After Everyone's Dead

By Chris Cummings

“You can't lose hope. Without hope, then you have nothing.”
After the world takes away everything, the only thing anyone can do is try to get it back and survive. Alone, distraught, and broken a man will do anything to piece his mind back together.
Chris Wake finds himself in a dark shell of the world he used to know. Constantly fighting against the undead for his life and the lives of his friends and family, he is trying his best to pick up the remnants of his life. He is faced with death, betrayal, and the daunting urge to find the people he has lost. Forced to overcome numerous obstacles in this strange and bloody torn apart world, Chris is in a constant battle between doing what he thinks is right and not being devoured by a city of flesh eating zombies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312461185

Book preview

After Everyone's Dead

After Everyone’s Dead

After Everyone’s Dead

Chris Cummings

Copyright © 2014 by Christopher Cummings

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2014

Illustrations by Michael Carruthers

ISBN 978-1-312-46096-6

To my family

For encouraging me to write

Mostly so I would stop bothering them.

I understand

Contents

After Everyone’s Dead

Part one

You’re Never Alone in Hell

People are Assholes

Making New Friends

Flash

Hunting for a Friend

Gravity’s a Bitch

A Cure for Death

Why You Don’t Skip Biology Class

What More Could I Need?

A Lot of Things Can Blow Up

Laid to Rest

Part Two

Vacationing with Friends

No Bite, No Problem

Do You Hear Something?

Why Does Everyone Try to Kill Me or Eat me?

Singing in a Cage

Go Kill Someone

Without Hope, Then You Have Nothing

Everything Deserves to Die

Doctor’s Notes

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my family for pushing me along and allowing me to have fun with this, the countless people who helped edit it and critique it, and the teachers throughout my life who told me I don’t know how to spell. You were right.

Part one

Chapter 1

You’re Never Alone in Hell

May 31, 2031

I’m writing this journal because I need something to keep me sane. I need a way to talk to someone, even if it is myself. I’m alone now. I’ve lost everyone and everything. My family may still be alive, but I’ve started to give up hope. We’ve been separated almost a week now. The riots were too violent and we couldn’t stay together. It was too dangerous to stay in the crowd while the virus was spreading like wildfire. Everywhere you turned, someone was getting bitten and the outbreak grew. My dad grabbed my mom and my sister, and then told me to run home, saying he would meet me there. He never showed. I tried to call him, but the lines are all down. I waited for as long as I could, but a house like that was quickly overrun and I had no choice but to vacate there as well. There was no alternative but to move from house to house looking for anyone still alive – for the first time, that is. I had dreamt of this day, fighting the infected, and protecting the weak with a fool proof plan with my friends. We would work together to get food, shelter, and weapons, and protect each other. We had overlooked one thing, the sheer horror that would engulf all of humanity.

Watching children and friends mutate into savage beasts before my eyes is something I wasn’t prepared for. Kids ripping the throats out of their fresh victims. Their eyes seemed hollow, as if there wasn’t anything there but pain, and blood staining their skin red. The smell of blood is everywhere. I don’t know how many have been infected already, but it has spread much faster than I had anticipated. The only two reasons I’ve survived this long are I can outrun most of these mindless killing machines, and I can protect myself with my dual swords I bought online as toys to play with. They are about two feet long each, all black, with a black nylon rope wrapped at the handles for better grip. They swing over my back making me look like some modern day ninja. I used to swing them around cutting up fruit. I didn’t think I would actually be using these on real people. Hell, I don’t even know if I can still call them people. The only thing I know now is that I have to survive. I’m going to find my family. I’m going to protect them. I miss my family, my friends, my girlfriend, and sleeping. My name is Chris Wake, and the Kesoko Virus (aka Zombie Virus) has changed my life forever.

June 2, 2031

I'm five eleven, light brown hair, blue eyes, paler than a vampire, and twenty one years old. I've lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania all my life. Going to school to be a software engineer doesn't exactly teach you to fight an army of undead. Luckily, running cross country gave me a cardiovascular system good enough to run from these bastards trying to eat me. I’ve never had to kill anything in my life before. I couldn’t even kill an animal to get food if I had to, and now I find myself decapitating zombies every five feet. These beasts charge me, trying to bite me! In a fight today, I took my blade and cut off one’s arm. I severed its spine, and yet that wasn't even enough to stop it from crawling after me. It wasn't until I cut its skull in two did it stop.

The zombies smell terrible. The smell of decay, blood, and vomit cover their bodies. I haven’t had to kill anyone I recognize or know yet, and I pray to whatever god is above anymore that I don’t ever have to. Once the riots started, everything and everyone went crazy. Broadcasts flooded the airwaves warning all those in the city to get out immediately and by whatever means necessary. I, on the other hand, am headed straight for the heart of town. This virus is spreading faster than anyone can imagine. I constantly hear different screaming cries. Men, women, children, everyone screaming out in pain. Each scream only lasts a few seconds and then they go silent, dead, turned, just as another one screams out after it. It hasn't stopped. People have been turning faster than they can be killed.

