Zombie Theorem (Book 3): The End Game Read online

  Zombie

  Theorem

  The End Game

  Book 3

  By: James Wallace

  Dedicated to my kids Tess and Bubba (Not real names Duh!). These two trouble makers give me a reason to wake up every morning, drink coffee, and continue with this life. I love you guys!

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  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment upon purchase. This eBook may not be traded or sold to other people. If you want to share this book with others, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this but did not purchase it, please return it to where you got it from. Thanks respecting this author’s work.

  Please don’t forget to leave a review! Authors rely on you, the reader, to help widen their audience through word of mouth and feedback. Getting stars and good reviews help us on our way.

  Thank you for reading!

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  Thank you to the following, whom without I would never have published these fabulous tales of Dan and his merry marauders. Tanay Williams, my best friend, I can’t live without her (No really!). The Allen brother’s Will and M.C., Mike Evans, Ricky Fleet (My Daisy), Laura and Josh Jarvis, my editor the great Sabrina Jean (FastTrack Editing), Chase P Weggeland (My awesome book cover and tattoo artist!), Bobby Akart, Thomas and Tina Watson and all my friends on Facebook. To my Beta Readers Leslie Bryant (Momma), Jon Spielman (The mad American German), William Beedie (Kilt wearing Scotsman) and Denise Keef. thank you for all your help, support, and kind words. And I cannot forget my friend Christy Thornbrugh.

  And last but not least Malleus Publishing!

  Come friend me at

  Author James Wallace on Facebook

  You can contact the Author by emailing him at: [email protected]

  © 2016 James Wallace, All Rights Reserved.

  Table of contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 1

  I woke up sitting in a fishing boat, the kind you find in Florida that take you out fishing for marlin. I looked down at my body and found myself dressed in tan cargo shorts and a silk Hawaiian floral-type shirt. A can of beer in one hand.

  I looked out to the horizon and saw a coast line with a mountain so high that the top disappeared into a cloud bank. The shore covered in sand that shined a bright white with the sun rays shining down on it. Palm trees provided shade for resort-style chaise lounges lining the beach. The boat rocked lightly in the waves. I closed my eyes and felt at peace, lifting my face up to the sun and feeling its heat, warming me before a cool breeze lifted up and blew across my forehead, cooling me back down. I took a drink of my beer and enjoyed the cool liquid flowing down my throat. The taste was heavenly, best beer I had ever had.

  A female’s voice interrupted my rest. “Dan.”

  I sighed heavily at the intrusion. I pasted a smile onto my face and opened my eyes. Her beauty almost broke a sob from my chest. She was Greek goddess kind of beautiful. The Goddess Venus would look like a common street beggar next to this woman. She was in her early twenties, if I was a judge at all of age. Parts of her body were barely covered by a thin white cotton sun dress, her skin that showed was bronze tanned, her curves suggested natural beauty. Her full pouty red lips parted slightly as she smiled. Her eyes matched the blue of the water and sky. Her gold-spun hair had sparkles in it that at first, I thought was glitter till I looked closer. The glitter, reminded me of stars, the way they would twinkle in the night sky. Then it came to me, her hair was interlaced with galaxies, swirling through the strands.

  I was speechless from her beauty. She let out a little giggle which reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t place it. “It’s not your time yet, Dan. You have so much more left to do, before you spend the rest of eternity here.”

  “Wait what do you mean? I’m not allowed to enter paradise? Have I not sacrificed enough?” I was confused.

  “Dan, you have sacrificed much that is true, but others rely on you, back on Man’s plane of existence. Julie even now, begs to the Gods to bring you back to her.” The woman’s voice was melodious and full of assuredness.

  The name Julie brought a picture to my mind of a woman full of curves, holding a gun, her soft brown hair tied up in a ponytail. “Julie.” When I said her name, everything came flooding back. The zombies, Ridder, the battle, and the loss of my Angel. My chest hitched and pain seared through me. I looked down and saw my outfit had been replaced with the BDUs and armor I had been wearing. Blood seeped through three holes in my chest and abdomen. I looked up at the woman, she had a small smile on her lips.

  She came forward and spoke to me in a whisper, near my ear. “Angel may have left her mortal body behind but she will always be with you. Now this is going to hurt a little.” She kissed my cheek and placed her right pointer fingertip to my forehead and I was sucked backward. I watched as I was flung away from paradise. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again I was staring at a ceiling. My chest and stomach hurt with every breath I took. I heard a sob next to me, then felt a warm hand holding mine. I moved my head slightly in that direction. What I saw, almost broke my heart.

  Julie sitting on a wooden dining chair, her head lying on her forearm as she held my hand. Tears flowed from her. I looked away from her and saw Brian slumped on an old couch mouth open and a small snore breaking the silence. The rest of the room was covered in men, ranging from SWAT, to Delta to people I did not recognize. It was my Dad, standing against the kitchen door-frame and smiling at me, who was the first to realize that I was awake. Tears rolled down my cheeks unabashedly.

