After Zombie Series (Book 2): Before

by Gregory, Samantha

  Right before I lost consciousness, I saw the guard closing in on me.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jack

  The throbbing pain in my head woke me up. I rolled onto my back, trying to remember what had hit me.

  A guard. He had come out of nowhere and clocked me. Where was Danny? Had he made it out?

  Fear coursed through me, had they left me here?

  I sat up and found myself in a cell. I don’t know why I should be upset. Neither Danny nor the doctor owed me anything. If they got out, then good for them. I hoped they could find a way to destroy the virus.

  Something dug into me. I reached around and pulled the flashlight from my back pocket. It wasn’t much, but I could use it as a weapon, if it came to it.

  I took a deep breath and tried to focus. There was a way out of this. There was always a way.

  The door opened and a man stepped into the cell. I recognized him from TV. It was Breton. He wore a navy suit, neatly pressed. He certainly didn’t look like he had just gotten out of bed despite the hour.

  “Miss Reese. We’ve been looking everywhere for you and here you come to us.”

  “I’m considerate like that.”

  The corners of his mouth twitched in something resembling a smile.

  “This compound I had thought was impenetrable until tonight. Tell me, how did you and Mr. Spratt get in here?”

  “We just used the front door. Honestly it wasn’t that hard.”

  Oh my God, why was I antagonizing him?

  “How would you like to be exposed to a combination of smallpox and Ebola?”

  “I don’t think I would like that.”

  “The information you received about the virus, who did you share it with? Other than Mr. Spratt and Mr. Kettering.”

  They knew about the doctor.

  “No one. But you should know that if anything happens to me, all the information will be released to the media.”

  “Miss Reese, by the time I am finished smearing your name, no one will believe a word you say.”

  “It will look suspicious if I turn up dead.”

  “That’s why you are going to a high security psychiatric facility. We’ll pump you so full of drugs you won’t be able to stand. No one would be surprised if you had a little accident in that state.” He was actually serious.

  “Please, I don’t want any part of this. Just let me go.”

  Breton turned to his second in command. This guy was a few years younger that Breton. He had dark circles under his eyes and kept fidgeting with his watch strap. He didn’t like being down here anymore than I did.

  “Let’s see what we can get from young Daniel.”

  They had Danny too. The door closed and I was locked in again.

  *

  Danny

  “Let me out of here!” I screamed, kicking the door repeatedly.

  The door opened.

  “Calm down,” one of the guards barked. He grabbed me by my shirt and dragged me out of the room.

  It wasn’t the one from earlier. I really wanted to run into him again so I could kick his ass. I was tossed into a larger room with a glass partition.

  Breton stood on the other side of the glass along with the guy I had seen him with, in the Gene Pharm building.

  “You’ve caused a lot of trouble, Daniel,” Breton said. Yeah, because I asked for this to happen.

  “You’re the one with a room full of zombie freaks!” I yelled.

  He winced, “I don’t like that word.”

  “What – zombie? Zombie, zombie, zombie.”

  “Pipe down,” number two snapped, slamming a hand into the glass. I flipped him the finger.

  “You can’t hold me here. I demand to see a lawyer.”

  “There will be no lawyers for you. No trial, no jury. Tell me Daniel, are you feeling unwell at all?” Breton asked. He would definitely be the kind of guy I would pickpocket back in the city, without an ounce of guilt.

  “No. Why? What did you do to me?”

  “Nothing. You were the one running around the halls with a particularly virulent strain of influenza. When one of my guards was apprehending you, the vial broke. He is currently in a bad way.”

  I didn’t feel sick. The only thing I felt was the pain in my head from where I had been hit.

  “Am I going to get sick too?”

  “That remains to be seen, but so far it appears that it didn’t affect you. You will be an interesting specimen. First though, I think we will test you against them.”

  He nodded to something behind me. I turned around. The solid wall became transparent and I was staring at the zombies. I backed away. They pressed up against the wall, their vacant eyes staring at me.

  “Separate one of them and put it in the room with him. I want it to bite, but not kill him. Once it has done that, remove it. We’ll monitor the reaction.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was going to let one of them bite me?

  My eyes were drawn to a woman. Her skin was sunken in around her cheeks and it was starting to turn yellow. They were decomposing. She clacked her teeth together and I could see bits of flesh stuck between them.

  If this was what they were doing to me, what the hell were they doing to Jack?

  The door opened and a zombie was led in on the end of a pole. This one was an old lady, dressed in a pink cardigan and skirt. The cardigan was covered in dried blood. She gnashed her teeth at me as I pressed myself against the wall, trying to make myself as small as possible.

  The guard tried to get her to move further into the room, but she kept trying to attack him.

  “Move it,” he said. She had no clue what he was saying.

  The lights went off in the cell and an alarm sounded. Distracted by the alarm, the guard was almost pulled off his feet when the old lady suddenly jerked forward. He stumbled into the room, almost colliding with her.

