Don't Dare Call Them Zombies : Books 1-4

by Zachary Stone

  “How did you get all these reports? We were told the buses were out of radio range. If you can't contact the buses, how are you getting this info?” she asked.

  “The military's internet is still working,” he said, “but not the one for the general public.”

  “We’re looking for my sister and his mother,” she said. “They were bused out of here already. Can you use the internet to find out which relocation center they were taken to?”

  “It's possible, but it would take some time,” he said. “And we don't have much.”

  “Is there anything we could do to buy some time?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” he responded.

  “The nuclear power plants require fuel, right? That’s what they’re running out of. What if we could find them some?” I asked.

  “From where?” he asked.

  “There is fuel everywhere. There are thousands of broken down cars on the road. In fact, there could be tanker trucks on the road as well. There are gas stations that might still have some fuel remaining too,” I said.

  “I don't have enough men to do that,” he said. “I'm already spread out thin. I sent some of my soldiers ahead with the survivors we bused out.”

  “Alright,” I said. “But don't you think it’s something worth trying? Maybe you could get some civilian volunteers?”

  “My orders are to protect the civilians and not put them in danger,” he said. “I'm afraid you need to leave now, and get those church folks here by morning or they will be left behind.”

  “Thanks for all of the information,” I said. “We will do our best to get them here.”

  With the cup of coffee and the papers in my hand, I walked out of the room with Jennifer. We were escorted out of the building, and started walking back to Ms. Suzy's tent. On the way there I realized I hadn’t even read the letter from my mother.

  “Talk with Ms. Suzy and find out what she has decided,” I told Jennifer. “I need to have a moment to read the note from my mother.”

  “What if she won't come with us?” Jennifer asked.

  “Persuade her,” I said.

  As Jennifer was trying to convince Ms. Suzy and her daughter to join our group, I walked to the corner of the tent and pulled the note out of my pocket. I tried to ignore their discussion as I read it.

  Dear Hank,

  I hope you manage to reach the relocation center and get this letter. I have asked Ms. Suzy to give it to you if she’s able to meet you. I'm so sorry, but the soldiers are saying that I have to be transported to another site in a few hours. I asked if I could wait and go on another bus, but they said I had no choice. I asked them where they were taking me, but they wouldn’t say anything. Somehow, I hope you are able to find me, but please don’t feel bad if you can’t

  I love you and miss you very much. Hopefully, you are safe and unharmed. Please be careful and don’t put yourself in danger by trying to find me. So far, I've been treated well by the soldiers and I trust that they will keep all of us safe.

  The world has turned into a terrifying place, but please don’t let it overwhelm you. Stay strong and do what it takes to survive.

  With love,

  Mom

  I wiped tears from my eyes after reading the words my mom had written. There was no option; I had to find her.

  Looking over at Jennifer I could see she was not having an easy time convincing Ms. Suzy and her family to go with us instead of staying with the rest of the survivors in the compound.

  “You should come with us,” Jennifer said to Ms. Suzy and her daughter. “We can make it.”

  “If children were not involved I would,” Ms. Suzy said. “But my daughter and I have to think about their wellbeing.”

  “Don't you understand that we can't just go on the road, out there, with children?” her daughter interjected.

  “Let me say something,” I said interrupting the conversation.

  “You know us, Ms. Suzy,” I told her. “You don't know what the people at the next relocation center will be like. Also, you don't know if it has been overrun by freaks or not.”

  “I need more time,” Ms. Suzy said.

  “Okay, that’s no problem.” I told her. “We’ll be back in the morning. Hopefully then we’ll have a bunch of friends from the church with us. You’ll be able to meet them and then see how you feel – but tomorrow you’ll have to make the final decision.”

  “What time will you be back?” she asked.

  “I can't say exactly when, but we will be here in the morning. We will get here as soon as we possibly can.”

  “Where are you going now?” she asked.

  “We need to get this back to the church,” I said, holding up the map of the area the Captain had given us. “It’s right over here, near Egypt.”

  “Isn't Robert going to go over to the church by himself?” Jennifer asked.

  “We can't let him go alone,” I said.

  “But the nuclear power plants are going to meltdown anytime,” she said. “It's not safe for all of us to head back to the church – it’s closer to the power station than we’re here.”

  “Jennifer, I just know we will be alright,” I said. “I can’t explain how, but I feel it in my gut.”

  “Well . . . if you really feel sure, I trust you,” Jennifer said.

  It was a relief to hear her say that. I really did feel sure it was right for us all to go back, but I still felt a level of anxiety about the plan.

