HUMANITY’S HOPE
Book 1 in the Saving Humanity Series
By Pembroke Sinclair
Copyright 2017, 2019 Pembroke Sinclair
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative
Works 3.0 Unported License.
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
Inquiries about additional permissions should be directed to: [email protected]
Cover Design by AG
Edited by Deanna Cooley and Donelle Pardee Whiting
Previously published as Humanity’s Hope, Stitched Smile Publications, 2017
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
ISBN-10: 9781081717001
One Nation Under Zombies
Caleb sprinted across the dirt road. His leg muscles burned. He was barely able to get his feet off the ground. The backpack slammed into his lower back with every step—the straps dug into his shoulders. As he approached the low wall, he slid into a crouch, turning so his back would contact the stones first. The pressure of the backpack pressed into his ribcage—squeezing the air out of his lungs. He pressed his lips together and let the stream flow out of his nose. He tried his best to keep it silent—a task that proved difficult with every pant. His lungs screamed for air. He wanted to draw in large, gasping breaths, but they would be too loud and attract unwanted attention. The undead were just on the other side of the wall, unaware of his presence, and he intended to keep it that way.
Caleb’s gaze drifted back to the road and fell on his sister Nina and Len, his chemistry partner from school. They ran toward him as fast as they could with their heavy backpacks that hunched them over. Or perhaps it was an attempt to make themselves smaller so they were less noticeable—Caleb couldn’t tell. They slid up to the wall on either side of Caleb and attempted to control their breathing.
This was a terrible place to hide—they all knew it. It was too open, too exposed, but there weren’t any other choices. The squat wall was right at the edge of a fallow field, across the dirt road they had been traversing in the hopes of finding civilization. They found the wall in a vast, rural landscape. The three of them were lucky there was something. They had come around a bend in the road and up a small hill, and there they were—zombies—shuffling aimlessly through the countryside. Caleb had to suppress his shocked gasp. They came out here because the urban areas had become too dangerous. There were too many zombies. The supplies had either been pillaged or were too difficult to get to. The country was supposed to be their hope, their salvation. So far, it wasn’t. The farmhouse was still ways away, about 50 yards. At least that was what Caleb assumed. He was horrible at judging distances. It didn’t matter anyway. With the zombies in front of them, the house was as accessible as another planet. But they couldn’t stay out in the open, either.
The look on Len’s face reflected the turmoil Caleb felt inside. His eyes were wide, his face red from exertion. His head was cocked to the side, his jaw muscles tight. The look asked What do we do now? Caleb had no answer.
When they set out that morning to look for food, they told themselves the zombies had been confined to the cities. Why? Because they had to believe something. They had to think there was still a chance.
Caleb lowered his gaze to the ground. There was no way to respond to Len’s silent question. They just had to wait it out—make their move when they got the opportunity. Caleb glanced over his shoulder at his sister. She slumped against the wall, her legs sprawled out in front of her, her chin resting on her chest. His stomach tightened as he took in her pose. She wasn’t going to be able to move quickly from that position. She needed to be ready. Yet, he felt for her. What was the point of being ready if it meant they had to keep running? His legs shook underneath him as he held his crouch. It would have been such a relief to plop onto his butt and take the weight off his legs. He could’ve placed his arms around Nina’s shoulders and pulled her close. They could have relaxed in their misery. Instead, he gently backhanded her arm. When she looked at him, he thrust his thumb into the air. With an eye roll and deliberate movements, Nina moved into a crouch, removing the gun from the back of her waistband.
Caleb focused on the weapon in his hands. It was there so often, it was like an appendage. He rarely noticed it anymore. But neither of the guns would do them much good; there weren’t enough bullets to take out the threat. Even if they fired their remaining rounds, all it would do was draw more zombies to their location.
Caleb turned his attention away from his gun and stretched up to look over the wall. As soon as his eyes broke the surface, he scanned the area before sinking back down. His heart pounded against his ribs, his throat tightened. An undead lumbered close to the wall—too close. One wrong move or sound and they were spotted. He licked his lips and felt the sweat slide down his spine. If they stayed quiet, the zombies would keep moving. They just had to wait it out.
A low, soft grumbling filled the air. At first, Caleb wasn’t convinced he’d heard it. It was so low, he could have imagined it. He had hoped he’d imagined it. But then Len wrapped his arms around his midsection and squeezed. The rumbling grew louder. It was hard to hide the sounds of hunger. Caleb’s eyes grew wide. He shifted his stance so he could explode onto his feet.
The rotted hand reached over the wall and swiped the air between Caleb and Len. There were no other options. All of them sprang to their feet. The crowd of rotting flesh was converging on their position. Caleb extended his arms and lined up his sights. The crack of the gun echoed loudly in the country air; the corpse slumped onto the wall. All three of them jumped over the wall and ran toward the house. The path took them directly toward the zombies; they had to be fast enough to get by them.
