Plague of the Dead (Book 1)

by Rayfield, Alli

  That’s when Jamie’s voice filled the air. A loud high pitched piercing sound that sent chills through the bone. I couldn’t stop what I was doing to look because a zombie had grabbed on to my shirt and was biting at me but I knew it couldn’t be good.

  I finally managed to get the upper hand in my dark dance with the undead and got my hunting knife through the temple of the zombie.

  I looked over just as Daniel yelled “Jamie,” and rushed over to her.

  She was covered in her own blood from a neck wound and fell to the ground. Phoebe stabbed the zombie that got her in back of the skull.

  Freddie seemed to be frozen in shock. She was done. She would be one of them in only a little bit of time.

  Daniel was kneeling next to her.

  “Jamie,” he said. “You’re going to be alright.”

  She choked out, “ I love you guys.” She was having hard time breathing and closed her eyes.

  “No, no, no! Jamie, please no.” Daniel cried.

  We were all almost done at that second as this tragedy taking place seemed to paralyze us. Phoebe was crying, Freddie hadn’t moved and the sight of another death in such a short span of time almost knocked me down. I didn’t know Jamie that well but she was a nice person and so young. I would wonder after if she hadn’t done herself in with her belief that she didn’t stand a chance.

  The only thing that saved us was Robert hadn’t lost his focus. He had killed several zombies on his own before he yelled out.

  “We’ve got to keep fighting.”

  I turned around just in time to stop the zombie behind me, with another one only a few steps behind it.

  Daniel hadn’t moved from Jamie’s dead body. He was crying next to her. Freddie was no longer frozen. He was fighting along with Phoebe, Robert, and me. When I was able to look though, I did see that he was crying.

  We were not out of our bad fortune. Daniel composed himself and joined our fight. The five of us were fighting so hard that none of us saw it coming.

  Robert didn’t scream, he didn’t make a noise at all. It wasn’t until I heard a zombie growls more animated behind me that I even noticed. I turned and saw a zombie chewing on Robert’s right shoulder.

  “Damn it,” I said.

  I ran over and stabbed the zombie in the head. Robert fell to the ground, his eyes glazed over. The zombie had gotten his throat first and pulled out a huge chunk of it.

  The others finished off the remaining group of the undead killers before they noticed.

  “Oh my God,” Phoebe said. “Not Robert. Not him, please.”

  Daniel went over and hugged Phoebe.

  I watched Freddie walk over and kneel next to Jamie’s body. He stroked Jamie’s arm.

  “This is all your fault,” he spat out.

  Daniel let go of Phoebe. She wiped her eyes. I walked over and put my arm around her because she didn’t look like she could stand without support.

  “What?” Daniel asked.

  “You heard me,” Freddie said. “You know I’m right. This is your fault.”

  “I just lost my sister and best friend. I’d watch it if I were you.”

  “This was your stupid idea. If it wasn’t for you, they might still be alive.”

  “It wasn’t safe there. Everyone but you understood that,” Daniel yelled.

  “It was safer than this and now Jamie and Robert are dead because of your stupidity.”

  Daniel punched Freddie in the mouth. Freddie tried to hit back but Daniel ducked. Daniel then took Freddie down and they were fighting on the ground.

  “Stop it,” I said letting go of Phoebe. “You’re going to attract more of those undead things and then we’ll all be dead.”

  The scuffle continued for another minute before they broke apart.

  Freddie was bleeding heavily from his nose and mouth. Daniel, being the clear winner, only had a busted lip.

  “I’m not continuing on this pointless journey,” Freddie barked.

  “Then go,” Daniel said back.

  “He’ll never make it by himself,” I stated.

  “If he wants to go, I’m not going to stop him.”

  Freddie shook his head and backed away from us. He grabbed his bag off the ground. He then turned and headed of in the other direction.

