Other Survivors - Book 2 (Surviving the Zombie Nightmare)

by Daniel White

  “You won’t touch it at all?” Hawkins asked.

  “Won’t even breathe on it.”

  “Promise?”

  Eric began walking around the desk, “Just open the folder.”

  Hawkins opened the folder and Eric began to read. He had improved his level of Zombie Virus knowledge before he finished the first page and there were plenty of pages to go. He sat down on the edge of the desk and told Hawkins, “You might want to grab a water bottle or two from out there. This is going to take a while.”

  **

  “I don’t like it,” Hawkins said worriedly. Eric was already accustomed to the way the young man’s fear ran his life. The proposition that had him scared for his life was admittedly not a safe one. Not by a long shot. The plan included the two of them riding together to the train depot way earlier than Hawkins needed to be there. Armed with new knowledge, and the urge to find out as much as he could about the virus, Eric would find a place to hide near the meeting destination where he could listen to what was going on. Hawkins’ job would be to stretch the conversation out long enough for Eric to get some good information about what was going on. This of course would mean that the scared kid would have to go off of the script that his theoretical captors had given him. He had a reason to be scared. Eric chose to try and work with that to get what he wanted. He sighed as if he cared, “Look kid, everyone is afraid of something.”

  “Now who’s the bad liar?” he said accusingly, “You clearly aren’t.”

  “I absolutely am Hawkins. It’s just what I do with that fear that sets us apart.” Hawkins looked on suspiciously then asked, “What do you mean?”

  Eric, knowing he was getting somewhere, continued, “I fear dying in this mess of walking corpses every time I run across them. Do you want to know why I was out on that road tonight? I was trying to drive out of town to see if things were better anywhere else. I just want out. That’s not because I love fighting these things. I want to keep living, so I fight when I have to. But that intensity you saw out there a few minutes ago wasn’t something that I could have normally brought out of myself six months ago. Its natural ability fueled with an explosion of survival instincts that brings the animal in me out. It’s fear that drives me to survive. Do you understand? You need to dig deep and let the fear be your energy source.”

  “Yeah all I heard was, yada yada yada, I kick zombie ass, yada yada yada.”

  “Seriously though,” Eric said, cracking a smile.

  “Okay so I should take the fear I have of zombies and use it as fuel to force me to action against these people. Is that basically what you’re saying?”

  “Exactly! So you’re on board?”

  “Either that or I’m planning to double cross you.”

  “I doubt that Hawkins.”

  Chapter 3

  The sheer intensity of the man sitting across from him was intimidating. It was an unusual feeling for him after years in the service both overseas and at home on special assignments. All of the things he had seen over the twelve years of serving his country put together wouldn’t add up to the past few months. Everything surrounding the ZMB Virus outbreak was surreal. He kept wondering when they would all wake up and find themselves the victim of a very potent hallucinogen. But it wasn’t a dream and he wasn’t tripping, the people controlling the mind altering substance weren’t the enemy. It was old Uncle Sam himself.

  “What do we know about him?” the large man asked. He wasn’t a tall gentleman, but his five-foot seven inch frame was stocky and strong. It was said that he could bench press over seven hundred pounds at one time but none had ever proven it. Still the man wasn’t someone you would want to tangle with and the fact had nothing to do with his appearance.

  The fact was that the man asking him questions right now had become the most powerful man in the entire country and possibly the world. Dan Bullosky, known by some as Bull but referred to mostly as Admiral or Admiral Bullosky, was the one man that everyone who was anyone in the intelligence community thought had knowledge about the ZMB Virus outbreak.

  They were right.

  For an undercover agent like himself, Captain Sage Thorne, speaking with Bullosky and learning more about him was a slippery slope. Sage knew he had to be very careful and very convincing. There was even a plan in place for Sage to appear to go rogue if Bullosky seemed close to finding out the truth of who he worked for. Sage found he was stepping further down the path cleared by Bullosky every day he worked with him. It worried him a bit.

  “Not much,” Sage said, “And what we know isn’t good.”

  Bullosky steeped his fingers, “Define ‘isn’t good’.”

  “Well let’s see,” Sage said in the common calm, collected tone that he was supposed to use when speaking to Bullosky. It was apparently going to help sell him as legit. “He has been attacked by hordes of zombies and repeatedly survived. Many times he has faced down dozens of them, and not only survived but killed most of them. When I saved him back at the government building he took out countless bodies with only a couple of sticks and his bare hands.” Sage noticed no movement and no apparent sign of the man being impressed. “What if I said he is coming after you specifically?”

  Without missing a beat Bullosky said, “That punk Hawkins kid wouldn’t lead him here. I’ve got the idiot convinced that I can release these things whenever and wherever I want.”

  “Can you?” Sage asked out of pure curiosity.

