Part 1

The first part of The Outbreak. Meet Emmett Wolfe as he tries to save his family from the infection before it even officially begins. Does he know something the public doesn't about the infection?

"Breaking news: Two people found dead in the Arclea Mountains today. The bodies were found yesterday at 7 a.m. by a local hiker. The hiker said he was on his weekly hike when he saw something off to the side of the trail. When he got there he saw it was a body so he quickly ran back down the trail to get phone service. Once he had service he called 911 and police were on the scene in minutes. These are not the first deaths of this type, twenty other bodies were found in The Arclea Mountains National Park in the past week with the same MO. Police said that, like the last victims, the body was unidentifiable. The police still have no lead on who or what the killer is.

"The Chief of Police, Bruce Harding, had this to say regarding the cases.  "We are taking actions to stop the killer. We are working with the FBI to get to the bottom of this. Starting today there are more agents going to be put on the case, and we are going to increase patrols in the area." We can only hope that the police and FBI will find the killer soon, before he strikes again. This is Pete Brown of the Hill City News, signing off."

The TV clicked off and a male figure got up from the couch. "They won't figure it out, not until it's too late."  He said as he opened a drawer and pulled out a Beretta 9mm handgun. He put the shoulder holster on and put the gun on one side and two mags on the other, and then he pulled out a tactical belt with six magazines of ammo, a few pockets and a tactical knife. The magazines were extended and held 20 rounds each. He put the belt on and went to look in the mirror. He had messy black hair, brown eyes, a scar on his left cheek, and features like a hawk. He stood 6'2" and had an athletic muscular build; you could tell he worked out often. He was in great shape and looking at him you wouldn't guess that he was 37 years old. He had on a white t-shirt, loose fitting jeans, and combat boots. He picked up his black cowboy hat and put it on along with his dark brown duster. The duster was heavy and had an odd assortment of items inside the pockets. Then he pulled out the two duffle bags from under the bed and went outside.

He put the bags in the bed of his black, four-door, Super Duty Ford F-350 King Ranch pickup truck. But it wasn't a normal F-350, it was as upgraded as it could get, the inside was tricked out with all the features available and then some. The engine was upgraded to be even more powerful, and the bed and cab were extended. The truck had heavy duty tires, and the suspension was tweaked to give it an extra few inches of clearance. There were bars over the windows, which were made of strong plexi-glass, including the windshield and topper windows. The whole body of the truck was re-enforced metal and it had metal plating welded on the sides and back, with a heavy duty cattle guard on the front. On the roof of the topper there was a small square of metal that covered half of the top, in the middle there was a shooting platform on a rotating base. All-in-all there was over two million dollars of upgrades to the truck to make it look like a fortress on wheels.

In the backseat pockets and under the seat there was an assortment of canned and dried food and drinks. In the back there was a weapons rack with a semi-auto 12 gauge with a collapsible stock and flashlight, an M-4 with iron sights and laser, a .308 Remington rifle with a 4X16 tactical scope, H&K MP-5, and a Desert Eagle with extended mag. They were all strapped down so they wouldn’t move around but could be grabbed fast. In the front passenger seat there was a 10 gauge pump-action shotgun and a machete.

This would be an odd and expensive assortment of weapons for your Average Joe, but Emmett Wolfe was no Average Joe. He had served in MARSOC for eight years, and had received multiple medals. After the Corps he went to work for his father-in-law’s corporation, LifeWork, as the head of security at one of their sites. He had quit that job after two years because of a falling out with his father-in-law. That was over two years ago and he had spent that time buying guns, ammo, and other equipment. To not lose his edge he had kept training, working out, and shooting. He had worked on the truck and tested it out, now it was time to put it all to use. While training and getting prepared he would still have never thought it possible that this would actually happen.

He checked the bed of the truck to make sure the heavy duty topper was secure. Then he checked the back and made sure he had everything. He had the mattress, sleeping bag, tent, two duffle bags with guns and ammo, fuel cans, bolted down cabinets full of more food, ammo, and other equipment, and the cab full of other items. Everything was in order so he headed back inside to do one last walkthrough. He checked the house and made sure he didn't forget anything. He grabbed the duffle bag of clothes from the closet and his FAL semi-auto assault rifle with red dot sight from the corner. He shut and barricaded the front door so no one could get in but him. He didn’t need to worry about the rest of the doors because they were already barricaded, along with the windows.

