Government Z (Book 1): The Beginning (10 page)

Chapter 12

We all woke up around ten in the morning which was the longest any of us had slept in the past five months just before this all started.  It was a clear sunny day for the beginning of September; normally we would be preparing the kids for the start of a new school year but instead we were fighting for our lives and looking for answers to these horrific events that have happened nearly six months ago.  I asked everyone to the mess hall to see who wanted to go with us.  Anne said she will go to help treat anyone if they are injured but I am not that good with weapons she said.  Brent came into the mess hall and said he wanted to go too.  I said why are you not sleeping you just finished a patrol shift?  Brent responded with I need to do this so I can prove to myself I am able to help as much as my brothers.  Pastor Scott said he would go as well quickly follow by his wife Irene who said she goes where her husband goes.  Alright I said let’s eat then grab your weapons and we will be leaving shortly.  Rus and Don headed to the garage to double check the vehicles and make sure all fluid levels were full and ready to depart.  I headed to the command center to get the maps and routes we charted to get to our destination as well as prepare the headset walkie talkies were all on the same frequency.  Bruce was still with Abby while she was being treated at the hospital.  She had no signs that anything else was wrong other than the broken ankle she suffered the day before.  Chris finished installing the gas pumps around eleven so Don took the vehicles over and filled the gas tanks on all the vehicles we were taking.  Once everything was ready we headed for the garage to take off.  Don rode in the side car of the Ural as Rus got on the seat.  I drove the Spyder while Bruce drove the HUMVEE.  Anne Harris, Brent, Irene, and Pastor Scott accompanied Bruce.

We headed out the main gate and toward the main road.  We will take the main rode almost an hour north so just follow me I called over the walkie.  After an hour we approached the turn we needed and turned right and headed east.  How much further are we headed Bruce asked.  We have about twenty five miles east to travel and then we have to turn north again for thirty more miles once we hit the main road outside of town I said.  As we approached the second main road we saw a lot of black smoke coming just south of our turn.  I think we should go and investigate that large cloud of black smoke and see what is happening Rus suggested.  We turned south and slowly headed toward the cloud of black smoke.  When we got close we realized there had been a large accident and a terrible odor in the air.  This has to have happened recently there is no way these vehicles would still be burning Rus said.  We got closer to see that a garbage truck had crashed into a transformer.  The heat was extreme from the fire.  We need to put this fire out and look around for someone or anyone who knows about what happened here Don said.  There was a fire hydrant near the accident so Rus and I went over to see if we could get it opened up to extinguish the fire.  We had nothing to turn the bolts on the hydrant so we broke into a house to look for tools.  Once inside we found a tool box and pulled out a monkey wrench and headed back to open the hydrant up.  It took both Rus and I all our strength to open the hydrant but once we did it helped cool some of the raging fire.  We grabbed some buckets and filled them up out of the hydrant and poured them over the top of the truck.  It took close to thirty minutes until the fire was completely out and cooled enough to investigate.  Rus and I pried the door open to see that there was no one in the cab of the truck.  So who was driving the truck and who crashed it into the transformer? Rus asked.  We then opened the back of the truck to reveal garbage.  It is a Canadian garbage truck; it has Ontario plates I said.  It must have been on its way to one of the dump sites.  Hey over here, Anne hurry with that medical kit Irene shouted.  About twenty feet from the accident was a body of a middle aged man laying face down.  We turned him over and Anne started giving him medical attention.  He is still breathing Anne said.  Alright Irene can you please help Anne attend to him while we go and inspect around Rus asked.  We headed back over to the garbage truck and started looking around.  Rus, Pastor Scott, and I were inspecting the transformer and cab of the truck while Bruce, Don, and Brent inspected the back of the garbage truck.  While we inspected the cab we found a steel pipe pinned between the seat and gas pedal.  Well it looks like this was supposed to happen Pastor Scott said.  Well there is no way he set this up and jumped out, so I think the truck was in neutral and was shifted into gear I said.  The explosion must have knocked him unconscious Pastor Scott guessed.  We heard a loud scream; Pastor Scott looked at us and said that’s IRENE!  We ran back to see the driver of the truck holding Irene around the neck and Anne on the ground with a puddle of blood surrounding her.  What are you doing? Rus demanded.  Things have been set in motion that cannot be undone the driver said spitting fresh blood out of his mouth from the bite he took out of Anne.  Don’t hurt my wife Pastor Scott said.  What are you talking about I asked.  Look at his eyes Don said.  They were those white eyes again, but his skin was not blue in color and this zombie could talk!  What thing are you talking about we asked.  A better society where only the strong will rule and the weak will be left behind the driver said.  Anne’s body started to move and she rose to her feet.  She turned toward us and she had become one of them.  I hurled my axe end over end burying the spiked end into the middle of Anne’s head killing her for a second time.  The driver watched Anne fall back to the street with the axe stuck in her forehead.  He turned toward us and screamed.  