Generation Dead Book 2: What You Fear (13 page)

Of course, Jake knew immediately what had happened, and arched a single eyebrow at me as acknowledgement. Kayla and Julia had their heads together the entire time we had walked over to the president’s house
. I would have loved to know what they were talking about, and yet at the same time, I know I preferred not to.

Now we were throwing ourselves back into the mix.  All I wanted to do was go home and just live quietly for a while. 
However, that seemed like a far away dream as Jake and the president kept talking.

“What’s the mess this
time?” Jake was asking.

In answer, President Jackson pulled out a faded road map that had a lot of intersecting lines across it. 
Out of habit, I quickly referenced our current position and the location of our home.

“We’ve received reports from three different communities along the grey corridor talking about increased zombie activity.  There’s always been some there, as you know, but there has been a large uptick and it’s too coincidental to think it’s random
,” Jackson said, pointing to three towns along the stretch of old I-57.  They weren’t directly on the interstate. Those towns had been wiped out early during the Upheaval when people were running from the apocalypse, even though it was waiting for them wherever they were going.

“What kind of activity? How much?” Jake asked, running a finger down the highway on the map.

“I don’t think it’s what you guys have been dealing with lately.  I think word has finally gotten around and people are taking extra precautions and are much more wary of strangers.  Freeport was, I think and hope, the last we’ll see of that kind of thing.  No, this seems to be more of an old threat coming back to become a new one.”  President Jackson sighed as he looked at the map. “What next?”

I spoke up at that rhetorical question.  “I’ve learned it’s best not to ask.  That’s when
fate pays attention and gets her black sense of humor on.”

“Or lack thereof.  If I can persuade you to tackle this task, then I think we can rest for a small time
,” the president said.

“No, actually we can’t
,” Jake said.

“No?”

“No.  We still don’t know who is responsible for the attacks and the attempts to re-create the Upheaval.  I’ve got another vial of zombie crap in storage, and the kidnappings have been halted for the time being, but someone was behind those, too.  I’d bet my last gold piece that Tucker wasn’t the end of the line.  In fact, he couldn’t be.  Where would he stash the girls and for what purpose?  Nowhere around here,” Jake said.

President Jackson narrowed his eyes and looked at Jake more closely.  Then he smiled slightly, putting a hand on Jake’s shoulder.

“You’re much more like your father than you may think or want to admit.  He had the ability to look at the big picture better than most people,” he said.

Jake shook his head.  “Well, if he bothers to show up, send him south.  I could use the help.  Good day.”

Chapter 28

Jake left the room and I nodded my goodbye to the president.  Julia and Kayla followed us and we walked steadily out of the area, heading up towards our truck.  By the set of his shoulders, I knew Jake wasn’t interested in talking right now, so I decided to just walk and take a look around as the town went about its daily morning activities.  There weren’t too many people about, and I doubted the word about Tucker had gotten very far, if at all.  If the president’s guards were worth their weight, then the most anyone would know about the truth would be rumors.

When we reached a junction that took us to the
medical center in one direction and the truck in another, I stopped and waited for Jake to figure out I wasn’t following him.  Julia and Kayla stopped as well, and the three of us looked at Jake as he looked quizzically at us.

“Aren’t you coming to the truck?” He asked.

“Are we coming back here?” I responded.

“Yeah, so?”

I smiled. Doesn’t take four of us to carry a vial.  We’ll wait here.  Don’t worry.  We’ll talk about you.”

Jake shook his head and muttered something about lazy jerks as he turned and walked off.

While we waited, Julia took the opportunity to jump into my arms, wrap her legs around me, and kiss me deeply.  I returned the kiss equally, taking in her essence and falling for her all over again.  Kayla grinned in the morning sun and chided us both.

“Get back to your rooms, you two, geez
,” she said.

I put Julia down with another kiss.  “If we did that, you’d be out here by your
self with Jake.  Not sure Julia’s ready for that,” I replied.

Julia ran a hand around my belt line.  “I could handle it
,” she said, with a little gleam I her eye.

I laughed, happy to be alive this morning and have this girl on my side.  “No doubt.  But I’m not sure I could.”

Julia let me go and stood in front of me, looking up at me with big serious eyes.  “There is still unfinished business, mister.”

“Like what?” I asked, slightly perplexed.

“Anything you want to tell me?”

I thought for a minute, recalling the conversation I had with Jake the night before.  “No, not really.  You pretty much know all the stories behind my scars now
,” I said with a grin.  In a lower voice, I added, “Not in front of Kayla, anyway.”

Julia harrumphed and turned to Kayla, who just smiled and shrugged.  I knew I was getting into unfamiliar territory at lightning speed, and hoped like crazy Jake was going to get back soon. Give me a zombie to kill or a man to fight any day.  This emotional sparring with females was way beyond me.

Fortunately, Jake appeared before things got worse, so we headed back over to the health center.  Jake led the way, with Kayla by his side.  Julia was with me, and we hung back a bit, watching the two of them.

“Think they’ll ever wind up like us?” I asked, nodding towards the couple ahead.

Julia shrugged.  “Maybe.  Kayla would love it, but I’m not sure Jake is willing to settle down.”

“Kayla wants to be with Jake?” I asked, startled.  This was news to me. I figured she could have her pick of men, and Jake wasn’t the best of company.  I said so to Julia.

“Why not Jake?” Julia answered.  “He’s well trained, lives in a grand hotel on a huge estate, is independently wealthy, and the son of one of the most famous men in the country.  Not to mention he’s pretty good-looking as well,” Julia observed.

