Read Particle Z (Book 1) Online

Authors: Tim Scott

Tags: #Zombies

Particle Z (Book 1) (2 page)

BOOK: Particle Z (Book 1)
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CHAPTER 1

 

Mondays Really Do Suck

 

 

Reaching out from under the warmth of his comforter, Mike fumbled to silence his alarm’s annoying buzz, strategically located just out of reach on the nightstand. With quiet finally restored, he settled back into the comfort of his bed, wondering what the day had in store for him; Monday had never failed to suck. As he tried to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep, he was still awake enough to hear the dull sounds of conversation drifting over to him from the television left on from the night before.

Looking closer at the images flashing across the screen, he realized it was the local news. They were broadcasting the latest live shots of unrest from different locations around the world. Mike was sick of the constant bad news that dominated the media these days. No wonder half the country was on prescription meds for some type of stress or anxiety disorder. Mike thought maybe, just maybe, if the media focused on something positive every once in a while people just might have a better outlook on life.

The latest reports were streaming in from overseas somewhere. Europe had been dealing with violent riots and civil disorder all suddenly manifesting itself over the past few weeks. Problems were now spreading rapidly to other parts of the world, seemingly on a daily basis. Sporadic reports were also filtering in from China and the Middle East. Mexico was reporting outbreaks of violence not related to its drug cartel problems. Oil prices had been trading at all-time lows for months now. Mike assumed government subsidies in many oil-dependent countries were drying up, sparking outrage within the citizenry. Economies were being crushed under the weight of cheap oil.

What the hell is wrong with people
, Mike asked himself for the millionth time. The news reports were careful not to show anything graphic, but he had never seen riots like the ones currently taking place. Like most Americans, he had not been too worried when it was isolated to Europe, but with reports now surfacing from Mexico this was starting to hit closer to home. Mike had a reason to be concerned about the news reports coming out of Mexico. His girlfriend, Marlee, was vacationing on a cruise that had made ports of call in Mexico over the last few days.

Mike found the remote under his pillow, right where he left it for once, and turned the television off. Having heard enough for now, he was eager to get to work and see Marlee. Her cruise was due to return in a few hours and even that felt like forever to him. Mike planned on heading into work for a couple of hours before picking Marlee up from the Port. Still tired from the night before, he climbed from the bed and wobbled over to the bathroom for some much needed relief. He was a night owl, so mornings were rough for him.

Mike was also a self-confessed information junkie, and it wasn’t long before he gave in to his need for more and turned the television back on.
Better that than silence
, he thought. Maybe something interesting, or upbeat, would be reported before he headed out.
Fat chance.

It wasn’t long before he was dressed and out the door of his well-kept suburban home, tucked away on a street where all the homes looked identical. Mike noticed the lawn was freshly cut as he backed his truck from the driveway; he hated lawn maintenance and hiring someone to do it was money well-spent in his opinion. As he carefully backed into the street, he waved at his nosy neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins, who always seems to be out. Mike shifted the truck into drive and headed toward the expressway.

Today’s commute was no different. Congested roads, strip malls, cruise ships, and glimpses of sun-glazed water lined with palm trees. Paradise to some, he assumed. Mike had never figured out why people spent their hard-earned money visiting a place that only guaranteed a good sunburn and long waits in theme park lines.

For Mike, life was good. The investment he’d made with a friend in a local company selling camping and adventure supplies to hardcore thrill seekers and doomsday preppers was taking off. Good things were happening on the relationship front as well. Mike was going to pop the big question soon, and he was confident Marlee would say yes, officially making him the happiest man in the world. She was a beautiful woman, tall, with thick, dark hair and of Spanish descent, fit and shapely. Marlee had been blessed genetically and she kept it that way by exercising and eating right. For all of her obvious physical attributes it was her kindness and gentle soul that really attracted Mike to her. Marlee was a rare person and Mike felt lucky he even had a chance at marrying a woman like her.   

While sitting at a red light, waiting for it to turn, Mike had a premonition that today would be unlike any other day he had experienced. He was hopeful this feeling meant good things were just over the horizon for him and Marlee.

Growing bored with the slow pace of traffic, Mike reached down and turned the radio on, searching for a good rock song to boost his mood. Instead, he was inundated with more news from Europe and reports of violence in a Portland suburb.

What the fuck’s going on now?
He was really starting to think the media and government were covering up some real ugly shit. He didn’t buy into conspiracies under normal circumstances, but that didn’t mean he thought the government always told the truth either.

Mike decided to fill his truck up before going into work. He hated stopping on the way home. For once, gas prices were dropping; in fact, he hadn’t seen gas this cheap in years. The truck was running just above half, which was his signal to top off. Like his dad, he never liked it to fall below half at any given time. Mike loved his truck and wouldn’t trade it for the world. It had a ton of power, was a real head-turner, and there wasn't much his truck couldn’t do when pushed. The only downside to owning a truck was the frequency at which he had to fuel up.

Mike mashed the gas as soon as the light finally turned, heading to the nearest gas station. Minutes later he was pulling into a Kwik Mart just inside the city limit. He circled the pumps a couple times looking for a spot to fill up and ended up parking next to a pretty young blonde, who was filling the tank of a sharp red convertible. Exiting his truck, Mike quipped, “Hot out today,” to the blonde. She ignored Mike altogether.

Still got game, Mike,
he inwardly laughed to himself. Truth be told, he was actually in good shape for a man who had put forty-five summers behind him. He stood just over six foot, with a lean, muscular build from a decade of service in the Army and a lifetime of exercise and hard work. He had been told he was easy on the eyes by many over the years.

