SUBURBAN JUNGLE: A Post Apocalyptic Zombie Survival Thriller (Chronicles of the Undead: Book 2) Read online

  SUBURBAN JUNGLE

  Chronicles of the Undead: Book 2

  Jaime Hernandez

  Distorted Publishing

  Copyright © 2021 Jaime Hernandez

  Suburban Jungle

  Chronicles of the Undead

  This is a work of fiction by

  Jaime Hernandez

  No portion of this publication may be reproduced,

  copied, stored in any electronic system, or transmitted

  in any form without the expressed written permission

  from the author with the exception of brief

  quotations for use in reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,

  places and locales are either a product of the

  author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, events or places is

  purely coincidental and used for entertainment purposes.

  Cover Art by AJ Powers of Indie Book Covers and Trailers

  For Val, Caralise, and Jessie.

  You are my world.

  Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, thank you to my fans. Without you, none of this would be possible.

  Thank you to Charlene, Chrys, Johanna, Karina, and Nancy for your invaluable insight.

  Thanks to my editor Casey Skelton of Wasteland Editing Services for helping to bring my story to life.

  Thank you to AJ Powers of Indie Book Covers and Trailers for another incredible cover design.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  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 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Epilogue

  Author's Note

  About The Author

  Books By This Author

  Chapter 1

  Day 3

  As Max slowly drove east following the path of the horde, he silently berated himself for not getting home sooner. If only he’d made it there before the mass of thousands had trudged down his street. His wife and daughter might have been safely at home when he arrived, instead of out there somewhere by themselves. A chill ran down his spine as he thought of his fourteen-year-old daughter Camille surrounded by zombies and running off on her own to lead them off and protect her family. Feeling tremendous guilt, he knew that if he had been there, he would have found another way to keep everyone safe. Deep down, he felt that he had let his family down. He had wanted nothing more than to hold Anna in his arms when he walked into the house, but he wasn’t surprised when he found out that his wife had gone off in search of their daughter. She was as smart and stubborn as she was beautiful, and he knew that she would do anything to protect their children.

  His face a dark mask of regret, he pushed forward with his search. He sighed as he ran his hand through his thick black beard, feeling the sore spot on his chin from when a zombie had pulled out a small chunk of it. His black curly hair was slicked back with a rubber band, and his eyes were so dark they were almost black, but they seemed even darker in his worry and grief. His years of working construction gave him a muscular build, and he stood a few inches shy of six feet.

  He nearly forgot that Vince was in the SUV with him until he lit a cigarette and offered one to Max.

  “Thanks man,” Max said as he accepted the smoke.

  They had been driving slowly for nearly an hour while closely watching for anything out of place at the houses they passed. Anything that might signal Camille may be hiding in one of them. Following the path of the horde was like driving through zombie slush. Blood, guts, oily piles of fat, entrails, occasional limbs, and discarded shoes and clothing littered the road.

  “How far east do you think we should go?” Vince asked.

  “I think it’s about time to turn south and drive up and down as many of these streets as we can,” Max replied. “I don’t think she’d have gone more than a mile or so this way. Probably not even that far.”

  They were nearly two miles out, so Max turned right to start a block-by-block search, slowly driving up and down as many side streets as he could. It was impossible to hit every single street no matter how hard he tried. Too many little roads ran off little streets and crisscrossed into so many different developments. There were a few zombies scattered about, but nothing he couldn’t easily avoid. Occasionally one or two shuffled around in the middle of a street, but Max had no problem going around them. He wanted nothing more than to run them down but knew better than to let his anger and worry get the best of him and make him jeopardize their vehicle.

  Hours passed as they drove street by street with no sign of another living person. It was a creepy feeling to drive through entire neighborhoods that seemed to be completely void of people. Many houses looked perfectly normal, while others showed signs of a struggle or were completely overrun with zombies. Bloody handprints on doors that were often hanging off their hinges, broken windows, dead bodies on the ground, and occasionally small groups of zombies were all that remained of most of the areas they drove through. Wrecked or abandoned cars were strewn about on every street they encountered.

  Before he knew it, they were near the big red barn that Michelle and the kids had hidden in on the first night.

  “Camille knows this place. I’m going to drive down to the barn to check it,” Max said.

  “There’s only a handful of the dead here. I doubt she’s in there,” Vince said.

  “Well, she’s gotta be exhausted and may have found a place to rest. She isn’t necessarily going to be trapped and surrounded,” Max responded as he pulled into the long drive, not stopping until he reached the rear of the barn.

