by Amy Cross
Copyright 2019 Amy Cross
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, entities and places are either products of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual people, businesses, entities or events is entirely coincidental.
Kindle edition
First published: January 2019
It began on an English hospital ward. Then it reached a holiday camp. Now it's on Europe's biggest party island.
When she arrives on the island of Mallaca for a week of hedonistic fun, Judy Carter is in no mood to party. She knows something's wrong deep inside her body, even if she's trying to hide the truth from her friends. Soon she realizes that the danger is growing, and that it's about to burst out at any moment.
Meanwhile, high up on a hill, in a luxury villa overlooking the town, preparations are being made. Andreas Velucci claims to be a visionary, and he insists that the time is right for the arrival of the Pure One. He hires an English girl, Ruth, to be his assistant. But what does he really want with Ruth, and what dark secrets is he hiding about her past?
For ten years, governments around the world have struggled to contain a threat that they don't fully understand. A threat that keeps trying to break through and destroy humanity. A threat that can grow inside each and every one of us.
Apocalypse (Ward Z book 3) is the third book in the Ward Z series.
Table of Contents
Prologue
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
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Epilogue
Apocalypse
(Ward Z book 3)
Prologue
The boat dipped and then rose on the choppy waters as another explosion rocked the shore nearby.
“It's not stopping,” he said, watching the carnage with a horrified expression. “If anything, I think it's actually getting worse.”
All he could see from the boat, from a couple of hundred meters away from the shore, was death and destruction. People were still screaming and running all along the plaza area, all along the road that ran past the harbor. Occasional bursts of gunfire could be heard in the distance, while thick black smoke continued to rise from several spots further back from the town.
“It's not just here.”
Turning, he saw that she was checking her phone.
“It's everywhere,” she continued. “Those creatures are suddenly showing up in America, all over Europe, in Russia and Australia. Japan. China. It's almost as if they all rose up at once, but how's that possible?”
“Are they sending more soldiers to stop them?” he asked.
She tapped at her phone again, before furrowing her brow.
“It's stopped working.”
“Let me see.” Hurrying across to the other side of the boat, he grabbed the phone and tried to reload the page. When that didn't work, he checked the settings, and then he tried his own phone.
“The phones have stopped,” she said, with more and more fear in her voice. “What does this mean? What's happening?”
He opened his mouth to reply, but then he turned and looked back toward the shore. If anything, the panic seemed to be getting worse and the screams were getting louder. The gunfire wasn't quite so frequent, but there were more fires burning around the edge of the plaza.
“I know what it looks like,” she continued finally. “It looks like the end of the world. It looks like the apocalypse.”
Chapter One
One week earlier
“Help!” Caitlin screamed, banging her fists against the door. “Somebody let me out of here! Somebody -”
Stopping suddenly, she turned and looked back along the gloomy corridor. Convinced that she'd just heard something, she waited for a moment, her desperate eyes frantically scanning the darkness, waiting for even the slightest hint of movement. Her yellow dress was stained and slightly torn.
Realizing after a moment that she had to act fast, she quickly turned back to the door and tried the handle again.
“Help me!” she shouted. “For God's sake, open the door!”
Taking a step back, she paused for a fraction of a second to get her strength together, before trying to kick the door down. Failing miserably, she succeeded only in hurting her ankle. When she tried again, she hit the handle but nothing happened, and on the third attempt she managed to knock the handle off entirely.
“Damn it!” she snapped, before kneeling down and poking her finger into the hole in a desperate attempt to somehow turn the lock. “Please, just -”
Suddenly she heard it again.
Spinning around, she looked along the corridor again and this time she knew the thing was coming. Even though it wasn't close yet, she was certain it must be edging toward her; after all, she'd caught a glimpse of it a few minutes ago and it had noticed her in return. Spotting another door at the far end of the corridor, she realized that it was her only hope for getting out of the villa, but at the same time she was worried that the creature was going to appear around the corner at any moment. How clever was it? Was it simply chasing her, or was it smarter than that? Was it hunting her?
She felt through her pockets, hoping to find something she could use as a weapon, before taking a deep breath and telling herself that she had no choice.
She had to run, so she ran.
Racing along the corridor, she reached the other end in just a few seconds and slammed her body against the door. Reaching down, she turned the handle and found, miraculously, that this was one of the few doors in the entire villa that hadn't been secured. After stumbling through, she turned and pushed the door shut, and then she made her way across the library. Reaching one of the windows, she stood on tip-toes and peered out, seeing the Mediterranean sea sparkling in the first light of morning, with the orange sun starting to rise above the horizon. A moment later, she spotted a 'Secure Glass' logo in the corner of the window, and she realized that trying to break through would be hopeless.
