The new police officers drew their guns and shouted at the crowd. They told them to lie down on their stomachs with their hands clasped behind their heads. Instead of complying with the instructions, they turned, almost like one entity, toward the police. They rushed toward the cops, and the police opened fire. These police officers carried a combination of shotguns and pistols. They’re ready for trouble. Bullets ripped into flesh, but the crowd surged forward.
One or two from the crowd toppled because of the barrage, but the rest continued their relentless advance. Finally, the group descended on the new arrivals, and the guns went quiet. Like an all you can eat buffet filled with a group of hungry sharks, the crowd feasted on the officers. Blood and guts flew from all the biting, ripping, and tearing of flesh. Pam’s nightmare continued.
This event prompted Pam to dial 911 a third time. The harried operator didn’t even pick up the phone this time. Instead, a recording answered. “All circuits are currently busy, so please try your call again later.” Are you kidding me? She punched 911 into her phone again, and the same cheerful voice told her to try again later. Again and again, she tried. No one answered any of her calls for help.
###
Somehow, even after she witnessed the horrors of the night, Betty fell asleep. Pam continued to dial 911, but now even the cheerful voice which had asked her to try again later went on break. At first, her attempts resulted in only a ringing line. Later, nothing but silence. Not even a dial tone came from the handset anymore. Only dead air on the phone line, which told Pam no help would come.
The crowd in the lot had grown to around 25 or 30 people (Were they still people?) including the police officers and Pam’s young sales associate. How were they still able to wander the lot? Their injuries had been fatal, and all displayed the scares of their wounds. No one in the wandering crowd spoke any words. Their communication comprised periodic shrieks, moans, and groans that no longer sounded human.
Pam tried to call Mr. Harrison a few times during the evening, but no one ever answered any of her calls. None of the calls didn’t even go to voicemail. Crazed killers wandered the sales lot, and she couldn’t reach anyone to help them. What happened? How would Pam save them? Why did this happen, the one night Betty came to work with her? Maybe it was better to have Betty with her than home alone?
###
Pam jerked awake in a panic, not remembering where she was. Then all the memories of the nightmare her life had become rushed back to her as she realized she still sat in the sales manager’s office at Harrison Honda. Pam hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but the utter terror of what happened outside in the car lot had zapped her energy. Betty had been with her before she fell asleep, and now the office was empty. Fighting the urge to scream (she remembered noise attracted those things outside) she rushed out into the showroom to find her daughter.
Pam moved in a stealth manner through the building. With all the time she spent at the dealership, it had become a second home to her. She could see the bloody rag tag crew of murders still gathered in groups as they wandered around the lot outside. Betty wasn’t in the showroom. There’s a break room between the sales and service areas, and there she found Betty raiding the snack machines for her breakfast. Relief flooded Pam’s brain as the tension left her body. She wouldn’t have been able to continue if Betty had become one of those monsters.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming out here?”
“Mom, you were sleeping, and you needed the rest. Have something to eat. We need to figure out how to escape the zombies.”
Pam couldn’t help thinking how much her child sounded like the adult in this crazy situation. Betty showed no panic, as if zombies roaming the Earth were a normal daily occurrence for her.
While they ate, Betty continued with her explanation. “Those monsters outside are zombies. We need to escape to somewhere less populated. If Boston is the only place they’ve infected, the government will bomb us soon to contain the threat within the city. If they are in other locations already, then they are everywhere, and we’re screwed. We are the survivors and our only hope is to avoid them and stay alive.”
Pam couldn’t believe what her daughter just said. Zombies? Can’t be. Maybe? Is there any other way to explain how the salesman and cops rose to their feet after being mortally wounded? Where would they be able to go to find any safety?
“Based upon the news stories the last few days, I would say they are everywhere now. Don’t bother with checking the news today because there is nothing on the air anymore. A major hurricane hit the southern part of the country, so our only option is to head north.”
“What makes you such an expert on zombies, Betty?”
