Surviving Earth: Makayla's Journey Continued Read online

  COPYRIGHT

  Text copyright © 2017 Cora A. Murray

  ASIN #

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the ebook from one of its many distributors.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Cover design by Amanda Walker

  Prologue

  Back on the road, but this time my bestie sits by my side. Even though I was the one who suggested leaving the safety of the house and lab, I was the one worried about that decision. Makayla sits in the driver’s seat silent as the miles fly by us. Gage sleeps in the back. I'd gotten Mak out of the house with the hope of finding Logan, but God only knows where that man disappeared to. Makayla has been my best friend for as long as I can remember, she dragged me out to those survival lessons with her dad as soon as we met, thank God, because without those I would have died when the world changed.

  The day the Earth opened, I lost my sister and all hope for survival. When Amy, Nikki, and I ran, I never thought we'd find Mak, but here I sit beside her, her eyes trained on the road in front of us. "Mak, where do you think we should go first?" I ask.

  "I'm thinking we should head up into Canada, see how severely they are affected by the virus,” she says glancing into the back seat.

  "Sounds good to me, maybe we'll find more survivors,” I say.

  Two weeks has passed and we are still on the road heading north, staying at run-down homes and many places that aren't suitable for anyone. Our supplies are dwindling down to nothing rapidly. We need to be on the lookout for more. With freshies coming out during the day now, stopping was dangerous.

  Hearing gunshots, Mak pulls over into some shaded trees. "You and Gage stay here. I'll go check it out." She jumps down from the truck seat.

  "I don't like this Makayla Anne!" I yell after her, but she has already disappeared into the trees. Throwing my hands over my head, I just want to cuss at her willingness to put herself in danger all the time.

  Chapter One

  Once again, humanity keeps letting me down. As I walk down the road, I stay near the brush and keep an eye on my surroundings for both freshies and people alike. I come upon the bodies of four women, each naked and beaten beyond recognition. The final blow is a gunshot wound to their temple. Scanning the area quickly, I don’t see any movement or hear any noises, but I know the scent of the bodies will draw out all the zombies in the area. I want to bury them, they deserve to be buried, but I didn't bring a shovel and I know the freshies will be on them before I can get back with one. I lift my head and look around for any possible dangers and seeing none, I move out. As I walk away from the women, it breaks another piece of my heart, leaving them in the open for zombies to snack on isn't something I can wrap my brain around.

  Someone screams to my left and I jerk my head in the direction of the screaming. My dad’s sawed off shotgun is aimed and ready to be unloaded on someone or something.

  "Help me please, someone help,” A female voice pleads from inside the deeper brush.

  I know this can be a trap, the same trap that caused the death of the four women. I think back to my training with my dad, and move into the brush slowly, watching each step so I don’t make any noise. A limb snaps to my left and I spin around to see what caused it. A female freshie stands within ten feet of me, her lower jaw completely missing. She is close to the zombie stage, since she is unable to eat. I slide my katana from the sheath at my hip, slicing her head from her body. She falls to the side, her blood already turning to a goopy brown of a decaying zombie, the smell of death and rot emits from her body and has vomit raising up my throat.

  Moving further into the brush, I crouch when I hear voices.

  "Scream again. Get whoever is out here to come find you. You don't want to end up like your friends, do you?” A male voice chuckles.

  "John, shhh, we heard something over there. Do you want one of us to check it out?" another male voice chimes in.

  "Yeah, Ben go on in and see what it was,” the first voice murmurs.

  A few minutes later the one named Ben shouts out, "There's a fresh kill over here. Someone cut the head clean off!"

  "Damn Bennie, be quiet." The one I think is the boss yells back.

  I crouch down lower as one of them walks right by my side. I could take his head off if I knew how many waited beyond the veil of thick brush. Sneaking closer I spy three men sitting in a clearing. A woman lays in the center, naked and beaten. Blood streams from a wound on her head. Bright red blood pours from her head wound discoloring her blond hair.

  As I stare, one of the men roughly yanks the woman's hair. "Come on, honey, let's go have some more fun."

  "No, please,” she whimpers. He pulls her into the brush opposite of where I sit.

  The woman's pleas and cries tear at my heart. My heart pounds as I shove my way through the thick brush and come face to face with the scum that killed the women I found earlier. Each disgusting man stands as I enter the clearing. The blood of the innocent covers their clothing. As the men leer at my body, goosebumps break out on my arms. One rushes toward me, but I raise my dad’s shotgun and blow a hole into his chest. The other two scramble to their feet with mouths agape as their friend falls to the ground in a bloody heap. I reload the shotgun and shoot each one as I walk by, each too stunned by my actions to put up any sort of fight. The man who attacked the poor woman, rushes out of the brush, his gun raised, and his pants around his ankles. My gun leaves him no quarter as I shoot him straight through the heart. He's fortunate I didn't shoot his dick off first.

  I wait in the clearing for just a second or two before I walk into the brush. After a minute, I come upon the woman and lean down to check for a pulse. Finding a steady, albeit a weak one, I gently shake her, hoping I don't have to carry her.

