Aftershock Zombie Series (Book 2): Breakdown (A Collection of Survivors Tales)

by Lioudis, Kristopher

  Ian walked over to me, “You find what you need?”

  I shook my head, “Some things I can use, but this is all patient data, test results, vital signs. What I need is the actual research data. Maybe that will be downstairs. I’m just hoping it won’t all be digital.”

  “We can always bring a couple computers back to the airport with us, hook them up to the generators.”

  “I wouldn’t know which ones to bring. We would have to bring back the servers and then configure everything. Then there’s passwords and encryption… There’s no sign of power here, so it’s paper or it’s worthless.”

  Ian agreed and resumed his search. I continued to shuffle papers around the nurse’s desk in a futile attempt to make what I needed magically appear when I heard a shout from the end of the hall, then gunfire. It was brief, maybe a shot or two, but everyone ran toward its source. I could hear Ian shouting orders as the stairwell door slammed open and several sets of stamping boots entered the hall.

  “Get down!” Ian shouted and I obeyed. I dropped to the floor behind the desk and clumsily fumbled the pistol from its holster on my hip. I knew enough to take the safety off and to chamber a round, but if I actually had to fire the thing, I had serious doubts as to my effectiveness.

  The gunfire escalated, reached a crescendo, then began to peter off. Finally, like popcorn in a microwave, the last few pops went off and then it was quiet except for the sound of several men groaning. The smell of burnt gunpowder was thick in the air. I didn’t dare move until Ian gave me the all-clear. He called out to his men to sound off, which they did. One by one, each affirmed that he was okay. Not one of our side had been hit. Ian called for them to stay put. He made his way back to me and crouched beside me behind the concealment of the desk.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Who the hell was that?”

  Ian shrugged. “They weren’t here when I left. I’m guessing they found the place empty and decided to make a home.” He turned to Ranger and three others. “Keep an eye on that door and send three men to watch the other one. Don’t go after these guys, but if they come back through, cut them in half.” Each man nodded an affirmative. Ian faced me again. “We still have a mission here. No doubt these assholes are just defending themselves. If the opportunity arises, I’ll let them know that we aren’t a threat if they leave us alone, but all the same, I’m not taking any chances. Keep looking through this shit and when you are ready, we’ll move down to the basement where the labs are.” I nodded as Ian got up and moved toward the bodies of the men he had killed. “We leave the weapons and ammo,” he called out to the men, “As of right now, these people are not the enemy. If they come at us again, that’s a different story, but no one is to engage without my say-so. Understood?”

  Each man sounded a yes, or some variation thereof, and I continued to dig through the now even more scattered papers around the nurse’s desk. After settling on Ian’s file, it was the only one I would have any context for, I told Ian I was ready to move on. We formed a column with me in the middle and Ranger at the back as Ian lead us down the stairwell toward the lab. We didn’t see anyone else on the way down, and I don’t think we were followed.

  16

  William

  I do not understand why people act the way they do. They can be so rude. I was walking with Mike along the double fence that separated us from the road when an alarm sounded over his radio. I did not have my radio with me. I didn’t need to carry a radio when I was with Mike and it would waste batteries anyway.

  Mike screamed “REPORT!” into his radio and whoever answered talked so fast that I could not understand him. Ian says that when you talk into a radio you have to be de-lib-er-ate with your words so the other person can understand you. This person was not being de-lib-er-ate so I could not tell what he was saying. Mike seemed to get mad. I think it was a mad face. His eyebrows got all wrinkled and the corners of his mouth pointed toward the ground. I tried my best to make my face look the same.

  When the man in the radio stopped talking, Mike pushed the special red button on the side of his radio and yelled, “All teams to firing positions! Human contact at gate 3!” Gate 3 was close to where we were. Mike started to run toward Gate 3 so I followed. Mike unslung his rifle, so I did too.

  “William, I want you to go back to the main house, to the special room I showed you, okay?”

  I shook my head. The special room was where all the children and old people were supposed to hide if there was ever trouble. I did not want to hide with the children and the old people. “I am a soldier, sir. I want to stay and fight.” I knew it was not correct to disobey a direct order. Ian said that was one of the worst things a soldier could do. I did not want to hide. I wanted to fight.

  Mike made another face I didn’t understand and said, “Alright. But you stay close to me. And don’t get shot.”

  I nodded and moved behind Mike as we ran up to the fence were the people were. There were three cars in the road that led to the gate. Standing at the gate there were three men. There were ten women and three children in the cars that I could see. They all had their hands in the air. I think they looked scared. I heard Mike yell to the men in the tower to keep their weapons ready, then he spoke to the first man in the group.

  “Lay your weapons on the ground and step back. Then we can have a civilized conversation,” he said.

  The man responded by nodding his head. He and the rest of them laid their guns and knives down. “We’re just looking for somewhere safe. We don’t want any trouble.”

