After Zombie Series (Book 1): After

by Samantha Gregory

  My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a helicopter which drowned out the TV. It wasn’t unusual to hear them pass over, but this one sounded very close. Something told me that trouble was on the way, and Dad always said I had great instincts.

  “Mom, maybe-” Before I could finish the sentence, the living room window exploded, showering us in glass.

  I screamed as two Alliance soldiers jumped into the room. They trained their guns on us.

  “Don’t move!”

  Two

  Jenna

  I raised my hands over my head, but Mom wasn’t about to comply.

  “Get out of my house!” she screamed, leaping off the sofa. It was the first time I had seen her move like that in months.

  “Sit down, ma’am,” the AS barked.

  “No, I will not sit down. What gives you the right to invade my home? You goddamn Alliance jackals have taken enough from me.”

  “Ma’am, if you don’t sit down, I will have to restrain you.”

  “Leave her alone,” I said, getting to my feet too.

  The front door opened and a man in his fifties, wearing an expensive suit, entered the room. I recognized him from the infomercials on TV.

  Edward Breton, CEO of Gene-Pharm Industries, the company dad worked for before he died. His work on the virus had saved millions of lives and even though no would admit it, everyone knew he had the Alliance at his beck and call.

  Mom recognized him too, “What do you want?” she spat.

  “Where is he, Mrs. Deluise?” he asked.

  “Who?”

  “Your husband.”

  Mom gave a sharp laugh, “Last time I checked he was in the ground. You may remember, or weren’t you there, at his funeral!”

  Breton sighed, like she was trying his patience, “Grab the girl.”

  It took me a second to realize he was talking about me. Two AS advanced on me.

  “No!” Mom shrieked. She launched herself at the soldier nearest to her and began beating his chest with her fists. He was wearing too much armor for it to have any effect. He swatted her aside onto the sofa and grabbed my arm. The patch on his vest read Lewis. He was built like Action Man, with a crew cut and steely blue eyes. His face was stony.

  “Get off me,” I screamed. I tried shaking them off, but they were trained soldiers. My ninety pounds, five foot three frame, was no match.

  They dragged me to the front door and then stopped.

  “Last chance, Angela. Where is he?” Breton asked.

  “He’s dead. Don’t you get it?”

  She tried attacking Breton, but was thrown down again.

  “If he shows up, tell him we have his daughter and that we need to talk. He’ll know what about.”

  The soldiers took me outside. I could hear Mom screaming, “Don’t take my daughter,” over and over again.

  “It’ll be okay, Mom,” I yelled back, over the noise of the helicopter, which was sitting on the ground in front of the building. I didn’t believe it for a second, but I didn’t want Mom getting hurt going against them.

  Ross appeared at his door,but when he saw the Alliance, he quickly went back inside. Clearly, he wasn’t that desperate for a babysitter. I doubted I would be making our date either.

  I was loaded onto the helicopter. Lewis cuffed his wrist to mine. He gave me a smirk and pocketed the key. Breton climbed aboard too, sitting opposite me.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked.

  He gave me a tight lipped smile, “Just relax, my dear. If your father cooperates, then you will be allowed to return home to your mother.”

  The helicopter lifted into the air. I pressed my face to the glass, looking down at Mom who was being supported by a neighbor.

  Dad was dead, whatever Breton believed. He wasn’t going to show up. Why did they think otherwise?

  As Mom grew smaller and smaller, I wondered if I would ever see her again. I forced myself not to think that way- I wasn’t about to cry in front of them.

  We travelled for over an hour, heading east over the city. I expected to be taken to Gene-Pharm Industries since Breton was here, but instead we landed on a patch of waste ground, behind some condemned warehouses. I felt panic rise in my chest. What were they planning to do to me? This was the perfect place to dump a body.

  Stop it, I scolded myself. They think they can lure out Dad and to do that they need me alive.

  When Lewis tried to get me off the helicopter, I leapt at him and sank my teeth into his shoulder, breaking the skin. Not my best move, but it was all I could think to do. He let out a yell, while I managed to swipe the cuff key from his pocket. Before I could even insert it into the lock, he recovered. He ripped the key from my hand before slapping me across the face. I staggered slightly, tasting blood in my mouth. I bit my tongue. I rubbed my aching cheek and glared at him.

  “That’s enough,” Breton snapped. He took the key and unlocked the cuffs.

  “Inside now,” he ordered.

  The other soldier opened a hidden hatch in the ground. I could see a set of steps leading down, and I took a hesitant step forward. Breton placed a hand on the back of my neck, pushing me on.

  Ten stone steps led down to what looked like an underground bunker. At the end of a short corridor were elevator doors. Breton opened a concealed panel and punched in a code. The doors opened and I was ushered inside.

  “Where are you taking me?” I asked.

  They ignored me. Breton pressed the down button. I began to feel claustrophobic as the elevator slowly descended into the Earth.

  Eventually the doors opened on what looked like a lab. The lights almost blinded me. Everything was so clinical looking with a white tiled floor and walls. No one would ever suspect this place was here, which I guess was the point.

  Ahead of us was a computer station, where a technician in a lab coat was seated. He was in his early twenties, with brown hair and glasses. As we got closer, I realized who he was.

