Rise of the Undead (Book 4): Apocalypse Z

by Higgins, Baileigh

  Once they were both freed from their gags, Tara said, “Right. We need to get these cable ties off. I’ll look around while you sit tight.”

  “Okay,” Amy replied in a small voice.

  Tara’s heart twisted in her chest. “It’ll be alright, Amy. I promise.”

  “My brother…” A couple of tears wound their way down Amy’s cheeks.

  “I know, but he might still be alive.”

  “You think so?” Amy’s tone held a thread of desperate hope.

  Tara hesitated. In truth, she didn’t think Alex had survived the attack, but she couldn’t admit that to Amy. “He’s young and strong. Anything is possible.”

  Amy’s expression fell. Even she could hear the lie in Tara’s voice. “I don’t think so, but thanks anyway.”

  “I’m sorry, Amy. I really am, but we have to get out of there. We can’t do anything for Alex or our friends while we’re stuck with these assholes.”

  “I understand.”

  “You keep watch while I search for a way out.”

  She cast around among the supplies for something to cut their bonds. Anything with a sharp edge. It was difficult, shuffling around on her knees with her hands tied behind her back. The van shuddered and slid from side to side as it drove across the rough, snowy grounds of the base. The driver, King, paid scant regard to the speed limit or the terrain. Several times, she toppled over and had to fight her way upright again.

  She nudged through bottles of water, canned food, packets of noodles and instant soup. None of it gave her what she needed. Finally, she shuffled toward the door and tried to open it. It wouldn’t budge beneath her hands. Locked. Even the windows had been welded shut. There was no escape.

  “Damn it!”

  “Nothing?” Amy asked.

  Tara sighed and moved back to Amy’s side. “I’m sorry, but no. Still, that doesn’t mean we should give up. Anything can happen.”

  Amy nodded, the blanket pooled across her body. In the faint moonlight, the drying tears on her cheeks looked like silver paint. Tara shifted closer to the girl, offering what warmth and comfort she could.

  Suddenly, the van slowed to a stop, and Tara straightened up. Her heart banged in her chest as she wondered what was next. Somebody shouted to them, and a bobbing flashlight appeared next to the vehicle.

  Craning her neck, she spotted a sign and a stretch of fence. Realization flashed through her mind. They’d reached the gate, and the soldiers on guard had stopped the van. Behind them, Red and the others drew to a stop as well. Hope surged through her body, and she threw herself at the window screaming, “Help! Help us!”

  With all her might, she banged against the glass with her shoulder, screaming nonstop. Amy added her cries to Tara’s, and together they created as much noise as possible. The dim figure outside turned toward them, and the flashlight shone directly at their faces.

  Tara grinned at Amy. “They heard us. We’re saved.”

  But her smile faltered when the soldier slammed his fist on the window next to her face. “Shut your mouth, would you?”

  “What?” Tara cried, unable to comprehend. “What are you saying? Why aren’t you helping us?”

  “Keep quiet.”

  “Please,” Tara begged. “We’ve been kidnapped, and —”

  “I said shut it,” the soldier growled with a final slam of his hand on the glass.

  “What’s going on?” Amy asked, her face pale in the spotlights that shone from above.

  “I don’t know,” Tara said.

  She stared at his receding figure with disbelief and watched as he was joined by two more. They talked to King for several moments, and one even had the gall to laugh and point at the girls in the van.

  Amy gasped. “They’re supposed to be on our side.”

  Tara could hear that tears weren’t far from the surface. While Amy was a tough girl, Alex’s death had taken its toll. “Don’t worry, Amy. I’ll get us out of this. I promise.”

  Amy nodded but didn’t reply. Instead, she huddled deeper into her blanket until only her eyes showed.

  Tara turned back to the soldiers, hot rage running through her veins. “You traitors,” she screamed. “Dirty scumbags.”

  They continued to ignore her as the soldiers returned to their posts. All except King who walked back to the driver’s side. He paused and cast her a baleful look through the dirty window. “You’re wasting your time. Nobody is going to help you. They’re on my payroll.”

