Zombologist Book 1 Zombie Hunters (Zomboligist Series) (20 page)

“But, how do you know this? I mean, Type N is the most
deadly strain. How do you know?”

“My research states as much, and Max, we currently have in
our possession a woman who may have hidden in a cave since 1967. It is possible
she is an escapee from Devlinstown, Pa.

“Devlinstown, Mom, did you just say Devlinstown?”

Jana could barely hear her, she was losing the connection.

“Max, you sit tight. Do what you can to lock down the park
and the towns. Max? Maxine?”

The connection went dead.

Just as they are ready to exit the freeway they see several
people pulled off the side of the road. There had been an accident. A small
woman carrying a baby in one arm was using the other to fend off a newly turned
zombie.

Before the vehicle came to a stop, Jana was out the door
and running full speed toward the zombie. She pulled out her automatic and shot
him in the temple. The man crumpled before the screaming woman.

“Are you hurt?” Jana yelled at her. The woman, still in
shock did not comprehend anything said to her so Jana grabbed her by the
shoulders. “Look at ME. Are you hurt? Are you bit?”

The woman blinked her eyes several times before she fully
focused on Jana. She shook her head. “No, I’m okay.” Jana checked her and the
baby quickly for bites.

“Which car is yours? How far do you live? Jana asked.

“Just up the road. That man jumped at my car as I was
slowing for the turn. He came from the side of the road, I hit him. Damn, I
thought he was drunk. There’s my car.” She nodded toward one of the cars just
off the road. The fender was slightly dented but other than that the vehicle was
undamaged. The ones behind hers were much more damaged.

“Get in your car and head directly home and stay there.
Turn on your TV and keep your cell phone close. Pay attention to what is going
on and be alert for any interrupted broadcast from
the society
. Give me
your cell and I will give you my number. If anything happens, call me
immediately.”

“Okay.”

Jana entered her cell number and address and handed the
phone back to the woman as Dillon drug the zombie off the road and rolled him
into a ditch.

“Hey, are you crazy woman, you just shot that innocent man.
He was probably drunk or just crazy and you shot him! So now we go around
shooting drunks?” A young college looking preppie was moving up fast on Jana
shouting at her. Dillon moved quickly beside her, his glock already aimed.

“Back off kid.” Dillon warned.

“Geez don’t get all psycho on me, I’m just saying.”

“Kid, do yourself a favor, and shut up and listen. Do you
have
any
clue to what is going on?” Jana spoke looking the poor kid over.

“Well, I heard the news.” The kid said angrily, “Crazy
bunch of bull crap. It’s nothing but a bunch of hyped up lies by a bunch of
right wingers trying to pull down the economy and destroy progress. Probably
backed by the McGotchya brothers. Idiots. You heard what the president said, the
chaos was caused by a video and he is searching for the perps. And, hey, what do
I need a gun for? If I need help, I can just call the police.”

They just stared at him, shocked.

“Is that what they teach you in school now-a-days? Half the
population is the enemy, the president always tells the truth even when he’s
lying and that the police will take care of you? Kid, look around,” Dillon said
roughly, lips barely moving, “Do you see any fucking cops?”

They watched as reality slowly seeped into the kid’s brain.
He began to contemplate the facts, nervously licking his lips and blinking
rapidly. He looked like he was ready to cry.

“There is an extremely contagious virus spreading rapidly
across the nation. It is spread by a bite from infected individuals. Now, get
back in your vehicle, lock your doors and drive on.” Dillon snarled.

“Buy yourself a gun kid and learn to defend yourself.” Jana
added.

Dillon stared at her. He suddenly started laughing. He
laughed a full two minutes, bending over, laughing so hard that his sides begun
to hurt. He tried to speak but couldn’t he was laughing so hard. It took several
more seconds before he could finally say, “Well, I really hope he takes your
advice Jana,” Dillon said wiping his eyes with the back of his hands, ‘but that
kid has his head stuck so far up his ass, it wouldn’t make any difference.”
Dillon began laughing again. Jana just rolled her eyes and shook her head as she
watched the kid run back to his vehicle, glancing over his shoulder like the
hounds of hell where on his heels.

He has no clue
, Jana thought sadly.  

They were headed back to the SUV when the girl called after
them, sobering Dillon up instantly, “Is it true, the virus and all?” Jana turned
around and nodded that yes, it was. “My husband, he’s overseas, I may just show
up on your door some night.” Then with a smile that lit up her whole face she
said, “Just saying.”

 “Anytime.” Jana and Dillon shot back.

****

As they were heading closer to Bulls Creek and the safe
house, Jana’s phone beeped. She had left it in the car to help the girl and she
had missed a call. She dialed voice mail and was surprised that she had a call
from Willis Dye. He sounded frantic.

“Oh dear, I just can’t believe this. I just returned home
and she’s gone. She got out. Tamosia escaped! I don’t know what to do. And it’s
not just Tamosia that escaped, they all did. Tamosia must have left them out. I
found the maid wondering in the yard and she chased me into the garage where I
trapped her. But the others are gone. Vanished! Tamosia is gone.” With that
Willis Dye broke into sobs. “She’s gone.”

Jana turned to Dillon. “New Hampshire now. How much worse
could it possibly be?”

