Survival Ties (The Outbreak Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  The Outbreak Chronicles

  Book One

  Survival Ties

  By

  Trisha Leazier

  © 2016 by Trisha Leazier, Body Count Productions, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If the Apocalypse comes, beep me.

  The author acknowledges the use of various trademark words in this work including and not limited to Wal-Mart, The Enemy, Winchester, The Walking Dead, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Days Inn and more.

  Library of Congress:

  ISBN, print: 978-0-9967678-3-5

  ISBN, e-book: 978-0-9967678-4-2

  First Edition, 2016.

  www.bodycountproductionsinc.com

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to my Omi thank you for encouraging me to follow my dreams wherever they may lead. Also to my husband Bryce and daughter Kylie.

  A special thank you to my mother-in-law Jacqui: Without you this book wouldn’t exist. Thank you for showing me how to make this dream a reality.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  Edited By: Nas Dean

  Cover Design By: Rogenna Brewer

  Cover Photo By: Jessica Leazier

  Beta Readers:

  Sue Collins

  Lance Smith

  Joey Griffin

  Table of Contents

  About the Author

  Acknowledgement

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Coming Soon

  Prologue

  Marie stood in the kitchen holding a manila envelope neatly labeled with the logo of an electrocardiogram leading into a tree of life. Clydework Research Industries logo.

  “Well what does it say?” I asked her as she scanned the letter.

  “To Mrs. Forde or whom it may concern,

  Here at CRI we pride ourselves on striving for the impossible. Our teams of scientist and doctors have had a breakthrough around the issue of failing organs. Our team has developed a process where they clone a failing organ and grow a healthy replacement.” Marie read.

  She glanced up, locking gazes with our dad and pointed out a section to dad.

  “The hope is that with this development we could eliminate the need for a donor waiting list. We could take cells from the organ in question and grow a healthy replica free of any flaws that the original had.” Dad read.

  “How far into testing are they?” asked Marie’s husband, Carter Forde.

  “If you’d wait a second, I’m getting there.” Dad responded.

  “Well?” Mom asked.

  “So far we have only gotten through the stages of animal testing with results that are off the charts of even what our teams were expecting. The amount of success the teams have seen has resulted in the FDA giving approval for us to continue into the next stage of trials.” Dad read.

  “Dave?” Mom asked. Dad lowered the letter.

  “They are starting human trials and I meet the requirements.” Marie answered.

  “They say they will be announcing what they have found after they get the results from the human trials.” Dad said.

  “They’ve sent letters to three hundred people and there’s a number for me to call to make an appointment.”

  “Are you serious?” Carter asked. We had been waiting the better part of two years for a heart transplant to come through for her.

  Marie smiled as she nodded.

  Carter laughed as he picked her up and spun her around till she begged him to stop.

  The hospital in our hometown called to inform Marie that Dr. Minnow had made an appointment for her.

  “It’s convenient that we can do the biopsy here.” Dad said as we waited in the mint green waiting room.

  “It’s nice that transporting the cells to the clinic is an option.” Carter said. He was tapping his foot.

  “Stop tapping.” Marie said as she pushed Carter’s knee down, “You’re making me nervous.”

  “Marie Forde?” A nurse in Felix the Cat scrubs called.

  “That’s me.” Marie responded and stood up, “Is it okay if my husband comes in with me?”

  “Of course, just make sure you do what the doctors tell you to.” The nurse answered and led them out of the waiting room.

  All we could do was stare at a muted TV while we waited for Marie and Carter. When my sister walked into the waiting room an hour and a half later I took in her appearance. Standing at five feet tall and barely weighing ninety-eight pounds, Marie had always been tiny. With her long blonde hair and big brown eyes she looked a lot younger than her thirty-two years. People who didn’t know us sometimes thought she was my younger sister. Since her heart started to fail her two years ago, she looked even smaller to me.

  At last the day arrived. Marie and Carter waited while we were loading up to take her to the clinic for the transplant.

  I sat in the third row seats of the Tahoe watching Marie sleep. She was leaning on Carter in the seats in front of me and she looked so peaceful we could have been heading to go camping. Instead we were heading to CRI’s clinic. We had just started to drive but I was already looking at the clock on the radio annoyed by the time.

  “Do we have everything we need?” Mom asked.

  “Yes Joyce.” Dad answered.

  “Is everyone comfortable?” Mom asked as she played with the temperature controls.

  “Yes.” Carter responded.

  “Should we stop for breakfast?” Mom asked. She was spinning her wedding ring around her finger.

  “Mom stop. It’s going to be fine. Just relax.” Marie said.

