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

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  “Exactly my point!” screamed Carlton. “They all would have refused! You’ve made them human guinea pigs!”

  “It’s all in the name of science, Carlton. This is how the system works. People make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure a better tomorrow for the rest of the world. It’s how it’s always been done throughout history. Without people making these sacrifices, the world would never have evolved or progressed.”

  “It doesn’t mean it’s right. The people we’re using need our help and not the help you’re giving them.”

  General Poe smiled. “Maybe you’re right and maybe we shouldn’t be using the homeless to make into zombies, but you have to understand that it’s necessary. I don’t think the world will miss a couple of homeless people. You won’t see any of them on a carton of milk or hear of an amber alert being issued about them. Besides, if they really wanted help, they would have asked for it.”

  Carlton shook his head in disbelief. He was tired of hearing the general rationalize everything. What they were doing was wrong, and no matter how it was sugar coated, it was wrong. If things were different in his life, he would simply walk away and never look back, but he knew the general wasn’t going to let him disappear. After all, he knew too much about the project. He knew the best thing for everybody concerned was for him to keep his mouth shut and follow orders. He was worried about what General Poe might do next. He feared what might come next. Who knows what kind of people they might use next; lawyers, doctors, college students, or even innocent children. The thought sent a wave of anger cascading through his body. He knew General Poe was capable of pushing the boundaries. He watched as he left the back area. He didn’t like the position he was being left in.

  “Was Carlton mad about the zombies?” asked Kathy as the general approached her. She stopped typing and picked up an apple from her desk and bit into it.

  “What do you think? The problem with him is he cares too much about people he doesn’t know.”

  “That’s because he’s a decent guy, you know; it makes him human.”

  “Spare me the crap, Kathy. He’s just like any other guy in the world. I think he tries too hard not to be, but I know people like him; they’re the ones to keep your eyes on.”

  Kathy took another bite from her apple. She looked at the general curiously. “Carlton is different. That’s why I like him. You should spend more time watching him with the zombies. He treats every one of them with respect.”

  “That’s a sign of weakness.”

  “No, general, it’s a sign of a caring person. Don’t get me wrong, he does know they’re zombies but he also knows they were once human. I’ve gone to the back area several times and witnessed him apologizing to the zombies for their transformations. I respect him for treating them the way he does.”

  General Poe was about to walk away but abruptly stopped. “Why don’t you feel the same way? You’re the one responsible for their transformations.”

  “I’m a scientist. I’m paid to do the things I do. If I felt remorse for every creature I’ve ever experimented on, I would have to leave the field. Besides, when we succeed, I’m going to get a Nobel Prize.”

  General Poe laughed. He knew he would never have to worry about Kathy. The only one he worried about was Ted.

  Ted had been extremely careful copying all the relevant information about the smart zombie program from his parents’ computers. After copying, he went to work on changing some of their formulas to make sure their next field test was also unsuccessful. He also made sure the virus being developed was more potent and would turn the victims into vicious zombies at a faster rate. Right now the serum would only cause mild symptoms in the people who come in direct contact with the infected. But now with his changes to the formula, it was more likely that a larger area could be infected without direct contact. His plan was to make the United States a zombie nation. It had been his plan ever since his parents began working on the program. He was tired of being third in the family. He couldn’t compete with both of his parents who spent most of their lives disproving of his research. They also went as far as discrediting him in the science community. It got to the point where he was the butt of their jokes. It enraged him nobody was taking him or his research seriously. He vowed to get even with all of them including his parents. He wanted to show them he was a better scientist than all of them. He found the perfect way to get his revenge. He was going to take Shelton Franks up on his offer and then spread a deadly zombie virus throughout the United States. He knew he had the perfect plan. He felt confident it was the ultimate revenge, and he felt sad he wouldn’t be around to see it happen. He put the thumb drive in his pocket and left the lab. He stopped to look at the lab once more. He hoped it would be the last time he would ever have to step foot inside of it.

  He sat inside his car and placed the call to Shelton. He waited several seconds before hearing the familiar voice.

  “Are you ready?” asked Shelton.

  Ted looked around the parking lot before answering. “I’m heading to your house. I have everything we need. How soon can we leave for the island?”

  “In the morning.” Shelton hesitated for a moment. “I do have some alarming news to report. Some local thugs are angry I purchased the island they claim they have the rights to. They are threatening civil war if we step foot onto it.”

  “That’s not good news. Is this going to be a problem because trust me when I tell you this, we can’t stay in America.”

  There was silence for several minutes. “What did you do, Ted?”

  “Let’s just say before long America is going to witness the zombie apocalypse firsthand.”

  “I wish you would have informed me of your plan before you made the decision to doom America. You do realize I have family living here. I guess I will have to make sure they get to the island before it happens. Exactly how long do I have?”

  “It all depends on patient zero and how fast the virus runs its course across the nation. If all works according to my plan, Patient Zero will do most of the work for me.”

  “Who is Patient Z?”