  One of the doors stood wide open. Before getting out of the SUV, he could see pieces of the blown tire that Joey had changed on the ground. He walked inside the quiet barn anyway just to be sure it was empty. There were a few strewn about empty water bottles and wrappers from protein bars, most likely leftover from Jesse’s family, but no sign of his daughter. Just thinking of Jesse’s name reminded him of how quickly his whole world had been turned upside down. Throughout their search, they hadn’t seen or heard another vehicle driving around. The potential search area covered miles, though, so for all he knew, Anna could be safely driving around on the other side of town.

  He got back in the car, looked at Vince, and shook his head. He looked out the windshield at the setting sun and wondered how he was going to find them. Traveling in the dark was much more dangerous with the limited streetlights, and if he used his headlights, he’d be drawing zombies straight to them. Wi
thout the lights, he might drive right up to a horde without realizing it. Camille was somewhere out there on foot with nothing but her knife. He was determined to keep looking until he found her.

  “I wish the cellphones had lasted another day or two,” Max said. “I’d know where Anna is, and Damon would be able to let us know if Camille made it home.”

  “Damn, I just thought of something. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before,” Vince started. “With all that camping gear I have out in my garage, I have a set of handheld radios. The range is only good for about two and a half miles, but it’s something. We could hold onto one and drop the other off at your house. It doesn’t help with your wife right now, but you could keep in touch with Damon.”

  “Well hell, you up for a trip back to your house?” Max asked with a grin. Finally, a little bit of good news. It wasn’t much, but it could end up being huge later on.

  “You remember how to get there?” Vince asked, knowing full well that Max knew exactly how to get there.

  Max made a turn to head back toward Vince’s place. Stray zombies were stumbling about, but nothing he couldn’t avoid. He had to zigzag a bit and make a couple of detours, adding more time to the trip, but twenty minutes later, they were on Vince’s street. He cut the headlights and slowly drove down the street, watching for any of the dead that might be lingering nearby. There were three shuffling along a sidewalk, two houses past Vince’s, so Max stopped in front of Vince’s house, and they both pulled their knives.

  A frail, incredibly thin fifty-something woman with a huge bite torn from her neck stumbled about barefoot and half-naked. A lumbering thirtyish man in jeans and a t-shirt with bite marks up and down both of his arms stood just behind her. An elderly woman in a floral nightgown and one fluffy slipper stood in front, barely keeping her balance to stay upright. Max went straight for the muscular man while Vince took out the two easier threats. Within seconds, all three zombies lay dead on the ground. They both looked around to make sure there weren’t any more nearby. With the coast clear, they ran to Vince’s garage. He pulled out his keys and opened the side door, and they both hurried inside.

  “I’ve got two gas cans over by the lawn mower that should be full or close to it. We’re almost on fumes in that SUV, so why don’t we take my truck instead?” Vince suggested. “I just filled it up, so we’ll have a full tank and at least six or so gallons in the cans.”

  “Good call,” Max said. “I’ll grab our packs from the SUV while you look for the radios.” Max walked to the street while keeping an eye on his surroundings. The nearest zombie was standing by itself down at the far end, so he carefully grabbed all three heavy bags and brought them back to the garage. When he walked in, Vince held up the radios with a grin on his face.

  “I’ve got extra batteries, too,” Vince said as Max put all three backpacks in the back seat of the extended cab of the truck. He handed the keys to Max so he could drive. They quickly got situated, not opening the garage door until Max was ready to back out. The noise and light of the garage door opening drew two zombies from the neighbor’s backyard, but before they could step onto the driveway, Max had the truck in the street and hit the gas.

  By the time they got back on the road, it was pitch black outside with almost no moon. Max drove home, making good time, dodging zombies here and there, and making a few extra turns to avoid larger groups. At the last turn before his street, there were at least fifty zombies stumbling around the intersection.

  “Holy shit,” Max said as he hit the brakes. If he’d been driving without the headlights on, he would have plowed right into them. He reversed and turned around so fast that Vince grabbed the handle near his head to keep himself steady in the passenger seat.

  “Whoa man, take it easy!” Vince said.

  “We’re way too close to my house man,” Max said. “I’ve gotta be careful here, or else we’ll lead them straight to it.”

  “Yeah, okay. I’ll watch our backs and make sure we don’t gain any followers,” Vince said. He turned in his seat to keep an eye out behind the truck as Max made a few extra turns to throw off any nearby zombies.

  “We clear?” Max asked.

  “Looks like we’re good, brother. There was a handful, but you lost them when you circled around,” Vince said.

