Apocalypse Z (A Zombie Novel)

by Swanson, G. E.

  Mark smiled and said, “Don’t worry. If you do, I’ll suck the venom out.”

  She smirked as she walked away and said, “Yeah, I’m sure you will.”

  Mark and Jeff waited on the other side of the van and kept watch for any cars that might happen to pass by. When everyone was accounted for, Mark pulled back onto the road. After an hour, Lisa turned on the radio and started checking for a station that might be on the air. Mark didn’t think she would find anything, but it kept her mind busy.

  They drove for hours and saw mostly countryside with an occasional small town dividing the fields. When Mark saw a truck stop, he slowed and pulled off the freeway. Stopping behind a yellow building, Mark and Lisa watched a fuel pump midway across a large parking lot for a few minutes. Neither one saw any activity in the area so Mark got out and went over to it.

  After standing there for a minute, he waved for them to come over. Lisa drove the van over and parked by the pump. Jeff jumped from the back and took the generator over by the pump. He popped the cover off and began hooking up the wires directly to the pump motor. It only took him a few minutes to get it going and the van filled up. Once they were back on the freeway, Lisa kept an eye out for nicer hotels close to the road.

  Just as they were on the verge of leaving one of the larger towns, Lisa tapped on the window with her finger as she said, “That one! Right there.”

  “Why that particular one?” he asked.

  She leaned over and glanced into the back before whispering in his ear with a seductive tone, “Suites with satin sheets.”

  He saw her smile and the look in her eyes. The sound of her sweet voice and warm breath in his ear woke something inside him. Glancing into the rearview mirror, he said, “Okay, guys, we’re stopping here for the night.”

  After driving around the hotel, he parked the van down in a loading dock behind some trash dumpsters. They made their way to the front and slipped in through the door. Mark and Jeff raised their rifles and Lisa her pistol as they checked and cleared the lobby. They made their way over to the check-in counter.

  Jeff stepped around behind it and went through all of the drawers. He took several stacks of plastic cards out of one and set them on the counter. Mark picked them up and threw them back down. “Shit! These locks are on a keycard system and we don’t have any power.”

  Lisa ran behind the counter and looked for herself. “There has to be keys, even on a card system, there has to be some master keys for the doors. Look for a big ring somewhere.”

  They heard Amy say, “Maybe they have them.” They looked over to where she was pointing and saw three zombies, dressed hotel uniforms, coming down the hallway. When they entered the lobby, they split up. One headed toward the counter and the other two went toward Dedee and Amy.

  Tami raised her pipe and swung at its head as she ran toward it. The zombie reached up and grabbed the pipe. Tami shrieked and instinctively kicked it in the groin. It froze in place and moaned, making it an easy target as Sheryl jabbed the sharpened blade into its forehead.

  Black tar oozed out from the slit and ran over its brow and down its nose, before dripping on the floor. It slowly leaned back and fell like a board. Tami’s stomach tightened, she fought hard, but spewed on the polished granite floor anyway.

  Jet said as she laughed, “My gawd, the zombies have nards!”

  Dedee swung the bat at an upward angle and hit the bottom of its chin. There was a crunch as the lower jaw went behind the top teeth and up into the skull to the point where the chin almost disappeared. It began jerking wildly before falling to the side.

  Mark took his knife and tried to thrust it up through its chin, but the zombie grabbed his hand. He struggled, but it was a stalemate. Lisa came up from behind the zombie, drove her knife into the base of the skull at an upward angle, and wiggled the blade. The zombie went limp and dropped to the floor.

  Mark stepped back and stared at it. “What the hell? That thing was pretty damned strong for a zombie, and it acted like it knew I was trying to kill it.”

  Lisa wiped the blade and slid it back into the sheath. “I don’t know. Maybe a fresh turn? The color is pale, but it hasn’t started to rot or smell, so there are probably more of them around.”

  Tami came over to them and said, “Mine did the same thing. It reached up and grabbed the pipe.”

