The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 0): Creation of the Living Dead

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  “I didn’t sign up for this,” said Specialist Liebe. “This isn’t worth a promotion. I’m out of here.” He turned to leave but was stopped by Sergeant Collins.

  “You’re not going anywhere, Liebe, except outside to meet your enemy.”

  Specialist Liebe glared at the sergeant. He wanted to say something to him but he knew better. The sergeant was an avid weight lifter and had the physique to prove it. Specialist Liebe knew he wouldn’t stand a chance trying to push past him. “All right, you win. I’ll go outside and meet my enemy.”

  “I have to admit, general, when you said my men were going to fight zombies, I thought you were pulling my leg.”

  General Poe looked confused. “You do realize it’s not just your men who will fight the zombies. You’re going to lead the battle, Captain Jamison. Someone needs to lead them and make sure they don’t turn tail and run.”

  “What makes you think they’re going to do that? Zombies or not, they’re not going to abandon their orders…or at least I hope they don’t.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way, captain. I want to see how they react to my new army.”

  “I guess we’ll soon find out how they’ll react.”

  General Poe smiled. He doubted Captain Jamison’s men would last long against his zombies; he was counting on it. Even armed with their M16s, he doubted they would have much impact against them. He reached back into the truck and snatched his black leather briefcase and had the captain join him inside the main building. He had paperwork that the soldiers had to fill out before the war games could commence.

  Specialist Liebe looked at the general suspiciously after the general had gone through the paperwork they had to sign. He couldn’t understand why there was a clause about fifty thousand dollars being left to his wife if he was killed in combat. Was General Poe expecting them not to survive? He raised his hand and waited until he drew General Poe’s attention.

  “You’re not expecting us to survive. I mean, I feel like I’m going to sign my life away here. And what’s this section about the money being left to our wives? It doesn’t make any sense. If you’re not expecting us to survive, then why are we going to even try? It sounds more like a suicide mission.”

  “I don’t know if I want to sign this,” said Specialist Jackson. “I have children at home I want to see grow up. What you’re asking us to do is unconstitutional.”

  General Poe glanced toward Captain Jamison and then back to the others. “If this is all about the amount of money being left to your families, well, I can double the amount.”

  Specialist Fizor slid the paperwork across the table. “It’s not about the money! It’s about our lives! It’s about our families! We’re not Special Ops! We shouldn’t be asked to risk our lives like this!”

  “Do you all feel this way?” asked General Poe. “Are you all telling me you want to commit treason?”

  “That’s malarkey and you know it,” said Specialist Washington. “You’re writing us off! I want to be promoted to lieutenant if I do this.”

  General Poe didn’t think about it before answering. He thought it was a reasonable request. “I can make it happen. I can even arrange for you to choose your next duty station. You can be stationed anywhere in the world you want to be where we have a base.” He waited for Specialist Washington to reply.

  “I like the sound of that. I want to be stationed somewhere exotic with a lot of hot bikini clad women.” He looked at the general curiously. “What’s the mission?”

  General Poe was satisfied he had all of their interest now. He slid the paperwork back to Specialist Fizor. “First I need you all to sign the paperwork. I promise you that all of you will be promoted to an officer and will be able to choose your duty station once you’ve accomplished your mission.” He waited until all the paperwork was signed and slid toward him. He gathered the paperwork and put it inside his briefcase. “Your mission is a simple one. All you have to do is survive and defeat your enemy. You will have two hours to prepare the mock town in the woods and set up traps or whatever else you want, and when the time has expired, my zombies will attack the town. Once all the zombies are defeated, the war games will be over and you can start your new lives as officers.”

  “But you don’t think we can do it,” said Specialist Goodwin. “I can hear it in your voice. That’s why you agreed to the promotions. It’s because you don’t think we’re going to survive.”

  “Don’t forget you’ve already signed the paperwork. You can’t go back on your word now.” He looked at Captain Jamison. “You have two hours before I release the zombies. Make good use of the time you have.”

  Captain Jamison split the men up into two groups. One group was going to secure the perimeter of the mock town, and the other group was going to booby trap the buildings. If they were going to do battle with zombies, they had to have every advantage they could dream up. Captain Jamison took both Specialist Liebe and Washington. They began setting up gas grenades around the perimeter fastened to razor wire.

  “I doubt gas grenades will affect zombies, but at least it will give us an advanced warning they are here,” said Captain Jamison. “I hope the razor wire will slow them down.”

  “We have to shoot them in the head,” said Specialist Liebe.

  “What, Liebe?” asked Specialist Washington.

  “It’s like in the movies. In order to kill a zombie, you have to shoot it in the head or damage the brain.”

  “The general isn’t going to make it easy for us, men,” said Captain Jamison. “He informed me they will be wearing helmets.”

  “What about shooting them through the heart?” asked Specialist Washington. “If we can’t shoot them in the head, we can try shooting them there.”

  “Weren’t you listening to me, Washington?” asked Specialist Liebe. “Shooting them in the heart won’t work. Head shots are the only way to kill them. If they’re wearing helmets, we’re going to have to remove them or affix a bayonet to our M16s and stab them right between the eyes.”