  I was shocked at the turn of events and knowing he wouldn’t make it made me want to vomit. I understood the raw emotions that Daniel was feeling to let him just leave especially being told his sister’s death was his fault but I just couldn’t believe it. We had started out as six barely 3 hours prior and now our group was cut in half. We weren’t much better off than Freddie.

  “We need to go,” Daniel said.

  It was true that we couldn’t stay there but we couldn’t get Phoebe to leave. She was sitting down next to Roberts’s body. She picked some wild flowers next to her and placed them around his body. She began humming to herself.

  Daniel didn’t say anything though I could see the panic on his face. He was keeping his eyes peeled around the surrounding area. We couldn’t just stay and wait for an attack.

  Then the weather gave us the push. It started to rain, hard and fast. It wasn’t like the everyday rain we were used to. We all knew too well what it was the start of. Robert and I had been right to be concerned but it felt like another damn blow to an already fragile system.

  “Come on, Phoebe, we’ve got to find shelter.” Daniel said.

  “No, I can’t leave him,” she replied. “I can’t. I won’t.”

  “Phoebe,” Daniel pleaded.

  “Go,” she said. “Leave me here.”

  Determined not to lose a fourth person today, I went over to her, “Phoebe, I know how you feel, everything inside of you feels ripped out and dead but it’s not. We have to go, there’s a typhoon approaching. We need you if we have any hope to survive, please. You have more to live for than I do, I know you’re strong enough to make it.”

  She let out a small whimper and nodded. “Okay.”

  She kissed the side of Robert’s cheek and got up.

  We began running with no real direction, just trying to find somewhere, anywhere that we might be safe.

  It wasn’t going to be easy; the area we were in was mostly jungle. The rain was pouring down on us and was making visibility almost nonexistent. I could really only make out the green foliage to the side of me and Phoebe running just a foot ahead of me.

  It was bad and I was running out of breath after the fight we had just encountered and now running. I wanted to throw in the towel, just lie down and let the rain wash over my body.

  “Over there,” Daniel yelled.

  I assumed he was pointing to somewhere but I couldn’t make him out in the rain. He was too far ahead of me. I just kept Phoebe in sight and when she made a sharp turn to the left, I followed.

  My foot hit a hole in the ground but I managed to keep my balance by some miracle. I also didn’t twist my ankle which was an amazing feat.

  We passed through a stable. It was empty. I didn’t know what happened to the horses and I didn’t want to know. Given the state of things, they had probably been turned into zombie food which was just another depressing thought.

  I really didn’t know how I was going to make it in this new world where every scenario just made me sad. Would I or any of us ever experience happiness again? Would we remember how to laugh as things got worse? It was heartbreaking and gutwrenching to think about but it was the truth.

  We passed through the stable to a tiny walkway between one of the stables and a shed that must have held some yard equipment. There was a tiny house that lay ahead.

  We were all on the porch when Daniel knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Still no one came to the door.

  Daniel turned the knob and it was unlocked. We all had weapons up just in case there were any undead creatures inside waiting to devour us.

  “Hello,” Daniel called out. “Is anyone here?”

  There was no response. The window
s had been bordered up to protect from either the storm or the zombies, so it didn’t make any sense why someone would leave.

  “I’ll check around,” Daniel said.

  It wouldn’t take long; it was more a shack than a house. There was a tiny kitchen off the main room we had walked into. There was probably only one bedroom and bathroom. The main room we came into had a dirty blue couch sat against a wall with an even dirtier green chair to the side of it. There was an old TV against the opposite wall and a tiny bookcase.

  Daniel came back after a few minutes.

  “All clear,” he said. “Let’s get this place locked up.”

  We shut the door and locked it. Daniel tied it off with some rope that was in their camping gear. We all helped move the bookcase in front of the door to keep it from being opened.

  “Is there a back door?” I asked.

  “No, this is the only way in. All the windows are boarded up as well. I don’t know why they left, they made this place safe.”

  “You think they might come back?” I asked.