But the major change in this zombie was his lower and upper jaws split apart with talons at the end of each jaw revealing a larger mouth similar to the movie Predator.  He bit down into Irene’s neck decapitating her and swallowing her neck from her body.  Pastor Scott screamed NO, as he pulled his gun up and opened fire on the truck driver which we all did as well.  Like the other zombies a gunshot to the head seemed to take the zombie down for good.  The Pastor kneeled next to his wife and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead which was creepy since her head was five feet from her body I thought.  After he looked up to the sky with tears pouring down his face saying a small prayer and ended with the words “God forgive me”.  He put his MP5 in the middle of Irene’s head and pulled the trigger once shooting her before she turned into a zombie.  I walked up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder and said take all the time you need Scott.  Rus and Don loaded the truck driver’s body on the back of the HUMVEE and tied it down.  We need to have the doctors take a look at whatever the hell that thing is and why he is so advanced compared to everything else we have seen Rus said.  Brent, Bruce, and I went to investigate the rear of the truck.  We pried open the back of the truck.  Brent said I will climb up and see what else is in there if anything.  Brent climbed up tossing garbage bags left and right.  He got a few feet into the back of the truck and shouted “I found some type of metal drum” Brent shouted.  I am going to see if I can open it.  Bruce and I couldn’t really see Brent inside the truck since it was dark in the back of the truck.  We could hear Brent banging on the metal drum.  It’s almost open Brent said.  We heard a noise that sounded like the container giving way when suddenly Brent let out a horrific scream and then sounded like a gurgling sound.  I looked up in the truck to see a glowing green liquid wave heading toward us.  I pushed Bruce out of the way and jumped back just in time as this sludge liquid poured between us.  Where is Brent? Don asked.  We looked back up in the truck to see Brent staggering out of the truck.  He fell to his knees and collapsed to the ground.  Oh my God I shouted his skin is melting off his body.  We all stood in horror and watched Brent’s body melt and boil completely down to the bone.  What is inside that truck we wondered?  I decided we had to know at whatever cost.  I slowly walked into the back of the garbage truck avoiding any trace of the green liquid on the floor.  I found the container that Brent had opened I grabbed the lid and threw it out the guys standing at the end of the truck.  When I threw the lid out I saw a tiny blinking red light on the back of the drum.  I looked closer at the light my eyes lit up at what I saw.  I turned and ran out of the truck screaming “run it’s wired to blow”.  Don picked up the lid as we all ran for our vehicles and started driving as fast as we could and just seconds later the garbage truck exploded.  What happened Rus asked over the walkie?  I found that lid and once I removed it I saw a red blinking light that was the radio device attached to a pile of C4 explosives.  What was on that lid anyway I asked.  There is a biohazard symbol and writing on it, but all that can be made out is nuclear power plant Don said.  I guess if we find any more garbage trucks we will have to stop and investigate them I said.  Well let’s get to up the road and we will make camp for the night before sun down and in the morning we can get to our destination
.  We drove about fifteen miles north and set camp up close to the water front so that we had protection from the lake on one side and didn’t have to worry about zombies from that side.  We parked the vehicles and all piled into the HUMVEE so we could all get some sleep since the HUMVEE was the only vehicle with doors and a roof. 

We all sleep till eight in the morning shoved down some power bars and water and looked around before we exited the vehicle.  Doesn’t look like anything is around, so let’s get going Rus said.  We exited the HUMVEE and hopped on the motorcycles and took off.  Rus and I drove about a half mile ahead of Bruce to scout and clear the way since we had more fire power and he was down three people.  We have about ten miles before we reach our destination you doing okay back there Bruce? I asked.  Yep we are still doing fine and no signs of anything behind us Bruce answered.  We got two miles up the road and slammed on the breaks.  What is that in the road up ahead I asked?  Bruce we are at the top of the hill so slow down Rus called.  We saw a large silhouette covering the road from the top of the hill we stopped on and Don pulled out some binoculars and scouted ahead.  I think you both need to take a look at this Don said.  We looked through the binoculars and saw the road covered with zombies there had to be between three and five hundred of them.  Well since the only way north is this road and there is no way around I guess we only have one thing to do I said.  We lined our vehicles across the road with the HUMVEE on my left and Rus on my right.  We slowly made our way down the road.  We were about fifty yards away when Rus fire both rocket launchers toward the zombies.  That should be a good start Rus said.  The rockets took out forty of the zombies which numbers were definitely at least five hundred.  They all turned and started walking toward us.  I’ve got a plan I said over the walkie.  Start firing when I am clear of the zombies.  I revved up the Spyder and floored it, I got up to sixty miles per hour when I flipped the switch to activate the minigun and drove right done the middle of the road.  The minigun ripped thru the zombies one by one as I drove straight down the road and once I got thru all the zombies I turned the Spyder around.  Once I spun around I saw Don firing his minigun in the side car and Pastor Scott was in the turret on top of the HUMVEE also firing away.  I flipped my switch back on and fired at whatever zombie I could hit until the barrels were empty.  