  As we left the tent I could see more activity was taking place. Several civilians were talking to military personnel in the distance, and I could see a number of soldiers running across the compound.

  “I wonder what’s going on,” I said to Jennifer. “Let’s try and find out.”

  We said goodbye to Ms. Suzy and her daughter and then headed back to the building where we had talked with the Captain.

  Before we could reach the building, two soldiers in a golf cart approached us.

  “Are you Hank Harper?” one of the soldiers asked us.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Captain Flint has received orders to transport all extra diesel fuel to the Robert E. Lee Memorial nuclear power plant in St. Thomas. You’re to follow the convoy. Once the fuel is delivered we will escort you to the survivors at the church you told us about. If they’re willing to evacuate, we have orders to escort them back here,” the soldier said.

  “That sounds good,” I responded.

  “You have thirty minutes to be at the gates of the compound with your group,” he said.

  The soldiers allowed Jennifer and me to exit the facility. Upon leaving, they returned our weapons as they had promised. In addition, they provided transportation to where we had left Meredith and Robert with our vehicles.

  It was late in the day and nightfall would be coming soon. As we approached the abandoned city works where we had left Robert and Meredith I noticed the sky was getting darker, and the air was cooler.

  “Pull around to the rear of the city works,” I told the driver.

  “Yes, sir,” the young woman answered.

  After climbing out of the Humvee, I saw Meredith and Robert leaning against the van. They were talking, and scattered all around them, were decapitated corpses.

  I ran up to them and asked, “Are you two okay?”

  “We’re fine,” Meredith answered with a weary smile.

  “You two have been busy,” I said.

  “Yep, the freaks seem to keep coming like clockwork. Every couple of minutes another one starts to wander in,” she said. “A gaggle of them came in together about an hour ago, but we were able to take them out without too much difficulty.”

  “I'm glad you two are alright,” said Jennifer. “We have some news.”

  We explained the situation to them. I told them how we needed to get back to the relocation center and then follow the convoy to the nuclear power plant. After some discussion they agreed.

  Meredith handed me the keys to the van and Jenni
fer and I got in. With Robert and Meredith behind me in the truck, we followed the Humvee back to the compound where we found a convoy waiting.

  There were two Humvees at the head, followed by a tanker truck carrying the diesel fuel. The Humvee that had taken us to the abandoned city works pulled up behind the tanker and we pulled our vehicles up behind it to complete the convoy.

  A soldier came up to my window and tapped on the glass; I rolled down the window.

  “We’re going to Sylvania now and should reach the nuclear plant at around midnight. Just follow us and use this radio if you have any problems. If you can't get us on the radio, blow your horn. If we encounter any of the freaks we will take them out. Do not exit your vehicle unless it is an emergency. Do you understand?” he said.

  I held the radio in my hand and told him that I understood. He then went behind us and gave the same instructions to Meredith and Robert. A few moments later, the convoy was on its way.

  As we drove on Jennifer and I began to talk. We discussed the note my mom had written, her desire to find her sister, and how we would convince the people at the church to evacuate. I told her that I was determined to find my mom, no matter what.

  Jennifer also started to talk to me about our past. She told me that when I had tried to date her years ago, she was a different person.

  “Back then I didn’t have my priorities straight,” she said. “I was not the same person I am today. I hope you know that.”

  I asked her why she was never able to give me a chance as anything more than a friend, and she simply said that she’d been stupid. I told her that the problem was that she liked the bad boys, just like most women do. I was a nice guy and that meant I was boring to her. She didn’t argue with anything I said.

  She was resting her head on my shoulder when the convoy stopped. I tried to look ahead, but couldn’t see anything. It was dark now and since the power grid was down there were no street lights.

  I then heard several gunshots ahead of us – pop, pop, pop.

  “Turn the radio on,” I told Jennifer.

  She turned it on and we listened to the soldiers in the vehicles ahead of us.

  “Three infected ahead at twelve o clock,” one voice said.

  “No, make that five,” the voice said again.

  We then heard more gunfire. I then remembered that the Humvees ahead of us had guns mounted on top of them which meant the soldiers could fire at the freaks without having to exit their vehicles.

  “Thank God for night vision,” I heard another soldier say over the radio.

  Suddenly, a freak slapped its hands against Jennifer's window. She jumped towards me, and I looked at the twisted, decaying face of the woman pounding against the glass. The freaks were looking more grotesque every day as their bodies and flesh continued to decompose.

  I grabbed the radio and said loudly, “There is a freak at my window. Let’s keep moving!”

  A moment later I heard a gunshot, and the freak's head exploded leaving Jennifer's window covered in blood and brain matter.