“Watching The Walking Dead and every other show or movie with zombies in it and reading every zombie book I could get my hands on. Don’t laugh. Look out the window and see for yourself. What other explanation could there be? I’m open to another if you have it.”
###
They gathered the remaining food and drinks from the break room while they continued to make their escape plans. The plan they come up with wasn’t complicated. Take the supplies, get a vehicle filled with gas (they sat inside a car dealership after all), and then drive northwest. The northwestern part of Massachusetts was rural, and the population sparse, so it should be the ideal place to hide and ride this mess out. Pam was optimistic help will come quickly, but Betty told her mother this won’t end anytime soon. It never does in any of the zombie stories Betty’s watched or read.
They parked their personal vehicle outside yesterday when they arrived at the dealership. The zombies are outside too (Pam couldn’t believe she called them zombies), so they wouldn’t be able to reach it without being swarmed. Plus, the gas gage on their old jalopy registered under a quarter tank of gas. She had planned on stopping for gas today, but the zombie apocalypse changed those plans. There are vehicles inside the showroom, but they have the batteries disconnected for safety, and Pam wasn’t sure how to reconnect them (she knows how to sell cars but has no idea how to fix them). The lot was full of plenty of other excellent choices, and Pam had all the keys in the showroom, but the zombies stood in the way. They needed to find a way to sneak past the zombies and get to an escape vehicle.
Inside the service area, there were two flatbed tow trucks along with three customer’s vehicles in various states of repair. Not knowing if the customer’s cars ran, they would have to pick one of the flatbed trucks. Pam had never driven a large truck before (she had an old Accord), but thankfully both trucks had automatic transmissions. One of them had almost a full tank of fuel. The keys were in the service manager’s office, so they had found their escape vehicle.
After a quick check, they found the zombies still wandering around the lot in front of the building. They were listless and shuffled back and forth between the cars with no logical destination. Last night the noise of the police officers’ shouts drew their attention, so Pam wondered how to get the door of the service center open and the truck through it without attracting any unwanted attention.
While she dwelled on those thoughts, Betty said. “Don’t worry, mom. The truck is enormous, and we can run those zombies down. It will be OK.”
Pam hoped her daughter was right.
They loaded the supplies, food, flashlights, and a few paper maps into the flatbed truck. Clipped to the sun visor, Pam found a transmitter that opened the rolling door so they could drive out of the building without leaving the safety of the truck’s cab. Pam turned the key, and the truck roared to life. It became impossibly loud inside the closed service area. Immediately, the zombies responded to the sound of the truck engine by scuffling around the side of the building, and they swarmed the service department’s roll up doors.
Pam reached up to press the transmitter to open the door, and at that exact moment the power winked out. The door stayed closed while the zombies pressed against the door. They moaned and shrieked while they banged against the door. How long could it h
old?
Shit!
###
They sat defeated in the running truck stuck inside the darkened service area. The only light shined through the small windows on the rolling doors, the emergency lighting by the exits, and the lights from the dashboard of the flatbed. Pam considered driving through the door but didn’t want to damage the truck or get stuck while trying to escape. It was their only lifeline. With no other plan, Pam shut the truck off to figure out what their next move should be.
The zombies outside the door calmed down when the engine quit, but they stayed congregated in front of the door. They ambled around the back of the building with no clear destination. Without power, the door wouldn’t open since it wasn’t equipped with a battery backup. Pam found the manual override, but whoever operated it needed to stand next to the door as it opened. With all the zombies assembled around the back of the building, it would be a suicide mission. Pam didn’t want to die by zombie, especially since Betty had no experience driving at her age. They needed another plan to make their escape. She didn’t plan on dying today.
###
Pam’s hope of reaching safety easily evaporated with the power failure. They couldn’t open the rolling door without electricity, and they couldn’t take a chance of damaging the truck by ramming it. Pittsfield Massachusetts would be too far a drive with a damaged vehicle. If the truck got stuck trying to crash through the door, then they would both end up death at the hands of the zombies. Fear paralyzed her mind as she feared her daughter wouldn’t see her fifteenth birthday. A break down threatened to disable her even though she knew it wouldn’t help anyone.
