Z-Day Chronicles (Book 2): Rising Up

by Williams, Kameron

  “Alright, alright. No need for that. Move along.”

  The leading Spartan nodded, taking his group outside of Mayo. The Spartans then veered to the left, and began to run their routes.

  “Alright, Spartans,” the leader started. “You know what to do if we spot the fugitive. Keep in mind: We’re the only ones that know about this. Let’s keep it that way.”

  Yep, Jake thought. We’re in trouble. Maybe me and Joseph can sneak away. No; the rest will hear us.

  As Jake continued to plan in his head what to do to evade, Joseph nodded to the Spartan next to him. That Spartan then tapped the Spartan in front of him. Those two in front of Joseph pulled out small knives, pushing them in the back of the heads of the leading Spartan and the Spartan next to him, silencing them simultaneously.

  “What the...” Jake mumbled.

  The assassins removed all of their gear, revealing Hector Trejo, Brittany Lowry, and James Bass.

  “Where’s Adam?” Joseph asked as he unmasked himself and removed the heavy gear.

  “He said he was gonna keep an eye out from inside the settlement,” Brittany answered. “But right now, we need to find a place to hide.”

  “I know the perfect spot,” Jake suggested. “But it’s about three miles out. We’ll need a quick lift in case there are zombies around.”

  “I kinda figured we’d need a fast way to get out of Dodge,” Hector said. “I was able to jack one of the Humvees, but it’s behind one of the trailers in that old trailer park that’s half a click away. We’ll need to hurry or else the Z-Corps or something else finds us.”

  The four ran along the highway, heading west, until they arrived in the trailer park on the right. Behind the second trailer was the Humvee, just as Hector said. They all hopped inside, and continued driving, following Jake’s directions, until they arrived at an abandoned limestone mine left of the highway.

  The mining pit was fairly large enough to get lost in. Hector cautiously drone into the pit, making sure he didn’t lose control over a steep hill, until the he parked the vehicle at the lowest, safest point of the mine. Hector then shut off the vehicle completely, and everyone stepped out, scanning the dark area around them.

  “So,” Joseph started. “This is the place.”

  “For now,” Jake answered. “At least until our names get cleared. Since you four helped me out, you are now fugitives as well.”

  “I think it’s safe to say,” James added. “That if we get caught, we’ll be executed for treason.”

  “Not gonna happen. One reason being we know who the real traitor is. And that would be Boris Holt. He currently has Tyrese held captive in the jailhouse, and shot Alan in cold blood, and may have murdered Bryan as well.”

  “Is it weird that I thought Alan and Boris were in on this together?” Brittany asked.

  “You’re not the only one that thought that,” Joseph replied. “But how are we gonna fight back? It’s six against the entire Z-Corps.”

  “We’ll worry about that later,” Jake suggested. “Right now, we’re off the grid, which gives us the advantage. So what we need to do for the time being is sneak back in and gather intel.”

  The small group then hears moaning and groaning coming from the distance.

  “We’ll need to do that tomorrow,” Jake finished. “Right now, we will need to sleep in the vehicle tonight. We don’t know how many zombies are out here, and with the little bit of resources we have, we might not see them coming.”

  Everyone stepped inside the Hummer, then locked all of the doors. Then they tried to get in a comfortable position, attempting to get some rest for the long day that was yet to come.

  Chapter 17

  The next morning, Jake opened his eyes, staring face to face with a zombie, who had its head pressed up against the front passenger window in attempts to take a bite of Jake. It was wearing torn work clothing and a construction hat.

  “I think I recognize you,” Jake sighed. “Seen you around a time or two before I moved.”

  The zombie continued to try and gnaw through the glass window, unable to due to the hindrance that was its work helmet.

  “Yep,” Jake continued. “You were always talking about how you would leave this place or die in it. Guess you never left, huh?”

  “Sir?”

  Jake turned his head around to see Joseph sitting up in the back passenger seat.

  “You know that guy?” Joseph asked, rubbing his eyes.

