Outbreak (Book 3): Endplay Page 3

Riker fired off two shots that went wide as the zombies approached. He dropped his pistol as the closest one reached for him. Riker grabbed the creature’s shirt, dropped back, and executed a reversed Judo move. Riker flipped the creature over, immediately stood, and grabbed the carbine that was slung over his shoulder. Before the zombie could stand, Riker shot it twice in the head.

  Teagan had also dropped her pistol when the zombies attacked and now held them back with her baton. She crouched and swept one leg in a circle across the ground. The zombie closest to her crashed to the floor, but the other creature backed up to avoid her leg. She smashed the downed creature in the forehead with her baton. She brought the baton down onto the creature’s skull a few more times until it stopped moving and turned to meet the other zombie.

  She was too late.

  The other creature was almost on top of her when the outline of a figure grabbed the last zombie and pull it back through the smoke. Three quick gunshots followed. The figure that had saved her life walked out the smoke.

  It was another guard, Greg.

  “You okay?” Greg asked.

  “I am now,” Teagan said as her body shook from the adrenaline. “Those fuckers are fast.”

  Greg was an experienced prison guard in his late forties. He had a mustache which made him look like the actor Burt Reynolds and an explosive temper that had landed him in trouble more than a few times.

  “Glad to see you, Greg,” Riker said as some of the smoke began to clear.

  “Frye was right behind me not long ago,” Greg said as he tried to look through the smoke.

  “I’m here,” a voice said as it cut through the other noises. A younger man walked into view. He wore a beard which made him look older.

  “There you are, Frye,” Greg said. “Thought I lost you back there.”

  “No way,” Frye said as he held up his bloodied baton. “Damn those things are fast.”

  “And strong,” added Teagan.

  A loud noise echoed through the prison as Riker slammed the main gate closed.

  “This should hold off those bastards behind us,” Riker said. “Here’s the deal. I’m not in charge here.” Then he turned to Hector, Noonan, Reece, and Jackson. “I don’t know what to tell you guys. I’m not going to warden you outside these gates. I have more important things on my mind. But if you know what’s best, you’ll forget about who you were inside this place and take this opportunity to become something better. Survival should be the only thing on your minds.”

  Hector looked at the others and then back at Riker and the other guards.

  “If it’s all the same, I’d like to ride with you,” Hector said to Riker.

  “I’m fine with that,” Riker said. “There’s safety in numbers and we can all get each other’s backs. But let’s be clear about one thing: I don’t care what you were put away for and I really don’t care. Myself and the other guards aren’t here to police you anymore. But if any of you puts us in danger, we’ll cut you loose quicker than we’d put down a lame horse. Ya got it?”

  The inmates all nodded.

  “You can also expect us to treat you all like equals,” Riker continued. “If you’re all coming along, I don’t want there to be an ‘us and them’ mentality. We protect each other and we all survive together.”

  The guards and inmates shook their heads in agreement.

  “Right now,” Riker said, “I’m gonna go find my wife.”

  3

  Back in the cellblock, the stench of death was everywhere. The dead had taken over the Huntsville prison and the bodies of the recently infected began to stir as they reanimated.

  Alone in one cell, though, lay the motionless body of a guard. The name “Jennifer” was printed on her nametag. She was an attractive blonde who had been working at the prison for almost a year. She was tough, but she also cared about the prisoners. She believed there was no such thing as a prisoner who couldn’t be reformed. She also believed in the humane treatment of prisoners.

  Her naked body lay on one of the bunks in the cellblock, but there were no bite marks or missing limbs.

  Jennifer was the victim of a different kind of monster. This monster didn’t attack her in order to pass along some kind of infection. This monster attacked her because it thrived off her screams and anguish.

  This monster roughly used her body for his pleasure and relished in her pain and suffering as he tortured and repeatedly raped her. Her body lay still with part of a pillow stuffed into her mouth and her arms tied behind her body.

  Jennifer wouldn’t reanimate. There’d been no infection passed to her as the monster had beat and cut her and forcefully and violently entered her body.

