Omega Virus (Book 1): Beta Hour (2 page)

LEVEL
02 - FIRST ZONE

Jeff smirked. “A zombie? The thing looked dead, but that’s
bullcrap
, man.”

Dave threw his arms out. “I knew it!
Of course! It all makes sense now!”

Shaking my head, I regarded Jeff. “I
know it sounds crazy, but--”

“You on something, dude?” Jeff
asked, arms crossed. “Because if so, I’ll take some.”

As we argued, the blaring alarm continued.

“You weren’t down there! You didn’t
see Mr. Murph get bit, die, and turn. Tiff saw it, too!”

Tiffany groaned. “Don’t call me
Tiff!”

Jessie swatted her straight, red
hair from her eyes and grabbed my arm. “Zach, I believe you. You know your
stuff about zombies.”

“Thanks, but how did you know that?”
I asked.

She blushed and looked away. “I
remember the report you gave on zombies.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “That was in 4
^th
grade!”

“I liked it, though.”

“Anyway!” Tiffany said, looking back
at the school. “Zombies can’t be real, but some serious crap is going down in
there!”

How could she not admit the truth?
She saw the blood ball bite the custodian.

The school’s back doors exploded
open, slamming off the walls. Screaming students poured out covered in blood.
Others tripped, getting crushed under thundering feet.

Tiffany’s jaw dropped as dozens
rushed by in full terror mode. Even Jeff looked unnerved.

A kid stumbled out, tripped and
skidded to our feet. Tiffany and Jeff pulled him from the stampede.

Jeff tried to help him up, but he
violently seized, forcing him to drop the kid.

Tiffany kneeled. “Are you hurt?”

The injured guy foamed at the mouth
as his eyes rolled back. He’d change in seconds, just like Mr. Murph.

Terrified, Dave’s eyes widened. “Get
away from him!”

I grabbed my backpack from Jessie
and pulled her away. “He’s going to become a zombie!”

Jeff pulled off his t-shirt, leaving
him in a tank top. “Stop using that word! And watch my back so I can get
pressure on this guy’s wound!”

As the crowd thinned, everyone
that’d been bit lay on the ground, dying.

Jessie’s lips quivered and she
tugged on my arm. “What do we do? You didn’t cover this scenario in your
report.”

“Again, Fourth grade!” I sighed. “I
didn’t know what I was talking about back then.”

“Well, hell then, why are you here?”
Jeff said. “Jessie said you knew your stuff.”

“I’m a normal teen, just like you
guys!” I snapped.

“An ambulance should be here any
minute!” Tiffany said. “That’s what happens when the fire alarm goes off,
right?”

“We need to get out of here. Find a
place to hide.” I argued. “Then try to contact our families.”

Jeff tied off the injured guy’s
wound and glared at me. “You’re such a chicken crap!”

“The loser is right!” Dave said. “Let’s
go! People who get bit don’t stay dead long.”

I pointed to the basement window. “Tiffany
Gainsborough! You know what you saw. What do you think happened to Mr. Murph
and the blood ball?”

Tiffany groaned. “Super rabies or
something? Zombies don’t exist!”

Jeff jumped up. “The next person who
uses that word--”

Dave cleared his throat. “Um, guys,
you might wanna move! He’s a zombie.”

We all looked and the injured guy’s
eyes were open and dull green. Just like Mr. Murph.

“Move!” I cried.

He lunged for Tiffany’s leg and sank
in his teeth. I gasped, expecting blood and her screams of pain, but instead,
Tiffany stomped in the honor student’s head. Her baggy jeans had saved her.

Tiffany threw her hands up. “Fine!
They. Are. Zombies! Are you happy?”

“Then why are we just standing here?”
Dave whimpered.

Jeff’s nostrils were flaring as he
looked to each of us. “You stupid bitch! You just murdered him! We could’ve--”

Tiffany blasted Jeff in the face. “Call
me bitch again and I’ll stomp your skull!”

Mrs. Green emerged from the school,
with a torn skirt; bright green veins ran up her legs. Blood squirted out of a
gaping hole in her throat, as a long airy moan escaped.

Dave kneeled down and grabbed a
branch, holding it like a spear. “Guys! More zombies!”

Jessie grabbed my arm. “Zach, what
do we do? You do know what do to, right?”

Time ticked to a stop. Jeff stared
at Mrs. Green slack-jawed, and Tiffany balled her hands into fists. Without a
doubt, we all knew the undead truth.