  “Continue forward,” I heard a voice say on the radio.

  We continued driving towards the power plant. I was I was lost; I had no idea what road were on. If we somehow got separated from the convoy, I would have no idea how to get back to the church or the relocation center.

  Every so often the convoy would stop and we would hear gunfire. Only once did I exit my vehicle and fire my pistol at the freaks. The night vision goggles and machine guns mounted on the Humvees were used very effectively.

  Jennifer once again began to talk to me about our past and how she was sorry if she ever hurt me.

  “I loved you Jennifer,” I told her. “I loved you with all my heart, and I tried my best to prove that to you.”

  “I know you loved me. I knew it back then,” she said. “But I was too young and wild to appreciate it.”

  “Let’s leave the past alone,” I said. “There is nothing we can do to change it. You broke my heart too many times. Every time I heard you were dating another guy instead of giving me a chance it made me want to rip my heart out my chest.”

  “I'm so sorry for that,” she said. “But I'm here now.”

  She took my hand in hers.

  “Jennifer, it would be so easy for me to instantly fall in love with you all over again. But I just don't know if my heart can take it. I don't even know if the relationship would be real or not. It has taken a zombie apocalypse for you to open your heart to me. For all I know, if things get better you could tell me that you just don't feel for me, in that way, again.”

  “I do feel for you, Hank,” she said. “And not just as a friend. I love you.”

  “I wish you had loved me years ago,” I said. “Right now, if I give you my heart and get distracted trying to figure out if you’re really telling me the truth, it could get us killed.”

  “I am telling you the truth,” she said, squeezing my hand.

  “I love you Jennifer, I always have and I always will. But we need to just stay friends,” I said. “I do need you in my life though. You and the hope of finding my mom are what keep me going.”

  From the crate in the back I heard the little dog bark.

  “I forgot all about the dog,” I said.

  “I did too,” Jennifer exclaimed.

  “How could he have been so quiet all this time?” I asked. “Wouldn’t the gunfire have woken him up?”

  “I know, I would’ve thought so,” Jennifer said.

  A moment later she picked up something from the floor of the van, and held it up. It was a container of allergy pills, the kind that some people use to help them sleep. “Look what I found!”

  “They drugged the dog,” I said.

  “Meredith and Robert probably didn't want the dog barking while they waited for us,” Jennifer said.

  The dog barked again.

  “I'm going to check on him,” Jennifer said.

  “Be careful,” I told her as I continued driving.

  A moment later Jennifer had the small Chihuahua in her arms. I reached over and petted the drowsy dog.

  “I hope they didn't give him too much,” I said.

  “I think he’s alright,” Jennifer answered.

  With Jennifer holding the dog, the long, tiresome drive continued. We passed over hills and bridges on our way to the Sylvania. Thankfully, the route we had taken kept us away from highly populated areas.

  “We’re almost at the plant,” I heard a soldier say over the radio. “Stay inside your vehicle until we instruct you otherwise.”

  We pulled up to the top of a large hill and stopped our vehicles. To our right, through Jennifer's blood stained window, I could see the tall cooling towers of the power plant from which massive clouds of white steam was rose to the sky. Lights were on around the tower, and a couple buildings close to it were also illuminated.

  When Jennifer rolled down her window, I saw the problem.

  The perimeter fence of the nuclear plant was surrounded by thousands of freaks. The lights must have attracted them towards it.

  “How do we get inside?” Jennifer asked.

  “I'm not sure,” I said.

  “Civilians, you can exit your vehicles now,” I heard over the radio.

  Jennifer put the dog back into the crate. It whimpered as we got out of the van. A moment later Robert and Meredith approached us. We were standing and discussing the situation when two soldiers came up to us.

  “We need your help,” the soldier said.

  “What do you need?” I asked.

  “The truck behind your van is the most disposable vehicle we have,” he said. “We’re going to use it to distract the freaks so we can get inside”

  “I'm not so sure I want you using my truck,” Robert said. “I have my tools inside of it and I don't want it getting damaged.”

  “Hopefully, they won't even manage to touch it,” the soldier said.

  “Okay,” Robert said.

  For the next half ho
ur the military personnel worked on his truck. They attached lights and a number of speakers. In addition, they removed his tools and put them in one of the Humvees. We were informed that one of the soldiers would drive the truck down the road towards the power plant and try to distract the freaks.

  “When we tell you to do so, follow us to the plant and we will pass through the gate,” a female soldier told us. “If we get stopped or overrun, we may have to exit the vehicles. We will try to protect you if that happens.”