  “You asshole!”

  “Scream all you like, Doctor. Where we’re going, nobody will hear or care. Except for the zombies.”

  He graced her with a faint smile before sliding behind the wheel and slamming the door shut. With a roar of the engine, he started the van and pulled away. The soldiers he left behind stared at the vehicle, their expressions remote. King was right. Nobody would lift a finger to help them.

  With a sigh of despair, Tara sank back next to Amy. The fiery anger of moments before leached away until she was left cold and shivering. She huddled beneath the blanket, desperate for warmth.

  The base retreated into the distance until it was lost in the darkness. Their home, everything and everyone they loved, gone with the snap of a finger. Her mind whirled as she tried to think of a plan, but nothing jumped out at her. Instead, the minutes passed as King took them further and further away from Fort Detrick. Saul is going to be so worried. Dylan, Nick, even Ethan.

  “What are we going to do?” Amy asked.

  “I don’t know, sweetie. I don’t know.”

  “We have to do something,” Amy persisted. “We can’t give up.”

  She began to wiggle back and forth while Tara watched with a sense of confusion. “What are you up to now?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Before long, Amy had worked her bound hands over her buttocks before pulling her knees close to her chest. With a final grunt of exertion, she tucked her feet through the loop formed by her arms and smiled. Her tied hands were now in the front. “Your turn.”

  Tara snorted. “I haven’t tried that move since I was a kid. I’ll probably rupture my spleen.”

  Amy shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

  Tara bit on her lower lip. “Here goes.”

  It took her a bit longer than it had taken Amy to complete the maneuver, but at last, her bound hands were at the front of her waist. She wiggled her fingers back and forth to restore the blood flow, wincing when they prickled.

  Amy, in the meantime, had copied Tara’s actions from earlier and searched through the supplies for anything useful. She rummaged through the stuff King and his men had taken from their cupboards and produced a small black kit.

  “Yes,” Amy cried, waving around the little bag.

  “What’s that?” Tara asked.

  “It’s my sewing kit.” Without explaining further, Amy unzipped the bag and produced a pair of tiny scissors.

  Tara held out her hands. “Amy, you’re a genius.”

  Amy flashed her a smug smile as she sawed at the thick plastic that held Tara prisoner. The small scissors weren’t very sharp, and it took several minutes to cut through the cable tie.

  At last, Tara was free, and it was Amy’s turn to sit with her hands extended, her knees braced against the rocking of the van. Tara hacked at the girl’s bonds, frustrated by the length of time it took. Every moment took them further and further away from home and made escape that much more difficult.

  With a small cry of triumph, Tara severed the final piece of plastic and the tie dropped away. Amy massaged her swollen wrists and fingers. “What’s next?”

  “We have to get out of this van,” Tara said. “Then, we have to make our way back to the Fort.”

  “But we don’t even know where we are,” Amy protested.

  Tara sank back on her heels, thinking it through. If King wanted her to continue her research, his base had to contain a lab with a Biosafety level of four, or at the very least, level three. At the same time, he�
�d spoken of returning to Fort Detrick in the near future. That meant his new base had to be within a reasonable striking distance. Add in the fact that it had to be secure against the zombies, and the options became limited.

  There weren’t any level four labs nearby that she knew of, but there were several level threes. Among them were a number of university campuses, research facilities, and colleges. Her shoulders sagged when she realized it’d be impossible for her to guess. Still, they couldn’t give up. Not yet.

  Tara pressed her face to the glass, desperate for any information on where King was taking them. She waved at Amy. “Look for a sign. Anything that will give us a clue about where we’re going.”

  “Okay,” Amy said, scrambling to the other side.

  Minutes passed in silence as they scrutinized their surroundings. It was difficult to see in the dark with only the bouncing headlights of the two vehicles to light the way. They flashed across the monotonous grey countryside until it all blended into one featureless landscape.