He got into the tuck and started it. It roared to life and he took off down the driveway. He arrived at the road fifteen minutes later and turned right towards his ex-wife's house. He had to get to her fast; she lived two minutes from the Arclea Mountains National Park. It took him another thirty minutes of driving to get to her house, by that time the sun had set. He pulled into her driveway and the headlights shown on a dead body lying there. He grabbed his FAL, 10 gauge pump-action shotgun, and machete from the seat next to him. He got out and swung the FAL over his back and put the machete in the sheath on his left hip. He chambered a round into the 10 gauge and went over to the dead body.

He nudged it with the barrel of his gun, nothing happened. So he carefully flipped it over with his boot to get a look at its face. It was a male, approximately 30-40 years old. This was not his ex-wife's current husband, George, which meant they were probably still alive. He put the shotgun to his shoulder and headed towards the front door. When he got there it was cracked, he went up to it and put his side against the wall next to the door. He eased his left hand off of the shot gun and eased the door open a little more. There was a loud bang and the door exploded in front of him. He quickly withdrew his hand and looked at the door; there was a hole in the middle of it. "Hey, watch it you moron! Do I look like one of them?" Emmett asked the unknown shooter.

"N-n-no… at least none of them could talk." An unknown male voice said.

"Well at least you're not completely brainless. I'm coming in George, so don't shoot." Emmett said as he stepped from the wall and went through the front door. Inside there was a hallway and at the end there was a makeshift barricade with a guy behind it, it was George. "Where's Jane and Alexis?" he asked George, as he looked at the two dead bodies lying on the floor.

"They're behind me in the bathroom. Is that you Emmett? What's going on? Why do you look like you're ready for a war?" George asked putting his shotgun down.

"Yes, it's me you twit, and that's because I am ready for a war. I'll explain everything once we get in the truck." He said as he headed over to the barrack and stepped over it. He opened the door on the left and Alexis, his twenty year old daughter, came running out at him.

"Dad!" she said as she hugged him. Behind her Jane come out and went to stand next to George.

"Hey there sweetie," Emmett said, "I missed you. Come on we need to get to the truck, before more of them show up." Emmett started to move with his daughter down the hall when he heard George whimper. Emmett turned around and looked at George, noticing his left fore-arm was bloody. Emmett had his gun up and pointed at George's head in a fraction of a second. "You were bitten?"

George backed up a step and looked at Emmett, eyes wide. "Yeah, why does that matter? It's just a bite."

"It's not just a bite," Emmett said looking at Jane. "It’s how the infection spreads."

"Infection? What are you talking about? That's just preposterous!" Jane said going to George's side. "He's fine; it's just a little bite." Emmett looked at his daughter, and then looked back at George and Jane.

"No, it's not, but…" he said lowering his shotgun, "I'm not going to kill you, at least not now. But if you start to change I will kill you." He said as he turned around and started towards the truck again.

"That's not fair. So where are we going?" George asked in a whiney tone.

“We cannot leave yet! I have to pack.” Jane said. Emmett was about to snap back a response when he looked at his daughters face and she was asking the same question silently.

"North, and  you have five minutes, only take what is vital to survival. I will check for food and other items." George and Jane headed off to the master bedroom to pack their things and Alexis to her room. Emmett walked around the house collecting a few grocery bags of food and raided the medical cabinet. He then went out to the garage and took some rope, jumper cables, and other such items. Finally the girls and George came out of the house each with a suitcase; Jane stopped and locked the front door.

"George, you'll sit in the front with me. Jane, you and Alexis sit in the back. Let’s get moving." Emmett said as they all got into the truck without another word, throwing their stuff in the bed of the truck.

"Geez dad, what are all these guns for?" Alexis asked looking at them and taking down the MP-5.

"Those are… in case of an emergency. You remember how to use that?" Emmett asked, looking at his daughter.

