Zoe, Undead

by J. R. Knoll

  "I won't!" she screamed. Looking around her, she saw a few of the men looking away, and her lips slid away from her teeth as she spat, "He wouldn't leave any of you out there all alone."

  **

  Zoe yanked the door to her room open and stormed inside, right to her night stand. Her belt and vest were still on the bed and she picked up the belt first, pulling it on, then she clipped the pouches into place.

  Zachary entered the room behind her as she forced her arms into the vest and began to fasten it at the front. "What are you doing?" he asked.

  "I'm going to go help them," she insisted. "I'm going to go. The zombies don't bother me so I can get them bullets and go help."

  "That mad-dog was sure bothering you," Zachary pointed out. "It sounds like they have more of them at the power plant."

  "I don't care!" she cried. Looking to her teddy bear, she raised her chin slightly, then she pulled the drawer of her nightstand open and withdrew her revolver, finally turning to him as she shoved it into the holster. "I'm going. I'm not going to just let him die out there."

  Zachary just stared back at her for long seconds, then he nodded and informed, "I'll need to get my shotgun, then we'll need a ride. I think the power plant is a few miles from here and it's too far to walk."

  She was taken aback and did not know what to say, finally managing, "You… You're coming with me?"

  With a shrug, he confirmed, "My dad's out there, too, and I can't just let you go alone. You could get hurt or killed." He looked away from her and added in a low voice, "And I kind of like you."

  Zoe turned her eyes down, again not knowing what to say, but she finally managed, "Even though you know I'm a zombie?"

  "I don't know," he mumbled. "I still think you're only part zombie. I just think… You're a cool girl and I have fun with you and I shouldn't let you go get the other guys alone."

  "Thanks," she offered softly.

  "Um, so," he stammered, "should we, uh… Should we try to find something to drive to the power plant?"

  "I guess," she confirmed, still glancing around at the floor. "I don't know how to drive."

  "I can drive," he assured. "Do you think they'll let us take one of those armored cars they have?"

  She finally looked up at him and replied, "I don't know. I think we would have to ask Colonel Halstead first. I think he has the keys to them."

  **

  "You what?" Colonel Halstead shouted as he stood behind his desk.

  Standing in the doorway, Zoe and Zachary exchanged nervous looks, and Zoe looked back to the Colonel and answered, "Um, we want to borrow a Stryker so that we can go get Sergeant Morris and the other guys from the power plant."

  "Princess," he started as patiently as he could as he planted his hands on the desk and leaned onto it, "We just got our asses kicked out there. I have ten people who didn't come back and I don't mean to see that number get bigger!"

  "But the zombies won't bother me!" she whined loudly, feeling herself starting to cry. "We can at least take them bullets and stuff! Please, Colonel Halstead, let us go and get them!"

  "Yeah," Zachary barked. "What happened to you army guys not leaving anyone behind?"

  "I'm a Marine!" the Colonel shouted back. He glared at the boy for long seconds, then he bowed his head, raising a hand to rub his eyes as he grumbled something they could not hear. "We don't leave anyone behind," he mumbled. "This is a different kind of war. We can't afford to lose any more than we have." He shook his head. "Damn it!" Reaching for his radio, he raised it to his mouth and called, "Captain Langley."

  There was a pause, then someone came on and informed, "K I A, last mission, Sir."

  He growled a sigh, then he said into the radio, "Get on the P.A. and get everyone to the rally area right now." As he clipped his radio back onto his belt, he raised his chin as he looked to the two again and ordered, "Get to the rally area. I'll be there in a few minutes."

  **

  Back to the rally area.

  There were many more people there, civilians and soldiers and a buzzing of discussions hung in the air. Weapons were lined up along the front desk again and Zachary wandered over to them, looking them over like a boy in a toy store. Zoe followed and loudly cleared her throat when he reached for one.

  "You have to ask first!" she hissed.

