The Walking Plague Trilogy

by J. R. Rain

  Although they had cleared the building of bodies, a stench began to rise from outside. Carla boiled water and orange peels to help sweeten the air.

  Anna’s sickness crept into her mind slowly. Everyone could see it. She cared less and less about anything. By the second day, she was already weak. Later that afternoon, Jack found Jared reading to her from a book he’d found in one of the rooms.

  “How you feeling, angel?” asked Jack, sitting down next to her.

  “I’ve been better,” she answered. Her voice was weak, monotone. She’s starting to not care, he thought as he brushed her hair back from her face. He wanted to remember the old Anna.

  Not yet, please not yet...

  “How about we take a little walk outside?” Jack suggested. “It’s safe right now.”

  Anna smiled a little but didn’t move.

  “That’s a good idea,” Jared said. “Come on.” He took her hand, helped her to stand up. They left the office and headed toward the front door. Joe was there with the keys and a rifle. Jack took comfort that his brother would cover the grounds while his niece took a walk. Maybe it would make her happy for a little while at least. Jack mused to himself that they all could use some fresh air, truth be told.

  * * *

  With Jared and Jack on either side, Anna wandered the grounds barefoot, although they mostly kept her close to the building. Anna seemed to be enjoying the cool, soft grass against her feet.

  She headed east, to a slope down the hill, flanked by her protectors. Suddenly, she stopped and cocked her head, listening.

  “Come on—” Jared started.

  “Don’t you hear it?” she said, cutting him off. “It’s beautiful!”

  Jack shushed them both. Yes, he thought he heard something, too. Down the embankment. He motioned for Jared and Anna to stay back while he took a few steps toward the sound, then paused and listened again.

  All was quiet, but something moved in the bushes nearby. Jack focused his eyes on the bushes and what he had seen. But there was nothing else; not even a bird chirped. He paused, staring at the bush and unable to shake the feeling he was being watched. Jack had to admit, he felt like he was being watched.

  Probably a rabbit or a fox, he told himself. Or a raccoon, maybe.

  He turned, took Anna’s hand and led her back. All the while, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

  * * *

  The agent in black named Cole crouched a little way away in the bushes. He felt exhilarated by what he had just learned. The girl named Anna was indeed infected. She heard the sound he was transmitting, the sound that would bring her first—and then everyone else. Not yet... but soon.

  He moved back to the camouflaged tent, merrily whistling a soft tune.

  * * *

  That evening, Anna had trouble staying focused.

  Jared did not leave her side for more than a few moments at a time. He talked with her, read to her, and finally let her sleep. When she could no longer eat or drink, he held her hand in the dark office. He knew what was coming. He knew he couldn’t stay with her for much longer. It was only when her eyes lost focus and she seemed to look through him rather than at him that he finally broke down. He held her tight for a moment. Then, in a fit of rage, she shoved him back against the office wall and growled. Jared dashed out, and closed the door.

  * * *

  Jack waited nearby, taking in Jared’s pale face and shaking hands, and hugged the boy for the first time. “It’s gonna be all right, son.”

  Jared nodded bravely. “I know. It’s just hard... we haven’t even talked about how we are going to contain her. The door opens inward so we can’t put stuff against it to block her exit.”

  He allowed Jack to lead him to the eating area, a picnic table and some folded chairs Carla had dug out from storage.

  “Don’t worry about it, Jared,” said Jack. “We’ve taken care of that.” Jack guided the kid to one of the chairs, where Carla set a bowl of vegetable beef soup in front of him.

  “Thank you,” said Jared, sounding distracted.

  “Tomorrow, I’m going down to the Zoo and run a sweep,” said Jack. “I’d like for you to come with me, Jared.”

  “The zoo? But I want to stay—”

  “I know you do. But there’s nothing more you can do right now. You need to get your mind and your butt out of here. You can help me get things ready. For Anna.”

