Z Chronicles Box Set [Books 1-3]

by White, A. L.

  “I am putting you back into the cab with the motor running.” Virginia said.

  Boo grabbed a hold of her and gently pulled her so that she could look him in the eyes. “We don’t know how many of them are out here and we don’t want them surprising the others like they did us. If you leave me in the cab, then they know one of us is here and the other is on foot. Hide me in the woods where I can see them come up and I might be able to pick them off or slow them down.”

  “Where will I be?” Virginia asked. She sounded afraid. Boo had never heard fear in her voice before.

  “You’re going to take this dog here and go down by the river and make your way back up north. Listen for the others as best you can. When you hear them, and only when you hear them, you come back up to the road and warn them away from here.”

  “I don’t like it but I will do it.” Virginia replied. She helped Boo down through the snow filled ditch and into the woods. She found a large tree, partially hidden from the road, where Boo would be able to see traffic up by the truck and keep himself somewhat hidden. The truck didn’t have a lot of supplies in it but she found some old blankets and rags to help keep him warm. All of the ammunition for his forty-five and rifle were left in easy reach by his good arm and the weapons she tucked carefully onto his lap. After making sure they were loaded and the safeties off, Virginia said. “If you’re sure about this we’re going to head upriver now.”

  She had seen enough death to recognize it knocking at his door, but she wasn’t about to disrespect the man she admired so much by disobeying his last orders. She called Perseus to her side, gave Boo a smile and a nod, and headed off to warn the others.

  Chapter 7

  Following the map, the man had given her outside of her dumpster, Megan kept moving north through small towns and villages. The temperature had dropped from unbearable to comfortable and finally it was swinging to chilly. Most places had no signs of life, just a few groups of dead milling about. They would turn toward her, making a labored move to investigate, then just stand there watching her from behind black eyes. They were the same people who would have looked down their noses at her a year ago, judging her by the clothes she wore and her tats. Now who were they looking down on? She had survived and they didn’t. It was if God looked down from the heavens and punished the ones who thought that they could judge others.

  Just outside of another little town with another name that pretended to be a far-off exotic place, Megan found a small strip mall filled with high end shops. Pulling into the parking lot, she looked for signs of trouble. She saw nothing that would concern her, so she grabbed the pistol out of the glovebox and decided to going shopping. First, she would find some new clothes to wear and then drive through the neighborhoods looking for a place to get a shower. Megan couldn’t remember the last time she had felt the caress of warm water across her body. There had to be an odor clinging to her body that by now she was accustomed to. She thought it would be nice to start the next leg of the trip in some clean clothes on a clean body.

  Looking through the windows of the first shop, she stared at the walls lined with dresses and blouses that would probably have looked wonderful on her grandmother. Megan moved to the next shop which by the looks of it was a resale shop. She looked down at the worn-out jean shorts she was wearing. The pockets were hanging out from under where she had originally cut them. I have lived my entire life wearing hand me downs, why stop now? Looking around, she saw a tall, thin metal cigarette butt holder. Tucking the gun into the back of her shorts, Megan lifted the container up over her head and slammed it into the glass door. A thud, followed by a clang, echoed as the container bounced harmlessly off the glass, coming to rest at her feet, spilling its treasure of butts and ash all over the sidewalk. Quickly looking up one side of the strip mall and then down the other, Megan half-heartedly expected someone to come out and check on what the noise was. Seeing no one, she reached out for the door and shook it violently. She hopped back with a start as it pulled open with ease. Of Course, you’re not locked so I just looked like a complete fool for nothing at all.

  Most of the clothes by the entrance way were for summer. She had never been up north so Megan wasn’t exactly sure of how to dress. One thing she did understand was that short shorts and a crop top weren’t going to cut it. I would make it look hot though, she thought with a smile.

  She moved back through the middle of the store, taking in all the different styles of clothes. She came to a round rack with jeans that were in her size. Grabbing a few pairs, she walked up to the counter in the back and laid them next to a corpse draped collapsed at the checkout.

