Against Zombies Series | Book 6 | Governments Against Zombies

by Morgan, Alathia

  He waited to see if I was serious before giving me instructions.

  “Don’t respond to any government messages. We want them to believe the West Coast isn’t fairing as well as they think. There is something rotten up at the top, and our group is determined to root out those who are responsible for putting us in this position.”

  “You mean, someone planned this? Someone in America? What could possibly be gained from doing something like this?” I couldn’t fathom someone planning to do this to their neighbors and friends.

  “Some people are of the opinion that we should get rid of all the people they don’t like and start fresh with ones who will do only what they say. It’s a bad idea all around, because then, those who were on their ‘side’ will change. No world is going to be without others to disagree with them. It’s just not possible.”

  The idea was so far out there, I started laughing. And once I started, I just couldn’t stop.

  “I hope…they…want…people…with…brains.” The thought of holding a zombie cabinet meeting or a military comprised of zombies all nodding their heads was just too much.

  One of the drivers approached. “Is he okay, boss?” He jerked a thumb in my direction.

  “He’s just gotten some news, and we all have to make the choice to laugh or cry about things. He just needs to get it out of his system,” Master Chief explained.

  “I’m sorry. He’s right.” I wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks. “Okay, I’m all better. What now?”

  “Well, we’re going to need to keep production up as we start moving toward the East Coast. The military is doing their job of taking out the dead, but there’s no way they can do it all. We’re following the plan, and will take out the ZITs at the same time we help people to safety. We don't want to take any chances on people spreading this virus.” He inclined his head toward the trucks that were being loaded. “There are rescue stations set up for those in need of a place to stay until we know they aren’t sick. It’s a forty-eight hour wait period to determine that they won’t turn. I’m heading that way now.”

  “So I just keep things running and hope that you come back?” It sounded so simple when I said it out loud.

  “Yep. I’ll know more in the next few days, but we should have this taken care of in the next few weeks to months.” He gave me a knowing smile.

  “I’m glad you’re so confident about the outcome. I don’t think I can handle much more in the way of changes,” I confessed.

  “You haven’t even had to deal with the worst of it.” He shook his head at my obvious lack of coping skills. “You might want to think about the future. It’s not as dark as you think.” With that, he walked away and left me sitting at the picnic table alone.

  I didn’t think I was going to be able to change if the world was much different, but I guess that was what all the people before me had thought as well.

  -----

  New York—Spike

  It didn’t feel like we’d had enough time to get ready. They were coming, and the entire city was about to become food for the ZITs. I could only hope that we were prepared for the onslaught that was about to become our new reality.

  Discharged from the military, I hadn’t done so well up on the surface where the “normal” people were expecting me to perform to their expectations. Instead, I’d found a family way below the surface that needed a protector.

  The phone rang and I answered it. Only those who knew someone down here would be calling this number.

  “Hello,” I drawled.

  “Have you prepared everything the way we talked about?”

  “Yep. Have you been in contact with the boss? He knows about what’s fixing to happen?” I hadn’t lost my accent, even though I’d lived here for the past ten years.

  “He has, and he said to make sure you knew to go ahead and use the Operation Patchwork code from here on out.”

  “Yes, sir.” The lights started to flicker, and the sirens began to echo down into our living area. “It’s started. I’m going to need to go.”

  “Stay safe, and wait for more instructions,” the voice on the other end repeated to make sure I got it.

  “Spike out,” I replied, ending the call.

  “Lock it up, everyone.” I yelled down my section of the tunnel, hearing the echoes come back to me.

  Beck and a few of the others pushed the gates and grates shut, locking us in and those things out.

  This was the moment when the world would change. When it was over, we’d come out on top, and all those “normal” people would find out how much they needed us to survive.

  -----

  Chapter 12

  Cooper-Nashville

  We’d left as the first hints of dawn stretched out over the horizon. And given the fact that we’d been able to feed both the children while still leaving that early was a miracle.

  The Marines with me had gotten used to the little ones in such a short period of time. I wasn’t sure anymore that I’d be able to pry those kids away from them now.

  Pena leaned back toward the window, trying not to disturb the children. “Where are we supposed to go?”

  “Over by the old warehouse district. We stashed some stuff there so we’d have a fighting chance in case this happened.” I directed him on the map. “We should find some of the military camped out over there as we get closer.”

  Klein was driving today, and he would change direction every time we found a group of ZITs. He wasn’t taking any chances while having the children with us.

  The closer we go to where the military should be stationed, the fewer and fewer ZITs we saw.

