The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 2): Z-Day [Day of the Zombies]

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  “Death comes tonight,” it said, meeting him eye to eye.

  Jake ignored him and made it to an open patch of road and gunned it. He wanted to get to safety and leave all the zombie gore behind them.

  Chapter Four

  “Well, at least it’s not airborne,” said Captain Strain. “We should thank God or luck or whatever you believe in for that. This virus can only be transmitted through bodily fluids. It’s mostly through the saliva from the infected.” He turned to his lieutenant. “I have a feeling General Poe is not telling us the whole story. He’s hiding something from me.”

  “What I want to know is do you believe there is a significant chance this outbreak could infect the rest of the United States?”

  “Not if we can keep it contained. Our orders are to contain it in Valparaiso at all costs.”

  Lieutenant Morris shot him a worried look. “At any costs could mean shooting people on sight, or even worse, we could bomb the damn place.”

  Overhead they heard the sound of whup-whup-whup of helicopter blades. A black helicopter was approaching from the east. Captain Strain stared upward and then back to Morris. “I wonder what this is about.”

  The helicopter landed in a clearing next to the road and General Charles Athens emerged and approached them on the road.

  Captain Strain was unnerved by his presence. His eyes bulged with hate. He painfully watched as the general stopped in front of him.

  “Captain Lipton Strain. I was wondering what happened to you.”

  Captain Strain glared at him. He cleared his throat. His voice became ice cold and sharp as a scalpel. “I don’t need a babysitter. We have the situation under control.”

  “General Poe doesn’t feel the same way you do. He wants me to take charge and make sure it gets done.”

  “I assure you, general, it will get done. The missiles are en route to this location.”

  “I trust you have a contingent of troops sweeping through the city, looking for any of the escaped animals. We can’t risk them getting through the line.” He produced a laminated map and handed it to him. “Study this map. I want you to consider every possible way the animals can break through our line. If they do, it will fall entirely on you. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Perfectly,” said Captain Strain. “The animals are being hunted down right now. They will not get through.”

  “For your sake, they better not. I will be staying for the duration to make sure you really do have the situation in hand.”

  “The men know what they have to do.”

  The general looked at him curiously. “Are you sure? Do they know if it is their child who has turned into a zombie, they need to kill it? Do they know if it is their dear mother who has turned, they need to kill it? As a matter of fact, no one is to leave the area alive, zombie or not. I expect your men to kill every man, woman and child without hesitation.”

  Captain Strain stole a quick glance to Morris. “What the…”

  General Athens pushed past them. “I trust you won’t have a problem with your orders. Nothing–and no one–is to get out of the area alive. Any soldier who refuses the order will be put to death. No court-martial. No juries. No trials. You shoot the person, no questions asked. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” they both echoed in unison.

  “Have your men put up razor wire around the perimeter?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. That ought to slow the zombies down long enough for our men to take them out. If they get through the razor, we’ll call in death from above. Hell, if General Poe wasn’t still behind enemy lines, I wouldn’t waste the taxpayer’s money. I would give the damn order to drop the bomb now.”

  Captain Strain and Lieutenant Morris stared at each other. They both hoped it wouldn’t come to dropping a bomb on Valparaiso. Captain Strain’s radio squawked.

  “Alpha One, reporting.”

  The voice over the radio was garbled, but Captain Strain understood him clear enough.

  “The razor line is set. Alpha Two and Three reporting the same, over.”

  “Roger. Hold your position until further instructions, over,” said Captain Strain, turning to face the general. “Do you have any further orders?”

  “Containment.”

  Chapter Five

  Bennett and Dan were shooting baskets at the high school under the lights. Neither of them was interested in the Zombie Park or zombies; in fact, they’d rather spend their time practicing their free throws. They practiced year round, in all kinds of weather, in hopes they would both someday make it to the NBA. Bennett snatched the ball from Dan and went for the basket, making a perfect layup. Dan secured the basketball and tossed it over to Bennett who missed it. The ball bounced toward the other end of the court. It headed toward a man wearing a blue business suit.

  “A little help,” said Bennett, watching the man. He was an elderly man with disheveled gray hair. His hazy eyes were sunken and his mouth was covered with dark coagulated blood that ran down the front of his white shirt. He was heading toward the boys, dragging his right leg.

  “Something is wrong with that guy,” said Dan. “Do you have your cell on you? We should call him an ambulance.”

  “It’s in the car.” He watched as the man drew nearer. He looked at Dan. “I’ll go get it.” He turned to leave as the man reached him and lunged at him. “What the f…” He pushed the man backward a couple of steps. “What’s the matter with you?” The man lunged at him once more and grabbed both of his arms. “Sir, what are you doing? Stop biting me!”

  Dan ran over to them and tried to free Bennett from the man. The man looked at him with teeth glistening from their scarlet prize. Dan instinctively kicked the man in the chest, causing him to stumble backward, unable to bring his right leg back, causing him to fall to the pavement with a loud crack. He lay on the ground unable to move. Dan stared at the man’s eyes. They were cloudy white with small dark circles in the center. He turned his attention to his friend who had a wound on his arm. It was a fast-flowing sea of fatal red. Bennett was trying to press tighter on his wound, but the crimson bubbled through his fingers.

