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

by Morris, SJ

Using my t-shirt to cover my nose, I asked my new companions, “How long have you been in there? It smells like it’s been a while.”

  The smallest person in the group spoke up first. She was a short brunette, maybe 5’2, with a mousy voice, but something about the way she carried herself told me she was no mouse. She stuck her grime-covered hand out to shake mine as she spoke, “I’m Dr. Emily Nasser. This is Captain Dr. Lynn Madison, and this is Mr. Owen Miles. We’ve been inside the back of the ambulance for the better half of today, and unfortunately, our situation did not allow for sanitary means of restroom facilities. Plus, one of the ghouls found its way inside the cab, and we were swarmed before we could shove it out of the truck.”

  I looked at her muck-stained outstretched hand and decided to give her a quick fist bump instead. My reaction made her smile. The big, bad guy with the gun didn’t want to shake the dirty hand of a tiny woman.

  “Ghouls, huh? So that’s what you guys call the infected? Well, my name is Christopher Bryant. Are you all from the Wawayanda group that Merv belonged to?”

  Again, Emily spoke for the three. “I don’t know if we would call ourselves the Wawayanda group, but we have made the Wawayanda State Park our home, and yes, we know Merv and his family.”

  Just as Emily was about to continue our conversation, Merv pulled up hastily with a worried expression, “Sorry to break up the welcome party, but we gotta go. I couldn’t manage to shake the infected that I drew away, and they’re right behind me. We’ve got to go now!”

  Emily looked behind Merv and saw the quickly approaching mob of infected. Then swiftly looked back at the ambulance they just came from, “We have supplies inside that we can’t leave behind, and the bus has a flat tire so we can’t drive it. We’ve already had people try to steal these provisions, so we aren’t leaving them. Do you think you can take out the ghouls so we can change the tire?”

  I looked around for somewhere to perch myself that would be out of reach from the infected and made a split-second decision. “You guys all get back inside the ambulance and close the doors. Merv, give me some of your ammo and get inside with them. I’ll take care of the infected.”

  Merv knew better than to question me, mostly due to the lack of time to discuss anything. He jumped off his quad, tossing me his ammo bag and herded the others back into the smelly ambulance. After they closed and locked the doors, I hopped up onto the bumper and pulled myself onto the roof of the defunct ambulance. I lit another flare from Merv’s pack and threw it in the center of the intersection. I wanted the infected focused away from the vehicle as much as possible so that I could pick them off one by one.

  The mob of infected was fast. The dead ran like they were competing in the Olympics, which was still surprising since we hadn’t seen any of the undead move that quick in quite some time. The lead zombie halted his sprint right before my flare that was spewing red flames all over the battered pavement. He seemed to have been a biker when he was actually alive. He was a rather large man wearing a leather vest, sun-bleached jeans, heavy black leather boots, with tattoos covering his now greying arms, and he had a long, thick beard covered in dense, black blood. He was most certainly newly turned as his eyes were not the solid white color that came with the decay of time. He had a flap of skin torn from his right forearm in the shape of a bite wound that swung like a demented pendulum off a broken clock as he stood staring at the flare and then looking up at me.

  The other infected arrived shortly after the large biker, and they all wore matching outfits for the most part. They appeared to be part of a biker gang that got attacked by the undead and now joined their zombie forces. The infected group that now stood before me was the scariest I’ve seen yet. They were all freshly turned, and their eyes all stared at me, almost through me. The wind started picking up again, and I heard thunder in the distance. I was not going to have a lot of time to get this done before the storm rolled in, but the revenant biker gang didn’t seem to have a problem with getting this show on the road.

  The large biker was the first to make a move, and the others seemed to be following his lead, which is something I have never seen from the infected, and it scared the shit out of me. It seemed like these particular infected retained some of their human intelligence. Not good. He looked down at the flare, and then back at me before letting out a God-awful moan that was more like a roar as he began taking slow steps towards the ambulance. The others followed, and none of them broke eye contact with me as if to collectively say, ‘We’re coming for you.’

