Survive (33 page)

He risked being caught by moving his head slightly so he could see up and into the room. The same uniformed men rushed back past him, some firing behind them, others holding on to cables. The cables were attached to the Zed pack leader. It struggled uselessly against the braided metal strands and the dozen men who held them. Angry noises came from its mouth as it was dragged past John.

A soldier walked behind the creature, talking in to a headset. “Mission accomplished, the informant’s intel was good. We are extracting now.” The men continued past John, a rear guard firing behind them as they left. The last one was up the stairway and out of sight before John dared to stand up. He looked behind him and saw most of the Zeds near him were down, riddled with bullet holes, though some were still moving. He ran for the stairs, hoping the soldiers were gone.

He made it up into the ground floor of the organ factory and saw a swath of destruction heading towards a wide open doorway directly in front of him. Zeds moved in on all sides. He ran as hard as he could, every battered muscle in his body working to keep him alive. He burst out through the darkness into the clear light of day ahead of a pack of howling, hungry Zeds. As he ran, he saw two Blackhawk helicopters flying away to the Northwest. Under one, he saw some kind of cage hanging from a cable, swaying in the wind.

John risked a glance behind him and saw hundreds of Zeds, some still on fire, chasing him. Most were shambling along slowly but dozens were running, gaining on him. He ran, the heavy armor slowing him down.

John found the road plowed by his team on the way in. He ran faster on the packed snow, but still the Zeds gained on him. He had run for over a mile before the first ones caught him. He knew they were going to catch him, so he flicked out the two spikes on his arms, setting them in place. He drew his pistol and gripped it tightly in his hand.

They jumped on him, grabbing at his arms and legs. They hauled him down to the ground like a pack of hyenas on a zebra. He went down hard. He watched grimly as they bit at him. Their sharp, jagged teeth closed tightly on the armor, but never managed to puncture it. He fired into them at close range, each shot hitting something. As Zeds fell off him, more raced in to take their place. He pulled the trigger a final time. The big pistol clicked empty. He dropped it and punched out with each arm. The spikes drove into undead heads, through eye sockets or rotten skulls. Each one he killed was immediately replaced by another.

As he managed to kill Zed after Zed, he saw the bigger pack of shambling Zeds getting close. He was tired, and slowing down.
If I don’t get out of here now, I’m a dead man,
he thought to himself.
I promised Sara
...

He punched and punched, and kicked out with his heavy boots. More Zeds fell. They bit his armor savagely but still he punched with the wicked spikes on his arms. Finally, amazingly, he stood alone. Zed bodies lay in a circle around him. He looked up. A tidal wave of Zeds approached him. His moment of triumph washed away in resignation, he stood waiting to die.

Suddenly, he remembered the package Jose had given him. He reached down and pulled it from the pouch at his side. He unwrapped it quickly and gasped. An olive green grenade lay in his palm. Without thinking, he pulled the pin and threw it toward the oncoming Zeds just as they rushed toward him along the narrow street. Lines of parked cars acted as a funnel, grouping them together in a savage, slavering mob.

John dropped to the ground as the grenade exploded right in the midst of the mob. Cars on either side of the road exploded as white hot fragments ripped through their gas tanks. A shock wave rolled over John’s back. Moments later, he looked up. A smoking crater smoldered where the mob had been. Burning metallic hulks stood to either side. Through the smoke, John saw slow movement as more Zeds, the slowest of them all, shambled after him. John climbed to his feet and started running towards home.

* * *

An hour later, John rounded a bend. He’d given up running and now walked, conscious that if he stopped to rest, he’d likely be buried under a Zed mob again. He could hear them getting closer, always closer. As he turned the corner, a big pickup truck with bright flames painted on the side and an old steel door mounted to the front sat there, idling in the frozen twilight. Jose stood there in his armor, a pistol in one hand and his sword in the other. A white headband had been painted on his modified motorcycle helmet. He grinned through the clear visor as John approached.

“I thought you’d never get here, man.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” John said, his voice a mixture of relief and curiosity. “And where did you get a grenade?”

“Found it. And I’m here to give you a lift home. They already radioed back and said you were probably dead. I told Sara you weren’t but I don’t think she believed me. She really loves you, John. She’s a wreck.”

“How did you know I’d be here?” John asked.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Not that it matters. You might want to grab that extra P90 in the truck.” Jose reached into the cab of the truck and turned the stereo up. Loud, screaming music ripped out into the evening. Jose yelled. “Dude!
All Nightmare Long
by Metallica. It’s my zombie killing song!” He pointed his pistol at John and pulled the trigger.