  “Can you watch these for me please? I have some more shopping to do.” Megan said to the corpse and then laughed aloud. “Thank you, sugar.”

  She found a few shirts that looked like sweatshirts but seemed to be a lot thinner. She took them back to the counter and laid them down. The corpse was about seventeen or eighteen when it had been living, Megan guessed. Beautiful flowing red hair was matted in the middle by a clump of reddish-black goo. Long and slender, it was dressed in clothes that were easily bought from someplace else, a place a little higher end than the resale shop. Megan loved the top it had on and started to figure out how she would get it off the body. Feeling the stiffness with a gentle poke told her that it wouldn’t be an easy thing to do. In the mirror next to the cashier counter Megan noticed the patch of red in the middle of her tank top, starting just below her chin, running down to about the middle of her stomach. Remnants of her friend mister rat, she thought to herself and started to pull the shirt over her head slowly, watching herself in the mirror. The stiff on the counter may have had better clothes but she could never stand and go toe to toe against my body, Megan thought.

  “Should I come back or is it ok if I just stand over here and watch quietly.” A voice behind her startled Megan and she jumped up, reaching for the gun tucked into the back of her shorts with one hand and covering her chest with the other. Slamming down hard on the floor, the gun sent an echoing thud through the shop.

  “Easy there Megan, I was told to find you and I mean you no harm.” The owner of the voice raised his hands up to show he was not armed.

  Megan bent forward grasping the gun and raising it towards the boy in front of her. “Who told you to find me?” Megan asked.

  “Some dude that found me in my families barn a few nights ago.”

  “What was his name?” Megan asked.

  “He never said and come to think of it, I never asked.”

  “What did he look like?” Megan asked growing impatient.

  “Big guy with a baby face, dressed from head to toe in black.”

  “What is your name? Why should I believe you?” Megan prodded.

  Lowering his hands down to his side, the stranger said. “The Man in Black said that I should find you here. Your name should be Megan. My name is Winston Salem the Third, but you can call me Bubby. Everyone has called me that since the day I was born.”

  “Isn’t Winston Salem a town? Megan asked.

  “It sure is, no fooling you is there? It seems that my grandfather was conceived there and so was my father. Hence we were all named that.” Bubby replied.

  “So you were too?” Megan asked trying to hold a smile in.

  “Nah, my old man was way too cheap to take my mom anyplace, even before they were married. I was born up the road a little way in the same bedroom I have lived my whole life. I guess dad just wanted to keep the tradition going as best he could in his own way.”

  Megan lowered the gun and stood there looking at Bubby with her hands at her side. “Help me get this top off of the stiff.”

  “That will be way too thin if you get my meaning.” Bubby replied looking down at his shoes as his face turned crimson.

  Megan decided that he was probably right and the whole idea of going in the store had been to get something that didn’t smell like death. Absentmindedly she grabbed a T-shirt from a rack next to her and pu
t it on. “I want to get a shower before we leave this town”

  “I can do better that that! How would you like a warm shower and a swim in an Olympic sized pool?” Bubby asked.

  “You’re on, afterward we will start following the Man in Black’s map again.”

  ***

  Doc had Todd help dig a fire pit and area to sit in the middle of what had been the old fishing cabin. The remaining walls of the cabin were blocking the brunt of the winds from blowing the snow like tiny nails into their exposed flesh. Todd used an old cooler lid he found to push all the snow he could move while Doc lit a fire. Tressa carried the sleeping bags they had salvaged from the old hardware store on Main Street and a few cans of baked beans over to the fire pit.

  “The fire is going nice, it is starting to get nice and toasty.” Tressa said.

  “Are we going to have toast for dinner, Tressa?” Todd asked confused.

  “No Todd, it is nice and warm here.” Tressa replied laughing.

  Doc unrolled the three sleeping bags around the fire and sat down, leaning against the thick evergreens that grew where a cabin wall once stood. “Good thing these are waterproof.” He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pack of smokes. He offered one to Tressa.

