Z-Day Chronicles (Book 2): Rising Up Read online

  “Jaycob Riley,” Tyrese concluded. “Do you understand your verdict that we have discussed?”

  “Yes, I do,” Jake answered.

  “Then on behalf of the council and on behalf of the Temp-Set, I hereby relieve you of the council position of ‘Marshal,’ and hereby decommission you from your service as an active duty member of Z-Corps. You will be taking counseling from newly appointed Presiding Officer Willis once a week for a period of up to three months effective immediately tomorrow.”

  Jake nodded as he accepted the verdict that was given to him.

  “This official meeting has come to a close.” Tyrese said as he banged his canteen on the table, concluding the meeting. “We will be back tomorrow to discuss the matter regarding Private Joseph Boyer and his squad. We will determine if they are fit to be the start to our scouting specialist team. Dismissed.”

  As the observers left the tent, Jake noticed Boris smirking out of the corner of his eye. He kept his head tilted forward, with his view to the floor below him.

  “Jake,” Tyrese uttered as he stepped beside him. “I’m sorry. I wanted to do everything I could.”

  “It’s alright, Tyrese,” Jake reassured. “At least the council is being led by someone that knows what they’re doing.”

  “Hey, if you still need anything, just let me know. I’ll see about putting a word for you to be a civilian volunteer with Kaylee.”

  “Thanks. But as soon as this is all over, I’m gonna come back, because I have a real bad feeling about Boris and Alan.”

  Tyrese nodded as he left the tent. Jake followed not too long afterwards and turned in his weapons and credentials, save for the dog tags around his neck. After waving goodbye to the soldiers and HR-Team Alpha, he left the military border and proceeded to reside in the civilian settlement.

  Entry log: Jaycob Riley

  Day 470:

  Time has passed quite a bit since I became a civilian. I actually thought that the days would seem like weeks, but they don’t. Then again, I’m always staying on my feet. Time flies when you’re busy. I’m volunteering at the military borders thanks to Bryan, who put in a good word for me after a couple of weeks of taking counseling from him.

  That kid that I trained, Joseph, is doing great as well from what I have seen and heard. The council agreed that he and his squad of four should be a scouting team. They agreed on a name to call the scouting group: Shinobi. How convenient. I’m happy for him.

  Since I have been taking counseling from Bryan, I haven’t been getting a lot of nightmares. The ones I have been getting haven’t been as bad as they used to be. I still think about Cassandra all the time, but I’m starting to feel as if I’m moving on. Am I finally letting her go? Am I finally accepting everything? Is this really working?

  Chapter 13

  “So Jake,” Bryan started. “How are you feeling today?”

  “Can’t complain.” Jake responded. “No reason to anyways.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  Jake sat in front of Bryan Willis in a small tent back in the civilian camp, which was settled three miles west of Perry, Florida.

  “I have been reading some of your entry logs that you gave to me,” Bryan said.

  “Yeah,” Jake nodded. “You taking thought into some of those logs?”

  “I am. Judging from its contents from the time we started counseling, you have really improved.”

  “Thank you. It has helped.”

  Bryan grinned at Jake’s satisfaction with the counseling.

  “So, we will be moving again tomorrow,” Bryan continued. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I’m fine with it,” Jake replied. “I had to ride in a Humvee with a couple of others. The only difference now is that I’m riding in a bus. The seats are much different and there are more people. It’s new to me. I was skeptical last time. Not used to it yet, but I’m fine with it.”

  “Change of environment can be unusual. In regards to the settlement, since we all migrate every month. In your case: transitioning from military life to civilian life.”

  “Yeah, it’s gonna be difficult for everyone once we set up a permanent settlement. I think you might be on call twenty-four seven for a while.”

  Bryan chuckled in agreement as he offered Jake a bottle of water.

  “So,” Bryan proceeded. “We have been talking about the events since the beginning of the settlement, the journey you and Brandon and Tyrese embarked on, and we have talked about you being discharged from the Navy. Let’s try to go somewhere else, okay?”

