“How long do you think you can hang on? Could we send help?” Henry Williams asked into the microphone.
“No. Don’t. Don’t send anyone. It would be suicide. There must be a thousand of them trying to get in.”
“Tell Vicky that I love her. Tell her I’m sorry.” The line clicked off. Vicky, a stocky brunette with tattoo sleeves breaks down in tears and flees the room.
“Fuck. Oh shit. Did anyone tell David? What are we going to do? Someone has to go out there, don’t they? They can’t just leave them out there. Somebody better tell Dave, he’s not going to be happy about this. Jesus, someone has to tell Tara and Heather. God they are going to lose it.” A dozen conversations break out all at once. A ringing filled the air, it echoed through every room in the house.
“We will be sealing the doors in five minutes. If you have any outside business, now is the time.” People began getting up and departing the living room. Some kiss their wives, others take one last sip of coffee before departing to do their assigned jobs locking down the building.
Five minutes later the thick steel doors were swung into place overtop the wooden doors. Large steel crossbeams are placed overtop and drilled into iron plates welded to the steel frame of the building. The beams were then fastened to the wall with large carriage bolts. This was done to all three of the first floor exits. The only ways in or out now were from rope ladders on the second floor, or a rope bridge walkway that leads out to a sniper’s nest in a large oak tree where there are rungs attached leading to the ground.
Upstairs in the “War Room” two men and one women are sitting in desks against the wall each scanning different radio frequencies. There is a large desk on the other side of the room were several people are standing around a map. There translucent red circles of varying sizes covering the map.
Nathan Cafferty ran up the stairs to make sure David knew what was going on. He stood in the doorway and listened to the conversation.
“Newest report shows a flow heading north up the coast. And just received word that Billings is a total loss as well.”
“So, what are we going to do about the base?”
“I don’t know, maybe nothing.”
“Nothing?” The other man sounded angry.
“We can’t risk any more lives at this point. We at least have to wait for the area to clear.” David said stepping away from the map. The other man reaches out and grabs him by the shoulder turning him back around.
“But they might be alive.”
“Maybe. We have to be patient. We watch the area, when it clears, we can reassess.”
“God damn it that’s my brother out there. David.”
“I understand that, and I’m sorry. But Bret knew the risks when he volunteered.”
“Dave. Please.”
“Carl, that’s enough. I was chosen to be in charge. Sometimes being in charge means you have to make the difficult decisions. We can’t risk a rescue mission, not yet.” Carl was still fuming. David knew any more debating would be futile, so he decided to finish with. “I’m sorry Carl. My decision is final.”
“You motherfucker.”
“It’s time to go Carl.” David said plainly. Two men walk up to him, one of them places a sympathetic hand on his shoulder that he promptly shrugs off before storming out of the room.
“You really going to leave them out there?” Asks one of the men.
“Yea, it sucks, but yea. Marissa, have everyone gather in the living room. I’ll be needing to make an announcement.” Dave said.
Once David had everyone gathered in the living room, he walks up to the podium. When all the families present, their little survivalist group swelled to about fifty, and they filled the room. David Parker, elected leader of Bitterroot Valley Survivalists, and local muffler shop owner walks up onto the small stage and grabs a microphone off the table.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’ll keep this brief as we still have many preparations to complete. For those who have not been informed, have are in the midst of a global zombie infection. Every major city has already been reported as a total loss. Virtually every country has reports of infected, very few were able to contain the infection. Be aware! The infection is at our doorstep!” David began yelling as he felt he was losing the attention of some of the crowd. “We have confirmed reports of undead inside of ten miles!” There were audible gasps, and a ripple of chatter erupted throughout the crowd. “Calm down! Calm down!” Dave yells holding his hands in the air. “This building is secure! We are safe inside these walls! As long as we keep calm. As long as we work together, we will survive!” He yells over the talking. He lets his hand drop the microphone away from his mouth. David pulls out a stool and takes a seat letting the crowd calm down for a moment. He stands back up when questions begin flowing in from the crowd.
