Z Strain

by SJ Morris

  “Sweetie, what’s your name? We’re here to help you.”

  “Like you were here to help Tony and Jake! You didn’t help them! You killed them! You’re monsters, just like everyone else!”

  “These poor boys were gone long before we came here and you know that. Somewhere deep inside, you know that. They were infected with a virus that made them try to kill you and every living person around you. That’s why you were hiding. They were gone long ago, sweetie. We just helped them finally rest.”

  This seemed to quiet her down some. She just looked up at me and finally stopped rocking. She looked down at the faces of these two little boys. Their eyes were still opened and whitened with the decay of death. Their mouths still hung open too, with bits of flesh hanging from them.

  She seemed to finally, truly see what she was cradling and pushed the bodies away from her, backing up quickly.

  Reality seemed to hit her fast and hard.

  All at once, she noticed the death that surrounded her and the awful smell that came with it.

  She stood quickly, with her arms out, dripping with blackened blood, as if she thought by holding them away from herself, she would magically be cleaned.

  She looked up at me again and immediately threw up what little was left in her stomach since yesterday.

  “Oh my God! This is awful. What’s happening?”

  “What’s your name, sweetie, and are there more people hiding in here that you know of?”

  “I... I ... My name’s Megan and I think there was a woman in the closet in the hallway. I saw her run and lock herself inside as I was running in here to hide from the parents. They were tearing through everyone else. They were tearing through their own children. Oh my God! Everyone is dead!”

  “Shh, it’s okay Megan. We’re going to find some water to get you cleaned up and we’re going to check out the rest of the school for any more people hiding like you were. Where’s the bathroom?”

  “There’s a bathroom in the back office that has a shower in it, is that okay? Is it okay if I shower?”

  She seemed like she was bordering on complete hysteria, her mind only allowing itself to focus on one thing at a time, which was a good defense mechanism for this awful new reality.

  “Yes, showering is good, Megan. Why don’t you show me where it is and these two gentlemen will look in that hall closet you were talking about?”

  “Okay, it’s over this way.”

  She started leading the way out of the classroom and Chris motioned to me as I passed him. He whispered to me that they had checked the office already and it was all clear, they even checked the bathroom and there were no infected. This was good to hear. Now, I just needed to get Megan showered up so we could figure out what to do next.

  I followed her to the office and helped her out of her clothes. She seemed as if she was truly going into shock now. She had the hundred-yard stare going and had stopped talking.

  I asked her questions about where the towels were and she just stood there, naked, and pointed at the closet by the sink.

  I turned the water on fairly hot and was glad to find that even though the power was out, that the hot water heater was still working. I pushed her into the shower, under the water and she just stood there.

  I went to get the towel and drew my gun, just in case there was something or someone in the closet.

  Luckily, it only opened to a bulk supply of diapers, wipes, toilet paper, paper towels, and bath towels.

  There was a box labeled lost and found at the bottom of the closet and I was lucky enough to find a shirt big enough that I supposed should fit Megan, but no luck on pants or shorts. There was also a box of latex gloves that I took out and opened.

  I took off my leather gloves and replaced them with the latex. I didn’t want to get any of that blood on me. I still wasn’t sure of what this virus was capable of, so I was airing on the side of caution.

  The thought of it becoming airborne crossed my mind and I had to push it away quickly or I would be in the same boat as our new friend Megan. When I returned to her she was still just standing in the shower, with her hands curled up to her chest, under the stream of water.

  I pulled the shower head down and began to rinse her off. The black blood washed away quickly, but it seemed to be everywhere. I found some soap and tried to hand it to her but she just stood and stared.

  Therefore, I soaped her up and rinsed her off. I let her stand there in the water while I did my best to wash out her pants and the shirt she was wearing.

  Chris came in to see how things were going just as I was getting her wet pants back on.

  “We’ll be ready to go in a few minutes. Were you able to look around really good for other people hiding?”

  “Yes. There was a woman in the closet and it turns out that she’s Cooper's mother. I didn’t say anything to her about her son, but if she is coming back with us I don’t see a way around telling her.”

  “Is she coming back with us? Did you ask her?”

  “I didn’t yet. She’s sitting in the hallway. We gave her some water and she is in a daze, trying to take it all in, I guess.”

  “Yeah, Megan here is not doing so well. I think we need to get her out of here and somewhere she can rest. She stopped talking, so I am going to take her back with us. Once she feels better she can make the decision to stay or go.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Tom found a little boy hiding in a closet of one of the other classrooms. He’s trying to coax the little guy to come out with some candy, but he doesn’t seem to want to move. Do you think once you’re done with Megan you could help him?”

  “Sure thing. As soon as she’s dressed, I’ll bring her out.”

  I finished getting Megan’s clothes on, no small task when you are trying to dress an adult in wet clothes. She just let me move her arms and legs where they needed to go but didn’t seem to register what was going on.

  I walked her out into the hallway where, thankfully, Chris had covered up the bodies of the infected with some blankets. I wasn’t sure what reaction this fragile girl would have if she saw them again.

