The Z-Strain Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3]

by Morris, SJ

  Where there were wrecks, he advised, there was always a large number of infected. It didn’t take long to decide that we needed a vehicle of some sort, something small and quick. There were only the three of us, and we didn’t have a lot of gear, so we didn’t need something as big as my Land Rover, but still, what I wouldn’t give right now for the safety of my big truck.

  “So, Kamil, what have you learned about the infected or zeds, as you call them, in your time with them?”

  Kamil looked over at me with a face that said, ‘Where do I start?’

  “Well, they can come by themselves, in small groups, or in large groups. They don’t seem to care if they’re together or not and when they’re eating something, they don’t fight over it like you’d expect from knowing other predatory behavior.”

  I nodded in understanding, “So, they don’t seem to be pack hunters, and they don’t really acknowledge the presence of the other infected. Okay, what else?”

  “Well, they don’t have the best sight, but their sense of smell and their hearing are better than an average human. Dana and I were hiding in an abandoned car one night. She was trying to get some sleep, so I was keeping watch. It was pitch-black outside, there was no moon and I heard the telltale shuffling of a zed coming. I wasn’t making any noise or moving at all and I hoped it was going to wander past us, but just as it got to the back of the car, it stopped. It put its head up to the sky. It seemed to smell the air, and then, it just stopped. It stood as still as a statue, facing right where we were in the car, but it didn’t see us at all. It stood there for a good ten minutes, not moving at all when Dana let out a small noise. I guess she was having a dream, and the zed moaned loudly, instantly trying to claw the window open. Dana woke up screaming, and the zed started freaking out, punching the window so hard it started to crack. I grabbed our stuff and Dana. Then, we jumped out of the other side of the car before any more showed up. We found another place to hide after running for about thirty minutes. This time, it was in a house. Sure enough, a few hours later, that same zed showed up, sniffing the air again. Now, he stood at the window we used to get into the house. It was like he remembered what we smelled like. Like, he followed our scent all the way to the house and was just waiting for a sound to confirm that he’d found us again. This time, I found a broomstick in the house, sharpened the edge a little with a kitchen knife and snuck up on the bastard to stick it in his skull, so he wouldn’t follow us anymore.”

  I was truly surprised, “Wow. I knew their sense of smell and hearing was good, but I didn’t imagine it was good enough to track like that. Especially with them continuing to decompose the way they do.”

  “Well, this one, the one that followed us, was fairly new. He had fresh bite wounds on his neck and his clothes weren’t that dirty. He looked like he might have been a survivor that had a recent run-in with a zed.”

  “That explains it a little better. The ones that you’ve seen, have they mostly been older or newly infected, by the way they looked?”

  “Other than the one that tracked us and Bobby, most zeds we come into contact with are decomposing pretty badly, especially in the warm weather.”

  “That sounds about right. Most of the infected would be from the initial outbreak over a month ago. They’d be from that time, and the week that followed, which was when most of the population was infected. I’m hoping that if we can wait this out, eventually they’ll decompose so badly that they’ll literally just fall apart and no longer be a threat. Or at least, they’ll be a threat that can be handled pretty easily.”

  “What do you mean? Like a dying bear is any less a bear?”

  “Well, a dying bear is slower and easier to get where you want him to be, so you can finish him off.”

  “That’s true, I guess. The zeds aren’t any less scary when they’re slower, though,” Dana chimed in.

  “Yes, I agree, but I’ll take any advantage I can get, at this point. So, do you guys know this area at all? What way did you come from?” I asked.

  Kamil spoke softly as he continued to scan the tree line, “We’ve been walking for the last week since the incident with our group. We were in the woods over here when we stumbled on some zeds eating a deer and we ran away to the street where the van was. We thought we’d lost them, but you know the rest. I don’t know this area too well. Like you, I know the north of the state better but only from childhood.”

  Kamil was answering my questions, but he didn’t seem to want to talk right now. I got the impression that he just wanted to get somewhere safe, so we could plan our next move to get back to the cabin, and who could blame him?

  So, we walked a while in silence, which was nice, since the birds were chirping loudly. I took the wildlife being so active as a gesture that there weren’t any infected in the area.

  We passed a field of what used to be grazing land for sheep. I could tell because their mutilated corpses were dotted all over the pasture. The smell was pretty bad, but the sight of all the reddish-black gore splashed against the white coats of the animals was the worst. I don’t know why, but it was a difficult sight for me.

  Seeing the carnage, I realized that the quiet and calm sounds of nature that surrounded us, being the soundtrack for the terror in the field, made it worse. I was lost in my thoughts of the poor sheep when I heard a quiet whining from up ahead. I stopped to listen and heard it again.

  I took off as quickly as I could, with my pain medication starting to kick in. I jogged down the desolate street, toward the sounds, with Kamil and Dana following closely behind me.

  I wasn’t running all that fast, thanks to the broken ribs, but I finally made it to a large white farmhouse with a fenced-in horse corral next to it. Five beautiful horses were clumped together in the far corner of the pen, clamoring over each other, fighting to be the one closest to the outside fence.

