by Gayle Katz
Ominous Ordeal
Jane Zombie Chronicles
Book 5
Gayle Katz
In Your Face Publishers
Blue Bell, PA
Copyright © 2019 Gayle Katz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission from the author. For permissions contact:
[email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead, or undead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Visit the author’s website at GayleKatz.com
Table of Contents
________________________________________
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
About the Author
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Chapter 1
________________________________________
“Run, Jack! Run!” I shout, as our arms and legs propel us furiously through the air. Confusion sets in as I’m not sure where we’re running from or where we’re running to. All I know is that we have to stay ahead of the zombie horde close behind us. If we don’t, we’re dead – or worse.
Almost as fearsome here are the elements. Dashing through this unknown, foreign land is almost as deadly as the undead ready to attack us. No matter which way we decide to go, overwhelming obstacles greet us at every pass. The heat is burning us to a red-hot crisp. I can feel the sun singe my exposed skin. The sand beneath us is so fiery that it’s burning the soles of our feet through our shoes. It also ensnares us with every step, preventing us from running as fast as possible. And the zombies. Ugh. They’re in pursuit. And they’re catching up. Fast. I don’t understand. How can zombies run so much faster than us? It doesn’t make any goddamn sense.
“Jane, I-I d-don’t think I can make it,” Jack weakly says. He can barely get the sentence out.
“Yes, you can! You have to! We have no choice!”
“I’m exhausted.”
“Me too. Ignore it and keep running! Whatever you do, don’t stop!”
Still sprinting, I see a small town on the horizon. I turn my head toward Jack, shouting and pointing at the potential safe house. “See! We’re almost there! Keep going!”
“It’s so far away.”
“No it’s not. If we can speed up a little more, we should be there in minutes,” I say. Shouting and running at the same time isn’t easy and I’m ready to collapse from exhaustion myself. Setting my eyes on our target, I pick up speed and haul ass. “Keep up with me!”
Sucking every last ounce of strength out of my muscles, I keep running towards town. We’ve been running for a while now, but the town doesn’t seem to be getting any closer. That’s strange. No matter – it’s probably just my eyes and brain playing tricks on me.
Focusing on the goal of evading the monsters chasing us, I hear Jack scream my name. “Jane!”
Turning around to acknowledge his cry, I gasp as Jack collapses to the ground.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” I shout, frozen in my tracks. With the zombies still in pursuit, I turn around and run back in their direction in order to help Jack. Then I see that his foot is caught in some sort of burrow.
“My foot! It’s stuck! I’m yanking it, but I can’t get it free.” I see him worriedly glance behind us. He has a concerned look on his face and, rightfully so, is panicking. “You have to go! They’re gonna be on top of us in seconds,” he warns, pushing me away.
“I’m not leaving you!” I shriek as I furiously attempt to dig in the sand to dislodge his foot and ignore the imminent threat fast approaching.
“AHHH!” he shouts as the sand starts to pull him under. His whole leg is now consumed. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know!” My heart is racing. His other leg is now beneath the sand, too. “Something is pulling you down faster than I can dig you out. Can you feel it? Can you shake it loose? Grab onto me! I’m gonna try to pull you up!”
I grab onto his hands and start to back up, hoping to release him from whatever’s got ahold of him. My fingers are clamped around his hands. Pulling against whatever is below the surface, I stave off his descent for a moment or two, but then the drag continues. Not giving up, I fear I’ll rip his arms out of their sockets, but I keep going. I have to save him! Within seconds, my efforts prove worthless against this unknown force. And the tug-o-war doesn’t seem to be progressing in our favor.
“Jane, listen to me, baby,” he says. “It’s not working. Y-You have to get out of here. I don’t know what’s got me and the zombies will be on top of us in a second or two. You have to go. Now! Get to safety!”
“No! No, I’m not leaving you here to die.” I’m completely freaking out.
“Y-You don’t have a c-choice,” he says, seemingly resigned to his fate.
“No! Jack! I love you!” Still holding his hands, I lean back and put all of my weight and all the strength I can muster into getting him back in one piece, but it’s not enough. The sand is up to his chest now. And the zombies are only a couple yards away. I can see their angry, foul faces and inhale the putrid stench of their rot and decay. Realizing the hopelessness of our situation, I persist. My life is nothing without Jack by my side.
To my dismay, Jack lets go of my hands, our connection now broken. With nothing and no one countering, the pull on him gets stronger. I fall forward trying to grab his hands again, hold on to him, and drag him back to safety, but most of his body is beneath the surface now. I only see his head and I can hear him whisper, “Go!”