  Dan looked around, hoping to see somebody who could help them. Instead, he saw more dead-looking people heading toward them. He looked at the man on the ground. He was snapping his jaw at him, but he wasn’t moving below his waist.

  “Dan, there’s a police car coming into the parking lot. Flag him down. He can get me some help.”

  “Will you be all right?”

  “Go! I’m really feeling queasy.”

  They both watched as the officer got out of his car and approached the slow-moving people in the parking lot. A young boy and girl turned and walked toward the officer. They both lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. The girl plunged her teeth into the officer’s chest and tore away at his flesh. They heard him scream in both terror and pain.

  “She’s eating him!” screamed Dan. “These things must be zombies!”

  They watched as the boy joined the girl, ripping the officer’s throat and chewing the bloody flesh. The girl looked up toward them with a long chunk of meat dangling from her mouth. Her face was covered in blood. As they watched in horror, the girl jumped to her feet and slowly moved toward them.

  “We need to get the hell out of here,” said Dan, turning to Bennett. He was passed out on the ground, blood flowing freely from the wound.

  He heard shots firing. He looked back at the police car. A second officer was standing outside of his open door, firing his weapon at the boy. The boy was hit several times in the chest, but he didn’t die. The boy reached the officer and took a large chunk out of his arm. The officer yelled in pain and fired several shots into the boy’s skull. The back of the boy’s head disintegrated, spraying blood and grey matter on the hood of the car. The boy collapsed to the ground.

  A horde of zombies staggered toward the police officer. He quickly snatched another gun from the car and in a barrage of gunfire, shot four
of the walking dead in the face, the backs of their heads exploding. He was quickly being surrounded by the dead. He knew he didn’t have enough ammunition left to escape from the horror. Without hesitation, he brought the cold steel to his temple and fired one last shot. His head recoiled from the impact. He fell to the ground, falling on top of one of the slain zombies.

  Dan fought the urge to vomit as his leg was split open like a dropped watermelon. He looked down at his leg and watched as his best friend took a huge bite from it. An awful cry sprang from his throat as the gore gushed out. He met with the darkness.

  Chapter Six

  Donnie sat at his desk inside the large bunker. He was pouring through his notes he had made before he left for the park. He wanted to double check them to make sure nothing had been missed. So far, everything was going according to his plan. He had enough supplies and food to last for several months. The only thing he hadn’t counted on was Ben and Chloe. He had to make sure they were on his side. If they weren’t, they could pose a major threat to his plan.

  Ben and Chloe were brought to him as he put his notes away. He looked up at Chloe. Anger burned hell-hot in her gaze. He knew she meant what she had said about getting revenge on General Poe. Any doubt he had about her had now melted from his mind.

  “Chloe, you’re going to have your chance to make the general pay. Preparations are being made to seek him out and kill him.”

  She hated herself, and she blamed the general for it. She had never before experienced the feelings she was feeling now. She wanted to bottle her feelings and send them away, but vengeance was now flowing through her blood.

  “When do we leave?” she asked, taking Ben’s hand in hers. She was hoping he would stand by her side no matter what course of action she chose.

  “We leave as soon as the vehicles are loaded. We don’t want to give him a chance to get away. Not to mention, the longer we wait, the more zombies we’ll have to contend with.” He watched the expression on her face. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Her body stiffened with rage. “Let’s get it done before I change my mind.”

  Ben remained silent. He understood how she felt. Deep down he felt responsible. The park was his project. General Poe distorted his vision of a park, and turned it into death. In his visions, the park was a safe place to visit. He never imagined the horror that happened. He wanted to find a way to turn back the clock, start from the beginning, and make sure nothing like this happened again. He squeezed her hand. She reciprocated. He was going to stand by her side no matter what she did.

  Donnie stood up and left the room. He returned ten minutes later and approached Ben and Chloe. “Come on; we’re ready to roll out. I just got word General Poe is still at the park. He’s getting ready to load some zombies on the back of a truck. I want to go find out why he’s doing that. There must be another plan I’m not aware of.”

  “It has something to do with smart zombies,” said Ben. “He tried to conceal the project from me, but I overheard him talking to someone on his cell about them. They are some kind of weapon I think.”

  Donnie hung his head low. “Now everything is starting to make sense. I knew there was more to the park then what was being reported. He’s going to use zombies as deadly weapons. Come on; we have more work to do.”

  General Poe directed the loading of the deuce and a half with the smart zombies. They were being relocated to Nevada to a secret location to be further trained. They had an important mission pending overseas and General Poe had been ordered to make sure nothing stood in the way of the operation. Even if it meant his own life, he had to make sure they got out of the area safely. His cell vibrated in his pocket. He answered.

