The Zombie Infection 2: - Nick Unknown (beach read book .txt) 📗

Nick dashed outside, crouching down next to the corpse of his father. His father’s corpse was eviscerated, broken, and bloodied. A horrific sight for Nick to see. He shielded his eyes while digging through his father’s pocket, taking out the keys. He then sneaked into his parents’ black family truck, checking the trunk to find a few snacks and a pack of water bottles. Most of the supplies, however, were in Eric’s parents’ truck. 

He scrambled out of the car and towards Eric’s father’s corpse. He rummaged through the pockets and pulled out the keys, scrambling back towards their car. Before opening the car and diving inside, Nick glanced around. The zombies didn’t notice his presence. He wanted to keep it that way. 

He dug through the purple Malibu car and found the supplies in the trunk and backseat. He grabbed a box of supplies and headed towards his parents’ truck. The truck was more spacious and could hold all five of them without breaking a sweat.

His trips from one car to the other attracted the attention of a few zombies who staggered towards him. Fortunately, however, Ashley rushed outside and began to kill any zombies that got close to Nick. Meanwhile, Liliana and Alexia helped him carry the supplies into the trunk. After loading the last bits of supplies, Nick grabbed a keychain that was on the dashboard of the Malibu, taking it for Eric. It would be the only part that he would have from his parents. An heirloom of sorts. 

“How much time do we have?” Nick asked.

“Eric said a couple of hours,” Liliana responded.

“Where is he now?” 

“Near the supermarket, scoping out the horde’s movement.” 

Nick nodded, sliding into the driver’s chair. “Ready to go?”

Liliana nodded, motioning for Alexia to get in the back. She nodded, scrambling to get inside. Ashley noticed that they were getting ready to depart, sliding into the passenger seat. She nodded her head at Nick. He nodded back, putting the car in drive as a few zombies made it to the truck. However, the car drove through the ones in front of them, crushing them under the car and leaving behind torn corpses.

Five minutes passed before they reached the supermarket, noticing that the horde was a block from them. Nick parked the car by the supermarket, keeping an eye on the horde. Ashley jumped out of the car and glanced around, seeing Eric’s silhouette appearing from the other side of the supermarket. She waved him over. He nodded, running faster to meet them. As soon as he got there, he jumped into the car. Ashley followed suit.

With everybody inside, Nick pressed on the gas. The truck roared to life, lunging forward. Nick spun a u-turn and fled from the horde, going in the opposite way. The truck began to pick up speed, leaving the horde behind. 

Now out of immediate danger, everybody relaxed. The horde wasn’t nipping at their heels anymore. However, one problem rose; their destination. Eric had the question on his mind, turning to Nick and asking, “where are we going?” 

“My father told me of a military base not far from here. If it’s still operational, then we could stay there for a while. They’ll have guards with guns, supplies, and sturdy walls. It’s a perfect place for us.” 

“Your dad was in the military?” Ashley asked. 

“Yeah, he had served two tours before being honorably discharged.”

“Huh, so that’s why you have some skill in shooting,” Liliana remarked. 

Nick nodded, ending the conversation by swerving into the freeway and noticing a clump of cars barricading a further part of the freeway. He was able to enter the freeway, but going any further than a hundred feet was impossible. The cars were impeding them. 

“Is there another way to the base?” Liliana asked. 

“Maybe,” Nick remarked, chuckling to himself. He looked up at the signs. “Or, this could be the wrong path.”

“Perfect, now we’re lost.” Eric joked.

“Ha! Not with this captain on board.” Nick joked back. He got out and with the help of the others, moved the cars enough to allow the truck to bypass the car jam. They continued down the freeway, free of impediments. There were no other cars; vacant. A strange occurrence that Nick ignored. He enjoyed driving at a high speed, something he couldn’t do on the busy city streets. 

After traveling for what felt like forever---which was only an hour---they found the right exit, swerving through it and making it back to the city streets. Now off the main road, Nick eased the throttle and searched for any recognizable sights. The streets were devastated and empty. The surrounding buildings were on their last legs, filled with holes and rotting cores. It wasn’t the same sight they witnessed moments earlier on the freeway, surrounded by trees galore. 

They soon came to another barrier, this one looking man-made. A line of cars stacked bumper to bumper prevented them from continuing forward. Their options were to turn around or move the cars. 

“The base is through this street?” Ashley asked. 

“Yeah, an hour going down this road. I don’t know these streets enough to have a backup plan. We either go through this road or turn back and return to my house. There are no other options.” Nick explained. 

“What about ramming through?” Liliana suggested. 

“Won’t it destroy the truck though? Can the engine take the hit?” Eric questioned.

“It’s possible, but the truck will suffer intensely. Without a car, we’ll be left on our own carrying all these supplies like a buffet for zombies and a walking armory for survivors. Let’s take the chance and move the cars.” Nick ordered. They nodded and got to work. Eric and Nick stepped out of the car while Liliana and Alexia looked over the car and its supplies. Ashley ventured off, seeing if her suspicions were true.

“This barricade was built by other survivors, but what was the purpose of doing so?” She muttered to herself.

