Ground Zero (Patient Zero Book 1) Read online

  “With you pushing us?” Jake answered seriously. “I have no doubt.”

  Chapter One

  Travel in the infected zones was… difficult. The creepy crawlies notwithstanding, the people who remained within the quarantined areas had grown hard. They didn’t care when a group of children passed through. None would step in to help us if… when we ran into trouble.

  Rex ran ahead to scout potential rest stops. We had been traveling non-stop for days, and everyone was a bit on edge.

  I glanced behind me where Prati held Jake’s hand as she dragged her feet with each step. Her head hung wearily, and I cringed. We’d left the abandoned prison in a hurry after the last attack. Too many creatures knew where we were, and I couldn’t risk being caught. The only issue was that Prati was just a kid. Nine years old and small for her age, walking through the quarantined zones was hard. Especially at the quick pace we’d been setting, and with limited rest stops.

  Impending attacks had shortened even our night time stops, and I’d had to round everyone up and urge them to move. Shanti hadn’t stopped glaring at me all day. It was hard work to keep my own temper in check whenever she gave me attitude.

  “Time for a rest, everyone!” I called out.

  With a collective gasp, all of them practically dropped to the ground in exhaustion.

  I moved to join Jake and sank to the ground, cringing at the soreness in my legs. “I think I’m pushing them too hard,” I muttered softly.

  Jake examined the others, and nodded. “Maybe. But there isn’t much choice until we can find a defendable position.”

  We sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “Maybe we should attempt to get out of the quarantine zones for a bit. Getting through could be difficult, but it would give everyone a break.”

  His voice was soft and tentative, as if he worried I would be upset. It was a strange time when a twenty-one year old looked to a thirteen year old for leadership.

  I sighed. “You could be right. We’ll need to sneak through a few zones anyway in order to reach the original outbreak area.”

  “Before we get too settled, do you sense anything?” he asked cautiously.

  His trepidation was understandable. Every other rest stop had been interrupted quickly, as if the enemy knew exactly where we were. Heck, for all I knew, they did. They’d turned me into a zombie-making freak and turned me loose. Who was to say they hadn’t put some sort of tracker in while they were at it?

  Something must have shown on my face, because Jake looked around a bit fearfully. “What is it? They can’t keep going like this, Zero.”

  “Nothing. No,” I assured him quickly. “I don’t think we’re in danger right now. But…” I paused and glanced toward Shanti and Kane who sat nearby. Close enough to overhear.

  The suspicion that I was tagged in some way was one I hadn’t shared with anyone. Although the thought may have crossed Jake’s mind as well. He nodded in understanding, and we moved further away from the others.

  “What’s up, Z? You seem—I’d say down, but you’re always a bit quiet. But you seem more depressed,” he spoke softly and hunched a bit as if to provide a barrier between me and the children who counted on me to protect them.

  And that was the problem. “They trust me to keep them safe when we run into problems,” I gestured toward the resting teenagers. “I’m worried, and scared, that I may actually be putting them in more danger.”

  Jake narrowed his eyes and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I sank into the warm embrace, but was careful not to give in to the emotions that threatened to emerge. I absolutely could not risk turning Jake. He was one of the most important people in my life.

  “How exactly do you think you’re doing that?”

  He sounded truly curious, and concerned. I shared my worries, unsure how he would respond to the idea I might have a tracker in me. Would he feel I was putting everyone in too much danger? Would he send me away for the good of the group?

  To my surprise he shrugged a shoulder and smirked. “So what? The things would find us anyway, right? You have a mental connection to them. But without you, all of us would be traveling blind. The kids would have no way to know if they were heading directly toward a horde. With you, we have a way to avoid the problem, and the ability to fight them off when we do get in a bind.”

  I felt myself relax, and brushed a strand of black hair away from my face. I smiled up at him shyly. Even after everything we’d seen—and what I’d personally been through—it was sometimes hard to remain calm. Jake helped me regain my equilibrium.

