Pandemic Z (Book 1): Pandemic Z Read online

  “I don’t want to die!” a frightened child screamed. His mother tried her hardest to calm to the boy down, but nothing worked. The child squirmed and kicked, screaming repeatedly.

  God help us all, Lena thought as she watched the chaos play out around her.

  “Ma’am, can I get a vodka martini?” Barry asked randomly. Emily stopped at their row and shook her head, smiling.

  “Shaken, not stirred?” Emily replied, talking a little louder so he could hear her.

  “You know it!” Barry excitedly nodded. “I’m Pond, James Pond,” Barry mocked, dropping his voice a little. He even wiggled his eyebrows as he spoke.

  “Nice one, Pond.” Emily laughed more at that point, and Lena couldn’t help but snigger at Barry and his humor in such a stressful situation.

  “Anytime. Always here for your amusement.” He finished taking a small bow. “You can always count on Row 59.” He nodded, and Emily thanked him before hurrying off to the other passengers.

  Barry settled back into his seat. He suddenly seemed to have ants in his pants and scanned the other passengers and observed the chaos.

  “Hey, did you hear about the kidnapping on this plane?” he asked seriously, looking directly at Lena.

  Lena struggled to find the right words. She struggled to find any words at all. Her mouth opened and closed like a guppy fish, and she was uncertain of what to do next.

  “It’s okay though.” Barry shrugged.

  Lena’s mouth remained open at his words. How can it be okay, Barry? She fought with her tongue-tied mind for a moment.

  “He woke up,” Barry said triumphantly. He was proud of himself, and his mouth curled into a grin. Soon he was chuckling at himself.

  The whole thing still confused Lena. Who woke up?

  “The napping kid woke up… Kidnapping… It’s a kid-napping? Get it?” Barry excitedly asked.

  Lena couldn’t believe she didn’t figure it out earlier. There was no kidnapping. It was just a child taking a nap, and Barry was just joking to make the mood lighter.

  Lena huffed out a laugh through her nose. She didn’t want to laugh at Barry’s joke, but it was so bloody awful she had no choice but to fall back into her uncontrollable fit of snorting laughter. Barry joined in this time, and they laughed like maniacs as the other passengers around them feared for their lives.

  The chaos continued as the flight crew tried to visit every blinking red light that called them. Emily rushed from economy class to premiere class where the passengers made more of a fuss.

  She kept repeating the same things as the different first-class passengers gave outrageous demands.

  “Attention passengers.” The static buzz settled the noise of the plane. Everyone fell silent so they could listen to the wise words of the captain.

  “This is Captain Pertus speaking. We have an important message from the cockpit.” He paused. “We are aware of recent footage shown on the news stations. We know this is a cause for panic. However, you are safe, so relax and enjoy the movies available. The flight crew will be coming through soon to offer drinks and refreshments.”

  The passengers quietly listened to the captain as he spoke. The news footage still played the carnage on the streets, but no sound played. No one needed the sound. Everyone knew the groans and screams that would play full volume if the captain wasn’t talking.

  “If we hear any more developments, we will let you know. We are communicating with the airport right now, and everything is under control. Captain Pertus signing off for now.” The announcement static went silent, and the other passengers talked quickly to each other.

  Gossip continued to spread throughout the rows about zombies and aliens, questions about the possibility of the Queen being bitten and wondering if the Manchester United football team had been overrun by the zombies if they might win a game. Chatter of saliva and dilated pupils added to the discomfort of the whole situation.

  Barry switched between news channels, hoping to see new developments on the outbreak. Some civilians had beat the figures with sticks or baseball bats, but they were no use and the desperate civilians ended up getting bitten themselves.

  Lena scanned her emails, looking for more updates from Joel, but it was like in a moment all the frantic emails fell silent. The stack of unread emails teased her, so she flicked through them, taking her time to read each one.