  Jennifer would be spared the pain of being reanimated.

  The only thing this monster had passed along was death.

  4

  The chaos outside the prison was almost as bad as it was on the inside. The infection had quickly spread to the outside world and both humans and zombies were everywhere. People panicked as they tried to comprehend what was happening. If a friend or family member was bitten or in any way infected, they would come back from the dead to bite and infect others. But people weren’t ready to kill their loved ones, and this gave the infected the upper hand.

  As Riker and Teagan exited the main outside gate, Riker felt as though they’d walked straight into one of Bosch’s paintings come to life. Zombies feasted on the living as screams filled the air. They heard people pointlessly plead with their attackers moments before they were torn to shreds. Across the street, they watched as a mother plucked her infant from a stroller and ripped it apart with her teeth. Images of his own wife flashed before his eyes.

  “Whoever is coming with me, let’s go!” Riker shouted to the others who followed him out of the prison. Teagan and Hector stood by his side while Noonan, Reece, Jackson, Frye, and Greg stood behind him. They all looked at the horrors before them and decided the best thing was to stay together.

  “Holy shit,” Jackson said. “Is this shit everywhere?”

  “The only place I care about right now is my house and finding my wife,” Riker said.

  “Lead the way,” Hector said.

  Riker was married and expecting his first child. The only thought that’d been on his mind as he’d fought his way out of the prison was getting back to his house to protect his wife and unborn son. His home wasn’t far from the prison, but looking at all the chaos, he knew getting there wouldn’t be easy.

  In a short time, it seemed as though the world had ended. Abandoned cars and busses already littered the roads and made it impossible for Riker to drive to his house.

  Together, they ran down the street toward their destination. Riker and Teagan were in the lead, with Greg and Frye in the rear. They had their front and backs covered. Hector, Noonan, Jackson, and Reece were in the center of the group and constantly scanned their surroundings.

  “Hold up!” shouted a voice behind them. The group slowed down as they saw three figures run toward them

  “What the fuck is going on around here?” one of them yelled out as they approached. “Has the entire fucking world gone crazy?”

  As the man spoke, he looked around and was met with one horror after another. Groups of zombies were huddled over dead bodies, while others tore off limbs and opened abdomens to feast on the insides. The bodies that weren’t completely mangled or ripped apart reanimated and proceeded to attack and kill other humans.

  “It doesn’t matter what’s happening,” said the female who was with him. “It only matters that it is happening.” The woman then turned to Riker. “I’m Reilly. You’re Riker, right?”

  “I am,” Riker said. “You’re welcome to join us. Right now, I’m on my way to find my wife.”

  Reilly was in her mid-thirties and pretty despite having a nose that looked as though it had been broken at least twice before. She’d only been on the floor a few months, but was a good guard. She was tough and didn’t take any shit. Reilly was trained well
enough, but she hadn’t yet developed the instincts that kept you alive. Riker looked over and caught Noonan eyeing Reilly from head to toe.

  “This is Danny,” Reilly said as she nodded to the left, “and this is Toxic.”

  “Toxic?” asked Teagan.

  “Yeah,” the inmate said. “They call me toxic because anyone I get around gets sick.”

  “Cute,” Teagan said. “If you wanna stay with us, then you’re part of a group. We protect each other and have each other’s backs. You got it, Toxic?”

  “Fuck that,” Toxic said as he looked at everyone in the group. “I’m a free man now. I don’t gotta hang around you pigs any longer.”

  “See ya,” Riker said as he again began to move in the direction of his home.

  “Whoa, whoa,” Toxic said. “Just like that, you’re gonna let me go?”

  “Just like that,” Riker said. “Take a look around you, Toxic. What the fuck do you think is happening? The dead are coming back to life. I’m no longer a guard and you’re no longer a prisoner. We all have new roles. Survivors. If you don’t wanna be with us, then get the fuck out of our way.”