  “No thanks, I am good, Doc.” Tressa replied, fishing in her coat pocket for the can opener.

  “Good for you, these things will kill you.” Doc said as he took a piece of kindling and held the end into the flames. Once it caught fire, he pulled it out, using the burning tip to light the cigarette. He then tossed the kindling it into the fire.

  “Are you sure it will be safe here, Doc?” Tressa asked looking around at the openings in their temporary shelter.

  “I don’t know about you, but I had a hard time moving through that snow from the truck to the cabin. How did you feel when you were making your way in here?”

  “I will give you that, it isn’t very easy moving through the snow but—”

  Doc cut her off, “Exactly! We move about well normally, right? The creatures shuffle along, having a hard time. I don’t think they will move very well at all in this weather, or in all of the built-up snow.”

  “You’re saying that we are safe for tonight?” Tressa asked smiling.

  “No, I am guaranteeing that you are safe for tonight.” Doc replied

  “Whaaaaaat are you doing, Tressa?!” Todd asked excitedly as Tressa carefully placed the opened can of beans into the edge of the fire.

  “I am cooking the beans for dinner, Todd.”

  “Haven’t you ever roughed it, my boy?” Doc asked.

  Todd shook his head back and forth in disbelief. “We have never ever cooked like that before, have we, Tressa?”

  “Well, this is what you call roughing it, Todd. We don’t need any pans because we can just cook in the cans.” Doc explained.

  “Are we going to have spoons?” Todd asked. “I don’t think I can eat without a spoon or fork, Mister.”

  “I brought utensils, Todd.” Tressa used a pair of tongs to pull the cans of beans out of the fire, placing one in front of everyone. Todd laid flat on his stomach, propping his upper body up with an elbow so that he could eat from the can without touching it.

  “Will we find the puppies tomorrow, Mister?” Todd asked with a mouthful.

  “Todd, no one wants to see your food. Chew your food, then talk.” Tressa scolded him.

  Todd forced himself to swallow the mouthful of hot beans then asked again. “Do you think we will, Mister?”

  Doc leaned back into the evergreens and pulled the pack of smokes out again. “Well, I don’t think they could move tonight either, so they are probably hunkered down just like we are. So I can’t promise that we will find them tomorrow, Todd. I can say that I don’t think we have fallen any further behind.”

  “Mister, does that mean we will find them tomorrow or not?” Todd asked again.

  “Todd, mind your manners now. Doc doesn’t know if we will find them tomorrow any more than you or I know it.” Tressa said.

  “Aw jeez Tressa, you don’t have to get mad. I was just askin' is all.”

  Doc looked up at the weather worn roof of the cabin wondering how much snow it could hold in its dilapidated shape. “Todd, I am in just as big of a hurry to find the group as you are, son.”

  “Really Mister, you’re in a hurry to find the puppies too?”

  “I think he wants to find the whole group, Todd.” Tressa replied laughing, causing Todd to laugh too.

  Tressa wished that life could always be like that. Todd was so calm since they departed Rivers Crossing on their quest for the dogs. Doc seemed to always know what to say and how to say it to Todd. He always drew a calmer response than others did.

  “Mister, are you ok? You don’t look so good, do you?” Todd asked.

  Todd’s voice called Tressa back from being lost in her own thoughts. Doc’s eyes were bulging to the point that Tressa was worried that they just might pop out of their sockets. “Doc, are you ok?” She reached around the fire toward him. “Are you choking on something, Doc? Can you hear me?”

  Doc opened his mouth to speak but words didn’t form. Instead he let out a gargling sound, his neck beginning to bulge like his eyes. Tressa looked at Todd. “Go to the truck now and wait for me inside!”

  “What is wrong with him?” Todd asked looking scared. “What is wrong with you, Mister?”

  The bulge in Doc’s neck ruptured, exploding outward with the spray of crimson blood, painting everything in the cabin in a bath of red. Doc’s neck rendered aside, Tressa could see white fangs clicking together amidst viscera. Doc’s body was then ripped from the cabin through the evergreens.