Why were we all just standing
around? So much for normalcy at Milpeg High
;
Normalcy had
fled and pissed its pants. Did the group need leadership?
Someone
to tell them to run?
Zombie games were my thing, not real-life zombies.
Why me? I wanted to run home and hide in my bed while my aunt boarded up the
windows. Dave turned to me, shouting, but I couldn’t focus him. When Jessie
screamed, and tears streaked her mascara, I snapped back to reality.

Mrs. Green closed in as the dead
students and faculty rose. There were more than a dozen of the creatures and,
even more, were coming from down the alley in both directions. How had
everything happened so fast?

Decision time.

“Run!” I shouted, and led the way
around the building, waving them along.

The others followed as I rushed into
the courtyard and past the fountain.

Screams now came from all over the
city of Milpeg. Undead filled the streets, and the population of the living
dropped while the number of the dead skyrocketed.

Bungalows spotted the campus. Sure
we could hide there, but it would be temporary at best. Without food and water,
we’d die.

At one point, I devised a plan for
such a scenario, but now that the zombies had truly arrived, it seemed idiotic.
Go to the pawnshop and steal guns? They were likely already gone.

“Keep going!” Tiffany cried from the
back of the pack.

The zombies rounded the corner,
reaching for us, and closing the gap fast. A horn blared from the road. I
turned just in time to see an SUV hit a bump, and crash through a bus bench.
Zombies clung to its sides, and for a brief moment, I saw the woman inside,
being torn into by a zombie child.

I dove at Jessie, pushing her out of
the way. The vehicle flew over our heads and crashed into the courtyard
fountain. From there it flipped and careened into a brick wall.

The destroyed wall opened to the
city streets, where scores of the undead lumbered.

Jeff pulled Tiffany and Dave up, as
the sounds of chaos reigned. Car horns blared, sirens rang out, and loud
popping gunfire filled the morning air.

I tried to remember. In zombie
movies, how did they survive?

They usually didn’t.

What about games? I tried so hard to
think, but Jessie screeched as a hand grabbed her ankle from behind a bush. I’d
never moved so fast. I stomped and shattered the zombie’s wrist.

I waved the Gamer’s Guild along. “This
way!”

We ran off-campus, searching for
safety. Some place had to be defendable. As we made it to the main streets, the
full devastation became known.

We turned in full circles, staring
at the smoke and fire plumes. Wrecked cars were all over. Some had zombies
stuck inside, trying to get out; others had people inside, zombies trying to
get in. A city lost to the undead.

An engine revved a few streets over,
followed by more popping sounds. Could it be the cops? Were they organizing an
evacuation? If we could get to them, they could help.

I led everyone to an alley across a
street blocked off by wrecked cars, but halfway down, a horde of zombies
appeared, blocking our path.

“Go back!” I said.

“W-we can’t!” Dave whined.

We were trapped. More zombies were
filling the alley from behind.

“You’ve gotten us killed already,
dumbass,” Tiffany said.

“But it’s not his fault!” Jessie
said. “Zach’s an expert on this!”

Whoever's fault, we had no way out.
In front, were
zombies.
To the left
a building; to the right, the same, and behind us another horde.
My
leadership had doomed us; I just sucked that bad at life.

Jessie, grabbed my arm again, and
smiled through her tears. “What grade did you get on that report?”

I swallowed hard. “I got a C.”

Hearing her pity upset me; it made
me more upset than the looming certainty of zombies ripping us apart.

I couldn’t give up. I had to get us
out. Only one other direction remained! The rooftops.

Spinning to Jeff, I said, “Let’s
boost everyone up!”

Jeff cocked a brow. “Dude, what
about us?”

“They can pull us up!”

“We don’t have time to--”

“Just hurry!”

Jeff cupped his hands, and Tiffany
jumped. With the added boost, she grabbed the lip of the roof and pulled
herself up. She reached back for Jessie, and then Dave followed. It took both
girls to lift him.

The zombies groaned, having come
with a few yards on each side.

Jeff regarded me, and I shrugged. “Jump!”

The envelope of fate sealed with me
between two zombie walls, but one had to be thinner.

“No, Zach!” Jessie cried. “We can’t
leave him!”

“He made his choice.” Jeff argued.

I didn’t look up. I couldn’t bear to
see any more tears.

Dave called down, “Don’t be a
wuss
! Fight!”

“Right, fight,” I muttered.

The moment of
truth.