  Tanks were sitting out in the middle of the cross streets, and Klein pulled up so I could jump out to speak with the soldier.

  “Where can I find the man in charge?”

  He pointed toward the back section of the warehouses and said, “They’ve set up a headquarters over there, bringing in survivors we’ve cleared out in a section of the town. You’ll find them over there. I’m not sure who’s running all of this, but they’ll direct you to him.”

  “Thank you.” I turned and hurried back to the truck, announcing, “Head over there and we’ll meet up. I know you’re going to want to keep the kids with you, but I need the four of you to help make sure we’re making progress.”

  The four of them chorused, “Yes, sir.”

  There were two large transport trucks blocking the entrance, so we parked over to the side in what was now a parking area.

  Baby Jess didn’t even fuss as we carried her up to the gate.

  “You’ll have to register at the main warehouse over there.” The soldier directing things pointed to the big building closest to us.

  Inside the room, there was complete chaos. So many people roaming around the room, and the lines were terrible. Something would need to be done about this immediately.

  Thirty minutes and ten people later, I stood outside the door of the general who was overseeing this mess of an operation.

  I knocked on the open door.

  “Come in,” he called wearily.

  “General Ellis? I’m Warren McCarthy, or Mac.” The new name slid easily off my tongue. “I’m invoking Operation Patchwork with a code red.”

  “How do you…?” he sputtered, shaking his head. “Never mind. If you can make this work better than we’ve got things going now, I’ll take it.”

  “First, how are we doing on ammo and clearing these things out? Are there any sections of the city that we can start rehoming people to?” I began with confidence.

  “We brought a lot with us, but the amount of people who were dead in just the first twenty-four hours before we got here is extensive.” The circles under his eyes spoke of many hours poring over the problems, but was no closer to a solution.

  “Those people need to be working toward a goal, and we can use all of them. How about the college campuses here, here, and here?” I pointed them out on the map. “These have great walls for protect
ion, and are equipped to handle lots of people. Can we get there and hold it against a horde?”

  “Yes. We’ve had limited success with it, but those were evacuated, so there are less of the dead there than in others.” He looked relieved to have the situation taken out of his hands.

  A knock on the door had me turning to see who was there.

  We called him Master Chief, but he’d been out of the military for years now.

  “It is so good to see you.” I reached out and gathered him in a bear hug. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

  “You, too, since I’d heard you were dead,” he chuckled, returning my embrace.

  “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Although, they just call me Mac these days,” I warned, careful to make sure he knew of the name change.

  “I see. Can’t keep a good man down.”

  “Nope. Do you have everything ready?” I asked, hoping he was able to help restore order.

  “Yep. It’s all in place.”

  “Wonderful. From here on out, there will be no more communication with those in Camp David. Someone started all this to create the right environment for a coupe. We’re on our own.”

  “Good Lord in Heaven, save us,” the general groaned. “That’s all we need.”

  “Don’t worry. We’re going to make sure we use the government against these zombies to our advantage and save our country at the same time.”

  “Yes, sir.” He saluted.

  It was going to take some work to get things going, but the sooner we got started, the sooner I would be back with my family. Risen from the dead, as it were. I was going to be in the dog house with my wife for the next decade, but I’d rather sleep on the couch and know that everyone was safe.

  Epilogue

  Weeks had passed, and while progress was being made to clean up the ZITs all across the country, I had a special mission: kill the leader who was holding things together by a thin thread.

  Staying alive long enough to accomplish my goal was going to be the tricky part.

  He would come to me eventually, but I didn’t have enough time to wait for him to decide that his family was important to him. He needed to be taken out.

  The look on his face would be priceless when he figured out that those he’d thought were on his side had been working against him the whole time.

  I might be an assassin who worked for money, but there were some things I wouldn’t do, no matter how much I was offered.

  Children and women were off-limits.

  That was the only thing that had stopped me from going after him when it all started. I kind of liked his family, and didn’t want to hurt them anymore than I had to. I knew what it was like to grow up without a father, but I hoped they would have a better life than I had.

  Stay tuned for the next installment of Farmers Against Zombies coming May 2020, as all of your favorite characters try to keep their loved ones safe from the dangers outside their communities, not knowing the biggest dangers are already in their midst.

  If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review even if it is one short sentence. Do you want to know when the next book comes out or to get to know me better? Feel free to stalk me on all the social media sites. (No real-life stalking because that’s just not cool.) Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you.

  -Alathia Paris Morgan

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