  “Patient Zero will be the first zombie injected with the serum my parents are accidently going to make.” He paused for a moment. “Let’s say get them to the island within a week. I don’t know what’s going to happen around here or how fast the virus will spread. I won’t have all the details until I do more research. I don’t even know how long it’s going to take for my parents to get the serum into production.”

  “Head over; I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Ted pulled up to the house where he found a limousine idling in front of the mansion. He parked his car to the side and made his way quickly to the limo. He was met by Kurt Freeman.

  “You’re a bastard for what Mr. Franks told me you did. I also have family here. I better have time to get all of them out of the country. This was a selfish thing you did.”

  “Don’t worry; you have time to get them out of the country. I’m not going to apologize for what I’ve done; this country has it coming. The world will be a much better place without America always interfering in its affairs. Besides, I think your family would prefer to live on an exotic island.”

  “From the sound of it, it will be a dangerous one to live on. Well, at least it will be safer than living here.”

  Ted noticed suitcases on the drive next to the limo. “Are we leaving now?”

  “The pilot is waiting for us. Actually, several pilots are waiting. We have to take a lot of supplies if we have to defend ourselves against the locals.”

  Ted produced several syringes filled with a light green fluid from a briefcase he was holding. He showed them to Kurt. “I brought these so I could study my parent’s original formula closer. All we have to do is inject them into the locals and presto, we have our first zombies.”

  Kurt smiled. He was now more confident they could resolve the problems concerning the island. He went into the house to inform Shelton. Shelton finished a glass of scotc
h while he was informed of the plan. He smiled. He followed Kurt back to the limo while Ted was putting his luggage inside.

  “You’re a sneaky, but smart man,” he said to Ted, getting inside the limo. “What are we going to do about the airborne virus once they turn? The special containers and enclosures haven’t been built yet.”

  “Right now the virus will only give you the flu. I have the antidote on me. As soon as my parents develop the new serum, well, that’s another story.”

  Chapter Seven

  Shelton Franks, Kurt Freeman and Ted Hollman stood on the beach after landing by helicopter on Isla Zomblar. They had taken the helicopter from Costa Rica while their supplies were being brought to the island by boat. Ted stood there admiring the beauty of the beach, staring in the distance. He could see a medium-sized young man wearing khakis running toward them. He alerted Shelton to the man running toward the beach. Shelton peered in the direction of the man and then looked at Kurt who knew something was wrong.

  “This doesn’t look good,” he said, looking at Shelton.

  “What? What’s wrong?” asked Ted.

  “The man running toward us is Chris Kaeb. He was left in charge while I was away from the island,” said Shelton. “He was overseeing all the construction. Something drastic must have changed since we last had contact with each other.”

  Chris stopped short of them and tried to catch his breath. He stared at Shelton trying to speak through his breaths. “They’ve…they’ve taken over the…island. The…the…the workers have been…locked up.”

  Shelton looked alarmingly at Kurt. “It’s what we’ve feared. Grab the M16s from the helicopter and Ted, grab the shotgun and get the darts ready.” He looked back at Chris. “How many are here?”

  “Six, sir. I must warn you that Kevyn Mora is here, as well.”

  Shelton knew this meant that Julio Rojas wasn’t on the island. He was the man who had threatened him about moving to the island. He looked at Kurt. “Let’s get this over with. We need to take back our island and free our men.” He turned to Chris. “Take us to them. Isla Zomblar belongs to us not them.”

  “Yes, sir.” Chris led them to the area of the island where the housing for the employees of the park were going to live. There were several structures that had the outer walls standing and a few that were nearly completed. The group stopped behind a large boulder across from a finished structure with a guard standing outside of it holding a shotgun. Chris pointed at the building. “The workers are being held inside there. There is also a guard standing watch at the exterior. Mr. Mora is inside making preparations for Mr. Rojas to come to the island.”

  “Chris, what building is this. It looks like where the gym and pool is going to be for the families.”

  “You’re correct, sir. The building is complete.”

  Shelton lifted his weapon and looked at the guard through the crosshairs. He then lowered it and looked at Chris. “I have one question for you. Why aren’t they looking for you? Do they know you are missing?”

  “They don’t know I’m on the island. I was near the beach when they showed up in their boats. I destroyed their boats after they left the beach and went inland. They’ve been here three days. I heard Mr. Mora tell his men that Mr. Rojas will be here this week. They are making sure everything is ready for his arrival.”

  “Then I say we don’t have much time left to clear the island before he gets here,” said Shelton, staring at the guard outside of the building. He looked at Ted. “How about we make ourselves some zombies? From what Chris has informed me, we will have six zombies toward our new park.” He looked at Chris. “Have the cages arrived?”

  “They arrived three days ago. They’re on another part of the island.”

  “Good. We’ll shoot all of them with darts and lock them inside the cages.” He looked at Ted. “How long will we have before they turn into zombies?”

  “Not long. We’ll have to tie them up and carry them to the cages. If we’re careful and stay away from their mouths, we’ll be all right. These zombies won’t have the potency for an airborne transfer. The worse that will happen is we’ll catch a mild form of the flu. We don’t have to worry about that because I have the antidote.”