  Jared nodded. Still, a worried look crossed his face. He looked away to avoid Jack’s gaze. “I’m worried about my parents, too,” he said. “I haven’t heard from them in almost two weeks.”

  Carla and I locked eyes in surprise. She sat down next to the boy and took his hands.

  “Why didn’t you tell us about them earlier, Jared?”

  “There’s been so much going on,” he answered, his voice cracking. “And when Anna got bitten, suddenly the focus was on her and our security sweeps, and then our supplies and... two weeks got away from me. And I don’t know where they are. Or even, if they’re alive and okay. I feel so frigging guilty because I am... I am letting go of them. Moving on. Making all of you my family.”

  “But, they’re your parents.”

  “Only in name,” said Jared, sounding bitter. “I was a source of constant disappointment for my dad. Mom and I never really connected. She always worked. She always took his side. There was no....”

  “No what?” asked Carla, gently.

  “No love, I guess. Nothing like what I see in this family.”

  His words touched Jack, and appeared to affect Carla even more deeply. Jack drew in a deep breath. “I always try to put a positive and honest spin on all things, kid. And, you’re right... there is love here. But I think you should prepare yourself for some rough times ahead.”

  Jared nodded glumly. “I know. I can feel it. As for my parents, I know in my heart I won’t find them. Or, if I do find them, I’ll wish I hadn’t. They’ll be like... like the others.” Jared pushed his untouched soup aside.

  “All the more reason for you to come with me tomorrow,” said Jack. “I’ll be with you the whole time. We’ll see what there is to see. You never know, maybe they left in the face of danger.” As he spoke the words, he couldn’t imagine the boy’s parents leaving without at least trying to get a hold of him. “And you can help me with some of the zoo animals. I have no clue who else is there anymore. I haven’t heard from Brice lately, but maybe he’s still around.”

  * * *

  The next morning, the guys decided that Jack and Jared would check the animal traps while Mike and Joe would set the new door in place to hold Anna during this, the worst phase of her infection. Neither Jack nor Jared spoke as they exited the building.

  Carla was up next. First, she emptied Anna’s temporary room, an office, of all its supplies: staplers, papers, the one chair, the calendar on the wall. Anna was left with nothing. She wouldn’t need anything. But they all had witnessed the damage that could be done with something as small as even a paperclip. Or a nail on a beam.

  Mike and Joe carried out the desk, leaving the room completely bare. Anna had become less and less coherent, and increasingly susceptible to sounds. She took a swing at her uncle as he tried to give her one last hug. Carla pulled him away.

  Then they closed the door and secured it with a huge wooden beam.

  Anna was left to express her rage in total darkness.

  Chapter Eight

  During the drive from the observatory to the zoo, Jack attempted to kill the quiet with bits of conversation with Jared. “Would you like to know the best thing to use in getting rid of that stench?” Indeed, the smell of rotten meat seemed to permeate the air everywhere.

  “Oh, yeah?” Jared stared out the window; he wasn’t really listening.

  “Yeah. Perhaps you already know, since we use it all the time. But most folks don’t know about lava rocks.”

  “I guess not.”

  “Not quite sure how it works, but you put a few of those rocks outs
ide and they’ll get rid of any scent. Pretty cool. Doesn’t hurt the animals either.”

  “Right,” Jared answered. “We’re gonna need a lot of those.”

  Jack chuckled, finding himself growing to really like this kid. They soon reached the zoo’s employee entrance, left open, and parked in Jack’s usual spot. He cut the motor, but neither one exited the vehicle yet. Instead, they listened... all was still and quiet.

  “Look, Jared, Anna’s going to be all right,” said Jack, finally. “She’s strong. She’s got you, and me, and the rest. We won’t let her down.”

  Jared sat motionless, but Jack could tell he was listening. “And your parents, you know... they might be all right. Maybe it’s a communication issue.”

  “Maybe,” was all he offered in response.