  Mark and Lisa checked the pockets, but they didn’t find any keys. Lisa went over to a closed door behind the counter and checked it. She said, “This one’s locked, might be a manager’s office though.” She picked up a large fire extinguisher and went back to the door. “Well, here goes nothing.” She threw it against the door as hard as she could. The door held, but the doorframe by the latch gave way with a crack as the wood splintered and it swung open.

  A fast moving zombie charged out from the office and took Lisa down to the floor. It took both of her hands to hold the head back so it couldn’t bite her. Mark saw it and thought to himself. You bastards have taken almost everything away from me; I’ll be damned if you’re going to take my Lisa. He set his rifle on the counter as he ran over, grabbed it by the back of the shirt, and pulled it up. It had such a tight grip on Lisa; she was pulled up with it. It took both her and Mark to keep it from biting her.

  Tami ran over with her pipe, but couldn’t get a clear strike. Mark yelled, “Put it across its mouth! Put the pipe in its mouth!”

  She did and Mark quickly grabbed the ends and pulled the pipe back toward him. This gave him more leverage, and he was able to pull the zombie back away from Lisa. He felt the back of its skull up against his chest. Mark grunted and pulled the pipe back as hard as he could. There was a loud crack as its jaw broke and popped out of its socket.

  The head jerked wildly and the lower jaw swung around as it hung by a few strands of muscle tissue. The tongue flip-flopped and twisted around inside the swinging jaw. The zombie reached back and grabbed Mark’s shirt then began to tug on it. Mark dropped the pipe and grabbed it by the side of the head, then started slamming its face on the top of the check-in counter. It made a wet thwack sound with every impact as the rotting tissue began turning to mush.

  Mark felt his muscles getting tired and his arms and chest were very sore. He didn’t know how much strength he had left, but this thing was not going to die easily and he wasn’t going to stop until it was dead. He grunted and continued to slam its face into the counter. Black goo splattered outwards with every impact. Finally, he started to hear a cracking sound when its face made contact with the counter.

  After slamming into the counter over a dozen times, the zombie finally went limp. He dropped it and let it fall to the floor as he stepped back. Almost out of breath, he shook his head and puffed as he leaned on the counter. “Damned son of a bitch didn’t want to die.”

  He heard it hiss from the floor; taking his foot, he stomped its head until the skull collapsed. Gray goo, mixed with the black, shot out in every direction on the floor. Tami saw the mess and ran to the other side of the counter where she started throwing up.

  After he wiped the bottom of his boot on a clean section of carpet, he looked at Lisa. With tired eyes, he gestured to the open door and said, “After you.”

  She looked at the mess on the counter and floor, then back up at Mark before going in. Jeff followed her while Mark leaned against the counter, slowly catching his breath. Lisa went through the desk and found a large ring with keys. When she came out through the door, she was smiling and holding the ring out on her index finger. She asked Mark, “Are you ready?” He nodded and stood up. She said, “Good, now let’s go up to the eighth floor and find our room.”

  He moaned. “Eighth floor?”

  She said with a smirk, “C’mon, I’ll even hold the door to the stairs open for you.”

  Jeff said, “You guys go ahead, me and Jet are going to check out the kitchen and see and what we can find.”

  Jet asked, “Anyone want to join us?”

  Amy ran over to them. “I will.”
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  Jeff, Amy, and Jet started down the hallway opposite of where the three zombies came in. They passed a gift shop and lounge before they came to the restaurant. As they entered, they noticed a sour smell in the air so they proceeded cautiously, watching and listening for any movement as they made their way around the tables.

  They came to a set of doors that led into the kitchen area. As soon as they entered, the sour smell became more pungent. Jeff had his rifle ready, Amy remained close behind him, and Jet kept to his side with her sword drawn. They checked the food service area and almost gagged as they came across several counters full of molded and rotting, meat and produce. Amy had one hand over her mouth and the other pinching her nose as she gagged.

  Moving as quickly and quietly as they could, they held their breath and went back to the food storage area. The smell was still in the air, but not quite as strong. They all took a in a breath of air as their eyes watered. Going farther back, they found six carts full of canned food. After taking a quick inventory, Jeff sighed.

  “What’s wrong?” Jet asked.