  Jake turned back around to continue staring at the zombie attempting to chew its way inside the vehicle.

  “Not anymore,” Jake answered.

  The other three Shinobi woke up behind Joseph, stretching their arms and legs and cracking their necks.

  “Hey, Joe” Hector said. “What time do you have on your watch?”

  “7:26,” Joseph answered as he glanced at his watch.

  “You guys ready for the day?” Jake asked the group.

  Everyone was silent, but they nodded in unison. With that, Jake pulled out a small hand held radio and handed it to Joseph.

  “This radio is for Kyle,” Jake said. “We’re gonna need him and the rest of the Reapers. They can grab some extra weapons and some of the equipment we’ll need to set the outpost up and retake the settlement.”

  “We raiders now, sir?” Hector joked.

  “Temporarily. They’ll have their stuff back once we have no more use of it.”

  The group drove back to the trailer park. Jake stayed behind as the rest removed their wallets and dog tags, then dressed up in civilian clothing and hooded long sleeved shirts. Then the group continued to the fence surrounding the settlement.

  “How we getting in?” James whispered.

  Joseph looked around and saw a group of infantry patrolling around the fence, two guards at the gate, and a truck carrying come survivors pulling up.

  “Trejo,” Joseph started. “I need you to be a distraction. You need to create a scene to get you inside.”

  “I can do that,” Hector nodded.

  “Lowry, are you able to pull up the fence and shimmy under it?”

  “I can,” Brittany replied. “I can also dig under it if I need to since that will be quieter.”

  “Great,” Joseph continued. “While Hector’s distracting the guards, you make your way under the fence. Bass, as soon as that civilian truck stops, you’re gonna crawl under the truck and hold on tight. I’ll climb inside while the guards are busy.”

  Joseph then handed the three civilian volunteer badges. Then everyone went to work.

  “Hello?” Hector called out as he crept towards the guards at the gate.

  “Who are you?!” one of the guards asked abruptly.

  “Please help me! I heard people over here! I’ve been out here for so long!”

  Hector then fell over, pretending to be unconscious.

  “We got a fainter,” The other guard called out. “Can we get some water over here?”

  The patrol guards hurried to the guards at the gate to assist them in reviving Hector, giving Brittany enough time and space to crawl under the fence and quickly slip on her badge and head towards the commotion.

  “You,” one of the guards pointed to Brittany. “Can you go get one of the nurses so they can screen this fella?”

  Brittany nodded and went to the infirmary to get one of the nurses. As she did so, she glanced over at one of the surgery desks, spotting an unwrapped syringe and a small bottle labeled: Ketamine HCI 10 milliliters. Brittany swiped those two items inconspicuously, then raced back out to the commotion Hector was starring in.

  Once the civilian truck stopped in front of the gate, the driver stepped out.

  “What’s going on over here?” The driver asked.

  “Got an unconscious survivor,” the guard replied. “Just appeared out of nowhere.”

  “I have a few survivors back here, too.”

  While the driver was busy in front of the truck, Joseph and James hurried to the back. James quickly crawl
ed under the truck, shimmying on his back and grabbing the frame. Joseph climbed inside the back of the truck where some other survivors were.

  “Hey,” one of the survivor said. “Where did you come from?”

  “Civilian volunteer,” Joseph answered, pulling out his badge. “Don’t mind me; just following standard protocol. Just pretend I’m not here.”

  The rest of the survivors nodded as the driver stepped back inside the vehicle. Brittany helped the nurse load Hector on a stretcher, passing him the ketamine and syringe without anyone noticing. Hector placed the anesthetic in his pocket, trying not to blow his cover, as Brittany and the nurse hoisted him up and carried him to the infirmary.

  Once the commotion was halted, the truck carrying the survivors proceeded inside the settlement. The truck parked nearby the screening tent, where two soldiers were waiting for them. As the survivors were being occupied, James sneaked away from the bottom of the truck, then heading to the infirmary to meet up with Hector and Brittany.