Then Betty spoke as she pointed across the street. “Look across the street. Another group of survivors. We have someone to help us!”
Pam didn’t know who would help who escape, but suddenly a plan formed in her mind. They would survive this day after all.
CHAPTER 5 - DONALD BISHOP
DONALD’S MOUTH FELL open as he stared at the car lot Gwen pointed toward. Five police vehicles are parked haphazardly in front of the building. The crowd of zombies included seven cops, a guy in a torn-up suit with his intestines hanging out, and a bunch of other random people with pieces and parts bitten off each of them. They had been living people with dreams and ambitions at one time, but not anymore. Now they were flesh-eating monsters desperate to hunt living flesh.
The vehicle’s keys would be locked inside the building, and the crowd in the parking lot made it no simple task to enter through the front door. Those monsters made it a near impossible task. The police Explorers parked out front were tempting targets to grab for their escape. If they were lucky, the officers left the keys in the ignition and they hadn’t run out of gas. Police often left their vehicles running when they responded to a call to maintain the battery charge with all the electronics inside. If they were unlucky, the keys would be in the police zombie’s pockets or they left all five Explorers running and now their tanks were dry. It’s a gamble, but it looked like it might be their only option.
They broke cover and slinked toward the lot. Donald would have liked to scout the police vehicles alone, but he didn’t want to leave the others unprotected. Gwen was an impressive shot, but she only had ten arrows left and she wasn’t a trained fighter. The ability to shoot a stationary target without pressure wouldn’t be the same as hitting a moving target while under pressure. What greater pressure could there be then certain death?
Donald reached the first Explorer and found no keys in the ignition. The hope for a quick and easy escape evaporated. the next vehicle was a K9 unit and it wouldn’t do since they removed the backseat to accommodate the police dog. It will only hold one human passenger. Doesn’t matter because the ignition was keyless. As Donald approached the third vehicle, he heard a loud engine roar from around the back of the building. Someone hid inside the building. The zombies shambled around the back of the building as if someone rang the dinner bell. Loud noises attracted them.
Third time's a charm since the keys had been left in the ignition of this Explorer. Donald climbed inside and noticed the keys remained in the run position. Not only had the vehicle run out of fuel, but the battery was stone dead. Only two police vehicles left to check. He hoped their luck might change while the zombies remained around the rear of the building.
Explorer number four had no keys in the ignition. This must be the Boston Police Department’s standard operating procedure to remove the keys when they arrive at the scene of a call. Only one cruiser left to check. Donald moved over to the last Boston PD Explorer and found the keys in the ignition and in the off position. Careful to not draw the monsters back, he turned the key to the on position to check the fuel level. The tank was still half full. This might be the lucky break they needed.
As Donald readied to load everyone into the Explorer, all hell broke loose on the lot.
###
Donald turned to wave the group over as the engine from around the back of the building roared to life again. The motor raced, and then the sound of a loud crash followed close behind.
Before Donald could react, a young girl ran out the front door of the building yelling, “The red SUV! Get to the red SUV!”
A red Honda Pilot was parked three rows over, so Donald grabbed both Deborah and Matthew and dragged them toward it. He could sense Gwen right on their heels while they ran. The lights flashed, and it beeped as the locks disengaged on the SUV. As the girl ran by, she dropped the keys into Donald’s hand, and then jumped in through the back door. Donald pushed Deborah and Matthew safely into the back as Gwen closed in.
The girl yelled from the back seat as soon as Donald jumped inside. “Wait for my mom!”
As the girl’s scream faded, a lady sprinted from the building. At the same moment, Nolan picked up the officer’s Glock off the ground. Nolan raced straight at the woman while he took aim with the pilfered gun at the zombies who closed in on her. Boom, the first shot went wide and attracted more of the undead toward the noise. Nolan tried to correct his aim, but the next shot went wide too. Donald watched him continue to pull the trigger, but the gun only dry fired. Nolan ran out of bullets. “Drop the gun and run,” Donald said.
