Z.E.D.S. Series (Book 2): Z.E.D.S. Wayward Son Read online

  Z.E.D.S.

  WAYWARD

  SON

  BOOK 2

  BY: Bradley Botts

  Dedicated to:

  Jimmy “Logan Steelfoot” Sidwell

  The Z.E.D.S. captain who was taken from us too soon.

  You will always be with us in mind, heart, and soul, for you were the light.

  The light that shined through the darkness.

  You were a friend, a guardian, and a brother.

  From all of us who carry your memory.

  You are forever in the pages, brother.

  We miss you.

  Bradley

  Chapter 1

  As the world fell to its knees and bowed down to the dead outside our walls, our quarters surrendered only to the passion amongst the living. Aurora’s body acquired my focus as my hands caressed the smooth skin of her hips. Every gentle touch exposed my infatuation. Admiring each significant detail that I had thought I missed. Escaping into her wanderlust, my mind captured each moment as if it were the last. Aurora’s knees were clamped into my hips. The taste of strawberry, and the interlocking of our tongues as our lips pressed together exerted heat hidden from within our souls. The tips of her raven hair grazed over my shoulder as she leaned into me with eyes closed and a hot breath around my ear. The scent of vanilla rushed over me with each movement we made together. Aurora knows vanilla is my weakness when it comes to her scent. My hands gripped the smooth skin of Aurora’s thighs; her supple bottom lip disappeared as her teeth clamped down. Her hands were sown into my bare chest with her fingernails making a home to reside in. “I love you” exited behind every breath.

  Our bodies seamlessly intertwined, and the world outside faded to a forgotten story. In those created, passionate moments I was lost in the scent of exotic lotions and craved the taste of salt and strawberry from her skin that conserved me in a state where only she and I existed. The swaying of her body, the grace of her touch, the sounds depicted from euphoria amped my helping her find that moment in which the both of us fade from the true reality outside.

  Looking up at her with only the light of the moon showing her sun-kissed skin deterred me from holding on. Aurora’s hands moved to mine. She interlocked our fingers while slamming my hands above my head. I felt her arrive to the moment as I did. The sounds muttered from within made the moment even stronger. Her body tensed and my legs became numb. Her grip loosened from mine and she fell onto me.

  Aurora rested her warm body on mine while we searched to find our breath. Her head rested on my chest. My heart kept a fast and steady beat that matched hers. In that moment we only existed to one another.

  The crisp breeze tented the passionate room as it flowed through the threshold of our bedroom window from outside. The world seemed new as the night had cascaded around it. The polished full moon shined upon the naked bed and illuminated everything around our room as well as the very provocative dimples on Aurora’s lower back. No offense to the world’s natural beauty, but it didn’t compare to the natural beauty of the woman who was lying on my chest breathing heavily while tracing my gunshot wound with her index finger.

  “It makes me smile when I touch your scar,” Aurora said as I held her close.

  “Why do you say that,” I asked thinking the exact opposite thing about the scar.

  Aurora continued to trace the outline of my wound with a gentle touch, and with the sweetest tone she said something to me that made me fall in love with her all over again.

  “As long as I can feel this scar, I know you are with me. I don’t know what I would do without you. Ever since you first saved me from those zombies at the church, I have prayed for you to always stay with me.”

  Aurora rose from my chest and turned to the other side of the bed to the chair where our clothes resided.

  “Why are you getting dressed,” I asked as my eyes never left the sight of her naked body.

  Aurora stowed her white tank top and black laced underwear onto her body before throwing my pants to me.

  “Kiere may walk in any minute, and I’m sure she wouldn’t want to see us naked,” Aurora said behind the memory-focused smile.

  Her wardrobe of choice was my favorite. I stared at Aurora while she situated her clothes to present every curve of her lustful body. She bent over and my eyes continued to gaze upon the most beautiful creation that has ever been introduced to me. As she began digging through her personal belongings, I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly I did that was so right to deserve a woman such as her. Miracles and beauty became hard to find in this world now, but every night when I lay next to her, I am allowed to enjoy a miracle and the beauty.