  Joseph hid underneath one of the benches in the back of the truck, hiding from the guards doing a head count on the survivors that were rescued. One of the soldiers glanced one last time, unaware of Joseph’s presence, then motioned the driver to park the truck next to the other vehicles. After the vehicle was finally turned off, Joseph slid out from underneath the bench, snuck out from the back, then proceeded to the infirmary to meet up with the rest.

  On the way, Joseph seen Kyle strolling to his squad, and remembered the radio Jake wanted him to have. Joseph spotted a large box of food nearby, which gave him a perfect idea for switching radios. He picked the large box of canned goods, and carried them towards Kyle.

  As Joseph was passing by, he knocked Kyle over from the left side, knocking his radio from the loop on the shoulder pocket on his vest. As he did so, he also fell, creating a mess. He then covered his head with the hood around his neck in hopes that Kyle wouldn’t recognize him.

  “Oh,” Joseph said, turning his back away from Kyle while swapping both of the radios, now laying on the ground. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t see you.”

  “That box heavy, bud?” Kyle asked. “Need a hand with it?”

  “Oh no, sir. Thank you though. But if you’d be so kind to point me in the right direction?”

  Kyle pointed his prosthetic arm towards a truck where other canned goods and non-perishables were stacked up.

  “Right over there,” Kyle answered.

  “Alright,” Joseph replied. “Thank you kindly.”

  “No problem. Have I seen you around before?”

  “I wouldn’t think so; just started. But I do see a radio on the ground. Is that yours?”

  Kyle fixed his eyes to the ground and saw the radio. He then felt his pocket where his radio used to be at.

  “So I did,” Kyle replied, picking up the radio, unaware that it was the swapped radio. “Good eye. If you are interested, you should check into the Z-Corps. With eyes like that, you might make a good sniper.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, sir,” Joseph said as he walked away, dropping the heavy box of food off with the rest of the stockpile.

  After releasing the box, Joseph removed the batteries from Kyle’s radio, then set the radio on the ground, keeping the batteries. He then met up with the rest of the Shinobi at the infirmary.

  When Joseph snuck in the tent, he looked around and saw the rest of the guys standing up and about, waiting for him. The nurses that were present were laying in the beds unconscious.

  “Are they gonna be alright?” Joseph asked.

  “We had some sedatives lying around,” Brittany answered. “They’ll be out cold for at least thirty minutes.”

  “Then that’s our time limit.”

  The Shinobi left the infirmary tent. As they were leaving, Joseph saw Kyle heading to his tent, away from the rest of the soldiers.

  “You guys go ahead,” Joseph said. “I’ll catch up with you.”

  As the rest proceeded towards the civilian settlement, Joseph trailed Kyle to his tent, keeping his distance. He then snuck to the side of Kyle’s tent to overhear what was being said.

  “Alright,” Kyle began. “I’m away from everyone else. Identify yourself.”

  “I think you know exactly who this is, Kyle,” the man in the radio replied.

  “Jake?! Are you crazy?! You tapped into my radio! Someone else is hearing this right now! You’re gonna get me arrested!”

  “That’s why one of my friends swapped radios. This line is secure.”

  Kyle looked around in his tent, then peeked outside, looking for anything suspicious.

  “Don’t worry about looking for anybody,” Jake continued. “I know how you are: anything out of the ordinary, you try and look for anything odd. I’ll let you know it was Joseph that swapped your radio. By the time I told you, he’s already left and gathered some more intel with his crew.”

  “Alright,” Kyle replied. “You got me. What do you want?”

  “I want your help.”

  “My help?!”

  Joseph continued looking around to make sure no one was present.

  “Do you think I would do all of this if I didn’t know something was up?” Jake asked.

  “All I know,” Kyle replied. “Is that my team and I were ordered to kill you on sight!”

  “By who? Boris?”

  All was silent for a moment.

  “What are you getting at?” Kyle asked.