"Of course I do Dad. You had me learn how to shoot when I was twelve remember?" she said setting the MP-5 on her lap. She looked at it closer, she did know how to use a firearm, but had never used anything like this. Her dad being who he was had taught her how to shoot a rifle at young age preparing her for the world. He was very protective of his daughter and when she was old enough had her take some self-defense classes and handgun training. At the time she enjoyed it but did not realize how good it was for her till the past year when she had been mugged. Well he had tried to mug her with a knife, but you know what they say, never bring a knife to a gunfight. Even now she had her small S&W .38 revolver in her purse.

"Good just making sure you remember." He smiled as he turned around and started the truck. "Buckle up." They started off down the driveway, none of them talking, but a million thoughts in their minds. Emmett was glad of all the time he had put into training his daughter and making her ready for the real world, but never had he imagined her training would be used for this. Alexis took a few minutes to examine the MP-5, finding the safety, how to chamber a round, eject a mag and the general feel of the gun. Jane just sat there staring at her husband as George started to take heavier and heavier breaths. After another 30 minutes of driving he was wheezing and coughing. Emmett pulled the truck off the road and got out. He went over to the passenger side and pulled George out.

"Hey! What are you doing?" George asked in indignation.

"You're infected, and you're going to die anytime now." Emmett said pulling out one of his Berettas.

"What? How do you know that?" George asked pointing an accusing finger at Emmett.

"I know because I have seen it happen before!" Emmett yelled.

"So now you're going to kill me? Just like that?" George asked as he coughed again. This time blood came out and he looked at his hand in horror.

"Just like that," Emmett said as he trained his gun on George's forehead. Just then Jane came out of the back seat and ran towards George.

"Stop it!" She yelled at Emmett and went to stand in front of George. "You can't just kill him!"

"Sure I can, it's either that or he'll die and turn into one of them and kill us. And I'm not letting you decide that." Emmett said keeping his gun pointed at George.

"Dad's right something is wrong with him," Alexis said from inside the backseat of the truck. "Just look at him, and listen to him wheeze and cough. But maybe we can just leave him, we don’t have to kill him." George was pale and bent over coughing. There were spots of blood on his hands and the ground below him. Jane turned around and looked at him.

"He needs help! Can't you see that! We have to help him!" She screamed bending over and trying to talk to him. George then fell down on the ground and started to spasm, Jane was down next to him crying and trying to do anything to help.

"Get back, now!" Emmett yelled at Jane. "He's turning!" but Jane wouldn't move as she kept talking to George and trying to help him. "Look away," Emmett said to Alexis, as he started towards Jane. He was half way to her when George stopped coughing, then moving, and then he stopped breathing. He just lay there now, dead. Jane had his hand in hers crying and not listening as Emmett kept telling her to get back.

Then George opened his eyes, but they were not his normal brown eyes, these eyes were bloodshot, grey, and lifeless. He let out a moan and started to move his other hand towards Jane. She stopped crying and gasped; all over his skin there were bruises from where his blood veins had busted open. "BACK, NOW!" Emmett yelled at Jane again. This time she listened, she stood up and started to slowly back away from George.

"George honey, are you okay?" she asked him as she backed up past Emmett. George looked at her and growled rising to his feet. Emmett quickly looked back and saw Alexis was watching from the truck.

“I said to look away!” Emmett told his daughter. He turned back to the undead George, just as he started to lunge forward. He was stopped mid-lunge and the muzzle of Emmett's gun flashed, the bullet tearing through his head. George's head jerked back and he fell backwards, rolling down into the bottom of the ditch.

"NO!" Jane screamed and she tried to run to him, but Emmett grabbed a hold of her. “You b*****d!” She yelled hitting Emmett trying to get loose.

"Alexis, come get your mom and get her back into the truck now." Emmett said in a stern voice as he handed Jane to Alexis, then he went down into the ditch. The second gunshot could be heard over Jane’s screams for he husband. Emmett rolled George over with his foot, there were two holes in his head and he was missing half his face. "Just like that," Emmett said as he turned around and headed back to the truck. He got in and started the truck, speeding off down the road again with one less passenger.