  On the opposite side of the corral, I saw what the horses were trying to get away from, more infected. There were about twenty of them, clustered up against the fence, reaching into the air, towards the promise of fresh meat. Their moans were muffled, and I guessed it was because they were all pushing against one another so hard; it was probably difficult to get sounds out.

  The fence strained under the constant pressure of the infected, and I was surprised it was holding. By the sound of it, it wasn’t going to remain stable for long, though. I looked to Kamil and Dana, who were now at my side.

  “We have to clear out these infected. We could use the horses to travel to the cabin without worrying about finding a car and keeping it gassed up!” I yelled excitedly as I started to make my way around the fence, toward the infected.

  “I haven’t ridden a horse in I can’t tell you how long. Can’t we just find some bikes or a small car?” Kamil yelled after me.

  I ignored him, mostly because I didn’t want to leave these horses to meet the same fate as the sheep. I wouldn’t let that happen if I could help it. Also, riding horses would be a much easier mode of transportation when it came to fuel and being able to navigate around traffic wrecks.

  I stopped, just outside the corner part of the fence that was holding the infected back. There was an old bale of hay, rotting in the mud, which had a pitchfork sticking out of it. Perfect, now I wouldn’t have to use my gun.

  I was going to use being partially infected to its fullest advantage for as long as I could, and so, I grabbed the pitchfork. I hopped the fence and stood right in front of the angry mob of zombies. The ones directly in front of me looked right past me and tried to maneuver themselves so they could see around where I was standing, to the horses behind me.

  I guess I’m still zombie-proof, I thought as I pulled the pitchfork up to my shoulder like I was going to throw a spear. Without hesitating, I jabbed the closest infected with the prongs. The metal pierced his skull and he fell, slowly, into the restless crowd of infected.

  I made sure to have a tight hold on the pitchfork, so the infected didn’t pull it out of my grasp, and when he di
d fall, I yanked the tool back. I was pleased with the result and turned to find Kamil and Dana, just behind the group of scared horses, staring at me with wide eyes.

  In that moment, I felt empowered.

  I had something that no one else had. I had an advantage over this infection, and I was going to use it to save as many lives as I possibly could before things went bad again, which, with my luck, they inevitably would.

  I switched to using the pitchfork in an uppercut fashion and spread out my kills to take down the remaining infected at the fence. When all was said and done, there was a total of twenty-three infected on the ground, dead, hopefully for the last time.

  The horses were still spooked, but they were calming as Dana and Kamil tried to pet and talk to them. I climbed over the fence to find the barn that used to house the horses when there was still a farmer to put them away. There was a stall, piled high with bags of horse feed. Immediately, I grabbed a container and ripped one of the bags open. I filled the bucket and headed back outside to the fence-line where Dana and Kamil were still trying to calm the horses.

  They started to spread out, finally, but they continued to stay away from the corner where the infected were now piled up. I shook the bucket as hard as I could and caught the attention of most of the scared animals. They followed me to where Kamil and Dana were along the fence, with their heads bobbing up and down with the excitement of being fed.

  Dana and Kamil both grabbed handfuls of the feed and reached out to the horses that ate hungrily. I hung the bucket on one of the fence posts and went back to the barn to get more buckets of feed.

  Once the horses had their fill, they were reasonably calm, so I ventured to grab one by the bridle, and she came willingly. I led her to a corner of the fence, still away from the infected, to another small gate.

  I pet her slowly before opening the gate, in fear that she might still be spooked by the recent events and run to freedom as soon as she had the chance. She seemed relatively calm, though, so I opened the gate slowly and led her through. Kamil and Dana followed suit, each with their own mare.

  I came around to the side of the fence, pointing Kamil and Dana towards the big barn that I retrieved the horse feed from. They led their horses into the barn, and I closed the gate after them. I was going to let the other horses free once we were ready to leave, but I didn’t want them getting out yet.

  I wanted to make sure all three horses we were going to get saddled up would allow us to ride them before relinquishing our other two options. After all, it was crucial to take advantage of every opportunity and take nothing for granted in this brutal new world.

  Plan for the worst and hope for the best, right?

  I remembered Chris saying that what seemed like ages ago. It’s funny how time has an odd way of stretching itself when there’s no longer the normalcy of routine or day-to-day things to be done that don’t require you to face certain death at every turn. Going to work or school five days a week, it seems like time flies. Throw in some zombies and the constant threat of your demise, and a month seems like a year or more.

  I really needed to stop it with these negative thought tangents. After all, I should be grateful to be alive, right?

  We made it to the barn, each with a horse and tied them up to the stalls. We looked around and found saddles, but I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to properly secure them to the horses. Every time I went horseback riding, it was only for fun, and I never had to do any of the work myself, so I was now at a disadvantage. Dana came to the rescue, though. She said that she used to take riding lessons as a little girl, and she remembered everything that needed to be done. Kamil lifted the heavy saddles onto each horse and Dana started securing each of them.

