Zombie Club 3: Zombie Club, #3

By Sonia Rogers

The Zombie Club has only had two goals since the apocalypse started - to find their families and to find a safe place to live. Discovering a military base that is taking in survivors seems like a dream come true. But will it stay safe? And will they ever find their families?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sonia Rogers
• Release date: Oct 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386462880

Sonia Rogers

Sonia Rogers is the author of a lot of books. Some are good, some are so-so, and a few are pretty terrible. Regardless, she continues to put her work out into the world, hoping to connect with the same sort of twisted minds as her own. She lives in Missouri with her husband and a pack of annoying (yet loveable and funny) beagles.

Book preview

Chapter 1 Benny

The day I turned 13, I went to war. Not your regular kind of war, the kind where you shoot other people trying to defend your way of life. This was a war against zombies. And it didn’t look like we were going to win.

The zombie apocalypse started last April, while we were on a field trip. Our teacher, Tim Smith, got us back to our hometown and helped us look for our parents. I was one of the lucky ones. I found both of my parents and my dog, all alive and well. We moved into the police station along with the last surviving police officer in Springfield, a super cool guy named Charlie Cook. Gradually, we started adding people to our group as we found them, until there were too many of us to live comfortably at the station.

It was while we were rescuing a large group of people that included the family of another member of the Zombie Club, William, that we discovered there was an army base about a hundred miles away from us. Fort Leonard Wood was not only secure, but they were taking in people to live. The Army was running the base, and after a long, hard trip, we finally arrived to find that there was a huge community of military personnel and civilians living there.

Being allowed to live on the base was a huge deal. Not only did we have to go through a medical exam and an orientation that lasted for days, but we had to be quarantined for thirty days after we got through all that. The soldiers were determined that the outbreak was not going to happen inside the walls of the base.

The quarantine didn’t bother us. We were used to all living together anyway. The orientation sucked hard though. Three days of listening to boring lectures that never seemed to end. I was ready to go back out and take my chances off of the base by the time we finally got through with them. Tim kept us in line when we got too bored, though, nudging us with his elbow or kicking us when we fell asleep, and giving us the evil teacher eye if he thought we weren’t behaving. As much as I love and respect Tim, that evil eye scares the crap out of me! Don’t tell him I said so, though.

The only people who got out of orientation were the smaller kids. They were kept in a special day care where they could be watched to make sure that they didn’t sprout any symptoms. I really, really wanted to go to that day care with them.

Once we made it through orientation, we were all taken one by one to talk to an advisor. Basically, the advisors were psychologists that wanted to make sure that we were mentally stable, and not going to tear up the place that they had worked so hard to build. One of the tests that they had us take was a job aptitude test, so they would know the best place to put us after quarantine. We were all going to have a job. Even the kids as young as three would be responsible for picking up trash. It turned out that I would be good at security. I was going to be helping with the video security once it was up and running. I guess all those years of watching zombie movies finally paid off!

The psychologist who interviewed me told me that I was very well-adjusted for all I had been through. I wasn’t sure I agreed with that so much, but he seemed pretty sure, so I let it go. He asked me if I would be willing to take on a leadership role with other kids my age. I wasn’t sure what he meant exactly, but I told him I was willing to try.

After the interview, I caught up with Rick and William. They were done with their interviews too, and the three of us compared notes about what we had been told. Rick rolled his eyes as he told us, She said that I should be a leader, that with everything that we had been through, I could teach other kids how to survive outside the walls. I stared at him. Mine told me that I should be a leader too! We both turned to William, who grinned back at us. I’m going to be in charge of the whole place!

We were taken to quarantine after our interviews, a big metal building that sat on the edge of the woods away from anything else. It was completely surrounded by high chain-link fencing designed to keep things out, and us inside. The metal building had been separated into cubicles for sleeping, with a living area at one end. After we picked out where we would be sleeping, we went to the living area to meet up with the rest of our group and compare notes. It didn’t take more than a few minutes to realize that all of us that were part of the Zombie Club had been urged to become leaders. We went to find Tim, who had been in the military before he became our teacher, to get his opinion.

Tim shook his head when we told him how our interviews went. Typical. They want you to come in all gung-ho, make a career of the military. I’m not surprised. They told me that because I had prior military experience, that I should consider leading a group to teach survival. Honestly, if they give me the chance to teach and lead a ROTC group, I’ll probably do it. Why not?