  Reaching over to Todd she grabbed him by his ear, pulling him to his feet. “To the truck now!” Todd’s arms and legs flailed as he ran through the snow, kicking up chunks of snow in every direction while he screamed at the top of his lungs. There was a brief pause in his scramming as he slammed into the side of the truck door. Tressa opened the door and pushed him inside. She kept her eyes on the creatures mauling Doc’s body as she moved to the front door and tried to pull it open. The old hinges made a loud cracking then groaning sound as it opened. It attracted the attention of one of the creatures. It turned toward the new food source and fell onto all fours, charging toward Tressa. Calmly pulling the revolver out of her coat, Tressa squeezed off the shot just as the creature started to leap at her. It fell, what was left of it, just inches away from her snow entrenched feet, dead. She climbed into the truck and as more of the creatures noticed her, slammed the door shut.

  “Lordy Tressa, what are they?” Todd asked with his nose pushed against the window. “They look like puppies, Tressa. But I don’t think that they are.”

  Tressa didn’t know what they were, and she didn’t want to find out what they were. If they were outside of the truck and she could get away, she was satisfied.

  The door on Todd’s side smashed as Todd began screaming with tears flowing down his face. “They’re getting in, Tressa! They’re getting in. Help me!”

  Tressa started to raise the revolver but then instinctively reached for the keys in the ignition. After what felt like hours of fumbling around the steering column, they found the ignition but there were no keys. Doc put them in his pocket, she thought looking out at the creatures milling around the truck.

  “Tressa, let’s go, please, can you drive us away from here, please?” Todd continued to plead between sobs.

  Looking around at the creatures Tressa thought there were possibly six, maybe seven, of them. She tried to judge the distance to Doc’s body or what was left of it. Tressa lifted the revolver and opened the cylinder. She had just five shots left for six or seven creatures. Who knew if there were more out there beyond the trees? Could I shoot five and get past the last two? She wondered. If I make it to Doc, how long to find the keys in that pile of flesh and bones?

  Tressa moved over closer to the window on the passenger side and looked the creatur
es over. They weren’t like the slow zombies, but they were not like the two-point-zeros that the girls had talked about. They were taller than a Great Dane but nearly as long as a tiger or lion. Their heads were elongated as if they were pulled that way by someone, causing they eyes, ears, and snout to be enormous. The fangs were large like something out of a book of drawings on prehistoric mammals.

  “Tressa, lets go please, can you drive us away from here, please?” Todd begged again.

  “Todd, I want you to lay down in the seat and take a nap for me.” Tressa said.

  “Take a nap, Tressa? I can’t take a nap now!”

  “Todd honey, I think if we stay very, very still and don’t look at them they will just go away. Then we can get the keys from Doc and go.” Tressa explained.

  Todd wiped his eyes and laid down in the seat. “If it will make the bad things go away, I will try, Tressa.”

  Tressa laid down across the front seat holding the revolver in both hands as she tried to sink into the fabric.

  Chapter 8

  Zeus was the first into the snow when the RV stopped by Boo’s truck. Searching the area around the truck, in the truck, and then sniffing the body in street Zeus hadn’t found Boo, Virginia, or Perseus. Zeus turned his search to the area behind the tow truck before charging into the space on the other side of Boo’s truck. He covered the area, going back and forth, until he picked up a slight scent. Running through the snow up to Boo, Zeus sniffed him and knew that he was dead. He turned his attention back to the two trucks on the road. He didn’t find Perseus or Virginia. He doubled back, following Lori as she headed toward Boo. He was sniffing the air intently for any scent trace of Virginia.

  “What the hell?!” Jermaine asked as he checked Boo.

  “Any signs of my sister or Perseus?” Lori asked.

  Charlie shook his head no as he looked up from Boo to Lori’s eyes. “There is another guy up there with an arrow through his eye.”