  He wiped some tears from his eyes with an old monogrammed white hankie that he always carried. The monogram was that of my initials but belonged to the man who my father had called ‘father’. I gave him a weak smile and turned my head back to Julie. She raised her head and wiped the tears from her face before she opened her eyes and looked deep into my own. She gasped and then yelled “He’s awake!”

  She stood so abruptly that she knocked her chair to the ground, and threw her other arm around me. I almost cried out in pain, but I would not show that pain, I would swallow and choke on it before showing her that she’d hurt me. She kissed my face over and over again till she finally landed one on my lips. Her tears exploded again and soaked my face. She raised her head and used the tissue in her hand to dry my face of her tears.

  I heard Brian’s voice. “Welcome back, brother. You were missed.” I raised my left hand and he took it with a gentleness I hadn’t expected from him.

  “I wouldn’t go far. If I did, who would keep you from stripping naked and going full Sasquatch, and getting lost in the woods?” He laughed and I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from laughing. My chest felt on fire.

  “Everyone move, let me look at him.” Julie and Brian moved back and I saw Apache move forward and looked down at me. “I don’t know how you are alive, you lost so much blood. Then, I had my hands inside you, removing bullets.” She got quiet and looked down at me. “I didn’t think you’d make it.”

  “So that’s why I feel like a puppet. You had your hands inside me.” I gave her a weak smile. “Thank you for all you did, Apache. My Indian Princess.

  She returned my weak smile. “You are most welcome, dumb, ugly, pale faced, white man.” She then did something that I was not prepared for. Her eyes broke with tears. She bent over and kissed my forehead. “I’d miss you a lot if you died again.�
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  “Wait, I am sorry, died again, you say? How many times have I died?” I asked in shock and awe.

  “You died once outside, and twice on the table, while I worked on you. I thought I was gonna lose you again last night but somehow, your heart wouldn’t stop beating.” she said.

  “Holy shit! I died three times?” I shook my head side to side slowly. Then, a thought came to me. “What about Angel, where is she?”

  The room became quiet and still as no one moved or spoke. Fresh tears spilled from my eyes as the understanding of what they weren’t saying dawned on me. I tried to hold the sobs in, due to the pain they caused me physically. But I was a failure, on that front. Apache disappeared when she saw the pain on my face and quickly came back with a syringe. “You need to sleep Dan. We will be here when you wake again.” She inserted the syringe into an IV, I finally noticed, sitting on a coat rack above my head.

  I tried to say goodnight, but my eyes beat me and closed with a slam. I was out. Then, those damn dreams came back. I found myself sitting on a bench, overlooking the ocean. I knew I was somewhere in Oregon. How you ask? I don’t know just a feeling. A figure sat down next to me, I looked over and saw a tired-looking Kuppers. He sat with his back against the bench and had his eyes closed, as if trying to recharge his batteries through the sun’s rays.

  He opened his eyes and looked over at me. “The battle is about to begin. Just say the word and we will start the operation.”

  I sighed and reluctantly gave him the go-ahead motion. He got up, hanging his head, but before he walked away, he said, “May the children of tomorrow forgive us for what we are about to do.” Then, he was gone.

  I woke confused from that dream. I laid there, staring up at a ceiling fan and watched it go in slow circles. I’m not in the living room anymore, I thought to myself. I felt a little stronger, less pain. I moved my head and saw Julie, sitting in a more comfortable chair than that wooden one I’d seen her in last. I was wondering where I was. This was not a room I recognized. It was not one of the ones in my Dad’s house. I knew them too well.

  I closed my eyes for a second and reopened them, I’d thought, almost immediately. A man stood there wearing blue scrubs and a facemask, like you saw in the medical TV shows. “Good morning Mr. Welko. My name is Doctor Harmidi.” I could tell he was smiling cause his eyes crinkled and his cheeks bunched up.

  I tried to speak, but only croaked out a single word. The kind doctor brought a straw to my lips and let me take small sip of gloriously cold water. I tried again to speak. “Good morning Doctor.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a Gifford attempted to eat me, decided I tasted like shit and spit me out at a thousand feet up in the air, only to fall on a pile of Legos.” I said.

  “Ah yes, I heard you considered yourself a stand-up comedian. Damn Legos do hurt, though when you step on them, don’t they?”

  “I don’t know about stand-up, but I have my moments. Tell me Doc, where am I? And what is my prognosis? Will the baby be ok?” I said with a straight face. He shook his head and looked across from me to someone else in the room. I turned my head, and saw Julie and Apache standing there. I smiled at them. “Well, Doc, if you’d told me I had an audience, I would’ve tried to be funnier.” The ladies crossed their arms and sighed as if they’d practiced that movement.

  “Mr. Welko, Apache here did a pretty good job at removing the two rounds from your chest and the one from your abdomen. Then she did her best to keep you from infection. You are on Mountain Home Air Force Base, in southern Idaho. You have been here for almost two weeks. I’ve had you in a chemically induced coma, to allow your body to repair itself. You are doing really quite well, and I suspect you can leave soon, but you’ll be in a wheel chair for a little while. Silver lining, though I think you will make a complete recovery. Your armor slowed down the bullets, but that also caused them to tumble. They must’ve been 7.62 NATO rounds, to punch through the armor you were wearing. If you’re hungry enough to eat I’ll send up some beef broth.”