Arms outstretched, I watch the sand completely cover his head and engulf his entire body, and only a couple of fingers poke out above the sand. With nothing left of Jack to grab on to, I look up and see zombies encircling me. Their grotesque faces and rotten teeth are contorted into horrible expressions. The ear-piercing screeching sounds coming from them are beyond frightening. Turning around, I have nowhere to go. I’m completely surrounded.
They stumble closer, blocking out the sun, leaving no room for me to escape. I can feel their stink enveloping me. I can’t breathe. Their jaws are chomping. Their retching gets louder. With tears in my eyes, I stoop down. I can’t watch them gnaw at my bones and feast on my flesh, so I close my eyes. I just can’t stomach it. Out of instinct, I wrap my arms around my head and neck in a fruitless attempt to protect myself. Within moments, I feel a thousand sharp teeth slash into my flesh as I scream and cry beneath the swarm of evil.
***
Sweating, I jerk awake with a groan. It’s dark. Looking around, there is no desert, there are no zombies, and there is definitely no Jack. However, I do hear voices. I try to calm down, collect myself, and listen
to what’s going on around me.
“How are things coming along?” a mysterious voice asks. “We need a status update.”
“A status update? Man, you can’t rush these things. Everything would be going faster if you’d allow me more flexibility,” Lance complains.
I hear him talking on the other side of the room. Trying to listen intently and see what he’s up to, I peer through the bars of my cage. All I can see is the side of Lance’s head. The rest of him is shrouded in shadow. And what’s strange is that he’s talking to a pixelated image on the monitor screen. The person on the screen looks like a blur to me. The voice seems off, too. It doesn’t sound human, but instead like it’s being disrupted somehow – computerized, maybe.
“Haven’t we given you enough leeway? Just get the job done already,” the voice replies. “It took you a while to complete your last job and we’re losing patience with you. Do yourself a favor and don’t get attached to this one, all right?”
“Yeah. Yeah. Listen, I found another source for what we talked about, but…”
“But what?”
“But this source needs a significant amount of funding to continue their research and development.”
“How much?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s safe to say this type of venture doesn’t come cheap.”
“How much?” the voice repeats.
“Not sure yet.”
“Well, figure it out and then let us know. We want that research.”
“Mmm-hmm. Sure thing, boss,” Lance says, leaning back in his chair.
“Just get it done,” the voice commands once more as the conversation ends. The Scrycor logo appears for a moment, and then vanishes as the screen goes dark. I definitely recognize their logo. I’ve seen it a few times before, and it’s never boded well.
“So you’re still a big loser, huh? Now just cleaning up someone else’s mess?” I remark. Lance was a loser in college, not caring if I lived or died in the first zombie outbreak on campus. Now, he or one of his co-conspirators has kidnapped my husband, Jack, to lure me here for nefarious reasons. Clearly, I’m still fuming and hoping to get a rise out of him, frustrated that he deceived me. How can I not be angry?
“You’re up. How lovely! Mind your manners, though. Don’t forget who you’re talking to.”
“Remind me again, who am I talking to exactly?”
“Someone who can kill you.”
“Are you trying to scare me?” I am frightened, but I’m not going to show it and give him the satisfaction.
“I’m just letting you know your options.”
“And what are my options again? Stay here under your thumb or be killed? Somehow I think I’d prefer death.”
“Be careful what you wish for. I’m warning you.”
“Don’t play with me. Anyway, what are you waiting for, Lance? Kill me if you want. It’d be better than being forced to stay here with you. You wanna know what I think?”
“Oh, please. Enlighten me with your words of wisdom.”
“I think that if you really wanted to kill me, you would have done it already. Face the facts. You’re not gonna do it. You don’t have the guts. You’re someone’s flunky, a liar and a coward.”
“Watch your mouth! I can make what’s left of your life even worse. Don’t forget that.”
“How could I forget it? You won’t shut up about it.”
I still can’t believe that Lance is the Rat and this whole thing was a ploy to trap me. My brain is having serious trouble processing this new revelation. I guess I should put my time in captivity to good use, try to get some information out of him, and figure out what’s going on. “How does Scrycor factor into this? Who were you talking to?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Are you their lackey? Are you doing their dirty work? It certainly sounds like it to me. Listen, since you’re so good at taking orders, how about you let me go?”
“Ha! You’re quite the comedian these days. Look – you’re here for one reason, because you want to be here. You came to me, remember? You left your safe, cozy little life looking to help your precious Jack. And that’s what I did. I helped you save your husband.”
“You helped me? I don’t think so. You put me through hell! Do you even know what I went through to get here? Do know the suffering you caused to get your piece of crap zombie sample? I almost died and I put other peoples’ lives in jeopardy. Because of you, Damar lost his brothers!”