  Daniel shook his head, “No, the closet is a mess as well as the dresser. They packed and left in a hurry it looks like.”

  “Why?”

  “I’d like to know that myself. There are no zombies in here and it doesn’t look like there ever was.”

  “They probably attacked the animals and the owner freaked,” Phoebe said as she plopped down into the yucky green chair.

  There wasn’t much light so Daniel lit up one of the lanterns and sat it on the table.

  Phoebe looked completely different, the cost of her loss visible on her face. Daniel had sat down at the table, his face in deep sorrow. It was a room full of grief. I couldn’t take it.

  I took my things into the bathroom and shut the door. I put my bag down on the floor and sat on the toilet. I was soaked to the bone and I had come in here to change but I needed a moment to myself. I didn’t know these people well but they were kind enough to take me along with their group and now two of them were dead and another gone to meet the same fate. The death was taking its toll on me. I’d lost my family and watched as three others lost their loved ones. Who was next because there was no way we were going to make it. It was like a game of Russian Rolette except you would never stop playing until the bullet got you. There was no way to beat the zombies, not really. If a cure could be found it was going to be next to impossible, since I’m sure most research places were all but inoperable. We were living in the plague of the dead and the dead were winning.

  I got some clothes out of my bag and changed. The clothes I shed I put on the shower rail to dry. I walked out of the bathroom to find Daniel in the same spot only there was a bottle of whiskey open in front of him. Phoebe was not in the room.

  “Where’s phoebe?” I asked.

  “She went into the bedroom to be alone,” he said. “Drink?”

  I nodded, “yeah.”

  Chapter 15

  I sat down at the table as Daniel poured me a drink. He put the glass down in front of me. It was a filthy glass. There was dust on it, like it hadn’t been used in ages. I didn’t let that stop me. I also didn’t let the fact that I hated Whiskey stop me either. I downed the whole glass in one long gulp. It burned my insides on the ride down to my stomach. The taste was disgusting but I needed that burn.

  Daniel had a quizzical look on his face. “More?”

  I put the glass in front of him, “Yes, please.”

  He poured more of the whiskey into the filthy glass. I drank this one a bit slower than the last. Daniel was still working on his first glass. We sat in silence as we nursed our liquid medicine. I felt like we were in our own separate glass boxes of grief. I felt worlds away yet very much present. Maybe it was the alcohol. I hadn’t had a real drink in ages so my tolerance was nonexistent.

  The storm was raging outside by this time. The house creaked as the wind outside picked up. It was loud and obnoxious sounding. My fear would’ve been at a dangerously high level if it wasn’t for the numbing effect of the whiskey. I was extremely relaxed.

  “This is a mess,” Daniel stated.

  “Tell me about it,” I said in agreement.

  “You think we’ll make it? What are we fighting for at this point?” he asked.

  I laughed at the complexity of his questions in my tipsy state. “I don’t know. I think we’re lucky to have made it this far.”

  “Yeah, and luck eventually runs out.”

  “Man, you are a downer when you drink,” I said.

  He laughed a little. “I guess I am.”

  I finished off my second glass. I felt immediately drowsy. I yawned for a long moment.

  “I’m exhausted,” I stated.

  “Go, get some sleep,” he stated. “We’re as safe as we can possibly be.”

  I nodded, “Yeah, which isn’t that safe.”

  He smiled, “No, it’s not.”

  “But I’m completely relaxed right now. So thank you for sharing that wonderful drink that I hate; but I kind of love it at the moment. I am going to lie down on that couch over there.”

  “Okay, enjoy.” He said with a grin.

  “Oh, you have no idea,” I said as I stood up. I swayed a bit as I got up.

  Daniel made to get up to help me but I waved him away.

  “I’m fine, just not all together now.”

  “You’re a little drunk,” he said and laughed.

  “I need to be drunk right now. This has been hell.”

  He nodded, “it has indeed.”

  “You think we’re being punished?” I asked. I lost my balance and caught myself on the chair.

