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

by Morris, SJ

  “Oh, thank you, Sir,” said Dana with a smile, “May we please come in? We have food and water to share with you if you need it, in return for your generous hospitality.”

  I was astonished that Dana said anything because she was always pretty quiet, but I couldn’t have asked nicer myself if I put honey on it. The old man lowered his gun as he uncocked it, and he couldn’t help but smile at her sweet face and charming demeanor.

  “Well, now, Dana, you and your friends are more than welcome. I’ll be right down to unlock the front door.”

  I whispered, “Well done, Dana. Now, we need to tell him quickly what’s coming. I have a few ideas to fortify the building that I hope should keep us safe, so we need to get this guy on board… like now. I’m worried about the massive number of infected coming our way, and I hope the building will remain standing. It seems like a solidly built, sturdy, brick building, so we should be okay. I need to make sure we protect the garage bay doors and the front or any side entrance that’s not brick, though. We have to keep the infected away from those areas because they’ll be the buildings weaknesses.”

  Before I could finish explaining my ideas, the old man appeared at the door with the Colt tucked into his worn jeans that were held up by bright red suspenders. He opened the door and held out a greased-stained, working man’s hand to me.

  “The name’s Chuck. Now that we’ve got the greetings out of the way, hurry up and come inside. I can’t tell you how nice it is to finally see people that are alive and talking.”

  “I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to cut you off, Chuck, but there’s a few things, with your permission of course, that I’d like to do to secure the building,” I said quickly.

  “What do you mean, secure the building? The doors are all locked, and the crazies haven’t figured out how to open ‘em just yet.”

  “Well, Chuck, a few here and there are manageable, but I’m fairly certain that in the next hour or less, there will be thousands of the crazies, as you call them, stampeding through this area. We need to do something to keep them away from any weak points in the building, like the garage bay and any other doors or windows.”

  “Thousands? What are you talking about, thousands?”

  “We were headed on our way to Route 206. When we got close, we heard them. Lots and lots of them. We’ve been riding for hours to get away, but they’re still coming in this direction. We have to be ready for a possible horde of thousands.”

  Chuck stood, looking at me with a blank stare, as he processed what I had just told him.

  I waved at Chuck, trying to pull his attention back to me, “Chuck, we need to get going on this now. Where are the keys to the dump truck that’s next to the garage?”

  Chuck snapped out of his trance, “They’re in the back office. What are you going to do?”

  “I need to park the dump truck right up against the bay doors to keep the crazies away from it. If they all push up against it at once, which they will when the horde gets here, they’ll break that door down without even trying. What other heavy machinery do you have around that we could use to park in front of the other doors and windows?”

  “Well, I got my tractor in the back and a backhoe, too.”

  Chuck seemed to be putting everything together in his head. It took him a bit, but he understood I was serious and that the situation we were about to be in was serious, too.

  Eventually, we all got to work. Since Chuck was the only one who knew how to drive these machines, I went out with him to navigate where he should park everything. Kamil and Dana went inside to stack all the shelves in front of any windows and put whatever else they could find in front of those shelves that would offer additional support.

  Chuck and I got the dump truck in front of the bay door, and it was just big enough to cover at least three feet on each side of the doorway, so should the horde slide the truck into the building, we still had some protection where the truck wasn’t pushing directly against the metal garage door. Then, we parked the tractor in front of the main entrance and front window.

  Next, we got the bucket-loader to cover the back, double doors, and put the bucket up to the roof. Chuck was a little uneasy about having to climb from the ground, up the bucket arm, onto the roof, but we had already sealed all the entrances, and there was no way for us to get in, except for going up.

  I helped him climb up, even though he was fairly unenthusiastic to accept assistance from me. I don’t think Chuck wanted to face the fact that he was no spring chicken anymore. Either that or he’d been alone so long, he didn’t know how to accept aid from anyone, anymore.