  “Seriously. Cell phones are down, everyone is scattered around. They have no idea where you are. I’m sure if they did...”

  “They didn’t care, Jack. Not before all this and certainly not now. Truth is, I haven’t talked to them in about a month.”

  Jack studied him, struggling to comprehend such a thing, even though he realized the world was full of neglected kids. Jared’s life had been fairly invisible. As long as he passed his home-school tests, that was all that mattered, apparently. The notion that Jared loved a different part of Anna than most dad’s fear—and that he might actually love Anna’s family, too—dawned on Jack clearly for the first time.

  He put a hand on Jared’s shoulder, and the young man let it stay there. “We’ll try to find out, son. If we don’t find them, you’ve got family right here.”

  Jared nodded and wiped away a tear. Jack patted his shoulder again, then reached behind the seat for their rifles. Jack also produced two pistols with silencers attached. “We’ll use these when we can,” he advised. “We don’t want to make any more sound than we have to.”

  Jack was surprised when the kid knew how to load the ammo clip and checked the scope to make sure it was ready. How many brains had the kid already blown apart? he wondered. Too many for someone that young...or old.

  “Come on, son, let’s see what we can get done today.”

  Chapter Nine

  Cole took Julie’s hand just as she was about to come out of their hiding place. He pulled her close to him.

  “Don’t disappoint me,” he said, his voice cold.

  Julie couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark shades. But she wondered again how she could have been so easily fooled. He’d been nice enough at first. She didn’t forget—he’d reminded her more than once—that he’d saved her life back there at the base.

  He’d clothed her, fed her, and even told her stories. But within the two days they’d been together, Julie began to see him as something more. A sinister man, a dark force. And she realized, gradually, that he was no one to fool around with.

  Julie was just a housewife, and had been for thirty years. Once this whole thing started, and especially since her husband disappeared, she felt lost. At first, she thought she’d found a savior in Cole, but she now understood differently. The thought slowly dawned on her that the agent would keep her around for as long as he needed her. And then, she knew with certainty, he would dispose of her.

  So when Julie couldn’t see his eyes, her gaze fell to his lips. Don’t disappoint me, they had just whispered. His mouth spread into a thin, icy smile.

  Julie forced her hands steady. She took the gun from him and answered, “I won’t.”

  Cole shoved her out into the open. They were behind a public restroom within sight of the observatory. He remained behind, waiting.

  Julie knew exactly what to do, whether she liked it or not. Bring back at least two of them. Tell them someone needs help, that she needed help, whatever she could do to get two of them back to the restroom.

  Cole hadn’t told her why, and by this time, she didn’t question him. She knew he had a lock on his person, to use for reasons unknown to her. Julie did notice the restroom he had brought her to had no windows, and no other exit. She knew he would lock whomever she brought back inside this place. She prayed silently she wouldn’t be locked in with them.

  You won’t be, she told herself as she made her way across the long grassy field to the giant building. You already know too much. He wouldn’t want you to talk.

  He told her they would most likely be watching as she approached. She held her hands in the air as she moved toward the steps. She didn’t want to be mistaken for a zombie. All the while, Julie felt certain he had a rifle trained on her back. He’d given her ten minutes to convince some strangers to leave their refuge and come with her. He didn’t have to say anymore. She’d seen his weapons. Even a sheltered housewife could tell he had enough ammunition to blow the entire hillside and observatory buildings sky-high.

  Julie started crying. Something she was quite was good at; she had used tears to get almost anything from her husband in the past. She was a little sorry about that now, wasting tears on things inconsequential like a new pair of shoes or a kitchen remodel. No matter now, Julie had to be believable. Time to work herself into a frenzy, and act hysterical. Fearing the madman was helpful in that regard. She let the genuine tears from those thoughts flow freely and broke into a run up the steps to the observatory.

  She knocked on the main entrance door frantically, and then struck it with the butt of her gun. She kept at it until a man appeared. He was armed, as expected. He stood a few feet from the door.