  “I guess we don’t have a choice. Go ahead and take out the guard. Then we’ll head to the back of the building and take out the second one. Then all we have to do is get the four inside.”

  Ted went to work dipping a dart into the light green fluid and loading the dart into the shotgun. He took aim at the guard at the front of the building and pulled the trigger. The guard looked shocked as he brought his hand up to his neck and pulled out the dart. He looked around and tossed the dart to the ground. He raised his weapon and then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he toppled over, dropping his weapon to the ground.

  “Now let’s go deal with the one in the back.”

  Once again, they watched as the guard toppled over to the ground. So far everything was going according to their plan. They checked the back door to make sure it was unlocked.

  “The other four are probably toward the front of the building,” said Chris. “They won’t be expecting us.”

  “I hope not. I want this to go quick and easy,” said Shelton. He opened the unlocked door and quietly made his way into the building. They were inside the pool room. He was reminded of one of the horror films he made two years ago where the female lead had to quietly make her way through an abandoned building searching for the killer. She was set on revenge and wanted to put an end to his killing spree. In the movie, she succeeded and the movie ended with her walking out of the building to a beautiful sunrise. He hoped the day would end with the same outcome, even though he knew life was quite different from the ones you saw on the silver screen.

  He moved silently to the right of the Olympic-sized pool. His thoughts were on all the possible scenarios that could happen to them. Right now they were evenly matched, but he didn’t take much stock in the numbers. They still had to have the element of surprise if they were going to come away unscathed. Chris pushed past him and whispered. “Follow me; I know the way.”

  The group followed Chris out of the pool area into another area reserved for a dining facility. They could hear a loud discussion taking place inside a room off to the right. Chris held them up for a moment.

  “That’s the main office. That’s where you’ll find the rest of the bad guys. The workers are most likely locked inside the large storage room on the other side.”

  Shelton felt confident they had the element of surprise. He raised his weapon and motioned to Chris to continue leading the way. They continued until they were a few feet away from the opened door leading to the large office. They could hear Mr. Mora shouting he had a full house. It was obvious to Shelton they were engrossed in a card game. He peered at the others and motioned to them to follow his lead. They were about to enter the room when they heard something from behind them.

  “Hey! What the hell are you doing here!” someone shouted from behind.

  Ted turned and fired a dart at the man, hitting him in his chest. The man fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

  The conversation stopped inside the room, and they heard Mr. Mora giving orders to kill whoever was outside of the room. Shelton wasn’t going to give them the opportunity. He turned the corner and emptied his magazine. He watched as Mr. Mora’s body jerked with the impact of each shot. He suddenly heard commotion coming from behind him as Ted moved past him and fired a dart into Mr. Mora’s neck.

  Outside of the room, the guard who had been hit by the dart was rising back to his feet. His eyes were clouded over, and he held his arms outstretched while growling at the group loudly. Kurt fired a shot at the zombie. The first shot tore a hole through its heart. It took a step toward them daring them to fire another shot. The second shot crashed into its breastbone, throwing it back several feet. They weren’t having any significant effect against it.

  “Try aiming for the head,” said Ted. “I t
hink you have to sever the brain.”

  Kurt fired another shot at it, aiming at its head. This time he didn’t miss. The shot spun the zombie around like a top, dumping it facedown on the tiled floor. Kurt cautiously approached it and kicked it in the head to make sure it wasn’t going to get back up. He then peered over at Shelton.

  “Are they all dead?”

  “I emptied my clip into them.”

  “Check them,” said Kurt. “If you didn’t hit them in the head, they’re going to get back up.”

  Shelton turned to check to make sure he had in fact hit them all in the head when he was met with the zombie version of Mr. Mora. Shelton raised his weapon and fired, but nothing happened. He had already forgotten he had emptied his magazine and was now out of ammunition. He smacked the zombie with his weapon, but it only agitated the zombie.

  “Duck!” Kurt yelled, firing a shot just as his friend ducked out of the way. The deadly impact sent the zombie crashing to the floor in a crumpled heap. Shelton stared at it in disbelief. He looked at Kurt with his thumb up in the air. He was thankful his friend had saved his life.

  “The workers,” said Chris, “we need to free them.” He made his way to the large storage room and unlocked it. He looked around at the frightened men. “It’s all right, you’re all free now. All the thugs have been killed.”

  They regrouped at the back door, ready to tie up the other guards who had been guarding the building outside. Ted opened the back door by the pool and was immediately grabbed and tossed hard to the ground. The guard who had been guarding the back door had turned and was crouching on top of him, trying to grab his face. He fought hard against his attacker but it was too strong.

  “Help me,” he screamed loudly. “It’s too strong.”

  Without warning, Ted was showered in a red mist and the zombie was pushed over on its side. Ted frantically wiped the blood away from his eyes and mouth and peered over at the dead zombie. Blood and brains had burst out of its shattered skull.