  Aurora held something small in her hand, turned around and smiled at me.

  “I know you were staring at my ass,” she acknowledged before giggling with her words.

  Aurora attempted to hide her hands before sitting on the bed next to me. Nervous as she was, her stare accompanied a smirk.

  “What do you have behind your back?”

  Aurora presented her enclosed hands to the front of me. She kept her fists clinched. I didn’t know what to expect. Her hands were trembling, but I could see happiness in her eyes.

  “Before Logan was killed, he gave me something. He told me to hold onto it until the right moment came along.” Aurora took a deep breath. “With the way the world is I don’t believe there is any right moment.”

  A gift from Logan. The fatal crash from the beginning of the virus took Logan from us years ago. He faded in my arms without a single breath. Logan was a brother, a friend, a Z.E.D.S. “What was it he left behind for us?” I whispered.

  “I just know, I have never loved anyone more than I love you. Having you and Kiere with me makes me feel like I have a real family. I never had that. I want our family to stay together,” Aurora explained as she stared into my eyes.

  A single tear fell from my eye as we stared at one another. Aurora’s tear rested on her cheek before I wiped it away. I waited patiently while anticipating, predicting what was hidden in her hands. Aurora’s fingers opened and her palm cradled a ring. “I recognize that ring.” Logan bought it when we were younger. It was a solid black band with a silver Z engraved on the top of it. Logan said the Z stood for Z.E.D.S., and it was a symbol of hope to him. He always said no matter how many days we went without talking, or the different paths we all may take, the Z.E.D.S. would always be a family no matter what.

  I shifted my body from its original position and rested my head against the wall.

  Aurora looked down at the ring and said, “Logan told me whenever I was ready to propose to you, I should use this.”

  I knew from the first moment I saw Aurora when she busted through the basement door at the church, I was going to marry her. My mouth went dry and I was lost for words.

  “Say something Atlas. A yes is what I’m actually expecting from you.”

  Her smile hypnotizes me every time. It’s one of those smiles that freezes you in time. The kind of smile that artists paint to share with the world. A moment passed by, and her smile began to fade. The silence was too long, but I knew what my answer was. I knew my answer the first time I saw her.

  Aurora closed her hands and faintly said, “You don’t have to”

  “Wait one second,” I said to her while reaching for my bug-out bag located next to our bed.

  I searched inside the front pocket and found the bandana casing the ring I had hidden from Aurora for months. I held it up to her. The smile that came across her face took my breath away.

  “I had this made from the bullet that almost took me away from you. Shaun melted it for me and created a ring from i
t. I want you to wear it. I want you to always remember that you are the closest thing that has ever been to my heart.” I took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”

  A tear gently appeared from her eye. Aurora presented her hand with her fingers spread. Behind the tears a smile showcased the answer. Although my hands were shaking, I didn’t lose my grip on the ring. In that moment of presenting my token to her, our future flashed before my eyes.

  The dark shadowed tree shading my position was blessed with red apple tint and orange cradled leaves falling from its branches. A slight crisp wind grazed across the venue with white petals floating from their home and resting carefully on the stomped meadow. Candles were placed in dirt-spotted mason jars outlining the walkway for my bride to step down. White curtains were torn and reshaped into ribbons that were tied around the weeping willow trees. Everyone stood in their nicest attire even though most of their clothing was recreated for protection.

  The sweat from my palms dripped as I waited to see Aurora walk down to me. Shaun stood next to me gripping the rings like his life depended on it. I believe his other hand, which was established on his Python, had less intent on safety. Brock’s eyes kept surveying everything. My brothers Emmitt, Sloan and Seth were standing as military soldiers from my unit. Their hands were on their weapons and their chins held high.

