Zac Zombie 3: Night of the Undead Read online

CHAPTER 7

  It had to be the longest night in the history of the world. It felt like the dawn would never come. The world was not only plunged into darkness literally, but metaphorically as well. Not only did the night claw at our souls, but the darkness from the deepest pits of hell clawed at our doors.

  We left the useless van on the bridge and went on our way towards the hospital. Henry’s little detour took us almost a mile away from the hospital in the opposite direction. In the movies they like to make us believe that when the zombies attack, people would simply leave their cars on the highways and run for their lives. This did not happen in real life. The ones that were lucky enough to get to their cars left with their cars. Finding a car was a daunting task and could prove impossible.

  “How far is it back to the hospital?” Fred asked.

  “About a mile or so.” I said, “Could be more.”

  Henry’s guilt for getting us lost was written all over his demeanour, but he kept to himself as we walked. I could understand how he got lost; after all he said he only recently transferred to Kingston Valley. Even some of the locals sometimes got lost in the dark.

  “If we move vigilantly we will be alright.” I said.

  “Daddy?” Dharma asked, “Why has the dead come back to life?”

  Fred stuttered not knowing how to answer, “Well, uhm… that is a good question. A question to which only God will know the answer.”

  “I don’t think God has anything to do with this.” I said.

  “It could be the thousand years the bible mentioned?” Henry finally said.

  “What thousand years?” Fred asked.

  “The book of Revelations talked about the dead returning,” Henry said, “And evil reigning on earth for a thousand years before the second coming of Christ. Perhaps that’s what’s happening?”

  “Could be.” I said, “Or maybe it is something else.”

  Something else like Clairvius.

  “Perhaps it’s just another government experiment gone wrong?” Fred said, “Like the mountain experiment in the town of Derry?”

  The government had a military base outside Derry which worked on biological weapons. One of their experiments wiped out nearly half of the town. The government swooped in, cleaned everything up and covered it up with some stupid story about terrorists, but everyone knew what really happened.

  “Derry is hundreds of miles away.” I said, “I doubt that their labs had anything to do with this, and besides, I heard a radio broadcast yesterday that said the entire world was infected.”

  “It’s global?” Henry asked shocked.

  He must have been hiding in that dispatch building a while if he did not know that the entire world was overrun by the dead. I nodded at him and he lowered his head, staring at his feet as we walked.

  “I wonder if my fiancé is still alive…” Henry said to himself.

  “I’m sure she is.” I said.

  “He…” Henry corrected me.

  I stand corrected… apparently you couldn’t tell when someone played for the other team. Alex was butch and to a degree so was Henry. I always thought they were these small, skinny guys like the stereotypical characters the movies would like us to believe.

  “I’m sure he is alright.” I said.

  “I tried calling, but the lines are all dead.” Henry said, “I can only fear the worst and hope for the best.”

  “How long have you been together?” I asked.

  “Five years.” Henry said, “We met in high school. He was my first and only love. I can always feel him when we were apart, but I haven’t felt his presence in a day or two. That’s why I fear he might be—“

  “Don’t think like that.” I said, cutting him off, “There is always hope.”

  “I believe in having hope.” Fred said, “If it wasn’t for Zac…”

  Fred tried not to tear up as he continued, “… I can’t imagine what would have happened to my little girl.”

  Fred squeezed Dharma’s little hand as they walked side by side and she smiled up at him. She gasped and stared past her father up at the night sky.

  “A shooting star!” Dharma gasped.

  We stopped and stared up at the sky.

  “Make a wish honey.” Fred said.

  Dharma closed her eyes tightly and made her wish in her head. We watched as the shooting star shot across the sky and then disappeared beyond the horizon. It was the first time in my life that I had seen a shooting star. It was one of the most breath-taking (and fleeting) things I have ever seen.

  “Do you want to know what I wished for?” Dharma asked Fred.

  “No, honey.” Fred said, “You have to keep it secret or it won’t come true.”

  Dharma nodded and we continued on our way. I could tell from the pitch in her voice that she desperately wanted to tell her father what she wished for as if he could somehow grant it for her. She seemed as fragile as a little porcelain girl as she walked next to Fred. This was what I was fighting for – little boys and girls like Dharma who needed a chance at a normal life.

  “I wished mommy was still alive.” I heard Dharma whisper to herself.