by Brian Grenda
A zombie is slowly crawling towards TJ. She reaches up to grab TJ, but she poses no danger to TJ or Odin.
TJ takes out his knife and gets a big feeling of sadness as he looks at the dead blonde college girl. The girl reminds TJ of his sister Alice.
The zombie reaches towards TJ and TJ stabs his knife into her skull.
TJ takes out his knife from the girls’ head and he whispers to himself, “I hope you are alright Alice.”
Another gunshot goes off and another scream is heard.
“Die, assholes!” shouts a woman.
TJ exits the building and sees the woman in the distance.
The woman is being attacked by 3 zombies. She is cornered by the zombies as she has the Hillsborough River to her back.
Odin runs towards the woman.
TJ shouts, “Odin! Wait!”
The woman shoots one of the zombies in the head. She points her gun at another zombie and pulls the trigger.
CLICK!
She is out of bullets
The woman shouts, “You gotta be kidding me!”
One of the two remaining zombies grabs the woman on the shoulder and leans in to bite her.
The zombie is about to bite the woman’s left shoulder, but Odin jumps up and rips the zombies away from the woman.
TJ aims his rifle at the last remaining zombie and takes the zombie down with a clean head shot.
BANG!
The bullet pierces the zombies’ skull and blood splatters on the woman’s shirt.
Odin rips off the zombie’s right arm.
TJ runs over to the zombie and shouts, “Back Odin!”
Odin drops the zombie arm and runs away from the zombie.
TJ stabs the zombie in the head and the zombie goes lifeless.
The woman looks at her shirt and sees the big blood stain on it.
The woman looks at TJ and with a sarcastic tone says, “Nice shot big guy, but next time can you avoid getting blood on me.”
TJ laughs and says, “I’ll work on it. Odin come here.”
The woman looks at Odin and TJ and says, “Great name. Odin.”
TJ says, “I think so. I’m TJ. What’s your name?”
The woman says, “Janet. Janet Fletcher.”
“Nice to meet you, and sorry about your shirt,” says TJ.
Janet says, “That’s okay. I’ll just get another one on base.”
The woman is dressed in military camouflage pants, black boots, and a basic military issued brown t-shirt.
“You from MacDill?” asks TJ.
Janet says, “No. I’m a Navy Seal, but went to MacDill when the world fell apart to help out.”
TJ says, “What are you doing out here? Are you alone?”
“This asshole Rich sent us out again in the chopper. We have been working double shifts between downtown and the Gulf. I was with a team of about six. I’m the only survivor. Our chopper had mechanical problems, or something, and we went to down. I was with Darren and Ed after we crashed, but they are both dead now,” says Janet.
TJ asks, “Richard? You mean Captain Bailey?”
“Yeah. I think so. He told us to call him Rich. Do you know him?” asks Janet.
“Yeah. I have known him for my 36 years of existence” says TJ as he smiles at Janet.
Janet feels bad for the insult she said about TJ’s dad.
Janet says, “Sorry about insulting your dad, but he shouldn’t have sent us out again. We needed to perform repairs on the chopper and never had time to complete them.”
“No hard feelings, my dad can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Most of the time actually. Guess that’s what makes a good Captain in the military,” says TJ.
A loud roar of men yelling, gunshots, and truck exhaust is heard by TJ as he stands with Janet.
TJ looks across the river into downtown Tampa. He sees the blue truck speeding down the road and is coming towards them.
TJ says, “We need to leave now.”
Janet, TJ, and Odin run back towards the main campus building on The University of Tampa downtown campus.
Odin runs into the building and TJ follows behind with Janet.
Janet and TJ hide behind a wall.
Odin runs over to TJ.
TJ says, “Quiet Odin. Stealth mode.”
Odin lays down quietly.
The blue truck stops in the street near the steps of the main campus building that Janet and TJ just ran into.
Janet looks at TJ and whispers, “Let me have your shotgun.”
