State of Decay (Omnibus (Parts 1-4)) (8 page)

J
ude led me back through
the room we had first come into the day before and then into a large meeting room that looked like it was being used as a central command center. Major Tillman was speaking to a young, Hispanic man dressed in camouflage, similar to what Jude was wearing. His eyes flicked over me, dismissively as we entered the room. The Major stepped forward and held his hand out to me.

“Now that we can be officially introduced—I’m Major Tillman.” I shook his hand and smiled at the Major. He turned and motioned to the man beside him. “This is Manuel, he’ll be joining us today.” I grasped the man’s hand in mine and murmured my
nice-to-meet-you’s
.

“Major, I really appreciate the shower and room. It has been a long time since I’ve had either and they were a welcomed luxury.” His smile was genuine and warm.

“I’m just sorry we hadn’t run into you sooner, we would have gladly offered you a place here with us a long time ago.” I shook my head as I remembered everything that I’d been through in the past two years. It hadn’t been easy, in fact at times I thought I wasn’t going to make it. Other times, I just wanted to lay down and give up, but I didn’t and I was stronger for that reason.

“I appreciate that, Major, but I did alright and I don’t think I’d change the last two years even if I could. My father taught me well and I have learned a lot about survival and killing zombies over the past two years.” The major stared at me a few moments, studying my face before he smiled again and held his hand out to an empty chair.

“You’re an extraordinary young woman, Melody,” the Major mentioned. “Please have a seat, we have a lot to talk about, and I’m sure you have a ton of questions you’re just dying to ask me.” I smiled and took a seat with the Major, Jude, and Manuel.

“How many people do you have here, Major?” I asked after a moment. He raised his brow but answered anyway.

“We are responsible for just under a hundred people. Seventy-six are civilians and twenty-two are Army,” he said. I was a bit surprised, I hadn’t realized there were quite that many humans even left in the area. Even more surprising was the ratio. I would have thought the majority of people left would have been military, but with only twenty-two soldiers, more than three quarters the amount of humans were civilians. I didn’t like that at all.

“How did the civilians find their way here?” I asked. They couldn’t have found their way easily, unless they stupidly believed, like I had, that the base would have provided some sort of safe haven that first day. Even then, their odds weren’t very good.

“Some are family members of soldiers. Jude and Manuel also lead a team out often to search for survivors,” he answered. I glanced over at Jude, sitting next to me and then to Manuel. They both certainly looked capable of running those kind of dangerous missions, but then I was still impressed. It would be nearly impossible to locate survivors, but to actually lead them back to the base without getting the entire group killed … well, those weren’t odds I’d ever bet on. I took a deep breath and searched the Major’s face for answers.

“How did it happen?” I asked, my eyes wide. I knew my question sounded like a plea, like I wanted to believe someone had all the answers and that they would be able to tell me they were working on a plan, that the world would be on the way to getting back to normal before we even knew it. The Major’s eyes held mine, but I didn’t find any reassurances in them. Instead, I found despair and resignation. I shook my head. It was a jerky movement of denial, but he ignored it as he began telling me everything he knew about what had happened a little over two years ago. What had happened to change the world forever and plunged my life into loneliness and darkness. When he was done telling his story, done relating to me what he knew, I sat there in stunned silence trying to process everything I’d heard. I kept trying to wrap my brain around the fact that it all boiled down to … technology. Technology was what had spread the infection. I stood abruptly, causing Jude and Manuel to flinch in their seats. Only the Major sat unmoving. I held up a finger. I just needed a moment to process.

Technology and the Peace Corps. Seriously? I paced back and forth beside the table as I replayed the story in my mind.

Patient 001, as the military had dubbed him, was a retired military officer who was just about to go on a trip he had been planning for over a year with the Peace Corps when he found out he had cancer. He decided to put off his treatment, knowing if he went through chemotherapy first, he wouldn’t be fit enough to make the trip. Ironically enough, he trudged into the innermost depths of the African jungle to help distribute medical supplies and clean drinking water to the remote tribes, when he somehow ingested a rare parasite. The parasite was passed into the blood stream where it nestled itself into the wall of an artery and it hatched eggs. The parasites began to slowly feed off of its host’s internal organs. For ten days, Patient 001 was sick with what he thought was a stomach virus. He decided to cut his trip short and come home, assuming his cancer was preventing him from keeping anything he ate or drank down. As soon as he landed back in the U. S., Patient 001 called his doctor and rescheduled his chemotherapy for the next day.

