Virus Z: Quixotic - Episode 5: Virus Z, #5
By Robert Paine
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Virus Z: Quixotic - Episode 5
An unknown virus, ordered to be secretly researched by the government, is in the hands of a tired, overworked CDC Scientist. A small mistake is all it takes. It started with one. One person becoming what no one truly believed to be real.
James Ericson witnessed the downfall of Floor Three in the Atlanta CDC Lab. He saw a man he admired turn into a flesh-devouring monster. Now, with just his blood stained lab coat and a mysterious flash drive, he must attempt to outrun the virus.
Can he make it to safety before it catches him, or will he end up just like the other mindless zombies beginning to fill the streets only one thing on their mind...
NOTE: This is the final episode of Virus Z, a serial novel. There may be cliffhangers, and Zombies, from one installment to the next. Read at your own risk...or delight.
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Related to Virus Z
Titles in the series (6)
Virus Z: Sojourn - Episode 2: Virus Z, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirus Z: Breakout - Episode 1: Virus Z, #1 Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Virus Z: Ardor - Episode 3: Virus Z, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirus Z: Niagara - Episode 4: Virus Z, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirus Z: The Complete Collection: Virus Z, #6 Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Virus Z: Quixotic - Episode 5: Virus Z, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Virus Z - Robert Paine
Virus Z: Quixotic – Episode 5
An unknown virus, ordered to be silently researched by the government, is in the hands of a tired, overworked CDC Scientist. A small mistake leading to an infection. It started with one. One person becoming what no one truly believed to be real.
James Ericson witnessed the downfall of Floor Three in the Atlanta CDC Lab. He saw a man he admired turn into a flesh-devouring monster. Now, with just his blood stained lab coat and a mysterious flash drive, he must attempt to outrun the virus.
Can he make it to safety before it catches him, or will he end up just like the other mindless zombies beginning to fill the streets only one thing on their mind?
How long can he survive as he stares death in the face?
Quixotic – Episode 5
James swore he would never forget the day when an American soldier’s voice came over the Canadian Intelligence Division’s intercom system. Even though it was just ‘all clear’, those two words gave him a surreal combination of relief and dismay.
He was relieved that there were survivors. At the same time, he knew that they would have to leave Steven, Gwen’s son. Eric, an American soldier who had helped them safely cross the border, would help them cross back into America before returning to stay with Steven.
After discovering that Ebola caused the zombies to hemorrhage, thus killing them, the virus was released across America. First, the plan was to give all survivors the vaccine and send them underground just to be safe.
James and Gwen had taken the vaccine too. They had watched on cameras as gruesome behavior had overtaken the Infected before they’d fallen. Even though Steven had wanted to watch, Gwen hadn’t let him. The boy had already seen enough.
They had waited and waited until finally the Canadian parliament had cleared them. For days, they tried to bring the few cameras that had not been destroyed back online. James wanted to see how the survivors were coping with the vaccine.
Where there any side affects? Had there been any deaths caused specifically by the vaccine? If so, what was their range of ages? Were there any other factors involved?
None of these questions were being answered which caused him to be very nervous. The professors of Ottawa repeatedly told him that they’d observed survivor behavior before the cameras went black. They assured him that all was well.
For some reason, that nagged him. James just didn’t buy it. Sure, these were his trusted peers. But, they were holding something back. James would swear on it.
He kept his opinions to himself. After all, he couldn’t prove them and didn’t want to worry Gwen. She was already tense from leaving Steven behind.
After waiting for so long, a surreal feeling almost overwhelmed him on the day that they were meant to depart. He hugged Steven to him and told him to keep Eric out of trouble. The boy grinned and glanced up at his mentor.
Eric stepped up and told James, These people have been surviving in caves or bunkers that they just happened across for the last few months. They will be anxious and possibly hostile so be very careful.
James nodded and hefted a military-issue duffel bag onto his shoulder. There were enough Canadian MREs within the bag to feed James and Gwen for quite a while. That is, if no one tried to steal the meals from them. In addition, they had crates of food and medical supplies for the survivors. No one knew what exactly awaited them, so everyone was on edge.
Both Gwen and James were armed with pistols, tasers, and enough ammo to start a small war. Eric slipped him a wicked-looking knife to strap around his ankle and said, Don’t hesitate to defend yourself, James. They may look human but, if they act anything other than what humanity used to be at its finest, use brute force to put them down.
James’ stomach curled at the thought of killing anyone that looked and acted anything similar to human, but he remembered very clearly how fast their life could be snuffed out if he hesitated. He nodded and said, Don’t worry, I will.
And, he meant it. Memories of having to put a bullet through a zombie’s head or a knife through their brain still haunted his dreams. He’d once been a huge fan of zombie flicks but had to admit that those films hadn’t come close to accurately depicting what they’d experienced.
He remembered the day that Gwen had graphically explained how she’d had to drive a broken mop handle into the skull of her previously non-flesh-eating and completely sane hospital janitor. Her hands hadn’t stop shaking the entire time.
She’d had to fight through zombies just to get her son out of a closet. James still couldn’t believe the Infected moved so fast. For that matter, the virus that had changed humanity into it had moved with equal velocity.
The minute someone was bitten, a toxin was released into the blood through saliva. It killed the human host and hotwired the brain differently. Blood re-fired the energy within the body, kick starting the heart. The Infected human would be forever changed. The Infected’s diet was blood. It craved blood so fiercely that a drive to feed drove the Infected mad. Hunger would be quenched or insanity would set in.
The zombie’s metabolism processed iron into something akin to insulin within the newly Infected’s body. It’s entire being craved blood in order to create this new hormone. The only way to shut down the production of this new and bizarre hormone was to kill the brain.
All this rolled through James’ mind as they said goodbye to Steven before boarding the helicopter that would take them back onto American soil. He was nervous, more nervous that he was willing to admit to Gwen. They waved at Eric and Steven as the helicopter lifted off.
It was a short ride. Dependent upon the results of this mission, the Canadian government would decide whether to open their borders. They wanted to make sure that the American troops, who had been given the vaccine and had been on American soil for a while, had not been breached in any way.
James couldn’t blame them, but he still felt they were holding something back from him. Some instinct screamed that all was not as it seemed. The helicopter flew to Brook Park, Ohio and landed at the National Guard Headquarters. A vehicle sat waiting for them.
An American soldier leaned against the door but had his back to them. This seemed odd to James. He called out, Hey. Is everything okay?
The soldier turned and peered at them with hungry eyes. Do you have food? Something other than MREs?
Gwen shoved her hand into her backpack and brought out some fresh bread. She had a container of heated stew also. The soldier ripped the lid off the stew and drank the contents, barely bothering to chew any of it. James heard the pilot set some supplies down behind him. There were more supplies to be unloaded but James didn’t dare turn his back on this American soldier currently devouring the stew.
Why is he so damn hungry? No, that’s not hungry. That’s ravenous.
The soldier stuffed the bread in his mouth. At least he chewed the chunk of bread a couple of times before he swallowed it. James almost lurched forward, fearing the soldier would choke. Gwen quickly handed him a bottle of water. The soldier gulped the water until the bottle was empty.
To their surprise, the soldier eyed the supplies behind them. James quickly said, Our Canadian representative said that there are others that have survived. How many others do you have in your group?