  “Where did you come from?” Mike asked.

  “North. Not too far, maybe forty or fifty miles. We escaped from Long Beach Island. They’ve got the island sealed off and pretty well defended, but the guy running the show there is a total psycho.”

  Mike turned to me and whispered real soft in my ear, “I want you to walk back to where the mill is. When you get there move out to the fence line and come back this way. Don’t let anybody see you. See if you can see other people out in the treeline. Report back to me. Do not engage if you see anyone, just tell me.”

  I nodded slowly and gave an affirmative because Ian told me that you always give a verbal confirmation of an order. I was happy because Mike had given me a real job to do, not just following him around or some silly kid stuff. I could hear Mike talking to the men as I moved back to the spot where he told to go. I made my way out toward the fence. I gathered up some branches and leaves and made my camouflage. Mike and Ian both said I was really good at camouflage. I like camouflage. If no one can see me, I do not have to worry about interacting with them.

  I moved slowly along the fence. It doesn’t make sense to move fast when you are camouflaged. Trees and bushes don’t move fast or even at all. If someone sees a bush or dirt pile moving at all they will know something is going on. So, I moved slow. Move. Stop. Watch. Move. It takes a long time to cover ground this way, but you have to go slow to be effective.

  I did not see anyone in the woods, or on the road which Mike did not tell me to check, but I checked anyway. I did not know if he wanted me to stay camouflaged all the way back to his position so I stopped where I was and waited. I could see the group of them standing on the other side of the fence, but I could not hear them very well. I moved just little closer so that I could hear the words they were saying. I decided to keep a firing position on them just in case. I thought that Ian would have done the same thing.

  The men were pleading with Mike to let them in. Mike waved forward a team of men to gather their weapons and check them for bite marks or scratches. After a thumbs-up, the gate was opened and the cars rolled through. I went to Mike to give my sitrep because after a mission you always give a sitrep. I told Mike everything I saw and he said that I did good. It made me happy that Mike said that. I wanted Ian to come back so he could see that I was a good soldier.

  Mike was talking to the people that had come through the gate. He was asking them about where they came fr
om. Apparently, they snuck away from an island because “Vincent is crazy”. I don’t know who Vincent is, but if he was crazy, it is good that these people got away from him. Mike continued to ask them questions. How many were on the island, how had they gotten away, were Vincent or his men looking for them. As he talked to them, his tone of voice was friendly but his face did not match.

  As soon as he was done asking them questions and they were led to a quarantine bunkhouse, Mike took out his notebook and began writing in it. I knew that he was writing down what the people had told him in response to his questions.

  I waited for him to stop writing and asked, “Do you think we need to be concerned with Vincent?”

  Mike looked sideways at me, I think he was making a surprised face. “Not sure, William. We knew that this island was there and that there might be people on it, but we haven’t been able to make any contact with them so we figured they were either dead or undead. It might be a good idea to send a couple scouts to see what’s what, but I’m not guessing these people are any kind of advance party or anything. What’s your take, William?”

  I felt good that he asked me what I thought. I told him that they looked really scared, not just pretending to be scared. I can usually tell if people are pretending, like when Mike’s face didn’t match with his words. I told him that if they were trying to spy on us for this Vincent person, they might really be scared so they could still be lying. I told him that if Vincent were really crazy, he might send people after the ones who showed up. If they really escaped. I told him that I thought we should maintain suspicious awareness. Ian had told me this phrase a few times. It means to keep your eyes open and pay attention to what’s happening.

  Mike nodded his head in agreement. “Reminds me of an old quote, ‘Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.’” Then he moved like he was going to pat me on the shoulder, but I flinched out of the way.

  “Sorry, kid. Forgot. You did really good today and I’m glad to have you around.”

  17

  Vincent

  There are rumblings of a mutiny. I’m beginning to wonder if they need to have a refresher course to remind them who’s in charge of things. Our calling here comes from above, and if they’re not going to be part of the that, then they can be tossed out to the dead. We have managed to clear the island twice now. You would think that having an island paradise free from the flesh-eating monsters would be enough for them.

  It isn’t though, and the more comfortable they become, the more freedom they want. Freedom is what let the dead get back on this island again. Freedom is how they ended up begging at my feet to be saved. There is no freedom in this new world. I am the king, and they are my subjects. I wish Jessica was still here. She understood our calling. She wasn’t weak like these other women I was forced to deal with now.

  In the aftermath of the redistricting effort, we managed to find two other women who were immune to the bite of the undead. While not surprising to me, this came as a complete shock to Art. He’s taken over the job of documenting the glory of my reign. This honor has allowed him the privilege of shadowing me and keeping record. He had been a newspaper man in the old days, so this seemed like the best way for him to be able to do his new job. While I enjoyed my time conversing with Jessica, Art has the personality of a stump. It became painfully clear from the first few days that he should fade into the background.

