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

two hospital rooms and chuckled. “You’ll be working starting tomorrow, so prepare yourself.” He announced. He then turned around and headed down the hallway, stepping around the blood puddle. Nick, who stood at the window of the hospital door, watched the events unfolding. He smacked his lips and turned around to face his group. He walked straight to the end of the room and glanced to his right. There was a small carving that acted as a window that bonded their room and the adjacent room.

“Who are you guys?” A man with a scruffy black beard with balding grey hair. His skin was caramel-colored.

 “Nick,” Nick responded. “The others are Eric, Ashley, Liliana, and Alexia.” He said, pointing out everybody.“Who are you guys?”

“I’m Carlos.” He said, backing up and revealing the hospital gown he wore. “The others are Grant, Ash, and Jasper.” He said, introducing them. Grant was a young adult in his late teens with blond hair that was styled in a fade. He had dark skin. He wore the same hospital gown as Carlos. Ash was an older woman in her thirties with short black hair that hovered slightly over her shoulders. Her skin was pale and matched with her light blue, almost whitish eyes. She wore the same gown. Jasper stood the shortest at 5’5 with dark brown---almost black--- buzz-cut hair. He has darker skin and yellow-greenish eyes.

“What happened to you guys?” Ashley asked.

“That bastard Zach tricked us with the promise of supplies,” Ash whispered.

Nick nodded. “He acted as a decoy for the others to slam into our truck.”

“Did… did anybody die?” Carlos asked. 

Nick shook his head. “The worst was a bullet to his arm and possible concussions. Oh, and it looks like Zach’s dead.”

Carlos flinched. “I see…” 

“That’s good news! That bastard-” Ash shouted.

“He said that it was for his sister,” Eric added. The others snapped their heads to Eric.

“So? Should we start caring about him now?” Ash snapped.

“Forget about that, he’s gone now. You got any weapons?” Carlos asked.

Nick looked towards the door’s window. He turned back to face Carlos. “Two assault rifles, a pistol, and some knives,” Nick answered.

“I have a plan to escape from here. You guys with us?” Carlos asked. Nick looked around at his group, all nodding at their turn. He looked back at Carlos and nodded.

“When does it start?”

***

Ryan ordered the two guards to cover the two adjacent rooms; One covering one room while the other covered the second room. Carlos used the few guards guarding them to his advantage, beginning the plan. He used the moveable hospital bed to ram into the door, taking the guards by surprise. “Hey! Stop that!” A guard shouted. He banged on the door with the butt of his assault rifle. Carlos slammed the bed into the door again, forcing the guards to open the door and rush inside. They brandished baseball bats, not wanting to kill any of the prisoners, and proceeded to bash Carlos over the head. Both guards were so distracted that they didn’t notice that Ash and Grant were behind them with small objects scavenged from the bed. They began bashing the guards in the head, with Jasper grabbing the keys and sprinting to the next room to free Nick and his group. Nick came out of the room and went into the adjacent room. The guards were severely beaten, but not dead.

Nick grabbed one of the baseball bats and handed the other to Carlos, who was bleeding from the top of his head. He grabbed the bat and nodded, walking out of the room and leading them towards the armory. The injury wasn’t slowing him down.

A single guard was in charge of protecting the armory allowing Carlos and Nick to knock him unconscious before storming the room and taking it over. They gathered as many firearms and ammunition they could before leaving the room in a timely fashion

“The prisoners are escaping!” Ryan’s voice boomed. Heavy footsteps accompanied shouting, forcing the group to flee. A couple of guards blocked their escape---the exit that they took Zach’s body through---and began firing. Fortunately, there was an open door on their right side, allowing them to escape through it. Eric lingered to pop off more shots at the guards, crippling one while missing the other. He then followed the others through the room, finding it to be connected to a hallway through its window. Nick broke the window and climbed through it, noticing the main entrance at the end of the hallway. He ushered everybody through with Carlos leading them outside. Eric was the last one to get out of the window. They both ran down the hallway with guns popping off behind them. 

“We’re almost there! Keep running!” Nick shouted.

Eric nodded but he was slowly getting tired to the point where he was losing speed. Nick noticed the lack of speed Eric emitted and grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the finish line. Eric shoved Nick’s arm away from him. He looked at him, his eyebrows raised. “I’ll see you in heaven. I’ll be waiting for you with our families.” He said. He then shoved Nick towards the door while standing behind him, taking the bullets with his spine. 

“Eric!” Nick shouted as he dove out of the main door, gunfire ricocheting off the glass door and shattering it. He glanced inside and noticed Eric’s limp body on the ground, riddled with holes. He was dead, nothing could save us.

“We need to leave before they catch up to us!” Carlos shouted, grabbing him and dragging him away from the door. The rest of the group cleared out the path, hotwiring one of the cars that were in the nearby lot and driving away with the zombies chasing after them. Nick stayed in the backseat, balling his eyes out while the others quietly mourned for Eric, the atmosphere becoming quiet and tense.