  Regardless, I got his wrinkly butt to the roof, where we looked out, over the twilight summer sky, and just stood there. I was amazed at how dark it had gotten so quickly. Time flies when you’re having fun. Am I right?

  It was so peaceful up there on the roof. The stars were shining brightly, and there wasn’t a man-made sound to be heard. There was only the chirping of the birds, settling for sleep and the crickets, singing their nightly songs piercing the night air.

  Kamil and Dana joined us on the roof shortly after we finished, and the four of us just stood there, for a good, long while. Chuck broke out a pack of Marlboro Red’s and started to puff away.

  I used to be a smoker a very long time ago, and now that I wasn’t anymore, I couldn’t stand the smell of cigarettes. Hypocrite, I know.

  I walked closer to the edge of the roof to get away from the smell, and just as I did, another scent hit me like a sack of flour to the face. The awful rotten stench of the infected was being carried by the wind.

  I looked over at Kamil, and he looked up at me. He and Dana both covered their faces at about the same time, trying to ward off the stink. I looked over at Chuck, and he had the biggest smile on his face.

  “Why are you so happy, Chuck?”

  “Well, my dear Abby, I’ve been worried for months that I was going to die alone in my store, and I haven’t. Now that ya’ll have come along, it seems I’ve got some good folks to share my time with. I can’t help but smile at the irony that ya’ll show up, and there’s the strongest possibility since this shit all started, that I’m gonna die.”

  I smiled at the old man, “Chuck, we made preparations. As long as we stay out of sight and keep quiet, I’m sure the horde is going to walk right on by. Everything we did was to make sure they couldn’t get in on accident because we’re not going to give them any reason to want to stick around and try and get in here. After all, we just met. I’d like some time to get to know you better,” I laughed.

  “I’m glad that you’re optimistic my dear, but I’ve been alive long enough to know when the shit’s about to hit the fan, and honey, by the smell of it, there’s a big ass cow pie on a direct course with said fan,” Chuck replied as he put out his cigarette out on the sole of his worn boot.

  “Speaking of smells, we don’t want to attract the crazies, so how about not lighting another one of those bad-boy Reds you got there? They might smell it and come looking. We want to take every precaution here.”

  “Got it, sweetie no more smokes for me until the crazies are out of sight and smell range. It’ll be my victory dance for tomorrow when we all see the light of another beautiful day and we’re still above ground ourselves.”

  I mock punched Chuck in the shoulder, smiling, “See, now you’re optimistic! Let’s get some water and some granola bars since we shouldn’t cook. Then, let’s focus on getting some shut-eye before company arrives.”

  The four of us headed inside to do just that.

  We agreed to sleep in four-hour shifts. If something came up that meant we were in danger, we were to wake everyone up and head to the roof. We packed ‘go’ bags and placed them at the foot of the stairs to the roof, just in case. I knew that everyone thought it was kind of silly to do because, with the number of infected that were on their way here, it would be virtually impossible to get away, bag or no bag.

  Yet, we were banking on our optimism wor
king wonders. If worse came to worse, a plan, regardless of how futile it might be, could be the only thing we had left to hang on to.

  Kamil asked to take the first shift on watch, and I was more than happy to give it to him. I didn’t think I was going to get more than an hour of rest before the infected showed up, and I didn’t think anyone was going to be getting any sleep when they arrived.

  Chuck, Dana, and I lay on the floor in the office with all the extra blankets Chuck could find, and we were asleep almost instantly.

  I thought of my kids as I lay down and prayed that I’d see them again. I fell asleep thinking of their smiling faces, running to greet me at the gates of the cabin when we all finally got there.

  Chapter 23

  The noise didn’t wake me, nor did Kamil. Rather, it was the smell that jerked me from my slumber.

  I looked over at Dana, who was still fast asleep, and Chuck, who was snoring quietly. I nudged him a little to make him roll over and stop snoring, because I was worried the smallest noise might attract the infected, making them want to try and get inside.

  So far, all I heard were some rustling noises outside, but I was sure it was about to get worse.