  Then I noticed a beautiful girl stepping towards me. Kiere glided past the candle-lit mason jars. She had dressed herself in a beautiful tan suede dress with ruffles at the bottom with an arrangement of wildflowers resting in her hands. Slowly stepping behind her was Ophelia dressed in dark-toned civilian clothes with knives attached to both sides of her belt. Although she dressed for war, her smile had meant she was more focused on her foot placement.

  The sun glared from the sky and illuminated everything angelic about Aurora. She stepped from behind the weeping willow with a bouquet of golden-rods, sunflowers, and tulips. The white cotton dress swayed in the fall breeze. The thin straps barely rested on to her silky shoulders. I could see her beautiful smile through the veil attached to her headpiece. I saw the beautiful wildflower placed on Aurora’s ear, picked from a field across the land that Kiere found. I had never seen anything more beautiful than that.

  A thunderous commotion broke the silence between us. Our attention averted from the proposal to the constant crackle of fire outside our walls. Aurora had a terrified look in her eyes as another sound came through and a darkness fell over us. Our bodies were catapulted from our bed and darkness fell upon me.

  The smell of dirt and burning wood crowded me as I choked on dust after awakening. My vision was blurred, and a loud ringing was all I could hear. I forced myself off my stomach and a sharp pain seared into my side. I screamed as I attempted to move. A long piece of serrated metal had found its way into my body, and blood streamed from the wound. I placed my right hand on the object and ran my other hand across my head through my hair. Blood engulfed my fingers. I gazed upon the destruction of our room. Furniture had no shape; our walls portrayed a different color.

  I gripped the piece of metal from my side and fought against the pain as it conformed my body. I tried configuring my sight through the smoke and debris. The hair on my arm hardened and a shiver journeyed up my spine as the outline of Aurora’s body glistened through my foggy vision. The fire illuminated the rubble around her as she lay on the floor with her face covered by her arm.

  “Aurora,” I yelled as I reached for her.

  Before I could stand to get to her, a figure jumped through the gaping hole that used to be a barrier to our room from the outside. A long metal pipe hung from its right hand as it looked around the room, I assumed searching for us. I dropped to the floor and rolled towards the bed. My hand latched to the grip of my Beretta I had hidden underneath the bed. I gripped my pistol and cocked back the chamber. The stranger noticed me and charged towards the spot where I had landed after the explosion. Two to the chest and one to the head was enough to stop it from getting too close. I rose from the floor, ran to Aurora, and kneeled next to her as I placed my gun on the floor.

  “Aurora! Wake up baby. Come on please wake up,” my voice trembled. “Please baby, wake up.” I grabbed her wrist and her pulse was faint. “You are not leaving me alone Aurora. Wake up!”

  Aurora’s eyes opened, and she rose from her back. She began coughing as she clutched my hand.

  “Oh, thank God,” I exerted from under my breath with a sound of relief.

  “What happened,” Aurora asked looking frantically around the room.

  “We are under attack.”

  Aurora snatched my pistol from the floor and fired two shots behind me. I turned around and saw a body falling to the ground.

  Breathing frantically, Aurora asked, “Where’s Kiere, Atlas?”

  “She was with Brock and Selest. Don’t worry we will find her.”

  I grabbed Aurora’s hand to help her stand. We both looked around the room and everything was destroyed. The smoke began to clear from the room. Aurora’s eyes averted to my wound.

  “Atlas, you’re hurt,” she said as her hand graced my wound.

  “I’ll be okay; we just need to get out of here.”

  Aurora grabbed a sheet from our bed and began ripping it into strips before wrapping them around me.

  “When we get to the other safe house, you have Brock stitch that up,” Aurora demanded.

  She ran to the closet to grab her clothes as I grabbed our bug-out bags along with our weapons. I threw her the shotgun and gripped my assault rifle. As I searched around for Kiere’s activity bag I noticed the fire was glaring off two metallic objects resting on the floor across the room. I remembered our rings were in our hands before the explosion. I extended my hand to the floor, gripped the rings from the dirt and placed them in my pocket. The two of the most important things that we could ever give one another almost lost in the midst of chaos.