I’ve decided to work my way to the University of Simomin. That was the plan back in the day. My friends and I would all go there with our supplies and hold out. I was in charge of bringing food. Here I am, with nothing but my swords and a backpack with some crackers and 3 liters of water, way to go Chris... I’m about 4 blocks away, holed up in a nearby house and I don’t see any signs of life at the school. I’m just hoping they’re smart enough to not draw attention to themselves and my friends are all there. That has to be it. Tomorrow when I get there everything will change. I’ll be safe with them. My friends and family will be there and we won’t have anything else to worry about. We will fortify ourselves in, grab a beer, and just wait for this whole thing to blow over.

June 3, 2031

I made it to the University. My hopes that my friends would be here wasn’t a complete pipe dream. As I got closer, I noticed signs of recent battles all around. Corpses of zombies were strewn about, and all of the windows on one of the buildings were boarded shut. I sprinted to the door and was startled by a familiar voice saying, Open the door. It flew open and as I dashed in, I was greeted with a tackling hug by my cousin D. I’ve found my cousins Dennis Krajinksi, who we call D, his brother John Ja Krajinksi, and my old college cross country teammates Remy Urmier and Brody Prints. As soon as the riots broke out they went straight here. They didn’t know what else to do so they just followed the stupid plan we had made when we were drunk and thought it would be fun. They figured what the hell, might as well try, just as I did. I haven’t been this happy for days now. It’s good to be back with friends, but we are still missing a lot of the group, and I’m still missing my family. We all are.

Remy came with his baseball bats, D with his wooden sword from karate, Ja with a crowbar, and Brody found a steel pipe. We don’t have much, but given the new dream of all of our friends actually being alive, we’ve been given enough courage to take on any horde at this point. They had already boarded up the windows and doors well before I arrived, and acquired a small amount of food, but there is still a lot of work to be done. I thought planning for the end of the world was just a joke. It has actually saved our lives, or at least given us a few more hours. Hold up and fortify, that was the plan. We would stick together no matter what happened. We decided to continue fortification until our supplies run lower and then send a party to acquire more. They took the keys from the main office so we have access to every room on campus. I decided to take my old room when I went to school here, Crocker Hall room 202.

June 7, 2031

Our fortress is a red brick building with windows everywhere covered by wood and metal. Its four floors with long, narrow hallways that smell of cleaning solution. The lowest level has few windows and a large metal door. We take shifts watching the front door throughout the day since it’s the only way in or out. The door will only open from the inside, and if it was shut, the only other way in was through a heavily fortified window. So someone had to be manning the door at all times. I have first shift in the morning. Every lifeless drone that walked by I wished was one of my friends making it to us, but feared that one of those lifeless faces would bear the face of someone like my girlfriend, sister, brother, or my parents.

Once my shift was done, it was Remy’s turn. Remy is a quiet person. Twenty-one, my age. He's about six feet, but is hunched over all the time so he seems shorter. He's about a hundred sixty pounds, (little lighter than me), deep dark brown eyes, brown hair and a full beard. We went to school together and he became a good friend. He's reserved most of the time. I know I can trust him to have my back. He’s smart, and if things get hectic in a situation, he knows what to do. Remy’s key factor is his will power. Where he lacks in physical strength, he’ll crush you by not giving up.

Next was Brody. He’s just an eighteen year old kid. He's about five foot eight, with black hair, slightly larger than average build, and a huge chin. Brody is a good kid and though he may not be the brightest bulb, he has a good heart. He’ll fight wave upon wave of zombie just to protect any one of us. If you need him for anything he will be there in a heartbeat and not even question what you ask him to do. He reminds me of a puppy.

After him it’s Ja’s turn. Ja is twenty-four, making him the oldest. He's also the shortest at five foot six. He's tan with a black afro, and an average build. Ja is an all-around good guy. He has a key feature to his personality however. He is very short tempered, and when he’s angry, no zombie is safe. He also sings like a Greek god. Maybe it’s because I haven’t heard singing in a while and he’s the only thing I've got, but beggars can’t be choosers.

D had the late night shift, but that didn't bother him. D always was a night owl. He is twenty two with black hair and pale skin. He's huskier than the rest of us, but his hands explode faster than lightning, making his attacks quick and dangerous, a trait that you wouldn't expect from looking at him. D is extremely talented, yet the laziest human alive. He can outsmart you and knows what to do to overtake you, but would rather let you win than put up a fight. This would be a problem if it wasn’t for his dedication to his friends. If someone's in trouble, he won’t sit around any longer. D is one of my best friends, who I have full faith in to fight with me till the end. I am fairly certain however that he has eaten the last of my crackers. I have no evidence, but they went missing after he tackled me. I will further investigate their disappearance while keeping a close eye on him.

Our group is skilled at surviving, but we won’t last long without some proper leadership and supplies. I just hope my friends get here soon. I wonder if I’ll ever see my girlfriend, Morganne, ever again. Her house was empty when I looked there, but she's tough, tougher than me. She has to be alive still. I also believe we need a pet (mascot as I like to call it). I was thinking monkey, but they may be hard to come by in Scranton, PA, so a dog (or vicious kitty) may make a better ally.