Zombie's hands grabbed for me. With
a deep breath, I shoulder rushed the thinner group. I connected with the first,
and it toppled, creating a zombified domino effect. I kicked off the face of an
undead woman, clearing the last of the horde. I landed in the street beyond.

My brilliant plan reached its end; I
stood on a blocked off street.

I backed into a pileup of cars and
watched as zombies came from both alleys. From above, the Gamer's Guild watched
my every step.

I tore my gaze away and swallowed
hard. For all my gaming and planning, I'd lasted all of ten minutes in a real
zombie attack. I always thought I would be ready, but then what did I have to
lose?

Go figure. Achievement unlocked;
‘Gain Some Friends’. And then die.

If only I could manipulate the
world, and save myself.

A revving engine came from nearby. I
turned, and a motorcycle ramped into the air, soaring above. My mouth fell
open. The glare of the sun blocked out the rider, but I could see he held two
rounded objects. He flicked something off of each and tossed them to the sides.
Both bounced into the hordes. I sucked in my breath as zombie bits exploded
every which way in a flash of flames.

The rider jumped off the bike and
let it skid into a pile of cars.

A black, red-feathered fedora fell
at my feet.

The insane rider had trapped
himself, for every remaining zombie went after him. Before one even got close,
he whipped out dual pistols from hip holsters and went into action. Gunfire
raged as zombie after zombie fell to his bullets. They didn’t know fear, so
they kept going and dropped like flies. When the dust cleared, only one zombie
stood.

The man aimed his guns, and both
clicked. Instead of reloading, he holstered the guns. His heavy boots clicked
as he walked right up to the last undead.

He pulled back his fist and clocked
the zombie in the jaw. It hit the ground, and he stomped its skull, sending
brain matter spewing. Without stopping, he walked right up to me.

The badass looked like a walking
weapon if nothing else. The guy wore a long black coat with daggers lining the
sides. He had a shotgun strapped to his back, and the two empty handguns belted
to his hips.

He leaned down to scoop up the
fedora, and dark red hair fell in his face. “Oops, dropped my zombie killing
hat.”

“Who the heck are you?” I asked.

Bearing a cocky smile, he extended
his hand.

“Who am I?” He chuckled. “The name’s
Wesley James, and you better remember it.”
 

LEVEL 03 - GAME ON

Wesley James
saved my life, and I couldn’t find it in me to thank the bastard. He exuded
cockiness. During the Zombie Apocalypse, it would only get people killed.

Wesley
spun in a full circle. “What do you think? Nice job, huh?”

“You’re
a badass!” Tiffany shouted. “I like
badasses
!”

I
rolled my eyes. So
badasses
were the type to make her
swoon? For some reason, that bothered me.

With
an exaggerated bow, Wesley swept the Zombie Killing Hat from his head. “O,
speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being o’er
my head, as a winged messenger of heaven into the white, upturned, wondering
eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when bestrides the lazy-puffing
clouds and sails upon the bosom of air.”

To
my surprise, Jessie and Tiffany giggled. I really didn’t like that.

Dave
stood up and held out his arms. “Um, guys? You know,
ZPoc
and all!”

“Seriously
bro!” Jeff shouted. “Run now, flirt later!”

Wesley
chuckled. “Run? Fear not! I have a vehicle that will transfer us away from this
zone.”

“What
zone? You’re acting like this a game!” I said. “One, you wrecked your bike.
Two, we wouldn’t have all fit on it!”

Wesley
turned on me, eyes wide. “Did you think I meant you?”

I
balled my hands into fists, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to
blast him in the face.

Wesley
placed his hat back on his head. “I saved you once! Once! That’s all you get!
No more continues.”

Grumbling,
I walked up to the building. “Guys, pull me up. I’d like to leave now.”

Tiffany
reached down, and as I raised my arms, she pulled back.

“Um,
not you! I was trying to help Wes up.”

“Are
you serious? You’re giving him a nickname now?” I shouted.

Jessie,
small and frail, reached her hands down. “Don’t worry, Zach. I’ve got you.”

Jeff
kneeled next to her and offered a hand as well. Together they pulled me onto
the roof. Tiffany struggled on her own to pull Wesley up, and she didn’t look
happy about it.

Leaving
her to her complaining, I scanned the city streets, and my heart sank. The four
of the five tall buildings Milpeg boasted were on fire. Cars continued to crash
while civilians were run over and killed, perhaps on purpose. An old man limped
along the sidewalk below. He spotted us and stopped. I opened my mouth to call
out, but pursuing zombies leaped from between the buildings. He didn’t suffer
for long; an ambulance sped by, splattering his remains.