  Jeff pointed to the cans as he spoke, “Whole kernel corn, Spanish corn, creamed corn, and mixed vegetables with corn. I’m kinda getting sick of nothing but vegetables. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate having food to eat, but where’s the frickin’ meat? Guys need meat, ya know.”

  Holding a can of creamed corn, Amy stared at him. “You know, that does sound kinda good right now.”

  Jet looked into his eyes and saw his disappointment. She said, “Okay, we’ll see if we can find some canned meat.”

  They looked over everything on nearby carts before moving to some metal shelves mounted on the wall. There they found some tuna and some canned pork. Satisfied with the find, they started for the doorway leading back into the food prep area. As they took a breath before entering, they heard something metal hit the floor toward the back of the room.

  Jeff turned with his rifle up and Jet raised her sword. They looked at each other in silence. Jeff motioned for Amy to stay there and for Jet to follow him. Looking down the barrel, he worked his way to where the sound had come from. They passed the large racks of canned goods and went around a corner.

  Jeff stopped and held up his hand for Jet to stay where she was at. He took a few steps forward and kicked a galvanized trashcan before he said, “Okay, you two come out real slow and I want to see your hands.”

  Jet watched as he stood there, looking down the barrel of his rifle. For a minute, there was no movement or sound, except for Jeff’s breathing. Then she saw a man slowly climbing out from under a portable counter with his hands raised. He looked like he wasn’t much older than Mark, probably twenty or so. A few seconds later, a girl about the same age as the man crawled out, holding her hands over her head.

  She said, “Please don’t hurt us.” She slowly took off her wedding ring and held it out. “Here… I’ll give you this… just please, don’t hurt us.”

  Jeff lowered his rifle and said to her, “Put it back on. We’re not here to rob or hurt you.” Then he asked, “What are you doing here anyway?”

  The man let out a sigh of relief and said, “We escaped from the compound south of Bakersfield and have been on the move ever since.”

  Jeff said, “We saw it, what’s the story with that?”

  The lady said in a shaky voice, “The zombies started breaking through the fence. The Army guys held them off for days until they ran out of bullets. There were thousands of them that came through the gate and broke down the fence.”

  The man added, “Yeah, we just barely made it out before the planes got there and fire bombed it.”

  Jet asked, “Were there more people with you?”

  “Yeah, about fifty or sixty of us made it out. We stuck together for the first twelve hours and then we split up. Some of us came this way; a few others went south. We’re headed for Canada; I hear there’s a zombie-free zone up there.”

  Jet sighed and asked, “How many people were in that camp?”

  The lady said in a soft voice, “About 36,000.”

  Jet closed her eyes and cringed. “Jeff, I need to go up to the room. I’m feeling kinda sick.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Lisa ran over to the front doors and started going through the keys on the ring. Once she found the right one, she locked them so nothing could come in. Tami and Sheryl grabbed the bags and they all started for the stairs. Lisa drew her pistol and took the lead while Mark and Dedee brought up the rear.

  When they got to the second floor landing, Lisa heard something a couple of floors up. She held her finger to her lips and pointed up. She quietly looked up between the flights of stairs. At first glimpse it was clear; she took a couple of more steps then saw a face peer over the rail, looking down at her. Most of the skin had been torn off the face and the muscle tissue had a dry black scaly look to it. They eyes were blue-white and one had started to wrinkle up more than the other.

  She thought to herself. This is definitely the fugliest rot-bag I’ve run across yet. When it hissed, it sent chills down her spine. Dedee looked up to see what Lisa was pointing at. When she saw it, she shrieked and jumped back as she shuttered.

  Tami looked up and said, “Oh my gawd, something ate its face off.”

  They went up to the floor just below it. Lisa said, “No problem, one shot and its out of commission.”

  Mark said, “No, Lisa, this is concrete and bullets can ricochet off the walls and stairs.”

  “Fine, Dedee, give me your bat.”

  She holstered her pistol and started up the stairs with the bat in her hands. When she was halfway up the last flight of steps that led to the landing it was on, she stopped. It stood there waiting for her and hissing. She swung at it a few times, but it always grabbed for the bat. She realized she had to be on the landing to hit it with the bat, but first she had to take it out so she could get on that landing.

