by B. M. Hodges
“Crawford. What the hell is going on?”
“WHO has accelerated the timetable for the strike on Singapore. They’re nuking the island in less than an hour, Jayden. They don’t see any other way to contain the outbreak. There’s a submarine off the coast preparing to launch five neutron tipped missiles. The entire country is going to be wiped clean of virus. Anyone still on the island has already been assessed as collateral damage. You’ve been written off as one of those casualties, Jayden, over.”
Abigail could hear the squawking conversation through the com-link. She dropped the scissors and they went clinking to the floor. They’re going to decimate my country. She walked over and sat beside Tomas who had taken a seat on Jamie’s former hospital bed when they had entered the room.
Now there were two people in shock.
Jayden stood thinking, then said, “Crawford, have you rigged the hover drone I requested for Vines, over?”
“Sarge … you’re a genius.” There was a pause, “Drone launched and homing in on your location, over. ETA, two minutes. Get to the rooftop and get ready for evac, over.”
Crawford was taking a huge risk launching a drone without proper clearance.
Jayden ushered his now useless captives out into the hallway and into the elevator, dragging along the zombie nurse behind him.
The top floor was empty.
Like most buildings on Orchard, the hospital had a rooftop garden and café.
Jayden pushed Abigail and Tomas out onto the green space into the night air. The drone was already landing in the center of the pitch.
Jayden cranked open the first of the ordinance tubes and peered inside.
It will be as tight as a coffin.
“Okay, you two - climb inside and make yourselves comfortable.”
Abigail helped Tomas worm his way in, and then she squeezed in after him.
Jayden closed and secured the hatch, went to the other side of the small craft, lifted the infected nurse the cramped space and squeezed into the ordinance tube with it. He silently hoped that they weren’t too heavy for the drone’s thrusters. He didn’t like the idea of careening into a skyscraper or plunging into the ocean. He closed the hatch and said, “Crawford, ready for launch, over.”
The flight was bumpy but uneventful and the automated craft managed a safe landing on VIRaL’s deck.
When the craft completed its final shutdown, Jayden’s hatch popped open and he was jerked out by a half dozen of his own men and thrown to the ground, as were Abigail and Tomas who landed on the ship’s deck beside him.
Once the men realized that the nurse was an actual zombie, they shot it with a tranquilizer dart and temporarily sealed it inside a clear body bag, planning to leave it inside the plastic until they received orders on how to proceed with it.
“So, you think you can circumvent my direct orders, do you, Sergeant?” Supervisor Bertrand inquired, standing behind his soldiers. He turned to one of Jayden’s men and said, “Get them to quarantine on C deck. They may all be infected. And take that specimen to Dr. Taverna’s lab. He’s going to be so pleased.”
*****
Abigail felt it was her duty to catch Tomas up on recent events.
“It’s not so bad,” Abigail reassured him. He was lying on his bed in the adjoining cell in the ship’s brig. The through-and-through wound in his arm had been more severe than they had realized, and the ship’s surgeon had to operate to repair a nicked artery. He had been unconscious since the surgery the day earlier.
“The crew isn’t very talkative, but the guy that brings us our meals says the bombing stopped the Singapore outbreak.” Her voice was hollow. The emotional turmoil of knowing that her homeland had been obliterated was suppressed deep inside. “And we’re on our way to Vitura’s San Diego campus as we speak. We’ll arrive in eighteen days. They won’t say what they’re going to do with us. But I doubt they’re planning to kill us. Otherwise, why keep us locked up, and why fix your shoulder?”
“Abi, I’m sorry about everything,” Tomas was weak and that was all he could muster.
Abigail hesitated, letting in the pain of what she had endured, then forcing it back, she continued, “Jamie was right, you know. I have the cure within me that can stop zombie fever once and for all. You worry about getting well and I’ll figure out how to escape once we hit land. I’m not worried, Tomas … so long as you’re with me.”
The End.
Works by B.M. Hodges
Horror
Zombie Fever 1: Origins
Tomas decides to spend the summer with his father, who works as a security guard for
Vitura Pharmaceuticals. Soon after his arrival, his father disappears without a trace.
Tomas searches for his father, only to discover Vitura is more than it seems to be.
Zombie Fever 2: Outbreak
A young woman is cast in a reality TV show. Zombies are running rampant.
The contestants race cars deep in the Zombie Quarantine Zone.
Who will become infected with zombie fever?
Who gets eaten by the zombie horde?
And most importantly, who wins the million dollar prize?
Zombie Fever 3: Evolution
In less than twenty-four hours, the Zombie Fever virus has mutated and is out of control.
Vitura has sent Jayden to hunt down Tomas and Abigail and bring them back, dead or alive.
Tomas must find Abigail and get to her to safety.
Only they can stop the virus from becoming a global killer.
Science Fiction
The Martian Escape Plan
(Coming in January 2013)
After leading a failed effort to colonize the Planet Earth,
Darius Janner thinks he’s finally found a way home.
Dystopian Rodent Literature
Buddy the Rat
An innocent rodent subjected to fickle fate.
Sent to a house filled with the worst of humanity.
Escaping and finding solace in a forbidden love.
Yet peace will not be had. Onward he travels...
Short Stories
Germaphobia Singapura (An Annoying Short Story)
Roy had always dreamed of living abroad in the tropics, somewhere remote and exotic.
So accepting the offer to teach in Singapore was a no-brainer.
But poor Roy failed to anticipate how living in one of the world's most
densely populated cities would arouse his intuitive preoccupation with cleanliness.
Naively Irrelevant (A Bitterly Short Story)
An ode to the anguish and bitterness of infidelity.
Thank you so much for purchasing this digital copy of Zombie Fever 3: Evolution. I hope you've loved reading it as much as I loved writing it.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving me a review.
About the Author
B.M. Hodges studied in the United States and Singapore where he was awarded a Master's Degree in Literary Studies. He began his writing career in 2008 with the dystopian rodent literary novel Buddy the Rat. In 2012, he published Zombie Fever 1: Origins and Zombie Fever 2: Outbreak and, most recently, Zombie Fever 3: Evolution. He is currently living in South East Asia and working on the fourth installment of the Zombie Fever series that will be released in 2013.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen