by White, A. L.
The Final Chapter
Z Chronicles Book 4
A.L. White
"The Final Chapter" Copyright © 2020 A.L.White. All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever, without written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Character names, places, and events are the product of A.L. White’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people or events are coincidental.
ISBN:
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
A.L. White Links
Also By A.L. White
Z Chronicles Series
Z Chronicles: The Beginning
Z Chronicles: Surge of the Dead
Z Chronicles: Hybrid Z
Z Chronicles: The Final Chapter
Z Chronicles Boxed Set
Nefertem Series
Nefertem: The Awakening
Nefertem: Ancient Alien
Novellas
Book of Death
Lost Colony
To one of the hardest working people that I have ever met, my uncle Mike. Who has shown me that hard work pays off in great rewards.
Chapter 1
Leaning against an old, rusted Chevy Chevette with Rally 1.6 faded along the bottom of the door, Virginia peeked over the hood, searching for Zeus and Perseus. Halfway up the street, something had caught Zeus’ attention, and he and Perseus had gone to investigate. Out of habit, Virginia took cover, waiting for the all-clear. This was just another small Midwestern town with a name that blurred together with the others she had explored.
She heard the lads growling and knew that wasn’t a good sign. Easing from behind the Chevette, Virginia crept toward the dogs, scanning the horizon as she moved. She came to the entrance of an alley between two long-abandoned storefronts with smashed windows and looked inside both to verify she wasn’t entering a trap. Satisfied, she peeked down the alley toward the growling. Hybrids surrounded Zeus and Perseus about halfway down.
Taking a final look up and down the street, Virginia loaded a bolt into the crossbow and slid into the opening of the alleyway. Aiming for the largest hybrid she could see, she took a deep breath, exhaled and squeezed the trigger, letting the bolt loose. The hybrid lurched forward then froze as its head exploded. It fell forward and hit the ground with a thump. Virginia loaded another bolt and took aim at the first one running toward her just as Zeus took it down from behind. Picking another, she let the bolt loose and reloaded. Perseus, smaller than Zeus, dispatched one by taking out its legs from underneath it and snapped his powerful jaws through its throat.
Unlike zombies or 2.0s, hybrids were smart. After losing four of their own, they tried to run for the safety of the other end of the alley. The lads brought down two more, and Virginia bagged another before they exited. She approached the first body and, using her foot to flip it over, saw it was male and moved to the next one. So far, they were all male and only one female. She sighed in relief to see it wasn’t Lori, and none of the males looked to be Wally, unless he grew faster as a hybrid than a human.
Navigating to the main street and heading out of town, Virginia moved a little faster than the slow, methodical pace they had used entering. Knowing hybrids were in the area changed everything. Every tree line or hedgerow could be hiding danger. With the lads, Virginia had her own form of early warning. With the wind against their backs, the distance Zeus and Perseus would pick up a scent dropped. That didn’t leave what Virginia felt was enough time to react properly.
They staying to the center of the road and avoided abandoned cars with a wide berth. A few more miles and they would reach the empty farm fields. The fields offered a view where she could see the hybrids from a long way off. It was rare that they would try anything in the open. As humanlike and smart as the hybrids were, they hadn’t returned to using weapons beyond makeshift clubs. Even then, Virginia was certain it was coincidental rather than planned
Virginia spotted Salvation’s walls in the distance, a little farther and she could rely on support from town if needed. Tents and small shacks that the residence had constructed in less time than it had taken to find the spot surrounded the main gate. More and more survivors had arrived with each new day. There wasn’t room for them inside the walls, so they camped outside while the town added on in a vain effort to make more room.
Virginia hugged the electric fence that formed the first of three walls designed to keep out zombies, 2.0s, and hybrids. Remembering River City, she didn’t think the walls would hold if a herd of that size appeared. Her plan was to be ready to move at a moment’s notice. Each time she took the lads exploring, Virginia would find supplies to stash, the way Old Bob had. On her return, she would inform the town leaders where they could find supplies. Sometimes she felt bad about leaving them what she didn’t want. Then Virginia would remind herself that, in this world, you survived or you became one of the zombies. The weak would perish, and she would survive; it was just how it was.
“You were out longer than normal,” Liam Fry said as Virginia approached the gate.
Shrugging, Virginia moved through the hole in the waiting line of survivors Zeus had made for her. Most regarded the lads like a distant memory of pets that had come to life before them; others moved away and cowered in fear. Very few dogs had survived the infection, and those that did turned to hybrids like the ones she had encounter at the shack along the river. Once she saw those, Virginia knew it was hard to feel safe around anything on four legs.
“Went a little farther out this time and circled back.”
“Don’t let Johnson hear you say that. He’s still not happy that you’re not standing a post on the wall with the rest of us.”
“Funny how he never complains about the supplies I find.”