  “We’ll have to accomplish that at close range. I don’t think I want to get that close to them.”

  Captain Jamison finished setting up the razor wire and moved to the next area. He looked at his wristwatch. They only had twenty five minutes left. He looked at his men. “We’ll try grenades and Claymore mines to see if we can kill a couple of them. The key to killing these things is bringing them to their knees and slicing off their heads.”

  “We don’t have swords,” said Specialist Washington. “How do you suppose we do that?”

  “I don’t know. We’re going to have to make do with what we have. Just keep working; we’re running out of time.”

  Each of the soldiers hid inside a secluded structure when the truck arrived to release the five zombies. They all could hear how agitated they were as the truck came to a halt and two men jumped out of the cab and made their way to the rear of the truck.

  Specialist Jackson had a bad feeling. He thought about his wife and his twin girls who had a birthday coming up in three weeks. They were going to turn eight. He already had a week leave from the military arranged so he could take them to Florida. All they could talk about was how they were going to finally meet their favorite mouse and ride the rides at the park. He was amazed that they both wanted to grow up and become veterinarians. They were both fond of animals. It was the main reason he spent so much time at the zoo in Chicago. These were the times he held dear to his heart. His family was the reason he joined the military six years earlier. The military provided his family with everything they needed. Now he signed them away when he signed the paperwork for General Poe. He had to now face an enemy nobody knew anything about except for what he saw on television. He tightened the grip on his weapon as he watched the five zombies being released. They immediately attacked the two soldiers behind the truck. They didn’t stand a chance. They were both brought down to the ground in record time. They continued feasting on the soldiers until they sucked up the last of
their life’s juices. Specialist Jackson felt sick to his stomach. It was now becoming a reality. He now knew for sure none of them were expected to survive the assault. If General Poe kept his word, his family would be taken care of, but his twins would have to grow up without their father. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gas grenades going off. The zombies were now breaching the perimeter. He stared in horror as the zombies crashed through the razor wire dripping in fresh blood. Strips of freshly torn flesh were stuck between their teeth and hanging down their chins. He thought about the twins. All they wanted to do was go visit their favorite mouse.

  Captain Jamison was having second thoughts. Nothing in his military experience had prepared him for this. He had just witnessed two soldiers being devoured by an enemy who didn’t have many weaknesses. To his dismay, none of the traps he had set had slowed the creatures down. They were proving to be the perfect enemy. He cursed the general in his mind. He checked his M16 to make sure it was ready. He raised it and looked through the sights and aimed directly at one of the zombie’s heads. It was wearing a helmet as expected. He lowered his weapon and looked around. He didn’t have any options. If he was going to survive the attack, he was going to have to go hand to hand with the zombies. He didn’t like his chances.

  The area was filled with gas as Specialist Liebe stood there wearing his chemical mask. Tears of regret were streaming down his cheeks fogging the mask. He knew he wasn’t getting a promotion unless being killed and buried was a promotion. After watching the soldiers being ripped to shreds, he knew he wasn’t going to see tomorrow, or even have a chance to eat the pizza they were going to order once the war games were over. He felt betrayed by his government; he felt betrayed by his country; and he felt betrayed by Captain Jamison. He should have fought harder for them. He knew they were going to face an undefeatable enemy. He should have stood up to the general and protected his soldiers. Now they all had been served with a death sentence with no hope of escaping their fate. He closed his eyes and prayed. He prayed he would be spared the pain of being ripped apart.

  The zombies moved slowly across the town sensing there was fresh meat waiting for them to devour. The army of death continued to shamble toward the first building, the one where Specialist Goodwin was hiding inside. He stood by the opened window witnessing the death squad moving slowly, growling loudly. He tossed his weapon to the ground in defiance. He refused to fight an enemy he knew he couldn’t defeat. He figured if he was unarmed, they wouldn’t bother with him and would move along to the next building. It sounded reasonable in his mind, but he had some doubt. He thought about his parents and his wife. All of them were against him joining the military. His wife was especially concerned. She was worried he was going to become a statistic. So much was going on in the world and American soldiers were being killed. He had promised her nothing would ever happen to him, but she resented him for saying it. She was right when she screamed at him for making a promise he knew very well he couldn’t keep. He watched as the zombies drew nearer and he tried to run, but his feet were frozen in place. He thought about his wedding day. He remembered how beautiful his wife looked in her wedding dress. He remembered the vows he recited to her about how he would never leave her, and how they would grow old together. Never once did he promise her he wouldn’t be ripped apart and devoured by a horde of zombies. He reached over and picked up his M16 and watched as the zombies came near the entrance to the building. He stood with his hands shaking. Fear was eating him alive. He let his finger grow tight on the trigger, tensed for killing. He fired several shots in succession and looked to see what damage he had inflicted. To his dismay, the horde was still moving toward his position. He quickly changed magazines and raised his weapon once again. The zombie horde had drawn nearer to the building. He knew he couldn’t miss his targets a second time. If he did, he knew he wouldn’t survive. He brought one of the zombies into his crosshairs. He knew every shot he took had to count. His finger curled around the trigger and he popped off a quick shot. It slammed through the center of the nearest zombie’s jaw causing a sea of red. It toppled over backward, knocking into the zombie shambling behind it. Specialist Goodwin felt relieved, but he knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet. He had more zombies to contend with, and they were closing in on his position. He raised his weapon once more and fired. Nothing happened. His weapon had jammed. He knew he didn’t have the time to unjam it before the rest of the zombies reached him. He threw his weapon to the ground in anger and glared at the zombies. He closed his eyes and thought about his wife as the first of the zombies reached him. The life force gushed out of him in a crimson rain as he felt himself being thrown to the ground. He thought about his wife’s beautiful smile until he faded into darkness.