  Once on his street Max made a slow pass and didn’t see any of the dead nearby, so he turned back toward his house. He pulled up the driveway to the wall near the front of his property that was invisible from the street because of the heavily wooded lot. He took another quick look around before he jumped out to open the gate then pulled up to the garage. Everything looked the same as when he’d left. He opened the screen door and climbed through the metal bars his son had installed, with Vince following behind him. He knocked softly on the front door. Within seconds, Damon had the door open so they could climb through the second set of bars. The hopeful look in his son’s eyes was quickly dashed when he saw that only Vince came in after him.

  “Anything?” Max asked Damon.

  “Nothing. Michelle, Joey, and Lucia are sleeping. The guys are in the family room. We haven’t seen Mom or Camille,” Damon answered. It was what Max had expected to hear, but he still let out a heavy sigh. They went to the kitchen to grab a couple of flashlights from the stack of supplies on the counter.

  “I’ve got a set of handheld radios,” Max said. “I’ll keep one on me, and you keep the other one on you at all times, okay? Keep it on channel ten. They’re good for about two and a half miles. Call me on the radio if your mom or Camille come home.”

  “That’s awesome,” Damon said as he looked over the radio. “I hate sitting around here, Dad. You’re all out there, and I’m stuck in here doing nothing but waiting.”

  “I need you here so that I can focus when I’m out there. And when Joey wakes up, he’s going to need his best friend,” Max said.

  “I know. It just sucks,” Damon said. “I’ll take care of everything here until you get back.”

  Max paused to hug Damon as they walked to the front door. “I love you, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. Call me on the radio if you need me,” Max told him. Damon walked them outside to the truck in the driveway for one last goodbye before he went back inside and secured the front door.

  “I hate leaving him like that,” Max said with a heavy sigh, then added, “Let’s go find my girls.”

  Max turned right out of the driveway to head west, the opposite direction the horde had gone. He wanted to circle back to the street behind his to see if there was any sign of Camille. He could be searching for miles all around only to find her around the block. It was at least worth the time to check. He made the first right and saw about a dozen zombies in the street, much more than he had expected. He sped up to try to get past them before they could try to surround them in Vince’s truck. He missed all but one. A middle-aged man in torn pajamas hit one of the headlights before falling to the side. Max made the next right onto the street that ran parallel behind his. A few dozen zombies were shuffling around together in the middle of the street. They didn’t seem to be focused on any one area, and he didn’t want to try to drive through so many, so he turned around.

  “I’m going to go around and come back from the other end of the street just to make sure she’s not here. It didn’t look like they were interested in anything in particular, but I’m not going to feel right about leaving the area until I’m sure,” Max said.

  “They looked like they were just grouped in the street. I didn’t see any approaching any of the houses. That was a good call to go around, I think,” Vince said.

  They backtracked and went around to the other end of the street. It was more of the same. It looked like some of the group had started to follow the truck when they had turned around a few minutes prior, but none of them seemed to be interested in any of the houses.

  “Well, I guess some of them will probably turn again to follow us out this way,” Max said as he turned around again. He watche
d his rearview mirror to see some of their heads slowly turn to follow the sound of the vehicle.

  “Maybe we should zigzag a few streets north and to the east. We haven’t checked this area yet,” Vince suggested. “I doubt she got more than a few streets in any direction, definitely not more than a mile. She’s probably hiding in a house or a garage around here.”

  “I’m keeping the headlights on. If she’s watching, she’ll see us. She won’t recognize the truck, but hopefully, she’ll come out,” Max said, although he wasn’t sure if she would make herself known to what would appear to be strangers in a strange vehicle. He wished he knew where his wife was. Sound traveled well, now that there wasn’t much to be heard other than the dead, but they hadn’t caught sight of any headlights or heard the noise of another vehicle.

  They drove around for a few hours, canvassing as many streets as they could. Everything was such a mess that it was hard to tell if anyone living had been in the area. Abandoned cars sat everywhere, sometimes blocking streets or intersections entirely. There were innumerous car accidents with zombies trapped inside most of the vehicles. The dead walked about here and there. Dead bodies lay on porches, sidewalks, driveways, yards, and even in the middle of streets. With the moonless night, it was even harder to discern if there were any signs of life. They hadn’t run across a single living person in all of the hours they’d been driving. There could have been families alive in many of the houses they passed, but they had no way of knowing.

  “We can’t be the only people alive around here,” Vince said.

  “I don’t disagree,” Max replied. “But unless people make themselves known, we’ve got no way of finding out. I’m sure some of these houses must have living people inside. At least I damn sure hope so.”