  Daniel eyed me for a moment to make sure I was alright before answering.

  “I don’t think you deserve to be punished.”

  “I didn’t ask if I deserved it, I asked if we were being punished.”

  He thought a moment, “maybe as human beings but I don’t think we personally are being punished.”

  I nodded not really following what he was saying because my head was beginning to swim.

  “Alright, I’m going to go lay down. You should probably sleep too.”

  “Someone’s got to keep watch.”

  “I think we’re fine but do what you need to do.”

  I walked away from the table slowly. I was walking wobbly as I made my way to the couch. I grabbed my bag from where I dropped in next to the chair.

  I pulled out Jackie’s blanket and set the bag back down on the floor. I laid my body down on the dirty couch. My eyes closed instantly, maybe before my head hit the dirty pillow. My body was thankful to not be moving anymore. I felt like I was floating on air. I was so past exhausted at this point and the alcohol had relaxed my mind enough to finally let me rest. I didn’t think about how I just wanted to stop running, stop hiding, and stop fighting. I didn’t think about if I was ever going to make it to the Navy base. I went to sleep quickly to the lullaby of the storm.

  I didn’t dream at all. It was the first time I slept since this mess started that my subconscious didn’t send me a counter attack in my dreams.

  I wasn’t asleep very long before I woke up. I needed to use the restroom bad and that pulled me out of my beautiful restful state. It was late though, I could tell that much in the pitch black of the room. The lantern was turned off. After my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could make out Daniel’s body in the middle of the floor. I could also hear his heavy breathing.

  I was happy that he decided to get some rest as well. Perhaps the whiskey had done the deciding for him but whatever it was, it was a good thing. I knew we should probably have one person awake but we needed our rest after the events of the day. We were never going to be safer than we were in this shack so we might as well take advantage.

  I made my way to the bathroom. The storm outside had not lost any of its strength. It was just as loud if not louder as before. I thought that perhaps zombies were caught up in the wind, being blown around the island. With any luck, maybe their un
dead bodies would be tossed into the Pacific by the storm that was raging on still. It was a silly thought but it made me smile none the less.

  I finished up in the bathroom and made my way slowly back to the couch to get more sleep. I had a slight headache but I was too exhausted to care.

  As I made my way back, I could hear the faint sound of crying. It was Phoebe in the bedroom. My heart broke for her. I thought about going in to talk to her but then decided not to. I’d go in in the morning. Right now, she probably didn’t want to see anyone.

  As I got back to the couch, I grabbed my gun out of my bag. I set it on the table next to me just to be safe. In case somehow a zombie made to the inside of the house.

  I laid back down and went back to sleep. I was not so lucky this time. My subconscious was no longer numbed by the alcohol.

  I dreamed of Jackie. I dreamed about her birthday party and at the party, amongst the girls dressed in their Disney Princess finest she became a zombie. She attacked her friends, then their parents. I watched in horror as she devoured Adam in front of me. Then she turned her dead grey eyes towards me. I was pleading “Jackie, its mommy. Please Jackie.” But it made no difference. She opened her mouth to reveal her yellow teeth and lunged. I screamed.

  The scream was only inside my head because Daniel was not awakened by it. I breathed deeply and gained my senses back. It was only a terrible dream but it shook me to my very core. It cut me down through my gut. I figured I wouldn’t be going back to sleep for a while.

  I was right. I didn’t fall asleep for a long time. I didn’t dwell on the dream but I did think about Cate. At this point it was a safe bet that all hope was gone of getting off the island. It was too late. I suddenly felt like I was in prison. I guess there are worse things than being imprisoned on a beautiful island but I hated the feeling of being trapped. My world had collapsed around my feet and there was nothing I could do to change it. With that realization, I longed for the nightmare I had awoken from.

  I did eventually fall back asleep. Though it was not restful, I didn’t have any dreams that I remembered which I was thankful for.