The scientists and doctors most educated guess was that Patient 001 was carrying millions of microscopic parasites by the time he went through his first injections of chemotherapy. In the depths of the jungle the parasite might have killed its host over the course of several years. It had never before been exposed to any radiation or electromagnetic chaos, it had never been transported to a place where technology emanated from every single person, every single building, and every single street corner. Once the parasite had been exposed to the chemo, it mutated inside of its host. Though the parasite had to be ingested before, now it could excrete itself through its host’s sweat glands, through skin and hair follicles, and it was most concentrated in saliva. The parasites became more aggressive and every single person or object Patient 001 had any sort of contact with immediately became infected.

Instead of years, Patient 001 lived exactly one week. Unfortunately, the mutated parasites were able to live outside of his body for forty-eight hours until they found a new host. Forty-eight hours is a long time. When Patient 001 finally died, he had unknowingly spread the parasites all over Chicago. Every person he came in contact with and everything he had touched in those seven days had carried the parasites to hundreds and hundreds of hosts, who in turn carried them to thousands. Forty-eight hours of passing the mutated virus from person to person. A forty-eight hour window in which the parasite was able to be passed on by almost any means. The infected were dead within twenty-four hours, instead of the week it took to kill the original host.

At first officials and the CDC had no idea what was causing the hundreds of deaths that had already begun spreading to other cities and countries. Fortunately, the parasites, not only charged by the chemo, but also receiving a boost from the electromagnetic pulses in the city, could only survive while their host was alive. Unfortunately for the rest of us, once the host died the parasites were able to act as a stimuli in the corpses’ brainstem, causing the host to “reanimate” and take on the parasite’s lust for flesh and blood. The only thing lost in the reanimation process was how the parasite was able to transfer from one host to another. The corpses no longer sneezed, produced sweat, or any other bodily functions … other than saliva. Even though the parasites were concentrated in the zombie’s saliva, the zombie had to bite into flesh and excrete saliva directly into the blood stream of a victim for the parasite to infect someone and take on a new host.

My head swam with all the information I’d just been told. By the time the plane had crashed in our backyard, the parasites had spread beyond what anyone could have ever imagined or controlled, killing their hosts and then taking them over when they were dead. Now all that was left was millions of parasite-animated corpses who lusted for the flesh and blood of the few remaining uninfected humans.

“How bad is it out there?” I asked. I knew he understood what I meant. How bad off was the human race? How bad had it gotten while I was hiding in the forest and fighting to survive for the past two years?

“From the last we heard from anyone else, it was estimated that over eighty-two percent of the human population was killed or infected with the organ eating parasite,” he said with a weary sigh. My hand flew to my chest. Eighty-two percent? That meant that out of a hundred people, eighty-two were either dead or zombies now. Good god. What did that put the death toll at in the United States alone? Two hundred million? Two hundred and fifty million? The numbers were staggering. My legs wobbled slightly and I sank back down into my seat.

“Is there some kind of government in place?” I asked. The Major’s jaw clenched and his eyes hardened.

“We are no longer sure. We were receiving and sending communications to the base out of Charlotte, but the last we heard from them was over two months ago.” I glanced between the Major’s frowning face and the bleak faces on the two soldiers sitting in front of me. This wasn’t good.

“How often did you usually hear from them?” It was Manuel who answered me.

“We normally meet their person halfway and exchange information and supplies once every two weeks,” he explained in clipped, official tones. “Our man has been at the rendezvous point three times in the past months, but theirs never appeared.” Something had happened, and if I knew anything at all, I knew it couldn’t be anything good.

“We are going to send a small team into Charlotte. The city, from what our contact told us, is completely overrun by the undead, but we have to see what is going on. They were our only link to anything on the outside of here.” His eyes frosted over and he stood abruptly, causing Jude and Manuel to jump from their seats as well. I got slowly to my feet. “We are starting to run out of supplies and we are starting to run low on ammunition. We were not prepared to be underground for this long. At the very least, our team will need to see what is going on at that base and then scout for supplies to bring back here. Then we’ll be able to decide what we should do next for the good of the group.” He ran a hand over his clean shaven face and sighed. I swallowed and stood rigidly in front of Major Tillman.

“I’d like to be part of the team that goes to Charlotte, Major.” Something that sounded suspiciously like a snort came from across the table. I ground my teeth together to keep from snapping at the meat heads there.