I thought about that and soothed my ego. “I’m taller.”

Julia laughed out loud, causing Kayla and Jake to turn around.  She covered her mouth with her hand and I just grinned and shrugged as if she was crazy.  Jake scowled, but Kayla turned him back to the task at hand.

We entered the health facility and the receptionist brightened as Jake walked in.  Her face turned down when Kayla appeared at Jake’s side, close enough to be a warning to any intruders. 

“Can I help you?” she asked, keeping her eyes on Jake.

My brother nodded and put the vial of zombie goop on the counter. 
Samantha, the receptionist, reacted better this time.  She sighed and picked up a phone.

“Jerry? Sam.  Mr. Talon just dropped off anther vial.  Yes, it’s contained.  Okay, I will.”  Sam hung up the phone and opened a drawer, pulling out a heavy plastic container.  She used her pen to move the vial into the bin and sealed it with a lid.  It was a bit of a letdown, since the last time we were
here, they all freaked out on us.

Samantha turned to Jake.  “Anything else?”

Jake shook his head, but I was curious about one thing.  I stepped up to the counter beside Jake.

“Hey, Samantha? What’s in those vials we brought?  Just curious
,” I asked.

Sam smiled, happy to take her attention away from a non-responsive Jake and a glaring Kayla.  “Couldn’t say, but Jerry should be able to fill you in on that one.  I can say that when he figured it out, he spent about an hour debriefing the president about it.”

That sounded a little more serious. “Is Jerry coming up soon?” I asked.

Sam nodded. “He should be here any second.”

“All right. I’ll wait.” I looked over at Jake and he arched an eyebrow in my direction.  I didn’t respond and he shrugged, moving outside with Kayla right behind.  Julia looked at me and I nodded towards the door.  She left with a curious glance backwards, but left it at that.

As soon as the outside door shut, Jerry arrived with another person in a long lab coat wearing heavy rubber gloves.  The assistant picked up the container and walked back the way they had come.  Jerry was about to leave with a small wave before I stopped him.

“Jerry? Aaron Talon.  A moment, if you don’t mind,” I asked politely.

Jerry looked impatient, but since I made sure I looked like I was not about to be ignored, he decided it was better to talk and get it over with.

“Sure.  What can I do for you?” He asked with forced patience.

“Only one question.  What’s in those vials we keep finding?”  I figured since I was risking my life to stop
its spread that I ought to know what I was dealing with.

Jerry shook his head. “Probably the worst thing you could imagine.  Those vials contain mutated Enillo virus.  It’s worse than the original strain, and nearly airborne lethal.  Someone went to a lot of trouble to
put this together or they have a very fertile breeding ground for the virus.”

I was a little confused.  “Are they just harvesting zombies?  That would make my search a little easier.”

Jerry shook his head again.  “No.  What they are doing is taking healthy hosts, injecting them with the virus, and then pulling this out of their brain stems.  The DNA we’ve looked at from the virus you’ve collected suggests the hosts are all about the same age, and the same gender.

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach t
hat I wasn’t going to like the next thing I heard.  “So, what are you saying? Everyone in that host pool was specifically chosen?”

Jerry looked at the ceiling, then directly into my eyes.  “If I had to guess, Mr. Talon, I’d say if you found the source of this material, you would also find the whereabouts of our kidnap victims.”

Chapter 29

“Don’t be shy, I know you’re there.”

Shuffle shuffle moan
.

“Come on, baby, it will be quick, I promise.” 

Shuffle shuffle
.

“Just give me something to work with, no reason to be afraid.”

Shuffle
.

“There you go, that’s my girl.  Was that so hard?”

Moan, moan
. 
Bang!

I fired my rifle, sending a .30 caliber bullet hurtling towards the zombie I had been stalking for ten minutes.  The heavy bullet passed through her
as if she wasn’t there, but the shock wave blew her head apart like a popping balloon.  One second it was there and the next it was gone.  Pretty spectacular if you were just observing from the sidelines.  I was observing through the scope, and it was just gross.  Her body fell backwards and wedged itself between two cars, destined to rot away like so many others.

We’d been at this for the better part of the morning, and it was one big mess of misery.  The highway of I-57 had been compromised, and it wasn’t a thrill to begin with.  The zombies that had previously been contained in their cars had been loosed and
they were wandering free along the road.  Three barriers had been removed from exits, and to make the cake even sweeter, it looked like the barricade to the city had been compromised.  A steady stream of very nasty looking zombies was headed our way.

I should say,
my
way.  Jake had taken charge of the situation, sending Julia and Kayla to hunt down the free-range zombies while he took care of re-blocking the roadway and finding additional help to deal with roamers.  I got the job of finishing off the zombies that were left on the road, and to close off the city, once more.

Jake made the job sound easy.  “Just close the doors to the cars, kill the ones out on the road, and you’re good.”

I initially thought it was going to be easy, partially because I wanted to believe Jake, but mostly because I was an idiot.  The first couple of miles were easy, just strolling down the center of the lanes, kicking or pushing doors shut, and shooting the occasional zombie. No worries, right?

Then things began to change.  The zombies that were still on the road were not the recently infected kind.  They had been in hot and cold cars for over twenty years.  They had evolved in that time and were smarter than your average
convert was.  They were weak as kittens, though, and their skulls were more brittle than the newer models, but they were still deadly for all that.  Most of them were black with rot and mold, and several were missing fingers, hands, or even jaws.  Those were my special, favorite nightmare.

For every one I killed, I thought of new and painful ways I was going to thank Jake for this lovely assignment.  I just hoped Julia and Kayla were doing all right.