  I thought about waking Dana, quietly. All we needed was for her to wake up, hear them outside and start screaming. She’d gotten much better at not shouting when it counted, but I couldn’t leave this one to chance, so I woke her, cautiously.

  “Dana, wake up, sweetie. You have to be quiet, please. There’s no immediate danger right now, but they’re here,” I whispered as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

  “I’m going to wake up Chuck, so he knows too and then, I’m going to head to the roof with Kamil. I want to see what’s going on and how bad it is.”

  Dana whispered, “Okay. I’m heading up with you. What time is it?”

  “It’s just after midnight,” responded Chuck as he rolled over. He apparently had a Seiko watch that was straight out of the eighties, with its bright green luminescence. He sat up quietly and stretched like it was any other, regular morning.

  The three of us grabbed our bags, just in case, and made our way up the stairs. I opened the door as quietly as I could, and the stench that flowed in from the beautiful night sky was undoubtedly the most disgusting, vile, and foul thing I had ever smelled in my entire life.

  I thought the first infected I killed was terrible, but this, this was a million times worse. It was as if someone had drained a toxic lake of its water, and all of the fish that lived in it had sat at the bottom of the clammy, marsh mess as they putrefied in the hot sun. Oh, and while they were rotting, a manure and garbage truck collided in the dried-up chaos catching on fire. Unfortunately for our assaulted senses, even that explanation doesn’t remotely do it justice.

  The stench made me take a step back, into Dana and we both dry heaved at the same time. Chuck was further down the stairs still and from what little light the moon was shining down onto his face, I could tell even he was having trouble keeping his dinner down.

  It took us a few minutes, but we eventually managed to clear the doorway. We crouched down, even though we were up high because we didn’t want to risk any chance of being seen by the infected.

  Kamil was at the far corner of the roof, peeking his head over the side. He looked to be concentrating hard, so I made a small noise in the gravel on the roof that would hopefully go unnoticed by the infected below but would catch Kamil’s attention without him jumping up.

  “What the hell are you guys doing up here? You’re supposed to be sleeping,” Kamil demanded in less than a whisper.

  “Are you kidding? Not even Rip Van Winkle could sleep through the awful stench of these things. So, how many are there, do you think?” I asked as I ventured to the edge of the roof and peeked over to see for myself.

  What I saw was astounding. There were infected shuffling past the feed store building on all sides. I looked out down the road and the infected stretched as far as I could see. I was glad it was dark and the moon was only a quarter-full. I could only imagine the horrors we’d be able to see if it were brighter.

  It seemed what we did to fortify the feed store’s vulnerable entryways was working so far. The infected were just casually walking past the building. Thankfully they weren’t stopping to look around. There were a few that were caught in the corners of the building and behind an abandoned car on the side of the road, but they weren’t bunching up so much that they were pushing the car or toppling over one another.

  In fact, for mindless, eating machines, they actually seemed to be somewhat orderly. The only conclusion I could draw was that when they didn’t have the incentive of food, they were docile undead creatures.

  What I found most surprising about them, though, was how much noise they didn’t make. In all of the zombie movies or shows I’d ever seen, the monsters are always making those guttural moaning noises or some kind of hissing sound. Looking down at the thousands that were walking past us, it was strange to realize that they made almost no noises except for the shuffling of shoes or bare feet and the audible result of them bumping into things.

  I was glad we saw the horde coming when we did, though. If we hadn’t, I was sure we would’ve walked right up to the mass, without even knowing it, and by the time we would have realized our mistake, they would be right in front of us and it would be too late to plan any escape.

  These things were proving to be more deadly every time I faced them.

  I crouched back, behind the cover of the roof wall. Dana lay down in Kamil’s arms, with a blanket covering her face and it looked like she went back to sleep. We did have an exhausting day full of walking or bike riding, so she was probably pretty worn out.

