rescued his sister and two nieces from a nasty horde of monsters. With a shotgun and two crisscrossing fully loaded bandoliers on his chest, he blasted the heads clean off the growing horde of zombies that surrounded Karen’s apartment. A car crash left them stranded outside a police station. Seeking refuge and help from an officer, they ended up finding Leon in a cell. They escaped again in a stolen police cruiser and continued their journey to Penny’s house. Troy and Karen worked together to bury their deceased mother.
His level headed, and calm demeanor is exactly what the group needs as they venture further from the big city. Infected beasts aren’t the only things lurking in the woods.
Minutes after a tender moment with Sara, she was ripped from his side and taken by a deviant. At the same time, his two nieces are heading toward a church that wants them dead. He must make an impossible choice. Does he help his sister save the children, or does he go after his new flame?
Leon – He’s a jack of all trades. You want a perfectly cooked flapjack, he’s your man. You need a car hotwired, so you can get the hell out of dodge like a NASCAR star, you call Leon. Karen and Troy found this odd bird locked up in a Vancouver Police station. They sprung him on the promise that he would help them get to their mother’s. Leon developed a crush on Karen and the idea occurred to him that her husband may never show up. If he played his cards right Leon felt he had a solid chance to ease in there and fill Jim’s shoes. To Leon’s amazement, Jim showed up this morning with a group of people. During the gunfight Leon had Jim in his sights and could have snuffed him out right the
re. Troy got between them, not realizing Leon’s intent, and inadvertently blocked his shot. “I got time,” was Leon’s final thought on the matter.
His tone has changed after he realized that karma is swift and cruel in this new world. The idea of snuffing out Jim so he could climb into Karen’s bed has lost its luster. Luckily, they have picked up a newcomer to the group that is unattached. She is, however, uninterested in the weirdo but sees him as a means to escape. Shawna lures him with the promise of a raunchy rendezvous. He fell into her trap and she snatched the keys to the bus from his unconscious body. He is heartbroken. His only chance for redemption is helping Jim and Karen track down their lost girls.
Ryder – This foulmouthed sack of shit, showed up with a shotgun and a hard on for mischief. A constant flow of degrading and sexist remarks pours from the human garbage as he informs Sara and her group that this new world is ‘funner than hell! When there’s no pigs to get in his way.’ After a sick remark toward Sara, she couldn’t take anymore and knocked his block off. He vowed revenge and just might get it. Ryder has a new toy. Let’s just pray he doesn’t break this one.
Shawna Rollins – Karen gave this church member a choice. Come with them and fix Jim’s sliced shoulder or stay in a busted-up house, all alone. The marathon running and well trained E.M.T. made the smart choice and tagged along with the group, but that didn’t last forever. An opportunity presented itself, in the form of a horny Leon. In a strategic move she brutally took down Leon and apprehended the keys to the war rig. What she didn’t know when she raced for the horizon was there were two stowaways on board. What will she do once she discovers the babies? Will she do the right thing and return them, or use them as leverage?
Scott – Brother Paul’s trusted I.T. guy and the eyes and ears of the church. He tracks the coming and going of church personnel. Now that they have abandoned their beloved church, he’s had to get his hands dirty and kill a few infected on his own. Will he be able to keep his sanity in a world he was clearly not built to survive?
Michael Caruthers – This young Pastor is one of the newest members of the church. He’s also a bit of a germaphobe, so fighting a horde of infected humans is an entirely new level of hell. His key role has been to comfort the flock but being a shoulder to cry on means having someone’s snot and tears rubbed into his shirt. Gross. He wanted more responsibility as a decision maker for the church and he might get more than he bargained for, as harder and harder choices must be made to insure the safety of his people. After helping Scott locate a suitable location for them to set up shop and ride out the apocalypse, he got a chance to get closer to one of the church leaders, the stoic Doctor Lindsey Bryant.
Doctor Lindsey Bryant – After twenty-four hours of in depth research, she’s come to one profound conclusion. Humanity is totally screwed. Doc has crunched the numbers. She’ll be staring through a rifle scope, not a microscope, by the end of the day. She had a close call with an infected and during her struggle she concluded one thing. Lindsey needs to get laid, before she meets her end and her sights are on Michael. Will she have time to squeeze in a booty call or will she be too busy shooting hordes of infected?
Cooper – Quickly becoming Paul’s right-hand man. This young man saved the day by showing up with a semi full of supplies and used the big rig as a battering ram. He destroyed half of an attacking horde and rescued his beloved church members. Once the order was given to abandon their church, he helped fend off the advancing army of the dead. His main mission was to get the semi rolling. The supplies in the trailer are enough to keep the congregation fed and clean for months. After a few close encounters with the infected, the cab of the big rig is coated with blood, but that didn’t stop Brother Paul from riding shotgun as they followed the church’s convoy out of Vancouver.
