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

by Morris, SJ

  I pulled up to the driver’s side door and silently thanked everything holy that it was Chris and Jasmine, each with their sniper rifles at the ready. “No time to talk. Superfast zombies on my six. There are still people at the compound we have to get. Do what you can to take out the infected!” I yelled as quickly as possible before taking off again. I hoped Chris understood everything I said because I couldn’t be caught by the raging undead. They would tear me to pieces within seconds of catching up to me.

  I turned quickly enough to see the flesh-eaters enter the beams of Chris’s headlights, and I watched dark black plumes of brain matter explode from their faces as Chris and Jasmine put their amazing sniping skills to good use.

  There were more than they could kill quickly, so Chris took off with the Jeep barreling towards the remaining undead. What I saw next brought my fear to a whole new level of ‘We’re fucked’ - The infected actually jumped on the hood of the Jeep, ran across the roof, and dropped down the rear window before turning around to give chase to the moving vehicle.

  I saw Jasmine lean out of the passenger window and continue to take shots at the runners. Finally, all of the infected were neutralized.

  I slowly followed the brake lights of the Jeep, keeping my head on a swivel, just in case more of these super-fast zombies were out here. I made it to Chris without being attacked, but after what I had just seen, I was more paranoid than ever that the finally dead infected were going to break the rules again and get back up to kill us, even with their brains destroyed. It’s not a warm and fuzzy feeling, I’ll tell you that.

  “Did you fucking see that, Chris?” I asked once I stopped by the driver’s side door.

  “I wish I didn’t, but yeah. Unfortunately, that’s not the first or the second time I’ve come into contact with these super-infected,” Chris replied, looking around to be sure we weren’t still being hunted.

  “What? Please don’t tell me this is the next step in evolution for these frickin’ things.”

  “I’m afraid that it just might be. Unfortunately, we’ve got other problems we need to deal with too.”

  “What happened now?” I asked, not even wanting to hear the answer.

  “Abby’s been kidnapped again. Some assholes showed up in a Black Hawk and took her earlier today right from the back of the house. In broad-fucking daylight, Jimmy!” Chris yelled, gritting his teeth and gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles in seething anger.

  “Funny you should say that. Troy and Stuart were kidnapped from the Wawayanda Visitors Center a few hours ago, and those assholes, as you described them, were also flying around in a Black Hawk. Oh, and they blew up the Visitors Center. It’s now a hole filled with fire and a lot of the undead. Well, the undead was my doing; the fire was from them blowing up the building.”

  “What the fuck? When is this shit ever going to end, Jimmy?” Chris asked, looking defeated. Jasmine just sat shaking her head in the passenger seat. “Do you want a ride to get the others? Where are they now?” Chris asked.

  “I’ll keep the quad, we’re going to need all the space we can get to haul the survivors back to the cabin. The Wawayanda people have nowhere else to go now, Chris.”

  “I hear you, but you have to be mindful of these new, stronger, and faster infected we might have to deal with. Sure, you’re quick on the quad, but you’re also exposed.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right. I guess I’d rather be safe than sorry, and by safe, I mean alive.”

  “Smart choice. Park the quad over there off the road and hop in. I’ll radio the cabin and ask Tyler to send someone with the big truck you and Abby stole from Brigantine. Will that be enough room for the survivors?”

  “Yeah, that should do the trick. Plus, we could use the electromagnetic field emitter to keep away the stragglers. The explosion brought a ton of infected down on us, and the debris blown everywhere also knocked parts of the fences down. That’s why I was out here. I was trying to draw the herd away from the cabins so the others could make a run for it. They’re supposed to be heading to the cabin if they can.”

  “Let’s go get them then.”

  Chapter 17

  Christopher Bryant

  Jasmine and I ventured out to the Wawayanda compound to ask them for help with finding Abby, but now we needed to save them as well as Jimmy and Kamil, from a herd of infected. Well, Jimmy was able to knock out a large chunk of the undead mob, but if we hadn’t shown up when we did, Jimmy would more than likely be one of the undead thanks to the new super-infected that were now ambushing us more frequently.