“That would be about the only thing he doesn’t complain about.” Liam swung open the gate, being careful not to be rushed by the survivors.
Virginia paused and pointed at the woman painting the words District 13 underneath Welcome to Salvation. “What’s up with that?”
Liam snorted and nodded toward the sign. “Johnson met some survivors who have started a league of towns with survivors. We’re the thirteenth to join. More muscle and resources, according to him.”
Zeus and Perseus smelled the familiar scents of home as soon as they turned onto Lincoln Street. Perseus’ heart accelerated like an engine running on high, and he felt like he would explode if he didn’t run for home as fast as he could. Letting a whine escape, he faced Zeus and Virginia.
Virginia laughed. “Go on, you big baby. Go find Zoe.”
Perseus sprang to the large, old wraparound porch where he knew he would find Zoe sitting in her rocking chair.
“Go on. You can go too,” Virginia said to Zeus as he broke for home.
Pausing halfway there, he looked back to ensure Virginia was coming. Assured that she was following, he turned and ran as hard as he could.
Perseus stormed up the stairs and leapt onto Zoe’s lap—or as much of himself he could fit without knocking them both to the ground.
“My big boys have come home from the wilderness,” Zoe screamed, just as glad to see them. “Do my big boys need something good to eat? I believe old Zoe has leftover meat in the kitchen.”
The lads made a break for the swinging screen door to get to the kitchen.
“You know you’re spoiling them,” Virginia said, climbing the stairs and laying the crossbow against the porch railing.
“Someone needs to spoil all of you. I don’t have much else left in life.”
“Have you seen Jermaine and Charlie?”
“Jermaine is out back in the shed, creating a weapon he thinks will make it easier for a one-armed man to kill zombies. You know where Charlie is, same place he stays most of the time.”
Virginia knew where he was, the one place in Salvation that never seemed to run out of alcohol. Old man Parker could always find a stash or pub someplace to bring liquor back, selling it for a profit to the good people of Salvation, especially Charlie. “I’ll bring him home.”
“No use, child. He’ll just get angry, like he did with Jermaine.”
Virginia ignored Zoe’s warning and went after him anyway. She knew it would be crowded when she got there but never expected it to be as packed as it was this early. On the roads exploring the towns of the fallen, Virginia had felt most at home with just her and the lads. Every return to Salvation left her tired and stressed, wishing she was in the wild, away from people.
Entering the old pub, Virginia felt their gazes on her, making her skin crawl all over. Sometimes they said things about her like she couldn’t hear them. Other times she could tell they were talking about her, even if she couldn’t hear. They wondered why she acted like a man, not looking to settle down and increase the population of survivors. No one had ever made her feel unwelcome here in town. They didn’t go out of their way to make her feel welcome either, once it was clear she wasn’t a normal girl. She told herself that it didn’t matter; they were sheep, and she was a sheepdog. When the shit had hit the fan, they had all became her best friend. Virginia had no problem putting bad things down—zombies, 2.0s, hybrids … or an evil person. And the sheep knew it.
Seeing Charlie sitting at the bar, head on the table, Virginia shut out the rest of the people and focused on Charlie. The bartender took Charlie’s half-empty glass of beer and dumped it. He replaced the glass with a full one and confiscated some coins spilled near Charlies head.
“Did you give credit for the one you dumped?” Virginia asked.
“You let me worry about what I charge for,” the bartender said. He saw it was Virginia and threw Charlie’s credits onto the bar. “My mistake.”
Virginia grabbed Charlie’s hair and raised his head. “It’s time to go home, Charlie.”
“I’ll be home soon, Ginia,” Charlie slurred.
“No, Charlie. It’s time to go now.”
He tried to focus on her with a stern look. “See here, I am a grown man, and I—”
“You can lecture me in the morning when you’re sober. For now, let’s go. I need you to function tomorrow.”
“Did you find her?”
“No, not yet, Charlie. I will soon though, I think.”
A hand slid up Virginia’s back beneath her shirt and sent a shock through her body. She grabbed Charlie’s beer glass and smashed it on the bar, sending shards of glass in all direction. Virginia spun, causing the hand to slide to her front. Holding the glass against the man’s throat, Virginia stared into eyes devoid of life and fought the urge to gag from the stench of his breath. “Mister, you have less than five seconds left to your life if you don’t back away.”
The stranger tried to size up his chances against the odd teen everyone was so afraid of and dropped his hand to the pistol crammed into his belt.
Virginia pressed the shard until a trickle of blood dripped down the sharp piece of glass.
“We don’t need any trouble here. She offered you away out, and I think it’s best you take it, Leroy,” the bartender said. “Go on home now, and sleep it off. Tomorrow is another day.”
The stranger slid his hand off the pistol and walked away.
“Now, take Charlie, and go home before that nut comes back armed to the teeth.”
Charlie stumbled toward the door. “Come on, Virginia. Let’s go. Looks like you have worn out my welcome here today.”