***

They came across the military base that Nick’s father told him about by complete accident. As they neared the base’s entrance, two men in riot gear came out from the other side of the fence and went up to the car, geared with assault rifles. “Get out of the car one by one and put your hands in the air!” One man ordered. They followed his order with Carlos stepping out of the car first. He raised his hand and followed the second’s guard order of kneeling on the gravel road. The rest of the group got out one by one with Nick getting out last. “Hey! The last person needs to face me!” The first guard ordered. Nick, who came out of the trunk with his back facing the guards, turned out and faced them. “Is that you Nick?” The first guard asked.

“You know him, sir?” The second guard asked.

“Yeah, it’s Nick Shesko. His father is George Shesko, your retired platoon leader.” The first guard said.

“This is his son? What happened to George?” He asked Nick.

“U-Uh, he’s...” Nick stammered. He sucked in some air, exhaling it. “Dead. He’s dead.”

“Oh,” The second guard muttered, breaking eye contact. He felt slightly embarrassed.

“Well… Anyways, let’s get your group processed. I’ll need to take your weapons and your car, however.” The first guard ordered. “I’m Colonel John Barry, acting leader of the second platoon. My comrade here is second private Hal Scott.” John informed them. He motioned for a private in a watchtower---on the perimeter of the base---to open the front gate. The gate opened as John faced the group. He welcomed them with open arms. “Welcome to Omega base,” he announced as he ushered everybody inside. Hal drove the car into the base, parking it with the other vehicles. 

John then ordered them into a checkpoint as another man in a lab coat walked up to them. He was observing them. Nick noticed the man and asked John about him. “He’s the leading scientist that’s the cure for the virus. He was a part of the division that created the virus. His name is Charlie, the scientist that will revert the apocalypse!”

***

The zombies gathered into a horde and pummeled through the fences. With their only defense broken through, Jenn grabbed her siblings and Rox and vacated the house. The zombies were slow, giving her an advantage. She took the advantage earnestly, fleeing from the house with her siblings following her. Rox led them, charging forwards towards an unknown destination. Jenn didn’t know where Rox was leading them, but as long as it wasn’t here, she was fine. 

With a horde of zombies chasing after them, Jenn decided to take her family towards the safe haven. A long trek towards a community that promises food and safety, two things they were lacking. 

Their fast speed put distance between them and the horde, which was distracted by a lone rabbit. The rabbit sprinted in the opposite direction, breaking the horde apart. A majority of the zombies chased after the rabbit while the minority followed after Jenn and her family. 

“These bastards keep on coming. Follow the rabbit and leave us alone,” Jenn remarked, grabbing Bianca’s hand and dragging her forward. Scotty followed her, lingering behind. He brandished the magnum and pointed it at the nearest zombie. He lined up the shot, aiming for the head but his nervousness dragged his arm off target. He tried to steady himself but the sight of the rotting zombies chasing after him, scared him off. He holstered the gun and turned around, running to keep up with his elder sister. 

After a week of walking, the horde had dissipated. Now they were free of their pursuers, venturing through the winding roads of the countryside. Cities and other man-made objects were a forgotten sight. The only thing they found were acres of trees and grass; The beautiful sights of the sea of trees and luscious grass were overshadowed by the corpses and blatant disregard for the sights. Bloodstained the grass and lifeless bodies were strung up on trees. The lynching of African Americans, Mexicans, Asians, and every other minority could be found on the trees. However, not a single white body could be found through the trees. 

Jenn covered her family’s eyes from the horrific sights, directing them away from the lynching trees. They then soon found another road, jumping onto it and following it down. They left behind the murder road, jumping on haven street. 

The second week of their walk, they chanced upon a small farmhouse. The farmhouse was surrounded by a thick wooden fence, keeping out intruders. The wooden fence had small gaps, allowing Jenn to peer through. On the other side of the fence was the brick farmhouse surrounded by farmland and a large red barn. The paint on the barn was fading and deteriorating. The farmhouse wasn’t in a better condition. Its paint was peeling off and many cracks in the brick could be seen from outside the fence.

“Is it abandoned?” Scotty whispered.

Jenn shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t say for sure. I don’t know if the fence was up before the apocalypse or not.” 

“Is it safe?” Bianca muttered.

“We’ll have to see,” Jenn remarked, searching the fence for a gap. She patted the fence but found it secure. It seemed newly built, confirming in Jenn’s mind that the farmhouse housed survivors. 

A loud whistle took her attention off the fence and onto the farmhouse. She peered through the fence and noticed an elderly man standing on the front porch. He wielded a shotgun, pointing it at her. “What ya’ want?” He shouted.

“Safety!” She shouted back. She then turned to Scotty, beckoning for the magnum. Scotty handed it to her, carefully and slowly to avoid suspicion. The man couldn’t see them well through the small slits between the wooden fence. 

“Leave, this ain’t the place for you.” The elderly man shouted back.

Bianca glanced behind her, noticing a few zombies approaching them. She then tugged on Jenn’s shirt, alerting her to the threats. She brandished a dagger and went up to the zombies, quickly dispatching them. After ridding the threats, she returned to the fence.

“I got two kids with