  I ran for the open door. He tried to grab me on the way past, but missed. I raced down the hall. Now I needed to find Jack.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jack

  When the alarm went off, I leapt off the bed. There was only one reason I could think of that would cause the alarm to go off. Escaped zombies.

  The lights went down and the door opened, but not all the way. I tried to squeeze through the gap, but it wasn’t wide enough. Grabbing the edge, I pulled as hard as I could.

  I put my arm through, reaching for anything I could grab.

  A face appeared in the gap, I jumped back and screamed, but it was only Danny.

  He grabbed the door and pulled it back. He managed to get the gap widened enough for me to squeeze through. I almost hugged him. Almost.

  “Move,” he said.

  We made it back to the tunnel. Back at the wall, Danny lifted the cooler from behind some rocks. He slung it over his shoulder and boosted me up. Once I was back on the ledge, I took the cooler first, and then pulled him up after me.

  We crawled back through the gap and down the other side. Dr. Kettering was gone.

  “Where is he?” Danny asked.

  “I don’t know, but we have to keep moving.”

  We managed to make it back to the ladder and started to climb. Did Dr. Kettering leave us here? He needed the vials as much as we did. This was his plan. So where was he?

  We reached the surface.

  “Do you remember the way back?” Danny asked.

  I stared out into the darkness. I had no idea.

  “Sort of,” I lied, “Let’s keep moving.”

  We started walking in the direction I hoped led back to the car, if it was still there.

  “What did they do to you?” Danny asked.

  “Nothing, apart from giving me a headache. What about you?”

  “The same. They were going to lock me in a room with a zombie,” I said.

  “Are you serious? They’re all crazy. The sooner we destroy that stuff, the better.”

  “Any idea how?” I asked.

 
; “I think you have to incinerate it,” I said, but I wasn’t entirely sure.

  “Great, we’ll find a spare volcano and drop it in.”

  I didn’t think that would be an issue, because I had a feeling they were going to find our bleached bones out here months from now. This was a stupid plan. The whole thing was just so stupid. A couple of days ago, I was normal. I had a job, a life. One email had taken all that away.

  Hours passed. There was still no sign of civilization. We were hopelessly lost.

  “I need to sit down,” I said, lowering myself onto a rock.

  It was so cold out here. I shivered, wishing I were home. I could be curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching a Firefly marathon.

  “We need to keep moving,” Danny said. He shifted the cooler to the other arm.

  “Why? We could be heading deeper into the desert,” I said.

  “If we don’t keep moving they could catch up to us.”

  “I can’t. We should wait until morning.”

  He crouched down in front of me, “I know you’re tired. I am too. But we have to keep going.”

  “Why aren’t you freaking out more?” I asked.

  He shrugged, “You play the hand you’re dealt. That’s what my grandma used to say.”

  “Sounds like a smart woman.”

  “She was. Obviously, I inherited her smarts,” he grinned.

  “The only family I knew apart from my aunt was my mom. She died when I was a kid.”

  “I’m sorry. Mine ran off and left me. My dad too. Family sucks.”

  I chuckled softly, “Yeah, most of the time they do.”

  “But, hey, we’re both survivors and we can do this.”

  I smiled back, “Okay, let’s go.”

  As the sun began to rise, I could see the town up ahead. We had been going in mostly the right direction.

  A car came up the road. We had nowhere to hide. As it drew closer, I realized it was Dr. Kettering’s car.

  “Where the hell have you been?” he asked.

  “We could ask you the same thing,” I said.

  “When you didn’t return I had to improvise,” he said, as we got back inside.

  “You set off the alarm?” I asked.

  He nodded, “Yes, what’s happening in there? Do they have the infected?”

  “Oh they have them all right,” Danny said. “I came face to face with one of them. I know we have the x01, but if they bite anyone wouldn’t that spread it?”

  “They’re not stupid; if they release it into the population, they risk the whole company. Once they’re finished studying them, they’ll destroy them,” he said.

  “You sound so confident,” I said.

  “I know Breton. Before he became CEO, his father owned the company. They were just starting out back then. Breton always thinks of the big picture. I know he’ll protect the company first.”

  “Were you friends with him?” I asked.

  “In another lifetime, yes, we were. But when his father died, he changed,” he said.

  “Changed how?” I asked.

  “Taking on that much responsibility is a lot for a young man. He was only twenty-three at the time. He became consumed with the work and a determination to make his father proud.”

  “And potentially wiping out the country is part of that?” Danny snapped.

  I was surprised to hear him sound so bitter, especially when he had been the one to get me moving back in the desert. Then again, he had almost become zombie chow.

  “There are thousands of viruses in labs all around the country right now with the same ability to kill,” Dr. Kettering argued.

  “Why does it sound like you are siding with him?” Danny said.

  “I’m not. I’m just saying, despite the circumstances I highly doubt they wanted this thing released.”

  “Well, it was released.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lance

  I supervised as the infected bodies were loaded into the truck. They had been executed earlier by firing squad and were being moved to another site to be burned and buried. That way we had deniability if they were ever found. I was sure there were plenty of bodies buried around here.