  He stood there slack jawed when two weeks after the wall being moved two familiar couples came crying towards our camp. Everyone was sure that they had all perished or left the island, but there stood two men trying in vain to protect their women from the monsters they were facing. I was going to have them shot, but then they were yelling about immunity and bites. I knew it would only be the women. No other men were touched by greatness, and once their stories were confirmed, we led the women to my home. Protests were made about staying together. I made sure they understood that the men being allowed back inside was a gift of my kind nature, not something they should take for granted.

  The two blessed women were overjoyed with their position in our group as they with showered with all the gifts their hearts desired. It was a shame, but one of them had a husband who was unable to see that the importance of our mission overrode their exchanged vows. The world was a far different place when they wore those fancy outfits and stood at the front of what is now quite possibly a defunct religious institution, swearing monogamy to an outdated deity and the state. His wife knew that her place was with me.

  I tried to be lenient at first, merely locking him away until he could see the error in his ways. After two escapes, during the last of which he had made it all the way to the room where the women were kept, he had to be put down. It was for the best, though. Once he was gone, his wife could finally be free of the old life that still bound her and give herself fully to me. Her silence was a wonderful way to show how seriously she toke her duty. The tears of joy dried up after a few days.

  Earl, always the worrier, has been scurrying around the camp. His constant negativity began to wear me thin on patience for him. No one wants to hear how the sky is falling every day. Does he celebrate my triumphs? No. He just moves onto the next fire, and stops me from being able to enjoy what should be my greatest accomplishments. I have created a safe zone in chaos, carved out from the darkness stands this beacon of light. It is poetic that our home includes a very large and quite literal beacon of light. The Barnegat lighthouse may not work right now, but one day I will have that light shining to bring more subjects to be safe in my magnanimous arms.

  I finally had enough, and sent him to time out to think about how he addresses me. The world will keep turning without him and maybe it was time that he learned that. I on the other hand am not so easily replaced. My mission, my life itself, was our entire reason to get up each day and keep going. Bothering me with trivial issues was a strain on the real task at hand. I looked over at the two women sleeping soundly on the edges of my king-sized bed and wished I had more time to stay with them, but things needed to be done so I could return to them later to try for an heir again.

  As I scanned the horizon, Art scribbling furiously in his notebook behind me, I hatched a plan for how to deal with the small group of rabble-rousers who were unable to see my vision and the gift I have given them by allowing them to stay here. The sun was just about to rise above the horizon, the signal for the change of guards and the start of a new day. We would have to process the new batch of refugees that had arrived last night, and I would need to set the wheels in motion to squash all those seeking to sabotage the safety that we all enjoyed.

  The brick-wall brothers appeared behind me like clockwork, tromping through the room with their usual amount of finesse. Another day, another chance to save humanity.

  18

  Ian

  I had no idea what the hell Ken was hoping to find here, but I knew he wasn’t finding it. We cleared floor by floor on our way down to the basement, then into the sub-basement where the labs were. I left Ranger and two others to watch the stairwell in case our new friends decided to follow us down here. With a couple of theirs down, not knowing how many there were, I figured they’d leave us be for the time being, but I wasn’t taking the chance of getting trapped down here.

  Every room we came to looked about the same, there wasn’t much in the way of carnage down here. It looked more like people had just shut down for the day and never came back. Ken got more antsy and upset the further down the line we got. He kept mumbling something about damned EMR’s. I have no idea what an “EMR” is, but apparently, they were making it hard for him to find what he needed.

  “It’s all in the damned, useless computers!” he yelled, slamming the door on another file cabinet. “There’s plenty of patient info on paper, but no real data. This is such a waste.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to be consoling I guess, “What if we drag a few of them back with us, maybe, we can get them working back at
the base.”

  He shrugged dejectedly and slumped in a chair rubbing his temples.

  I pressed further, “There’s power here. We could plug a few in to the emergency outlets and see which ones have what you need. Then we throw them in the Humvee and cart ‘em back. You can nerd out on the data all you want back home.”

  Ken’s eyes brightened a little. “I don’t know if they’ll work without a network to connect to, but we can at least see what was stored locally on the hard drives.”

  “We’ll have to get the generator running again. It’s in the garage where I stole my first Jeep from.” I thought back wistfully, well not wistfully, but you know, kind of nostalgic in a way, to that time last year when I first busted out of here. “We’ll need two guys on the door here and three to come with us to the garage. I want two men on guard duty at the genny just in case. I don’t think those guys will show themselves again, but one or two of them might get an idea to take a couple pot shots if we start the power up again.” I gathered my men and relayed the plan. I told the few others to gather all the computers into one of the offices, the one that had a bright red outlet on the wall. I knew enough to know that that was an emergency power supply and would get juice from the generator.