Rise of the Undead (Book 0): Apocalypse Z [Prequel]

by Higgins, Baileigh

  Baileigh Higgins

  Apocalypse Z - Prequel

  The Rise of the Undead

  Copyright © 2019 by Baileigh Higgins

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Baileigh Higgins asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  Baileigh Higgins has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

  Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

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  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

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  Author Bio

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to May Dawney for the lovely book cover design. You can check out her portfolio at https://covers.maydawney.com. She’s a truly talented artist. A shout out to Graham Rintoul for his valuable input as well, and to all my friends and family for their support. I appreciate you all!

  Dedication

  I’d like to dedicate this book to Amy Donahue and Tara Lee. Thank you for all your support during my writing career. It’s readers like you who make this job worth doing!

  Chapter 1

  The ceiling fan above Tara’s head did little to alleviate the stifling heat, its highest setting barely faster than a crawl. The small brick room was mostly bare except for the lab equipment that she’d brought with her weeks ago, and the little she’d managed to scrounge up from the local hospitals. It wasn’t much. Barely enough to enable her to do her job.

  For almost three months now, she’d been stuck in the middle of the Congo, North Africa, trying to determine whether a mysterious new virus that had crippled several villages was something to worry about.

  In her opinion, it was, but getting WHO on board was proving problematic. The amount of red tape she had to cut through was ridiculous, despite the samples that she’d sent back. The symptoms were the most concerning. A fever, headaches, coughing, hemorrhaging, seizures, and for one out of every twenty patients…death.

  Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she dared not wipe it off. Her armpits were damp, and the mask secured over the lower half of her face added to her discomfort. Behind her, the hum of the gene sequencer filled the small space, but she hardly heard it.

  With one hand, she carefully gripped the smear slide while placing a drop of blood onto its pristine surface. With a second slide, she smoothed the droplet into an even coat before securing it in place with a coverslip. Then she slipped the sample into place beneath the lens of the electron microscope.

  Tara looked through the eyepiece, adjusting the focus knob and condenser until she could make out the individual cells. For several seconds she stared at the evidence in front of her until her head began to swim. Her worst nightmare had come to life.

  “Well?” Stephen, her lab assistant, asked as he shifted from one foot to the other.

  “See for yourself,” Tara replied, stepping back to make room for him.

  He gripped the microscope with impatient hands and looked at the sample of the Vita virus inside an infected host’s bloodstream. His face paled as he spotted what she’d had, and he let go of the delicate equipment as if he’d been burned. “This is bad.”

  “I’ll say,” Tara said, grabbing her notebook to add to the several hundred pages she’d written on the subject already. “The virus has mutated. I’d better call it through.”

  “What should we do?” he asked, his young face creased with worry.

  Tara sighed. While she liked Stephen, he was too young and inexperienced for her taste. Not for the first time, she wished for a more qualified assistant, but with recent budget cuts, that wasn’t happening.

  “Secure the samples and lock up. I’ll meet you at the triage tent in ten minutes,” she instructed. “We need to study this in the flesh.”

  He nodded. “Alright, Dr. Lee. I’ll see you there.”

  Tara rushed toward the exit, pausing only to dispose of her gloves and mask. She tossed them into the hazardous waste bin and stepped outside. The sun was bright after the dim interior of the room, its rays harsh enough to cook her eyeballs. A fly buzzed around her head, the little pest irritating her even further.

  She jogged to her tent and stepped inside, looking for her satellite phone. She picked it up and switched it on. Nothing. The battery was flat again. With a muttered curse, she plugged it in, using the lead that ran from one of the few powerpoints in the camp.

  Everything was harder here. Scarcer. Electricity, clean water, decent food, medicine, equipment. It was a harsh environment made worse by the recent political upheavals. Random raids by armed groups and even poachers were common. She no longer bothered trying to keep track of the numerous factions. As long as they let her do her job, that was all she cared about. That and the people dying outside her doorstep.

  The phone crackled to life, and she called her superior, praying he’d answer. “Come on, come on.”

  A voice came on. “Dr. Bannock.”

  “Hi, it’s Dr. Lee, calling to report on the Vita virus,” Tara said.

  “Do you know what time it is?” Dr. Bannock asked, his disgruntled tone worsening her growing migraine. “It’s three in the morning. That’s what time it is.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but this is important,” Tara answered, gritting her teeth. She could almost imagine Dr. Bannock standing in front of her, squinting through the thick lenses of his spectacles like a mole while he scratched his balding head.

  “What is it? It had better be good, Lee.”

  “The virus is mutating, sir,” Tara said, praying he’d take her seriously this time.

  “Mutating? That’s not so uncommon, is it?” he asked.