  He vented a breath through his nose, glanced at her, then shoved his hands into his pockets.

  "Hey," a familiar voice summoned.

  They turned, seeing that Stryker driver right behind them.

  The driver looked to Zachary and extended his hand. "Corporal Lance Baker."

  Shaking his hand, Zachary replied, "Zachary Knox."

  Baker looked to Zoe, and he nodded. "A lot of us got pretty freaked out about what happened. We got used to kicking ass out there, and then…" He looked away and folded his hands behind him. "It's a terrible way to die. I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing that, now I'll never forget."

  "Listen up!" Colonel Halstead yelled from the center of the rally area. He scanned the room, waiting for everyone to train their attention on him before he spoke again. Folding his hands behind him, he raised his chin and finally said, "We have some people out there and we still have not restored power to this part of the city. I don't give a damn how anyone feels about what happened out there this morning, I need to know who has the balls to go back. I want volunteers and volunteers only for this assault. I'm leading the mission myself and we're taillights down the driveway in twenty minutes. We are going into harm's way, boys and girls, and I intend to kick ass and forget names. We're taking the power plant back, restoring power, getting our people out and wiping out every moaner in our way. If you mean to go with us then I'll see you out front at the vehicles in fifteen minutes."

  All watched in silence as he turned smartly and strode toward the hallway that would take him into the heart of the hospital, and silence remained for a moment after.

  Baker walked around Zoe and toward the stairs, and her heart sank a little as she saw him leaving.

  "Where are you going?" she asked in a loud voice.

  The Corporal looked over his shoulder and replied, "I need a beer or two. If I'm doing this, I ain't doing it sober."

  Other soldiers exchanged looks. Many were still apprehensive about going, but one said, "I've got a bottle of Scotch I've been saving. May as well crack it open." He also walked toward the stairs, following Corporal Baker. Many of them began to filter toward the stairs.

  In a few moments only a few remained, those few who were checking weapons and gear, those few who were quiet, those few who still intended to go, and who knew the likelihood of their return was slim.

  Zoe folded her arms and quietly scanned the room, and finally she looked up at Zachary.

  He was staring at her, then he glanced around and asked, "So, who do I ask?"

  **

  The Strykers, two humvees, a four door pickup and one of the buses they had used to rescue people from the school were parked front to back right outside of the hospital when Zoe and Zachary walked out the front door. Looking around them, they only saw Colonel Halstead, who stood beside the closest Stryker with his hands folded behind him and a very hard look on his face. He was back in that black commando gear that Zoe had first seen him in, a black helmet strapped to his head, and his weapon slung over his shoulder.

  Nobody else was there.

  The two strode hesitantly to the lone soldier, and Zoe stopped in front of him, looking up at him with confident eyes as she softly said, "You can just drop us off if you want, Sir."

  He turned his eyes down to her, and smiled. "Nobody gets dropped off, Princess. Just wait a minute."

  She looked around her and observed, "But nobody's here and it's time to go."

  The door of the hospital burst open and fully armed and equipped soldiers began to file out, led by Corporal Baker, who had two weapons slung over his arms. Civilian volunteers were with them, also heavily armed and many of them also
wore black ZRT vests and helmets or caps.

  Zoe absently counted them, and a little smile found her lips as the last of them—the sixty-third—left the hospital with a rage in his eyes, a determination, and a shotgun in his hands.

  Baker walked right up to the zombie girl and took one of the weapons from his shoulder, offering it to her as he informed, "This is an M-4 assault rifle, twenty round magazine and a little more range and hitting power than that revolver you have." When she hesitantly took it, he went on, "Use it first and fall back on your revolver when your ammo's spent. I'll give you a few more magazines when we mount up."

  She looked down at it and nodded, offering in a meek voice, "Thank you."

  The Corporal looked to Zachary and raised his chin slightly. "You up to the SAW?"

  "Saw?" the boy asked, drawing his head back.