  “Sure,” Jake nodded.

  Bryan cleared his throat up to begin his next topic.

  “So where you when Z-Day began?” Bryan asked.

  Jake thought for a moment, looking back on that day at the graduation party.

  “I was at Chic’s Beach,” Jake began. “Me and Cassandra were going to go to Il Giardino’s for dinner. I was gonna propose to her there in celebration of graduating C.N.U. I forgot all about that graduation party until my buddy Dylan reminded me of it. I wanted to surprise Cassandra, but we ended up going to the beach instead for that party.”

  “So that was the day you proposed to her?” Bryan asked?”

  “Yes it was. I was gonna hold it off, but Dylan wasn’t having that; no way. He literally dragged me to that stage that he and his buddy Julio had set up, then called Cassandra up there, then it was all eyes on us.”

  “Oh wow. I bet that was embarrassing.”

  Jake was laughing as he was reminiscing on that day.

  “It definitely was,” Jake smiled. “But I will say that it was worth it.”

  “What did you do when there were sightings?” Bryan asked.

  “Well I took Cassandra, Dylan, Julio, and his girlfriend, and we stayed at my place for that night, before we took off.”

  Bryan took a sip of his bottle of water before continuing on with the counseling.

  “You never said much about this Julio person,” Bryan continued. “What ever happened to him?”

  “He died not too long after watching his girlfriend get killed. The cruise ship he told her to get on during the evacuation turned out to be overrun by the horde. He lost it; poor fella hung himself that night.”

  Bryan continued to sit with his hands folded and listen to Jake’s soliloquy portraying Z-Day from his point of view.

  “Well,” Bryan said. “We’re just about done here. Anything else you want to add before concluding this portion of counseling?”

  “No there’s not.” Jake answered, pausing for a moment. “Scratch that. There is something I have been holding back for a while. A somewhat fond memory. You’ll probably get a kick out of it.”

  “Do tell.”

  “So it was the night before mine and Cassandra’s first anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend. Dylan wanted a guy’s night out. So we went to Cogan’s in Ghent, had a few beers, then we went to Chic’s Beach. One of his buddies decided to bring a jar of peach cobbler moonshine that his cousin in Kentucky brewed for him.”

  Bryan tried not to grin, wondering where this story was heading to.

  “I do not remember what happened the rest of that night,” Jake continued. “All I remember was the recording from a phone camera showing me running on Lesner Bridge wearing nothing but a paint bucket on my head and a fanny pack around my waist. Why a fanny pack: I have absolutely no clue whatsoever. All I remember of that night was the killer hangover the next day.”

  “Wow,” Bryan laughed. “Did you ever go to jail?”

  “Luckily, no. And Cassandra never found about it until weeks later.”

  Jake and Bryan laughed at that elaborate tale.

  “The worst part about this entire thing,” Jake finished. “Is that her parents came over the next day on our anniversary.”

  “Wow!” Bryan gasped.

  “It was enough to try and hide it from Cassandra. I had to hide that from her parents as well.”

  “That must have been really awkw
ard. I bet Cassandra was really upset when she found out.”

  “She was pretty pissed,” Jake nodded. “Not at me as much because she knew I learned my lesson after that hangover and the humiliation that followed.”

  With that story being concluded, Bryan shook Jake’s hand, leaving the tent with a huge grin on his face, trying not to laugh too hard. Jake followed behind, heading to his tent in the civilian camp.

  Dinner time came around. Everyone at the camp grabbed their rations from the trailer. Jake grabbed his fill on a small can of baked beans and a bottle water. He opened his can and ate and cupped the rim against his lips, slowly indulging on the sweet, smoky, and tangy sauce, followed by the beans it covered.

  Jake noticed Kaylee in the distance sitting alone, while others sat and socialized with their friends or families; as if everyone was in a high school cafeteria. Jake decided to leave his tent and head over to Kaylee.