Janet slowly takes the shotgun that was strapped around TJ’s back.
TJ takes aim at the doorway with his handgun.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” shouts a man as he walks through the doorway into the main campus building.
Two more men walk into the building behind the man that was shouting.
Two of the men walk down the long hallway away from TJ and Janet, while the last man stops in the center of the room.
“Hey Gary. Check this out!” shouts one of the men down the hall.
Gary leaves the center of the room and walks down the hallway to meet up with the other two men.
TJ whispers, “Let’s go.”
TJ leads the way out of the building. Odin follows TJ, but Janet stops at the doorway.
Janet says, “We can’t leave these assholes alive.”
TJ watches as Janet walks back into the building and towards the hallway the three men walked down.
TJ shakes his head and says, “What the hell is she doing?”
Janet looks down the hallway and sees that the men are distracted as they are looking at a picture on the wall.
One of the men says, “This was an old Russian…”
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Janet takes three shots with the shotgun and kills two of the men.
The last man is wounded, but can still talk.
TJ and Odin run over to Janet as she stands next to the man she just shot.
The man spits up a big mouthful of blood and looks at Janet.
“Your dead. Both of you. The Conquerors are coming for you,” says the man with a mouthful of blood.
TJ sees that Janet is about to stab the man in the head.
“Wait! Don’t kill him just yet,” shouts TJ to Janet.
Janet looks back at TJ.
TJ walks over to the man and asks, “What did you say? Conquerors? You are still around?”
The man starts laughing.
“We never left. We are everywhere,” says the man.
The man reaches for his gun and Janet notices him do that.
SHICK!
Janet stabs the guy in the head to prevent him from grabbing his gun fully.
TJ looks at Janet.
“He was reaching for his gun!” shouts Janet.
TJ replies, “Thank you. Sorry, I’m just shocked at what he said.”
Janet asks, “You know about The Conquerors?”
TJ helps Janet stand up and says, “Yeah. I know all about them. Well, I thought I did. We took over a building they had and cleared out several others.”
Janet walks over to the bodies of the men she killed. She throws TJ his shotgun back, then picks up the weapons of the men she just killed.
“The Conquerors are bad news. We have been dealing with them for a while. They are a pain in the butt. Every run or trip away from base, we encountered them,” says Janet as she puts a handgun in her gun holster on her belt.
TJ says, “So they are a problem in several areas. Have you ever seen their leader?”
Janet starts to walk down the hallway, TJ and Odin follow her.
“I have not seen their leader, but they seem to be in a lot of areas. They are all over downtown and around the beaches of the Gulf. Those idiots even tried to attack MacDill. That was pretty funny. A lot of them got wiped out that day,” says Janet.
Janet hops into the Conqueror truck and starts the engine as the keys were left in the ig
nition.
“You need a lift?” asks Janet to TJ.
TJ opens the passenger side door and let’s Odin jump in.
“My jeep is in a parking lot at the other end of campus,” says TJ.
“I’ll take ya over to it,” says TJ.
TJ gets into the truck and closes the passenger side door.
Janet pushes the gas pedal and drives through the University of Tampa campus.
The campus is in decent shape. The streets are open and the campus doesn’t have much debris on it, besides fallen palm tree debris and the grass hasn’t been mowed in a long time.
There aren’t too many zombies roaming around the campus either. Most of the students and faculty must have evacuated or are trapped inside buildings and dorms.
Janet makes a turn and asks, “So, what’s your deal?”
TJ says, “Well, my deal is that I’m alive, and so is Odin. I was on my way back to MacDill to see my father the asshole, Captain Richard Bailey. I’m a police officer and was a Marine.”
“Very nice. Again, I apologize for my comment about your father,” says Janet.
“Don’t be. He can be an asshole. I thought it was funny,” says TJ as he smiles looking out the window.
Odin is staring at Janet and has been since he got in the truck.
“What’s up with your dog? He won’t stop smelling me and staring at me,” says Janet.