  We still had a large number of the undead to take care of before we could rescue the people inside the cabins. The EMF from the truck that was on its way would help, but it would be a while before it got here, and using the EMF just meant the infected would move on and still pose a threat for another day. We needed a real solution to get rid of them once and for all.

  Jasmine had an idea for neutralizing large numbers of infected. She revised the concept of water cannons from her police training in riot control. Jasmine’s plan involved water guns, so it seemed stupid yet brilliant, all in the same breath.

  After Troy had perfected the serum that killed the infected, and it no longer had to be injected to make it work, he started making as much as possible and stockpiling the liquid zombie killer. Most of my runs outside of the cabin, while Abby was still pregnant, were for the chemicals Troy needed to make the stuff. We now had a decent amount of it and were going to put it to good use.

  During one of our supply runs a while ago, Jasmine hit up the toy aisle, collecting those massive water guns with the backpacks on them to hold a lot of water. She wanted to fill them with the serum, and when we had a group of infected at our disposal, we could hopefully spray the walking corpses with the serum and see if it worked. I said we should use the chemical sprayers from the lawn and garden department, but Jasmine said they wouldn’t shoot as far, and they weren’t as much fun.

  There was no way we were going to be able to push the remaining zombie herd into the burning pit, but they were clumped together nicely. What was left of the horde at the Wawayanda Visitor’s Center was going to give us the opportunity to try out Jasmine’s new corpse neutralization approach. Jasmine was happier than a bird with a French fry to try out her unique method.

  We used the Jeep to lead the undead outside of the gates, so we didn’t have to do cleanup afterward if this worked, and we found a large open field. Jasmine filled up the four backpacks with the brightly colored serum and laid them out on the backseats, so they were easy for her to reach. Jaz stood on the back of the Jeep as I drove around the herd in the field, and she blasted the infected with the bright orange liquid. The water guns shot farther than I expected them to, and I was glad she talked me out of using the chemical sprayers instead.

  Within minutes of being sprayed, the undead started collapsing to the ground in heaps of black ooze. Every orifice from eyeballs to missing limbs leaked a dark tar-like substance. It was a morbidly, revolting sight, and the odor was far worse than I ever thought anything could be. It was like someone dipped my head in a bowl of rotting fish after they shoved baby shit up my nose. It was that in your face. There was no getting away from it. I pulled my bandana over my mouth and nose and turned the air-conditioning in the truck on full blast just to keep the air circulating. Even then, my eyes burned with the pungent stench.

  I was happy to see that the serum worked on a larger scale. Now we actually had a way to permanently get rid of the infected once and for all. Even if it was incredibly messy.

  We made it back to the cabins and told everybody the good news. There was a feeling of relief from everyone. We might actually be able to win this war with the undead. Now, we just have to take care of the living in the meantime and find Abby, Troy, and Stuart.

  Jimmy said he saw the Black Hawk take off heading southeast and thought they might possibly be going into the city. The only other black site Brigantine had used in the p
ast that Jimmy knew of that was remotely in the area was in the city. It was worth a shot if it was going to help us find Abby. The plan was for Jimmy, Kamil, Lynn, and me to take the Jeep and go look for Abby. Everybody else was going to wait for the truck to show up and bring them back to the cabin. We made sure that everyone was safe and secure before we jumped back into the Jeep and headed out.

  The roads were in much worse condition the further east we drove. I could definitely tell there was nobody alive out here. The drive was teaching me to hate bridges. Every one of them we came across was blocked, and some we were able to drive off-road with the Jeep to avoid the bridge altogether, but others we had to get out, wasting precious time to move vehicles or debris just to pass over it. Each time we had the undead to deal with as well.

  We had to stop yet again to assess if we should move cars or take it off-road. The sun was beginning to set, and I really didn’t want to be out here at night. Not with the super-infected possibly out here. We hadn’t seen any since Jimmy’s incident last night, but I wasn’t banking on that luck lasting much longer.