"Are we safe now? Are we going to a big city where there isn't this… thing?" Alexis asked. Jane was in the back seat her head in her hands, crying.

"No, we're going north. It won't be long before this spreads to the bigger cities." Emmett said as he topped out at 80 mph, heading towards the interstate. They had passed no one on the road as they hit the interstate one hour later. Now they started to see cars on the interstate. Emmett turned on the radio, and a news broadcast came on.

"We still haven't heard anything from Hill City. It seems like they have just disappeared. The officials think it's just a power outage, but none of the patrols they have sent there have returned. Our reporter has also not checked in since we sent her there. It doesn't look good after all the killings in the area in the past week. We are expecting the worst-" The broadcast was cut off as Emmett changed it to a country station.

"Dad what's going on?" Alexis asked in a worried voice. Jane had stopped crying and was now looking out the window with a blank expression.

"Something really bad honey and it's just beginning."­­

 

Author's Note

Rough Draft: Subject to change. I am trying to better my writing so I love constructive criticism!

Reviews

[Decanter Red]

Woohoo! More doses of action woooo! Again, you swept me off guard *review tools falling all over the floor* so I'm just reading this, reading this and reading this for a fun rush. And you added a daughter in this one! It's so sweet....

It's very resident evil 6, if you played the leon kennedy campaign you know what im talking about ;)

[Joshua Hunter]

Thanks, and yeah I have played a lot of zombie games (mainly resident evil 4 &5, left for dead 1 & 2) watched the Walking Dead and a lot of movie. so I love them and they make great tools for good stories! Thanks so much glad I can wow!

[Decanter Red]

You're welcome!

[Krystle Lewallen]

This was a lot of fun to read. I don't know what it is but I have always liked the Zombie movies. I have never read a Zombie book, so yours would be my first, but its just like watching a movie. I can say that because the way you describe things, I can see it in my mind. I have read so many things on here that are non descriptive. Being the reader I can't picture your world in my head I need a description and you deliver on that.

The beginning was a little difficult for me to keep up with because I know nothing about guns and you obviously do. After I read that third paragraph I was just like, "Ok, so he had a lot of guns." Haha. Typical women right. But I really love the way you describe things when I do understand them.

When you transition into sentences you use the word 'He' a lot. It starts to sound repetitive, try smoothing them out a bit. For instance,

He had messy black hair, brown eyes, a scar on his left cheek, and features like a hawk. Standing 6'2" he had an athletic muscular build; you could tell he worked out often and was in great shape. Looking at him you wouldn't guess that he was 37 years old.

I don't know it was sounding like a list too me. There were a few spots that sounded this way. I would try moving the words around, not necessarily taking out the 'he' so it sounds smoother.

There were a couple of "Back now." from Emmett and it ran together. It didn't sound right reading it. But if you put a comma in, "Back, now.", Back, NOW!" to emphasize a slight pause it would read better.

Emmett seems like a bad a*s so when there are no cars around I picture him going as fast as his massive fortress of a truck will let him. Especially with the undead around. 60 doesn't sound fast enough for Emmett.

Overall, it's fantastic. I think you have turned me on to Zombie books I may have to pick one up. Well done! I'll be reading more.

[Joshua Hunter]

Thanks so much for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed it! This has got to be one of my favorite reviews I have got to date as you took the time to write a great list on things that I could improve on! I agree with everything you said and have already fixed the MPH and "Back, Now" parts. I notice the "he" a lot too and will work on that in the future. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and give a great review!

[Katiya K]

Yes!! Finally, a zombie story where someone actually realizes they're in a zombie apocalypse. I really enjoyed this prologue. It had plenty of great detail and direction. The introduction was pretty realistic as well. There were a few grammatical errors but that's it. Over all, I can't wait for the next chapter. It's quite interesting!

[Joshua Hunter]

Thanks! Yeah I have a friend reading it and they are suppose to get back to me with some grammar changes before I put it up, but they took too long so i decided to put it up anyway. and Part 2 is up and working on getting Part 3 corrected and put up!