“Who confirmed the undead inside ten miles? Why aren’t you talking about the base?” David puts the microphone up to his mouth but waited to speak until the crowd quieted.
“As I’m sure most of you already know, the group that went to the military base are believed to be lost.” Another ripple of excitement from the crowd. David again waited for them to quiet. “We received radio contact from Larry Jackson, and he informed us that he was trapped inside the base, and that they were completely surrounded. He also advised that Gerald “Mac” Macintosh, Levi Carson, Bret Paisley, and Shane Newnan are all known to be dead.” Another ripple of excitement and some wails from the back of the room. “We are not, I repeat, attempting rescue at this time. We will attempt to get surveillance on the area and reassess when the area clears out.”
More chatter, and a few curses are flung from the back of the room.
“For those of you who are new, I say welcome, and I look forward to meeting all of you individually, but as you can imagine this is a very busy time. If you have not received a duty assignment please see Sue, she can be found in this office to your right.” Dave points at a glass window showing a small desk and a row of filing cabinets. “Thank you.” Dave turns off the microphone and sets it down on the table next to the radio. He turns and disappears up the stairs.
“David!” Sue runs into the room, all three hundred pounds bound through the door. “Carl Jackson, and Floyd Osborne took off, they’re gone!”
New York City
Saturday 4:10 PM
Abeline sits alone at the exit of the sewers, she hunkered down against the edge of the culvert. She has a set of heavy metal bars in front of her as protection, though they do obstruct her view. She had been sitting here for a few minutes watching and listening to the city. She couldn’t hear anything, which she found odd with over nine million people in the big apple, and the way those things were constantly making noise. She found it very odd that there was complete silence. She got to her feet and walked back to the boys. They were all sitting in a circle sharing two cans of ravioli.
“So how does it look?” Asked John.
“It’s quiet.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Asked Caleb.
“Maybe. But I want to know where they went. There are over 9 million people in the big apple, I don’t think they would all just leave do you?”
“Maybe they all went toward that big explosion we heard earlier.” Stated Alex.
“That might just be it. But we don’t know for sure.” Said Abeline as she took a seat along with the boys. “It just makes me uneasy, I guess. I’ve just always been able to hear the city in one way or the other.”
“But if they all left, wouldn’t that be good?” Asked Tommy.
“Yes, it would be. Just be on your guard when we get out there, we’re going to move slow and quiet, stay close to the buildings, and stay right behind me.”
“Yes ma’am” The four boys said in unison.
The tunnel they were in runs adjacent to the red line exiting into Van Cortlandt Park. Abeline sat and listened again for a while before pushing open the metal grate. As they moved through the park, they walked down close to the
waterway, all of them watchful for any movement. They passed an empty playground, the empty swings gently swaying in the breeze causing the chains to squeak. Each high-pitched sound is like nails on a chalkboard for Tommy, who was a bundle of nerves on a normal day. Today he felt like he was stumbling through a nightmare. He’s been trying all morning to get control of his breathing, but he kept taking big gulps of air. His heartrate was increased, his palms were sweaty, and his vision occasionally blurred. He felt as though he was on the verge of hyperventilating, or passing out, or both.
They moved up against a building with brown marble on the side. Turning north they still didn’t see anyone in the street. Up four blocks, still no sign of life, or death. Just empty streets, and empty cars. The sidewalks, and the streets were stained red in many areas.
Abeline ducked behind a row of cars, the boys followed suit. She held her hand behind her and lowered it. As Abeline had instructed the boys before departing, the boys all lowered down to the ground. They didn’t know what was going on until they started to hear the moans. Then they started hearing shuffling feet. Tommy thought his heart was going to pound right out of his chest. He couldn’t breathe. They watched underneath the car and foot after foot shuffled by. They waited and watched as the group moved down the street. Alex couldn’t stop staring at one of them a black man, his right arm was severed. The forearm and hand dangling down by his waist attached only by his shirt. Alex was clutching on to his brother Caleb’s arm so hard that his fingers were turning white.