  “Thanks, Jake. I’m good now. We should get back to the others.”

  The rest of our group were unpacking some supplies to prepare our evening meal. In the distance crickets began to chirp. I sat, leaning back against a tree, and watching the shadows lengthen as the sun sank lower in the sky.

  Kristy started a fire, and Aly heated several cans of soup we’d scavenged from various places. Once heated, Rex handed me a bowl. I sipped at it cautiously, not wanting to burn my mouth. Prati sat next to Jake while she wearily drank her soup.

  Once everyone was done, Kane gathered the dishes to clean up, and almost everyone else gathered their bedding to prepare for sleep.

  Prati leaned against Jake, almost asleep already. I hated to disturb her, but Jake and I needed to figure out the plan for the next few days of travel.

  “Kane, get Prati a pillow or something,” I called out. “Jake and I need to plan.”

  The older boy groaned, but rose to grab a pillow from the small cart of supplies we dragged everywhere with us. We kept everything in the cart, and it was a shared effort to drag it with us. With the extra weapons on board it was not an easy task, and Kane had been the last one in charge of dragging it.

  Prati whimpered a bit as Jake transferred her head from his arm to the pillow, but settled again quickly.

  Jake and I rose and he took the maps out of his bag so we could figure out our next step. By now, the flickering firelight was all the light we had, so we used one of our battery operated lanterns in order to study the map.

  While I felt better about the possibility of being tagged, I was still concerned about the frequency of our run-ins with the enemy. The kids were exhausted, and—to be honest—so was I.

  I stiffened, recognizing the tingling sensation at the back of my neck far too late. There were creatures closing in. Too close to escape.

  Jake sighed wearily. “I know that look. Time to go?”

  I cringed, mentally kicking myself. “Too late for that.” I’d been distracted, and exhausted. Not keeping my senses open for threats.

  “They’re almost on us.”

  Chapter Two

  “Weapons, NOW!” I yelled as Jake and I rushed back to the group.

  We were about to be surrounded, and there was little we could do about it. I had become distracted by my own concerns, and it had prevented me from sensing the danger until it was nearly on top of us.

  Rex raced toward us, eyes wild with fear. “They’re right behind me!”

  He carried a bow and arrows, along with a sword, and as he approached he spun and shot an arrow toward one of the creatures who had gotten too close. The arrow flew just past the creature and landed harmlessly on the ground as Rex raced toward us.

  I loaded my crossbow and took a moment to aim before firing at the one that was practically nipping at Rex’s heels. He startled as the bolt flew past his head, and the creature crashed to the ground.

  “You alright?” I asked quickly.

  He nodded. “Yeah. There’s more coming. That guy was just faster than the others.”

  “I know. We’ll have to backtrack.” I was reluctant to do so, but there was no other choice. I glanced down at the zombie—it sounded ridiculous even in my own mind—then turned away to reconnect with everyone else.

  “Caleb!” I yelled.

  A boy about a year older than me answered, “Yeah, Z?”

  “Grab Prati and sti
ck her in the cart. Then you and your sister work together to get it moving quickly. We gotta go!”

  Caleb and Kristy were twins, and—when properly motivated—they worked almost seamlessly together. An impending attack was definitely motivation.

  Prati argued for a moment about being treated like luggage, but eventually settled in with a pout. Of all of us, she was the most exhausted. The twins each put a hand on the cart’s handle and began to pull. With the two of them pulling, they got it moving at a pretty good clip.

  “Shanti, Kane, and Rex guard the wagon. Aly, Ben, and Tony take the left forward. Case and Quinn take the right forward. Jake and I will follow behind and take care of any that get too close.”

  Everyone rushed to follow orders and we were soon quickly moving away from what felt like anywhere from fifteen to twenty of the creatures.

  “This is ridiculous,” I fumed. “We weren’t stopped long enough to really rest. We got to eat, at least, but everyone is too tired to keep up this pace. And now we’re going the wrong way!”