While she muttered to herself, a man in a loose black sweater, ripped jeans, and thinning black hair popped his head from behind a building. Nick noticed him first, brandishing his M4. He pointed the gun at the strange man. “Come out with your hands up!” He shouted, attracting the attention of his group. Ashley noticed the man, running back to the truck. 

“Who are you, guys?” The man asked. 

“Survivors, that’s all you need to know,” Nick responded.

Eric brandished his gun and pointed it at zombies that were attracted by Nick’s sudden shout, mowing them down without a second thought. 

“Hey! I haven’t done anything wrong!” The man shouted. 

“Ha! I’ll decide that. Drop to the ground.” Nick instructed the man. He nodded, following Nick’s order, and fell to the ground. He laid face down on the ground, spreading his limbs. Eric went up to the man and patted him down, taking out a box of cigarettes. He was unarmed, which Eric saw as weird. A survivor that isn’t armed? It seemed fishy.

“What’s your name?” Eric asked the man. 

“Z-Zach,” The man responded, sweating profusely.

“Well, Zach, what were you doing here?” Eric questioned.

“S-Scavenging! Nothing more, nothing less.” Zach shouted. Nick scanned the area and popped the heads of two zombies that were getting close to them. He then glanced back at the truck, hearing the sound of a running engine, and noticed the heads of Ashley, Liliana, and Alexia inside the vehicle. The engine was running, but it wasn’t as loud as the one he was hearing. “What’s wrong? What do you hear?” 

“Shut up,” Nick shouted at Zach. He closed his eyes and extended his ears to the wind. He heard the engine roar louder and louder.

“Hey, Nick! A truck is barreling towards us!” Eric shouted. Nick opened his eyes and turned around to face the truck. 

“Get in the car!” Nick shouted, turning his back on Zach for a moment. He noticed a vehicle charging towards them. He turned around to face Zach when he was sucker-punched in the jaw. Nick collapsed to the floor as Eric sprinted into the truck’s driver seat. Without him noticing, Zach picked up Nick’s gun and raised the barrel towards Eric.

Eric heard Ashley shriek, pointing at Nick. He noticed Zach raising Nick’s M4, racing to brandish his first.

Zach’s eyes started tearing up. He pointed the gun at Eric. “They have my sister… I’m sorry.” He exclaimed before pressing the trigger lightly, throwing one bullet into the air. The loose bullet made contact with Eric’s right arm, the arm handling the gun, and jerked him back into the seat. 

“Hey!” Ashley shouted. “The car’s not stopping!” The truck, a delivery truck, barrelled towards the truck, crashing headfirst into it. The truck was damaged by the delivery truck, throwing everybody around. They were strapped to the seats by their seatbelts, but they were scarred by the crash. 

The driver of the delivery truck was slumped over the steering wheel, blood pouring out of a gash on his head. His body fell on the horn, blaring it. The horn attracted zombies out of their hiding places. They headed towards the crash. 

Two men opened the back of the delivery truck, from the inside, and jumped out. They both had bulletproof vests on, holding a gun in their right hand. The first man, with a blond beard and matching hair that was combed over, walked over to the truck first. He noticed the large dent in the truck and chuckled. He rattled his knuckles on the window and received the glares of Ashley and Liliana. Alexia was in a daze, her eyes glazed over. Meanwhile, Eric was knocked unconscious, taking the brunt of the crash.

Meanwhile, the second guy, with black hair that was missing in patches, walked past the truck and towards Zach. “You’ve done well. Help us get these two in the car and we’ll let your sister free.” The guy told him. Zach nodded and lifted the half-dazed Nick. The guy grabbed Eric and threw him into the car after clearing him of his weapons. “Hey, Ryan! Let’s go before the horde hits us!” The second guy shouted.

“Got it, Issac,” Ryan said, sliding into the driver seat of the truck. Zach sat in the back with a gun focused on Ashley, Liliana, and Alexia. Nick and Eric were laid on top of the supplies in the trunk, each of them unconscious. Zach sat as far as he could from the girls, who sat near the side that was hit. Ryan floored the gas, leaving their dead colleague in the delivery truck attracting the hunger of the zombies in the area.

“Where are we going?” Ashley asked, glaring at the attackers.

“To our base… so shut up.” Issac spat.

***

They reached the base, which was an abandoned hospital, and took Nick, Eric, Ashley, Liliana, and Alexia out and locked them in a small cramped hospital room. Their weapons were confiscated and their supplies were taken from them. 

As they were placed in the room, Zach followed Ryan like a puppy, leaching on his heels. “Can I have my sister now?” He asked, pleading with the man. 

 “Sure, she’s in my office,” Ryan muttered, dispatching two guards to the room holding Nick and his group. The men glanced over at Zach suspiciously. 

Zach ignored the stares, thanking Ryan before turning around, dropping his guard. Ryan reached in his knee hostler, taking out a loaded gun from it, and pumped Zach full of lead. Zach stood and took all of the bullets without being given a chance to retaliate. He twitched as his knees gave up on him, dropping him to the ground. His face fell on the ground, kissing the earth. Blood gushed out of his chest wounds and stained the hallway’s floor. 

“Get rid of his body.” He told the two guards. The men, dressed up in tuxedos, nodded and grabbed Zach by his arms, dragging him away to the front entrance to throw him to the zombies. 

Meanwhile, Ryan faced the