The Zombie Chronicles - Book 4 - Poisonous Serum (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) (4 page)

“
We saved them!” Val said, her trembling with pride and relief. She picked up a little boy in her arms and touched his face. “It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart. Don’t you worry,” she said, moving a strand of hair out of his face as his eyes slowly returned to their normal color.

Jackie snatched up a little girl with straggly blonde hair and a dirty white shirt.

The girl nuzzled into Jackie’s shoulder. “I want my mommy,” she cried, sniffling.

“
Honey, we’re going to try to find her for you,” Jackie said.

Another unkempt little boy with grungy feet and tangled hair wrapped his arms around my leg, and a little girl with long brown hair and big brown eyes smiled at me. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life, particularly recently. All those young lives would have been lost forever had we left them to their fate, but we’d saved them. Nothing could have possibly felt better, and I was happy to embrace every little one who came up to me.

It was at that moment that Jackie grabbed my hand. “I’m ready.”

“
For what?” I asked, confused.

“
To really join the fight,” she said sternly.

“
What? I mean, are you serious?” I asked.

Her eyes grew big. “Dean, we just saved these people, and there are people all around the world who can use our help right now. I finally feel some sense of purpose. I feel like this is my calling, my mission in life, as if fate or some other thing much bigger than me brought you into my life for a reason.”

I squeezed her hands. “I feel the same way. I don’t believe in accidents and coincidence.”

“
Truly a Kodak moment, you two, but c’mon!” Val said. “School’s out, and it’s time to get the heck outta here.”

We gathered up the kids and proudly led them out the school doors. The moon was shining brightly in the sky when we stepped out. Tom’s team had collected other children, as well as janitors, teachers, and other adults. They were all cured, albeit quite shocked, as he attempted to explain what was going on.

“
Zombies? Are you sure? I mean, it doesn’t seem possible that—” a science teacher began to argue.

“
Trust me, Mrs. Dupree,” Tom said, holding up his hand to stop her. “No matter what those biology books tell ya, you have all just been saved from a walking-dead kind of fate.”

Tom sobbed uncontrollably as he picked up a little girl in a tattered, green dress and swung her around. “I never gave up on you baby girl. Not ever!”

“
Daddy,” she squealed.

He hugged her tight. “I love you so much.”

“
There’s mommy,” she said, pointing.

When he laid eyes on a dark skinned woman walking toward him with two more little girls, he screamed the woman’s name as emotion overwhelmed him.

“
Carla!” he said between trembling breaths.

“
Tom!” she yelled frantically. She jumped into his arms and hugged him as tears rolled down her face.

“
I never gave up hope on our family,” he said, voice wavering. “They said you were dead and to forget about you. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t, baby.”

She cried into his shoulder as his girls hugged his legs.

Jackie gripped my hand. “Isn’t that beautiful?”

I nodded. I’d never seen such a powerful, emotional reunion.

Several of Tom’s friends ran over and scooped up the children they knew by name. In the spite of all the death and darkness that still lingered in the world, people wept, cried, and laughed as they were reunited with their loved ones. I’d never seen something so touching, and I was flattered that I’d been able to be a part of it.

Chapter 3

“
Dean!” Nick said, hugging me. “Why do you insist on pulling stunts like that? You got some kind of death wish or something? You’re gonna go and get yourself killed!”

“
Nick, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m alive.” I held out an arm. “Would you like to feel for a pulse?”

“
Don’t ever take off alone like that again!” he shouted, a frown creasing his forehead.

“
He wasn’t alone,” Val scolded. “He had me…and Jackie.”

Nick let out a long breath. “Well, either way, you guys about gave me a heart attack.”

“
Well, I had complete faith in them,” Lucas said, playfully punching me in the arm. “Dean and Val have your DNA, Nick. They’re far too stubborn to die.”

Nick rolled his eyes and stormed off, shouting over his shoulder, “I gotta go find Tom.”

I knew I’d given him quite a scare, but I’d proven my point. I wanted my big brother to know I was capable of helping people without getting myself killed in the process. I didn’t need him to protect me twenty-four/seven, even if he wouldn’t believe it.

Tahoe clapped my shoulder. “I can’t believe you guys pulled this off. A lot of the parents in town have already written the kids off as dead, mourned their deaths. It’s gonna be better than Christmas morning when we show up with their little ones.”

Tom walked over with his wife and kids, tears flowing down his face. “You-you kids saved my family,” he stuttered, sounding far less gruff than he had when we’d first met. “I-I don’t know how to thank you.”

“
I’m glad we were able to help,” I said. “All we want in return are those vials.”

“
A deal’s a deal,” he said. “They’re all yours.” He then motioned us over to a blue sedan and opened the back trunk. “Here ya go. I want you to know I’m keeping a few vials for myself.” “What!? Why?” Claire asked. “Those vials are ours, and you promised—”

Nick gently grabbed her arm. “It’s fine, Claire. Just let it go.”

I couldn’t believe the vials had been in the trunk of Tom’s car all along.
So the best place to hide something really is in plain sight.
I sighed as I collected them and carefully put them back into the black bag.

Tahoe anxiously held out his hand. “A deal’s a deal, remember?”

I reached in the bag and handed the promised vial to him. “You only need one tiny drop for each person. That vial can cure hundreds of people.”