  “Not yet,” Bullosky answered, “So for all I have is a special device that uses a certain sound frequency to keep them away from a small area. I’d have to figure out a safe way to capture and hold them first, then have the ability to study them and make alterations where needed to the next…” suddenly he stopped and eyed Sage curiously. “I think that’s about enough free information for you for one day. Hawkins will be at the designated place for the drop. You will be there early to watch for anything strange and to clear out any groups of zombies that graze nearby. Do you understand what you are required to do Captain Sage?”

  Sage was a little disappointed. He didn’t get any more than he already knew. The good news was that for the first time Bullosky trusted him enough to give him a specific job to do. It would be a good springboard for future jobs, which would get Sage in deeper in the big man’s organization and earn his trust. He looked at the big man, “You can count on me Admiral.”

  **

  Kurt felt his nervous stomach would wrench out of his body. He was about to do something antagonistic to what the strange voice on the phone told him to do and it might be his death sentence. He knew it was nuts, and yet was going to do it anyway. That, he knew, made him crazy. Looking over at Bayne incited a jealous wave over Kurt’s nervousness. He was just sitting there, staring out the window as calm as a cucumber. Never would someone look at the guy and guess that he was about to try and get the better of a powerful person, or organization who neither of them fully understood. What they did know was that these people were powerful and had something to do, or at the very least some knowledge of the virus outbreak that started the zombie meltdown. That should have been enough to steer anyone to avoid them. Kurt, having the unfortunate pleasure of being picked as their errand boy, wanted to be rid of them so badly he was willing to let this lunatic kung fu asshole kill him if he had to.

  And yet, here he was. A moment of bravado had led him to scream that he was sick of being told what to do. That was the perfect opening for Bayne to get exactly what he wanted and to the older guy’s credit, he had. Yet, still it was Kurt that was literally in the driver’s seat, not Bayne.

  He could have stopped at any time along this old road couldn’t he? He still could for that matter. But on he drove and it wasn’t for the disembodied voice, nor was it for this Bayne guy. This time, for maybe the first time in his life, it was for Kurt Hawkins. He was doing it for himself. If it got him killed, he already knew that was a risk he was willing to take to be finished with it. If he couldn’t be rid of this voice
then dying would be a welcome change.

  He would drive to the old train depot with the folder that the voice demanded. He could only assume that the other person at the meeting place would be the voice guy’s heavy. Surely he wouldn’t show his face when he wouldn’t even allow his true voice to be heard. Either way, by the time the voice or his man showed up, Eric and Kurt would be about to spring a trap. Whether or not it would kill him was up in the air, but at least for once he was going against the grain. It kind of made him feel good about himself.

  That is, until he looked over at Eric Bayne again.

  The calm attitude in the face of danger, the incredible fighting skill and the rugged good looks brought feelings of jealousy to the forefront of Kurt’s mind. Jealously was then joined by envy and memories of being tortured in the schoolyard. Add those to the returning fear for his life, and by the time Bayne turned and asked, “Looking a little nervous champ. Are you about to blow chunks?” The only answer Kurt had was a half squeaky, “Yep.”

  Chapter 4

  The first thought Eric had upon arriving at the old train depot out on Partman Road was that it didn’t look like what he thought of as a train depot. With several tracks and old abandoned train cars around a large area which once was fenced in, it looked more like a commercial train station. Either way it was a fairly creepy place. Some say that any time something is abandoned for over twenty years it becomes officially haunted, creepy or cursed, depending on what group of extremists you ask. In this case Eric would have to agree. Dark clouds rolled over the horizon.

  The only station that was still in service on Partman Road was the truck stop around the old highway several miles back. The lights of that place lead one to believe that there will be sustainable life and a normal civilization. Within two miles the blacktop is overgrown, Mother Nature starting to reclaim what is rightfully hers. The lights are far from visible in your rear view mirror and the only thing you see is what your headlights reveal. It was like driving through a blackened forest that gave way to a large clearing. In days past, it would likely have been a fairly pleasing sight to see the train come and go; the signs of life and commerce in a small but growing town, bringing comfort to those who saw it.

  Everything was decaying and falling apart. Everything falls apart over a long enough timeline. Now all it brought was uneasiness and skin chilling silence. The only sound to be heard was the crickets in the surrounding grassy areas. The pavement was overgrown with weeds; trash was blown into piles along the remaining fence sections. Some train cars, once filled with profit making goods, now were completely covered by grass and weeds that looked were starting to look like trees. It was almost as if not one person had been out here in the past thirty or so years since the new station was built off of downtown. Eric found it hard to believe that even shady types would do deals out here.