With the truck topped off and with a lighter wallet, Mike continued his traffic-snarled commute. It wasn’t long before he pulled into the parking lot of one of many non-descript office buildings that dominated the downtown skyline. The building he worked in was city-owned and full of municipal workers. Contrary to common belief, most government workers were hardworking, honest people. His co-workers were the primary reason Mike continued to show up every Monday morning, even with a successful entrepreneurial business making him very comfortable financially. A professional engineer by trade, Mike was in charge of keeping the city’s infrastructure in peak condition. This was enough to keep things interesting for him, and he enjoyed working alongside his co-workers and employees. He wasn’t ready to leave them yet and dedicate himself full-time to his business.

Mike worked closely with a handful of good people he’d met over the years. Eric was Mike’s best friend, Army buddy, and a silent partner in their business venture. Eric was the guy everyone knew and liked. His outgoing personality made him the perfect fit as the marketing guru for Mike’s side business, and their fledgling success was in no small part due to Eric’s boundless energy, network of contacts and work ethic. 

Reid was a short, powerfully built man thanks in part to his dedication to a healthy lifestyle and a gym regiment he never deviated from. His tanned skin contrasted with the shock of jet black hair he kept neatly combed back off his face. Mike had first met Reid when he started with the city, and even though the two men seemed like opposites at first brush, they complemented each other well and had quickly become good friends. Reid was a GIS analyst for the city; he wasn’t involved with Mike’s side business in any sort of way, but his love of physical fitness made him the perfect test subject for any new products or equipment they wanted to market.  

Ashley was another one that he had met after his employment with the city began. She was a planner by trade, and the most detail-oriented person he had ever met. They all had some degree of military training. Ashley had been an Army communications specialist and Reid had done a stint as an Air Force medic. Eric had done his time in Infantry alongside Mike.

Mike parked the truck in his reserved space and took the service elevator up. It was always faster than going to the lobby and waiting for one of the public elevators. Slowing to a stop, the doors slid open on the thirtieth floor and Mike stepped out. He navigated the monochrome gray cubicle maze, arriving at his corner office which boasted a spectacular view of the bay. He never grew tired of that view no matter how many times he gazed upon it. Holding the title of Lead Engineer for the Public Works Department had its perks.

Mike slid down into his chair and looked over a desk adorned with nothing more than a laptop, television remote, and phone. He then noticed something strange: the absence of sound floating into his office from his normally chatty and boisterous team. In fact, he hadn’t seen anyone in the cubicle farm. If nothing else, Eric would have been in his office with coffee minutes after his arrival, but he was suspiciously absent this morning. Worst of all, the morning’s coffee was also nowhere to be found.

“Eric?” Mike called out in the general direction of his colleague’s office, but received no response.

Mike was going to have to do a little recon to locate his missing team. Although close in proximity, Mike was shielded from his staff’s direct view by tall cubical walls that provided him as well as his team a small modicum of privacy. Mike was soon staring into Eric’s empty office.
Where the hell is everyone,
Mike thought, as he continued to hunt for his staff.

Mike’s other team members, Reid and Ashley, like Eric, were also missing. It wasn’t like them not to be at their work stations; they were dedicated professionals, after all. Mike started to wonder if they were setting him up for some sort of prank. Ashley had always been the practical joker, although when it came to crunch time she was as serious and intense as they came. Reid was more of the quiet type, with a very dry sense of humor. He only added to the conversations when he felt he had something profound to say, but at other times he was just plain inappropriate.

Mike navigated around the cubicles in search of the break room. He was at a loss as to where everyone was.

“Eric … Ashley … Reid?” he called. Again, no response.

With the break room was in sight, he finally spotted Ashley and Eric, facing away from him and intent on something. He was dying to know what had them so engrossed this early in the morning. More bad news, he was sure, if they had all felt the need to watch a news report during business hours. Noticing a flickering light, Mike thought,
Yep
,
watching TV
. As he got closer, he was able to confirm his suspicion: his friends were watching the local news.

“Hello …?” Mike called out again.

This time, Ashley and Eric turned when they heard Mike’s voice. Ashley looked nervous, her piercing blue eyes locking on his, and Eric looked confused. Reid was still staring at the TV when Mike walked in.

“What’s so interesting that it caused you to leave your work stations?” Mike asked, more from curiosity’s sake than any other reason.

“There seems to be a problem in the Gulf,” Ashley said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

“Mike, I think the cruise ship Marlee is on is under some kind of lockdown,” Eric carefully stated.

“Lockdown? What the hell do you mean? Why ... how would you lock down a cruise ship at sea,” Mike retorted, his stomach starting to perform nervous cartwheels.

When no one answered him, he shifted his gaze to the news report to find an answer. Mike was able to make out a number of Coast Guard Long Ranger Interceptors, or LRIs, positioned around what was clearly a large white cruise ship. The banner running along the bottom of the television was reporting that the
Sunset Rose
was being intercepted due to suspicions the ship had been overrun with a life-threatening virus or bacteria of some kind. Mike’s stomach churned as his worst fear stared him dead in the face. The
Sunset Rose
was the ship Marlee was on.

“Don’t worry, Mike, Marlee’s a smart girl and knows how to take care of herself,” Reid said.

While Mike tended to agree, there was only so much taking care of yourself one could do while stuck in the close quarters of a cruise ship, even as large as the modern ships were. He wanted to know why there had been no news before this, no calls or even an email. He suspected the media had stayed quiet at the government’s request and the ship’s communications had been shut off. Transfixed by the television, Mike felt fear and anger rising. He would make someone pay if Marlee was hurt or sick. His friends stood silently beside him, knowing there was no point in filling his head with fabricated encouragement or telling Mike it would be okay. He had never appreciated comments said simply to provide false hope when everything pointed to a different result. He had always been a man of action, not words.

BOOK: Particle Z (Book 1)
3.45Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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