He was 5’8”, about 120 lbs. His scalp was missing on the left side of his head and he had a huge gash taken out of his face. He moaned as he approached me. I knew it was either Chris or I that would take it this time and I wasn’t about to let that happen to my brother. Before I could even get my glock out of my pants waist, Chang had his pistol fired up and ready to go.
The zombie’s brain matter flew all over my face just a second later. It all happened so fast that my head was spinning. Chris stood there wide eyed and stunned. I grabbed him by his shirt collar and drug him through the gate.
I looked at Chang with an apology in my eyes. He winked at me and then grabbed me by my shoulder and walked me over to the freshly dug grave. I took off my over-shirt and used it to wipe the gore off of my face.
The ground was still moist. I could smell the freshly dug earth and it made my nose tingle. A knot grew in the pit of my stomach as I realized once again that we were burying a friend.
I turned to face Chris. He stood there emotionless. I wasn’t quite sure why but I knew I needed to keep an eye on him.
Brian stood there with his loaded gun in his hand and so did mom. We weren’t taking anymore chances. We were able to spot human zombies and kill them before it was too late but we were having trouble with animal zombies. So far we had a cat and 2 dogs attack. I no longer feared anything but animals.
We gathered around the grave. Bre stood next to Brian, mom next to Chris, Chang and I next to each other. I could see tears well up in Chris’ eyes but he fought them back. I wasn’t quite sure why he was doing that. If he needed to cry, then he needed to cry. Maybe he was too much like his sister in that way. Maybe it was ok to cry alone but not in front of people.
Brian started off the ceremony with tears in his own eyes. “Family we are gathered here today at the grave of yet another friend lost to the Z virus. Today we celebrate Zeke’s life. His life ending was not the end, but a new beginning with our lord Jesus.
“Zeke was a good friend to all of us. He loved hard and is now being laid to rest just feet from his bride. He touched every single life here with his tenacity and his charisma. He will never be forgotten and will always be in our hearts.”
He paused and then added, “Does anyone else have anything to say?”
Just then Chris knelt down to the ground. “Buddy, I hate losing you. You were my best friend, dude, and I just can’t believe you are gone. I loved you like the brother I never had…”
Bre screamed, “Chris, watch out!!!” and then pushed him away from where he once knelt.
To my horror I watched as the ground shifted just inches from where my brother’s hand just was. The dirt began to move as if there were a gofer beneath the surface.
I watched as a lifeless finger emerged from the dirt. Then I watched another until an entire hand escaped.
“Get out! Everybody out now!” Brian screamed in horror. He stood there over the grave with his gun pointed, waiting for Zeke to emerge from the dirt.
Mom, Chris and Bre escaped to the Suburban as Chang and I got our guns prepared for battle.
I couldn’t believe that Zeke was coming back from the dead. How was that even possible? I remembered shooting him in the skull.
“How is this even happening?” I asked frantically.
“Maybe it’s because he hadn’t turned into a zombie yet when you shot him in the head!” Brian exclaimed breathlessly.
“Let that sucker dig his way out and we will take care of him. He’s not Zeke anymore, so no hard feelings,” Chang announced.
The ground began to shift more and more as we stood there. I could see the terror on each one of our faces. What was even more frightening was that we were watching a person come up out of a grave; A dead person.
Minutes seemed to drag by at the corpse made its way out of its grave. We stood there with our guns locked on the subject. Finally an entire arm made its way out of the grave. I could see that the torso was having trouble. Or so I thought. In one long swoosh, a cloud of dust filled the area. The entire top half of Zeke was grey and lifeless and fresh earth covered him.
He was moaning and snapping at us with his teeth. His arms reached out to us in an attempt to snatch us off our footing. I was thankful at that moment that his legs were still planted in the ground. For just a second he wasn’t that much of a threat to us.
Brian aimed at Zeke’s head and then fired. Zeke’s body lie there lifeless as Brian had executed his zombie friend. Chang exhaled loudly and was relieved.
“I’m glad that is over with,” he stated.
“Me too. Let’s bury him back and be done with it.”
Chang and I grabbed shovels and began to dig around the corpse. We planned to lay him back where he was. As we dug I couldn’t help but wonder how he had gotten from 8 feet under to a hand emerging from the ground without us noticing. Maybe he had been working his way up as we slept last night.
We packed the ground down on the top, securing our corpse. Brian reached out for his cell phone and called mom and Bre and asked them to return so that we could finish the ceremony.
I could hear from Brian’s end of the conversation that they declined. Apparently they had had enough for one day.
When we returned to the manor Chris was in the yard making a wooden cross. He was carving something in it that was hard to see from a distance. I walked the length of the yard to my brother.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and began to try to comfort him. “What are you doing buddy?”
“Oh, making Zeke a cross, kind of like a memorial. I want to put it by Maria’s grave. I’m going to carve it with his info and put it right over there.”