  My sense of the creatures was a bit limited, distance wise. Apparently even more so when tired. That would make it difficult to find a place to get decent sleep. Unless we could find a building to stay in briefly. The creatures were unlikely to break through before we could get at least some rest.

  Jake shook his head, a rifle held loosely in his hands, and eyes roving the landscape for threats. I could see some movement in some of the houses as the people hunkered down to hide from the coming threat. We’d been unsuccessful in finding a house to hole up in, but that would be nice for a night. The abandoned park had not worked well, and the streets were a horrible place to try to sleep, even without the threat of zombies ripping us apart as we slept.

  Deep moaning sounds filled the area, and the stench of rotten flesh wafted to us. I quickly reloaded my crossbow, and was thankful we’d found several nice small ones many of us could handle easily.

  “Look!” I said, pointing as we rushed down one of the side streets. A small abandoned gas station was only about a half block away. I ran up to the others. “Head for the gas station. We’ll hole up there for now.”

  We raced toward the old building, happy to see that the doors were still solid. “Get it open!”

  Kane rushed forward, his lock pick in hand, and hurried to get the door open for us. While he worked, the rest of us gathered everything from the cart and kept an eye out for the approaching enemy.

  I was bouncing a bit as the creatures drew closer, and silently urged Kane to hurry. The ‘click’ of the lock giving way was barely audible over the ever increasing sounds of moaning, and Kane pumped his fist in victory. We never pushed for personal stories, but I often wondered what kind of life Kane had led that allowed him so many questionable skills.

  For now, I was simply grateful he had those abilities. As soon as the door opened, the forward runners were in to scan for threats. The rest of us followed, keeping an eye on the known danger.

  “We’re clear!” Rex called from inside.

  The rest of us filed in, closed and bolted the door, and sank to the floor in relief. We at least had a barrier now, so hopefully the zombies would choose to move on.

  “Zero…” Jake’s voice was soft, but he jerked his head toward the boarded up window.

  “Right,” I gave a weary nod. Time to get everyone organized for the remainder of the night. “We need to keep an eye on our friends outside. Who’s up for watch?”

  “We are,” Caleb answered for himself and his sister.

  I nodded wearily. “Alright. Get your weapons and find a spot; you’ll watch the front. Is there a rear window at all?”

  Rex answered, “Only a small window that’s mostly painted over. It’s on the door leading to the back storage area.”

  Perfect. Easy to conceal a watcher, while still being able to see outside. “I need someone to watch that side too.”

  “That’s me,” Shanti answered. She seemed oddly perky at the idea of waiting a few more hours for sleep. Then she shrugged. “I’d have been one of the relief watchers for the twins anyway.”

  It made sense. The second watch people would get a couple hours, then be interrupted, and get another couple hours after their watch. Probably easier to stay awake longer and get more solid sleep later.

  I nodded. “Alright. The watch will continue on rotation from there. Everyone else, try to get some sleep.”

  It was dark, but among our supplies were lanterns and flashlights, so Jake lit one of the smaller lanterns. Enough light to see by, hopefully not enough to draw attention.

  Everyone else grabbed a pillow or blanket and settled in to sleep, but I felt wired. The proximity of so many of my creatures… the creatures, it was hard on me.

  I stayed settled against one of the old shelves, staring toward the front of the building. Jake approached, slinking silently into place next to me.

  “What’s up, Z? You seem pensive.”

  “They’re not moving on,” I answered softly. “They aren’t attacking or acting like mindless beasts milling around. They’re just standing out there. Like they know we’re here, but they don’t want to risk fighting.”

  I didn’t take my eyes off the boarded window, but I could feel Jake moving slightly away. “That’s more specific than you normally get, isn’t it?”

  A sigh escaped, and I nodded. “The closer they are, the easier it is to tap into their communication, such as it is. I don’t know why they’re standing out there, but I know they aren’t about to attack.”