TJ looks at Odin and says, “He likes you. Do you have any drugs on you? Odin is a K-9 cop, and we used him for a lot of drug busts.”
“I’m a cat person myself. I have two cats at my place on the beach, and no I don’t have any drugs on me,” says Janet.
TJ points for Janet to pull into the parking lot and where his jeep is parked.
Janet pulls right up to TJ’s jeep.
“You going back to MacDill?” asks TJ.
Janet replies, “Yeah, I’m going back, getting my stuff, and then going back to my house.”
“Maybe I’ll see ya back at the base,” says TJ.
TJ exits the truck.
Odin is still sitting next to Janet.
“You have to leave now Odin,” says Janet as she looks down at Odin.
TJ says, “Here Odin!”
Odin jumps down onto the street and sits next to TJ’s jeep.
TJ shuts the truck passenger door.
Janet looks through the passenger side door window and says, “It was nice to meet you Odin. Thank you for saving me. I hope to see you again TJ.”
Janet drives out of the parking lot and makes a left-hand turn.
TJ opens the driver side door to his jeep and Odin gets in. TJ puts his weapons on the back seat and then gets into his jeep.
TJ looks over at Odin and asks, “What do you think of Janet?”
Odin barks.
“Yeah. I like her too,” says TJ as he starts his jeep engine.
TJ pulls out of the parking space and exits the parking lot.
The streets are clear as TJ drives down the street.
TJ pulls up to an intersection and hears some yelling in the distance.
He wonders what the noise is all about and makes a right turn towards the noise.
As TJ drives down the street, he sees a large group of zombies moving towards a building. They are going in and out of a large building.
Something must have attracted the large group of zombies.
TJ stops his jeep and evaluates the situation.
TJ can’t pass through the group of zombies so he is looking for another way around.
As TJ continues to assess the situation, he sees a small group of people exit the building next to the building where the zombies are.
It’s a woman, a young man, and an older man.
TJ looks at the young man and thinks he recognizes the man. The old man is the last person to exit the building, but several zombies attack him.
TJ sees the zombies attack the old man and hits the gas pedal.
The old man screams as one of the zombies bites him in the neck.
TJ drives right into the pile of zombies and shouts, “Get in!”
The young man looks at TJ and shouts, “Holy crap! TJ! Thank you.”
The young man is Jon.
Jon opens the back door of the jeep and his wife gets in the jeep.
TJ shoots the last remaining zombies in the head with his handgun.
Jon and TJ help Frank get into TJ’s backseat.
TJ hops back into his jeep and makes a U-turn.
Jon looks at his dad’s neck.
Frank’s neck is gushing blood and Frank is in a lot of pain.
“How’s he doing Jon?” asks TJ.
“Not good TJ. Not good. Not sure what we can do for him,” says Jon.
Jon’s wife Kelly starts crying and tries to comfort Frank.
TJ shouts, “Hold on Frank! I have a plan. Just hold on Frank.”
TJ speeds down the road in his jeep and makes a sharp right turn.
Jon looks at his dad and sees that he is not doing well. The wound on Frank’s neck won’t stop bleeding. Jon finds a towel in the back of TJ’s jeep and puts it on Frank’s bite and applies pressure.
“Just hold on dad. Just hold on,” says Jon.
CHAPTER 12
NOT WORTH SAVING
TJ speeds up to the entrance gate of MacDill Air Force Base.
“Credentials please,” says the guard at the entrance in the sealed guard station.
TJ looks at the man and says, “I have a wounded man here. I need to get inside now.”
The guard replies, “I don’t care what you have sir. I need to see your military credentials to get in.”
“I am the son of Captain Richard Bailey. Let me in now!” shouts TJ.
The man points his gun at TJ and says, “Lower your voice. I don’t care who you are sir. No identification. No entry to the base.”
TJ gets out of his jeep now.