Caleb’s extremities tingled with adrenaline, his footsteps thumped rhythmically on the hard, dry ground. He sucked in long gasps of air, but his lungs still burned for oxygen. He caught glimpses of the other two out of the corner of his eyes. The undead drew nearer. Their arms outstretched, waiting to snag their prey. Caleb zig-zagged across the field. He ducked under a pair of arms, then shouldered a zombie out of the way. Its bones crunched against his shoulder, teeth gnashed close to his ear, driving him forward with more urgency. The house grew larger with every step he took. Almost there.
A short yip followed by a grunt sounded behind him. He risked a glance over his shoulder. Len stumbled then fell. Caleb’s heart leapt into his throat. He skidded to a stop, turning to help his friend. Caleb was about to step toward Len, but he was stopped in his tracks. The action caused him to lose his balance. His arms flailed through the air to keep Caleb from falling over. An incessant, strong tugging kept him from moving forward. He turned to see Nina jerking on his backpack. Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head violently. Caleb glanced again at Len, who reached for Caleb, his mouth open in a silent plea, tears running down his cheeks. Caleb reached toward him. Len’s plea turned into a scream as a zombie bit into his calf. A dark ring of blood stained his jeans and grew larger. Another zombie latched onto the fingers of his extended hand. The crunch as it bit through Len’s bones rattled
in Caleb’s skull. He pulled his hand into his chest.
Caleb turned at that point. There was nothing more he could do. His sister grabbed his wrist, and they ran into the house. They took the stairs two at a time and headed into a bedroom on the right. After closing the door, they scanned the area, checking under the bed and in the closet. Clear. His sister collapsed face first onto the bed. From the way her body shook, Caleb could tell she was crying. He leaned back until his pack connected with the door. His legs gave out, and he slid to the floor. Pulling his knees to his chest, he wrapped his arms around his head and tried to disappear into himself.
And then there were two.
CHAPTER 1
Caleb grimaced as the nurse jabbed the needle into his vein. The prick of pain and seeing the almost black liquid fill the glass tube made his stomach cramp. It brought back visions of more blood. Images of death and destruction. Thoughts of self-harm. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Go to the light. Stay away from the dark.
“Okay. All done.” The nurse pulled the needle out and pressed a cotton ball onto his arm, placing a band aid over the top.
Caleb opened his eyes and pressed the strips into his skin, making sure they were secure. He stood from the chair and headed for the door.
“See you next month,” the nurse called after him.
Caleb waved from the door before heading back to his desk. Taking a seat, he turned on his computer and typed in his password. His eyes drifted to the band aid at the crook of his arm. The ache drifted up his bicep to his shoulder. He was sure blood was oozing from the hole and soaking the cotton ball in crimson. Soon, it would drip down his arm onto his keyboard. He shuddered, then shook his head. That wasn’t going to happen. It was a routine blood draw. The room wouldn’t be covered in blood. Not again.
“I see you already made your monthly contribution to further science.” Samuel slid his chair across the aisle between their cubicles, rolling his sleeve down over his own band aid. “It can’t be legal for them to take our blood like that and run experiments on it. Just because we work here doesn’t give them the right to experiment on us.”
Caleb turned to face his coworker and leaned back in his chair, gripping the arms of his chair both for balance and to direct his irritation somewhere besides his voice. He wasn’t in the mood to be social. It was taking all of his energy to keep the darkness at bay, but the conversation would be a welcome distraction. Perhaps it would even lighten his mood.
“Explain to me how they are experimenting on us.”
Samuel held his hands out to his sides and straightened up. “Hey, just because they aren’t experimenting on us directly doesn’t mean they aren’t using us. Our blood contains everything they need to recreate us. How do you know they aren’t cloning us and then zombifying the copies just because they can?”
Caleb blinked slowly and refrained from smirking. “Don’t you think there are enough zombies in the world to experiment on? Why would they need to create more?”
Samuel waved his hand dismissively through the air. “You know just as well as I do they aren’t allowed to touch those creatures. The law forbids it. For a clone, however, they could argue it doesn’t retain its human qualities. They could do what they want to them before testing it out on the real zoms.”
Caleb clicked his tongue. “What about all those rumors floating around? The ones that claim Zomtech collects zombies from the ghetto. If I’ve heard those rumors, I know you have.”
Caleb felt slightly bad about goading his coworker on. Samuel really believed in the conspiracy theories. Caleb found them irritating and childish and was making fun of him, which was mean. But at the same time, it was a welcome and entertaining distraction.
Samuel shrugged. “Every rumor has a kernel of truth. Legal or not, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were conducting experiments on them. But clones would be fresher. Not as desiccated.”
Caleb shook his head. “I highly doubt science has advanced far enough to clone humans.”
“That’s exactly what they want you to think.”
“It’s standard company policy to draw blood. With all of the hazardous things floating around, they want to make sure no one gets infected. And if they do get infected, they want to take care of it before it gets out of hand. It was in your employee contract. If you didn’t agree with it, you shouldn’t have signed it.”