“I don’t know Jana, I don’t know.”

 “Peters right, we don’t need any round ups; we can’t
possibly contain all the zoms. We need the rigs for survivors instead; for those
who can’t get home. Clear the area if possible.”

Dillon just nodded. He was looking at the zombie in the
back of the SUV. She was just sitting there, still as could be. She still had
the double mesh nets over her face and her hands were still bound. They usually
thrashed and groaned to high heaven when so close to human flesh. But, she just
sat there. He squinted in the rear view mirror to see if her eyes were open.
They were, and she was staring right back at him, smiling.

She just chilled him to the bone. He suddenly realized that
she was different than Tamosia. Was she was holding him spellbound. Could that
be possible?

He heard Jana speaking into the phone. Dillon blinked
suddenly aware that he was driving off the road. He over corrected, hard, and
swore under his breath as Jana slammed into the door. “Crap Dillon, watch where
you are going.” Jana said roughly.

 “Ok, Paula, tell our people to evacuate, the situation is
rapidly falling out of control. Got that Paula? Evacuate.”

Jana clicked off and turned on Dillon. “Pay attention, will
you? Geez Dillon, what’s gotten into you?”

She was staring at him intently now.

“Tell me about that night in Devlinstown Jana. Tell me what
happened.”

Jana looked away, into the night watching the headlights
bounce off the woods alongside the road.

“I will. But not now, it’s…. it’s a long story Dillon.”

Dillon pulled onto the long winding road that led to Jana’s
house, the safe house. He pulled the remote from the visor and opened the gate.
He drove around the garage and headed for a steel shed directly behind the
house. The door opens and he drives inside. He moved forward another five feet
until he felt the bumper press the lift and they begin to descend. The door
behind the SUV slides open and Dillon backs out into an underground garage.

Without speaking, they jump out and together wrestle the
zombie into one of the observatory cages inside Jana’s office. She doesn’t put
up much of a fight either. Jana notices mother Zombie does not stink, at all.
God, she will be strong.

“Thanks Dillon, I’m going to stay down here for a while, do
some research online and try to find that video that everyone is talking about.”

Dillon nods, hand on the door knob he blurts, “I’m going
upstairs and wait for the kid, and then I’m going back. I will meet the rig in
Altoona and help to put down as many as we can.”

“Dillon the crew can take care of that, and you know that
Peter said to evacuate. There may not be anyone there.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Hey, you have a story to
tell me, remember?”

Jana is close to tears. There is so much going on right now
her emotions are getting the better of her.

Dillon walks out the door, closing it softly behind him.

Without warning Dillon burst through the door, grabs her
around the waist and gives her a deep longing kiss that leaves her gasping for
breath.

Her head is reeling as she melts against him. Her arms wrap
around him as she wants him closer. The kiss turns passionate, hungry. Jana’s
legs turn to jello as a desire she thought was long gone explodes inside her.

Then, as quickly as he appeared, he is gone, just like
that.

Jana leans against the counter shocked by what just
happened. Her fingers trace her slightly swollen lips that still ache from the
kiss. She stares at the ceiling and shakes her head at the surprise of her
reaction. She should be mad, but she isn’t. In fact she is secretly thrilled.
Holy Moly that man can kiss…

“Oh stop it.” She tells herself with a giggle.

Still reeling from the kiss, Jana turns to look at her
mother. The zombies on the other side of the door, in the holding pens are
clawing and moaning as usual. But, mother zombie is just standing there inside
the cage, staring back. Jana can’t see her features clearly because of the steel
mesh that still covers her face.

But, she has an eerie feeling that the creature in the cage
is smiling at her.

Jana sits on the stool just outside the cage, mesmerized.
Memories flow through her mind of better days. Her and Sarah, riding their bikes
without a care in the world, mom baking in the kitchen, Dad and Uncle Joe
shingling the roof, the laughter and warmth of a time long past.

Jana spins angrily around toward her desk. She needed to
work, not take a trip down memory lane. The nostalgia was suffocating her and
making her sad. She needed to focus, to stay in the present.

 She shakes the mouse until the screen springs into life
and logs into
the society’s
website. She can surf the web safely from
there, her location and IP address will be hidden behind the stealth mode of the
site. She needed to watch the video she had heard about on the news and check
the social sites for independent journalist telling the story, the real story.
Too many national news stations only report what they are told to report. Real
reporters are a thing of the past and have been for many years.

Besides, she wanted to check out their new web address, dot
zomb. Jana was fully engrossed in her web search when she heard a rasping,
guttural-sounding croak behind her. Dillon?

She turned. No one was there. Well no one except for mother
zombie. She shook her head and turned back to her computer.

The guttural sound rose again, only louder. She stiffened.
No, can’t be. In a voice barely human, as gruff as sandpaper across a wooden
board, there was no mistake.

“Reeeeebeeeeccaaaaahhhh”

 
Look for Zomboligist Book II ….. Rebecca
- Voices of the past.

Thank you for reading part I of the Zomboligist series. I
sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this first part. In part II, Jana tells her
tale of how she was saved by the society and became the international
Zombologist she is today, saving others from a twisted fate. Follow Jana’s
journey as she tells her story.