Living Legacy: Among the Dead (Zombie Apocalypse)
Page 10
Even as they made their way to the car they began to drop off. There had to be more than fifteen of them, but they lost three on their way. One must have been closer than we thought. She started hitting the trunk and back window with all she had, working her way up my side of the car. Her screams were filled with furious desperation.
“Jace, go! What the hell are we waiting for?” He put the Focus into gear and floored the gas pedal, steering erratically. We jerked our way up the hill, zombies struggling to keep up. One had a hold of the bumper, and we drug him halfway up before losing him on the rocks and grass. Then we were on the road, Jace speeding away from the lake. Gray-faces were staggering up both sides of the road, heading to try and get their fix for the night. It was easy to assume this was a regular nightly ritual, otherwise, why would there be so many all at once? There were literally hundreds making their way to the water’s edge. They would head toward the car, hitting it as we passed. If they got in the way Jace hit them without a second thought, their dusty bodies breaking apart like so much tissue paper-covered bone.
Finally, after what seemed like miles, we took a right and the zombie parade seemed to end. I sat back in my seat and took a breath. “Nice moves, Jace.”
His eyes flitted from the road to the rearview mirror and back again. “Thanks, sexy. Now that takes care of Baloa lake.”
We were halfway done.
CHAPTER 21
When we reached the reservoir, which I had never visited, I could see what Jace meant when he stated that we only had a small portion of the actual reservoir to deal with. It was nothing like I expected, and there was really no thought that we were going to run into any gray faces during this visit. By now it was around one in the morning, and all was completely still and silent all around the area we were at. Jace even left the headlights to the car on, aiming them at the spot where we were to set up our little portable lab.
We got our equipment out and set up, waiting to unload bottles of the anecdote until we were sure how much we would need. We went through the same process. Jace collected water from the reservoir and put it on a clean slide, then took a good look.
“Alicia, check this out,” was all he had to say.
I looked through the microscope and was surprised at how little of the bacteria was present in the water. “It’s not going to take nearly what we thought, Jace.”
He nodded. “I know, and that’s a good thing, but we are gonna dump ten in anyway. It certainly can’t hurt.” We proceeded to soldier back and forth to and from the car with the ten jugs of antidote, and this time we were a bit more lax in our administration methods, uncapping and dumping them into the reservoir one at a time. After our fifteen minute wait we conducted another test, and the water was virtually spotless.
“Okay, we’ll wait ten more minutes and take a final sample. We have ten bottles left. I want to drive back to the creek, but this time we are going to get a sample from further up the creek. We’ll drive along the creek and stop and dump the last ten in one at a time as we go. It will be more dispersed that way.”
I nodded in agreement. “Good thinking.”
The second sample came back just as pretty as the first, so we went about packing up our gear and making our way back to the creek. We stopped at the creeks side six times between Baloa lake and the reservoir, and along the way we counted over sixty zombies laying lifeless in the road. I was in shock at the number. What was even more surprising was the lack of live zombies anywhere within sight. Had they all made it to their destination, and this is why they were not out and about?
Every time we stopped we would test the water. As we neared our original spot it became progressively clearer, and each test showed bacteria being destroyed at a high rate. We would add a gallon, test again, and every time the results were stunning. Jace also took a bottle full from each stop to observe again once we were back at the house.
When we arrived at the bridge Jace stopped the car, but left it running. There were no zombies in sight at all.
“Are we really coming back here Jace? Are you crazy?”
“Like a fox,” he responded. He undid his seat belt and grabbed an empty bottle to get yet another sample from under the bridge. “Stay right here, and keep the doors locked until I come back. Do not get out of the car for any reason, Alicia.”
He hopped out with his bottle and shut the door, which I locked behind him. He jogged toward the hill which led down under the bridge. In only a few minutes he came walking back to the car. That was a great sign.
After he got in and locked up I asked, “No gray-faces?”
“About thirty of them are laying down the completely out of commission. We’ll check out the road they were walking on as we head home and see what the view is like.”
∞
Now it was nearly five in the morning, and we could see very well. On the road home we counted over one-hundred fifty of the dead-heads laying lifeless and still. This was the reason Lilith, my roommate, guzzled constantly. Without a consistent supply of the bacteria, the brain ceased to function and drive the body, and there were no internal organs to maintain life at all. They were virtually addicted to death.
Rather than head directly back to Belinda’s home we drove through city center. There was the random zombie here and there, some were in groups shuffling and bumping into each other, and others were trying to tear each other to bits with what little strength they had left. Neither Jace nor I caught sight of one real live, blood-pumping and heart pounding human being during our drive. If any were out there they were hiding pretty well.
I had my doubts that many were even left. Besides us, that is.