I got off the motorcycle, grabbed my battle axes and got to work chopping and slicing what zombies came after me.  Pastor Scott and Don were dropping zombies as fast as I did driving down the middle of the road.  I heard there miniguns click as they had exhausted all the bullets from them.  Between the miniguns and rockets we had taken out all but thirty of the zombies.  Rus, Don, and I made quick work of them with our melee weapons.  The bloodshed and body count was catastrophic across the road but we had no choice it was us or them.  We drove over the bodies and continued on our journey.  We arrived at our destination in the early afternoon but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  We were near farmland campgrounds, and forests.  Since the farmland was open it was quick and easy to scout.  We scouted through our binoculars over the farmland and only saw a few trails and side roads.  We can check those roads later, let’s head for the forest and remember keep your eyes open for danger Rus said.  We parked the vehicles at an abandoned farm two hundred yards from the edge of the forest and hid them inside a barn to not draw attention to ourselves.  We took an hour rest before we headed to the forest, so some of us ate or took a nap.  I saw Pastor Scott sitting in the corner of the barn alone and went over to see how he was doing.  Scott how are you doing? I asked.  I have seen better days Bryan he answered. I just can’t believe she is gone, but I know she is with the lord and he will guide me to her one day again Pastor Scott said.  I put my hand on his shoulder and said well spoken my friend if you need anything we are all here for you.  Thanks again Bryan I will serve the lord and memory of Irene by helping you all find answers to what is going on and see if we can find a cure Pastor Scott said.  All right guys let’s get going we need to scout the woods and get back before nightfall Don said.  We packed our gear and reloaded our weapons as we locked up the pole barn and made the two hundred yard walk to the edge of the forest.  Let’s spread out no farther than ten feet apart and always make sure we can see each other I said.  Also stay quiet and watch for hand signals Rus added.  We spread out and started our journey into the forest.  I took the right flank with Pastor Scott next to me, Rus was in the middle and a few steps ahead of us to signal with Don next to him and Bruce took the left flank.  The forest was quite large we walked for nearly an hour and a half before we cleared the other side of the forest.  Let’s take a ten minute rest. Get some water and a power bar then we will head fifty yards down the tree line and track back through the forest again Rus said.  We headed down the tree line and ventured back into the woods still in the same formation.  We traveled about fifty minutes into the woods when Bruce held up his arm for us to stop.  He looked and at us and pointed to the left.  We slowly walked in that direction and took cover near some brush and trees.  We looked and saw a full size van and two small four door cars with six men dressed in suits looking around and picking up something.  What are they doing? Don whispered.  I got an idea Pastor Scott said just watch and be ready for anything.  He left his weapons and headed away from our position.  What is he doing? Bruce asked.  Suddenly we heard crazy screaming coming from the other side of our position.  Oh my God someone please help me we heard someone scream.  We looked and Pastor Scott was running through the woods and into the opening where the six men were at.  Please help me they are chasing me Pastor Scott said breathing extremely hard and looking back into the woods.  What is chasing you one of the men asked?  Those things whatever they are Pastor Scott said.  Pastor Scott was looking around where the men were while they looked toward the woods.  So what are you doing out in the middle of the woods? Pastor Scott asked.  The six men looked at Pastor Scott awkwardly and drew their guns.  Don and I raised our bows and pulled the arrows back and had them aimed at the two guys closest to us.  Rus looked through the scope of his crossbow and aimed for the guy next to Pastor Scott.  Whoa guys Pastor Scott said.  Suddenly three arrows flew through the air and pierced three of the men two in the head and one in the neck dropping them to the ground.  Bruce screamed down and as Pastor Scott dropped Bruce unloaded his M16 into the three remaining guys until there was no one left standing.  We walked out and checked them all out.  I think they are FBI agents Rus said holding up an agents ID.  We searched their cars but came up empty.  Let’s check out the van Rus said.  We opened the back of the van and saw all the stuff they were picking up.  What is all that I asked?  We pulled all the items back out of the van mostly metal.  Well I guess it will be a big puzzle and we will have to match the symbols up and see what this was Bruce said.  We all started matching the symbols up and slowly words and images started coming together.  I know what this is Don said.  It’s an electromagnetic pulse better known as E.M.P. it’s used to damage electrical devices Don explained.  Considering how large this is it must be what knocked out all the power and cell phone communication but somehow it was only temporary while text messaging continued to work Don added.  But why did it get set off here and I wonder if those other coordinates have a similar device get set of
f there too I asked.  Also what the hell was the FBI doing here and cleaning it up? Rus asked.  Guys weren’t there six agents that we killed? Pastor Scott asked.  Yes why? We all answered.  Cause there are only five bodies here now Pastor Scott said.  We looked around and saw three agents had gunshot wounds to the head and the other two had arrows sticking out of their heads.  The one I shot in the neck is missing Rus said.  Let’s get back to the barn and make sure he didn’t head toward our vehicles Rus said.  We made our way out of the forest with no signs of the missing FBI agent.  We walked across the field and made our way to the barn.