  “Hey, Kaylee,” Jake started. “You look like you could use some company. Mind if I sit down?”

  Kaylee nodded and motioned to Jake, offering him a patch of grass across from her to sit on.

  “I never did ask you,” Jake continued. “What part of Ireland are you from? I woulda asked earlier, but I had a lot going on.”

  “Doolin,” Kaylee answered, eating her can of chicken noodle soup. “In County Claire, which was the western part of Ireland. Not far from the Cliffs of Moher.”

  “I think I heard about my great-grandpa talking about those cliffs when I was younger.”

  “Your great-grandfather was Irish?”

  Jake nodded, sipping out of his can.

  “On my dad’s side of the family,” Jake answered. “But my great-grandpa on my mom’s side of the family was Scottish.”

  “Oh boy,” Kaylee giggled.

  “And they were both very patriotic for their country.”

  “Well of course. Though, I bet it was fun controlling those two whenever they got together at family reunions.”

  Jake chuckled in agreement as they continued to eat their meals.

  “So what brought you here to America?” Jake asked. “Before all this mess?”

  “I wanted to be a teacher,” Kaylee responded. “I wanted to teach history. And I never been to America before, so I wanted to go to college over here. So, on my nineteenth birthday, my aunt gave me tickets to Alabama and enough money to cover the entire first year at their university. I have no idea how she was able to get that kind of money; I think she mentioned something about a cousin helping out. So I went to college at the University of Alabama, where you and Kyle found me.”

  “You ever meet your cousin?”

  “Sadly, no. This all started a week after landing here in the States.”

  Jake finished his can of beans, then took a swig from his bottle of water.

  “Well who knows,” Jake reassured. “Once we find a permanent place to settle, you might just be able to teach history.”

  “I’m not giving up on that,” Kaylee agreed. “I have faith that everything will be alright.”

  Jake took another swig of water, preparing to change the subject.

  “Can I ask you something?” Jake started. “About your beliefs?”

  “Sure,” Kaylee sighed. “If there is a hint of bashing in this conversation...”

  “No bashing; promise. I just gotta know: why?”

  “What do you mean ‘Why?’”

  Jake gathered his thoughts together on what to say, in regards to Kaylee’s perseverance with her Faith.

  “After all that’s going on,” Jake proceeded. “And with a lot of people against you, why do you still keep holding on? A lot of people that were religious gave up, but not you.”

  “Because I know God is worth it,” Kaylee answered. “I look around and tell myself, ‘This is only temporary.’ As hard as all of this is, it will soon come to pass. Like how you and everyone has hope that there is a safe haven to head to; I have hope in the existence of something even greater than what this life has to offer.”

  Jake nodded, agreeing with what Kaylee was saying, even if he disagreed with what she believed in.

  “I don’t have all the answers, Jake” Kaylee finished. “But even if I have no answers, I have hope regardless.”

  Jake stayed until Kaylee finished her soup, then stood up and left to his tent to retire for the night. As he lied on his pallet, he thought of that talk that he and Kaylee had. He began to contemplate on that conversation until his eyes grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 14

  As the sun began rising over the tree lines, Jake could hear the soldiers packing up in the distance, preparing for their next migration. He sat up, slipped on his denim jeans and white t-shirt, packing his bags up to do the same.

  This bag is really light, Jake thought. Much lighter than my bag in the Z-Corps.

  After slipping on his tennis shoes, Jake rolled up his pallet, stuffing the blankets and pillows between the straps of his pack, then bagged his small tent up. He wrote his name on the labels of both his pack and the bag that carried the tent, then carried both to the trailer where everyone else was placing their bags.

  After Jake gave his bags to the soldiers in charge, he went and grabbed a can of breakfast.

  Can of peaches. Not a bad pick.

  Jake quickly finished up his fruit, then headed over to the military outpost. This time he had to wear a card around his neck with the word Volunteer etched into it before entering the outpost. As he entered, Jake saw the place completely cleaned out, save for the soldiers loading up on their buses, vans, helicopters, and Humvees.