  <>

  The military was out on the streets, and that comforted Lena. It sounded like the situation was more under control than before. She had friends in Hull Division who often called it “HD” for short. The HD were elite soldiers trained for the toughest situations. The dense streets of downtown London needed the strength of the HD.

  <
  Enemy: Grey-green color with heavily dilated eyes. They seem like zombies from the movies.

  Condition is spread via saliva.

  Notes: Appear to be zombies in form. They are gathering in groups. The only way to kill them is a clean headshot.

  Location: Different areas of the UK. London Officers should be aware of the increase of zombies on the streets. Follow orders strictly as the consequences will be severe.

  Police Officers should wear full riot gear with fully loaded automatic weapons, riot shields, and helmets. Shoot to kill, No excuses.>>

  Lena read the report a few times just to be sure she was reading the right report. She had read thousands of police reports and procedures, but she’d read nothing as direct and bizarre as the one she just read.

  Other emails outlined the plans for different strategies to keep the city safe. Fire stations were to stand by for outbreaks of fire. Hospitals had to be fully staffed and well protected with military personnel so they wouldn’t get infected. The military would strictly enforce the curfew and keep everyone inside. If the general population was inside, it meant they were safe from the infectious zombies that freely roamed the streets.

  The emails said nothing else that Lena didn’t know already. There wasn’t really anything else to report. The plans in place seemed to work well so far.

  A scene on the TV in front of Lena showed a local Tesco supermarket crammed full of frightened shoppers. The store security had locked the doors and wouldn’t let anyone else in the store.

  What a perfect place to be stuck, Lena thought to herself. All the food and drinks and toilet paper. Civilians wouldn’t know the importance of toilet paper in emergencies. Lena laughed to herself as she imagined a store-wide cry for more toilet paper, people fighting others for the precious sheets of two-ply softness.

  “What’s so funny?” Barry asked softly

  “Check this out,” Lena said, sitting up and facing the geeky man. Barry’s once neat and tidy shirt was now wrinkled and untucked.

  “Okay, I’m ready to bust a gut laughing.”

  “There’s all these people stuck in Tesco, right?” She began her story like she was telling it to her friends back in New York City. It was casual and friendly like she and Barry had been friends for a long time instead of just meeting earlier that morning.

  “Okay. Every good story starts in Tesco.”

  “I know, right? They have food, drinks, and everything they need. It’s perfect!” She enthusiastically emphasized her words with her hands.

  “They have pillows and stuff, too. All my pillows come from Tesco,” Barry added randomly.

  “I got my friends to send me some from Walmart,” Lena replied. She liked the pillows better from America. They were generally softer, and she slept much better with the fluffy, dreamy softness only found in the United States of America.

  “Are they much different in America? I liked the hotel pillows there, but I thought they were just fa
ncy ones for hotels.”

  “I don’t know. I just find them softer,” Lena said before remembering the story she originally shared with him. “But back to the Tesco survival rate,” she said, gearing the conversation back to Tesco.

  “Right, sorry.” Barry nodded, acting seriously.

  “So, there are like a hundred people stuck in Tesco, and security isn’t letting anyone in or out. But like, what about the toilet paper? I mean have you ever been in an emergency with no toilet paper? It’s a nightmare!” She grinned as she finished.

  “I had never thought of that!” Barry tried to hide his laughter, but he wasn’t doing a great job. “Can you imagine? Headline news: Loo Paper Fights Break out in Tesco.”

  “More like; The Plight of 2-Ply,” Lena added, and with that, they cried laughing at the silly images of people getting violent over toilet paper.

  “Sorry to bother the fun here, folks, but would anyone like a drink?” Emily had made her way down the rows, offering drinks and had arrived at Row 59.

  Lena turned around and smiled at Emily. “Can I get a red wine?” she asked politely.

  Emily pulled the bottle from its icy perch and poured the smooth liquid into a glass. Lena had to lean carefully over Sunshine to grab her enticing wine.

