Zocopalypse (Death Fields 1)

“This is war, Ms. Ramsey.”

“No, Colonel Erwin, this is a health crisis. An epidemic. Not a war. God, and adults think we play too many video games.” I shake my head. “No wonder my father refused to work with you.”

Erwin’s eyes narrowed at the mention of my dad. “Your father was a traitor, working against the United States in the War Against Terrorism. He assisted an illegal, radical, fringe group develop a biological weapon that was used in direct violation of international war laws.”

My heart beat so hard in my chest I thought it would burst. Anger boiled under my skin. My father was many things but he loved his country. I’m about to jump out of my seat when Cole’s warm hand comes down on my arm.

“Dr. Ramsey did not betray this country,” Cole says, his voice hard.

“He did,” he says and points to the window and into the other room. Both men have become increasingly agitated. 1029 is visibly shouting at the Drones and 1028’s palms are pressed against the glass like he’s trying to break free. “Just like those men and now they must pay for their crimes by helping us resolve the E-TR infection.”

“You’re fucking insane,” Cole mutters. Richardson moves swiftly and rams the butt of his gun into the side of Cole’s head. He slumps forward before jumping up. He spins, fists balled, ready to fight. Richardson levels his gun at Cole’s face.

“Hey!” I shout, jumping between Cole and the gun. I look at Richardson. “Dude, lower the gun. I don’t want nerd brains all over my clothes, okay?”

“What?” Cole asks rubbing his head. Richardson looks at Erwin and gets a nod of approval to lower his gun.

“You’re batshit crazy,” I say to Erwin. “But you’ve got the power. What are we going to do? Fight our way out of here? A Lab Guy and a teenaged girl?” I sit back in my chair, pretending I’m above all this and not completely panicked about Cole’s head and the fact he almost got shot at close range. “Show us your deranged experiment but stop beating people.”

“Alex,” Cole whispers. “You don’t want to watch this.”

“We have no choice. Suck it up,” I tell him before glancing at Erwin. “Ready when you are, Colonel.”

Erwin smiles and it’s disturbing. All sharp teeth. He presses the button again and smugly says, “Proceed.”

Chapter Forty-Six

~Before~

13 Days Ago

I don’t find my courage for a while longer but eventually we leave the laundry room. The stench of the dead man lying on the living room floor has become unbearable.

Without ever opening the door to the main house we scavenge what we can from the tiny room. There isn’t much but we do find a gallon of water to fill our bottles, a package of tea-candles and some extra clothes.

I toss a bar of soap into my bag and a Tar Heel t-shirt hanging

on a peg.

“Alex,” my mom says. “Do you think these will work?”

“What?” I’m digging through a cabinet hoping someone stashed a box of protein bars in here. There’s nothing but bottles of detergent. I hear the sound of metal jangling against one another and turn. She’s holding a ring of silver and brass keys. One in particular has a black fob.

“Is that a car key?”

“Yes,” her voice shakes.

My heart lurches like I’ve been injected with a straight dose of hope. Shit. We’d decided not to drive out of Cary. The roads were a mess and the military was everywhere—making a vehicle a bad decision. But out here…in the country like this the highways and back roads are pretty clear.

“What do you think?” she asks, a glimmer of excitement on her face.

“Let’s try it,” I say.

We creep away from the house, widely avoiding the decomposing body of the Eater I’d killed the night before. The late morning temperatures are already rising and the humidity is thick. We circled around to the carport and found a Honda SUV. Mom presses the fob and the doors unlock with a small click.

Quickly we enter the car, shutting the doors and locking them. With my backpack in my lap I say, “Try it,” unable to hide my eagerness.

The car sputters on the first crank but catches on the second. I don’t know why we were worried. The car starts easily. It’s a freaking Honda after all. They’re like the cockroaches of the apocalypse. Even the Eaters and the end of the world can’t take them down. I peer over the steering wheel and see that the tank is close to full.