  I had seen enough. I lay down on the roof of the ambulance with my rifle and took aim as the first of many fat raindrops started to fall. I stared back at the lead infected through my rifle scope and fired. The large biker took a bullet to the jugular and barely flinched as thick black gore poured out of the wound, and he sped up his pursuit of me. I quickly adjusted my aim and fired again. This time the shot found its home just above the undead biker’s right eye, and he crumpled into a heap of viscera and carnage: one down, thirteen more to go.

  It took longer than expected not just because of the rain, but because without their leader, the others seemed to disperse more, but I was able to kill the remaining undead bikers without wasting too much ammo. I banged on the roof of the ambulance and gave the all-clear to the others trapped inside.

  The only guy in our group of new friends, Owen, spoke up as he exited the truck, “I guess we know what happened to that biker gang who was chasing us.”

  Emily chimed in with a smirk on her face, “Serves them right. Who the hell steals from people who are trying to help you? Idiots.”

  I was beginning to become rather fond of Emily. Not only because she introduced herself as a doctor, so I knew she could help Abby, but because she spoke her mind. Most people didn’t nowadays. A lot of the people we came into contact with would rather stay quiet than say what was on their mind because they worried their words could offend someone, and that would lead to some sort of altercation. The end of the world really put a damper on people’s opinions, but I was glad to see the doctor was not afraid to say her piece.

  “So, Emily...”

  “It’s Doctor Nasser to you, sir. Until I know you well enough, you will address me with respect, please.” Emily commanded as Merv helped her out of the ambulance.

  “My apologies, ma’am, ugh Dr. Nasser. Merv told me where to find you because we need your help desperately. My wife is currently giving birth to twins and is having some complications. There is a retired field medic, a virologist, and a former police officer helping her now, but we desperately need a trained gynecologist to give my wife, Abby, the best chance at making it through this. When we left, she was unconscious, and they were getting ready to do a caesarean section. I told them to wait as long as possible so we could find you. Can you help us?”

  Dr. Nasser looked over at Merv and then back at me. “You’re in luck, Chris. I happen to be a board-certified OBGYN who has helped deliver many multiples. Can we leave Owen and Merv here to fix the flat on the ambulance and get it back to our camp while you, me, and Dr. Madison here attend to your wife?”

  I smiled, wiping away the cold rain from my forehead. “Absolutely. Time is of the essence, so get what you need, and let’s head out before this storm gets too bad, and my wife gives birth without us. Dr. Madison, can you drive a quad?”

  Dr. Madison seemed to jump to attention at my question and quickly replied, “Yes, sir.”

  “Merv, are you two going to be okay if we leave you? I know your aim is getting better, but...”

  Merv interrupted me, shaking his head, “Yes, we’ll be fine. One of us will be the lookout while the other changes the tire, and we’ll head out to their compound right away. Once we deliver the supplies they were supposed to drop off, I’ll head back in another vehicle to the cabin. Please tell my wife I’m okay. She’s worried enough about me coming out here. I can only imagine she’s going to think the worst as soon as you show up without me.”

  “You
got it. Stay safe and hurry back. I’ll need all the help I can get with two daughters to look after,” I said, giving him a wink and tossing him back his ammo bag.

  With a plan in place, Dr. Nasser jumped on the back of my quad with me, and Dr. Madison hopped on Merv’s quad, ready to follow us back to the cabin.

  Chapter 6

  Christopher Bryant

  The rain fell harder and harder until it was blowing sideways along with most of the trees we passed. This storm was turning out to be massive. The thunder and lightning boomed and flashed as we dodged infected and tree branches alike. We drove as fast as we possibly could, but it was much slower than I would have liked. The rain made it difficult to see, and with every rumble of thunder or strike of lightning, Dr. Emily Nasser made it difficult to breathe. This tiny woman clenched onto me so tightly, I thought I was going pass out at one point.

  I yelled over the heavy rain and wind, “Hey, Dr. Nasser, do you think you could let up on me a little? You’re squeezing a bit hard.”