  After a while, however, Tara’s eyes adjusted, and she was able to make out more specific details. For the most part, they drove through deserted country lanes dotted with small towns. They passed a few wooded areas, a couple of farms, and a golf course at one point. There weren’t many zombies around; the cold seemed to drive them into hiding, but they were there. When least expected, a monstrous face would jump out of the darkness and smash into the van, growling with hunger and rage.

  After the last such an incident caused her to jump with fright, Tara sat back with a sigh. “Anything?”

  “No, I can’t see much,” Amy replied. Suddenly, she gasped. “Wait. There’s a board!”

  “Where?” Tara scrambled over, but she missed the sign by a millisecond. It flashed past her face before she could read what it said. “Damn it!”

  “I saw a bit of it,” Amy said, grabbing Tara’s hand.

  “What did you see?”

  “It said George something followed by Manassas,” Amy replied. “Does that mean anything to you?”

  Tara grinned as excitement fizzed through her veins. “Yes, it does. Now, I know exactly where we are.”

  “Where?” Amy asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

  “King is taking us to the George Mason University at Manassas. They have a Biomedical Research Lab off-campus where research is performed on among others, Burkholderia and equine encephalitis viruses.”

  Amy frowned. “English, please. How far are we from home?”

  “About seventy miles,” Tara said.

  “Seventy miles,” Amy exclaimed with a look of horror. “Seventy miles through strange, zombie-infested territory in the dead of winter?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Amy began to dig around in the supplies around them. “Then we’d better grab what we can before we escape. Food, clothes, blankets. It’s a pity we don’t have any weapons, but I guess we’ll —”

  “Amy,” Tara said, hating to squash the girl’s youthful enthusiasm.

  “— have to make do. We can always find something along the way,” Amy continued in a rushed babble of words.

  “Amy!”

  Amy paused, a pair of balled woolen socks in one hand and a vest in the other. “What?”

  “There’s no time. We’re almost at the university, and once we’re inside, our chances of getting out again are almost zero.”

  “So? What are you saying?”

  “I’ll create a distraction while you make a run for it.”

  “Alone? I can’t leave you,” Amy protested.

  “Yes, you can. It’s the only way.” Tara reached down and grabbed a big can of peaches, hefting it to check the weight. “If you’re going to escape, you’d better do it now before it’s too late.”

  “I don’t even know which way to go.”

  “Head North.”

  “North?”

  “Until you find your way, yes.”

  “But —”

  “There’s no time to waste. Do you hear me?” Tara insisted. “We have one shot at this. We won’t get another.”

  “What are you going to do?” Amy asked, eyeing the heavy can of fruit.

  “You’ll see,” Tara said, making her way toward the van’s door. “Just remember, when I say run, you run. Got it?”

  “What about you?” Amy asked, her eyes wide.

  “Don’t worry about me. Whatever happens, you get back home, and you tell them where I am.”

  “No, I can’t do it,” Amy cried, shaking her head back and forth. “I’ll never make it on my own. It’s too far.”

  Tara pinned Amy to the spot with a somber look. “Yes, you can. You’re a lot tougher than you look. Smarter too.”

  “Tara, please,” Amy begged. “Don’t make me do this. Don’t make me leave you.”

  “We don’t have a choice. You’re our only hope,” Tara said. “Once Bannock learns the details of my research, they’ll get rid of me. You as well, if you don’t escape.”

  Amy shook her head again. “No.”

  “Yes,” Tara insisted. “I know you can do this. You’re strong enough.”

  Amy’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “I’ll be alone.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I believe in you,” Tara said. “Now…tell me you can do it. Say it out loud. I need to hear you say it.”

  “I…I can do it,” Amy said.

  “Again.”

  “I can do it,” Amy said with all the confidence that she could muster.

  “Louder.”

  “I can do it!”

  Tara smiled. “Promise?”

  “I…I promise.”

  “Good, because I’m counting on you,” Tara said, raising the can of peaches in the air. “Now get ready to run.”