  Our door was connected to a larger room. Beyond our door was a sight that wasn’t for the faint of heart. Some of our friends lay on the floor with blood shadowing every inch of them. Others were running hysterically, room to room, fighting off our invaders while trying to save what little possible.

  “Aurora, you get everyone out that you can to the bus and take them to the other safe house. I’m going to find Kiere and get her out of here. If we aren’t out there in five, you leave with whoever you have,” I said as I readied my weapon.

  “No, I’m coming with you Atlas,” Aurora demanded.

  “No. You need to get to the bus. Don’t worry, I will find Kiere and get her out of here,” I explained. “No matter what we will see you soon.”

  “You better not be lying to me Atlas. You find our daughter and you get her out of here,” Aurora demanded as her voice crackled with a tear appearing from her eye.

  Aurora planted her lips against my lips as her hand intensely locked her fingers with mine. As we separated, I turned down the room and ran towards Brock and Selest’s sleeping quarters. Their door was shattered. A body was shoved against the wall with a knife in its chest and its arms were waving uncontrollably as the virus took it over. I looked around for any sign of Brock, Selest and Kiere, but other than the screams and crackle from the flames behind me it was silent. I turned around and saw the holocaust beginning to engulf our home. As I began to run into the meeting room, I felt a sharp impact into my hip as arms wrapped around me. With a short drop and an impact of my head to the charred floor, a man’s fist was becoming too acquainted with the sides of my face. His banshee war scream was terrifying to the ears, but his face was of a different tone. I saw the fire in his eyes as I started to block his violent outbursts on my head. His throat was a wide target for instant change in dominance. My knuckles crushed through his neck and he began gasping for air. I heard a gunshot from the end of the hall and blood splattered across my face. The blood sprayed from the entrance of the wound and cascaded the wall next to us. Down the hall Shaun stood pointing a gun in our direction. Brock’s
hands appeared underneath my arms from behind me and he helped me off the floor.

  “Brock, thank God. Where’s Kiere,” I asked while I regained my balance.

  “She’s okay. Kiere is on the bus with Selest and Aurora. We came back in to find you. We need to go. The entire safe house is burning down,” Brock replied as he began pulling me to the door.

  Brock guided me out of the building with Shaun following behind us. Flames covered every inch of the walls exerting heat so intense it took the air from my lungs. The charred grass crunched beneath our feet as we ran towards the bus. A glare caught my eye near a broken wall of the safe house. I limped towards the distraction and saw Tyler lying on the grass. His throat was slit, and the look in his eyes was lost to the darkness. The terrified expression upon his face was forever placed in my memory. I kneeled to check his pulse but felt nothing.

  “No, not like this,” I said while attempting to lift his body and placing him on my shoulders.

  “We have to leave him Atlas. We can’t take the dead with us,” Shaun yelled.

  “He’s a Z.E.D.S. Shaun. We don’t leave a brother behind,” I screamed while shoving his hand off my shoulder.

  My knees were too weak to carry Tyler. I gripped his wrists attempting to drag his body towards the bus, but Shaun intervened and shoved me away from Tyler.

  “Back off me Shaun! We must take him with us. This is not how a Z.E.D.S. is remembered. I didn’t leave Logan, and I’m not about to leave Tyler.”

  I felt a strong grip around my hand and saw Aurora standing next to me talking to Brock and Shaun.

  “You guys get to the bus. I got this.” Aurora kneeled next to me. “Atlas listen to me. I love you, and the one thing I love the most about you is your heart. Right now, your heart is over-crowding your instincts. You know that trying to carry him to the bus will only hurt us. Tyler will understand why his body was left here. But that’s just it. It’s only his body, it’s not Tyler. Our walls are down and the drifters peeking around the corner are coming closer. We need to go.”