“Damar... Ah, yes! I’ve heard of him. He’s made quite a name for himself in these parts. Is he your new freedom-fighting knight in shining armor now? Does Jack have some competition?” Lance winks at me.
“No, you douchebag. He’s a friend, but his brothers are dead now, thanks to you.”
“First of all, you got them killed by involving them in your thievery.”
“You made me steal it!”
“Secondly, they were expendable, Jane. Don’t you know that by now? You got what you needed from them. It’s all good.”
“Expendable? They’re people. And they’re not expendable. The world isn’t better without them – it’s worse, but I’m guessing you don’t see it that way. Their blood is on your hands. All of this death and destruction is your fault.”
“Shhh. You accomplished what you set out to do. Jack is free. You can’t deny that.”
“That’s questionable.”
“Questionable?”
“How do I know you didn’t kidnap him in the first place?”
“Smart girl. Good question. I guess you don’t, but I didn’t. Plus, how dare you accuse me of something like that!”
“Yeah. Right. Like you’re above kidnapping someone? You sent a damn clone to trick him into believing it’s me. Now you’re holding me hostage. You’re not above doing the dirty work.”
“OK, enough of your drama. I helped you with something. Now you’re going to help me with something. That’s only fair, right?”
“Uhhh, the last words I’d use to describe you are fair and helpful and, if I’m not mistaken, I’ve already helped you. I’m done.”
He’s right, though; I did travel halfway around the world to help Jack. Risking his life to figure out why so many zombie outbreaks are happening around the world, Jack is the bravest man I know, so when he’s stuck, he deserves reliable backup. None of our friends had the ability or resources to help. No one else was going to lift a finger to bring him back. I thought my sources deemed Jack’s kidnapping credible. That’s why I went after him. And that’s what you do when you love someone – you risk life and limb to get them to safety. As long as Jack was being held against his will, I was right there with him and nothing would be the same without him. Unfortunately now, he’s in another mess, even though he might not realize it yet.
“I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re far from done. Let’s be clear about a few things. When you came to me, all you mentioned was Jack. You saw him. He’s a free man. And that’s all thanks to me.”
“Thanks to you? Yeah. Uh-huh. But you didn’t really release him, did you? You’re watching him, keeping tabs on him with your fake Jane clone masquerading around as me. Mark my words; Jack won’t be fooled for long. He’s gonna notice she isn’t me and when he does, watch out. He’ll be coming for me and for you. Nothing will stop him.”
“Hmmm. That gives me an idea. Let’s pull up the video stream and see what’s happening with the newly reunited couple.” Lance rolls his monitor over so we can both watch together.
I’m anxious to see Jack and make sure that he’s OK. On the other hand, I’m desperately afraid to acknowledge that he might be getting along just fine without me, well, the real me. I attempt to look away, but my eyes are reluctantly drawn to the video screen.
“What? Afraid the man you love won’t be able to tell the difference between the two of you? Ha!”
“Shut up!” I shoot him a dark look.
“C’mon. Let’s watch the adventures of Jack and Jane together
and see what happens.”
I see Jack sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner. He’s talking about something, but I can’t hear anything. The clone me is nodding her head. Unfortunately, everything seems normal.
“Ah. The sound. It’s better with sound,” Lance says as he turns up the volume.
“How was your first day back at work?” the Jane clone asks. Damn! Her voice even sounds like mine.
“Pretty good. I love what I do so it’s like riding a bicycle, everything comes right back to you.”
“I’m so happy to hear that. I was worried everything you went through over there might have…” she trails off.
“Might have what? Screwed me up?”
“Yeah. Maybe, a little.”
“I can’t say that I’m 100% just yet, but being back with you is making all the difference. You were there for me when no one else was. I owe everything to you,” Jack says as he reaches out to grab the Jane clone’s hand. “Exposing the zombie conspiracy is important, but not as important as what we have. There’s nothing like it on Earth and I never ever want to put us or you in jeopardy again.”
“You’re fine. We’re fine. Together we can handle anything that’s thrown at us. And you’ll never lose me. I promise.”
“I almost did. And it scares me to death. You’re my life, babe, and I have to start treating you that way. I’m never going to take you for granted again, and I’m sorry that I did.”
Now he wakes up? He’s pledging his undying love and commitment and it’s not even me sitting there across from him. Dammit. This whole situation is so frustrating and messed up.
She takes her other hand and places it on top of his so both of her hands are sandwiched around his. The camera is looking right into his face. I can see the look in his eyes. He loves me and feels guilty about placing me, us, in harm’s way. Most likely, he’s going to get close and you know what happens from there. I’ve seen that look before and I don’t want to watch them anymore. If he’s going to get intimate with my clone, fine. I can’t stop it, but I don’t have to sit here and watch it.