  Tara closed her eyes for a brief second, swallowing back the nasty words that jumped to mind. “Maybe not, but I believe this is cause for concern. The virus is becoming more virulent. Up until now, the mortality rate was one in twenty. It will be higher now.”

  “How much higher?”

  “I’m not certain, yet. I still have to study its effects on currently infected patients,” Tara said.

  “You’re not sure? In other words, you have no actual data to support your hypothesis?”

  “It’s not a hypothesis, sir. The evidence is clear. The virus is changing, becoming deadlier.”

  “But that’s all you know. You haven’t seen the mutated version at wor
k yet. Only through a lens, am I right?” he asked with the smooth logic of a politician.

  “That’s right, sir,” Tara said, her free hand curling into a fist.

  “No use in jumping to conclusions then, is there?” Dr. Bannock said. “Continue your work and send me the hard facts when you have them.”

  “But, sir,” Tara protested. “The Vita virus is going to become a real threat to the entire world. Shouldn’t we step up our efforts to study it and produce a vaccine?”

  “Dr. Lee, the Vita virus has threatening potential, but we don’t know anything for sure yet. When you do know something, inform me,” Dr. Bannock answered, his tone sharp and cutting.

  “But sir⁠—”

  “It’s contained for the moment. It has only affected a few villages. You stopped the spread, didn’t you?”

  “For now, yes.”

  “Then, I believe this conversation is over. Goodnight, Lee,” Dr. Bannock said before hanging up on her.

  Tara stared at the phone in disbelief. “Son of a bitch.”

  Chapter 2

  Two weeks later…

  Tara walked over to the tent they’d set up for the latest influx of infected villagers. They were streaming in daily now, and she was thankful for the fresh batch of supplies they’d received the previous week.

  Dr. Bannock had finally consented to grant her more help and equipment after she’d sent over the latest data. Data that proved the Vita virus was not only more dangerous, killing one in ten victims, but also more infectious. During the latest mutation, the virus had become airborne. A single cough or sneeze projected it outward for several feet, infecting people and surfaces alike. With the average person touching their face between two and three thousand times per day, the virus had spread like wildfire. With an incubation period of up to ten days, people could pass it on without even knowing they were ill.

  Outside the triage tent, Tara pulled on a set of protective clothing complete with gloves, a mask, and goggles. A necessary precaution. Inside, rows upon rows of sick people lay, slowly dying from the infection. Hacking coughs filled the air along with the sour scent of fear overlaid by antiseptic.

  Tara walked among the patients, taking vitals and talking to the doctors and nurses present. They all shared the same opinion. The disease was getting worse.

  “I had a patient come in this morning,” Dr. Kabongo, on loan from a local hospital, said. “She said she’d been ill for three days. This afternoon, she passed away.”

  “Three days? It usually takes a week,” Tara said, alarmed.

  “I had a similar case yesterday,” a young nurse said, her eyes wide. “A young boy. His mother said he only showed symptoms four days ago.”

  “That means the virus is accelerating. What was the death toll for today?” she asked Dr. Kabongo.

  “Half of the new patients have died since yesterday,” he replied.

  “Half?” Tara stared at him. “Did you take samples?”

  “Of course. Over here,” he said, handing her a tray of blood vials.

  “Thank you. I’ll need to take a look at these.”

  As Tara turned to leave, Dr. Kabongo stopped her. “How bad is this? Do I need to warn my family?”

  “I won’t lie to you. The situation is serious, but for now, it’s contained,” Tara said. “Let me check these samples, and I’ll get back to you.”

  “My people are dying. We need to help them,” he insisted, grabbing her arm in desperation.

  “I know.” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I promise I’m doing the best I can. I’ll speak to my superiors again.”

  He nodded slowly, clearly not convinced, but it was all she could offer him at that moment. What she did know for sure, was that she needed to get scientists back home working on the virus, formulating a cure. A vaccine. Anything to help these poor people.

  She was waylaid outside the triage tent by Lieutenant Dhlamini. He was in the SANDF, or South African National Defense Force. He, along with his men, had been granted by the South African government to provide protection to her and her staff while in the Congo. So far, she’d found him to be cool, calm, and efficient.

  At the moment, his eyes were dark with worry. “I have just received reports of fresh outbreaks of the virus.”

  Tara’s heart sank. “Where?”

  “Brazzaville.”

  “That’s the capital,” Tara said, shock freezing her to the spot. “It’s spreading. But how? We had it contained.”

  Dhlamini shrugged. “People are people. You can never keep them in one place. No matter how hard you try.”

  “We have to try harder. Spread the word. Warn the hospitals and clinics,” Tara said.

  “Won’t that cause a panic?”

  Tara nodded. “It might, but we have to stop this while we still can. I know you’ve got contacts. Infected people have to be quarantined immediately.”