  As Riker finished, Toxic watched as Frye shot a zombie that got too close right between the eyes. The creature crashed against a tree and seemed stunned for a few seconds before attacking again.

  Greg took the butt of his carbine and slammed it repeatedly against the thing’s head until they all heard its skull crack.

  Toxic stood there and watched. All around were similar scenes of people trying to run away from and survive the vicious attacks of the newly reanimated dead.

  “Y’all could probably use my help, ya know?” Toxic said as he made his way next to Noonan in the center of the group.

  “Reilly, take the rear with Frye and Greg, and Danny, take the point with Teagan and myself,” Riker said.

  As a group, they fought off the creatures as they slowly made their way to Riker’s house. Along the way, the inmates grabbed whatever makeshift weapons they could find to protect themselves.

  Once they made it to Riker’s home, they stood on the driveway and waited for Riker’s plan.

  “What’s the plan, jefe?” Hector asked.

  “The plan is to go in there and get my pregnant wife,” Riker said as he started up the driveway. “Everyone take cover around the house on the patio. I won’t be long.”

  As Riker stepped into his home, nothing felt right. The air seemed heavier somehow, and there were no lights on in any of the rooms.

  “Shannon!” Riker yelled into the darkness. “It’s me, baby! You can come out!”

  He was met with silence. He felt something run up behind him and he swung the barrel of his rifle to meet the intruder. He saw Danny with his arms up.

  Riker lowered his gun and nodded toward the left side of the house.

  “You go look for my wife over there,” Riker said, “and don’t be trigger happy. She’s going to be scared.”

  “I got your back, Riker,” Danny said.

  The two split up and Riker walked toward the kitchen. He tried to keep his thoughts from wandering as various worst case scenarios ran through his head.

  As he reached the doorless entrance to the kitchen, he saw his wife huddled over the kitchen table. Riker’s heart pounded as he slowly approached his wife.

  “Honey,” Riker said as he got closer. “It’s me, sweetie. Please say something.”

  Riker reached toward Shannon and placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “Sweetie,” Riker said as tears started to swell in his eyes. “Please say something.” But Riker knew the dead couldn’t speak.

  Riker gently shook his wife by the shoulder and jumped back when her arm fell off the table and swung by her side. Tears filled his eyes as he thought about his life with Shannon. When they’d first met, their wedding, long, lazy Sunday mornings, when she’d told him she was pregnant. The memories, as good as they were, now felt like a bunch of icepicks in his mind.

  As Riker tried to choke back the tears, he noticed there weren’t any visible attack marks on her. Her arms, face, and neck had no scratches or bite marks.

  Riker felt a surge of hope and shook his wife harder.

  “Shannon,” Riker said loudly. “Wake up. We need to get out of here.”

  Riker looked on in horror as his wife’s body slid off the kitchen chair and fell to the floor. She landed on her back, and Riker turned his head away.

  A creature had torn his unborn son from Shannon’s body.

  Riker looked at the empty hole where his son should’ve been.

  Feelings of anger, shock, and denial battled within as he tried to rationalize the sight in front of him. Before he could scream in anger, he heard a noise coming from under the table. He slung the carbine over his shoulder and violently threw the heavy kitchen table over. He wanted so badly to confront the zombie bastard who did this to his wife, but was instead met with something unexpected.

  Under the table lay his premature baby son in a pool of blood and a chewed umbilical cord. Riker looked back at his wife’s corpse and realized a zombie hadn’t torn his son from his wife, but that his unborn son had clawed his way out of Shannon.

  Riker saw red as his world crashed around him. No amount of training or battle experience could prepare anyone for the sight that Riker now looked at. He screamed as he tore the kitchen apart. He ripped the cabinets off the walls and splintered his countertops in a rage. Danny ran into the room and saw Riker’s fury.

  “Riker… Riker!” Danny shouted as he tried to find out what was wrong. But then Danny looked down and saw Shannon.

  Riker leaned against the sink, his head down as he caught his breath between sobs. In the silence, the men heard the grunts and gurgling sounds that came from the premature infant in the ground.