He pointed to where we had Maria buried. My brother was making such a sweet gesture. I pulled him into a bear hug. He couldn’t escape my grasp even if he had tried. He began to sob uncontrollably. I knew this death would take its toll on my brother.
I held him like that for over 20 minutes. I finally released him as he had shed the last tear that he had left. I pulled his chin up, looked him in the eyes and said, “I love you brother.”
“I love you too sis.”
I walked away after that. As I began to leave I started to shed a tear of my own. None of this has been easy and it didn’t look like it was about to let up anytime soon.
I began to think about the cure. It only worked within 24 hours of infection. Once that has been released to the public, what were we to do about the zombies that were already here? Would we have to kill them all? Would John be able to make another antivirus for that too? Could John do that? I needed to ask him. I needed to find out what the future of the world held.
I went inside the manor and settled into the library. I sat at the desk in the middle of the room and got out a pen, paper, envelope and stamp. Since I had no way to contact John other than by mail, I would have to do things the old fashioned way.
I began to write:
Dearest John,
I am writing to you today to say thank you for bringing us the cure. You saved my life. You saved a few of us actually. I am forever indebted to you for doing that for us and what you risked for our cause.
As I am sure you already know, we released the newest video. The Governor’s of California and Arizona are both dead. I am worried about what will happen to the president and the government of America next. I guess we have to just go with whatever happens at this point.
I have a question for you about the cure. The cure you sent us works for the first 24 hours after infection. Are you working on something that works for those that have been infected longer? I know the government will want to know this as well once things get settled in the world again. Also, have they contacted you about the cure? I would be thankful for any information you could give us. If we could correspond through email, it would be much easier. I’ve enclosed my email address just in case.
&nb
sp; Yours truly,
Zoe
I signed and sealed the letter and then took it out to the mailbox. I hoped to get a reply from him soon. It only took 4 days and we had a letter from John in my email.
Dear little ladies,
I am doing well here at my friend’s house and lab. I am steadily working on a cure that works on those that have been infected longer. I am not sure that will work though as the virus eventually kills everyone it infects. I am hoping to get one to work for those infected longer than 2 weeks but am not having much success thus far.
I want you to know that I am proud of the work you have done. You have saved us all. I no longer have to fear for my life as I know I will be a precious commodity to the government when this is all said and done and I can only thank you for that.
They have not tried to contact me as of yet but I know they will if they want the cure. I guess from this point we have to just watch it play out.
I am thankful to have been of service to you.
Your friend,
John Ombie.
I was a little disappointed in my letter from John. I had not thought of the fact that the virus eventually killed people. I wondered if there was any hope left for America and the rest of the world.
CHAPTER 10
BREANNE
The last few weeks have been a blur. Zeke was dead, Chris was a mess, Zoe and Chang were a couple surprisingly and the U.N. wanted to talk to Aunt Brooke.
I was over the nausea and beginning to show. I hated not being able to get medical care through my pregnancy but Aunt Brooke helped a lot since she was a nurse. She spent a year in the labor and delivery unit of the Fresno hospital so she knew a little about pregnancy and delivery.
She was very anxious about possibly having to deliver the baby though. She insisted that if I needed ultrasounds or that if it was time for the baby to come that I would go to the hospital. I knew going there wasn’t safe and I wanted to take my chances with a home birth. I would do whatever she wanted though. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
I would be 5 months pregnant next week and I needed to check on the baby. I have it scheduled to get an ultrasound at our local women’s clinic for later today. We needed to check the progress of the baby’s growth. I was excited to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl.
Brian was leaning towards it being a boy and I was leaning towards it being a girl. Chris said it was a zombie. We would find out in just a few short hours.
I was bringing my entourage with me today. Zoe, Chang and Brian would accompany me. I knew the baby was healthy but just to make them happy I would go to do more than just see him or her, I would let them measure her or him.
I was ecstatic with the thought of seeing the little thing that was growing inside of me. I had some concerns though that I hadn’t felt the baby kick yet but Aunt Brooke assured me that sometimes first time mom’s wouldn’t feel it for months.
My heart pounded and I began sweating as the time drew nearer. I stared at the clock anxiously until it finally showed 3:30. I jumped up out of my seat and grabbed Brian’s hand. I started to head for the door and he stopped me.
“Let me make sure we’re secure first.”
Chang, Zoe and Brian grabbed their guns and headed out the front door. A few minutes later Zoe emerged and motioned for me to come with them. I practically ran to get to the car as my entourage followed with their guns raised.
It only took a few minutes to get to the women’s clinic. It was nestled right in the middle of town, close to the Z clinic. The front of the building was locked and a sign on the glass doors read: PLEASE RING BUZZER BEFORE ENTERING.
Zoe and Chang stood there with their guns raised and I reached over and rang the buzzer. A gangly woman in a pantsuit answered the door and quickly let us in.