  “Sorry. I’m a bit jumpy after being trapped in that ambulance all day,” she yelled back.

  “Speaking of, what the hell happened? Why were you guys trapped in there?”

  “Those bikers you took out, we met them earlier on the road when we were trying to get supplies to a new outpost we were attempting to establish. Long and short of the story is that we were driving a big bulky ambulance, and they were driving much faster motorcycles. One of them blew out our front tire, and the noise attracted a group of the ghouls. All it took was one biker to go down and...” Dr. Nasser’s voice trailed off, disappearing into the whipping wind and rain.

  “I can guess what happened next. We’ve all seen so much death.”

  “No, you don’t understand. Something is happening. The biker was bitten, and before his body even hit the ground, he changed. He went after the rest of the bikers before they even realized what happened to him. It was so quick. I’ve never seen the change happen like that. It wasn’t even seconds before...” Her voice trailed off again.

  “Well, we’ll be safe once we get back to the cabin, and once you help my Abby, you and she can talk about all of this crap with the other scientist we have, Troy. He’s a bit of an odd duck, but he’s known about the virus long before any of the shit hit the fan.”

  “Wait. What? You have someone who studied the virus before the outbreak?” she yelled much more excitedly than I expected.

  “Yeah, we do. And, Abby, she studied the virus years ago too. She even had a run-in with the creator of the Perdition Virus. You could say she has a genetic link to all of this.” I regretted my words as soon as they came out of my mouth.

  “The Perdition Virus, huh? I’m going to need you to explain that a little more, but first we need to get out of this storm. Look out for those ghouls!”

  There was a group of infected milling around in the middle of the road trying not to get blown over by the wind, but the wind was winning. The rain and mud made what was left of the asphalt incredibly slippery. It was like watching grotesque bowling pins fall from an invisible ball. If it wasn’t so dangerous driving a quad in this storm, I’d be laughing my ass off at the undead flopping all over themselves.

  Dr. Madison, or Captain Madison, whatever she wanted to be called was trailing close behind us, and even with the storm, we seemed to be making good time, not good enough for me but, beggars can’t be choosers, right? I just hope we make it back in time to help, and that my girls are going to be okay.

  I pulled off what was left of the road for the mud trail I had followed to get here. Even in the deluge of rain, I remembered the route back home, and before I knew it, we were pulling up to the fence that surrounded our private eutopia. The gate started opening as soon as we were in view of the cameras. We quickly drove in, and the chain-link closed safely behind. We were greeted by the giant cement wall that surrounded the property and its imposing iron door.

  Just as the chain-link clicked closed, giant angry bodies crashed hard against it. The infected had followed us home, and they appeared to be of the newer breed. They thrashed their bodies furiously at the fence for stopping them. They didn’t moan like the undead I was used to dealing with. These screamed as they tore at the metal barrier, trying to get to us. Their eyes were full of frenzied anger, and these infected, they seemed different. Something had definitely changed; something was fundamentally unusual about these new zombies.

  It didn’t seem like the chain-link was going to protect us for much longer against these much more aggressive threats, so I was incredibly happy when the iron gate began to open. I knew these things wouldn’t stop until they broke through, and the way they flailed and moved so erratically, that was going to be soon.

  I couldn’t let them threaten our home, so I jumped off of the ATV and pulled out my boot knife. I was going to stab them through the chain link, but as I lined up my blade with the face of what used to be a beautiful woman, she stopped clawing at the fence and stared at me. Her eyes only showing the faintest hint of cloudiness or decay. The others that were by her side also froze and stared at me.

  It was like I was in a horror movie, more so than on a typical day anyway.

  Thankfully this was more of a horror short film than a full-length movie because a small group of deer burst through the trees. The infected quickly changed their focus from me to the deer as they turned and gave chase. The deer noticing the threat headed right for them turned and bound away, but the dead were not far behind them.

  I kept my fears of this new behavior to myself as I returned to the quad and got Dr. Nasser inside. I needed to get her to Abby and quickly. I could worry about the evolution of the infected later.

