The Infected Box Set, Vol. 1 [Books 1-3]

by Zuko, Joseph

She was dehydrated and starving. Pain seemed to encompass her whole body. Rays of sunshine beat down on them. It wasn’t that hot out, but the kid strapped to her back and all of the exertion had Karen pouring sweat like they were walking through the Mojave Desert. She hated to sweat. She hated it when someone touched her and they were covered in sweat. Everything about someone leaking fluids from their skin grossed her out.

  Karen could feel the grime that covered her body. Salty grit had formed in the crevices of her skin. The infected blood that soaked into her clothes and dripped out of her hair smelled rancid. There wasn’t a hot enough shower in the world to clean off today. The loss of Botchy had ripped through her heart like a knife. Her eyes were drowned in tears. They streaked towards her chin and each new drop carved out a ravine in the blood that stained her face. She didn’t know where or what the hell had happened to Jim.

  Will I ever see my husband again?

  Was he dead?

  How can I make it without him?

  She was still alive and she had the girls to worry about. That’s what she needed to focus on.

  Keep your feet moving!

  She repeated it to herself after every step.

  Troy recognized the house up ahead as his mother’s, but couldn’t remember how he got there or why Valerie was strapped to his back.

  Who the hell is this guy in the suit?

  Troy’s brain felt like someone had poured hot lava on it. Like his brain no longer fit in his skull. The pressure inside his head was excruciating. The muscles in his legs wanted to stop and take a break, but every time they started to give out Karen shouted at him to keep walking.

  God, she’s bossy!

  I just need to sit for a minute.

  His left eye stung as something dripped into it. It clouded his vision and gave everything a soft pink color to it. He licked the corner of his mouth and whatever was dripping tasted like metal.

  Blood?

  Why am I bleeding?

  Wait, where are we going?

  His concussion made it impossible to keep a train of thought going down the right track. The sound of Karen gunning down an infected would snap him back into the same loop of thoughts and discovery. Over and over he asked himself the same questions. His mind was like a broken record playing the same groove.

  Blood? He found it again at the corner of his mouth.

  Most of Troy’s weight was on Leon’s shoulders. The shame of Leon’s actions however weighed heavier on his mind than the actual weight of Troy’s big frame. He was wracked with guilt for leaving this woman and her children all alone in that death trap. It was the first time in his life that he had a chance to be heroic and he chickened out. In the comics he collected the heroes made it look easy. If a damsel was in distress they didn’t bat an eye. They leapt into action. He nearly pissed his pants and ran two blocks from the danger before the realization of what he did set in.

  You did save her! He reassured himself.

  That counts for something.

  She would have been torn in half if I hadn’t come back.

  Leon stole a look at Karen. She was a mess, but under all the sweat and blood was a beautiful woman. A very, very beautiful woman.

  She’s married. He tried to talk sense to himself.

  Maybe the husband is dead?

  Leon’s thoughts hurdled through time. Months into the future.

  Her husband never shows up and she needs someone to love and care for her.

  It could be me! I could finally settle down and play house.

  What if I save her again? That might get her to see me in a different light.

  It had been a long time since he had touched a real woman romantically and just the thought of it gave him a little extra pep in his step.

  They hit Penny’s driveway. Her car wasn’t parked outside. She must have left it at her work when Troy came and got her. All of the lights were out in the house.

  Mama must be still hiding. Karen thought to herself. She pulled out a few shells from Troy’s bandolier and refilled the shotgun. They lifted Troy up the couple of steps that led to the front door. Leon pulled open the screen door and knocked loudly.

  “Mama! Open up! It’s us!” Karen’s voice was hoarse. There were no sounds coming from inside. Karen kicked at the door. “Mama! Open the door!” Panic had begun to boil in the back of Karen’s mind.

  “Ganny! Open door!” Robin tried to help.

  “Ganny, where are you?” Valerie had to help too.