Nolan and the woman disappeared into the stream of zombies that swarmed them. Gunfire interested the zombies more than the crash from the back of the building. Gwen and the girl screamed and wanted to run to their aid, but Donald knew there was nothing they could do to help. There are too many of the undead. He grabbed the girl as she tried to escape and threw her back into the SUV before he slammed the door.
“Gwen, get in or your going to die too! There’s nothing you can do to help Nolan.”
Both Gwen and the girl collapsed into their seats and turned away from him, but at least they were both still alive. Donald hoped they could grieve and heal later once they found safety.
###
He used all his defensive driving training (and maybe a few things he learned while watching NASCAR), to maneuver the vehicle up the ramp onto the highway and away from the city. The SUV swerved between the stalled cars scattered along the highway. The gas gauge showed a full tank of gas and the Pilot was brand new. This will be a simple trip all the way to Donald’s truck in Worcester. The screams had dried up, and the shock of all their recent loss will travel with them on this road trip from hell. Donald knew how they felt since he had lost much in his life too. However, flesh-eating monsters didn’t consume them right in front of his eyes. His Mother’s cancer may have been bad, but he said goodbye to her.
The first 22 miles of the drive down the Mass Pike went smoothly. Then they reached the mother of all traffic accidents. It looked like a giant tired of playing with his toy cars and strewn them across the room (or the highway in this case). Many types of vehicles: trucks, buses, cars, and even some motorcycles stretched clear across all six traffic lanes and the median. Some had the doors left open as if the drivers wandered off (either injured or recently risen from the dead), while others entombed th
eir passengers. While Donald and his crew stared, they could hear snarling, gnashing, growling, and moaning coming from the crash scene. No human voices. Only the voice of death.
Donald scanned the accident scene to find a way through or around it. The obstacle frustrated him.
“Does anyone see a way around this roadblock?”
Silence and a few shakes of heads were the only response he received. Even the SUV’s four-wheel drive wouldn’t deliver them to the other side of this wreck. To further complicate their situation, this section of highway had natural rock walls on both sides, so driving around the wreck was out. The twisted metal from crashed vehicles blocked even the median. No option to get around this mess.
They needed an alternate route, so Donald consulted the Pilot’s GPS navigation system. It told him to backtrack about seven miles to the closest exit. Once there, they’d find a parallel route back to the highway, another 12 miles ahead of their current position. With plenty of gas still in the tank, the detour wasn’t an issue. Only a slight delay.
After they completed the u-turn, the exit came into view quickly with no other issues. The ramp delivered them onto a 4 lane divided highway in a commercial district. Abandoned cars dotted the roadway here on the back road too. Some vehicles had been in obvious accidents, while others appeared undamaged and left behind by their owners for some other mysterious reason. Traffic lights were dark, showing the power in this area had winked out too. They came across no large zombies hordes, but they’re still present in small numbers. The back roads were slow traveling with all these potential hazards for them to avoid. They couldn’t afford to crash the Pilot being reckless because it was their lifeline. There were no signs of normal, everyday human activity. Things here had gone bad quickly.
Donald spotted the small store up ahead with the 4 large letters on the sign over the door - GUNS. He knew being unarmed in this violent world wouldn’t be a smart idea. Donald brought the car to a stop in the parking lot, being careful to park so a quick exit would be possible. Before he climbed out of the car, he asked if Gwen or Deborah had any experience firing a gun. Both answered no, and it didn’t surprise him. He asked Gwen to keep watch while he went inside the store. Gwen readied her bow and arrows for any potential action. Donald didn’t know about the depth of her relationship to Nolan, but he appreciated Gwen’s desire to survive after such a recent loss. There was hope for her.
Operation Z | Book 1 | Uprising Page 4
