Serve logo

Z Day Chronicles: Genesis (Pt. 5)

Chapter 5

By Kameron WilliamsPublished 6 years ago 10 min read
Like

As the remaining group watched the cruise liner sail away on the Atlantic, they overheard the Emergency Broadcasting Station on a nearby radio:

"The following message is from the Norfolk Emergency Services Department. The riots are still ongoing. Chesapeake Bay has just finished evacuations. There are no more planned evacuations at this time. Those that are still in Hampton Roads are advised to get to a safe location until further notice. The following message has been from the Norfolk Emergency Management Services Department."

"Dammit!" Dylan shouted. "I knew we should've stayed on that ship!"

"Keep it together, Dylan!" Jake exclaimed. "What we need to do now is find a place to set up shop for tonight. A good place would be somewhere high enough for us to hold our ground without being seen."

"What about the Cape Henry Lighthouse?" Cassandra suggested. "We're not that far from it, and it's high enough to see how bad the riots are."

"Let's go there, then."

With Jake leading the way, the group made their way to the lighthouse, using the buildings and totaled vehicles as cover. They stayed close to the cove, using the sound of the rippling waves to cover the sound of their footsteps. While running by the beach, one rioter snuck up behind them and started attacking Jake, startling the group. Before he could get scratched, Jake reacted quick, pushing the man back and pulling out his knife. The person made a second attempt at Jake. Jake then deflected the man's swings with his knife, swung him around, then started thrusting his knife in the person's back. The man still continued to attack. Jake then pulled out his knife and repeatedly stabbed him.

'Just fall already!' Jake thought.

Realizing there was no use, Jake tackled the man to the ground, and the group started hurrying away from the man and continued onwards.

The lighthouse was in the group's view, but the humanoid figures bunched around close by. The group started to sneak past them when they heard gunshots and screams coming from the bay. Jake peered over the ocean front to see where the noise was coming from. It was the cruise ship that left them behind, now under attack by rioters.

The group just stared in fear as the ship was being overrun. Julio glanced at the ship and saw Selena at the edge of it. She was covered in blood, and her left arm, as well as chunks of her torso, were gone. Before she could jump overboard, five people grabbed her. She started screaming in torment as they sunk their teeth into her skin.

All Julio could do was watch in shock as his girlfriend was being mutilated right before his eyes. As she was slowly dying, she looked ahead and saw him staring at her. Through the pain she went through, she gave him a deep, sympathetic look; the kind of look she would give when she knew Julio was hurting and wanted so badly to comfort him, but wasn't able to. When the rioters pulled her away from the edge of the boat and away from his view, he lost control of himself.

"No!!!!" Julio screamed as he fell to his knees. His screaming and wailing caused attention, drawing the others that were near the lighthouse towards the group.

“Move, now!!” Jake yelled as he began shooting.

While Jake gave covering fire, Cassandra and Dylan ran to the lighthouse entrance, with Dylan holding on to a now broken Julio, who was struggling to run while hysterically weeping. When Jake realized that the people he shot at weren't hitting the floor, he followed the group into the lighthouse and locked the door with the deadbolt installed on it. Once inside the building, Julio stopped for a moment and rested up against the wall, still moaning in agony.

"We can't stop, bro," Dylan urged as he grabbed Julio. "We gotta keep going!"

"I can't go on anymore!" Julio replied.

"I know you're hurting! Let's at least make it to the top and then we'll be done!"

While wiping his eyes, Julio nodded and followed Dylan. The group made their way up to the top of the lighthouse where Jake met face-to-face with the light keeper, now a bloody decomposed figure. He started attacking, and Jake deflected his blows and opened fire. Like the others, the light keeper wouldn’t budge. Jake pushed him back and kicked him out of a glass window. The man's neck snapped when he hit the ground.

Jake checked to make sure there was nobody else at the top of the lighthouse. Once everyone was up there, he closed the door to the winding staircase and locked it. Once they were finally able to wind down, Cassandra and Dylan unpacked the blankets and food. Julio sat quiet next to the balcony door. Jake pulled out a small radio from his bag, then turned it on to hear some news. Nobody spoke; there was only static. Everyone stayed silent for hours.

Later that night, everyone started chowing down on some canned food they brought with them to the lighthouse; all except Julio, who sat all alone, leaned up against a wall near the balcony.

"Julio," Cassandra started. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Not hungry," Julio mumbled.

Cassandra sat down next to Julio and placed her hand on his shoulder and tears started streaming down her eyes. "I am so sorry about what happened to Selena," she said. "I can't say that enough, knowing how close you two were."

Julio just stared at the floor. "This is it, isn't it? We're all gonna die."

Jake knelt down next to Julio. "Julio, listen to me. We are not going to die. Not you, me, Cassandra, or Dylan. We are going to get through this."

