Jake's Undead Nightmare
Page 18
“No. Our objective is to stay here and keep the people here alive.”
“How many outposts like this are there?”
“Over two thousand are in the United States.”
“Then we are very lucky we came across some of your staff. One hundred outposts doesn’t sound like a lot of people.”
“It isn’t. The other outposts are more populated than this one. There are an estimated eight hundred thousand people left in the country. We could be wrong, though.”
“So few people are left.”
“After the majority of the infected are fully decomposed, we will be better off. The danger is still very real.”
“What about international security?”
“Don’t be concerned with that. With so few people left in the world, there won’t be threats like that. Other countries are too busy taking care of themselves to be a threat. North Korea and many parts of Asia are completely gone.”
“We’re going to have to repopulate the earth.”
“That’s right. To preserve humanity, we’ll have to. The President has a plan. Men and women will be put together and repopulate.”
“I’m going to have a family, aren’t I?”
“That’s a possibility. It depends on how many women are still living.”
“I want to have a family, but if I had a choice, I’d only want to have a family with one person.”
“Who is this person?”
“A woman named Courtney.”
“Who and where is this woman?”
“We were an item before we came across some of your staff. She’s next to the lake a few miles from here.”
“Would you like to go get her? It’s be good to have more women in the sanctuary.”
“I’d like that. When I was there, there were over two hundred people there. War was about to break out between my group and another.”
“We’d be willing to take in one more person. Just one.”
“The leader of my old group of people was a physician. What about him?”
“We have five doctors. We don’t need another.”
“I understand. When will I be assisted with this matter?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Courtney and I have been through a lot together. She means a lot to me.”
“Fifteen people will assist you. Justin will come get you in the morning.”
“It will be dangerous, Jared. All the people by the lake are armed with guns.”
“We have the best weapons and operatives. It won’t be a problem. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The next morning, Justin and fourteen others woke Jake and Dan and briefed them. They were led outside the wall and fences and to the lake.
“What do you have in mind?” Justin asked Jake.
“I don’t know what’s going on with everyone right now. For all I know, Courtney is dead.”
“Let’s not think like that. Wait a second.”
Justin looked through his binoculars.
“There are a few people lurking around and a lot of people fishing.”
“It’s more than likely that we’ve been spotted. We should approach quickly but casually. Let’s walk down there.”
“Sounds like a plan. We’ll follow your lead.”
Jake led Dan, Justin, and the others down to the water. People stared as they walked around. Jake led everyone around the lake. Courtney could be seen at the dock. Jake took a deep breath.
“Stay here,” Jake whispered to everyone. “I’m going to walk to the dock alone. It’s already bad enough that everybody’s staring at us. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”
Everyone held their positions as Jake walked onto the dock. Courtney’s eyes widened as he approached. She ran into his arms.
“I thought you were dead,” she said before kissing him.
“Walk with me and the people I came here with. I want to take you to somewhere safe.”
“What’s this about?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then do as I say. Follow me.”
“Okay.”
Courtney followed Jake to the group.
“This is Courtney?” Justin asked.
“Yeah,” Jake answered. “Let’s go before people decide to shoot at us.”
“Good to see you,” Dan said to Courtney.
“It’s good to see you too, Dan.”
“We need to get back to the sanctuary now,” Justin urged.
A gunshot sounded. Jake stopped and looked around. Dan had been shot. Blood spilled from his head before falling hard to the ground.
“He’s dead!” Justin yelled. “Run! Keep up with me!”
Gunshots sounded over and over. Not caring about being shot at, Jake stared at his brother’s corpse before taking off to catch up with the others. Their running soon converted to jogging, then walking quickly. When they showed up at the sanctuary, Justin did a headcount. Jake, Courtney, Justin, and the fourteen others had made it back safely. Jake walked into the living quarters, sat on his cot, and stared at the wall. Courtney went through orientation and found him not long after.
“Hey, Jake.”
No reply.
“I’m here for you, Jake.”
Still nothing.
“It’ll be okay, Jake.”
“My brother was just shot in the head. I don’t feel like talking to you or anyone else right now.”
“Okay. I understand. I’ll give you some space.”
“You don’t understand at all.”
“I do. I lost people, too.”
Courtney walked out of the living quarters. Jake stared at the wall for hours. He didn’t eat for two days. After enough worrying, Courtney found him sitting on his cot.
“We need to talk.”
“Go away.”
“No.”
“Leave me alone, Courtney.”
“We’re going to talk.”
“Whatever.”
“You haven’t eaten in days. Eat something. It’s almost time for lunch. Come with me to the desk line.”
“Okay.”
Jake ate slowly. After eating, Courtney followed him back to his cot.
“Nothing matters anymore,” Jake said in a dull tone.
“I’m here for you, Jake.”
“It’s over.”
“It’s not over.”
“Yes, it is.”
“You have me.”
“Thanks.”
“You’ll always have me, Jake.”
“What am I going to do now?”
“I’ll always keep you company.”
“I don’t care anymore.”
“I know. I don’t, either.”
“Let’s just sit here for a while.”
“Okay. We’ll do that.”
“Everything was horrible before Dan got shot. I want to kill the people at the lake.”
“I do too, but we don’t have the manpower or firepower.”
“Because there are so few of us, I’ll never get to exact my revenge.”
“Revenge won’t bring him back.”
“You’re right. I’ll just have to let it go.”
“It’ll take some time to come to peace with what happened.”
“I’m not leaving this place ever again.”
“I’m not leaving, either. I’ll stay with you.”
“We’re going to have to repopulate the world.”
“Cracking jokes at a time like this?”
“I wasn’t joking.”
Epilogue
Jake spent the rest of his life inside the sanctuary with Courtney. He and she had two sons and a daughter, who grew up to be farmers and had children of their own.
After so many years, a large creek was dug. The water from the river flowed into the creek. No one ever had to leave the sanctuary, but people sometimes did anyway. After fourteen people died over a period of time, very few people went beyond the wall. Over the decades,
the sanctuary’s size expanded. People lived off the land their entire lives.
The world would never be the same again. The zombie apocalypse shook the world with an angry fist. Though humanity suffered, people survived and repopulated. With time, the world would once again be bustling with life.