  Dhlamini nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. What about a cure? Or a vaccine?”

  “I’m sending all my data through to the WHO. They’ve got people working it, but it could take months,” Tara said, hoping he wouldn’t spot the lie.

  Technically, it was true. She was sending her data through, and people were working on it. It just wasn’t a priority at the moment. Not until Bannock made it one. Perhaps, with these latest findings, he’ll realize how serious the situation is.

  “I hope they find something,” Dhlamini said, shaking his head. “I’ve seen a lot of bad things in my life, but never anything like this.”

  “Me neither, Lieutenant.”

  Tara spent an hour sending through a detailed report before calling Bannock once more. After half an hour of arguing, he finally agreed to issue an alert.

  “I’ll let the local government know about the dangers. They can warn their citizens, and ready their emergency services,” Dr. Bannock said.

  “They should close their borders too, sir. To prevent it from spreading any further,” Tara said.

  “I doubt they’ll agree to that, but I’ll try.”

  Tara rolled her eyes. “Thank you, sir. And the vaccine? Cure?”

  “I’ll push it up the roster here as well, make it a priority. Satisfied?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Tara said, knowing it was the best she’d get out of him.

  Bannock hung up, and once more, she was left staring at the phone in her hand. “Asshole. At least, if this becomes a pandemic, we’ll know who to blame.”

  Chapter 3

  Three days later…

  “Tara? Dr. Lee? Are you awake?” Stephen asked, cracking open her tent flap.

  Bright sunlight streamed in, and Tara blinked as the harsh light assaulted her eyes. She was lying face down on her cot, arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish. She’d passed out just after noon having spent the entire night studying new blood samples. Compiling the reports had taken several more hours until she could no longer keep her eyes open.

  “What is it, Stephen?” she asked, pushing her long, black hair out of her face. It stuck to her face where she’d drooled, and she cast around for a tissue or cloth. “Ugh, this had better be good.”

  “We’ve got a situation, and we need you,” he answered.

  “Fine, I’ll be right there,” Tara answered, sitting upright. She pulled on her socks and boots, tucking her cargo pants into the top of each. Her tank top was damp with sweat, but there was no time to change it.

  She shaded her eyes as she stepped out of her tent, gratefully accepting the bottle of water Stephen handed her. “Thanks.” The clear liquid went down like a dream, and she felt refreshed. “So, what’s the emergency?”

  Lieutenant Dhlamini stepped forward. “The virus is spreading. It’s out of containment.”

  “No. Don’t say that,” Tara said, her heart sinking into her boots. “How far?”

  “The first confirmed cases have been reported in Nairobi, Cape Town, and Cairo. There are rumors of more in Asia and Europe, as yet unconfirmed.”


  Tara’s knees went weak. “Oh, my God.”

  “My superiors are recalling me,” Lieutenant Dhlamini continued. “I’m to leave tomorrow, along with my men.”

  “What? You can’t,” Tara protested. “I need you. Now more than ever.”

  “I’m sorry, but orders are orders,” Dhlamini said with a shake of his head.

  “What does Dr. Bannock say?” Stephen asked.

  “Dr. Bannock has his head so far up his ass, he wouldn’t recognize an outbreak if it hit him in the face,” Tara muttered.

  “For real?” Stephen’s face paled. “What do we do now?”

  Tara sighed. “It’ll be okay. If the virus is spreading, our place is no longer here, much as I hate to leave like this. A vaccine is our top priority. I’ll let Bannock know we need an evac.”

  “This is it then?” Stephen asked.

  “It is. You’re going home. Pack your stuff,” Tara said. Privately, she wasn’t so sure, but she’d do everything in her power to convince Bannock to pull them out. What she needed now was an adequately equipped lab and qualified assistants.

  “How long will a vaccine take to produce?” Lieutenant Dhlamini asked.

  Tara shrugged. “Months, maybe years. If you have family, their best bet is to stay as far away from the infection as possible. Don’t go out, stay at home, avoid strangers, wash your hands often, and wear protective clothing when you do go out.”

  Dhlamini’s face paled. For a second, he looked vulnerable but pulled himself together with a visible shake and said, “Thank you. I hope your efforts are successful, Dr. Lee.”

  “Call me Tara. We’ve been working together for months now, so you might as well.”

  Lieutenant Dhlamini smiled. “Saul. My name is Saul.”

  “Nice name,” Tara said. “Now, I need to get to my lab.”

  Tara returned to her makeshift laboratory with Stephen. This would be her final report before she spoke to Bannock. Hopefully, what she had would be enough to warrant him pulling her and Stephen out. Enough to issue a worldwide health warning, placing all governments on high alert.