Nano Z

by Brad Knight

  With one arm, Mack grabbed and lifted Spencer by his mouth. He crushed the man’s jaw as easily as a potato chip. Blood and bits of teeth and jaw dribbled out of Spencer’s mouth as he fell to the ground dead.

  “No…no!” yelled Amber as she backed away from Mack with wide eyes filled with disbelief.

  What’s wrong with her? Mack looked down at his body. Oh. Somewhere during his slaughter of Spencer and his friends, he took a knife to his gut. Black blood ooze out of the wound.

  “You’re infected! You’re a meat puppet!” Amber screamed with tears in her eyes. She ran up the stairs away from Mack.

  How the hell am I supposed to explain this? I’ll just tell her the truth. But I have to catch up to her first. “Amber! Wait!” Mack chased after her.

  When Mack reached the top floor, he was relieved to see that finding roof access wouldn’t be hard. There weren’t any rooms. Instead it looked like a storage area. Broken slot machines and extra chairs lined the walls. The stairs and a service elevator were the only ways to get there. And there was only one door that led to the roof.

  “Hey buddy. Long time no see.” When Mack reached the roof of the Golden Pony, he was met by the sight of Ted Gorman holding Amber hostage. The teen tried to struggle and wiggle her way out of the psycho’s grip, but he was too strong.

  “Let her go,” ordered Mack.

  “Why? Seriously why should I? I mean, I thought we had a deal big guy. You help me, I help you. Instead, you left me to die.” Ted’s clothes were in shreds. It was clear to Mack that however Ted managed to survive, it wasn’t easy.

  Mack looked around the large gravel covered casino roof. He was looking for the dispersal device that Ted told him about down in the lab. Other than vents and air conditioning units, there was only one other thing on the roof. Near the edge was a tall rectangular box. He deduced that it was what he was looking for.

  “I’m here now. Let her go and I'll help you with that,” said Mack as he pointed at the dispersal device near the edge of the roof.

  Ted looked at Amber. He sniffed the side of her face then smiled. “Sure, fair enough.” He released his grip on her.

  Once free, Amber didn’t know what to do. She wanted to get away from Ted but was hesitant to go to Mack. He was a meat puppet. The same thing she spent the better part of the year fighting.

  “Shall we?” Ted sauntered towards the dispersal device. “I’m telling you, we’re doing good work here. You may not see it now, but we’re going to change the world for the better.”

  Mack didn’t say a word. He just followed Ted until they reached the dispersal device.

  “Okay, first we need to…” Before Ted could get started, Mack rushed him. With a series of punches, the CEO of Galatea Systems was on his ass.

  Time for you to go Ted. Mack reached into Ted’s pockets. He was looking for the EMP device the kook showed him earlier. After a brief search he found it.

  With EMP device in one hand, Mack picked Ted up with his other. He dragged the laughing maniac towards the edge of the roof and rectangular dispersal mechanism. When they reached it, his finger moved to the top of the device’s only button.

  “If… if you… if you press that button, we’re both dead. So press away.” Ted had a hard time talking through his laughter and a broken jaw.

  I know. Mack closed his eyes and pressed the button, setting off the EMP device. Amber watched on in horror as Ted and Mack both fell, limp. The dispersal device started sparking, then smoking.

  Ted’s listless body fell off the edge of the Golden Pony roof. It plummeted twenty stories into a sea of meat puppets. Mack almost followed. But only the upper half of his body hung over the edge.

  “Mack!” The emotional roller coaster that Amber endured within the past ten minutes overwhelmed her. She fell to her knees and sobbed. For the first time since the interstate back in Dallas, she was alone.

  Amber crawled over to Mack’s lifeless body. She pulled him away from the edge. With her head on his chest, she laid there, silent and traumatized. As far as she was concerned, she’d never get up.

  “What’s wrong with you, girlie girl?” Amber heard the impossible. It was Mack’s voice.

  “How…?” Amber lifted her head up and smiled at Mack with tear soaked eyes.

  “Would you look at that.” Mack didn’t get up. He stared up at the sky. For the first time in decades, the stars were visible in the Las Vegas skies. There was no light pollution obscuring the view.

  Amber and Mack laid on the roof of the Golden Pony for a good hour. Mack explained what happened to him. At least as much as he could. Finally, they got up.

  “What are we going to do? How are we going to get out of here?” asked Amber as she looked around. They were on a roof, twenty stories up from the street. There were no escape routes, no helicopter or fire escape.

  “We’ll figure something out.”

  Chapter 16: Epilogue (Three Days Later)

  In a facility, thirty miles from Los Angeles, sat a scientist named Chris Granger. He was slowly falling asleep in his chair. In front of him was a computer monitor that hadn’t been turned off since the outbreak. Its purpose was to send and receive messages from any Galatea facilities that still survived.

  Chris pulled the overnight shift. He hated it but at least it meant that he could spend time with his family during the day. It had been months since the last communication, so sleeping while on duty didn’t make him feel particularly guilty.

  Moments away from fully falling asleep, Chris was awoken by beeping noises from the computer in front of him. He couldn’t believe it. Someone was sending a message. Curious and excited he read it.

  In need of immediate evacuation. Send clean up squads. Location: Las Vegas Facility - CEO Ted Gorman.

  About the Author

  Brad Knight writes post-apocalyptic fiction. His influences include The Walking Dead and The Last of Us.

  Subscribe to his mailing list or contact him at BradKnight.net

  Continue Mack and Amber's journey in Nano Z: Salvation, available on Amazon.