  She stood there for a minute thinking, and then had an idea. She took one step up and started to jab at it with the end of the bat. She hit the legs a few times before it was able to grab a hold of the bat. Making sure it had a tight grip; Lisa dropped to her knees and hugged the wall while she used her weight and strength to pull back on the bat.

  This threw the zombie off balance and it teetered on the edge of the landing before falling forward. It hit the steps hard and slid down the rest of the flight face-first, bouncing over every step. Sheryl ran up and jabbed the blade of her shears into its ear. She pushed as she wiggled the handle and it made a wet squishy sound as she drove it in deeper.

  Tami leaned over and started to dry heave. Mark quickly said, “Tami, please, don’t. We still have to walk on those steps.”

  Tami covered her mouth with both hands and retched several more times before she stopped. With watery eyes and bile breath, she said, “Don’t worry, I swallowed it.” She fanned herself as she took a breath. “I need some water; I still have some chunks at the back of my throat.”

  Mark felt the saliva in his mouth getting thick and his stomach tighten, but he held it back. They stepped around the corpse and made their way to the eighth floor. There were three doors in the hallway, so Lisa chose the middle one. She opened the door and she stepped in first. It seemed quiet and Mark stepped in behind her.

  Everyone else stayed out in the hallway by the door and waited. Lisa went into one of the bedrooms to check it and immediately came running back out as she shrieked. Mark heard the commotion and brought up his rifle as it chased her into the living room area. She saw him and screamed, “Not in here! I don’t want zombie spatter all over the leather couch.”

  She ran out the door, followed by Mark as he kept his rifle aimed at it. When he stepped out into the hallway, he caught one of the bags with his foot, fell backward to the floor, and dropped his rifle. As it came up and leaned over him, he brought up his right foot and kicked in it the chest, pushing it back. Lisa said as he took aim, “Checkout time” and fired a shot. The zombie flew back through th
e air and bounced when it hit the floor.

  She stepped in front of Mark and held her hand out. “Now just look at this, laying around when we have all this stuff to carry in.” She grinned.

  Mark took her hand and she helped him to his feet. He grabbed two of the bags and Tami grabbed the third. Lisa took a look at the bedrooms as Mark and Tami set the bags down by the couch. She pointed to one of the rooms as she said, “That one right there is ours.”

  Mark went in and fell onto the bed; he started to grit his teeth as he rubbed his thigh. He took some deep breaths and heard a knock at the door. Dedee went over and opened it, Jeff walked in and set the cans of food on the coffee table. Amy and Jet brought in some plates and silverware from the restaurant. The man and woman followed them in and sat on the couch.

  Jet said, “Hey, this is Gary and Sharon. We found them down in the kitchen. They escaped from that burned out compound we saw and they’re on their way to Canada.”

  Jeff held up a can of pork and said, “We got some meat with our veggies tonight.”

  Tami shook her head. “No thanks, I’m not really that hungry right now.”

  Dedee grinned as she looked at Jeff. “Yeah, she ate on the way up.”

  XII

  After they all ate, Gary told them their story about the compound and how they had gotten to the hotel. Jeff and Lisa checked out the suite next to theirs and made sure it was empty before Gary and Sharon went in. Mark gave them a set of car keys he had found in the room that belonged to the zombie they had killed out in the hallway. Lisa gave them a candle and said she and Jeff would see them safely to the car in the morning.

  Mark and Jeff sat on the couch looking at a map, trying to figure out how much farther they had left to go. Lisa stood behind the couch and started to rub out some of the knots in Marks shoulders and neck. He grunted and winched as she rubbed. She told him that’s what happens when you beat the crap out of rot-bags with your bare hands.

  Tami and Sheryl had already gone to one of the three bedrooms and were asleep. Amy and Dedee excused themselves and were on their way to bed, but Jet decided she wanted to spend some quality time with Jeff first. Lisa told Mark she was going to bed and wanted to know when he would be joining her. He looked up from the map and said he would be there in five minutes.