The Z-Day Trilogy (Book 3): Plague of the Living Dead

by Mark Cusco Ailes

  He made his way inside the room. It was much larger than he was expecting. Not only was it the janitor’s closet, but it also was a large boiler room. He closed the door behind him and looked around. It contained large machinery that obscured his vision across the room. Anybody could be hiding behind any of them and he wouldn’t know it. He didn’t have any choice; he had to clear the room. He couldn’t put the others at risk if he was careless. He raised his M16 and took a step forward. He slowly checked behind the machinery before reaching the end of the room. To his relief, the room was clear of any zombies. He smiled and turned around to head back to the door. He could now go back and get Brinke and let her know it was safe to come to the room to fetch the supplies she needed. He opened the door leading back into the hall and before he could react, he was snatched from his feet and thrown to the ground.

  He looked at his attacker, completely taken by surprise. The zombie put its entire weight on top of him, keeping him from bringing his M16 into position. It snapped its jaws violently, threatening to rip into his flesh. He fought hard against his attacker, but it was much stronger than he was. He managed to free his weapon and brought it up sideways to keep its jaws from snapping shut on his face.

  A shot echoed from farther down the hall, and the zombie fell limp on top of him. He felt it being lifted off of him and Captain Spanner held a hand out to him.

  “Did he bite you?”

  He let the captain help him to his feet. He looked at Brinke. “Did you go for help?”

  “I was worried about you. You were taking too long.”

  “Thank you. If you hadn’t, I would be a goner by now.”

  She smiled. “Don’t mention it. Was it clear?”

  “The only zombie around here is the one who almost killed me. You can go inside and get what you need.”

  Captain Spanner waited until Brinke and the others went inside the room. “You have to be more careful. If it wasn’t for her, I would have lost another soldier. I can’t afford to lose any more soldiers, private. Next time you have to clear any area, make sure you bring somebody with you to watch your back.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

  “Make sure it doesn’t. Now make sure they get back all right. If you need me, I’m going to do some shopping and get the supplies we need to set up our command center.”

  “I don’t like this,” said Patricia. “I want to go home. My parents are going to be worried about me.”

  “So are mine,” said Emily. “I hope they’re all right.”

  “They knew we were coming to the mall, didn’t they?” asked Patricia, looking around to make sure there wasn’t any zombies in the room with them.

  “I told my father. If I know him, he’ll come to the mall looking for us. Don’t worry; we’re going to get through this thing.”

  “Only if we stick together,” said Brinke. “We can’t separate from one another. You’ve seen what could happen if we don’t.”

  “That’s true,” said Patricia. “How are we going to trust them to keep us safe if they can’t keep each other safe? He was nearly killed out there.”

  Brinke handed her a mop. “We have to learn to rely on ourselves. They have the guns, but we have the brains and the intuition. The four of us will be fine if we stick together. Do you all agree?”

  “We agree,” they said in unison.

  “What do you agree about?”

  “That we can only…” started Patricia before being interrupted by Brinke.

  “That we are thankful you weren’t killed by that thing out there. I’m glad you weren’t killed.”

  “That thing got me into trouble.”

  Patricia laughed, and then stopped and covered her mouth with her hands. Private Godard stared at her curiously.

  “Come on, girls, we need to get to work,” said Brinke, turning off the faucet. “The sooner we get started the sooner we can finish.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  General Milkwood sat in the helicopter as it made its way from Nevada to Illinois. He sat back in his seat realizing it would take them a while to reach their destination. He was trying to figure out what he was going to do once he got there. There were many variables he had to consider. He wanted to unleash the smart zombies the minute he landed, but he knew a plan like that could be risky until he had all the details. He knew Captain Spanner was securing a mall there and was setting up a command center. The most logical plan of action would be to get his smart zombies inside the mall and formulate a plan with the captain. He closed his eyes. He knew they would have to land to refuel at some point. It would cost him some time, but it didn’t matter, time was already getting away from him.

  President Andrews was nervous. He was looking at a speech that was written for him, but he felt it didn’t convey what the American people needed to hear. He tossed it into the garbage. He was going to do what he had originally planned. He was going to talk to the people from the heart. He felt confident he could make them understand how he felt about the situation and why he had made the decisions he had made. He looked around the empty room. Since the White House was on lock down, none of the press could attend as he addressed the nation. He took a drink of water as Gerald walked into the room and approached him.

  “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” He looked in the trash and saw the speech written for him. “What’s wrong with it? It says exactly what you wanted the nation to know. It will keep everything from coming back to bite you in the ass. Please tell me you’re not going to throw your career away over this.”

  “I think it’s too late to worry about that now. America already knows me as the president who authorized the bombing of its citizens. I’ll never recover from that decision. Not to mention, under my watch, a zombie outbreak occurred. That’s two strikes against me already. I’m sure the third strike is not that far behind. The only thing I can do now is give the nation hope. I can try to convey to them the government is on their side and working hard on the problem.”