  He grunted and patted my shoulder gently. “Then maybe you should try to get some sleep. No immediate danger means rest for our fearless leader.”

  Without a word I lay on my side, using my arm as a pillow. My gaze remained on the window, but I could feel my eyelids growing heavier.

  “Goodnight, Z,” Jake whispered.

  Chapter Three

  The little gas station remained quiet throughout the night, but for some reason I couldn’t sleep. I’d managed to snatch a few minutes here and there, but the constant moaning sounds from outside kept interrupting. Strangely, the enemy had still not moved on. It didn’t seem like they were watching the store anymore though, so I had hope that once the sun rose they would disperse.

  My turn at watch came, and Rex moved to wake me. “I’m up,” I said. “How’s it been out there?”

  I felt his eyes on me in the dimly lit room, and faced him. “Been pretty quiet. Some are milling around outside, but some of them have begun to wander away.” He hesitated for a moment, fingers playing with the edge of my blanket. “You really should have gotten some sleep, Z. It’s been days since you’ve gotten a good night’s rest.”

  I scoffed. Days? Try months.

  “Right,” he muttered as he rose from his crouched position in front of me. “Forget it. But if you want to try to sleep now, I’ll keep watch for the last bit.”

  I shook my head. “Can’t sleep,” I said. “You go get some rest.”

  He gave a heavy sigh, but moved to the area he’d claimed. I moved toward the front window and peeked through a crack in the board. The moon was bright enough to see shadows moving around in front of our hiding spot. If I concentrated, I could tell they felt almost confused about what happened to them. Under their instinct to attack people, at least some remembered they had once been human as well.

  It was those who remembered that made killing the creatures difficult. I had no desire to kill anything. Although, to protect my group, I would do whatever was necessary. Only Jake had any idea how deeply I could feel the deaths of each “monster.” Rex suspected, but—based on his reactions—I thought he most likely assumed I simply felt guilty for my part in creating the zombies.

  Not like I wanted to live in a cheesy horror flick, but I’d been given no choice. The only things I wanted to kill were those who had turned me into a monster-making machine.

  After they fixed me and gave us some kind of antidote, of course. I had to believe this co
uld be fixed.

  “Zero!” A hushed exclamation broke through my thoughts.

  I startled toward the speaker. “What’s going on, Kane? Aren’t you watching the back?”

  “That’s just it,” he said. “I saw something coming toward the door.”

  I nodded and gestured toward the window, “Stay here, I’ll take a look.”

  Creeping toward the back, I carefully avoided stepping on any of my friends, but I froze when the handle on the back door rattled. “Everyone up!” I exclaimed.

  I grabbed my sword from the stockpile of weapons and moved toward the door. The others began to wake; Kane and Aly were already armed and also facing the door.

  Which meant we were completely unprepared when something crashed through the front window.

  Chapter Four

  Rex and I spun toward the threat from the window, while the others dealt with whatever was coming through the back door. The enemy was crawling over themselves to get in—one overeager specimen stuck its foot right through the ribcage of a particularly rotten creature.

  “We’ll be needing some help here,” Rex requested mildly.

  Thirteen years old, and already the calm demeanor of a career soldier. I always hated the people who’d started the outbreak; but for turning teenagers into hardened fighters, I loathed them.

  “Tony, Case, Quinn!” I yelled. “This way! The rest of you watch our backs!”

  A chorus of agreements followed my orders, and I trusted all of them to do their jobs. I swung my sword at the nearest zombie and cringed at the squishing sound it made. “Nasty!” I muttered. My mouth turned down in disgust at the rotting flesh clinging to my favorite sword.

  “Concentrate, Z! We might need an escape route!” Rex yelled. His way of asking me to use a scream to push the creatures away.

  Another scream. Used too quickly after another, the screams lost potency. Thankfully, I hadn’t used one since the prison, so hopefully it would be strong enough to scare them off long enough for us to escape.