Samuel scoffed. “Contracts can be made to say whatever they want them to say, but they don’t have to explain the truth. Just because I don’t agree with that clause doesn’t mean I can’t overlook it for what they pay me.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “And if something weird is going on, I’ll be the first to know about it. You’ve only been here a couple of months. Give it time. You’ll start to question what’s really going on too.” Samuel pointed at him. “Just you wait.”
Caleb rolled his eyes and turned back to his computer to check his inbox. Were he and Samuel going to have this conversation every month after the company-mandated blood draw? It wasn’t like Zomtech’s practices were different from other companies. After the zombie rising, a lot of places adopted mandatory blood screenings. It allowed employers to monitor the infected and cut down on office outbreaks. It wasn’t even his first draw for Zomtech; it had been a condition of employment.
Sure, there were groups out there protesting the legality of blood draws, claiming it was a form of discrimination and illegal search and seizure. The courts were tied up with a ruling, and until they decided, companies were going to continue doing what they had done. Caleb wasn’t exactly sure what the test proved. If anyone was infected with whatever made zombies, there was little hope. People weren’t exactly being dragged out into the streets because of their test results, so it was hard to tell exactly what was going on. Maybe it had to do with the fact no one was really sure how the disease spread. By keeping an eye on the healthy, perhaps it would give insight into what made others sick. Really, Caleb didn’t care.
Caleb had mixed feelings about working for Zomtech, but not because of the blood tests. He had heard the rumors about zombie experimentation. There weren’t many options open now, and Samuel wasn’t kidding about the pay. It was almost double what other businesses were paying, and for a 17 year old without a family, he had to take advantage to survive. No one else could provide for him. At first, Caleb bought into the notion the reason they paid so much was because it was the company’s way of keeping the employees quiet. After the interview, he realized that wasn’t the case. Zomtech was the authority in zombie outbreak research. They were tasked with the important job of discovering what caused the outbreak and if there was any way to cure it. The world wanted an answer, and they were willing to pay for it.
“How many you got today?” Samuel asked.
Caleb glanced at the count for his inbox. “Thirty-five.” He looked over his shoulder. “You?”
“Thirty-seven. I guess we’d better get to it.” He wheeled his chair back into his cubicle.
Caleb clicked on the first email with a sigh. Every department, from doctors to lab technicians to assistants, were constantly in need of new programming and codes. The destruction and chaos caused in the first weeks of the zombie uprising wiped out most of the computer systems. Hell, it had almost wiped out the entire world. It took years for the humans to regroup and get the basic amenities running. Caleb’s job was to write the programs the departments needed or maintain the ones that already existed. Most days it was challenging and exciting. Caleb liked those days. It kept him focused and his mind off what happened to the world. With every line of code he wrote, he felt like he was helping get one step closer to understanding the undead and figuring out what had happened.
The irony of a 17-year-old kid having such an important job didn’t escape him. For as long as he could remember, he’d always been interested in computers. At 5, his dad was helping him write code for simple games. Everyone always told him he was a natural. It was something he loved doing.
It sucked he had to do it in the aftermath of almost complete human annihilation, but at least it gave him a reason to feel important, needed. It also kept him from having to go to school. Not that he hated school—he was actually really good at it—but it would’ve felt pointless. His computer skills gave him the opportunity to be in the real world. Schools still existed, but now they taught trades that were useful to rebuild the world.
There were some days he yearned to be in school. On those days, the departments, mainly the scientists and doctors, asked for the impossible. They wanted a program that was still years away from being developed. Those days made him feel like a failure. They made him curse the day the dead rose from their graves and destroyed everything he held so dear.
One program is going to be the key to unlocking the zombie mystery, the voice from the darkness sneered. And you can’t give it to the world. You’re useless, worthless. Why are even trying?
On those days, Caleb’s shoulders slouched forward, it was hard to tear his gaze from the ground. A hollow feeling would enter his chest and spread a chill throughout his limbs. It took all his strength to remind himself he was doing the best he could. His psychiatrist told him while it was all right to feel inadequate, he shouldn’t beat himself up over it. He tried to take the shrink’s advice; look at the situation logically. The fate of the world couldn’t possibly rest on his shoulders alone. He was a nobody. Still, the disappointment and frustration drove him forward. The voice wouldn’t be silenced. He was determined to write the code that was going to answer the zombie question. Some days, that thought was the only thing that got him out of bed in the morning.
Zombies were still a real threat in the world, but certain areas had become “safer” zones. Special crews had been tasked with rounding them up and herding them into ghettos, and that had been successful, at least around this city. There were still areas in the world that were undead zones. Places the living shouldn’t venture into if they wanted to survive. Originally, the living shot the undead, making sure their bodies never rose again. Then a group formed and protested the act. They claimed there was a cure, the zombies could be human again. The world listened—no one knew exactly why—and areas were set up to contain the walking corpses.
Saving Humanity Series (Book 1): Humanity's Hope Page 1