“
Thanks. I can’t change the world, kid, but rest assured that Tom and I are gonna do our darnedest to de-zombify our little corner of the world. I’ve spent my whole life in this town, and I’m not leaving. I’m gonna consider it my personal responsibility to get a handle on the water supply and help everyone get back to normal. From here on out, our town is going to be a refuge, a place of safety for anyone who stops by and needs a place to stay.”

“
I’m glad to hear it,” I said.

A second later, I spotted a megaphone in Tahoe’s patrol car. I grabbed it and jumped on top of the roof, and Nick, Lucas, Claire, and Jackie followed suit. Since there was no room for him up there, Tahoe grabbed a microphone from Lucy’s car, and then climbed on top of her cruiser.

“
Attention, everyone!” I said to the happy, weeping crowd. The megaphone screeched, and I cringed as the sound rang in my ears, but it did manage to get everyone’s attention. “My name is Dean Walters, and this is Claire and Jackie, Lucas and Nick. We’re going to leave you now to head to another city. Anyone who wants to come with us is free to, or you can stay here, in the capable hands of Tahoe and Tom.”

Tahoe took his megaphone and announced, “Folks, if you decide to stay, we can fix this town together. This city will be considered a safe haven for all visitors. We will triumph over this problem. We will not live in fear anymore—only in victory!” He put the megaphone down to his side as the crowd cheered, then shot us a look. “You kids keep the patrol car. I’ll ride back with Lucy.”

“
Thanks, man,” Lucas said, offering him a smile—his own unspoken version of making amends.

“
Hey, Lake Tahoe!” I called.

“
Yeah?”

“
I know we’ve had our differences, but ultimately, everything’s worked out well for both of us. Best of luck to you and your family. I hope you get your town cleaned up and that you and Lucy have a happy, safe life here.”

“
I’m sorry for everything I put you guys through,” he said. “I hope you’ll see it in your heart to forgive me someday, even if we never cross paths again.”

“
I’m sure I will in time,” I said.

His lips pressed into a grim line. “I get it, man. I really get it, and I wish you well.”

Lucy blew me a kiss, tears flooding down her face. “Thank you, Dean. Thank you for…everything.”

I held up a vial, and Jackie and Claire shined their flashlights on me as I announced into the megaphone, “People, this is the cure! This will save all of humanity from the horror that has threatened to take over our world!”

Everyone cheered, screamed, and laughed.

“
We will deliver this to the proper authorities, and hope will spring up again for all humankind. No one needs to fear anymore. Soon, we will have our world back the way we knew it. We have hit a rough patch, a dark snag in the fabric of our history, but we are fighters, and we will fight to the end. We will have our world back! We will rebuild, repair, and live again! I cannot speak for anyone else, but I have decided to make it my life mission to save the poor, lost souls out there who are being overtaken by this foul invader, this virus that would leave them as nothing more than mindless predators. We can save them, and we will save them, because all human life is precious! We will conquer this disease, and victory will be ours. Humanity will thrive once again. I promise you that!”

Again, everyone cheered, and as they did, it hit me:
This is
what I was meant to do. I was meant to be a fighter in this cause
. Just a short time ago, I’d been a naïve kid, sheltered from the ugly reality that our world faced. I’d seen some horrible stuff and had barely survived my journey through Zombie Land, but there I was like some football coach in the locker room, giving a pep talk like none other, making speeches, delivering hope, and encouraging people to fight for their deserved victory. The journey had changed me; it had thickened my skin and toughened me up, but it had also made me realize just how much I valued human life and how much I wanted to save it.

Val and Nick grinned, and I knew they were proud of me. There was something very comforting about being there with my siblings, and I couldn’t wait to find my parents so we could be a family once again. Jackie shot me a smile, and I smiled back.

I slid off the police car, and grinned, jiggling the keys. “Need a ride, pretty lady?” I asked Jackie, who was still standing on the hood.

She looked so beautiful as the wind blew her hair around. Not only that, but she was also intelligent, sexy, and funny, and even in the midst of all that turmoil, I had trouble getting her off my mind. “Shotgun,” she said.

I held out my arms, and she jumped into them. I spun her around and kissed her on the lips, basking in the undeniable spark—that connection between us that we could both feel. It had never been a question whether or not she’d come with me, because I knew we were destined to be together.

“
Hey!” Val called from another car. “Lucas and I are gonna hitch a ride with these guys so we won’t be so squished in the police car.”

For a moment, I wondered if riding in a patrol car would remind Val of her old life as a police officer. I knew she still mourned her old life and was still grieving the loss of her fiancé, Travis, who’d been killed a little over a year ago in a horrible zombie attack.

As Nick and Claire walked toward the cruiser, Howard pulled up next to us in a red sports car and called Claire’s name. Claire wasn’t the least bit interested in him, in spite of his blatant efforts to flirt with her back at the city gates in Kingsville. He was buff and muscular, but his ego was even bigger than his bulging biceps; he was so cocky and arrogant that I wasn’t surprised that Claire had no interest. I’d heard him bragging to some other guys about all his tattoos and battles with zombies. I was hesitant about him joining up with us, because the last thing we needed was for him and Nick to butt heads, two military Rambo types fighting over Claire’s dainty little affections.