Chapter 2
The engine slowed to an idle as the van rolled to a stop. Old wounds and memories fade with time; scars remain as life’s reminder and warnings. Tears swelled in Lori’s eyes when she saw the white sheets hanging from the second-floor windows down the street. A hastily painted red X on each sheet was the scar forever etched into Lori’s brain. She could still hear her father’s voice quiver as he had instructed her to use the red spray paint in the garage and hang the sheet from her window. Hugging herself and rubbing her arms, the vision of the men in hazmat suits dragging her mother from the house felt as real now as it had been that day. Lori could still feel how all the life had been drained from her, like a worn-out husk blowing away in the wind.
The house was a shadow of what it had been before the illness had spread across the land. Decaying leaves blanketed the front lawn, while the bushes her father had spent so much time pruning and shaping were now growing wild. In places, the front walk was hidden underneath the thick growth. Out from the safety provided by the van, the breeze brought scents both known and unknown to Lori. One of those scents came from others nearby, flaring her nostrils when she recognized it. The difference between zombies, 2.0s, and others like her and Walter was hard to tell from just a whiff. It was enough to know that they were there hiding in the shadows to put Lori on edge.
A knot grew in her chest and worked its way up to be a lump in Lori’s throat as she forced herself to take the first step toward the house. The first one was the hardest, but she soon quickened her pace, plowing through the leaves until reaching the steps. On weak legs, Lori climbed onto the porch and investigated the wide-open front door. The tiled foyer once kept immaculate by her mother was now also filled with leaves from the previous fall. Muddy footsteps covered spots left devoid of leaves and other debris. Too many to tell what had made most were a distinct slide of a zombie’s labored gait and shuffle, others were either humans or 2.0s and hybrids.
“Is this the place?” Walter asked, coming up behind her.
“This is where it all started for Virginia and me.” Lori tilted back her head and sniffed at the foul air. “Do you smell anything?”
“Nothing from inside here. Why would anything want to be here?”
“Good. This is home for a while.”
The table and hutch sat exactly where it had been when they had left the house to search for Jay. Memories flooded her with emotion that triggered the beginning of tears. How she wished she could be sitting at the table enjoying a Thanksgiving meal or Easter celebration one more time, to feel her mother’s warm embrace or joke around with Jay and Dad.
“Others are out there,” Walter said, interrupting Lori’s thoughts.
“I smelled them when we first got out of the van.”
“Should we go meet them?”
“They know we’re here.” Lori manuevered through the family room into the kitchen. She stopped at the island her mother had replaced the kitchen table with and wiped off the debris so she could see the granite top that had taken her mother so long to choose. She had been so picky and only enjoyed the labors of her search for a few months before the plague had hit, turning mother from a beautiful woman into the creature that they took away. A few months later, Father would follow her, never to be seen again.
“I’m hungry, Lori.” Walter tugged on her shirt. We haven’t eaten in a day or more.”
“There should be food in the basement. If not, we can check Bob’s house to see if anything is left,” Lori replied, noticing for the first time how fast Walter was growing. He looked to be a foot taller than she remembered. Maybe it was being what they were now that was accel
erating it.
“I don’t want that type of food.”
“I told you before that we eat that type of food unless we have no other choice,” Lori replied, ruffling his knotted hair. “Go see what you can find while I go check what is left in my old bedroom.”
Walter followed Lori into the family room where she pointed to the basement door still bolted from upstairs and unlatched the bolt. “That’s a good sign, don’t you think?”
Walter mumbled something under his breath and stormed down the stairs.
Lori marveled at Wally’s lack of fear and started upstairs toward her room. The emotions of being back here caused her to be less cautious than was needed. Lori didn’t care; she was home, and all things considering, it felt good to be here again—even if it were only for a few days, a brief instant in what was left to her life that she would be able to remember. She wished there had been a way to do this with Virginia, to show her sister that they had memories of a better time that deserved just as much care and consideration as the horrors forced on them.
The bedroom looked like a tornado had passed through. Clothing had been thrown everywhere, and the mattresses lay on its side, covering the windows. Pushing the mattress to the floor to let in the sunlight, Lori saw her life from before all around her.
A low guttural growl from behind caused her heart to skip a beat, and she felt her inner beast emerging from deep inside. Spinning around, her body fell into a defensive crouch, and her beast’s instincts took over. A woman stood in the doorway, the right side of her face was normal while the left was deformed and looked dead. Skin drooped from below the eye like it had melted down the cheek until meeting a yellow fang peeking from beneath a lip that looked like a worm crawling across the mouth.
“You do not belong here,” the creature snarled.
Lori move to a better position to defend herself. “This is my house. I grew up here.”
“All this belongs to the clan.”
Seeing Wally come behind the creature, Lori stood upright and smiled. “I’m Lori, and behind you is Walter. This is our house.”