A
tight knot formed in my chest.

“This
has to be a nightmare.”

Jeff
stepped beside me. “It’s real bro. You were right. We are crap deep in the
Zombie Apocalypse.”

“Duh,
guys! We need to GTFO!” Dave said. “We need to find food, weapons, medical
supplies, and more food!”

Jessie
appeared on my other side and slipped her hand into mine. “Where can we go to
be safe?”

I
couldn’t lie to make her feel better. “There is no ‘safe’ anymore if this is
really it; the
ZPoc
.”

“Attention,
my teenage friends!” Wesley announced. “For I have decided, with the kindness
of my heart, that I’m inviting you to my safe house!”

I
turned. “Why aren’t you there already, moron?”

“Hey!
He just saved your life.” Tiffany barked.

“On
accident, I bet!”

Wesley
patted the air. “Now, now, I’m sure he didn’t mean to call his hero a moron!”

“You’re
not a hero!” I said. “You didn’t know I was there!”

“You’d
be surprised what I know.” Wesley chuckled.

“What
the hell were you doing anyhow?” Dave asked.

“Um
duh, killing zombies!” he pointed to his hat. “See the Fedora? The feather is
red with the blood of zombies!”

“I
saw that hat on sale at the hipster store in the mall,” I countered.

Wesley
glanced to the side. “Hell nah. Blood. Enemies. Believe it.”

A
long moan reached us from the street below. The flattened old man stood, his
arm severed, and his entrails hanging to the sidewalk.

“There’s
no time for this.” Dave stomped his foot. “There are goddamn zombies
everywhere!”

He
spoke truth. The number of moans increased. Our raised voices had attracted
unwanted attention.

Wesley
drew his twin pistols and thrust his wrists forward. From inside his sleeves
came ammo clips. He crossed his arms in a quick motion and popped the
cartridges into place.

“Hold
on,” He said, walking to the edge. “I’m about to get a new achievement; being a
badass again.”

Jeff
grabbed his collar. “You mean achievement; the suicidal idiot.”

“Yeah,”
Dave said. “Show us the safe house first. Then feel free to get yourself eaten.”

Tiffany
smacked Dave in the back of the head. “No one is getting eaten.”

“Ow!”
Dave whined. “You’re abusive; ya know that?”

“C’mon,”
Wesley pulled away from Jeff. “Let me do my job so that I can brag to the
others.”

I
crossed my arms. “What’re you, part of some secret zombie slaying army?”

“Uh,
no, that would be stupid,” He said. “I would have been pretty bored until not
that long ago. Given there were no zombies.”

“Then
you’re secret service?” Jessie asked.

For
all I cared he could have been a billionaire, vigilante.

I
nearly fell over when I heard his answer.

“I’m
a game designer!”

I
snapped. “A gamer? We’re gamers, and we can't do what you just did! Have you
been preparing since you were in diapers or something?”

“Haven’t
we all?”

The
moans came from just under the roof. They were amassing, waiting for their
buffet.

“Here!”
Wesley thrust a pistol into my hand, and then the other into Jeff’s.

I
fumbled with the weapon. “What's this for?”

Wesley
drew his shotgun and walked to the opposite end of the roof.

Tiffany
took the pistol from my hand. “Give me that! I need some points too!”

I
groaned. “This is not a game! We’re not ready for this!”

“I’m
more prepared than a wet-behind-the-ears
noob
!”
Tiffany threw a glare my way.

“I’m
not a
noob
!” I said.

Jeff
shrugged, following Tiffany and Wesley.
 

Dave
patted me on the back. “Don’t worry; we’ll protect you!”

“I
don’t need protecting!”

Jessie
stayed beside me, trembling. “I never thought this would happen.”

“The
ZPoc
?” I asked.

“Zombies
are unreal.”

“Don’t
be afraid,” I put my hand on her shoulder. “I’ll protect you.”

“I’m
not afraid,” a small smile curled at the corners of her lips.

“Then
what?”

She
grinned. “I’m kind of excited.”

My
jaw dropped, and she giggled. She seemed serious. I loved killing zombies in
games, but in real life, we were all truly
noobs
. I’d
never even played paintball or laser tag.

Seeing
the zombies below, I wondered why she felt that way. Maybe she had a bad life
at home?