A Zed fell right behind John, a neat round hole in its forehead. Behind it, more shambled along, their rotting hands reaching for the two men. He ran to the truck and opened the passenger door. He grabbed the black weapon from the seat and turned to fire. Jose fired his pistol into the throng. A Zed got too close and Jose sliced its head off, whipping the curved sword clean through its neck. John fired, each shot taking a Zed down, one after another, until they were all gone.

When it was finally over, Jose bent down and wiped his blade off on the dirty red dress of a female Zed, laying prostrate at his feet.

The two armored men climbed up into the truck and turned towards home. John took his helmet off and breathed in cool, fresh air for the first time in hours as Jose radioed back to the compound.

* * *

“John! Don’t you ever do that again!” Sara yelled as she hugged her husband tightly. “I love you so much,” she said as her anger began to show itself as anxiety followed by relief. He hadn’t even had time to take off his scarred, melted armor before she’d leaped into his arms. Her eyes were red, and teary streaks flowed down her cheeks.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m okay. I’m right here,” John said as he kissed the top of her head.

Sara cried into the hard plastic of his chest piece. She pushed back and pounded her fists into his shoulders. “They said you were dead! I thought you were dead!” she cried.

“I know... I would have been if it hadn’t been for Emmet,” he said. His voice cracked as he was caught up in Sara’s pain as well as his own grief over Emmet.

They held each other like that for some time. Princess flashed in and out of their legs, reminding them of her existence with the occasional happy bark. Finally, Sara wiped her eyes and drew back from John. “You can’t go out there again, John.”

“Sara,” he started, “I have to. You know that. We have things to take care of, people that count on us.”

“John, there’s something I have to tell you. I know you said we’re bursting at the seams here, but there’s going to be another person coming in soon. Don’t worry, though,” she said, smiling. “They won’t take up much room.”

He looked down at his wife’s now-beaming, tear streaked face, and broke into a happy grin as it was his turn for tears to fill his eyes.

EPILOGUE

Spring 2011

Brattleboro, Vermont

John stood, looking out over the muddy road, his arm around Sara. Princess sat at her side, her constant shadow for the last couple of months.

“I’ve stopped the trade convoys. The last one came in this morning. The Zeds are moving again with the spring thaw. We’ll start the convoys up again when it snows.”

“Even with the new armor?” Sara asked.

“We don’t have enough of it yet to equip all of our escorts, but Douglas thinks he’s located another source of similar plastic. We’ll make a run for it in a few days.”

“We?” Sara asked, arching her eyebrows.

John looked down at Sara, smiling as he took in her beautifully pregnant belly that seemed to grow more every day.

“I mean they. Not me. I’m staying right here,” he said as his hand moved down to gently rub her protruding midsection. “For now.”

She looked back up at him and winked. “Damn straight.”

Their attention was caught by movement from down the road. A bright red pickup truck pulled into sight. It slewed around a muddy corner and came closer into view. John pulled a small pair of binoculars from a vest pocket and brought them to his eyes.

Moments later he whooped in joy. “I don’t believe it!” he yelled.

“What?” Sara asked. Princess started yapping excitedly at their feet.

“It’s Jesse! Jesse made it! And he’s not alone!”

John hugged Sara close as the big red pickup truck pulled into the compound.

From the Journal of John Mason

January, Zed Year Two

Things we know about Zeds:

1. They are tough. You have to shoot them in the head or burn them to really be sure.
   

2. They gather in packs. I’m not sure why. Some of the older Zeds seem to act as pack leaders. I’ve heard one speak a few words.
   

3. Most of the population of the world is now Zed, or has been killed by Zeds. I’m just guessing, but I would say we lost 90-95% of the population to them. Most of that in the first week.
   

4. We don’t know where they come from. I have my suspicions, however...
   

5. There is no cure. There is no treatment. There is only final death.
   

6. Whatever it is that causes one to become a Zed seems to be transmitted through bites. Whether it is the saliva or something else in the bite that does this, I have no idea.
   

7. Dogs and other animals seem to be immune. I’ve never seen a Zed cow wandering around out there.
   

8. They don’t seem to like the sound of car horns. It won’t kill them, but it might buy you a few seconds.
   

9. The recently dead can move really fast. They run and jump much like a living person. The longer they have been dead, the slower they seem to get.
   

10. Zeds don’t like the cold. Vermont winters are hard on them. Some hibernate. Not all, though. This could be key to our survival.
    

11. They can be beaten. We can survive this new Zed order.
    

About the Author

Born and raised in Brattleboro, Vermont, Todd Sprague is a private investigator and former police officer. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife Patti, their Australian Shepherd Max, and a little gray and white cat named Noel.

He is currently working on the next book in the
New Zed Order
series, as well as other creative projects.

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