The Zombie Chronicles - Book 5 - Undead Nightmare (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (33 page)

I turned to face Val. “Val, is it true?”

“Dean, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am. There was an altercation, and she attacked them. We heard everything. They responded with deadly force, and I watched them drag her out.”

“We have to find her,” Claire said sadly. “She at least deserves a proper burial.”

I punched the yellow brick wall as hard as I could. My knuckles began to bleed and ache, but I didn’t care. That pain paled in comparison to the grief that immediately began eating me up inside, like a cancer. Jackie was dead. The scientists had tried to sedate her, and things had gone horribly wrong. I knew what Claire and Val were telling me was true, and I couldn’t bear to let it go unpunished. “What did the men look like, the ones who did this to her?” I asked.

“Revenge won’t bring her back,” Claire retorted, “and it might get you killed. Jackie wouldn’t want that, Dean. She…she wanted to save the world, not cause more bloodshed.”

Val gently touched my shoulder. “We’ll talk about this later, Dean. Right now, we’ve gotta go. You know if those men catch us, they’ll kills us for switching the bags.”

I couldn’t breathe or think or speak as it all sank in.

“Let’s go,” she said. “We’ll make them pay later, but if we stay here, we’re dead.”

“Back door,” I barely managed to get out as grief overwhelmed me.

“Where’s Nick?” Claire asked.

“Inside, with Lucas. I’ll go,” I stammered. When footsteps echoed in the corridor, I held my gun steady, ready to blow away any scientist I saw.

“Don’t shoot!” Nick said. “It’s only me.”

“Nick!” Claire yelled, jumping into his arms and burying her head in his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

“What happened?” I asked.

“We got away. Lucas is waiting for us two blocks away, with one of the men from the lab. Engine’s running in the U-Haul. The guy says he’s gonna take us to a safe compound outside the city. Nobody will know we’re there.”

“I’ve got the vials,” Val said. “Let’s go!”

“Jackie’s dead,” I said.

“I know. I’m so sorry, Dean.”

Everything seemed like a bad dream as Nick led us out the back door. I ached as we left the building, knowing we were leaving Jackie behind. I robotically followed them to the next block, and we piled into the truck that was still loaded with all the weapons Nick had found. It was smart to park the U-Haul so far away, because it had been kept well out of sight and made the perfect getaway vehicle.

We took the back roads out of the city. When we arrived at the next safe zone, armed guards opened steel gates into a luxury community with fancy homes. Nick, Val, and Lucas talked to the people there, explaining everything to them.

In one of the mansions where they agreed to put us up for the night, Claire sobbed, and I held her in my arms for hours. When the room started to spin, I had to go outside for fresh air. I stood on the deck of the house overlooking the lake. For an hour, I stared at those gentle, glistening ripples that rolled across the serene water. The place was quiet and peaceful, with only singing birds and no gunfire or fighting or zombie hisses and moans. It was something like an animal sanctuary, an undisturbed, natural habitat for humans to run free—until we reached the edge of the cage. Not only had the virus taken loved ones from me, but it had also robbed us of our real freedom, something too many humans had taken for granted for so long. I hoped we could one day walk down the street without fear of zombies preying on us, but that hope was becoming dimmer by the day.

I felt so numb, so lost, so helpless. I didn’t know if I could go on without Jackie.
I knew I’d never get over her and that I’d have to live with that horrific, tragic loss every
day
for the
rest of my life
.
All I really wanted was to hold Jackie in my arms again. I just wanted my life back, the one I wanted to share with her.

The door creaked open, and Nick and Val came out.

“We thought you could use some company,” Val said. She rubbed my back, then finally broke the pained silence. “I’m here for you.”

“I appreciate that, but only Claire can really understand,” I said. “Only she loved Jackie as much as I did.”

“Don’t say that,” Val scolded. “If anyone understands what you’re going through, it’s me. I’ve lost so many people I loved. When Travis, my fiancé, was killed at the clinic, I thought my life was over.”

The pain in her voice was evident, and I embraced her and hugged her tightly. “How do you get over something like this?” I whispered. “How does one stay sane in a world this crazy?”

“We don’t. We just have to keep fighting,” Nick said.

I shot him a hard look. “Even when we lose everything that’s precious to us?”

“When I lost Darla, I thought my heart had been torn out, but I know she would have wanted me to go on and live the life I’m destined to live.”

“Our soulmates have been violently ripped from us,” Val said. “My heart still bleeds for him, and I’m often consumed by pain and emptiness.” Her voice wavered. “I’m so lost and lonely, Dean, but we have to be strong and stick together.”

“What could I have done any differently?” I asked. “I tried so hard to save her. We all did.”

“Nothing,” Nick said. “This isn’t our fault, so don’t blame yourself. Just take one breath at a time.”

“What are we gonna do now?”

“For starters, we’ll spend the night here and leave in the morning,” Nick said.

“Right. We can’t wait around here for Sam and Larry to come find us,” Val said. “I’ll find us a car, some gas, food, weapons, and supplies, and we’ll—”

“We’ll what? Run? To where?” I was tired of running.

“Anywhere.”

“I’m tired of running.”

“Me too,” Val said, “but it’s how we stay alive. Like Nick said, we’ve gotta take one breath at a time.”

“I’m slowly dying. I can’t begin to tell you the pain I’m feeling.” I tried to keep my voice from trembling, but the emotion poured through. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train.”

They both tried to comfort and console me and give me brotherly and sisterly advice, but it did little good. My heart was dead, and nothing they could ever say would take away the hurt, grief, and loss that overwhelmed me. I began to think we shouldn’t have gone to the lab, but I didn’t think we had any other choice. It was some consolation to know that Val and Claire probably wouldn’t turn into hybrids, thanks to their blood type, but my heart still ached for Jackie.

The sky was the most beautiful blue ever, and my gaze shot back to the sun glimmering on the lake as a breeze swept past me. The scene before me was beautiful and serene, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was perfect. The thing was, I did know better.

My heart bled for Jackie, and the pain was far too real. That calm lake, shining sun, and those singing birds were just a farce, Mother Nature’s cover-up to hide the fact that our world was crumbling beneath us. We were stuck in an undead nightmare, and I wondered if we’d ever get out with our lives…

To Be Continued…

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