  I took this time to sit and catch my breath. I grabbed a granola bar out of my bag, and before I knew it, I had eaten three of them. It’s surprising how fast your appetite comes back when the reeking smell of death and decay is absent.

  It took some time, but Dana got all three horses ready for travel. She checked their feet and everything, ensuring that they’d be safe to ride, but because all of her preparations took time, the sun was now starting to dip in the sky. I figured that now was a good time to check the main house for infected since it seemed as if we’d be staying the night.

  “Hey Kamil, it is starting to get dark, and I don’t want us to be out here when it does. What do you think about checking the main house and bedding down here for the night? It looks like all of us could really use a good night’s sleep.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Dana, are you okay with that?”

  “Sure, as long as the horses can be locked in the barn. I don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning to find them eaten by the zeds after we saved them.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get these three locked in stalls with some extra food and water and get the other two that are out in the pen inside as well. Then, we can check the house together.”

  Dana got food and water in the stalls while Kamil and I brought the other two horses in the barn. The horses seemed elated to be inside. Although, I would be too if I had just spent however many hours, or days, thinking I was going to be devoured by the same people that probably fed and rode me daily.

  We closed the barn doors and secured them with some wood we found. The infected were killers, but I saw no reason to think they had the ability to open and close doors or figure out how to get the wood planks out of the door slots to get them open. The doors were large and heavy enough, it would probably take a hundred or more infected pushing against them to bust them open, and I certainly hoped we were not going to see that many.

  I gave Kamil the pitchfork I had used previously, and Dana found a huge, arm-length scythe in the barn to use as a weapon. I was more worried about her hurting herself with it, but Kamil seemed to approve, so I said nothing.

  Dana stood by the back door to the house as Kamil and I checked the surroundings outside. The last thing we needed was to be worried about infected coming from the house and then coming at us from outside as well. When we were satisfied the outside was clear, we looked to Dana. She knocked on the door softly and listened for a few moments. Receiving no response, she stepped back and knocked a little harder before going back to the door, with her ear to the wood.

  “I think I hear something, but I can’t tell,” Dana said, backing away from the door.

  I whispered to them, “Let’s go around the front and see if we can look in the windows. We’ll knock up front too. If there was anyone alive inside, they’d have come out already when we were taking care of the horses, I would think.”

  We started around the side of the house, away from the barn, as to not make too much noise and possibly spook the horses again. I hoped they were sleeping, so they’d also make as little noise as possible.

  I realized then, that I hadn’t really thought the whole using horse’s thing through. Yeah, they didn’t need gas and could navigate wrecks fairly well, but they are also big animals that would make a lot of noise, just by walking.

  Note to self, make it a point to find three bicycles.

  Since the sun was going down and there were no lights or candles on, I couldn’t see inside very well. It was difficult to tell if anything was moving around or not. We got up to the huge front porch, and the stairs creaked, making me jump with every little noise they made.

  Dana was a very beautiful young girl and tan, but right now, she looked terrified and as white as a ghost. Kamil kept the same poker face he wore all day, pretty much, but he was sweating profusely, so I could tell he was pretty anxious and possibly scared shitless like I was.

  There’s no shame in that!

  We got to the front door and I opened the screen with the telltale farmhouse squeak. I knocked, fairly loudly. I was starting to get the creeps, being out here, exposed, as the sun was going down. I wanted to get inside while we still had some sunlight left. I listened carefully, and just as I was reaching for the door handle, ther
e was a loud crash from inside the house.

  Suddenly, a face appeared at the glass of the door. It used to be a teenage boy, but now it was just a mindless infected, crazed by the promise of food. I asked Dana to stand behind Kamil and Kamil to stand against the house. I grabbed the pitchfork from Kamil and asked him to hold the screen door open for me. I reached out to the door handle and again, the infected didn’t seem to notice me. He was focused on Kamil and Dana, who were hiding behind the other door.

  The eyes of the infected were glazed over with a thick, white film, so he had been turned for a while, but I guess he could smell them because he thrashed at the glass of the door in their direction.

  I pushed the door-handle in, hard, and the zed went toppling over to the floor from the force. I took the advantage, while the infected was trying to get back up and used the pitchfork to spear him through the face. It scared me that it was now so easy to skewer what used to be a teenage boy, but I told myself it was either him or us, and he was no longer a boy, thanks to the Z-Strain virus.

  I dragged the body out of the house with the pitchfork still embedded in its brain. I left him near the road, hoping that its smell wouldn’t carry up to the house.

  Next, we each walked into the house slowly and carefully, trying our best not to make any noise. We wanted to listen for any other telltale signs that there may be more infected inside. When I was satisfied that the silence I heard was genuine, we searched the downstairs together, room by room.

  The door to the kitchen was closed, resolving the question of why our young infected didn’t come to the back door to greet us earlier.

  During our search, I found some flashlights and candles in the pantry. Now armed with light to see, we headed upstairs to check the bedrooms together. I didn’t want to leave anyone alone. If there should be any surprises hiding in this house, I wanted all of us to be there to have each other’s back.