I told her my name and she asked me to be seated until they called me. The wait seemed to take forever. I kept checking the time on my cell every few minutes. We only waited about 15 minutes total before they called me.
“Breanne?”
I stood up and walked toward the lady. Brian grabbed my hand as we entered the door. I was taken back to a small room to the right. The room was dark and had a bed with a machine next to it. I was guessing that was the ultrasound machine.
“My name is Melissa and I will be doing your ultrasound today.”
“Hi.”
“I’ll need you to lie on this table and expose your abdomen for me please.”
I did what she said. She then asked me about the details of my pregnancy like due date and how the pregnancy was going for me. I told her everything I knew and she told me we could get started now.
I could feel my heart beat in my temples. Brian stood there as proud as can be. He was anxious to see what the baby was as well.
“Now I am going to put this warm liquid on your stomach.”
She did just that and then reached for the wand on the machine. She applied it to my stomach with little pressure and then spread around the ultrasound fluid to see the entirety of the baby.
She sat there for a long time clicking the machine and moving the wand at various spots over my stomach. Brian was getting impatient since he couldn’t see anything either.
“Are we going to get to see soon?”
“I have just one more measurement to take.”
She took the last measurement and then turned the screen to face us. Brian audibly gasped as he seen the picture of our child for the first time. I couldn’t glue my eyes away from the screen even if I had wanted to. Amidst the fluid was a beautiful tiny little baby. I could see its little heart beat and its arms and legs.
“Your baby is beautiful and I see nothing wrong with it.”
I cried. Brian held my arm and he cried.
“Would you like to know the sex?”
“YES!”
She moved the wand to a higher place on my stomach. I could see my child’s legs. I couldn’t believe this beautiful little thing was inside of me.
“Now ultrasound is not 100%. But it looks like this one is a girl.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t joking.
“Like I said, nothing is 100% but I am usually not wrong on these things. It looks like a girl to me. Start buying pink!”
She let us look for another 15 minutes and took a bunch of pictures for us to take home. I was sad to see it end but all good things must come to an end.
“I’ll email the information to your doctor and they can get back to you.”
“Thank you.”
Brian and I walked out of the room happy parents of a baby girl.
Chang and Zoe were still sitting in the waiting room. They looked at us expectantly as we approached them.
“Well?” Zoe asked without hesitation.
“It’s a girl!” I squealed.
“Congrats guys!” Chang reached for Brian to give him a hug.
It was indeed a good day.
Back at the manor, Aunt Brooke couldn’t wait to see my ultrasound pics. We all jumped for joy that I was having a baby girl. When Brian and I were finally alone, I asked him a very important question.
“Are you disappointed it’s not a boy?”
“NO. Just seeing that beautiful little thing was enough for me. I just want a happy and healthy baby.
He pulled me closer to him and laid a lip lock on me. The pressure on my stomach was a little too much. I needed to get some space between him and me. The pressure caused me to feel a hard kick from inside of me.
“THE BABY JUST KICKED!”
“I felt that!!!”
“Wow we got to see her and feel her for the first time today.”
I felt another kick and then another. It was such a strange sensation, but I loved it. I could get used t
o feeling her inside of me.
Brian and I lie on the bed together for the next hour feeling the baby move and looking at her pictures. She was so perfect. She had all of her fingers and toes and I could see a clear outline of my baby’s face. I was in a state of bliss.
CHAPTER 11
ZOE
I sat on the roof alone on my shift and thought about the fact that Bre discovered that she is having a girl. I was very excited to have a niece. I know that Bre is not my sister but I think of her as one.
My thoughts quickly shifted to John Ombie, the inadvertent creator of the Z virus. I felt really bad for the guy. He made this monster virus that turned people into zombie like creatures. I am sure he had enough guilt to last a century.
I knew that he was working hard on an antidote that worked in a longer time frame. He had successfully made a cure that worked within 24 hours of infection and now he was working nonstop on a cure that worked on people 2 weeks or longer after infection.
With the news he gave me that all he could do was work for people before their bodies physically died from the virus, I sank down in my seat. That meant that anyone who was a full fledged zombie would stay one and would have to die. There was no hope for any of them.
Zombies would still have to be executed. Did America even have the man power to do something like that? 50 percent or more of the population has turned at this point. I felt hopeless. I thought we were going to be heroes and save the world. I thought we would be able to restore people back to their former lives. I was thoughtless in my dreams. There would be no saving people. I had to face the truth. 50 percent of the world have already died from the virus and there is nothing anyone can do about it now.
The United States Government was murderers. They deserved to pay for what they did. I knew a war would be brewing in no time. The U.N. wasn’t happy with what they did. There are other countries out to get us and this is all the ammunition they needed. Russia is our biggest threat. If for some reason they decide to take this into their own hands it could mean nuclear war. We could all die from this.
My thoughts were taking a turn for the worst. But these were things that needed to be thought about. We needed to be prepared for the worst case scenario.