  Chuck was in awe of what he was witnessing. He was bright-eyed, and I was worried he was going to do something stupid, like stand up and start hooting and hollering at them. After all, I didn’t really know the man all that well. Considering it had only been maybe four or five hours since we first met.

  Chuck surprised me, though. After looking over the edge of the roof with his mouth opened and his eyes bugging out of his head for a few minutes, he simply turned to me, “Thank you for saving my life. I would never have been ready for this,” he whispered before he leaned his head against the wall, calmly and pulled his shirt over his nose. He closed his eyes in a somewhat peaceful manner and looked to also be going back to sleep.

  I couldn’t help but think, maybe if we hadn’t headed in his direction, the horde wouldn’t have come this way at all, and there would be no need to save him. However, I knew I couldn’t think that way. Not with the sheer numbers that were shuffling below us. There was no way all of these infected were here just because of us. They had to be driven by something else to have amassed these numbers, in the same place, going in the same direction. They might’ve been collecting stragglers from each new area they trampled through, for all I knew.

  Yet, to my surprise, the reason for the migration patterns of the horde was irrelevant to me at the moment, because they were heading south. My family was north, so every infected on the planet could head south, for all I cared.

  Except, of course, for the ones in Canada. They should stay right where they were.

  Everyone seemed to be dozing off. Even Kamil’s eyes were getting heavy, with Dana snugly tucked in his arms. I, on the other hand, was not going to even try to go back to sleep with what was going on around us. My plan might be working, for now, but I knew that all it took was one infected to figure out that there were alive inside, and we were pretty much done for.

  There were a few times I had to fight the urge to stand up and unload what was left of my nine-millimeter magazine into the crowd of infected or find a bottle of whatever alcohol I knew Chuck had to have hidden somewhere and make a Molotov cocktail to toss into the horde.

  After sitting there, watching them slowly walk past us for hours, I became furious that I had to let them go. There was no way for me to exterminate these monsters, so I had to let t
hem just keep walking by, or the four of us would have been joining the crowd.

  I found myself missing Chris a lot and hoping desperately that he was still out there, somewhere, alive. I hoped he was taking care of my kids in my absence and that everyone at the cabin was still safe. I knew Liam and his other jerk-off cronies were dead, so they wouldn’t be going after the cabin, or my family inside it. Yet, I was well aware that they weren’t the only dangers they faced.

  The sun started to come up just as I began to drift off to sleep. By that time, I couldn’t hold off anymore. I was utterly exhausted. My ribs hurt, my legs hurt, my back and butt were killing me from the bike, and to top it all off, I had an awful headache.

  I assumed the constant, disgusting smell of the infected was the cause of the headache, but aside from that, I was well aware that my body was pretty much over everything I had put it through.

  The last time I peeked over the wall, the horde was starting to thin, so I now had a small sense of security, and that was enough for me to finally drift off to sleep.

  I had horrible dreams of the infected, learning how to do things they usually couldn’t. They were climbing, busting through windows and crashing through doors. In my dreams, or more accurately, nightmares, they found us and devoured all of my new friends right in front of me. Even though the infected didn’t touch or look at me, there was nothing I could do to save Kamil, Dana, or Chuck. Monsters surrounded me, but I felt so alone. I stood on the roof, crying, as more and more infected poured in and greedily ripped pieces of Kamil, Dana, and Chuck apart, completely gorging themselves. I blinked through my tears, not being able to wipe them away faster than they were falling. When I was finally able to see, I looked at the infected. I really looked at their faces... and it was my family. Allycia, Tyler, and Lance were tearing into Kamil. Tom, Chris, and Dan were grabbing handfuls of Dana and shoveling her flesh into their mouths as she screamed out for help.

  Lastly, all of the children from the daycare we saved were happily snacking on Chuck. Chuck looked up at me and, with his dying breaths, said these words, “This is how it’s meant to be. There’s no stopping this plague. We did this to ourselves. You couldn’t stop it before, and now your punishment is to watch it all happen, Abby.”