  Karen remembered she had her keys tucked in her pocket. She fished them out. Her hands were shaking and struggled to get the right key in the door. The lock popped and the door swung open.

  “Mama!” Karen’s voice screeched. She locked the door behind her. It was a tight squeeze for the three of them to get through the door and into the living room. “Mama! Where are you?” They maneuvered Troy over to the couch and sat him down.

  “Help me get this knot untied.” She asked Leon. Leon pulled at the bed sheets until the knot was loose enough to let Valerie off of Troy’s back.

  “Mama!” Karen was losing it. It was unlike Penny to not be at the front door seconds after they knocked. Knowing what a Nervous Nelly Penny was Karen was sure she would have been pacing at the front door. Valerie peeled herself off of her uncle’s back and climbed down off the couch. Her shirt was covered in sweat and she made a grossed-out face to her Mama.

  “Yuck.” Valerie pulled the wet cloth away from her belly and she let out another loud cough.

  “I know, we’ll get you a new shirt in a minute.” Karen helped Troy lay down on the couch. “Can you find an icepack in the freezer?” She asked Leon. He nodded at her and found his way into the kitchen.

  “Where’s Mama?” Troy asked Karen. He had hardly said a word since they pulled him out of the back of the Dodge.

  “I don’t know. Maybe she fell asleep with her earplugs in. I’ll find her as soon as we get you set.”

  “But where is she?” He asked again. There was no use in talking to him.

  Leon opened the freezer. It was full of sweet treats for the kids and a few bags of corn. On the door was a stack of icepacks. He grabbed one and hurried back to Troy.

  “Here.” He handed the pack to Karen.

  “Inside the bag is a medical book. Find the chapter on concussions.” She gently pulled off Troy’s baseball cap and laid the icepack on his wound. He winced in pain. “Try and relax. I’m gonna find Mama.”

  Troy nodded at her and closed his eyes. Karen didn’t know if it was a good idea for him to sleep it off or if they needed to keep him awake.

  “Find out if we should let him sleep.” She patted Leon on his shoulder as she left Troy’s side. Her gentle touch sent a shiver of joy down Leon’s spine.

  “Mama, can I have ice cream now?” Valerie asked.

  “I need you to hold Uncle Troy’s hand. It will help him feel better. I’ll get you some ice cream in a minute.” Karen talked quickly. Dread was building up inside her.

  Where the fuck is Mama?

  Valerie could see how badly Uncle Troy felt and went to his side and took his hand. Leon sat himself down on the chair next to the couch and pulled the bag across his lap. He shared an awkward smile with the five-year-old that was playing nurse.

  “Uncle Troy bonked his head,” Valerie said as she pointed at the icepack and then barked out a cough.

  “Don’t worry little one. He’ll be back on his feet in no time.” Leon unzipped the bag and found the book. Karen raced down the back hallway towards her mother’s bedroom. She hoped that she would find Penny on the bed with a sleeping mask on, earplugs in and an empty cup of tea that helped her sleep by the side of the bed. It wasn’t uncommon for Penny to try and nap her way through a stressful situation. Karen kicked open the door and flipped on the lights. Nope. No Penny. “Mama?” Karen continued on past the bed for the back bathroom.

  Maybe the stress had gotten to Mama’s stomach and she was using the bathroom.

  K
aren turned on the bathroom light and the room was empty. She jogged back out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

  Did Mama leave to go get something?

  She wouldn’t have gone outside, would she?

  No way!

  The door to the garage sat next to the kitchen. Karen popped it open and turned on that light. The garage was a mess. Half of the stuff crammed in here was Karen and Jim’s furniture from their old house. They didn’t have space at the apartment for it, but weren’t ready to just throw it away either. Penny also had a good collection of tools and a ton of leftover chunks of lumber from the chicken coop build, but there was no Penny.

  Karen was running out of rooms to check and she was running out of hope. She clicked off the garage light and closed its door.