  “Boris is trying to overthrow the council and take over the settlement,” Jake answered. “He may have killed Bryan and pinned it on me. He may have been responsible for tampering with the radios when you lost your arm. He’s already killed Alan and has Tyrese in captivity.”

  “You sure about all of this?!”

  “Answer me this: did you see Tyrese at the base at all today?”

  Joseph knew he had to meet up with everyone else at the jailhouse, but was eager to know if Kyle was going to assist this resistance that was soon to begin. Joseph continued to overhear a little more.

  “Even if what you’re saying is true,” Kyle sighed. “Boris needed an accomplice when tampering with the radios that one time.”

  “Well that’ exactly what Joseph and those guys are going to find out.”

  “Well what if someone finds them before they meet up with you?”

  “They’re Shinobi, Kyle; they’ve been trained to not be found.”

  With that, Joseph headed towards the civilian settlement to link up with the others at the jailhouse. As he met up with them, he noticed that every one of them were staring in shock; Brittany’s hands were shaking and her face was nearly driven to tears.

  “What is it guys?” Joseph asked, looking in the same direction the rest were looking. “Oh, God... No.”

  Joseph’s face turned to shock and despair when he saw the same heart tearing scenery that was set before them. Adam Lee was in the courtyard of the jailhouse conversing with Boris.

  Chapter 18

  “Not a bad turn of events,” Boris told Adam. “Things are now going according to plan, thanks to you.”

  “Not really,” Adam responded. “He’s out there somewhere; outside of the settlement with Joseph and the rest of the Shinobi. You should’ve let me go with them so I can find out where they’re setting up at. Why did you want me here?”

  “Well, Adam, to find out if there’s anyone else on the inside planning to work with Jake. I’m sure you can take care of business if there is.”

  “How long do you think this will pan out? We already tried to kill Jake once, with Alpha being collateral damage.”

  Joseph and the rest overheard the entire conversation that Adam and Boris was having.

  “Why would he do this to us?!” Hector whispered. “We were family to him!”

  “I can’t watch anymore of this,” Brittany cried. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing right now.”

  “This is not happening,” James added. “There’s no way. He wouldn’t do this to us,
would he?”

  “He wasn’t around that day,” Joseph sighed, shaking his head to the ground. “He fooled every one of us.”

  “What more do you want from me?” Adam continued, unaware that the Shinobi were watching him. “You had me kill Bryan, Jake’s already an enemy of the settlement, along with the Shinobi, Brandon is no longer Chief of the Z-Corps, Tyrese is in custody, and Alan is dead. You have everything. Our agreement is over!”

  “Not until I know that Jake is dead,” Boris responded. “After that, then we’ll be finished. You can do whatever you want as soon as we’re done. Until then, I still need you to assist in keeping things in order. Do you still want to be Presiding Officer Adam Lee?”

  “Oh, you know exactly what I want.”

  “He killed Bryan too?” James commentated, overhearing the rest of the conversation.

  “I know this is hard to say,” Joseph stated. “But Adam Lee has betrayed us and this entire settlement. He’s involved with treason. We have to get rid of him.”

  The Shinobi continued to listen to the conversation.

  “Then I expect you to do your part,” Boris ordered. “You’ll need to find out if there is any sign of resistance in the settlement. Then we’ll look for his hiding spot. Squeeze him out and constrict his movement.”

  “Yessir,” Adam replied.

  With that, Boris headed back inside the jailhouse, and Adam left the jailhouse, heading for the military outpost.

  “He doesn’t know that we know,” Joseph said. “Let’s hurry up and get to him.”

  The Shinobi followed Adam back to the gate and entered with the help of their civilian volunteer badges. Then the group met up with Adam, who was surprised to see them.

  “Guys,” Adam said. “What are you doing here?! You’re gonna get caught!”

  “We came back to get you,” Joseph answered. “Jake is going to start the assault tonight and he wants all of us involved.”

  “I can’t just stay inside the base and attack outward?”