  Her eyes flutter open, a scream on her lips, but before she has the chance I whisper, "Shhh, they're gone, no one is going to hurt you anymore." Sliding the gun into place at my back, I help her off the ground. The blood at her temple still flows and needs immediate attention.

  "My, my friends?" She stutters.

  "I'm so sorry I couldn't help them. I was too late,” I tell her, sadness still gripping at my heart. Her tears turn to sobs and I know the noise will soon attract any freshies in the area. Trying to distract her as best as I can, I start walking faster toward the safety of the truck. Out of the brush, I look up and wave for Clara to drive over.

  The roar of the truck pulling up beside us shakes the woman from her misery. "Are, are, they safe?"

  "Yes, that's my best friend Clara, the young man in the back is Gage and I'm Makayla or Mak to my friends."

  Looking down at herself, the woman takes notice of her unclothed body for the first time. Clutching a hand over her breasts and a hand over her womanhood, I see the panic in her eyes.

  "I can't be seen like this,” she mumbles.

  Laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, I guide her to the rear of the truck, where she's out of Gage's eyesight. I jump into the back and throw her a shirt and jeans.

  "Thank you,” she says as she quickly dresses.

  I grab the few medical supplies we own and lower the tailgate. "I need to check that cut
on your head." I sit down next to her and hear the truck doors open and close. Clara and Gage are standing off to the side. I don't miss the speculating look in Clara's eyes. I lift a hand to pause any thoughts she may have. “It's okay. Everything is taken care of."

  "And who’s this?" she asks.

  "I'm so sorry. My name is Sarah. Those, those men took me and my, my friends from where we thought was safe." She softly whimpers.

  I squeeze her shoulder "You're safe now. You have us."

  Sarah turned to Clara and Gage. "Thank you for rescuing me. I wish you could have happened on us sooner, before…before my friends." She stops as agony flashes across her face at the thought of her friends’ deaths.

  Once I load everything back into the truck, I hold the door open for Sarah, who still wears a blank expression yet follows my directions aimlessly. After closing the rear doors of the truck, I go to jump in the driver’s side, but Clara grabs my arm.

  "What happened out there?" she asks.

  "The same shit we face daily. Bad men, murder, and a freshie." Shaking my head, I jump in the truck. Clara climbs in beside me and we're off again.

  Several hours later as we enter a run-down town, the truck starts making noises and backfiring. This is definitely not good, I think to myself. Pulling to the side of the road, I shake Clara waking her and once she realizes we stopped, she stares wide-eyed ahead of us.

  “What, what's going on?” She asks drowsily.

  "I don't know the truck just started making noises." Opening the door, I hastily look around the clearing. There was no sign of movement. "Clara, I'm going to need you to keep an eye out while I check the truck."

  A sleepy Clara steps from the truck, a nine-millimeter at her side. Clearing her eyes with the back of her hand, she stomps toward the hood of the truck. "What the hell will we do if you can't fix it?" I hear the fright in her voice.

  "I'm not sure." I lean over the engine, not allowing myself to freak out over having Gage in the open. I know I can protect him, but for him to have to walk in the open scares the hell out of me. I want to yell and tell Clara to go sit her sleepy ass back in the truck, but I need cover.

  I run a hand over each of the belts and notice the timing belt is loose. "We may be in trouble if I can't adjust this belt." I move to the rear of the truck and withdraw what tools we have available. I hear a moan and glance up to see three freshies watching my every move from the field across the road, as I continue to gather the tools they start to amble toward me and the truck. A scream causes me to jump. I see Sarah, who has stepped out of the truck with her back against it. She turns and runs. Roaring in anger, I run after her, grabbing her by the shoulder. I turn her around and she screams in my face.

  "Shh. Do you want to call out more of those things?" I whisper, trying to calm her down. She continues to scream, her arms flapping at her sides. Sarah is in full panic mode. I raise my hand and slap her across the cheek. She jerks away and takes off running to God knows where.

  All that surrounds us are open fields and decaying houses that have almost collapsed. I watch in horror as Sarah runs into the closest house not caring to examine it for zombies or other survivors. I drop the tools and take off after her. Three shots ring out into the night behind me, and when I turn around I see Clara shooting the freshies that have walked closer. Damn, that noise will call out to all the rest in the area. “Clara, go wake Gage. You two get prepared for more freshies.” I yell.

  I race to the dilapidated house that Sarah ran into. Her screams have gotten significantly louder. When I reach the hovel, I slide my katana out of its sheath at my hip and walk on the balls of my feet as I peer into the darkness. Sarah stands by the back wall, surrounded by zombies in all state of rot. Some have just turned from being a freshie, others are falling to pieces, and two don't even have lower jaws, but they are still fighting for their piece of flesh. Brown pus-filled blood dripped from every orifice, their movements slow and jerky as they reach out to her. Her screams magnify as one bites into her arm, pulling her down to the ground. Stunned I watch as another bites into her leg. Quickly shaking my head I come out of stupor.