  “Mama!” she choked on the word. There was a loud noise at the back sliding glass door. Something had run into it with a hard thud. Karen took off for the door. Her back was absolutely killing her. She needed to get Robin off of her soon.

  Karen rounded the corner into the dinning room where the door was located. Her heart stopped on a dime. Penny stood on the other side of the glass. Blood stained all of her clothes. A hunk of metal jutted from her abdomen. Both of her hands and her forehead rested against the window. When she saw her child standing in her dining room she launched herself into the door.

  Karen fell to her knees. Her eyes had never fully dried and now they gushed with tears of pain. She screamed and wailed. Her fists pounded the hardwood floor, even though her wrist was throbbing.

  Leon and Valerie rushed into the dining room to see what was wrong with Karen. Leon recognized the woman at the door from the photos around the house. His head dropped and he turned away.

  Valerie didn’t understand why her Mama wasn’t opening the door for Ganny. “Mama what’s wrong?” She stepped in front of Karen. Her little face filled with empathy. Karen clutched her child and pulled her baby to her chest. The little girl didn’t resist. She just let her Mama pour tears on her shoulder. Both children patted at their Mama with their little hands trying their best to make her feel better.

  Karen’s world had crumbled around her. Never in her life had she shed tears of pain like this. Her whole body trembled. The weight of the day had crushed her. She felt done with it all. If it weren’t for the two little beating hearts pressed tightly to her torso she would run outside and let one of those monsters take her.

  She had no idea if she would ever see her husband again, her precious little puppy was ripped to shreds right in front of her and heaped on top of all that flaming pile of shit, Karen was now looking into the blackness that was once her mother’s eyes. The thing at the door didn’t want to give her a warm, welcoming hug. It wanted to eat the flesh from her bones. The monster that looked like Penny would happily dive into her grandbaby’s skin and feed upon their tasty little bodies. Karen could feel it.

  She was broken.

  She could physically feel her heart disappearing into a black hole of pain and despair. Her next thought absolutely decimated her. It was going to be up to her to kill her mother.

  The End.

  The Infected: Nightfall

  By Joseph “Zombie” Zuko

  This book is a work of fiction.

  Names and characters are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons,

  living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2015 Joseph Zuko

  All Rights Reserved

  Thank you to Josh McCullough, Fox Emm, Kim Hill, Linda Kim, Katie Zuko and Pam Anderson for helping me edit my book.

  Thank you to my Mom and Dad for always being so supportive.

  Thank you to Sam for the idea to start writing this book.

  Thank you to my wife Katie Zuko. She cheers me on like I am her local sports team and thank you for not letting me give up on my dreams.

  Dedicated to all three of my zombie loving children.

  Thank you to the fans of Jim’s First Day and Karen’s First Day.

  Without your support I wouldn’t have had the guts to attempt to finish any of The Infected series. You have all changed my life for the better. Your positive reviews and comments kept me motivated to finish these books. Thank you again.

  Cover art by Paul Copeland

  paulsartspace@yahoo.com

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  Chapter 1

  An empty can of Tecate shook in Jim’s weary hand. Every inch of his body ached. The stitches in his forehead and leg pulled tight and burned every time he moved. The searing pain was a constant reminder of how close he had come to dying that day. His busted nose made it difficult to take in full breaths, and when he did breathe deep he could smell the stench of the day on him. Dehydration and exhaustion was taking its toll and the light beer had begun its magical journey into his starving stomach. Being void of real food helped the booze travel like a bolt of lightning through his veins. He watched as his neighbor, Tina, worked to stop the bleeding gunshot wound in Devon’s leg.

  Tina’s mind raced. She had read the textbooks, seen videos and visited the hospital as a student many times, but this was the real deal. This young man’s life was resting in her untested hands. Her love of research and studying new subjects served her well at nursing school. She had aced most of her tests in the last year, but this was not a test she could fail. There was no asking the teacher for help. Surprisingly, even with all of the stress and fear of this horrible situation, she was easily recalling all of the knowledge needed to help save him.