  “This is political suicide. You can recover from everything happening out there.”

  “Gerald, maybe I don’t want to recover. Maybe I realize I wasn’t meant to be the nation’s leader. I’ve failed my country, and I’ve failed everything that matters most to me. I’m going to give this speech from the heart, with my words, not words expertly crafted for me. People are tired of hearing me talk to them like they’re stupid. I want to talk to them as an equal and with words they can understand.”

  “So now you’re going to call them stupid?”

  “No, I’m not…listen Gerald, I’m going to do this thing, with or without your approval. Where is Vice President Cooper? Let him know I will need to see him once I’m done addressing the nation.”

  Gerald stared at him in disbelief. He knew President Andrews was going to say and do something he was going to regret. He reluctantly turned and left the room. He had a good idea why he wanted him to get Vice President Cooper for him.

  President Andrews waited until a cameraman took his place behind the camera, and he then took his place behind the podium. He took a sip of water and nodded to him he was ready to go live on the air. He looked at the camera and hesitated for a moment. He was thinking about the conversation he had with Gerald. Am I making the right decision by giving my own speech? Will the American people listen to me? He took another sip of water and looked at the camera.

  “My fellow Americans…what I have to say today I say from the heart. I’m deeply saddened by the attacks happening in our great country.” He hesitated for a moment to gather his thoughts. “Mistakes have been made. I authorized the bomb dropped on Indiana hoping to eradicate a zombie outbreak. We were unsuccessful, and the outbreak has spread across the state line and into Illinois. The military was unsuccessful in containing it, and it now threatens to spread across the nation. There isn’t any other way to say it, as your leader of this great nation, I have failed you. My heart is full of regret and sorrow for letting this ha
ppen on our own soil. That is why I’ve made one last executive decision. Effective immediately, I’m resigning as your leader, and I’m making Vice President Cooper your new leader. May God forgive me for the mess I’ve created in America. Once again, I’m deeply sorry. May God keep us safe. I’m sorry, America.” He walked away from the podium.

  Gerald slammed his fist against a chair in the Oval Office as he and Vice President Cooper sat in his office waiting for the president to appear. He hadn’t the faintest idea what President Andrews was up to. He stood up as he walked in and made his way over to Vice President Cooper. Gerald stood in his way.

  “You can’t do this. You can’t just resign and make him the President of the United States!”

  “Relax, Gerald, I just did. It will be official in a few moments. The judge is in the building. He’s on his way.” He turned to Vice President Cooper. “I’ll need time to clear my living quarters. I have to stay here for the time being; the White House is under lockdown.”

  “Of course, take as long as you need.”

  “You’ll only be the president for a year before the election. That is if there is still an America left. I’m sorry I left the nation in a state of disarray. You have a huge mess to cleanup.”

  “Clean up your own mess,” said Gerald under his breath.

  President Andrews glared at him. “What are you mumbling about, Gerald? I think I heard you say for me to clean up my own mess.”

  Gerald fought back the words he really wanted to say and looked at him sternly. “You’re a coward. Instead of remaining our leader and trying to find a way to clean up this mess, you resign your post. I would never have pegged you as a quitter. What makes you think he’s going to be able to do anything about our situation? What about the smart zombie program? He doesn’t know anything about the program. Damn it! You’re bailing on your country when it needs you the most!”

  “Are you through ranting? I’ll stay here and help with the smart zombie program. I know how important the program is; I won’t abandon the project.”

  Vice President Cooper stood up furiously. “Will you two stop talking as though I’m not in the room? I have been keeping up with current events. I know all about the smart zombie program and everything else happening with the zombie outbreak. I can manage it.”

  “I’m sorry, Henry,” said President Andrews. “I should have included you in the conversation. Listen, I know everybody is thinking I’m a coward and I’m running from my problems, but this decision is my decision to make. I believe I can better serve the nation right now if I’m not in charge of it. I’ve made too many mistakes, and I don’t want to make any more. The nation can’t withstand any more mistakes. I’m leaving now for my living quarters, and if for some reason I figure something out, I will come back and inform you. You’re acting president now until the judge comes and swears you in. I now relinquish my duties to you.” Without uttering another word, he left the Oval office with his head held down.

  Acting President Cooper waited until he had left the office before speaking. “We have a lot of work ahead of us. Where are we on the smart zombie program and can the program help us with the current situation?”

  “The last I heard, General Milkwood is taking smart zombies to Illinois for a field test. We’re hoping the smart zombies can stop the regular zombies.”

  “The regular zombies?”

  “I know it sounds strange, but we don’t know what else to call them. None of that matters. We have to find a way to contain this outbreak. It’s being spread by two methods: first by being bit by a zombie and second, well… we found out the virus has gone airborne.”

  “Was it airborne in Valparaiso?”

  Gerald thought about the possibility it was airborne in Valparaiso. “We don’t know for sure. The entire area was eradicated before we had a chance to find out.”