Lisa – This woman led a team of young congregation members named, Mason, Alayna and Brady onto a military base looking for help, but all they found were infected soldiers. The one useful item they managed to confiscate was an armored Humvee with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted to the turret. Sitting in the driver’s seat, she used the heavy-duty vehicle to escape the clamoring hordes that threatened to devour their church.
Brother Paul – A mysterious gentleman that leads a highly organized, religious group located in the center of Vancouver. The church is well stocked with medical and food supplies. On top of that, they are armed to the teeth with automatic rifles. Jim and his crew stumbled upon them by accident and after a tense interrogation about where they were going and what their intentions were, Brother Paul had one final question for them, “Are you evildoers?”
Even with all his meticulous planning and the stockpile of weapons, his Church came very close to joining the growing legion of infected humans that dominate the population in Vancouver, Washington. Paul has been pushed too far and has lost too many loved ones this morning. His younger brother Eric and the rescue team he dispatched to find him were all sent to meet their maker. Brother Paul blames one man for all his loss. Jim Blackmore. Blinded by hate and a burning desire for revenge, Paul wants one thing, to take his family away and leave him a broken man.
The threat of another massive horde forces him to make a bold move and leave his beloved church. His faith is at the breaking point. ‘God must have a plan for me.’
For now, it seems like heading north was a smart move. Less population means less of the infected trying to eat your guts. Their new sanctuary takes the form of a massive fenced in building surrounded by forests of evergreens. The only downside to this new home is that it has current occupants. They seem friendly, but it’s too early to say if this union will last.
Cane – The axe wielding leader of the new group. Little is known about the man. His dark eyes, blood splattered clothes and gruff demeanor make him a difficult man to read.
Chapter 1
Claws scratched against a metal surface as feet shuffled in the soft mud. The creature gargled. Enamel cracked as its jaw crashed shut. The unnerving sound was enough to yank a man from unconsciousness. Ryder’s blood-soaked face snapped forward, his expression flooded with confusion. A loud groan escaped as he raised from his back. Every part of his body ached. More pain than he had ever experienced in his life. Both the back of his skull and his cheek throbbed in agony. Ryder had been knocked unconscious twice in less than an hour.
That must be a record. His twisted mind searched for something positive and that was the best it could do given his condition.
The upside-down world around him came into focus. His butt sat on his car’s dome light. Cubes of broken glass encircled him. He was wedged between the bucket seats. The engine ticked as it cooled. The smell of gasoline and oil rushed his nostrils as he sucked in a full breath. A pain stabbed at his side and he attempted to comfort it.
He slurred, “That’s a busted rib.” Ryder tasted iron on his lips. He ran his giant mitt across his busted mug. His hand was wet, and his face wetter. Ryder discovered gouges on his palm and his cheek. Instead of wiping the crimson away, he only added more slop to the mess.
He grunted. “I’m a fucking disaster.” His voice caught the attention of the scratching beast.
An infected man dropped to its belly and pawed at the open window. It reached for Ryder’s boot as it slid itself into the upside-down vehicle.
Ryder growled, “Fuck off!” as he kicked at its skull. Its nose cracked, and its lips split, but from this angle he couldn’t get enough leverage to do any real damage to its brain. Ryder’s movement was restricted in this confined space, but he managed to scoot away from its snapping teeth. The dead man’s face was old and leathery. Decades of outside work had covered his skin with deep groves.
Bitemarks wrapped around its limb and the guy was missing a pinky. A jagged hole remained and exposed the white bone of its knuckle. As Ryder pushed himself outside, he found his pistol laying in the mud. The infected man clutched Ryder’s ankle and gnawed at the toe of his boot. Ryder scooped up the gun, aimed it at the creature’s
wrinkled face and squeezed the trigger. The bullet punched through its black eye and exploded out the back of its skull. Ryder kicked his leg from its grip and crawled to freedom.
He found himself at the edge of a field. He strained and pulled himself to his feet. His legs were weak. Ryder fought to keep his balance. He leaned against the side of his car to stay upright. His vision blurred. Yet he was able to trace the carnage cut in the earth from the front of his car to a stretch of highway that sat seventy feet away.
A flash of memories came to him like a hundred mile an hour fastball.
The redhead on the armored bus.
She did this to me.
That fucking bitch!
He recalled chasing the yellow rig. Trying to kill the assholes with his pistol. Getting shot at by an assault rifle and losing control of his Pontiac Firebird. It was a whirlwind of screeching tires, busted metal and shattered glass as the muscle car rolled two times off the highway and came to rest on its roof.
Ryder’s face went flush. You couldn’t tell by looking at him because every inch of skin was covered with gore. He clenched his fists. His whole body shook with rage.
Ryder struggled with anger issues. Well, he didn’t think he struggled with anger. That was something the eggheads labeled him when he started going to school. To Ryder, getting into fights was more of a hobby. Instead of fly fishing or building model trains he loved pushing people’s buttons. He got off on sucker punching a fucker in the face. He reveled in watching grown men cry because of some pain he inflicted on them.