  “He’s going to need a blood transfusion and antibiotics. If we can keep enough pressure on it we might be able to keep him from going into shock. We have aspirin for the pain, but I don’t know how to administer anesthetics,” Tina said as she applied a fresh pad of gauze to the open wound on top of Devon’s thigh.

  Cliff moved to her side, “We don’t have that kind of equipment here and whose blood would we give him?” He helped his wife place the last strip of tape to the bandage.

  Sara knelt on the floor next to Devon and clutched his hand as she looked to Jim, “There has to be something we can do?”

  “I’m O negative. I can give him my blood,” Jim said as he placed his empty can on the kitchen counter and moved over to the dining table where Frank had set up shop refilling his empty magazines. “What kind of place would have what we need?” Jim asked as he pulled his backpack off his shoulders.

  “There’s a facility called RS Medical a few blocks from here. If any store would have a transfusion kit, it’d be them.” Tina pulled off her blood soaked rubber gloves with a snap. She moved quickly across the apartment over to Jim. Tina pulled him by the arm and spun him around. Without asking, she pulled at the bandages on his forehead. Jim winced and closed his eyes as she investigated the wound. The stitches were caked with dried blood. “What did you use to clean this?” Tina asked softly.

  “Alcohol.” Sara spoke for Jim. “I did the stiches.” She said with a half-smile.

  “Good job,” Tina said over her shoulder to Sara. Then she turned back to Jim. “You’ll need antibiotics too. Alcohol and peroxide won’t be enough for a cut this bad.”

  “You’re going back out there?” Frank grunted at Jim, as he forced another round into the banana mag of his SKS rifle. It had only been a few hours since he first met Jim, but Frank already knew the answer to his question. He stepped up the pace and loaded the shells faster.

  He’ll need my help to get back here in one piece. Frank thought.

  Click, click, Frank worked the full mag into the bottom of the rifle. He loved the sound of a magazine sliding into a gun. He found it comforting. The formed metal fitting perfectly together. The two parts becoming one to make a functioning machine that could be used to save someone or destroy them. He fell in love with the sound of a gun as a young child when his father first showed him how to shoot a .22 caliber rifl
e. He was seven-years-old and they lived on twenty-five acres in the out skirts of Washougal Washington. Their home was surrounded by trees and wildlife. His dad, who he was named after, was the local Boy Scout leader. Frank spent years with his father camping, hunting, wood carving, and learning everything about being a good scout, but shooting rifles was always his favorite. Frank was the youngest boy to ever become an Eagle Scout in the State of Washington and it was a record that still stood. Frank pinched the last round from a box of nine millimeter ammo, worked it into the mag and slid it into the butt of his Beretta. His ears waited for the sound.

  Click, clack.

  There it is.

  One of the greatest lessons he ever learned from his old man was, “enjoy the little things in life.”

  Down the hall, the toilet flushed and a moment later Morgan yelled, “Clifford, I need you.”

  Cliff got to his feet and headed back to the restroom.

  Will this day ever end?

  The hands of the clock that hung in the hallway said it was only four-forty in the afternoon. Cliff’s muscles ached as he stepped down the short hall. All of the running and slicing infected creeps to death had put knots in his thighs and shoulders. No way in hell was he stepping back out that door. Ten minutes ago he thought the day was finally winding down. Cliff was inches from making sweet dirty love to his wife, and then this crew of blood soaked strangers cock blocked him.

  Before opening the bathroom door he checked in on his kids. He had asked them to play in their bedroom until he knew it was safe out in the living room. The three little girls didn’t notice him at the bedroom doorway. The oldest, Eve, was pretending to give her two younger sisters a makeover. She used an old brush her mother had given her to apply pretend blush on Alex, the middle daughter. The youngest, Brea, held a mirror in her little hands and watched as Eve worked her magic on Alex.