  The terrain surrounding the overpass was not one I’d trust driving the Jeep through, and the water looked to be too deep for the truck to take. We were going to have to play busted musical cars again. This particular area was impassible thanks to a six-car pileup. There were a number of undead trapped in the vehicles that had become their tombs, and they were all too happy to see us. We decided to conserve ammo and serum and to just let the infected be, and tied the tow strap to the vehicles to pull them apart, allowing them to rest in the tall grasses just off the road.

  While we moved the vehicles out of the way, we attracted the unwanted attention of a large number of the undead. I was maneuvering the Jeep into place so we could move the last vehicle when I saw them exiting the tree line. There must have been hundreds of them. “Hey, guys! It looks like we might have a situation here,” I yelled out the window to Kamil, Lynn, and Jimmy.

  Kamil yelled back, “I’ve got it. Keep going. As soon as we move this last car, we can get the hell out of here.”

  Kamil pulled his 9mm Glock pistol he had been practicing with for months back at the cabin. For a guy who didn’t like using guns when this all started, he was getting pretty accurate with it. I waited for Lynn and Jimmy to finish hooking up the straps as I watched Kamil take aim and begin to fire. Kamil’s bullets ripped into the shambling corpses leaving holes in their heads as they dropped to the ground. While I waited, I decided to help Kamil out and planted my M200 Intervention Sniper Rifle in the window of the Jeep and began picking off the stragglers that were further away. I paused after ten rounds looking over the smoking barrel of my rifle. The infected I had taken out, men women and children among them, all had their heads blown to chunks of black tissue and pulp. The scene was gruesome, but I was numb to all of it by now.

  Lynn and Jimmy were tying off the last strap when I saw Kamil about to get blindsided. “Kam! To your right, look out!”

  Kamil turned and saw the infected covered in fresh red blood, limping toward him. Kamil fired three rounds, hitting the burly man in the neck and shoulders. The bloodied zombie paused briefly at the assault, but only for a short moment before he continued toward Kamil.

  Kam pulled his trigger again, but his gun was empty. “Kam, I thought I told you to keep track of your rounds! Count in your head as you shoot, damn it!” I yelled at him.

  “I got this. Don’t worry about me. Get the damn car out of the way so we can get the fuck out of here!” Kamil yelled back.

  “Go, go, go!” Jimmy yelled, banging on the hood of the Jeep, signaling me to pull the last car free.

  I threw the Jeep in reverse and slowly pushed on the gas, all while keeping a side eye on Kamil, who was in the process of reloading and opening fire with only feet to spare before the infected reached him. The shots rang out, tearing through the undead’s neck, spraying black infected blood all over the tall grass, but he still kept moving forward. Then one hit its head. The back of the infected’s skull exploded, sending chunks of gore and dark brain matter behind it as it fell lifeless to the ground. Then the worst thing that could possibly happen happened. A loud, ear-piercing shriek erupted from the forest, followed by matching screams from all around us. The super-infected were in the area, a lot of them, and they were going to be on us soon.

  Seeing that Kamil was relatively safe, and Lynn and Jimmy were out of the way, I slammed the gas pedal to the floor rocketing the Jeep and the crumpled car it was tied to backward. I pulled the vehicle free and screamed to the others, “Cut me loose now! You heard that, right? We’ve got to get the hell out of here and now!”

  Jimmy ran to the straps, unhooking them from the other vehicle quickly. “Roger that, Chris.” Lynn ran over to help him. “Shit, you don’t have to tell me twice. I want nothing to do with those fast fuckers.” Lynn wrapped the straps in her arms and jumped back into the Jeep.

  I pulled my rifle scope to my eye and scanned the edge of the trees. “Shit! Here they come. Kamil! We’ve got company. Let’s go now!” I shouted at him.

  The shrill screams from the super-infected still surrounded us, growing louder and closer. This situation gave me an uneasy feeling in my gut. It reminded me of the first time I realized what was happening a year ago when the dead started to rise. I was able to adapt to the apocalypse before. It was just a new kind of warfare for me. We knew how the infected operated for the most part. They were slow and easy to dispatch individually, but get them in a group, and they were a force to be reckoned with.