The guard keeps his gun pointed at TJ and shouts, “Get back in your car sir. I will shoot you.”
TJ puts his hands up and says, “Please sir. I don’t have my military ID on me, but I’m a former Marine and my father is Captain Richard Bailey. Call over the radio to verify.”
The man says, “Get back into your vehicle, and I will call now over the radio.”
TJ gets back into his jeep and the man calls over the radio to see what to do about TJ.
TJ looks back at Jon and says, “I’m sorry about this. Last time there wasn’t a guard here. How’s he doing?”
Jon says, “Not any better. He’s still alive though.”
The guard looks at TJ and asks, “What’s your name sir?”
TJ replies, “Tom Jackson Bailey.”
“He said his name is Tom Jackson Bailey,” says the guard over the radio.
The guard opens the thick metal gate and says, “Move along sir. You are allowed to enter.”
TJ speeds through the entrance and drives right to the medical building.
Jon and Kelly exit the backseat of TJ’s jeep.
TJ and Odin exit the jeep.
TJ shouts, “I need a doctor here. Someone. I need a doctor.”
Two military personnel come running out of the medical building.
TJ says, “We need a stretcher.”
One of the men runs back inside to get a stretcher, while the other man holds the door open.
Jon and Kelly feel helpless as they look at Frank bleeding to death in the backseat of TJ’s jeep.
The military personnel come back out now with several other medical professionals.
Frank is loaded onto a stretcher and taken into the medical building
A nurse comes over to TJ and asks, “What happened?”
Jon says, “He was bit on the neck by a zombie.”
“How long ago?” asks the nurse.
“About 20 minutes ago,” says Jon.
The nurse says, “Thank you.”
The nurse walks away from Jon and TJ.
TJ says to the
nurse, “Can you please have someone tell Captain Bailey that his son is here?”
The nurse says, “Yes, I will. Actually, he’s right inside this building. I can take you to him if you would like.”
TJ says, “Yes, please take us to him.”
The nurse escorts TJ, Phil, Kelly, and Odin inside the medial building and into a secure room.
“Wait here and I’ll have Captain Bailey meet you here,” says the nurse.
TJ thanks the nurse as she leaves the room.
Kelly looks at Jon and asks, “What can they do for him?”
Jon replies, “I don’t know. Hopefully ease his pain. That bite was pretty bad.”
TJ’s dad Rich comes into the room.
TJ walks up to Rich and says, “Hey dad.”
“Is anyone else hurt or bit?” asks Rich.
TJ replies, “No. We are okay. Jon’s dad was the only one.”
TJ points his right hand at Jon and says, “Dad this is Jon and his wife Kelly. Jon’s dad Frank is the man that we brought in with the bite.”
Rich says, “Nice to meet you two. I’m sorry about your father Jon.”
Jon stands up from the chair and says, “I know he isn’t going to make it, can I see him one last time before he goes?”
“Of course, Jon. Does your wife want to come as well?” asks Rich.
“Yes. I want to say goodbye to him,” says Kelly.
Jon, Kelly, TJ, and Odin follow Rich out of the room they were in and to the surgical room where Frank is being treated.
Rich gets to the closed surgical door and says, “Wait here for a second. I have to check with the doctor before we go in.”
Rich enters the room, while TJ, Jon, Kelly, and Odin wait in the hallway.
The sounds of surgical saws and drills are heard.
Kelly looks at Jon with a concerned look as she hears the medical tools.
Jon looks at Kelly and says, “We will say our goodbyes and then get back home sweetie.”
Rich comes back to the door, opens it, and says, “Come in guys. Please do not touch anything.”
Jon and Kelly walk into the room and over to Frank.
Frank is passed out on the operating table.
Jon looks at the doctors and asks, “Is he still alive?”
“Yes. He is still alive,” says one of the doctors.
Jon and Kelly walk closer to Frank. Kelly starts to cry and Jon gets very sad while looking at his father laying lifeless on the table.