  “Help!” she cried through the glass door. “Please, I need your help!”

  The man didn’t seem to know what to do. Another man came to his side, then a woman. A female police officer. The first man stepped closer to her, scanned the grass and grounds behind her. “Who are you?” He said it loud enough to hear it clearly through the thick glass.

  “My—my name is Julie!” she stammered in a high-pitched voice. “My friends are back there!” she turned, pointed in the general direction of the restroom. “We were in a car accident. They’re hurt. You’ve got to help us! It’s getting dark!”

  Now the cop-lady came forward. “Where are they? Why are you alone? What are you doing up here?”

  “I...we...” A few more tears to buy more time. She tried again, thinking hard. Cry, damn it! “We were trying to get away. It’s crazy down there! We had an accident. I think my husband’s leg is broken. My father and I got him to a restroom, but I think my father’s having a heart attack!” Julie prayed they believed her. She had to keep it up. “Please, please don’t leave us out here! I don’t know what to do... I just thank God I’ve found someone human!...”

  * * *

  “We have to help her,” Mike said.

  “No, we don’t,” said Carla, sounding worried. “I don’t trust her.”

  Both sailors stared at Carla in disbelief.

  “How can we not help her?” Joe asked. “She’s the first sane person we’ve come across in a long time.”

  “That’s why I don’t trust her,” Carla countered. “No one in their right mind would come up here. Not now.”

  It was a good argument. The woman outside moaned and pleaded again.

  “Carla...” Mike began.

  She cut Mike a sharp look. Her every instinct told her there was something just plain wrong about this woman. Hell, even her acting seemed bad.

  “Two of us could go,” Joe offered, ignoring Carla’s misgivings. Maybe he figured the woman was making such a ruckus that it could inspire a zombie attack.

  Carla hated it, but Joe wasn’t listening. He was going to help this woman whether the female cop wanted to or not.

  He stepped over to the door. “Hold on, ma’am. Calm down.... You don’t want to make too much noise.” He looked back at the small group. “Two of us could go, and the other should stay here to guard Anna, and wait for Jack and Jared.”

  Carla wasn’t convinced. Her cop instincts were twisting her gut into a knot. She said as much, not caring if the woman overheard her.

  “What was it
Jack said?” Mike replied. “Democracy. I say let’s vote on it.”

  “Not everyone is here,” Carla countered.

  “We don’t have time. I see three zombies coming,” Joe answered. Sure enough, a trio of the infected could be seen at the far end of the grass. “Raise your hand if you want to help this woman, or would you rather watch her die?”

  Carla folded her arms and frowned as they both raised their hands. “Oh, for crying out loud,” she conceded, angry at being forced to compromise. “All right. But since I’m the one uneasy about this, I’m going. Joe, you stay with Anna.”

  Mike ran to get more bullets while Joe unlocked the door. He aimed his rifle and blew the brains out of the oncoming zombies.

  Once outside, in the open, Carla’s anxiety increased as she heard Joe lock the door behind them. This is definitely a mistake....

  Meanwhile, the woman, Julie, hugged her. Tightly “Oh, thank you so very much! Come on! We have to hurry!”

  Without waiting for them, she took off down the steps.

  Chapter Ten

  The Los Angeles Zoo was eerie, even in the daylight.

  Jack and Jared decided to walk the outer path surrounding the premises from north to south, passing Jack’s small living quarters on the premises, where he and Anna often stayed.

  The zoo was quiet, but not entirely empty. Here and there were the dead. Some were animals, but most were people. Humans and zombies alike. Many of the bodies had been consumed.

  Jesus.

  The most dangerous animals—the lions, tigers, and rhinoceros—were still contained in their respective cages and areas. Jack breathed a sigh of relief once he realized none of them were on the loose. Even better, they looked fed and had water from the gravity-feed troughs.

  But nearly all of the other animals were gone; most of their cages stood open and the gates left open.