  Acting President Cooper shook his head. “I was against bombing Valparaiso. We lost a lot of valuable information, not to mention any survivors when he authorized it. More time should have been spent on finding a reasonable solution.”

  “We didn’t have ample time. We didn’t want the zombie outbreak to spread to the neighboring states.”

  “But it did.”

  “Unfortunately. Look, we can debate all of this all day, but the fact still remains. We have to find a reasonable solution.”

  Acting President Cooper looked at a large stack of papers on top of the desk. “Do I need to read all of these?”

  “Not yet,” said the judge coming into the Oval office. “First, let’s get you sworn into office.”

  Once he was sworn into office, he focused his attention back on the stack of papers. Gerald approached the desk and tried to snatch the first sheet before President Cooper had a chance to read it, but he wasn’t quick enough. President Cooper picked it up and read it.

  “It won’t work,” said Gerald, watching the president place the sheet of paper on his desk. He looked at Gerald curiously.

  “Tell me more about this powder. Has it been tested yet? According to this report, it could be the solution to our problem.”

  “That was before we found out the virus was airborne. Our scientists have been working overtime trying to perfect it, but we’ve run out of time. Our first test with the powder was ineffective. We had to abandon the whole idea and we’re now trying to find another solution.” He looked away from him. “I’m afraid right now we don’t have a solution. General Milkwood is on his way to Joliet, Illinois with some of the smart zombies. I’m hopeful they can be our solution.”

  “What can smart zombies do against the others? Aren’t they all zombies?”

  Gerald laughed. “I know it’s a longshot, but right now it’s the only shot we have, unless you have another idea.”

  President Cooper looked around the office hoping he would see something to give him an idea of what to do. He didn’t know much about the smart zombie program to begin with. All he knew about it was it was some kind of military weapon being used to save soldier’s lives by keeping them away from the front line. He picked up the second piece of paper from the stack and read it. He looked at Gerald. “Can Doctor Krage solve the problem for us?”

  “He tried, but I’m sorry to inform you he’s been infected. Everybody working in Nevada has been infected. Before long none of them will be any use to us.”

  “Then it sounds like the smart zombies are the only thing that can stop the other zombies.”

  “In theory it should work. This is going to be the first field test done with them. We don’t know how effective they will be.”

  President Cooper walked across the Oval Office. “Gerald, I need to know something from you. I will understand if you don’t want to tell me, but I need to know this for myself. Do you believe nuking Valparaiso was the correct action? I mean…do you feel it was necessary?”

  Gerald didn’t want to respond. It was a secret he wanted to keep from President Cooper. Instead, he decided to give an evasive answer. “What is done is done. We now have to move forward and stop the spread of the outbreak.”

  President Cooper wasn’t surprised by Gerald’s loyalty. He was expecting an evasive answer. But now he knew he could trust Gerald. He went back to his desk. “You can leave now, Gerald. I need time to read through all of this paperwork. I’m hoping something was missed I can act upon. I need to find something that can work in our favor.”

  Gerald stared at him for a moment before leaving the Oval Office. He was reluctant to leave. He didn’t trust President Cooper yet. He had a lot to learn before he could be allowed to make executive decisions on his own. He needed to make sure he wasn’t going to make any rash decisions before he had a chance to weigh the consequences. He closed the door behind him and stopped to think. He felt helpless. The man he thought could help had just stepped down, and the man he thought was weak was taking over. This was going to make his job almost impossible. He made his way down the hall mumbling to himself. He had to find a way to get President Cooper
from doing something he might regret later.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Nothing was going according to plan as Mr. Billings slowly made his way down the road congested with abandoned and burning cars. Half devoured bodies lay near them in pools of their own blood. He peered over at his wife, but she was oblivious to her surroundings. He knew she had been traumatized, and he didn’t know how to help. He didn’t have the time to help her. They still had a few miles before they reached the mall, and all the obstacles were hampering his progress. He was nearly out of the neighborhood when the car was shaken from a nearby explosion. He peered into his rearview mirror and saw a large plume of smoke extending toward the sky.

  A gas line must have ruptured, he thought when he realized it had been a house that had exploded. He turned his attention back to the road. It was completely clogged with cars. He was forced to drive his car off of the road and into the front yard of the house on the right side of the road. A lone straggler shambled into his view, its face a ghastly ruin. He stole a glance back at his wife. He didn’t want her to witness what he might have to do. He didn’t know if the shambler would turn toward them as he drove toward it. He inched his way toward it, daring it to do something. It ignored him and continued shambling across the yard and into the street. He thought it was strange, but he figured it most likely didn’t see him sitting behind the wheel inside the car.

  “Where are we going?” asked his wife in a low mumble.

  “We’re heading to the mall to find our daughter,” he said. “Don’t you remember we discussed this.”

  “Is she at the mall? It’s a nice day to go to the mall.”