  Danny stood next to Riker and attempted to console him, but didn’t have the words. No one in this situation would’ve had the words.

  Just as Danny was about to say something, Riker turned his head toward Danny and saw something from the corner of his eye.

  Shannon’s dead body had reanimated into one of the infected and stood there looking at Riker and Danny.

  Before Riker could say anything, Shannon jumped onto Danny’s back and bit into the lower part of his neck. Danny screamed as her teeth scraped across the bones in his upper neck. Riker stumbled for his rifle, but before he could even get the M4 into position, he heard a shot explode from the doorway. He looked up and saw Teagan. Smoke billowed from the barrel of her pistol.

  Shannon and Danny fell to the floor, but there was still movement. Teagan had shot Danny through the head, but Shannon still thrashed around, pinned underneath Danny’s body.

  Riker looked at Teagan, who remained in the entryway, and nodded to thank her. Teagan nodded back and walked away.

  Riker walked over to his undead wife and put two bullets from his pistol into her skull. He turned and took a final look at his infant son on the ground before he placed a tablecloth over him and brought his heavy combat boot down onto the monster. He took a few moments to clear his head before he left his home forever.

  Chapter One

  1

  Sub-Level Facility, Schoepke Springs

  Spicewood, Texas

  Six Months Ago

  Dan Wilder ran for his life through the tunnels underneath Schoepke Springs. Right behind Wilder was Steele and Cheryl. Following them were some scientists, as well as the other two men, Rickard and Josef Schoepke himself.

  It had been a long journey to get to Schoepke Springs. Wilder and Butsko had devised a plan they thought would wipe out the zombies. Since the infection was caused by bio-nanotechnology, Butsko had figured that a strong electromagnetic pulse would fry their tiny circuits and render the zombies helpless.

  So Wilder, Butsko, and twelve other soldiers and civilians had left the relative safety of Fort Hood and headed towards Schoepke Springs in Spicewood, Texas. Wilder never knew a man more connected than George Butsko. He had connec
tions that would make the head of the mafia jealous. Butsko’s vast intelligence network informed him there was a secret underground research facility housed underneath Schoepke Springs. The facility was a black ops laboratory that developed and researched next generation weapons. One type of weapon successfully developed there was a non-nuclear EMP bomb.

  In normal circumstances, it’s only a seventy-seven-mile journey from Fort Hood to Spicewood, Texas, but the world hasn’t been “normal” for the last two and a half years. Roads were littered with abandoned cars, burned-out buses, broken down semi-trucks, and dead bodies that were torn apart and far beyond the point of being able to reanimate.

  Wilder remembered their stop at the Lago Vista Golf Club. There they discovered a new creature had mutated, a creature with feral, yellow eyes. These new creatures were stronger, faster, and were feared by even the non-yellow-eyed zombies.

  Wilder lost a lot of good men and women at the golf club when the zombies attacked. The attack was an organized and coordinated effort as the creatures divided the survivors. Soldiers and civilians fell but the survivors that remained were able to get to Schoepke Springs where they ran into another small group of humans who looked for shelter against the creatures.

  Butsko found the entrance that would take them underneath the springs. Within the labyrinth, they were able to locate and figure out how to detonate the EMP bombs. At first, the bombs were successful and did exactly what Butsko and Wilder expected them to do. The bombs fried the nanites and wiped out the zombies.

  For a few minutes.

  Then the zombies woke up and they weren’t happy.

  The yellow-eyed creatures chased the survivors underneath Schoepke Springs and had them cornered in a lab that housed a strange-looking object that none of them could identify. As the yellow-eyed creatures crashed through the door and flooded into the lab, Wilder and the others were rescued by yet another group who were holed up in an even deeper facility. Wilder, Cheryl, and Steele made it down to the sub-level, but Butsko didn’t make it. During the battle, Butsko was bitten by a little girl and became one of the yellow-eyed creatures. Wilder’s gut still ached from losing his friend.