Julio slowly looks up at Jake. "How the hell do you know that, huh?!" He furiously asked. "We all saw what happened at that beach! We all saw what happened on that boat! We all saw what happened to Selena! Hell, we even saw how those... things... were reacting when you shot them! They didn't fall, Jake! And that tells me one of two things: They're already dead, or they should be! The worst thing about it is that we can try to get out of this; but in the end, we're bound to end up just like them!"

With that, Julio stood up and proceeded to walk outside on the balcony. Jake stopped him.

“Julio,” Jake reassured. “I promise you... We’re getting out of here. Trust me on that.”

Julio quivered and his eyes started watering.

“They didn’t fall, Jake,” Julio whispered. “They didn’t fall.”

He nudged Jake's hand off his shoulder as he walked away. He stayed silent on the balcony the rest of the night. Everyone decided to try and get some rest.

Creek! Creek!

Jake woke up to the sound of footsteps creeping around inside the room where he and everyone else was residing in. He slowly lifted his head when the door to the balcony opened. Jake grabbed his pistol and stood up to take a look around. He glanced at the balcony and saw Julio standing on the edge. Julio had a makeshift noose around his neck that was fashioned out of some of his shirts and pants. The noose was tied to the balcony. Once it was tight enough around his neck, he spread his arms outward and proceeded to lean forward.

"No!!" Jake shouted, waking the others up.

Before he could stop Julio, it was too late. Julio had already leaped off the building, with the noose trailing behind him.

Tss! Crick!

His neck snapped the second that the noose reached full tension. The others ran out to the balcony and saw Julio's lifeless body swaying back and forth as it dangled from the balcony.

Dylan started to vomit when seeing Julio twenty feet below the very balcony everyone was standing on. Cassandra had her hands cupped over her mouth, trying desperately not to scream.

“I can't believe Julio just did that," Cassandra whispered.

"We need to move now," Jake replied as he began to pack up. "We can't stay here. Not after what just happened."

"We can't just leave him like that!" Dylan exclaimed.

"We don't have a choice! There’s nothing we can do. Those things may have heard all of us, which means it won't be too long before we're trapped in this lighthouse."

As everyone quickly packed up all of their supplies, Dylan turned on the radio so the group could find out anything new about what was going on. Static was still heard from the radio. Before Dylan could turn it off, however, a man finally spoke:

"Good morning. This is Buck Sexton of America Now on WNIS Norfolk, reporting live on AM790 with a heavy heart. To all the survivors in the Hampton Roads area, and to all of the other survivors that are tuned in to this station: We have just received word that the state of Virginia is not the only place affected by this occurrence. There are reports coming in from the majority of the U.S., Europe, Asia, and other Third World countries. It appears that we are experiencing what many are calling, 'The End of Times.' I can honestly say that this may be the darkest day in global history. There are military bases that are taking in refugees and survivors. All of us remaining here at WNIS Norfolk strongly urge that you head to the nearest outpost as soon as possible. We are going to sign off, as this may be our final broadcast. Please, get to safety as quick as possible. Good luck and God be with us all."

"Julio was right," Dylan replied. "This is it."

"This is not it," Jake stated. "We can still fight through this."

"How, Jake?!"

"For starters," Jake answered. "We can make our way to the Norfolk Naval Base, since that's the closest outpost. They have plenty of food and supplies, they have choppers fueled and ready to go all the time, and I know that base like the back of my hand. We'll be safe there."

Jake and the rest of the group packed up their supplies and looked around, making sure there weren’t any more rioters. Once the coast was clear, everyone hurried out of the lighthouse. They made their way through an alleyway where they were met by seven bloodied figures trotting towards them. Jake led Cassandra and Dylan to another route, where they were intercepted by more people. Jake and the group were close to the naval base, but they had to go through a handful of rioters. The three of them were finally surrounded. Jake reloaded his pistol with haste.

Pow! Thp! They didn't fall.

Pow! Thp! They were getting closer.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Click! Jake was out of ammo, and they were not hitting the floor. Jake pulled out his knife, ready to charge.

Pow! Thp! Thud!

A bullet flew by Jake's ear and hit one of the rioters between the eyes and he hit the floor. Jake turned around to see soldiers armed in full gear. He, Cassandra, and Dylan quickly dropped to the floor as bullets started flying. One by one, an attacker fell to the ground until all were dead.

Once that brief battle was over, one soldier walked up to Jake. He was a middle-aged man with a rough, clean-shaved face. The outfit he wore was that of a Navy SEAL's. The man outstretched his hand to help Jake up.

"Petty Officer Riley," the man greeted.

Jake immediately recognized the sailor when they shook hands. "Lieutenant Miller."

“Negative, Riley,” Miller replied. “Commander.”

navy
Like

About the Creator

Kameron Williams

Writer, farmer, musician, and a firefighter. That's the gist. I write fiction novels, so my stories will be one chapter of each book I write. Also very opinionated, so I may write blogs on here or random things. Oooh, tacos.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.