Government Z (Book 1): The Beginning

by Reid, Bryan D.

  We opened the door and once we were all in we locked it back up. I think we need to sleep and then make our way back to the outpost. Everyone turned in except for me. I went up in the loft of the barn opened a hatch door and pulled out my cell phone. I had charged it before we left and told Christi I would send her a text if we had found something. “Hey honey it’s me. Tune the CB to channel eighteen and I’ll call you in ten minutes on the CB.” I got on the CB inside the HUMVEE and closed the door so I wouldn’t disturb anyone while they were sleeping. Come in Christi are you there I called out. Yes I am here what did you find? She asked. Well we found a large fire and investigated it to find a Canadian garbage truck that had radioactive waste hidden inside barrel drums from some nuclear power plant and a zombie like we have never encountered yet I said. We are bringing his body back for an autopsy I added. What was so different about him compared to the other? Christi asked. Well he looked just like we do and could talk the only thing that made us know we was a zombie is he had those white eyes and his face opened up at the mouth in four sections like in the movie Predator I said. My God, well I am glad everyone is ok then Christi said. No we are all not ok still I answered. Brent got melted by the radioactive waste when he opened one of the drums and the zombie killed Anne and Pastor Scott’s wife Irene I explained. I am sorry for their losses I will inform everyone after I talk to Bart and Blake. Was there anything else? She asked. Yes the fire wasn’t even the coordinates yet we encountered at least five hundred zombies blocking the road and we got to try out the miniguns on all the vehicles and took care of them rather quickly I said. Then we got out to the country and stored our vehicles in an abandoned barn, we then hiked across an open field and scouted thru a forest that was nearby. To our surprise we found a van, two cars, and six guys dressed in suits cleaning up a small cleared out area in the woods. We ended up shoot them all and once we investigated everything we found a large electromagnetic pulse that may have been the cause of the power and cell phones to stop working, we also discovered that all the suits were FBI agents and one of them is missing now since he was only shot in the neck I explained. Now we are resting in the barn and once we all wake up and eat we will be headed back to the outpost. How has everything been there? I asked. Nothing out of the ordinary here really Christi said. Bev, Jon, Mike, and I made a food trip with no encounters and got enough supplies for another four months so we should be covered till the New Year Christi explained. We also found a few bodies on our trip so we cut them up and fed the children. Other than that it has been normal for a change Christi said. Ok we will be back today I love you and can’t wait to see you again I said. I love you too be safe and we will be expecting you all back.

  I got out of the HUMVEE and to my surprise I heard voices outside so I ran back up to the loft and looked out the small hatch. I saw two black Sedan’s parked outside facing opposite directions and saw the drivers talking to each other. I went back down and put my hand over Rus’s mouth and informed him of what I had seen. We both woke everyone else up not alarming any of them and we all headed for the loft to inspect what was going on. We got up there and everyone took a peek outside. Who do you think they are and do you think they know we are in here? Pastor Scott asked. We heard a car door slam and we looked back outside. Two men in suits were now standing outside of the vehicles. They look like the FBI agents we encountered in the woods Don said. We watch them open the back doors to the van and eight more men all dressed in suits and carrying semi automatic rifles get out and headed for the front door of the barn. Rus ran down the stairs and said let me know when they are all in front of the door. They are in position I said. Rus flicked the switch on my Spyder and unloaded the miniguns into the door of the barn. I looked outside and counted all ten men down on the ground. We all went down the stairs grabbed our firearms and headed outside. We walked through the doors since the minigun shot enormous holes in them. Rus walked out first. How’s that for your gun control bitches Rus said laughing. We started searching the bodies first. They are all FBI agents also Don said. What the hell is the FBI doing here and trying to clean up that EMP too? Rus asked. I started searching the car. Inside the car I found a small GPS device with a blinking dot in the center of it. Hey Don, come check this out I said. I showed him the device and he started examining it. Well the blinking dot on the screen is the exact location we are in right now Don said. Let me see if I can back track it to see why or how this spot got imputed into the GPS device Don said. Don started to work on the device as we searched the rest of the vehicles and loaded all the weapons the agents had. Did you find anything in the vehicles Don asked? I found a map marked with the same coordinates we found at the army base in the van Rus said. We found key cards and ID badges for the FBI headquarters Bruce and Pastor Scott said. You find anything Bryan? Rus asked. Yes I found syringes inside a metal brief case and they look like they are full of the same nuclear waste we found in the garbage truck I said. Did you figure anything out Don we asked? It looks like this GPS tracks electrical devices Don said. Did anyone use anything Don asked? I was on the CB talking with Christi, since I told her I’d call once we found something Bryan said. Go use it again and just pick any frequency Don asked. I went in the HUMVEE and tuned the frequency into a non used one and called out several words. I came back out and asked Don did anything happen? No nothing was anything else used? Don asked. I sent her a text with the frequency I’d be on I said. Try sending another one Don asked. I pulled my cell phone out and sent Christi a text it read “Don’t reply testing something”. The GPS started making an alarm sound and then announce the location where we were at. This is how they found us Don said it’s tuned to find cell phone usage. I will send one more to Christi I said. “Get everyone’s phone and destroy them I’ll explain when we get back. Love you.” Load up and let’s get back to the outpost I said as I threw my phone on the ground and shot it with my desert eagle. We got into our vehicles and headed down the road. I think we need to head in a different direction incase more agents head this way since we used that cell phone Don said. We drove west for about an hour and then headed south using the back roads and avoided stopping to battle any zombies we saw. It took about three hours to get back to the outpost using only dirt and back roads. Once we arrived back at the outpost Bruce headed to the hospital to check on Abby while we unloaded and parked the vehicles. We rounded everyone up in the hospital so Abby and the doctors could also hear everything about what we had found and the knowledge we had gained on what was going on. Once we told them about our journey and found out how everything went while we were gone we said we will be heading to the command center and the leaders will be discussing what our next plan will be.