  I walked into the classroom where I heard Tom’s soft voice coming from and saw him crouched down, helmet off, and gun hidden behind his back.

  He was holding out a Hershey bar to the closet and saying how yummy it was. I tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if I could have a try. He stood up and backed away. He looked defeated that he couldn’t get this little boy to move from his hiding spot.

  I got on my knees and peered through the wooden slots on the door, I gave it a little knock.

  “Who’s there? Go away!”

  “It’s okay, sweetie. We’re here to help you.”

  The closet doors slammed open almost knocking me over and the little boy came rushing out.

  “Mommy, Mommy! I knew you would come and get me!”He screamed.

  I just looked at the little boy, who hugged me as tight as he could. I didn’t have it in me to tell him I wasn’t his Mommy, not at that moment.

  Tom reached over and touched my shoulder to point out that the boy was covered in black blood and his shirt was torn in the back. I couldn’t let go of the boy, though.

  Even if there was the threat that he was infected, I just couldn’t do it.

  He didn’t feel warm, so he didn’t have the tell-tale fever and when he finally pulled back from hugging me he looked me right in the eyes. There was no fear in them, only relief. He had a huge smile on his face and I felt tears well in my eyes.

  “Are you hurt at all?”I managed to choke out through the tears I was fighting to keep from pouring out.

  “No, Gia’s Daddy tried to grab and bite me but he only got my shirt. Miss Kim put me in the closet and told me to stay there until someone came and got me. No one came for a long time, but you are here now, Mommy.”

  “What’s your name young man?”

  “Michael.”

  “Michael, you know I am not your Mommy, righ
t?”

  “Yes, not my first Mommy. My first Mommy got hurt really bad in the parking lot. Miss Kim told me she was really sick and couldn’t get up. You are my second Mommy. You’re going to take care of me, right?”

  “I will, Michael. We will keep you safe. Hey, do you know where your dad might be?”

  “I don’t have one. My first Mommy always said that I was her gift from God and that I didn’t need a Daddy.”

  This poor kid had just lost everyone he knew in the last day, just like I imagined so many others had, as well.

  It looks like I now have four children, not counting the other three back at the cabin we didn’t know if their parents were still alive or not.

  That reminded me. I wanted to go back to the office and see if I could find the emergency contact paperwork for the kids. It would have names, addresses, and phone numbers, so we could try to find the children’s parents, if at all possible.

  “Ok, Michael. Do you see this big strong man over here?”I pointed to Tom who still had the candy bar out in front of him.“His name is Tom and he’s a very good friend of mine. He would never hurt you or let anyone else hurt you, okay?”

  He nodded in agreement

  “There’s another man with us and his name is Chris, he wouldn’t hurt you, either. Now, make sure that you stay close to us, so we can take a look around some more and then head back to our house, okay?”

  “Okay. Mr. Tom? Can I have a bite of that candy bar? I am really hungry.”

  Tom immediately lit up like a Christmas tree. He was so happy that this little boy was not scared of him anymore. The candy bar made the two fast friends and after it was gone, Michael grabbed Tom’s hand and just stood next to him. I took this time to look over Michael pretty good for any bites or scratches and he thankfully had none.

  I asked Tom to take his new best friend to the bathroom and get him cleaned up a little. I also mentioned that there were a few shirts in the box in the closet for him to get Michael changed, into so he had decent clothes.

  We did a pretty thorough check of the rest of the building and found no one else alive.

  There were now more than ten infected walking past the main doors, though.

  I assumed they were attracted by the noise, but still couldn't pinpoint it, since they were not trying to get inside, yet.

  I grabbed three book bags and went through the bins in the classrooms that held extra clothes for each child. I stuffed them in the book bags and grabbed a bunch of coloring books and crayons, as well. I gave a book bag to Michael, and he was happy to be able to help.

  He had not let go of Tom’s hand yet, though, not even to put the book bag on. He just switched hands, which was cute.

  I gave one to Cooper’s mom. I found out her name was Nicole Meyer. She was still very quiet but said thank you to Chris and Tom for getting her out of the closet.

  I put the last one on Megan. She still was not talking or moving on her own. I had to put the book bag on her and clip the strap over her chest so it would stay on. She just continued to stare. She was beginning to worry me, but she still didn’t have a fever, so it seemed like it was all stress and the shock of what had happened.

  PTSD was going to be the new normal for a lot of people if they survived.

  We went out the back, the way we came.

  Chris had already taken all of the IDs from the dead that were in the building and out in the playground. Tom picked up Michael and covered his eyes so he couldn’t see the bodies outside and told him it was a game of peek-a-boo.

  Our group of three had set out this morning to see if we could help the kids find their families and we were only coming back with three more people and a handful of IDs from the dead. I didn’t know what to expect when we decided to come out here, but I couldn’t help but feel like we pretty much failed.

  Chapter 11

  We made it back to the house in just over three hours.

  It was one o’clock by the time we walked through the front gates and we were all very tired and very hungry.