  “Would you like a vodka martini?” Emily asked, remembering Barry’s comments from earlier.

  “No, he wants a kidnapping,” Lena muttered into her drink. Barry let out a small chuckle and nudged her playfully.

  “Better not be drinking this early,” Barry joked harmlessly, mocking Lena. She didn’t care though as the fruity fire warmed her soul as she sipped at the drink.

  “What would you like?” Emily asked professionally.

  “Can I get a Diet Coke and some pretzels please?” he asked.

  Barry reached out for the pretzels, trying not to bother Lena or Sunshine, who was still sleeping on his aisle seat. Emily poured Barry his Diet soda and had to perform some impressive reaching skills to get past Sunshine.

  “He sure can sleep for a long time,” Barry quietly mumbled into his drink.

  “At least he isn’t snoring so badly,” Lena said, glancing over to the sleeping man. He had barely moved since they had taken off.

  “Lucky bastard, sleeping through all this.” Barry sighed and held his glass up. He took a sip and settled back down in his seat.

  Lena pulled out her phone and typed a quick email to Joel. He hadn’t added anything to his email from earlier.

  <>

  Her fingers danced nervously over the keyboard, wanting to type more but not knowing what else to say. She hit send and tried to focus on the situation again. The screen in front of her showed different cities again, but it was the same thing no matter where it was.

  “Other countries are infected around Europe,” Barry mused to himself as he munched on his salty snack. “None of them have restrictions yet like the UK.” He focused on the screen.

  “Same kind of thing?” she asked him sadly.

  “Yeah. Helpless people falling victim to these monsters. It’s bloody awful.” He sounded regretful like he wanted to jump out of the plane and fly to their rescue, but all he could do was watch what was happening to them. “I’m just watching them die.”

  Lena knew how that felt from her years in the forces. She had seen many helpless people die in front of her, and there was nothing she could do to save them. She felt Barry’s pain but didn’t know how to comfort the man sitting beside her. She sipped her wine, wondering what to say that could help.

  “How many countries?” she asked.

  “No idea. They have footage from them though.” He shrugged. Barry said nothing else, and he focused on the internet, silently scrolling through miles of articles from different sources.

  One minute they were laughing over toilet paper, the next they’re worrying about the end of the world. Lena scanned the plane, and she noticed parents had taken the iPads off their kids and now scrolled through different news reports.

  Thousands of connecting flights had been grounded, and the airport was on lockdown. The entire city of London was on lockdown. Some passengers exchanged frightened comments with each other. No one knew what to do. Everyone focused on the news reports, hoping to hear some good news for a change.

  “This is fucked up,” she thought aloud to herself.

  “It’s my game coming to life before my eyes,” Barry said in reply to her. “My game is on the streets, but the hero is missing—the one who kills them all and saves the day.” He sounded desperate.

  “At least we’re safe up here,” Lena commented, only half believing her words.

  “Yeah. At least there are no zombies on the plane.” Barry forced a nervous smile as he continued scrolling, occasionally shoving pretzels into his mouth.

  Barry was right. At least there wasn’t a zombie on the plane.

  Chapter Nine

  Lena grew tired of watching the news. The same old footage just reminded her that something horrible was going on, and she could do nothing to help it. She felt an ache in her heart, knowing all she could do was watch these people die on the screen.

  She sat in her middle seat, playing with the hem of her loose V-neck shirt. Barry listened to something through his headphones, and the TV in front of him played the same scenes. He fumbled with the cord of his headphones nervously, and his face was sad like he’d been defeated without even fighting a battle.

  Sunshine had shifted further into Lena’s space. Sunshine’s arm flopped over the armrest onto Lena’s seat, and she became frustrated with him. He was like a persistent puppy who always demanded her attention, except with Sunshine, there was no adorable side that made puppies loveable. His head hung low, facing away from Lena. She breathed a sigh of relief she didn’t have to smell his repulsive breath.

