Z Strain

by SJ Morris

  I made sure that everyone was comfortable enough to sleep where they were and I went to the adult's table to see what was going on there.

  We chatted about letting our friends and family come here, but only six families per group. We hashed out that some people knew more than six families and some people didn’t, so we split it up so everyone got at least six if they needed it, some got more and some got less. We all separated to go make our calls, but I pulled Chris aside to ask who was going with us to the preschool. He was not too happy that I was inserting myself to be a part of the group that was going, but he understood my need to help the children.

  The plan was to meet at 5:30 the next morning, ready to go.

  It was Chris, Tom, and I. Dan was going to stay behind and man the security cameras and be backup, if we needed it, coming back. Lance was let in on the plan too, just in case we had any unwanted guests trailing us when we got back to the house that he could take care of with his bow and arrow.

  Kristen, Dan’s wife, was good with a gun too so she was also slotted for backup at the cabin and given a rather large firearm with a huge silencer on it.

  Justin, oddly enough, was dedicated to watching the kids since he never really fired a gun before. In defense to his masculinity, it wasn’t something a fireman really had to worry about, before all of this.

  I talked to my own children separately, to see if there were any of their close friends that they thought could make it here for me to call.

  Of course, Allycia wanted me to call Jake’s parents. Thank God she wanted me to call her girlfriend Denise, too.

  Tyler wanted me to call his best friend Tom and Lance wanted me to reach out to his friend Chester. I already had Mark and Mary, our neighbors, on the list. I figured that I would give my last slot to someone else or hang onto it, just in case.

  I was worried that if we invited all these people and found survivors tomorrow, or other times, that we wouldn’t have enough room for everyone. I guessed I could take one from Chris’playbook; plan for the worst and hope for the best.

  The phone calls to the kid’s friends were a little awkward. I got a hold of Jake’s family and I spoke to his mother, Amanda. She was pretty freaked out by what was on the news and had not let Jake out of her sight since yesterday, which was a good thing.

  She accepted what I was telling her with a lot more ease than I would have imagined. She wanted to bring along her parents, though. I told her that if she could get to them safely and didn't mind sharing a small two-bedroom apartment with them and the rest of her family, that they’d be welcome.

  She told me that it was just she and Jake. That her husband, Don and she had divorced a few years earlier and he now lived in Colorado. I did tell her that she couldn’t tell anyone else where she was going under any circumstance.

  She was taken aback a little with how firm I was on getting her to agree to this before I gave her the address.

  Once I explained that we have limited resources and couldn’t accommodate every person that showed up, even though I would like to, she seemed to understand. She cried quietly for a little while on the phone with me and she told me how worried she was about everything but how happy she was that Jake had made such a good friend that would think of him in a time like this.

  I wanted to hug this woman that I’d never met, but I would have to wait and hope she made it here with her family in one piece.

  As I hung up with her I questioned if I was sending her and her family to certain death by having them try to get here but quickly brushed the thought away. If they thought they had a chance to survive this at home, she would have said thank you, but no thank you. If this got as bad as I thought it was going to get, then making it here might be their only chance.

  The other calls went pretty much the same. I was amazed that I actually got through to everyone. I got a few busy signals now and then but I kept trying and got everyone I planned to call.

  It seemed like all of the people that we knew and trusted were smart enough to hunker down at home.

  They all said that they were coming and understood my instructions to take the back roads to get here. Most confirmed that there were already reports of lots of issues on the Turnpike and the Parkway.

  Apparently, people were scared to stay at home, even though the virus had not really hit in that area yet.

  It sounded like everyone was taking advice from Chris’s playbook.

  They told me the news down there was the same as before, with major cities being hit with large numbers of infected. The emergency services, along with law enforcement and the military were trying to contain the outbreaks as they happened. Most of the people I talked to said they had seen at least one or more military vehicles patrolling. There were no limitations on being out and about in central Jersey, but a lot of other major cities, especially where there were major airports, had already been issued curfews or were locked down entirely.

  This was getting really bad very quickly. We had only been at the cabin for one full day and major cities were already starting to fall.

  Plus, after yesterday’s escapades, we had already confirmed the virus was out here in the sticks too.

  After I finished my calls, I realized I hadn’t heard from Troy all day and that when I last spoke to him, I forgot to ask what number he could be reached at if I needed to call him.

  So now, I was feeling stupid and tired.

  I figured it was already ten o’clock. I might as well take a shower and get to bed.

  After all, I had to get up early in the morning and be ready for the unknown. I checked on the children in the living room one last time.

  Amelia, Gia, and Christian were all asleep on the floor in front of the TV. I made sure they were all covered up in their blankets and that they each didn’t have a fever, which they didn’t, and I headed off to bed myself.

  Chapter 10

  I made sure to keep my phone plugged in all night to charge and I awoke at four forty-five to my alarm chiming.

  This time, when I woke up, I knew where I was and I knew why I was up so early; definitely an improvement from yesterday.