  "Squad Automatic Weapon," Baker clarified. "We already have one on the Stryker and you seem like a stout guy. We thought you might like to try it out."

  Zachary smiled slightly and breathed, "A machine gun?"

  "Belt fed," the Corporal confirmed. He looked to the Colonel and raised his chin, offered a salute and reported, "We're ready to board, Sir."

  Colonel Halstead saluted back, then he looked around to the people who awaited his orders, and loudly he gave them. "Okay, listen up, people! Same drill as last time. Ranger One, that's the Stryker behind me, will drop Private Princess and a squad of five across the road from the plant, then both Strykers will put fire on any moaners we see out there and then execute a fighting retreat away from the plant for two miles. The Hummer will move in next and draw off more. The bus will attack from the back of the plant to draw off any from that side. While this happens, Princess here will take ammo into the besieged squad and relieve them. They will fight their way out back toward the front. The Strykers will relieve the bus, which will move to the front of the plant to extract the team inside, covered by the Hummer. Everybody comes back from this one, boys and girls, everyone! Do not take unnecessary risks out there. If you run across one of those new mad-dog moaners and you can't score a quick kill then get away from it and bring it into someone else's sights. Any questions?" He looked around him, looking for hands, then he ordered, "You have your assignments. Mount up!"

  A cheer went up and everyone ran toward their assigned vehicles.

  "You're with me, Princess," the Colonel ordered as he turned toward the first Stryker.

  **

  The power plant they meant to assault was right on the outskirts of town. Fed by both coal and gas, it was silent for the first time in many years. Surrounded by a hurricane fence that lay almost completely on the ground, the front of the plant was almost entirely parking lot, most of which was abandoned. The front of the main building was encased in red brick and the many windows made it clear that this was the office complex of the plant. Stacks behind this building betrayed the location of the power generators and many thick power cables were strung from high metal towers and heading away from the plant in three directions. There was little landscaping, and what there was had been neglected for some time.

  Even two hours before sundown, this was an eerie looking place. As the Strykers pulled into the parking area, only a few zombies could be seen milling about inside. Many windows were broken out, the front door was gone and there was some movement inside, and this told them that most of the zombies were within the structure and would have to be flushed out. The first Stryker charged the front door, then turned hard to bring its side to bear on the doorway. A few rounds were fired into the building, through the doorway and some of the windows, and the zombies outside were also fired upon and felled. No more of the zombies emerged and it was clear that they would have to be flushed out the hard way. Both Strykers opened at the backs and ten soldiers ran toward the building, their weapons ready as they neared. The assault vehicles turned away from the building and then backed up toward it to give their soldiers the best chance of reaching them in a hurry.

  Half of the soldiers charged in while the other five set up a perimeter, and one fired at movement he saw in a window. More fire could be heard from within and in a moment the five who had gone in ran back out, one of them shouting, "They're right behind us!" Those who had set up the perimeter backed away, toward the waiting vehicles as the first of the zombies ran out after the first soldiers, and these were cut down by weapons fire as soon as they got out. More charged up to the windows from within, some of those climbing out of them. The retreating soldiers fired at them until they were back aboard their vehicles. As scores of zombies emerged from the doorway and from almost every window, the last man boarded and the backs of the Strykers closed, and they took off in different directions and at a slow speed. The zombies they got to follow them were running after them and moans and yells were sent toward their departing quarry.

  With most of the zombies now out of the building and chasing the Strykers, the Hummer charged in from the right side of the building somewhere and the big machine gun on top of it tore into those that were still making their way out. The gunner raked over the building with the heavy machine gun as the man in the passenger's seat also fired on them with his assault rifle. Those zombies not killed outright took off in pursuit of the fast moving Humvee and soon no more of them emerged.

  A few moments went by.

  Zoe, Zachary and four soldiers walked almost leisurely toward the front entrance of the power plant, and the men and one woman with her held their weapons ready. There was no movement around them, none at all, and they all seemed rather at ease as they approached. Zoe's weapon remained slung over her shoulder as she strode with purpose toward the plant's office complex.