Turning, she looked back across the room and saw that the door on the far side, the one she'd just come through, had creaked open. She was certain that she'd closed it properly, which could only mean one thing.
Grabbing a candlestick from one of the nearby desks, she turned it around and held it up as a weapon. She knew it wouldn't be much use, but it was better than nothing and as she loo
ked around at the bookshelves, tables and chair that filled the room, she felt certain that it was closer now, no doubt slithering unseen as it tried to sneak up and grab her. She'd seen what it had done to two of her friends earlier in the night, and her heart was pounding as she backed away and edged closer to the other door, which she knew was always kept locked.
Sure enough, when she tried the handle, she couldn't make it budge.
“I'm warning you!” she shouted, looking back across the room. “If you come anywhere near me, I swear to God I'll... I'll... I'll cut off all your bits! And then I'll cut what's left of you in half!”
Hearing a faint scratching sound nearby, she spun and looked toward the main desk. She waited for a moment, convinced that at any moment she'd spot a thin black tendril flicking into view, but there was nothing.
“Help me!” she shouted, almost breaking down and sobbing as she took a few steps back. “Please, why won't anyone help me? Why can't someone hear me?”
Backing against the wall, with the candlestick still held out, she felt her skin starting to crawl as she imagined the creature watching her, plotting its attack. It could have attacked already, which meant – she realized – that it must be smart. Finally, filled with an overwhelming sense that she had to do something, she looked toward the door that led out onto the patio. She paused, trying to work out where to strike, before running forward and slamming into the door with her right shoulder. She immediately felt a sharp jolt of pain, but she also felt the door shuddering slightly, as if she'd managed to cause a little damage. Filled with a sudden rush of hope, she let out a grunt of frustration before stepping back and then trying again, and this time she felt both her shoulder and the wood starting to crack. Her right shoulder was agony now, so she figured she'd have to switch to the left, and this time she slammed into the door with such force that – to her utter shock – she broke straight through, stumbling out onto the patio and bumping into one of the sun-loungers.
And now, for the first time, she allowed herself to think that she might actually get away.
Turning, she looked back into the library for a moment, but there was nothing to see. She backed away, her heart pounding as she waited, and finally she noticed something small, black and pointed starting to slip into view at the very edge of the doorway.
“I knew it,” she whimpered, wiping away her tears. “What the hell are you?” she screamed, stepping back and looking up at the windows of the villa. “Are you watching? Is this your idea of a game? I swear, I'm going to tell everyone about the sick things that happen here! If you think you're getting away with this, you're wrong!”
Turning, she was about to run toward the gate when she saw another thick black tendril drop down from one of the palm trees. She froze for a moment as she realized that there were tendrils hanging from all the trees, which meant that getting to the gate would be almost impossible without being attacked. Looking up at the higher parts of the trees, she saw several of the creatures hanging in place, glistening in the slowly-spreading morning sun like swollen black sacs of pure evil.
“No,” she said after a moment, stepping back as she felt a sudden sense of anger welling up in her chest. “I don't care what you monsters are doing here, I will not let you get to me. Do you hear me? I don't know if you can understand a word I'm saying, but I will not let you win!”
The black sacs didn't respond. Each simply remained in place, hanging in the palm trees with their tendrils hanging down lazily in the morning sun.
Figuring that she at least had a chance to reach the gate, she began to edge forward. In the early morning heat, the low-hanging tendrils looked looked loose and sleepy, almost harmless as she tried to pick out a path that would keep her from going too close. Slipping between two of the tendrils, she kept her eyes on them, terrified that at any moment they might flick into life. They looked swollen and lazy in the early morning heat, but she knew better than to let down her guard just yet.
Suddenly she heard a faint scratching sound. Turning, she saw that one of the nearby tendrils, a particularly thick and oily-looking specimen, had begun to tremble slightly. She looked up toward the top of the palm tree and saw, to her horror, that one of the black sacs was shifting, allowing a dribble of translucent slime to dribble down toward the ground. Taking care to avoid that particular tree, she checked over her shoulder and then backed away, while trying to work out how best to get to the gate.
A moment later, another tendril curled down into her field of vision, just a few feet away.
She took a step back, before feeling something nudging against her shoulder. When she turned, she found that more tendrils had begun to dip down.
“No,” she whispered, turning again as she tried to spot a safe route. Finally, she figured her best option was just to -
Suddenly one of the tendrils flicked at her, slashing its razor-sharp edge against the side of her face and slicing deep into her cheek. Letting out a cry of pain, she recoiled and reached up to feel blood running down her face, but a moment later another tendril slashed the back of her neck. Ducking down, she dropped to her knees, hoping that if she kept low she'd be out of the tendrils' range.