June 8, 2031

We had a slight breach today. Somehow, a large group of about twenty zombies charged at the door as Ja went out to grab some fire wood. We heard Ja’s cries for help and without a second thought burst out the front door. My blades sunk into zombie after zombie as I worked my way to Ja. For never using these swords, I was strangely good at the whole killing thing. We all were. Blood squirted out from the dead beasts each time a blade entered them. We were covered in rotting flesh and zombie blood. Remy had my back to make sure no rotten teeth surprised me. D crushed skull after skull, rushing to his brother with rage. We all made our way to Ja, only to find ourselves completely surrounded. We hacked and slash for 20 minutes until we finally slayed all of the demons and made it back to the wedged open door. D and Ja immediately began to argue about Ja being foolish for running outside with such a large group nearby, while Remy and I began to relax. As I went to sheath my blades, I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye. I spun around, but was too slow. A zombie had made its way in and was awaiting our return. I went to pull my blade, but it knocked me down. Remy swung his bat, connecting with the creature’s chest, dropping it to the floor for a moment. I rose with my blade pointed towards the monster and pierced my sword into its jaw and up through the skull. I pulled my blade out and dropped it to the floor. I fell with it, trying to keep my heart from blowing up in my chest. We all just sat there, trying to catch our breath. It was then that we all seemed to have the same realization that we couldn’t survive like this.

We aren’t prepared for this. We need guns so something this close doesn’t happen again, but more than that, we need something we can hope for. We are riding on nothing, just trying to see what’s in store for tomorrow. We decided that tomorrow two of us will work our way to Shop-Here-Store (it’s the only thing close to us) to get guns. Remy and I will be making the trip. It’s my sister’s birthday. I bet she’s yelling at my dad right now about zombie blood being on her shoes. Haha, I feel bad for my pops, he has to put up with a zombie infestation as well as my sisters wrath.  I just hope my mom’s OK.

June 9, 2031

Remy and I started our trip very early hoping to finish the eight-mile hike before nightfall, as well as be awake before the lifeless are. To be honest, I don’t even know if these things sleep. Our plan was simple: run in the shadows while killing any zombie that was startled by us, as not to draw a crowd. Remy and I both ran cross-country in college so the trip was simple, and the plan worked. After silencing several zombies along the way, we made it to Shop-Here-Store. This store that sells just about everything will be our salvation.

We made our way inside and expected to have to fight our way to the guns, but not a single zombie was there. We walked through the store and found nothing but decaying zombie corpses around the floor. The aisles were packed with dead bodies. Without a doubt, in the panic of the riots people ran here for supplies, only to be trapped, turned, and now slaughtered. We worked our way to the gun section only to find everything was taken.

Think the same person who killed all these took the guns? I asked Remy. Remy was frustrated with everything.

What hope do we have now? All we have are these shitty makeshift weapons! We are going to die if we don’t find somethin’! Remy said this as he smashed some rotten fruit in frustration, and as he did, a knife flew past his ear.

A voice boomed through the air yelling, Your friend doesn’t have any manners, Chris.

I drew my swords and the voice just laughed. I was nervous since I wasn’t sure who this was or where it was coming from. Remy was still shaking from the knife stuck in the watermelon next to his ear.

I didn’t know what to do and yelled, Who are you? How do you know me?

The voice boomed again, What, you don’t even remember your family’s voice?

I dropped my swords from my trembling hands as I looked up to find my older brother Tom and my cousin Joe Stevesell sitting on the beams armed to the teeth with all the guns from the store. As they jumped down to talk and hug me, Remy was pissed about the knife that almost took off his ear and charged Joe. Joe pulled out a shotgun and blew away Remy’s bat clean from his hands. I had to stop Joe from putting the next shot through Remy's stomach.

It turns out that Tom heard the news of the virus and remembered the old plan. He drove all the way from New York before things got too crazy. He and Joe were here to get weapons. They made it to the guns obviously, but had no means of conveying them to the hold out. His car was stolen while a mob fought for the guns and they couldn’t chance leaving them unguarded. They decided to wait for support. Now with our help, we will be able to transport all of the weapons, as well as some much needed food and water back.

We have decided to stay the night here and depart in the morning. I feel safer with my brother now, but I can’t say the same for Remy. The thought of having a shotgun unloaded in his gut seems to have put him over the edge. Our bags are filled with guns, ammo, and food. We took all the nonperishable foods we could find, and it should last us a few weeks. We took mainly tuna. We have more tuna than freaking anything else. I don’t like tuna, but Tom’s making me eat it. It tastes like paste, wet paste. I want to throw it at him and eat a brownie – that is, if I had a brownie. Stupid tuna. I’ve never seen a tuna fish before. I bet none of the other fish like tuna either. It’s probably picked on at school. Hahahaha. I just said that joke to Joe and he took my can of tuna...

June 10, 2031

We packed up our bags and started to head out first thing in the morning (Tom thinks zombies sleep, but Joe said they didn’t need to. I