  This new breed of zombies, though, they were a whole other animal. They were fast, vicious, and they seemed to retain basic intelligence. When they looked at you, you could tell they were working things out, finding the best way to rip you to pieces or deciding if the effort was worth it to even try or go for easier prey. There were too many unknowns now, too many variables. The sooner we brought Abby home, the sooner we could work towards dispatching the undead with the serum in massive numbers and hopefully win back our planet.

  Right now, though, I was unsure of myself for the first time in a long time hearing those visceral screams.

  Chapter 18

  Kamil Dunbar

  I ran for the Jeep as quickly as my feet would carry me. The yells from the newer, faster infected were all around us. We needed to get out of here as soon as possible. If those things caught up to us, we were going to be in a whole world of trouble.

  I jumped in the truck, and Chris took off at full speed before I could even get the door closed. I hated running away from the infected. I’d rather stay and take them out so they wouldn’t be a threat for later, but it was getting dark, and these new infected were nothing to mess with.

  The screams grew even louder as we pulled away. I turned to look behind us and the super-infected collected in the road behind us, pumping their arms and running after us like a pack of crazed wolves. Just before they were out of sight, I watched them slow and finally stop, screaming maniacally at their unsuccessful siege. They gave up. Since when did the infected start thinking for themselves?

  That was going to have to be a question for another time. I needed to rest after the previous long night and day. Adrenaline was no way to keep a body going, and that’s about all I had left in me at this point.

  I grabbed two protein bars from my pack, devoured them, and drank an entire bottle of water before I decided to curl up in the passenger seat next to Chris as he drove into the night. I needed rest, and I let sleep take me.

  I woke up to the bright sun on my face. Jimmy was now driving, and I could hear Lynn and Chris snoring in the back seat. “Where the hell are we?” I asked Jimmy.

  Jimmy looked over at me and smiled. “Oh, hey, Sleeping Beauty. Good morning. Did you know you talk in your sleep?”

  “Shit, no. What did I say? Anything embarrassing?”

  “Nah, just that you wanted to be a ballerina when you grow up,” Jimmy laughed. “Agh, I’m just playing with you. You d
id mumble Dana’s name a few times, though. That’s got to be tough, man. I’m really sorry I never got to meet her. From what Abby told me, she was a pretty great girl.”

  I wiped the sleep from my eyes, trying to distract myself from the ache growing in my chest at the mention of Dana. “Yeah, she was. I miss her like hell. If you and, ugh, Lynn are hooking up, you better make the most of it. Your last moments on Earth might be right around the corner nowadays. If she means something to you, you have to let her know. You never know if you’re ever going to get another chance,” I replied somberly remembering my last moments with Dana.

  Her death hurt in so many ways. I know it’s cliché, but I’d give anything to have more time with her. I wanted one last kiss, one last hug. Even just to smell her again or hear her laugh.

  I was torn from my thoughts as Jimmy slammed on the breaks, and the seatbelt caught me, pulling tight, securing me to my seat. “What the fuck, Jimmy?” I yelled while Chris and Lynn shouted different versions of the same.

  Jimmy’s face was practically frozen. “Look.”

  I squinted my eyes, trying to see further ahead of us when the barrel of Chris’s rifle crept past my shoulder between Jimmy and me. “What are you seeing, Chris?” I asked.

  “It looks like a herd of infected, but there are people driving quads and motorcycles around them like they’re trying to guide them along. Get a little closer, Jimmy. I’d like to see exactly what’s going on.” Chris replied, never taking his eye from the scope of his rifle.

  Jimmy moved the Jeep slowly towards the scene in the distance.

  “What the fuck are they doing?” Chris asked aloud.

  “I don’t know, you tell us. You’re the one who can see them. All I see is dirt kicking up and dark shapes moving around and through the dust,” I replied, wishing I could see better.

  “They herded the group of infected off the road, and it looks like two of the guys on the quads are rolling out some kind of rope between them. Shit, they’re driving around the edges of the undead, and the rope they are holding is cutting through them. They’re cutting the infected... in half. Get us closer, Jimmy. We have to help these guys in any way we can.”