  Our experiments hadn’t been as successful as Breton wanted. He had hoped to control them, but they didn’t respond to commands. They didn’t seem to understand what people were saying and since pain didn’t bother them Breton had kept a few of their brains for study. He had ideas about neural implants that could help control their movements.

  I understood why he wanted them so badly. If they could be put on a battlefield, they would be unstoppable. The military would pay a fortune for them. Something told me Breton had already considered this. He worked with the military on a classified project over ten years ago. The files were sealed, but I had my suspicions that x01 had been around longer than I knew. Even with my level of clearance though, I couldn’t access those files.

  We had operatives out looking for Reese and Spratt. That was assuming they weren’t lying dead out in the desert somewhere. We found the tunnel they used to escape.

  I had sent men on ahead to block the main roads. They weren’t getting away this time.

  Two guards dumped the final body on the pile. This one hadn’t been on the subway. It was the technician who had given up the code to the fridge. That type of behavior would not be tolerated.

  They got into the cab of the truck and drove towards the gate.

  The sun was up now. I got into my car to head to Trinity. It was the only town nearby and if Reese and Spratt were to head anywhere, it would be there.

  Breton still wanted Spratt alive so they could extract the antivirus from him. More of it was being created, but at the moment he had the only useful sample. He also had three vials of x01. We needed the antivirus now more than ever.

  I wasn’t going to risk it being released again. We might not be as lucky next time. Once I had it safely contained, I would kill both of them.

  Checking my gun was fully loaded, I started the car.

  I didn’t like feeling like this. Like I wasn’t in control of the situation. I helped run a major corporation on a daily basis; I wasn’t going to let two children get the better of me.

  I started at the bottom in Gene Pharm. I had to claw my way to the top and I stepped on everyone else to do it and I didn’t care. If they were too weak to take me down then they weren’t worthy of the job.

  Breton’s son was a waste. Just out of college, he spent his days drinking his father’s money or gambling it away. He would never take over the company. That honor could go to me, but I had to prove I was worthy. The only way to do that was to clean up this mess.

  *

  Danny

  The plan was to get the hell out of Dodge, but when we got back to Trinity, road blocks had already been set up. Barricades were placed across the end of Main Street and I could see several men in military uniforms carrying guns. They were here for us.

  The doc parked the car in the town center and switched off the engine. So far, the men were only guarding the roadblock. They hadn’t started searching for us yet.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “We need to find a place to hide until we can figure a way out of this town.”

  Jack looked exhausted as she got out of the car. I could use a few hours’ sleep myself.

  The doc took the bag, “I think it would be a good idea to hide this where they can’t find it. That way we can’t be caught with it. I’m going to do that. Get indoors before they spot you.”

  He turned and walked off down the street.

  “Are we really letting him walk off with the very thing we need to keep us safe?” Jack asked.

  “He’ll be back,” I said, but I wasn’t entirely confident. What if he disappeared with it? I didn’t really trust anyone as a rule but so far, the doc had done nothing but save our asses. I guessed I could give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “Let’s get inside,” I said.
We headed for the diner for water and some food.

  I gulped back a glass of water, then asked for a refill.

  “Hi Danny.”

  I turned to find Lela behind me in a red floral sundress. She looked amazing. I wondered if she had made the effort for me. I was sure I looked like hell after everything that happened last night.

  “Lela! Hey.”

  “Are you guys okay?” she asked us.

  “Oh, just a long night in the desert. You know, doing research,” I lied.

  “Well I hope you weren’t doing anything illegal,” she said.

  “Illegal? Of course not, why would y-you say that?” I stuttered.

  “I was only kidding. Although something must be going on since they’ve blocked the road.”

  “Does that happen often?” I asked.

  “No, but the Sheriff is out there. Maybe a criminal has escaped from somewhere.”

  I nodded, shooting a glance at Jack who was wolfing down a sandwich she had ordered.

  “So, are we still on for our date, later?” Lela asked.

  “Um, yeah, of course. I just need to get cleaned up and get some food.”

  “Well, I’ll tell Jarry in the kitchen to make you something. Is a burger okay?” she asked.

  I nodded, “Sounds great.”

  I watched her walk away. I felt someone smack me on the back, “Close your mouth,” Jack said.

  I ignored the comment. Taking a seat beside her, I reached for the other half of her sandwich. She slapped my hand away.

  I don’t even think she was chewing the sandwich. She was practically inhaling it.

  Lela arrived back a few minutes later and sat a huge hamburger in front of me.

  “You are an angel,” I said.

  She beamed at me, “Enjoy. I’ll see you later.”

  I bit into the burger, savoring the taste. It was the best burger I had ever tasted. I glanced at the window and saw the local police heading our way.

  “We should leave,” I said, my mouth full.

  We went into the kitchen. A man was standing by the fryer, I only caught a glimpse of him as we ran past and out into the alley in the back.