  He looked up at me and grinned, “Hi, Jenna.”

  “Wesley?”

  Wesley Anderson was Dad’s ex lab assistant. He was a genius who had graduated school at fourteen. He worked with Dad for over two years and then Dad let him go. I didn’t know the full story, but I guess he was done working with him. He showed up one afternoon and Dad told him to leave, shutting the door in his face. Can’t say I blamed him.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I’m helping out Mr. Breton with your Dad’s research,” he said. His grey eyes flicked to Breton, then back to me. There were dark circles under his eyes and I noticed that his hands were trembling.

  “And how are you coming along with the research?” Breton asked.

  Wesley avoided his gaze, “Still working on it.”

  Breton leaned forward, “Work harder,” he hissed.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Breton led me away. As he passed Wesley’s desk, I saw him set an ampoule on it. Wesley snatched it up. What was going on? Was he getting paid in drugs?

  “Good to see you again, Jenna,” Wesley called.

  I didn’t answer him. It figured that snake was working for the Alliance.

  Breton brought me to a room that had to be accessed with another keypad. It was small, with a bunk in the corner and a metal toilet.

  “Are you going to tell me where your father is?”

  I sighed, “Dead.”

  He gave me a firm push into the room and closed the door. I was trapped.

  Wesley

  They brought Jenna Deluise here? What did they hope to gain from her? She wasn’t here willingly, that much was obvious. That was her problem; I had enough of my own.

  I stared at the formula on the screen for the millionth time and I still couldn’t work out how to complete it. It was some kind of serum that Tom had been working on. I had no idea if the section that was missing was deliberate or if he simply hadn’t known how to finish it. It slowly became a blur on screen, until I couldn’t look at it anymore.
If Tom couldn’t finish it, I wasn’t likely to have any luck.

  I got up and headed for the bathroom. I saw the guard watching my every move. God they were paranoid around here. There were cameras everywhere too.

  I locked the bathroom door and pulled the vial from my pocket. It had been two days since my last hit of Morphinal and I was getting desperate. I opened the ampoule and snorted the contents up my nose. I choked slightly and pinched my nose so I wouldn’t lose any of it.

  It took only a few minutes to take effect and I soon felt the familiar surge of adrenaline flood my system. My breathing quickened and I could feel my heart thudding in my chest.

  I returned to my console ready for anything.

  Three

  Jenna

  After screaming myself hoarse for two hours, I paced the room, trying to think of a way out of here. Maybe I could pretend to know where Dad was and when they took me to the destination, I could escape. I doubted they would fall for it, or I’d end up shot in the process.

  What the hell was dad involved in? I knew he had tried to quit his job two months before he died, but the Alliance told him he had a contract with them and he had no choice but to stay. He had already given up the company car and the house in the suburbs that was a hell of a lot safer than where we were now.

  It was like he was trying to cut all ties with them. Maybe he had stolen research from them. He had been very secretive, locking himself away, refusing to speak to me or Mom.

  I thought back on those last days…

  *

  “Dad? I made you breakfast,” I called.

  No answer. I pressed my ear to the door. I knew he was in there. Mom said he hadn’t even been to bed. I saw less of him now, than I did when he worked at Gene-Pharm.

  “I’ll just leave it outside the door,” I said. I set the tray on the floor, knowing it would still be there in a few hours time.

  I grabbed my bag and headed out to look for a job. School had ended a few months ago and I couldn’t keep living off Mom and Dad. I was lucky I had been able to finish early. I guess genius runs in the family. Yeah, right! I understood the work okay, but in truth I couldn’t wait to finish school. When we left the suburbs, I was put into a public school. Classrooms ran to sixty, seventy students and no one cared how well you did. By midyear, half of them had dropped out. Mom would have killed me if I followed suit. So I finished my exams and now I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

  A few years back, Dad had talked about me going to work at Gene-Pharm even as an intern to begin with. That was definitely not an option now. Gene-Pharm sent someone around almost every day to try and talk to Dad, but he wouldn’t speak to them. They weren’t going to play nice for much longer, even if he was their top scientist.

  Once I left the checkpoint, I headed downtown. There had been a sign in the grocery store window yesterday for help wanted. Hopefully, it was still there.

  While I wanted a job, I was worried about the walk back home at night. I wondered if dad would consider getting me a car. I laughed to myself, yeah, that was likely.

  I paused at a cross walk. An AS stood on the corner. He seemed to be guarding a black limousine that was parked at the kerb.

  A man approached the AS.

  “Hey buddy, can you spare some change?”

  “Get lost,” the AS growled.

  “Come on man, I’m starving.”

  The AS swung the butt of his gun into the man’s jaw. He fell to the ground and lay there twitching. The AS looked up and saw me watching him. He took a step towards me and I got ready to run.

  The limo door opened and he turned back to the owner. I ran. After two blocks, I stopped, breathing hard. That poor guy, he was just hungry. How badly had he been hit?

  It wasn’t like I could report it. The AS all stuck together. They would just cover it up or make the guy disappear. If he wasn’t dead already.