  Chapter 13

  We headed to the command center to discuss what we needed to do next with all the clues we had found while Bruce after checking in on Abby took Bart, Blake, Dr. Li and Dr. Chen back to River District Hospital to perform the autopsy on the garbage truck driver and to run test on the vials we found. So here’s what we know so far Don started. We found map coordinates and a telegram at the army base and once we tracked the coordinates where we discovered drums of toxic waste hidden inside a garbage truck, a zombie that looked normal except for the white eyes, FBI agents were picking up pieces of an E.M.P. that was set off, vials of something that looked like the toxic waste we found and then a device that tracks cell phone usage. How are all these connected? Don asked. Well I saw that white flash that went off which we now know was the E.M.P. and that the coordinates from the army base were the location of the E.M.P. I said. We will have to wait on Dr. Li and Dr. Chen to see the results of the autopsy and what is in those vials I added. So what do we do until they return? Bev asked. Well Christi, can you go get your camera and I need you to take photos of Rus, Don, and I and make us some fake FBI badges I have a feeling they will come in handy I said. Christi took our photos and started working on making ID badges for the three of us with three empty badges left. Afterwards Rus, Don, and I headed to the garag
e to do any repairs we saw fit and to start packing for a trip we knew was coming.

  Bruce took the HUMVEE after reloading the minigun to the hospital so the doctors could perform the autopsy. It was only a forty five minute drive to the hospital and since we had been driving the area so much for food supplies most of the area had been clear of zombies with the occasion of them coming from farther outside of our searches. Once they arrived at the hospital Bart and Blake took the doctors to get the items they needed to perform the autopsy in the ER. Once they returned to the ER they blocked the other doors so the only entrance was the main door. Bruce and Bart grabbed a gurney and went to the HUMVEE. They strapped the zombie to the gurney and took him into the ER where Dr. Chen starting performing the autopsy with help from Blake and Dr. Li. Dr Li went to perform test on the vials and blood drawn out of the zombie. Dr. Chen started cutting the zombie open and removed his organs one at a time studying each one. He spoke into a mini recorder like he always did when he had to perform an autopsy. All of his organs have no effects of damaging, his skin has normal discoloration from being deceased for three days, and his jaws are now divided into four sections and can all be controlled with the normal facial muscles Dr. Chen said. The patient also has lost all color to his eyes and they are completely white in color now, I will have to help Dr. Li finish the blood test to see if the patient has any traces of radiation in his blood like the other patient that became undead Dr Chen said as he turned off the recorder and headed for the reception area where Dr. Li was performing blood test. Have you discovered anything dear? Dr. Chen asked. It is the strangest think I have ever seen Dr. Li said. The vials are a mixture of the toxic waste which is also radioactive and the same waste that we found in the other zombies we have performed autopsies on Dr. Li said. But look at this sample of the blood you gave me Dr. Li said. Dr. Chen looked though the microscope at the blood sample. Do you see it clearly? Dr. Li asked. Dr Chen nodded. Now watch what happens when I add a drop from the vial Dr. Li said. She dropped one small drip from the vial on to the blood sample and Dr. Chen watched as the blood and vial drop merge together and enhance the blood sample with no side effects. Now watch what happens when I mix the vial with this other blood sample I drew from myself. Dr. Li dropped another droplet from the vial onto her own blood sample. Dr. Chen watched