  General Poe stood just out of sight of the town smiling as he watched the first soldier fall to the enemy. His zombies were definitely the perfect fighting machine. Even though he knew they couldn’t be trained to follow orders yet, they still killed with precision. It was encouraging. With an army like this one, he knew America would never lose a battle, or have to send American soldiers to fight the battles the zombie army would. Still, he preferred the smart zombies. He wanted the ones who would follow orders to the letter. He knew these zombies could be used several times unless anything happened to them. He was about to turn and head back to the truck when he heard Captain Jamison shouting orders to his men to attack the enemy. This intrigued him, and he stopped to watch. This was going to prove to be a worthwhile test. It was going to be five men against the remaining zombies.

  Captain Jamison wasn’t going to let the rest of his squad be picked off one by one. He knew if he got them all together they would have a better chance of defeating the undead army. He was sickened that he lost Specialist Goodwin, but he was determined to keep it to just one casualty.

  “Set your weapons to automatic!” he ordered, rushing toward the zombie horde. “Fire!”

  The air echoed with the sound of gunfire. General Poe stared curiously as the men attacked the zombies riddling them with bullets. When the fire ceased, all of the men were standing over the last of the zombies. Captain Jamison turned to look at General Poe and charged at him angrily and stopped directly in front of him. The general took several steps backward in shock. This wasn’t the outcome he was expecting. All of the men were supposed to be dead.

  “How do you like your zombie army now?” asked Captain Jamison. “I bet you weren’t expecting this outcome. I believe you owe my men promotions.”

  “Now just wait a minute!” screamed General Poe. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet. You haven’t killed all of the zombies.”

  Captain Jamison turned and watched as one of the zombies was getting back to its feet. He swiftly approached it and fired a single shot between its eyes. It slumped back to the ground. He turned to face the general once again. “Are you satisfied now?”

  “Captain, do you realize how much of the taxpayer’s hard earned dollars you just wasted?”

  “Do you think I care? Do you think Specialist Goodwin’s wife is going to care? He was a good soldier.”

  Captain Jamison was interrupted by his men shouting something about Specialist Goodwin. He turned to look at what the commotion was all about. His eyes widened as he watched a zombie version of Specialist Goodwin exiting the building he had been killed in. He turned furiously around to face the general. “Look at what you’ve created! This is not how an American soldier should be treated!” He turned to Specialist Washington. “Take care of him.”

  Captain Jamison glared at General Poe as a single shot broke the silence. He stormed away from the town followed by the rest of his men. They all glared at the general as they passed him, as if they were trying to send him a message. Once they were all out of his sight, General Poe went over to Specialist Goodwin’s body to examine it. His chest was a raw wound that should have made it impossible for him to come back from the dead. It gave him an idea. He had the sudden realization he was using the wro
ng people for making zombies. The ones made from the homeless were too easy to destroy. He figured it could be the problem they were having. The only way he would be able to know for sure was by further testing. It made more sense to him. He knew he had to convey his suspicions to either Nicholas or Kathy. One of them could take this into consideration and inform him of the type of people they should be testing. He kicked Specialist Goodwin in the side of the face to make sure he was dead. He turned away and headed back to the truck. He now had to figure out how he was going to come up with the money for Specialist Goodwin’s wife, and also how he was going to secure promotions for the rest of the men.

  Chapter Six

  Carlton was furious with General Poe when he learned the rest of the zombies had been destroyed. It bothered him that the lives of the homeless people used to make the zombies were discarded so easily. He glared at the general as he stood in front of the cage with the lone zombie.

  “I know how you feel, Carlton. I feel the same way as you do. But you have to remember one important factor we learned today. It’s something that gives their death’s meaning. They died to provide us with valuable information about the mistakes we have made. Without their sacrifice to their country, the project would have remained vulnerable. Now we can move past these mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again.” He turned to walk away from the cage. “In the near future we’re going to make better and stronger zombies. We’ll make zombies that can’t be easily defeated in battle. They’ll be zombies we can all be proud of.”

  “We shouldn’t be making them at all. All we’re doing here is making life look cheap. These were real humans that were made into zombies, living flesh and blood. They didn’t volunteer to be made into zombies; they were drafted into becoming zombies.”

  General Poe smirked. “You know as well as I do we couldn’t ask them to volunteer; they would have refused.”