Slowly and quietly they moved north heading out of the city. Somewhere west of them another explosion is heard. The tremor could be felt through the cement. Abeline turned to see all four boys looking at her for the answer of what to do next.
“We could get to high ground, maybe we’ll be able to see what’s going on?” Abeline suggest, all three older boys nod in unison. Glancing up and down the street Abeline chooses what appears to be an apartment building, around fourteen floors or so, appears to be the tallest building around. The front door is found to be unlocked. Inside their noses are assaulted with a smell of musty rot. For Abeline, living beneath the streets of New York, it’s a smell that’s familiar to her. That is the smell of death and decay.
“Lord help us through these troubling times.” Abeline says clutching the cross dangling between her bosom. The Lobby was grey and black tile, there were several wood benches against the right-hand wall. There was also a window, presumably where the rent is paid. No one is sitting behind the window today. The sound of flies buzzing is the most distinct in the lobby.
Abeline saw a grey door marked Stairwell and headed to it. Once the door closed behind them the darkness enveloped them like a blanket. Abeline pulled a flashlight from her breast pocket and flipped it on. The small flashlight illuminated the hallway enough to see that it was pockmarked with blood and bullet holes. Several corpses adorned the stairs as they made their way up step by step.
Alex stumbled and almost fell stepping over a heavyset woman with half of her head missing. He was paying too much attention to the injury and missed his step. On the seventh floor they reached an obstruction, it looked as though someone had begun blockading the stairwell. There was a couch and some small side tables thrown haphazardly into the stairwell. It took them several minutes to scale the barrier, once above there were several areas of blood leading down the hallway. The door is hanging from one hinge and hanging ajar. Down the hallway two men appear from a doorway.
“Shit.” Abeline whispers glancing back at the boys behind her. There was no way to retreat quickly.
Abeline had just cleared the obstruction, and Tommy was right behind her. Abeline turned and fired. She nailed one of them straight in the eye, but her second shot went wide. The third hit the cheekbone but didn’t stop the attacker. Tommy cleared the obstruction in the stairwell, had his daggers out, and was on the move before anyone noticed.
“Tommy!” Caleb yells as Tommy moves past Abeline and lunges at the attacker. With daggers in hand he takes two steps and stumbles. Everything moves in slow motion as he watches the dagger falls free from his right hand. His eyes follow the beautiful shiny blade as it falls to the floor. His eyes move up just in time to see his flailing hand fall directly into the open mouth man coming down on him. Tommy held his hand out in self-defense, the grisly teeth immediately snapping down severing three of his fingers.
“Tommy No!” John screams as he pulls himself over the arm of a red couch. But it was too late, the man had fallen on him. Tommy’s eyes were wide with terror and pain. Abeline walks up closer to the fray and fired two rounds. One in the back of the head of the attacker, then one for Tommy. Only seconds have past, but to everyone who remained it had felt more like minutes. Abeline stands staring at the carnage at her feet unable to look away. Until a rustling in front of her takes her attention away. Three undead smash out of a door at the end of the hall. A woman along with two young girls are now sprinting towards them.
“Get up here and get ready, quickly. Take your time and take deep controlled breaths. Squeeze the trigger, do not yank on it.”
“Yes ma’am” They both said taking their stances. Alex couldn’t stop looking at Tommy. The left half of his skull was missing, and there was a widening puddle of blood forming underneath his head.
The boys aimed and took fire. Both missed their first and second shots. The three girls had already covered over half the distance between them. Caleb clipped the shoulder of the little blonde one, it ripped through the flesh but did nothing to slow the young girl. She screeched as she sprinted through the hallway.