“Look, I appreciate that you are a tough young woman who has done rather well taking care of herself in the worst of situations, but I can’t send you into a city that is overrun. You’re not military and I couldn’t send you with a clear conscience,” he explained. I gave the Major a small smile, that was not really meant to reassure anyone of anything and placed my hands on my hips.

“Major, I appreciate the concern, but my daddy made sure I could shoot
better than any man in this room on their best day. I could kill both of your men right now without them even realizing I’d made a move for my gun.” Major Tillman stiffened slightly, his eyes narrowing. “I haven’t just
survived
, I’ve taken out
hundreds
of zombies, looted for food and supplies in neighboring towns, and lived in the woods attuned to my own surroundings for two
years
.” I let my words sink in the room for a moment before continuing on. “Name one soldier under your command who has done the same,” I challenged. His eyes glanced over at his men, before coming back to rest on me. “I’d be an
asset
to this mission, Sir,” I clipped off. He watched my face, studied me until I began to feel twitchy under his scrutiny. He nodded once and turned to face Jude and Manuel.

“Looks like you’ve gained another team member, Agent Harrison,” he said with a wry smile. I blinked at him with a crease between my eye brows. Agent? Jude crossed his arms over his chest as a smirk worked its way across his handsome face.

“Guess I have,” he answered coolly, his eyes pinning me with their intensity. I swallowed and glanced over at Manuel. His eyes were also watching me, but they, unlike Jude’s, gave nothing away. I was suddenly unsure of myself, but very sure of one thing … both of them were not your ordinary soldier.

Awe crap.

A
t exactly 0700 hours, I
was standing awkwardly in the main common area with Jude, Manuel, and three other guys. I’d put my own clothing back on since someone had freshly laundered and left them in my room the night before. My gun was strapped to my leg, my knife was in hand, and my rifle was slung across my back. It felt good to get moving. I was already feeling a little twitchy from being underground for over twenty-four hours. Safe, but twitchy.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get going.” Jude’s eyes locked onto mine as the men filed pass him and he crooked his finger at me. I bit back a remark as I made my way over to him. “Listen, Melody. I know you are pretty much a soldier just like any of my other men.” My jaw unlocked and I barely held it in place. He was …
complimenting
me? He ran a hand over his face and met my gaze with one of steel. “You’re tough. I have no doubt about that. But, you were also all alone and taking care of only yourself for the last two years. I need you to do exactly what I tell you without hesitation.”

He held up a hand when my mouth flew open. I snapped it shut and tightened my grip on my knife. “Your actions won’t only affect you when you step out those doors this time. Everything you do—or don’t do—could cost me the life of one of my men. I’m not asking you. I’m
telling
you,” he said with all the authority of someone who was used to having people snap at attention when he entered a room. “If you can’t follow my orders once you step out those doors, just say the word and you stay here.” His deadly serious eyes never left mine. “Are we clear?” he asked. I took a breath and nodded sharply. “Good. Now let’s go.” I followed him through the door without a backward glance at the only safety I’d felt in a very, very long time.

We moved up a flight of stairs in silence and when we stepped out of the darkness, we were back in the large office I had been searching before. I turned and watched as Jude pushed in a lever that caused the bookcase to swing back into place and hide the secret passageway. It was all so very government spy-like, that I almost giggled despite the fact that I was once again topside with parasite infested zombies looming just outside of the office building. That wiped the grin off of my face.

I glanced around the room and into the faces of five of the most dangerous looking men I’d ever encountered. Manuel was there wearing an army green tee shirt and camouflage pants with tons of pockets and a backpack, which held essentials, just like everyone else. My black tank top and camouflage pants almost matched. I looked like one of the guys. I felt a small smile lift the corners of my lips. A tall, black man with an American flag tattooed on the side of his neck smiled widely at me. I grinned back and gave him a thumbs up. Manuel glanced up and made some motion toward the heavens like he was still trying to figure out how they’d gotten stuck with me. Jude motioned to two guys I didn’t know and suddenly we were all silently moving through the building with them taking point.

I could tell immediately that the men were used to the way we were going. They were probably some of the same men who went to the rendezvous point twice a month. That made me breathe a little easier. When we approached the front doors of the building, everyone stopped and waited for Jude to give the signal to go on. He glanced through the blinds on the window and held up four fingers and pointed to the left. He held up three more and pointed to the right. Seven zombies total in his line of sight between us and the building we were headed into. All of the men were so still, I could barely make out that they were breathing as we waited for him to give the signal. My heart began to pound loudly as I adjusted my grip on my knife. Jude pointed to the huge, red-bearded man in the front and before I could blink, we were all running through the front door and back out into our new world of death and decay.