  Stepping over the bodies of the zombies that had been killed at the entrance, Zoe looked down and grimaced, and she spat, "Ew!" as she came across one whose head had virtually exploded. Black red blood had splattered everywhere, and some gray and yellow matter that had once been brains. She walked over the bodies carefully, and once clear of them she paused to look around.

  The main hallway went on to another hall that crossed it about eighty feet away, and there was another doorway directly in front of them at the end of that hall. The sides of the hall had emergency lighting illuminating doorways that were evenly spaced, and a window was beside each door. The walls were painted a sterile white and seemed a bit dirty in places and the floor was some kind of industrial tile that could be found in office buildings and schools all over.

  She took only scant notice of her surroundings, instead looking about for movement or anything that might resemble a zombie. Slowly, she lowered her arm and allowed the M-4's strap to slide from her shoulder, and she held it ready and directed in front of her as her gaze tried to bore into the darkness of the open doors beyond. When this thing had begun, she had learned that she could smell other zombies, could tell them apart from the living, and she inhaled deeply and slowly through her nose as she walked.

  Reaching the door, she paused and peered in, her eyes sweeping the darkness inside.

  One of the other soldiers reached around her, to the flashlight that was mounted on the bottom of her weapon, and turned it on. She looked back at him, and when he nodded to her, she smiled and nodded back.

  They all went in slowly, and as quietly as they could manage. Lights on weapons lanced through the darkness to illuminate what needed to be seen.

  Zoe proceeded slowly, her wide eyes panning back and forth in the darkness. They were crossing into the mechanical workings of the power plant, and in time they had negotiated a dark and horrifying labyrinth and arrived in a concrete structure where one of the turbines was, and the huge generator that it turned. Everything was quiet and the whole area smelled of char and sulfur, grease and some kind of natural gas. It was more spacious here and flashlight beams disappeared down the cavernous darkness beyond the generator.

  Panning her light around, she focused it on the floor near the generator, then she barked a scream and backed away.

  A
ll weapons and lights focused on that point, revealing a cockroach that had paused on the floor nearby. All of those lights slowly moved and refocused on Zoe.

  Looking around her, she shrugged and said, "I can't help it. They're icky!"

  One of the men shook his head and slung his weapon, and he withdrew a handheld flashlight from his belt, shining it on a control panel on a back wall. He and one of the other men strode that way and the others watched them for a few seconds before following. As they reached the panel, Zoe quickly lost interest in what they were doing and turned the other way, toward and then beyond the huge generator.

  Her foot bumped something and she stopped, shining her light down. Her eyes widened as her light illuminated a big combat boot, and as she shined her light up it, she saw torn trousers, blood, and white bone. Drawing a loud gasp, she backed away, her gaze fixed on the horror before her.

  The other soldiers with her rushed forward, focusing their beams on what she stared at and illuminating it completely and this only compounded the horror she already felt.

  The body had been torn apart and eaten almost completely, down to the skeleton. The clothing he had worn was shredded, ripped apart by teeth and claw-like hands.

  Zoe drew in breaths that shrieked and she backed away a few more steps, shaking her head as she tried to reason out what it was she saw. Slowly shaking her head, she nearly lost her grip on her weapon, and when she backed into someone, she stopped and finally turned away, burying her face in his chest.

  Slowly, Zachary slipped his free arm around her, his eyes still on the horror that lay before them.

  "Okay, people," one of the soldiers announced. "We knew we were going to see this. Come on. We've still got a job to do and we have a lot of people counting on us." He grasped Zoe's shoulder and asked, "You still with us, Princess?"

  Hesitantly, she nodded.

  The woman had crouched down near the body, and slowly she stood with something in her hand, and she breathed, "Oh my God!"

  Zoe slowly pulled away from Zachary and turned around.