“Focus.” Said Abeline sternly. Finally, John made a shot that hit its mark. The mother fell to the ground with a perfect circle over her right eye. Johns next shot hit one of the girls and she fell. Caleb makes the final shot, the last of the girls falling just a few feet short of where Tommy’s body was.
“Caleb, collect the daggers.” Abeline said coldly. The three boys stood in shock watching as Abeline walked past them and turned up the stairs and walked out of sight. Caleb shuffled over to the pile of corpses in the hallway. Tommy was lying on his stomach with his head facing to the right. His eye was still open. Caleb wanted to push his eyes down like they did in the movies, but there was a lot of blood and he really didn’t want to touch it. Picking the dagger up off the ground he looked at the shiny blade, Tommy had been so excited that he was given the daggers. He saw himself killing zombie after zombie, seemed a shame to fail on your first try.
“Did she have to shoot him like that?” Alex asked.
“He was dead anyway, you know that.” Caleb responded coldly. He didn’t want his little brother to know hat he was on the verge of tears.
“I know.” Alex was looking at his feet. “Just seemed, I don’t know. Cold?”
“I know what you mean, like she didn’t care about him at all.” Caleb said returning to the others.
“C’mon, we need to get to the roof.” John said as he turned and led them up the stairs.
When they exited out onto the roof, they were all squinting and covering their eyes from the sunlight. Once their eyes adjusted, they saw Abeline standing near the edge of the rooftop looking out into the horizon.
“What is it Miss Abeline?” Asked Alex jogging up to join her at the edge.
“Trouble.” She replied.
Colorado Wyoming border
5:35 PM Saturday
Andrea Martin had been driving non-stop since leaving Marcus’ house in the wee hours of the morning. She had some difficulties skirting around Ft. Collins, but once she’d gotten clear of that city it had been fairly smooth sailing. The light had begun as a thin strip of light blue off in the eastern planes. In the last half hour had exploded into an array of pinks and blues that reminded Andrea of cotton candy. That beauty however can never last and was soon chased away revealing a crisp blue sky with some wisps of white clouds.
After hours of buildup, she had finally resigned herself to stop to take a
bathroom break. She had refused to stop while it was still dark outside. She pulled off the side of the road on a desolate stretch of land.
There wasn’t a car or house in sight for miles, no movement of any kind. Though she had pulled off next to a large shrub, thinking that she would go and squat behind it. As she began to make her way towards it, she realized how ridiculous the idea was in her current situation. She should be less concerned with her modesty and more concerned to see what may be coming her way. So, with those thoughts in mind she dropped her pants on the side of the road and urinated where she stood.
She was nearly knocked off her feet into her own urine stream when she jumped from a large explosion coming from the south. She pulled her pants quickly and up and stood, stumbling out to the middle of the road. A grey plume of smoke is rising into the sky disturbing the crisp blue sky. By her estimation it was no more than 20 miles back. She stood stared at the column of smoke rising into the sky for some time before returning to her car.
She had her hands on the steering wheel but hadn’t yet started the car. She could see the smoke in the rear-view mirror. Her mind was racing. One simple fact was weighing on her mind.
It was people. It had to be people that set off that explosion. Weather the explosion was in defense of the infected, or for some other reason, it was people.
The thought that finally made her turn the car around was, she needed to be with other people. She didn’t want to do this on her own. Leaving a tuft of smoke, the little blue car made a U-turn in the middle of the road and headed back in the direction she had just come. Back towards the explosion, towards people.
Fort Missoula Montana
Saturday, 7:49 PM
Carl Jackson and Floyd Osborne parked the truck just outside the guard post a ways down the road. They both had a handgun in hand and a rifle on their back they moved quickly and quietly along the front of a grey building. Around the corner they could see the vehicles left by the other group, there was a large garage door sitting open. Inside dozens, maybe hundreds of undead could be seen trying to get into the back of the building, presumably where his brother was.
The Z Strain Page 15