Zombies were on us before we even made it a quarter of the way across the open asphalt. One by one and quicker than I ever thought possible, the men dropped over nine corpses like that were swatting away flies and without using a single bullet. The stench of the putrid bodies, hot and bloated by the summer sun, slapped me in the face and I barely held down the contents of my stomach. No matter how many times I’d been up close and personal with the zombies, no matter how many times I would have to stick my knife into the skull of the undead until rotten fluids seeped out, I’d never get used to the reek.

I stepped over bodies as we all kept moving quickly—en masse—and then entered another building as easily as we had exited the last one. Jude and the men spread out and searched the large shed-like space quickly. It was secure. Jude began walking to a side door and we all followed suit. When I approached, he motioned me over to him.

“Right outside this door is a large SUV, fully gassed up and ready for us to go. We need to move quickly, slide into the vehicle and keep sliding to make room for everyone.” His eyes held mine. I nodded my understanding. “Manuel will drive, so he goes first with Big Ben riding shotgun. Next will be Zach, Ghost, Melody, and then me bringing up the rear.” Everyone nodded quickly. I glanced at the door and realized we would be running on the blind. No windows were on this side of the building, so we’d literally not have any idea what was waiting for us. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and reached for my gun. Jude’s hand stopped mine. I lifted my eyes to his. He shook his head and I stiffened under his grip. His hand tightened around mine. I set my jaw and relaxed my stance.
Fine, no guns,
I thought. I raised a brow and he removed his hand from mine.

Jude walked over to the door and held up a hand that started the count down to three. One … two … three! He pushed the door open and Manuel rushed through it with the red-bearded dude, I could now assume was Big Ben, following closely behind. I heard moans and grunts of engagement just before I cleared the doorway with Jude on my heels, making sure he secured the door behind us. In my peripheral vision I saw that Big Ben had the front, passenger side door open and was sliding in behind Manuel when several
zombies shambled around the side of the building to join the noise that several others were making as they attacked Zach and Ghost.

I ran toward the trio of zombies closing in on Ghost, intent on helping him when he let out a muted war cry and launched himself at the two furthest away from me. When I reached him, he had already taken down two of the zombies. I came up behind the zombie, who had his sights set on the tall soldier. I dove, slashing the backs of the leg muscles of the rather huge zombie. The knife went in smoothly and cut all the way to the bone, causing the zombie to fall backwards when his legs couldn’t hold him up any longer. As soon as he fell, I shoved my knife deep into his forehead. A shadow fell over me and I spun quickly, bringing my knife up into a defensive move, pulling back just in time to keep from pushing the blade into Jude’s back. I wasn’t used to having humans around me in the midst of fighting the undead. Jude swiped his blade across the throat of a zombie to his left and in one smooth movement, shoved it into the eye of a second zombie on his right. I finished off the zombie who was now missing most of its throat.

“Move, Melody!” Jude barked from beside me. I jumped to my feet and ran to the SUV, following behind Ghost’s disappearing feet. I scrambled across the seat as quickly as I could to make room for Jude, which put me right on top of Ghost. Jude was right behind me and I never felt more relieved than I did when I heard the door slam shut behind him. Manuel gunned the gas.

“
Booyah!” I shouted with a fist pump as we cleared the front gate area. I glanced around at the men in the silent truck and immediately felt foolish. “Too girly?” I asked seriously. Ghost started laughing and the deep rumbling made me grin and immediately reminded me that I was sitting in his lap. “Sorry, Ghost, I didn’t mean to squish you,” I mumbled as I scrambled off of him.

“Hey no hurry, you were okay right where you were.” His voice was deep and I could hear a grin in it as he spoke. I felt my cheeks warm, which only made Ghost chuckle more. “Just a joke, Jude,” he said with a smirk and a shrug. I glanced over at Jude who was staring daggers at Ghost.
What the Hell?
I ignored both of them and leaned forward until I was hanging in between the two front seat and pulled back the center console, hoping to find something good.

“Melody … what are you doing?” Jude asked, sounding exasperated. I ignored him as I kept searching.

“Aha!” I squealed. I pulled my prize out of its sleeve and leaned forward far enough to shove it into the player. I pushed a button and when the familiar sounds of Bob Marley’s
Three Little Birds
blasted through the speaker system, I sat back with a small sigh of satisfaction. Ghost flashed me a sad smile, but I could feel the tension seeping out of the vehicle as we slowly drove out of tow
n
.