Zombie Rules | Book 8 | Who The Hell Is That? Achord, David (most popular novels of all time .txt) 📖

“Yeah, so, here’s the deal. I made an agreement with Eve. You guys grab your personal belongings. We’re leaving immediately.”

“No argument here,” Shooter said.

“Something tells me there’s more,” Justin said.

“There is,” Zach replied. “We’re not coming back. We’re giving them Fort Detrick.”

“Giving it to them?” Justin asked. “For what?”

“They want a place to live,” Zach said.

Justin’s expression was that of incredulity. “Are you joking?”

“Nope. Alright, we can’t delay. Are we ready to go?”

“I am, let’s get out of here,” Shooter said and hurried out. Stretch nodded in agreement. Zach then faced Justin, who was staring at him in confusion.

“I’ll explain later,” Zach promised.

He escorted them outside and pointed to the lead vehicle. “Captain, ride with me. The young man in the turret is called Radar.”

Radar peered down and gave a casual salute. He was in his late teens, lanky, with dark hair and eyes. Zach focused on Shooter and Stretch.

“You two bring your truck. Stay in the middle of the convoy.”

“You got it,” Stretch said.

Zach and Justin got in the armored van and closed the doors. All the while, zeds watched in silence.

“Alright, I have to know about these vehicles,” Justin said. “Are they electric?”

“They are,” Zach said.

“If you guys came all the way from Oak Ridge, that’s some damn good battery life.”

“Carbon-copper nanotube composite is the secret sauce,” Zach said.

“Brother, you lost me at carbon,” Justin said.

“The scientists back at Oak Ridge have created a composite that increases the efficiency of battery powered motors. We’ve been able to convert the engines in these vans. The technology enables more power and decreases power usage. Also, we created a mobile charging truck.”

He pointed at the box truck that was in the middle of the convoy. The standard box had been enlarged. It was painted a flat black and the only markings was a red radiation symbol. “They’ve taken some plutonium and engineered a powering unit. Tonight, we’ll simply plug in our vehicles and charge them up.”

“So, it’s a radiation hazard?” Stretch asked.

“The scientists assure me it’s safe, but you won’t find me standing too close to it for any length of time,” Zach said.

They swapped glances with each other, uncertain if Zach was joking or not, but none of them had any desire to get a closer look at it.

Chapter 54 – Coming Home

Justin was riding in Zach’s vehicle while Stretch and Shooter followed in a Fort Detrick truck. He watched Fort Detrick from the sideview mirror until it was no longer in sight.

“Are you going to miss it?” Zach asked.

He glanced over at Zach, who was driving.

“Are you going to miss that place?”

“Maybe a little bit,” Justin said. “It was my baby, and I was starting to make something of it.”

Zach looked up at Radar, who was manning the turret. “How’s it looking?”

“All clear and everyone is accounted for,” Radar replied.

Zach nodded and gestured at the radio. “Why don’t you give Mount Weather a SITREP, Captain. They have to be wondering where you guys are at by now.”

Justin grunted. The QRF should have responded hours ago when they did not make their hourly check-in. Norman Marnix answered the hails and acknowledged the SITREP.

“Is there a problem with the QRF?” Justin asked.

Norman explained. “They’ve been ordered to pay a visit to Marcus Hook. They’ve encountered roadblocks along all the main routes. I suggested we respond to you guys, but that order was countermanded.”

Justin shook his head in disgusted understanding, gave an ETA, and signed off.

“Zach, since you’ve left, things have changed around Mount Weather. That’s another reason why I liked living at Fort Detrick.” He started to say more, but instead shook his head again. “You’ll see what I mean.”

Zach thought about what Justin said. He’d gotten snippets of information from Grace and it sounded like Mount Weather was a place he no longer wanted to live, although he missed it terribly. He pondered for a moment, but only a moment, if things would have been better had he stayed, but he knew better.

“How’s Oak Ridge?” Justin asked.

“They have a heck of an operation,” Zach said. “They have nuclear power, their own supercomputer, you name it. They can build anything. These electric vehicles are a good example. They’re also working on an artificial intelligence network. I’m amazed at the stuff they’re doing.”

“As opposed to Mount Weather,” Justin grumbled.

“Yeah,” Zach agreed. Mount Weather was rather stagnant compared to the accomplishments achieved by Oak Ridge.

The two men continued to talk and catch up until they arrived at the main gate of Mount Weather, forty minutes later. Word had gotten around and there was a sizeable crowd clustered at the gate waiting for them. When Zach exited the vehicle, he was almost immediately surrounded. There were handshakes, hugs, and pats on the back. In a matter of seconds, the questions began.

“Where have you been, Zach?”

“Did you really kill Rochelle?”

“Are you here to kill Gil?”

Zach was about to start answering the barrage of questions when he spotted Fred and Rachel standing off to the side.

“All questions will be answered, but for now please excuse me,” he said and worked his way through the crowd. “What do you say, old man?” he asked with a grin.

“It’s good to see you, son,” he replied as Rachel gave him a big hug.

As they spoke, Lois Marnix walked up.

“Good to see you, kid. Are you going to stick around and watch the fireworks?” Lois asked.

“What fireworks?” Zach rejoined.

“In thirty minutes, there is going to be a big meeting. One might even say it will be historical,” she said with a wry smile and explained.

Zach gave a slow smile. “I didn’t know it was going to be today. Yeah, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The four of them walked with the crowd to the big conference room. It already had people in it and soon it was standing room only. Zach and Fred picked a spot along the back wall while Rachel and the Marnix couple found seats.

“By the way,