The
ZPoc
would save her from all of that.
But what about me?

On
the other side of town, nestled in a small suburb, were my aunt and her
husband. They weren’t bad people, but I had a feeling I wouldn't miss them. We
didn’t talk much, and we merely co-existed.

I
wanted to try and talk myself into going for them, but in truth, they were
probably already dead. Too late for them, too late for Milpeg, the virus could
quickly spread beyond city boundaries, and onto every state and country.
Too late for the world.

I
turned to find they were already on the next roof over. I stepped to the gap
between buildings. The alley below had filled with moaning zombies. To fall
would be game over.

“It’s
not hard.” Jessie waved.

Wesley
lifted his hands. “Just run, and jump. It’s simple!”

“Even
a
noob
can make it!” Dave called out. “But I’ll catch
you. No worries.”

He
had no intentions of catching anybody. I pictured him reaching for me. I didn’t
weigh much, even with my backpack, but it could be too much for him. He would
just let go, and I would become zombie chow.

Tiffany
shouted. “Hurry or we’re leaving you.”

I
backed up, muttering, “How did Dave make this jump?”

With
all my speed, I sped forward. The ledge came, and I jumped. I flew through the
air, assaulted by the groaners below. I landed on the lip and started to fall
back. I flailed about, but Jeff grabbed my shirt and pulled me to safety.

“T-thank
you,” I said.

“Don’t
mention it,” He replied. “Just return the favor one day, yeah?”

We
walked to the next edge and looked down onto the new street. Thanks to a
flipped semi, there weren’t many zombies wandering around.

Wesley
climbed down. He turned and caught Tiffany after she jumped. He even caught
Jessie. But when Dave dropped, Wesley pulled in his arms, and Dave landed on
his face.

“Jerk!”
Dave cried.

Jeff
and I climbed down, landing softly in the grass.

Wesley
reached into his coat, and then passed each of us a combat dagger. “Remember.
Aim for the head. And don’t waste bullets.”

“Unless
you’re looking to score some points.” I mocked.

“Only
professionals get points,” He said.

“Professional
jackasses.”

“Shut
up, already!” Tiffany snapped. “You’re getting on my nerves!”

I
bit my tongue, resisting another pointless argument.

Wesley
led us across the road in a single file line.

Tiffany
followed just behind him. “So, you work for which company?”

“Epic
Impossibilities Games,” Wesley said.

It
sounded familiar, but I couldn’t be sure.

Dave
asked. “Make anything good?”

“Sure,”
Wesley boasted. “Strange World, Severed Chains, and
GodForge
.
We’re even working on this VR game,
DarkDayz
.”

Despite
being one of my favorite games, I wanted to throw away my Severed Chains
t-shirt and burn it.

We
avoided being noticed as we snuck between trees, bushes, and cars. Wesley led
us across town to the Tech District, all without incident.

Wesley
pointed out a building with the Epic Impossibilities sign. “We have a lot of
food, weapons, and medical supplies.”

“What
kind of company hoards supplies?” Dave asked.

“The
smart kind!” Tiffany groaned.

Her
touchiness wore on my nerves.

We
walked across the final street and came up before the building. “We were
prepared for End Game. It was part of the job requirement to bring in
non-perishables every Monday.”

It
sounded crazy, but I found some relief. Someone had to be crazy to keep us
alive in ‘End Game’ times.

Wesley
walked up to a panel on the wall. “This is the hand scanner. No one can get in
without being an employee.”

The
glass doors looked thick. The windows above looked empty. A zombie moan came
from somewhere nearby, and Wesley smacked his hand onto the scanner. The doors
slid open, revealing the dark building.

“I
wonder how long the power will hold out?” Jessie asked.

“Till
the electricity grid give,” Dave said. “Won’t be too long, I’m sure.”

The
doors shut, bathing us in shadow.

All
but Wesley lifted our weapons. Zombies stood against the walls! Had he led us
into a trap?

“Pause!”
Wesley held up his hands. “They’re statues.”

I
lowered my dagger and breathed a sigh of relief. Even still, they looked super
realistic.

“Where
is everyone?” I asked.

Wesley
looked around. His grin faded.

“What’s
wrong?” Tiffany asked.

The
silhouette of a zombie began pounding on the doors behind us. I could only hope
the glass would hold.

“I
don’t hear them,” Wesley whispered.

“Well,
what do you expect?” Jeff asked. “They probably have good reason to be quiet.”