  I jumped in the shower again, just to wake myself up as much as possible, and got all of my anti-zombie gear on.

  Just as I grabbed the duct tape from my nightstand, there was a gentle knock at my door. I opened it to Chris, already in his full SWAT gear, ready to go.

  “You knocking at my door first thing in the morning is going to be something I need to get used to.”

  “Well, you said you wanted to come, so I wanted to double check that you were still crazy enough to be on board.”

  “I’m definitely crazy enough,”I said with a smile.“I just need to get my helmet, check my gun, and tape up my wrists and ankles.”

  “Let me help,”Chris said as he took the tape from me. I might have had leather biking gloves on but every time he touched me, I seemed to tingle. I just kind of stood there, like an idiot, as he bent down to tape up my ankles.

  Then, he stood and put his hand out for my wrist and I just looked at him.

  His dark eyes were very bright today, his facial hair had gotten pretty scruffy over the last two days, which was surprising since he was so clean-shaven the day I met him.

  “Can I have your wrist, or are you going to just stare at me?”He smiled from ear-to-ear when he said this. He knew what I was thinking and I think he was on the same page.

  Or, at least, I hoped so.

  No matter how awful that may be, it made me feel really good to know that I was still attractive to the opposite sex.

  “I’m sorry, I was... ugh... lost in thought. What are the plans for going out to the daycare? Do you have directions to get there?”He looked at me funny since he knew I was just trying to break up the awkward moment, but he didn’t say anything, which was nice. I don’t like defending my emotions before six am on Sundays.

  “Yeah, I spoke to Amelia last night before she went to sleep and she said the name of the sc
hool is Kindergarten Beginnings. I looked it up online and found the address. It’s only about ten miles away. I didn’t think there was anything that closeto us, since your property is pretty big, but then I looked at the map. Sure enough, there's a strip mall where the preschool is, along with a sandwich place, karate studio, nail place, and dance studio. I have no idea how those kids made it this far as quickly as they did unless they ran full out the whole way, but we’ll find out. You know what, I am going to leave your gloves off until we are walking out the door, so you can have some breakfast. Do you want me to check your gun for you? How are you going to reload with those gloves on, by the way?”

  “I’m not planning on reloading, but yes, if you want to check my gun I would appreciate it. I can rip my gloves off in a bind if I need to.”

  “If we get into trouble, Abby, I want you to stay as close to me as you can, okay? I’m serious, back-to-back if need be. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know if I get into trouble. I promise. Hey, do you have any extra SWAT helmets with the clear visor? My helmet doesn’t give me the best visibility on the sides.”

  “How about you stick with what you have for now since it covers your neck and we’ll see how it goes out there. Next time I’ll give you one if you need it. I’m not planning on letting you out of my sight so I’ll be your eyes all around.”

  Talk about over protective, but then I thought about it. I remembered hitting the first zombie yesterday with the ax and how much spatter there was. I did not want any of the gore that can come out of those things on my skin at all.

  “You’re right, I’ll stick with mine for now. What about you, your neck is exposed? Remember that a single bite means death. If you get any of the blood in you somehow that also means death. You’re worried about me, but it looks like I need to worry about you.”

  “Thanks, but no worries. I have an extra vest that goes over my shoulders and covers my neck. It’s normally for close encounters, riot gear stuff. I was going to wait to put that on until we were ready to walk out since it is pretty bulky. It’s good to know I have someone worried about me, other than Christine.”

  Now, the warm and fuzzies were back, oh geez.

  Even nice words from this guy got me going.

  Oh boy, I’ve got it bad, apparently! I thought but quickly dismissed those feelings as I got my game face on, grabbed my helmet, and tucked my gun in my back waistband after Chris looked it over.

  He was impressed with how clean it was. I told him I knew a thing or two about guns very smugly.

  Truth was, I only know how to clean, shoot, and reload. I had no idea about the names of all of them, or what the different calibers meant.

  I just wanted to hopefully make him feel less worried that he was taking a helpless woman along to get killed. I also hoped, for my own sake, that was not what was going to happen.

  We met up with Tom in the kitchen.

  Dan was there also, with a cup of coffee in his hand and it smelled so good.

  Nothing like a cup of coffee before you go hunt some zombies!

  We all had a light breakfast and we were headed out the front door within fifteen minutes of sitting down.

  I put my gloves back on and Tom taped me up.

  We were ready to go, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether I was truly ready for this?

  However, there was no time to deliberate that now. I had to be ready. There were possibly more people out there that needed help and we could provide it.

  We walked out to the porch in the just now rising sunshine.

  It was a beautiful, clear, cool morning that made me almost forget what was happening in other parts of the country and the world right now.

  Right at this moment there were people being torn to shreds by friends and family members ravaged by this man-made virus. It was infuriating. I kept thinking of Cooper, restrained in the surgical suite just below my feet. He was a little boy just yesterday, with hopes, dreams, and a family that loved him.