  “You know; I think I could eat. Thanks Doc.”

  “You’re very welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.” He stepped around the bed and stopped at the door. “No letting him dance, ladies.” He chuckled at his poor joke and left.

  Julie and Apache laughed at the Doctor, and came over to my bedside. Julie took my hand and rubbed my fingers. They both smiled down at me. “Look I know Angel is gone, but can you guys tell me what exactly happened? I am having problems remembering everything.”

  Julie’s eyes teared up and she had to dab at her eyes with the cuffs of her sweater. “Angel heard that the other soldiers had arrived and she assumed all fighting was over. She broke from Mrs. Kellens’ hold and ran upstairs and out the front door. She really wanted to see you. She jumped into your arms, after yelling out your name. There ended up being a sniper in the trees waiting to identify you. When she screamed your name and jumped into your arms, he fired. All three rounds passed through her body, still had enough energy to pass through your armor and came to rest in your body. You somehow had the strength to keep holding her. I, uhm, caught you when your legs buckled and your father helped me take you to the ground, while Cupcake and Apache took out the sniper. Apache then took Angel from you and rushed her inside and worked on her. You died in my arms, Brian arrived ripped you from my arms and performed CPR on you till he got your heart beating again. He carried you like you were nothing more than a child into the house. We made an improvised hospital bed for you on the dining room table.” Julie at this point broke into small hitching sobs and couldn’t continue.

  Apache led her to a nearby chair and continued the story where Julie left off. “I wasn’t able to bring Angel back after working on her, the damage was just too much to fix. I tore your armor off and got to work, with all of the hospital equipment we’d taken from the emergency room. I inserted an IV of saline, injected a set of antibiotics and swabbed your chest and stomach with iodine. Then, with the help of Sharla, dug around in-side you to remove the rounds. I got them all and was able to bring your bleeding under control. But you then went into cardiac arrest. I performed CPR till our AED or Automated External Defibrillator charged, then shocked your heart back to life. I thought we had you stabilized but six hours later your heart decided to stop working again. So I ended up shocking you another two times. Since then, you have stabilized.”

  Julie picked up the story from there. “One of the officers that led our rescue force called the General and explained to him what had happened. He authorized a flight of Chinooks and two Apache helicopters to fly in from Sacramento and rescue you. He then had to hide you in a protected, out of the way base. Once he heard that Hills was clear of infection and the commander of the base was a friend, he ordered the team to come here. Doctor Harmidi worked on you for a while and decided that a medically induced coma was best to stabilize you.”

  “What did you do with Angel’s body?” I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

  “Your father buried her on the farm. He didn’t tell us where. He wrapped her in some lace and canvas he’d had in the basement, tied her and some shovels on his ATV and left. When he came back four hours later, he was covered in dirt and had a solemn look on his face. He said she would not be alone where he’d laid her to rest.”

  I cried fresh tears. “I know where he buried her. Dad had started a family cemetery near a stream in the forested part of his property. It’s where he buried Mom. He must’ve buried Angel next to her, so Mom would protect her.”

  Apache started crying next, and the two hugged for support. “Where is the rest of the team?”

  “We are all here on base. Kuppers is acting as base commander right now. The guy who had the position before, had a change of heart when he was given different orders from the Secretary of Defense. So we helped him into a new position, one of prisoner. Kuppers should actually be here soon to talk to you.” As Apache said these words, a knock came at the door.r />
  It opened and in strolled the entire team, including my Dad, Delta, and Colonel Phillips. They surrounded the bed and looked down at me. Brian placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled. “Good to see you on this side of the ethereal curtain, Boss.” He spoke in his deep gravelly voice.

  I raised my hand and patted his. “It’s nice to be on this side. Great to see you Brian.”

  Kuppers came forward and shouldered Brian out of the way. “I have something for you, more like some things.” He turned and took the first item that Vic had been carrying. He unfolded a shirt and laid it over my body. I looked down at a military blouse. Brian had explained to me a while back, that in the military they called it a blouse, I, of course laughed saying that only women wore blouses. He’d punched me lightly, at that point, but it still hurt.

  I looked at Kuppers, a little confused. “Cool blouse, I guess since my other clothes were bled on, this is nice. Thanks.”

  Kuppers put on a sneer. “Funny, ass. That is part of your new uniform. I told you a while ago, you were drafted into the military, or did you forget that? Never mind, you have a one track mind and will probably promptly forget this discussion, too.” He turned to Vic and took something else from him. He fiddled with the blouse for a bit, and then smiled down at it. “Welcome to active duty with the U.S. Army, Major Welko.” He straightened up and saluted. The room became a chorus of catcalls and congratulations, then it became serious as each person stood ramrod straight and saluted.

  “Oh crap!” I thundered, then sighed in acceptance and tried my best to salute with an arm full of cords, cables, and IV lines. “Is Major a good rank to hold?”

  Doc laughed the hardest and snorted a little. “For an Officer puke, I guess. Just means instead of getting coffee for the Colonel you will tell someone like me to get it.” He then, promptly blew a bubble with his gum.