  "Save me, don't let me die this way!" she screams, hitting and punching at the zombies. Blood forms into a puddle around her. I am left with only one option now that she's been bitten and I inhale the coppery sweet scent of blood. I'll have to end her life before she turns into a freshie.

  I slip the katana back in its place at my hip and draw my dad’s Glock firing into the midst of the zombies. Some fall over, others continue eating their meal of fresh meat. Sarah's cries have stopped altogether and I know she is beyond all hope of saving. I finish off the greedy zombies with a kill shot to their heads. I am afraid to look upon her body. I don't want to see what the zombies have left behind, but I know it is my job to make sure she won't be coming back as one of them.

  Her intestines, liver, and stomach lay scattered across the small space where she'd been taken down. Her left arm is gnawed to the bone, as are her lower extremities. Raising my gun, I put a bullet between her sightless eyes making certain she won't return as a freshie.

  Walking from the house, I search for Clara and Gage and see them standing beside the truck, watching the fields that are around us. I won't tell them about the pain that Sarah endured. All they need to know is that she ran away.

  Chapter Two

  Once I reach the truck, I get started repairing the timing belt. Clara stands beside me and I can feel her watchful eyes as they burn into my back. I know she is loaded with tons of questions, ready to fire them off at will.

  "Mak, what happened to Sarah?" I hear Gage ask, from my other side.

  “She ran away, I couldn't find her.” I hear myself lie. “You know it's not safe out there, that's why I try my best to keep you protected.” I answer softly, as a lone tear travels down my cheek. "Never, and I mean never, run away like she did, do you understand me?" I can hear the irritation in my voice.

  "Yes, Mak, I understand,” Gage says. “Besides, why would I run away, plus you know that I can use a gun,” he says a little too cockily for his own good.

  I smack him over the head lightly. "Really? You think you can take on a horde alone?"

  "No, but I can kill a few before they can get to me,” he says, as his lip trembles..

  Pulling him in for a tight hug, I whisper in his ear to reassure him. "I'll never let a zombie get close to you and that I promise."

  With the timing belt fixed, we get back on the road and this time Clara drives. My head rests against the passenger side window. Thoughts of poor Sarah's last moments keep me company as they repeat over and over in my head. I wonder if I could have done anything more to help her.

  Clara shrieks, forcing me to lift my head.. "Oh. My. God, is that Logan?"

  My heart burns in my chest as I search side to side for the man I love. "Where, Clara?" My nerves take over my entire body as I search every direction with my eyes.

  She points out the window and I see a tall brunet man, his beard has grown, his hair is over-long and shaggy, but he looks like my Logan.

  "Stop, let me out!" I demand, scrambling for the door.

  Pulling over in front of the man, I jump down, racing to his side. I want to draw him in for a hug, but instead I settle on waiting for his first movements.

  A huge grin comes over his face, but a scowl replaces it quickly. "What the hell are you doing here, Makayla?" His voice is cold his eyes flash copper for a split second, then they return to normal.

  "I've been searching this whole godforsaken world for you and other survivors, but since you don't want to see me, I guess I'll leave." I fire back as I turn to leave. My ire raises enough to cut a horde of zombies in half. Before I can walk four steps, Logan reaches out to grab my elbow. Swinging, I strike him across the face. It is his fault for pissing me off.

  Logan’s eyes turn copper and just as quickly they change back to his beautiful brown. "Wait, Mak. I left you because I couldn't control this. I, I, still ca
n't, but it's getting better the longer I stay away from humans. I'm more me than I have been in a while, but why would you seek to find me?" he asks softly.

  Throwing my hands over my head, I stare into the eyes of the man I love dumbfounded. "I love you, Logan. I needed to know that you were okay, and now that I know you are, I guess I'll go." I turn for the truck.

  As I walk I don't turn back to see what Logan is doing. My eyes remain on Clara sitting behind the wheel. Tears flow down my face, but I won't give him the satisfaction of knowing I cry these tears for him. I lift my hand and fly the bird in his general direction. He will never know that he made me cry and I will live on and be stronger for it.

  I climb into the truck. “Drive. There's nothing left here for me." Wiping angrily at the tears, I never look back at Logan as we pass him.

  "What happened? Are you okay?" Clara asks.

  "I'm fine, but he's still the same stubborn ass that left the safe house."

  She grabs my hand and holds it to her side. “You're better off without him, Mak. Don't even stress it."

  Leaning my head against the window my mind drifts to a time before Logan was bitten. A time I thought I had a partner to help me survive this crazy world.

  Sometime later Clara shakes me awake. "Mak, wake up. There's some kind of trouble ahead."

  I clear the sleep from my eyes with the back of my hand. Smoke billows into the sky, cars line each side of the street, some dilapidated with three inches of dust covering them. Glancing around, I realize there is nowhere for us to hide to keep a watch for what is going on. "Pull behind that transfer truck. I want us to stay out of sight the best we can,” I say, still watching the horizon for signs of movement.

  "Mak, don't even think about going out there alone. This is way too dangerous.” Clara stares at me with a stubborn look in her eyes.

  Pushing the door open noiselessly, I look at Clara. "Someone has to check this out and I'm not sending you and Gage out there to do it."