  “We’re right on schedule, General Athens. They are leaving the park as we speak. I understand my new orders. No one must leave the area alive. Am I to understand there will be no survivors of the outbreak? I will send the order. Anybody caught within the line will be shot on sight. Don’t worry; I will see that it gets done. I will see you in Nevada once I’m finished in Valparaiso. Have a good flight back.” He put his cell back in his pocket and looked around. He already knew it was going to come down to this. They couldn’t have any witnesses if the project was going to move forward. He was about to reenter the building when a zombie appeared out of nowhere and made its way toward him. He stood there staring at it. He wondered what it would be like to actually have his flesh being torn away from the bone. He wondered how it would feel to have his appendages being removed without anesthesia. He wondered what his last thoughts would be watching a zombie removing his entrails and devouring them.

  His concentration was interrupted by the zombie grabbing his arm. He reached for the blade he kept inside his boot. He slammed it up under the zombie’s chin, pinning its upper and lower jaws together and spitting its brain like a shish kabob. Its arm went limp and its eyes rolled back up into its head. General Poe grunted as he heaved the body off. He watched as the body hit the ground.

  He knew he had a lot of work ahead of him. Following his orders wasn’t going to be an easy task. There were too many people and zombies standing in his way of success. He decided to have one last look around the park, and then make his way into the city. It’s where the real battle was going to take place. He now had to fight two enemies–zombies and humans.

  Chapter Seven

  Chip clutched the butcher knife in his hand like it was an extension of him. He sat next to Melinda, eyes focused on the television. He had convinced her to turn it back on in case of any new developments. A news reporter was reporting the local high school was being set up by the National Guard as a safe zone, and all survivors were being urged to make their way there. From there the National Guard would get them to safety outside of the infected zone. Chip looked at Melinda.

  “Should we chance it or stay here. We know we’re safe inside our apartment.”

  “How does it look outside?”

  Chip went over to the window and peered out trying not to make it too obvious he was inside the building. From his vantage point, he could see a few zombies staggering in the parking lot.

  “There aren’t many out there. I think we can make it to the car.”

  “I don’t know, Chip. We’ve already been out on the road. I don’t know if I want to go out there again. It’s safer in here. No, I want to stay here.”

  “But the reporter said…”

  “Forget the reporter, Chip. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I don’t want to go out there with zombies everywhere.”

  Chip peered into the parking lot once more. There were fewer zombies now. He wondered where they were all going.

  “Get away from the window, Chip, and come sit with me. Let’s watch a movie or something. I want to do something to get my mind off of everything. Would you like me to make us something to eat? I could eat something right now.”

  He turned away from the window. He didn’t want to do anything to upset her. He sat next to her and took her hand into his. “We’ll stay for now. We may have to leave at some point. We’re not going to be safe inside here forever.”

  “I’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

  She channel surfed until she came upon one of her favorite sitcoms. All she wanted to do was sit back, relax, and enjoy a good comedy.

  The deuce and a half came to a halt in front of a police car in the high school parking lot. Several soldiers jumped off the back and fired at the zombies surrounding it. They poured over a dozen rounds into them until the last of them lay lifeless on the blood splattered ground. Captain Strain approached the pile and watched as a bloody hand shot out of the pile, clawing at the air. He took out his firearm and fired. The slug slammed through the center of the pile, causing the hand to fall on top of it. He looked at the carnage for a minute and then raised his fist in the air.

  “Burn this pile and then head into the school. Make sure there is only one way in and one way out. All doors are to be locked leading outside except f
or the one leading into the gym. Hurry up, men, we’re expecting survivors at any minute.” He watched as the gas-soaked pile went up in flames. He wanted the zombies to become smoke, ashes, soot and cinders.

  He made his way inside the gymnasium and looked around. It was perfect for what he needed it for.

  “Are you really going to go through with it?” asked Lieutenant Morris. “I expect this sort of thing from General Athens, but definitely not from you.”

  “We have our orders. Even if I don’t agree with them, they’re still our orders.”

  Morris stood his ground. ‘Please tell me you’re not that guy. We’re talking mass murder here. We’re talking recreating the holocaust.”

  “Listen, Morris. I don’t like it any more than you do, but what other choice do I have? Our orders are for no survivors. If I don’t follow the orders–well, you know what’s going to happen here.”

  A gray light of gloom cast its deathless shadow over him. He didn’t want any part of it. He wanted to continue his stance on the subject, but he heard what General Athens had ordered them to do. If he pushed the subject any further, he knew he would be facing the firing squad. “I know what’s going to happen here. I don’t like it, but there is nothing I can do about it.”

  “Make sure all the doors are locked. I’m going to check on the gas grenades. I knew one day I would have to use them. I just wish…” He broke off his sentence. “Just make sure all the doors are locked.”

  “I will see that it gets done.”

  Captain Strain stood in front of the burning police car. The hungry flames were completely devouring it. He looked at the pile of burning flesh. The bodies had become flame-blackened mummies. The sight reminded him of when he was on a camping trip with his father when he was younger. They had spent the whole day fishing in the lake and filling the bucket with bluegill for his mother to fry up over an open fire. It was one of his fondest memories before cancer had stolen both of his parents away from him.