  Michael had fallen asleep in Tom’s arms shortly after we left the preschool and Tom carried him the whole way back.

  Almost everyone from the house was out front when we walked in.

  Michael woke up and was ecstatic to see some of his friends. He wiggled in Tom’s arms until he was put down and ran over to them, giving each of them a big hug.

  They were all very happy to see him, too.

  Amelia started in immediately on how much fun it was to stay here at the cabin, that we had animals, and she wanted to show him around.

  Allycia followed the kids into the house after she looked me over and made sure I was okay, which was nice of her.

  Cooper’s Mom, Nicole just seemed to stand still and take it all in. She turned to me and spoke softly.

  “You were ready for this, weren’t you? You knew something was going to happen, didn’t you?”

  I started to explain, but told her it would probably be better if I showed her. It was hard for her to accept that someone knew this would happen and didn’t share that information with the rest of the world.

  It took some convincing, but she finally understood why we all did what we did. Just as I was about to come clean about Cooper, my cell phone started to ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Abby, it’s Troy. I need help. I’m about an hour away from you, but I am stuck with a flat tire and there’s infected wandering around. I’ve stayed quiet but they’re not going to not notice me forever. I don’t think I could get out of my car to get away or kill them without getting killed myself.”His voice was hushed but very worried.

  “Okay, Troy. Stay calm. What’s around you? Do you know what cross street is near you, or does your GPS have latitude and longitude? I think Chris has something that can find you with that.”

  “Awesome. Yes. My GPS has that. Let me find it.”

  “What’s around you? I may know where you are if you explain what you’re near.”

  “Well, there's an overturned pickup and I think barbed wire in the road. I saw the wreck and tried to speed past it and didn’t see the wire until it was too late.”

  “Aw shit. Sorry, Troy. I might have left that stuff on the road. The accident with the pickup wasn’t my fault, though, and I didn’t exactly have a whole lot of time to clear the road once we fixed the flat we got from the same wire.”

  “Great. So, I assume you’re responsible for the dead guy with half his head missing in the middle of the road then?”

  “Yep, that would be me. If you turn around and look back at the truck, there should be another one with an arrow sticking through the top of his head, my son Lance took care of that one.”

  “Well, I guess I’m glad I’m on my way to joining such a ruthless group…If I ever get to you guys.”

  “You’ll get here, Troy. I’m looking for Chris right now so we can leave and come get you.”I quietly excused myself from Nicole and ran after Chris.

  “Thanks, Abby. I really am lucky to have met you and your husband all those years ago.”

  “Don’t start that crap. How manyinfected are around and do they seem to know that you’re there?”

  “There are five or six, going back and forth from one side of the street to the other. They know I’m here, I think, but they can’t find me. I got my windows tinted a while ago, so they can’t see inside and as soon as the tire blew, I pulled off to the side of the road and turned the car off. I started to get out when I saw one of them walking out of the tree line across the street. I’ve been trying to make as little noise as possible and staying put.”

  “Yeah, it seems like they are not that good at finding prey with their eyes, but their hearing seems to be amazing, so they probably heard the tire blow. That’s why they came out and are hanging around.”

  “Good to know.”

  I found Chris and told him what was going on. We were going to head out as soon as he gassed up the Jeep.

  It was a hard-top, mi
litary-issued, Jeep Wrangler, so it seemed fairly safe.

  Plus, it looked pretty damn cool.

  It was painted in tan camo and looked as fortified as any tank.

  I found my kids and told them what was going on.

  Lance wanted to come, but I wouldn’t let him.

  I convinced him to stay by telling him that I needed him to protect the cabin.

  Dan was monitoring the cameras, as well as any news feeds from television and the internet he could get. He was busy with all of that and documenting everything he could find, to keep a record of the outbreak.

  He was also, more importantly, looking for information about anyone finding a cure or more information about the infected, that may help us get through this.

  Justin and Kristen were taking care of the kids, as well as getting the other newcomers settled and cleaned up, so I needed Lance to be the front line of defense if something happened.

  I also reminded him that he had to welcome all of the new visitors that were on their way to us since hopefully, they would start showing up soon.

  Allycia just shrugged her shoulders when I said I was going out again, told me to be safe, and kissed me goodbye. This reminded me that I needed to make time to sit and talk with my little girl. She seemed to be drifting away quickly. I was lucky to have Chris’s daughter there for her, or she might have shut down completely by now.

  Tyler was more than happy to say goodbye to me. He was helping Dan with the cameras and monitoring the news coverage. He liked learning about all of Dan’s surveillance toys. I was worried he was seeing too much of what was going on, but I figured if he didn’t know as much as possible, it could possibly cost him his life someday.

  This time out, Chris wanted to get me suited up with the same riot gear he had on since I had insisted on putting myself in danger again.

  Dan was more my body type, even though he was much taller than me. His chest and neck-guard along, with his helmet were an okay fit. I had plenty of room to put the gear on over my leathers that I hadn’t even had a chance to take off since our first trip out. I grabbed a few granola bars and some water bottles before heading out.