  She took a bigger gulp of wine and rested the glass in the bag that hung from the seat in front of her. Lena had reached her breaking point with Sunshine taking all her space, and she was ready to give him a piece of her mind.

  “Look, sir, for the past three hours now you’ve been…” Her voice trailed off as she saw Sunshine’s head turn awkwardly.

  His mechanical movements filled Lena with dread, and she reassured herself that Sunshine was just being his usual annoying self.

  “Oh, my goodness! Check out his eyes!” The businessman from across the aisle had woken up from his power nap and focused on Sunshine. The businessman’s eyes grew large with fear as he shifted his weight to the opposite side of the seat. He almost sat on the poor lady beside him.

  “It’s like the figures on TV!” the lady beside him yelped.

  “That can’t be!” someone else added.

  Sunshine’s head rolled over lazily.

  “My God!” someone yelled out

  “It’s a zombie! Look mum!” a child cried, pulling on his mother’s shirt. The mother scooped the child onto her lap, away from Sunshine.

  His eyelids flicked sluggishly open, and Lena gasped at the sight. Every bit of the whites of his eyes had turned black. His dilated pupils had engulfed the humanity in them, and Lena knew exactly what was happening to Sunshine in the seat beside her.

  Sunshine is a zombie.

  Lena remained calm. She’d spent many years on the front lines facing danger. Her game face was on she was ready to battle. Others on the flight didn’t have the experience Lena did. Some guests closest to the large man jumped from their seats and dashed far away from whatever was about to happen while others screamed and pointed. One excited teenager pulled his phone out and snapped a few pictures.

  She instinctively reached for her pants pocket and went for her firearm, but nothing was there. Lena cursed, remembering she had no weapon other than her training. Her hands fell back to her waistline to unbuckle her seatbelt while her gaze stayed fixed on Sunshine. She didn’t want to take her eyes off him in case he
decided to bite someone.

  His eyes filled with an empty fear Lena had only seen on TV. Dandruff littered his shoulders and stuck to the material. His wrinkled shirt bulged and gaped where his skin was shoved into every inch of the much-too-small fabric.

  His pants stretched tightly, the seams ready to rip free. The dark brown slacks didn’t match his grey suit jacket, and days of sweat stained his aged white shirt collar that stuck out. His thin hair was stringy and looked like straw, and his hard-fought attempts to cover his bald spot had been in vain as his head lolloped towards Lena. Sunshine’s hair almost dripped with grease, and the soft aircraft light shone brightly off his slick, shiny bald head.

  “Oh, Sunshine. You could use a good shower, my friend,” Lena told the zombie.

  “Uuurrrrggghhh,” was all Sunshine could reply with.

  “Oh, for fucks sakes, man. Don’t fight with me!” she joked as she pulled her belt. It didn’t budge. Sunshine made a low, gravelly grunting noise. “C’mon you stupid thing. Open, will you? I’m in the middle of a fight!” she yelled at her seatbelt.

  Sunshine perked up more at the noises Lena made while trying to get her seat belt undone. She slid the two parts of her belt apart just in time. She pushed the two interlocking sides off her and focused on Sunshine. He turned to face her fully, and his many chins wobbled as he breathed through his gritted teeth. Lena paused, looking back for a moment.

  Barry stared clueless out the window, completely unaware of what was happening beside of him.

  Sunshine let out a throaty snarl as he exhaled. His still gritted teeth emitted a disgusting aroma of old coffee and rotten eggs. He was identical to the bloodthirsty figures Lena had seen on the news, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine the stench of the zombies that conglomerated into groups on the streets. Maybe the gruesome figures down on the ground had showered more recently than Sunshine.

  The large figure wasted no time as he lunged at Lena. She dived back into Barry, startling him out of his powerfully tense daze.

  “Lena what the…?” he began, but Lena pointed at Sunshine.