  Hawkins stopped the car into the clearing. Once upon a time it probably served as the parking lot for the train station employees. Eric exited first and walked a few feet out in front of the car and kicked a sun faded can of Coke. The night had become early dawn, the desolate parking lot stretched in front of them. Off to the east a slightly lighter row of clouds served to prove the dawn hour was at hand, but did nothing to raise the darkness of the place. The once tall impenetrable fence was now in shambles with only a few feet of it still standing. There was evidence that the gate yielding entrance to the main yard area was closed at one time. Now it was nothing but a trashed relic of the past.

  Ready to get moving, Eric turned to see Hawkins standing by the car, his body propped against the roof. He was likely turning over in his mind if he wanted to split and squash the plan now. It would be hard to blame him if he wanted to make that choice. It would have to be done very quickly and very well, because old Bart still rested in the back seat.

  The fighting spirit in the big brown dog had given way to a somnolent spirit. He had fallen asleep on the way to the bank, snoring in the car throughout the chaos and was just now waking up. In spite of his not really caring too much about old Bart, the dog sure had taken a liking to him. Something trying to separate them usually didn’t work out too well. Looking around, Eric figured he was certain to see a great many zombies before they left this place. He did hope that the majority of them around here remained oblivious to his presence.

  “Let's go Hawkins! What are you doing? Waiting for zombies to come and eat your eyes?” Hawkins snapped the briefcase he kept with him shut with the false file within. The real file would remain behind in the car. When whoever these guys are figure out the switch, Eric and Hawkins should already be on their way out of the old depot yard. It wasn’t terribly innovative as far as plans go, but it was better than handing over the real file. Eric had a bad feeling about it all. Eric had learned to trust his gut instinct over the years. He knew he was going against what his intuition told him. The old train depot turning out to be an old rail yard exacerbated it.

  Hawkins interrupted his thoughts like a hammer on glass, “I still don’t see why you don’t just stay in the car. That way you could watch me handover the file. I would simply walk back to the car, and we would leave before these people even knew what hit them.”

  Eric didn’t look back, but rolled his eyes anyway, “You really are that stupid aren’t you? Do you really think they are going to let you live, given all that you know about them? Honestly, who would do that? You’ll hand over the folder and they’ll just thank you and walk away? I don’t think so. More like thank you with a bullet through the skull”

  “You really are that cynical aren’t you? Why not? Why can’t it be that simple? Isn’t it possible that they think highly enough of my skills that they are willing to go the extra mile to thank me and be done with it?”

  Eric continued surveying the area for tactical advantages, “No, frankly it’s not. This is either the government or a group that was able to one-up the government. They don’t need you. They are using you like a tool.”

  “I think you’re wrong,” Hawkins said matter-of-factly.

  “Nope,” Eric said, “I’m right.” He cut off the younger man’s retort, “That’s why I won’t be staying in the car. I am going to stalk around this place and try to find out whom, or what they are going to try and kill you with. In a situation where two high ranking officials are meeting, well he probably is high ranking at least,” Eric ignored the hurt filled ‘hey’ from Hawkins; “It’s never the official or officer that does the killing. There should be a sniper or a guerilla team or something out here that is waiting on a signal. When you give that folder over, they will give that signal and whatever, or whoever is out there will take you out.”

  Hawkins began walking towards the meeting point and Eric was more than happy to be moving. The young man then asked, “Okay but you still have the good file in the car. Why not just leave me to die and get away with your pooch and the real file?”

  Eric appeared to give the question thought, “See now that is a good question.” He stopped and thought for a longer moment, waiting until a look of worry slid across Hawkins’ face. He had already thought about this. As good of an asset as the computer genius was, he wasn’t good enough for Eric to put his own life in jeopardy. The fact was that even though it would be a crappy thing to do, he wouldn’t be above just pulling away and leaving them all to their games. He’d seriously already considered it, but wanted to learn more. The reason he wanted that file was for more information about the ZMB Virus. If other things could be learned or gained however, he owed it to himself to find out.

  “It’s because I can’t trust you Hawkins. That’s the best thing you have going for you right now. Computer geeks usually have a few hidden sets of skills that are very unpredictable. I’m not certain you have the correct file in that case. Even if it were the correct file, I don’t necessarily know that it is the real reason for the meeting. See, I’ll be watching you as well young Hawkins. Play your cards well my friend and you will get to stay alive probably longer than I w
ill. Screw around and you’ll be dead faster than you can scream help, and I figure you can do that pretty well.”

  “Point,” Hawkins said. “Okay, up there is where the meet and exchange is supposed to be.” Eric followed the directed finger to an area that probably once meant something. Now it was just a place where four railcars were sitting in a kind of make-shift circle. One of them was flipped on its side. The grain that had been inside it was a great place for grass and weeds to grow. He shook his head knowing that it looked like a place that had been used before for such meetings. If these guys knew about it now, chances were they knew all about the best sniping and ambush locations. “Yeah, you’re as good as dead.”

  Hawkins ran up in front of him and turned around, “What do you mean? Why? Should I do something different?”