as this droplet mutated to the blood sample turning the blood a yellowish color. This is astonishing Dr. Chen said as he took more notes on his recorder. This would explain why the patient’s blood came out red and the other autopsies I did the patient’s had a yellow mucus-like blood Dr. Chen said. Bruce checked on Bart and Blake who were still grieving the lost of their brother. How you guys doing? Bruce asked. We’ve been better Blake said. We will get to the bottom of this I promise you Bruce said. I know how hard this is for you we are all very sorry for your loss and I know you have to grieve, but we all need to say focused or we could get attacked Bruce said. I understand we need to stay focus for the community we won’t let you down Blake said. Bruce went and checked on the doctors when he looked at Dr. Chen taking notes into his recorder. Dr. Chen what is that recorder you are using there? Bruce asked. It’s my cell phone it has a built in recorder Dr. Chen said. We told everyone to destroy their cell phones due to them being tracked Bruce yelled. Suddenly the sounds of guns being shot were heard so Bruce grabbed Dr. Li and fell to the floor. Unfortunately Dr. Chen was shot four times in the chest and fell to the floor bleeding severely from the wounds. Dr. Li crawled to her husband and put pressure on wounds bleeding the worst. He took her by the hand and said I am sorry I put you in danger darling. My time has come you must go, Bruce get her out of here Dr. Chen said wheezing from a bullet in his lung inhaling blood. Bruce grabbed Dr. Li and crouched toward the door. The gunfire halted for what seemed like only seconds before they heard more gun fire, but this gunfire sounded like the minigun on the HUMVEE. Bruce got to the door when the HUMVEE pulled right into the door. Bart swung the door open and shouted get in hurry. Bruce got Dr. Li in and then he crawled over the seat into the passenger seat while Blake was firing the minigun. Bruce looked to where Blake was firing and saw two black sedan’s that had caught on fire. Who are you shooting at? Bruce asked. Not sure they were wearing black suits, sunglasses, and they just pulled up and opened fire on the hospital Blake said. Where is Dr. Chen? Bart asked. He got shot in the hospital Bruce said. Let’s get the hell out of here Bruce yelled. As they started driving away the sedan’s exploded from all the gun fire. They drove around for an extra thirty minutes on the way back to the outpost to make sure they were not followed.

  We heard the HUMVEE speeding down the road so we opened the gates as fast as we could. They slammed on the brakes in front of the garage and Bruce, Bart, and Blake jumped out and ran up to the catwalk where Rus and I were at on lookout duty. Bruce explained that Dr. Chen used his cell phone as a voice recorder and that he believed the FBI had tracked them to River District Hospital. I don’t know if he used it when he did the autopsies here in the compound, so I don’t know if the FBI knows our location either Bruce said. Ok, Bart and Blake will you take our spots on the catwalk while we go fill Bruce in on what is going on? Rus asked. Bart and Blake took the lookout on the catwalk while Bruce and Rus headed for the command center and I went to get Don. We met in the command center and Bruce informed us of all the test and results that both Dr. Wong’s had run. Well now that we know all that we have our decision made on what we are going to do then Rus said. We have to figure who is going and who will take care of the compound I said. Let’s call for a meeting tonight at dinner time and see who wants to go meanwhile Bruce go ask Christi to make you a badge I said. After the meeting tonight Rus and Don go clean out the army truck and build that raised seat we talked about in the back and quietly move a case of C4, TNT, and grenades to the truck tonight once it’s dark out. I am going to head back to the command center and track a route to the FBI Headquarters in Washington D.C.