  Jake finally caught up with Marshal Tyrese Jones, who was just about to step into one of the Humvees.

  “Hey, Marshal,” Jake said. “We’re not heading East, are we.”

  “Yes we are, Jake,” Tyrese answered. “As soon as we all load up, we’re heading out.”

  “Can’t we just go South instead?”

  “Sorry, Jake. The council agreed last week that we would head eastbound rather than southbound. That and the Shinobi already scouted our next town. Why? What’s up?”

  Jake looked around at the soldiers already leaving.

  “No reason,” Jake answered. “Just go ahead and do your thing.”

  “Alright, bud. Some of the soldiers are already over there now. They cleared the area. We should probably get going.”

  With that, Tyrese stepped on his Humvee with a couple of the other soldiers. Jake headed back to the buses that the other civilians were loading up on. Jake, being the last to get on one of the buses, found a spot near the driver, just a couple of seats in front of Kaylee.

  Kaylee decided to give her spot to someone else and sit next to Jake.

  “Hey, Jake,” Kaylee greeted.

  Jake smiled and nodded, welcoming Kaylee to the seat he sat in. They watched as the bus began to drive away from where they had camped at in Perry, Florida, and the convoy drove eastbound.

  “Hey,” the driver said to one of the survivors up front, striking up a conversation. “Ya hear about this next place we’re headin’?”

  “I think I have,” the survivor responded. “The soldiers were saying something about this town being completely clear; No zombies or anything, like a complete ghost town.”

  “Yeah man. We’ll be able to roam around the town itself. I think there is this one hotel place in the center of town that you guys will be able to bunk down on; beds and all.”

  “I just hope this is a good place for a permanent settlement.”

  “Hear that, Jake?” Kaylee asked, showing a wide grin. “We may have found the place.”

  “Yeah, I heard,” Jake replied, gulping and showing a slight look of disdain.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Of course. I’m fine.”

  Jake turned to her, grinning in hopes of her not recognizing his grim feelings.

  Thirty minutes after being on the highway, the convoy had passed a white church, a doctor’s offic
e, a community center, and a small green sign that read: Mayo City Limits. They had passed the large water tower that was on the right, along with a grocery store that resided on the left, followed by what appeared to be a small strip of buildings that stayed parallel to the main street.

  The convoy of civilian buses parked right under the only stop light in town that was placed above the four way intersection. As everyone stepped off the buses, they looked around their new camp, seeing what looked like a courthouse with a bell tower on it. There was also the corner of the strip of brick building, which had a blue door at the corner itself and a window with what looked like a light sign shaped as a coffee cup. Across from the courthouse and the coffee shop was a small, white gas station, which was already cleared by the Z-Corps.

  Tyrese stood outside, waiting on the civilians.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Tyrese started. “As you can see, this entire town is completely vacant. We will be staying within the city limits, which have been fully cleared by our military. As usual, you are free to roam around within the borders that we set up.”

  Tyrese pointed to what appeared to be a large, white building that appeared to be three stories high. There were many doors around the building itself, signifying that it may have been a motel. The large wooden sign next to it read: Le Chateau de Lafayette.

  “That building right there,” Tyrese continued. “Has a couple of different rooms and beds; so many of you, if not all of you, will be able to reside there comfortably until we decide to migrate to another town if need be. If you are not able to go in there, let one of us know. There are a couple of houses around here that are safe to stay in.”

  Tyrese then turned the crowd’s attention to the courthouse.

  “The council will be at this courthouse,” Tyrese finished. “And all of our supplies will be in the gas station that’s across from us. Feel free to make yourselves at home.”

  With that, everyone grabbed their belongings and proceeded to the chateau. Jake met up with Tyrese before he left to go to the military borders.

  “Hey, Tyrese,” Jake said. “You sure this a good place?”