  I carried on to the grocery store, checking over my shoulder every few minutes. As I approached the store, I saw Lana coming towards me.

  “Hey Jenna,” she said, “I was just getting an application for the job in the grocery store. What are you doing?”

  “The same thing.”

  “Oh, well this is actually the last one. Sorry.”

  She didn’t look sorry. She had only known about the job because I mentioned it to her the day before. Now what was I supposed to do for a job?

  “Well I’m going to go fill this in. It’s so exciting.”

  I watched her bounce off. God she was annoying. What was I going to do now? I tried a few other stores, but none of them were hiring. In the end, I had to admit defeat and head home.

  I was reluctant to go back past the place where the limo had been, but when I got back there the area was deserted. The man was gone too. I hoped he had walked away and wasn’t carried. Or dragged for that matter.

  When I got back to the apartment, mom pounced on me the second I opened the door.

  “Where have you been?”

  “I was looking for a job.”

  “Oh. Find anything?”

  “No, not yet.”

  She put her arm around my shoulders, “There’s no rush, you know. Your dad and I are managing fine,” she glared at the study door, “for now.”

  “I know, but I want to help out.”

  Mom smiled, “You’ll find something.”

  “What about your work?”

  Mom delivered food to people across the city that were house bound or living in the poorer quadrants. It didn’t earn very much, but I know mom enjoyed helping others.

  “I’ll ask but I don’t think there is anything at the moment.”

  She banged a fist on the ‘study’ door. It was really a converted closet.

  “Tom, dinner is on the table. Come out and eat something, now!”

  The tone was one he knew better than to mess with, yet half an hour later there was still no sign of him.

  When he did appear, dinner was cold. He was unshaven, his clothes were dirty and he barely said two words.

  “So, what are you working on?” I asked him, while he picked at his food. Mom had disappeared into the living room. She seemed to have trouble being in the same room as him lately.

  “Huh?” he replied, staring at me through his thick glasses.

  “What are you working on?”

  He shrugged, “It’s complicated.”

  I gave up trying to talk to him. His work was his life. I had learned that years ago. After taking a few bites of his meatloaf, he stood up.

  “You know I love you, right?”

  I looked up, startled, “What? I mean, yeah of course I do. I love you too, Dad.”

  He gave me a half smile before scurrying back to his ‘study.’

  We weren’t really an ‘I love you’ kind of family. Not that we didn’t love each other, but we rarely said it. I should have known something was wrong then. I think he was trying to say goodbye.

  *

  The door opened and Lewis came in with a tray of food. He eyed me warily as he brought the tray in and set it on my bunk. I could see the wound on his shoulder. It looked painful. Good, I hope it gets infected.

  “I want to know if my mom’s okay,” I said.

  “For now. And she’ll stay that way, as long as your dad does the right thing.”

  “Why do you people assume he is alive? It was Alliance members who removed his body from the house.”

  “Alliance members that we can’t track down.”

  “So? That proves nothing.”

  “Not by itself. Your father’s grave being empty, though? That raises some pretty big questions.”

  My breath caught in my throat. Empty? There had been a closed casket at the funeral, but he had to have been in there. If he was alive, he wouldn’t just disappear. He would have let us know he was okay. Wouldn’t he?

  I noticed Lewis watching me closely, trying to gauge my reaction. I had nothing to hide. I knew as much as he did. Probably less.
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  He left me alone with my food. I guessed it was macaroni, but it tasted like rubber. I choked it down anyway. Who knew when I would get another meal?

  As the hours passed, I noticed the lights dim. They must be on a timer. My watch showed that it was nearly eleven pm. I wondered what Mom was doing. I hoped she wouldn’t do anything stupid. I’m sure the Alliance were just waiting for an excuse to lock her up too.

  I lay down on the bunk, trying to get comfortable. There was no way I was going to get any sleep, but I figured I should try and rest.

  When the door opened, a short while later, I leapt up. It was Wesley.

  “Hey, they’ve gone home for the night, so I thought I’d let you stretch your legs,” he said.

  “Don’t you have a home to go to?”

  “Uh, not really. I’m staying here for the time being. At least until I crack the formula.”

  I noticed that his clothes were covered in mysterious brown stains and when I walked past him, out of the cell, I could smell stale sweat off him. Gross. He couldn’t take ten minutes to have a shower? Whatever this formula was, it must be important.

  I moved slowly down the hallway, searching for an exit without making it too obvious.

  “How have you been? It must be what? Nearly three years since I last saw you?” Wesley asked, trailing along beside me. I noticed he kept sniffing like he had a cold. His eyes were red rimmed too. Drugs?

  “Yeah, I remember. And you weren’t one for small talk back then, so what gives? What do you want from me?”

  “Nothing,” he insisted, then his shoulders slumped and he sighed, “Look, Jenna, I need your help. Did your dad leave you anything before he left? Papers, keys to a safety deposit box? Anything?”

  “Left? You mean before he died?”

  “Yeah, whatever. Did he?”

  How could he be so cold? They had worked together for two years. Dad was the one who gave Wesley a job when he left school.

  “He didn’t give me anything. And even if he did, I wouldn’t give it to you,” I snapped.