Claire cleared her throat. Why would they tell me that? I’m not a leader. I’m just trying to stay alive. Danielle nodded her agreement. Me too. I’ve only killed one zombie this whole time! I’m not a leader!

Tim put a hand on each girl’s shoulder. Claire. When we found Lorelei hiding under the bed in her grandfather’s house, who coaxed her out? Who cleaned her up, got her dressed in dry clothes, and got her to tell us who she was and how she ended up under the bed? Tim turned his head. Danielle. On the trip here, who kept all of the littler kids calm on the bus by playing games with them and keeping them distracted from what was going on? Looking at all of us, Tim continued. All of you have performed leadership roles over the last few months whether you realized it or not. We survived out there because every single one of us used our strengths and skills together. You are all leaders, and you have plenty of skills that you can teach others. Now, let’s go see what they have to eat in this place. I’m starving!

Chapter 2 Claire

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Claire that lived with her mother, father and brother in a beautiful home on a hill. Then, her father left, her mother lost her job, and life got pretty crappy. Right now, I would trade that crappy life in an instant for this crappy life.

Everyone always told me that I was tough. When I was three, I broke my arm wrestling with a boy that my mother babysat. I didn’t cry, even though it hurt. I spent a week in the hospital with my arm in traction, and the only time I cried was when the doctor dropped the weight on the contraption that held my arm in the air, jerking my arm up. Everyone told me how strong I was, how tough I must be, and from that point on, I knew that I had a reputation to keep up.

It’s a big responsibility to be tough. People look up to you, expect you to tell them that everything is okay, even when you just want to curl up in a ball and cry. You have to put on this big front that shows the world that you can do anything that you set your mind to. If you are scared, you have to keep it inside, and smile while you kill a zombie, or open a door in a pitch black room. You have to keep a lot of stuff inside.

While we were in quarantine, I turned 13. I didn’t tell anyone that it was my birthday. All I wanted for my birthday was to see my mom and my brother again. Since that wasn’t going to happen, I just kept it inside, and smiled and joked with everyone like it was a normal day. That night though, in my cot, I cried. I had perfected the art of crying silently so I didn’t wake up Danielle or Lorelei. I cried myself to sleep in the dark so that no one could tell that I wasn’t tough.

The next morning, I put it behind me. I stuck it in a little box inside my brain and closed it. I was strong, and I had a reputation to keep.

Things really weren’t much different in quarantine than it had been at the police station. We were all living together, tripping over each other’s feet, and helping each other get through it. Quarantine lasted thirty long days, but we were a family, and we helped each other even when we were driving each other crazy. It was actually kind of boring, because we didn’t have to go out looking for food and supplies. Everything was brought to us by soldiers, and if someone got sick, they were immediately taken care of by medics. Of course, we had Dr. Gabby with us to keep an eye on things too.

One early morning after we had been there for a week, Danielle and I were making up our cots (and helping Lorelei make up hers), when we heard shouts coming from outside the building. There were no windows in the building to see outside, so we dropped everything and ran to the living area. The door on the end of the building had a plastic window, but Tim and Charlie were standing in front of it, blocking the view from the rest of us.

Tim! What’s going on? I yelled as loud as I could from the back part of the living area. The entire group had had the same idea, and we were all packed in to see what the noise was. Tim turned away from the door, and faced us. He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. I’m not sure. There’s a group of people at the gate yelling, and the guards are yelling back at them, telling them to go home.

Danielle looked at me, and I could tell she was scared. You don’t think they’re going to try and get in here to hurt us, do you? I put on my tough girl face. Of course not! And even if they did, there’s no way they could hurt us! The soldiers all have guns, even if we don’t have ours. I felt something touch my hand, and looked down at Lorelei, who was looking back at me with the same scared expression on her face. You won’t let them get me, will you? Why are they mad at us?

I took the little girl’s hand and pulled her away from the crowd so we didn’t get trampled. Squatting down, I looked her in the eye. None of us would ever let anyone get you. We love you, and we will always protect you. I don’t know why those people are yelling, but Tim and Charlie will find out. Okay? Lorelei threw her arms around my neck. I love you, Claire! I couldn’t help myself, I teared up. I love you too, hon. I looked up at Danielle, who had followed us. Can you tell anything?  Danielle stood on her tiptoes and looked towards the door. "No. Tim and Charlie are still standing there watching.