  I ran to the steps and into the house with Dr. Nasser and Dr. Madison in tow. I led them into the pantry and down to the hidden surgical suit below ground. Our guest’s faces lit up with wonder as I took them down into the depths of our home, but I didn’t have time to explain the structure or everything we had down here. The focus was on finding out how Abby was doing and getting these doctors in the room with her. We needed their help to deliver the girls safely. I could give them the nickel tour of the compound and all its bells and whistles later.

  I burst through the doors, and Doc Bakers looked up at me, then back to the two women behind me.

  “It took you long enough,” Doc chided me.

  “I’m sorry, there’s kind of a zombie situation outside, but we got here as quickly as possible. Doc Baker, this is Doctor Emily Nasser, and this is, ugh, Captain, or Doctor Lynn Madison.”

  Doctor Madison quickly headed to the sink to wash her hands. “Lynn is fine. All you have to know right now is that I’ve delivered babies before, and so has Dr. Nasser. So, let’s get to it. What’s the current status of the patient?”

  Apparently, that was good enough for Doc Bakers because she jumped right into the medical jargon. I didn’t understand much of it, but I heard the word stable, and I was happy with that. Abby was still unconscious and hooked up to a bunch of machines, but I could hear both heartbeats from the babies, which also put me at ease.

  I was watching the team of three medical professionals wash up and work together when Jasmine started pushing me out of the room.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked her, confused.

  “We’re about to cut Abby open and take out the babies. We can handle it, but you don’t need to be here for this. Plus, you were just out in the shit, so you’re covered in muck. Go get a quick shower and change your clothes. By the time you come back, we’ll have these babies out and ready for you to hold,” Jasmine responded, smiling as she pushed me out of the doors.

  I could see there was no fighting this. I was being kicked out. I felt a little better now that there was a trained obstetrician in the room at least. I had done everything I could. The rest was out of my hands.

  Chapter 7

  Christopher Bryant

  I took the quickest shower possible and was right back
down at the surgical suite doors waiting for any news about Abby and the girls. It felt like I was waiting forever, and then I heard it. The cry of a newborn child. The sound filled me with happiness. Then I heard it again, and I felt tears of joy fill my eyes. The babies were out, and they sounded healthy.

  It took everything I had not to rush through the doors and see how the babies and Abby were doing, but I knew if I didn’t like what I saw, I’d just be in the way. I was going to let the medical professionals do their jobs.

  Jimmy came down and brought me some coffee. I think he really just wanted to know if there were any updates. There were quite a few people upstairs waiting on news of the birth.

  “So, what’s going on, Chris? Did they tell you anything yet?” Jimmy asked, leaning against the wall, trying to act nonchalant.

  “No one has come out yet, but I heard the babies crying. That’s a good sign, right?”

  Jimmy smiled. “Absolutely, that’s a great sign! So, I hear it’s two girls, huh? We’re going to have our hands full with them if they’re anything like their mother.”

  I laughed, imagining two little Abbys running around. “Yeah, talk about too many cooks in the kitchen, am I right? Those girls are going to boss everyone around and be stubborn as hell, just like their mom. I know it.”

  “Well, let us know when you hear any news. Everyone is pretty much congregating in the kitchen upstairs since it’s still raining outside,” Jimmy said, turning to leave.

  “Hey, Jimmy, is anyone in the security room?”

  “Yeah, Tyler, Chase, and Christine are. I think they’re trying to keep busy while waiting to hear the baby news. Why? What’s up?”

  “When I was out with Merv getting the doctors, the infected that were out there seemed to be acting strangely. It’s like they’re changing, evolving even. They followed us up to the gates, and when I went to put them down, they stopped attacking the fence and just stared at me. Like they knew what I was going to do, and they were trying to anticipate my next move. Some deer ran out of the woods, and they turned to give chase, so I didn’t get a chance to kill them. I was just wondering if any of the cameras on the fences caught any other odd behavior.”