  Chapter 3 - Dylan

  Dylan trudged through the thin layer of snow with her hands tucked deep inside her pockets. A stiff breeze swirled around her form. It tugged at the layers of clothing she wore and played with the long hair that stuck out from underneath the beanie on her head. Despite the thick woolen socks and boots on her feet, she couldn’t feel her toes. They’d probably fallen off somewhere along the way.

  “Are you doing okay?” Nick asked. He knew she hated the cold. “You can go home, you know? Saul and I can manage on our own.”

  Dylan flashed him a determined grin, her jaws clenched together to prevent them from chattering. “Not a chance. I’m finishing my shift.”

  Nick shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”

  Dylan suppressed a grumble, reflecting that the icy temperatures might well be the end of her. Not that she could complain. Not really. As cold as it might be, it wasn’t a patch on the blizzard that had raged only weeks before. The same storm during which Lieutenant King had made his move. He’d failed in his attempted coup, but the damage was done. The loss of manpower, coupled with the severe weather had almost brought the base to its knees.

  Thankfully, after many sleepless nights, Nick had managed to turn things around. With the zombies driven off by the plunging temperatures, the civilian contractors on the base were able to affect the repairs needed to keep the place running. They even managed to fortify the buildings and fences.

  Taking full advantage of the lack of infected, Nick sent out raiding parties to find supplies. Food, fuel, water, material, clothes, and medicine. They collected it all by the truckload. More survivors trickled in, and Ethan recruited a few of them to bolster his troops. Many civilians also volunteered to help guard against zombies and insurgents. With the proper training and equipment, they proved effective both as defense and supply hunters.

  Everyone had their place. Everyone contributed, even the children. Slowly, the base was turning into a true haven for those who’d survived the initial onslaught of the apocalypse.

  That didn’t mean they were out of the woods yet. Far from it. Clusters of zombies remained, as did the cold weather, threat of bandits, disease, and a myriad of other problems that cropped up each day. Neither Nick nor
those close to him could afford to let their guard down, no matter how much they wanted to.

  It was the reason they were out in the middle of the night on New Year’s Eve, patrolling instead of celebrating. The perimeter had to be guarded, and noise kept to a minimum. The last thing any of them needed was a couple of soldiers getting drunk and becoming trigger-happy. As Nick often pointed out, it only took one slip-up for the whole deck of cards to come tumbling down.

  Dylan shook her head to rid it of such morbid thoughts. It didn’t matter what anyone said. The fact was, they were still alive. They’d made it through the year and stood on the cusp of a new decade. A fresh chance. A new beginning.

  The thought cheered her, and she walked faster as they drew closer to the gate on the east side. They’d done nearly a full circuit of the base, and this was the last one. After this, she could go home and snuggle up in a warm bed. Not that she really knew where home was.

  Of late, she was splitting her time between the house she shared with her friends and Nick’s army quarters. Neither place was ideal, but she was hesitant to broach the subject with Nick. Not when everything was still such a mess. It can wait for now. We’ve got more important things to focus on. Spring is coming, and with it, the zombies.

  Dylan gazed through the fence into the darkness beyond. They were out there, she knew it. She could feel it in her gut. The cold had driven them into hiding, sheltered from the icy winds and snow. Many had moved to the south, and its warmer climes like migrating birds, but they were coming back. And we’d better be ready for them.

  The guard shack appeared from the gloom, its rough rectangular shape offering shelter from the cold. A single flickering bulb hung from the ceiling, its yellow glow shielded from the outside. Ever since Tara advised them that the infected were drawn to lights, they’d taken care to hide the base in darkness every night. The big spotlights that dotted the perimeter were only used during attacks.

  Three soldiers turned to greet them with stiff salutes and grim nods. Their thick clothing and bulky equipment meant they looked larger than usual and moved with slow, deliberate steps. Their pinched expressions revealed how they felt. Miserable and half-frozen. Human popsicles.