  Now, he was a monster that only wanted to destroy every human or living thing it his path. This was how the world was going to be from now on and it made me very angry.

  As Chris gave Tom and myself directions of what our plan was to get to the daycare, I stewed in this anger.

  All I could think of was wanting to know who the bastard was that thought of this virus and actually created it for the sole purpose of destroying people.

  Tom touched me lightly on the shoulder to bring me out of my fury.

  “You listening, Abby?”

  “Yeah, sorry. Same thing as last time;no talking and stay close to Chris.”

  Tom and Chris both looked at me like they knew what was going on in my head but said nothing. I guess they had seen that look on other people’s faces before and knew that there was nothing they could do to remedy it, other than put me to work.

  We left out the far gate that was all the way out past the lake. I got to finally see the area where the animals were kept. Apparently, we had a few horses, a few cows, some pigs, and sheep, as well as chickens. I was living on a mini farm, it seemed.

  As we passed the area with all of the animals, Tom looked back at me and proudly declared that he took care of them all.

  Somehow I knew he would have this job, too. Apparently, he was good with animals and kids.

  The jog through the woods was long, but not too bad. We stopped for a water break about forty-five minutes after we left the cabin’s gates, but it was only for five minutes. Chris saw that I was winded, but we were back to our jog through the woods after a quick silent check of his compass.

  It seemed like it was only minutes after we started back out after our water break when Chris, who was in front, stopped dead in his tracks.

  I almost bumped into him but managed to stop just in time.

  I started to ask why we stopped but Chris turned to Tom and I motioning with his hands in a downward push.

  Tom crouched immediately next to the closest tree, drew his rifle, and looked through the scope.

  I crouched down and got my handgun out, mimicking Tom.

  Chris looked at me funny. It was a, ‘Really? What do you think you are going to do with that?’ kind of look.

  I just stuck my tongue out at him like a child. He probably couldn’t see it through my tinted visor, though.

  He put his fingers to his face in a shush motion and closed his eyes. He looked to be reaching out all of his senses but sight, to the forest.

  Soon, he opened his eyes and pointed to our right. Tom instantly pointed his weapon in that direction and after a few seconds, he held up four fingers.

  Chris leaned in close to me.

  “Stay right by this tree. Do not move and do not make a sound.”He whispered.

  I was definitely not going to argue with him, even though I was scared shitless that I’d be left by myself.

  Chris and Tom moved silently from their positions, Chris to the left and Tom to the right.

  They scared me again, with their ability to disappear into the woods right in front of me.

  I heard nothing for at least five minutes and I was starting to get antsy, staying in my designated spot, but then I heard it.

  There was a distinct shuffling in the underbrush to the right of where I was standing, perfectly still.

  I held my gun out in front of me but pointed it at the ground since I didn’t have a true target. I could definitely tell the shuffling was getting closer but I still couldn’t see anything. I was about to lift my visor so I could hear better when I saw a black blur across my vision.

  As I tried to focus on what it was, an infected man came into my view. The trees were blocking most of it but it was definitely a man and he was definitely infected. He walked with the shuffle that the others I had seen before had and as he got closer I could tell that its eyes were hazed over bluish-white.

  I confirmed to myself that the longer you were infected with the virus, the worse your eye
sight became. This gave me hope that these things would at some point eventually deteriorate into bones and die a final death due to decay. If the eyes decayed like normal, deceased human body tissue, hopefully so did everything else. This might just give us a chance at beating these things by outliving them, if possible.

  It still had not seen me, but I unknowingly adjusted the weight from my left foot to my right and a twig I had been standing on cracked. The sound was very soft to me but apparently to the undead man, now fifty feet from me it might as well have been a gong.

  The infected stopped, cocked his head, and began jogging in my direction faster than I could imagine something in its state could go.

  I started to panic, but remembered the gun in my hands and brought it up to aim. There was a thunk sound in the trees near me to my left and the zombie went down, sliding through the dry leaves on the forest floor, now without unmoving. I looked up and saw there was three more jogging as fast as they could in my direction. I aimed for the forehead of the one leading the pack and pulled the trigger. The sound of the silencer on my gun was the same quiet thunk I’d heard earlier. Two more shots and all three of the remaining infected went down for good, just behind their buddy, who bit the dust first.

  I immediately scanned the surrounding area. In my brain, I was expecting to turn and see I was surrounded by hundreds of these things, but I saw nothing. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and feel it all over my body.

  I felt like I wasn’t getting enough oxygen, so as soon as I did a full scan of the area around me, and saw nothing but the four dead, I ripped my helmet off and took huge gasps of air.

  Chris was by my side in seconds asking if I was okay. I couldn’t get out the words to answer him, so I just made the okay sign with my hand and put my head between my knees. My breathing slowed after a few minutes and I was able to stand up straight. I grabbed the bottle of water from the small backpack I had on and drank greedily.

  “Are you sure you are okay? You don’t look so good.”Chris said with a very worried expression.