A moment later, she felt another slash of pain across her shoulder and she turned to see that one of the tendrils was right behind her, almost touching the grass.
“Nice try,” she muttered, crawling away and then getting to her feet, running toward the gate.
Ahead of her, several tendrils blocked her path but she just kept going, determined to push through. As she hit the tendrils one by one, she held her hands up to cover her face, and she felt the sharp edges slicing into her flesh. One of the tendrils, with a slightly rippled edge, snagged in her wrist and pulled her back, and when she tried to get free she saw to her horror that part of the skin on her palm was being torn away.
Panicking, she turned and tried to run, but she stopped when she saw several more tendrils hanging down over the gate, with a trio of round, black sacs resting on the stone arch above. It was as if scores of the creatures had suddenly oozed into place from nowhere.
Turning again, she ducked past several more tendrils and raced toward the open lawn. Finally getting away from the palm trees, she stopped and looked back.
“Enjoy it while you can!” she shouted, taking another step back as she felt her anger growing. “I'm coming back with the police, maybe even soldiers, and you things, whatever you, you're all toast!”
She turned to run, before realizing too late that she was at the very edge of the swimming pool. She tried to stop but all she could do was reach out desperately as she fell forward and crashed into the water. Flailing desperately, she quickly got back to the surface and swam back to the side, spitting out fresh, un-chlorinated water as she started to pull herself up. Already, her wounds were stinging and blood was curling out into the water.
Suddenly she felt something wrapping itself around her right leg, holding her tight with a razor-sharp edge and trying to drag her down. Letting out a cry, she tried again to pull herself up, and this time the black tendril began to dig deep into her skin, pulling her flesh down to expose the muscle and bone beneath. The more she fought, the more blood blossomed into the water, and a moment later another tendril rose up and took hold of her other leg, wrapping itself tight and moving up until its tip brushed her left hip.
“Help me!” she screamed, trying to hold onto the overflow grill that ran around the edge of the pool. “Somebody -”
Before she could get another word out, the grill came loose and she fell back into the water. Although she fought, she was powerless to keep herself from being dragged down to the bottom of the pool, where several thick black tendrils – much longer and plumper than the ones on land – wrapped themselves around her flailing torso. One of the razor-edged tendrils even began to poke itself into her mouth, slipping down the back of her throat and making its way down her esophagus until its sharp black tip poked against the inside of her stomach.
She
fought back for a moment longer, her wide-open eyes looking up through the water toward the light dancing on the pool's surface. Kicking against the bottom of the pool, she managed to get up and break the surface, screaming for help as the tendrils began to pull her down.
Her scream drifted high into the hot morning sky. Down at the foot of the hill, the town of Mallaca stretched lazily along the shore. Nightclubs were still in the process of kicking out drunk revelers who'd been partying all night, and there were plenty of party-goers on the beach, some of them screaming as they danced. No-one noticed that one extra scream, higher up on the hills overlooking everything, not even when this particular scream was suddenly cut off dead.
In the pool, Caitlin's body was being dragged down to the bottom, while blood began to blossom in the water.
Chapter Two
“More vodka!” Merrie shouted, leaning across the two seats next to her and patting the flight attendant's ass. “Hey, we need more vodka here!”
“I'm sorry,” the woman replied, turning to her with a forced smile, “but I think maybe you've had enough.”
“We're on holiday!” Merrie continued. “Come on, we need another vodka each, and more of those cans of orange juice, and...” She squinted, trying to see the snacks on the trolley. “What are those little things in those bags? Are they peanuts or, like, what are they?”
“I can't serve you any more vodka,” the flight attendant replied, lowering her voice a little to avoid being overheard by the other passengers. “I can serve you orange juice and snacks, but I'm afraid I can't let you have anything alcoholic.”
“Why the hell not?” Merrie asked. “We're not drunk!”
“I'm sorry, that's just how it is.”
“Why?”
“Would you like orange juice? Or maybe just water?”
Merrie stared at her for a moment with a hint of disgust in her eyes, before slumping back in her seat. “Forget it,” she muttered, acting as if she was monumentally offended. “Bitch,” she added under her breath. As the attendant turned back to the other passenger she'd been serving before the interrupting, Merrie glanced out the window and looked at the clouds far below the plane, before turning to her sister Judy. “Can you believe her? I'm not drunk! How dare she accuse me of being drunk? I've only had, like, three drinks since we took off!”