∞
Back at the house we lined up our bottled samples: We had one from Baloa lake and a total of seven taken from various spots along the creek and reservoir. Each was marked with the time and exact location, and Jace had a notebook in which he had jotted down initial test results and what time we administered the antidote at each location. It would make for a very thorough comparison.
Once we had the microscope ready and all of the slides and droppers clean again we began testing each sample. The results could not have been more pleasing: all of the samples came back wonderfully clean! We compared each to a sample of the distilled water. Perfect.
Next we made our way to the living room where we sat and turned on CNN to catch the latest news. We both half-expected it to be off the air, but the same newscasters were on the air, looking frightened and exhausted. Even the reporters who were on location at various cities could do nothing to hide the bags under their eyes, and I doubted very highly that they even cared.
“While most of the major metropolitan areas and surrounding towns have experienced a major population wipe-out due to the appetites and anger of these terribly mutated ‘zombies’, military forces flying over the Los Angeles area have reported that the walking dead in the area are slowly but surely dying off, and the pace is rapidly increasing. Here is Jill Montgomery with an update from the California coast, with information supplied directly from sources at the CDC as well as from military spokespersons. Here’s Jill.’
“Thank you. Los Angeles was only one of the world’s major metropolitan areas to be virtually wiped out by the ‘zombies’, or mutated humans who have been running rampant for the last seven or eight months. While medical professionals at the Centers for Disease Control finally released information last night that they had pinpointed the issue to contaminated water, they have no idea what the source of the contamination is or was, and they are still battling to remedy the issue. As we reported earlier, if you are able to view and comprehend this broadcast it is essential that you do not ingest or bath in the water, if you have been able to at all. In the meantime, military forces assigned to the LA area have told us that the zombies occupying Los Angeles and the surrounding area are literally dropping off like flies. As you can see from this video tape, provided by the Air Force not an hour ago, there are literally piles of bodies lying aro
und, and the number is consistently growing. The CDC has sent a crew into LA to test the water in the Los Angeles River to find out what exactly has taken place to turn the tides in sunny California. If anyone has any information please contact the CDC immediately, or get in touch with local armed forces units as soon as possible. Phone numbers flashed on the screen. This is Jill Montgomery for CNN, reporting that bluer skies may be in our future.”
Jace and I looked at each other for only a fraction of a second before he jumped up and went to the kitchen for my cell phone. He used it to input the number, and then tapped the screen to direct the smart phone to dial for him. In no time we were on speaker phone relaying to the powers that be exactly what had taken place in our lives over the last several months, but especially over the last several days.
After a couple of hours and a promise that the military would be coming to take us to safety we finally hung up. We were both wound up and excited. We were safe, and we were going to have a life after all.
I sat in the rocker with Jace on his knees before me. His head was on my chest, and I ran my fingers through his hair. His breath was steady and even, and he seemed truly relaxed for the first time since I had met him. I wondered if I was the same in his eyes.
He looked up at me. “How do you feel?”
“Amazing,” I replied. “And you?”
He smiled. “Outstanding. Incredible. More alive and hopeful than I could have ever imagined. Are you hungry?”
“Hmmm. Let me think…for you maybe.” Jace’s smile grew wider, and he leaned forward to initiate an amazing, long-lasting kiss. Before I knew it we were snuggled together on the floor, spent and half-asleep. Before my dreams overtook me I heard him say in a heartfelt tone, “Alicia, we literally have the rest of our lives to do this. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. I really do.”
We were both looking forward to forever.
ENTREATY
My creativity is fueled by readers like you. If you enjoyed this novel I implore you to please write a review, and share your experience. Tell a friend, tell a loved one about this read. In return I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Humbled, with gratitude.
R.W.K Clark.
ADDITIONALLY
Works by R.W.K. Clark
Brother’s Keeper A Novel ofMurder and Deception
Blood Feather Awakens The Timebound Rebirth
Lucifer’s Angel The Church of Satan
In The Depths (DeSai Trilogy Book 1)
Witches Immortal (DeSai Trilogy Book 2)
Lucian’s Reign (DeSai Trilogy Book 3)
Living Legacy Among the Dead
Overtaken Captive States
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am a father of two beautiful children, Jon and Kim. They are my motivating forces; they are the lighthouse in this vast ocean. In this life, they are the air that I breathe; they are the oasis in this desert of uncertainty. They are my greatest joy in life, and my number one priority. I have a long list of hobbies, and I attribute that to my lust for life! I like to surround myself with positive people, who share the same interests. Family values, the arts, outdoors, nature, and travel are tops on my list. I embrace attending cultural and artistic events because I believe dramatic self-expression is the window to the soul. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I still believe in the act of chivalry, and I always treat people they way I want to be treated.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21