  Mom finally settled for tuning on the country station Marie loved. We sat in the car watching the landscape go by heading towards Phoenix with the music drifting among us.

  I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew Carter was shaking my shoulder.

  “We’re here Ash.” He said, as my eyes opened. It was bright and I had to blink a few times to clear the blue tint sleep had left on my vision.

  Above the entrance, the facilities’ name stood in red letters on a lined white background. I could see Marie’s hand shaking as she walked in front of me holding tight to Carter. She had always hated hospitals of any sort. I walked up beside her and snatched the shaking hand, squeezing it to comfort her.

  “Is this a medical research center or a theater?” Carter
asked and pointed to the letters.

  Marie didn’t respond, but she did a nervous hiccup giggle as she shook her head.

  Dr. Minnow was talking to the receptionist as we walked into the lobby. He smiled at us and started towards us. He was fairly tall, standing at about six feet and he had dark brown hair that was peppered through with grey. His dark brown eyes were almost black in color behind black-rimmed glasses. He wasn’t extraordinary to look at; his face had average features that would easily be lost in a crowd. In fact the only thing that etched his face into my mind was the simple fact that he was Marie’s doctor. He was going to be doing the procedure.

  “How was the drive down?” He asked as he stopped in front of Marie.

  “Long.” Dad answered with a little nervous chuckle.

  “Well we are all ready to get the prep work out of the way and get you in and out of surgery Marie.” Dr. Minnow said, getting right to the root as to why we were here.

  “Okay, I’m ready.” Marie answered so quietly it was almost a whisper of sound.

  Dr. Minnow led Marie and Carter down the hall away from us. Carter returned a short while later to wait the four-hours with us till Marie would enter into the recovery ward.

  I was making my five hundred and thirty third lap of pacing the waiting room when Dr. Minnow finally came out. We all stood, anxious to hear how Marie was.

  “Marie is in recovery now and everything went as we had hoped. No complications at all and the nurse will come get you when she wakes up so you can visit her.” He informed us, “Of course she will be staying for the next few days. The paperwork included her husband staying as well. Have the rest of you made arrangements nearby?”

  “Yes we have.” Dad answered quickly.

  “Good, replacing a heart is never easy, so Marie will need a lot of rest to ensure she heals well.” Dr. Minnow told us as he looked at his chart. Without saying another word to us he turned and headed back from where he’d come.

  “Anyone want coffee or a candy bar?” Mom asked for the tenth time since Dr. Minnow had left us.

  “Joyce, honey, please stop asking us that.” Dad told her for the fourth time.

  I avoided looking up at the clock; it was intentionally mocking me with the slow ticking noise. I was almost jumping out of my seat every time the doors opened and someone walked by us. I was about to give in and look at the stupid clock when Carter came through the doors and waved us over to him. We followed him to Marie’s room where she was laying in the hospital bed her head on a pile of pillows.

  “Hi sweetheart, how are you feeling?” Mom asked as she grabbed Marie’s hand.

  “I feel groggy, Mom.” Marie answered as mom patted her hand.

  We sat there with her until the nurse came in to tell us that visiting hours were over. We could come back the next morning at eight.

  Dad, mom, and I hugged Carter and Marie before we headed out. We went to the Days Inn where we were going to stay for the next few days.

  “She looked well. Didn’t she look well, Dave?” Mom asked dad as we entered our room.

  “Yes Joyce, she looked as well as can be expected after a surgery like that. Now let’s get some rest so we can be cheery for her tomorrow.” Dad responded, kissing mom on the cheek.

  The following days were a blur of hospital visits. We watched Marie get stronger than we had seen her since she was diagnosed. When were in the hotel room, crappy TV movies played as constant background noise.

  “I’m happy to say that Marie is well enough to travel back home.” Dr. Minnow stopped to tell us the third day while we were with Marie.

  “Are you sure? It seems like we just got here.” Mom said.

  “I’m sure, I know it seems quick but her vitals are good and she meets all the requirements to continue healing at home.” Dr. Minnow said.

  “Thank you Doc.” Dad said and reached his hand out to shake Dr. Minnow’s.

  “I know the drive back to Flagstaff will take about two hours and Marie will be mildly sedated for that.” Dr. Minnow explained.

  “What do we need to do when we’re home?” Carter asked.

  “Monitor her; make sure she takes her medications at the same time each day. She’ll get tired quickly while she’s still healing and her appetite may vary from day to day.” Dr. Minnow answered as he handed Carter a pamphlet.

  “Anything else?” Dad asked.

  “If you are worried about anything or unsure if its normal just give us a call and we’ll talk you through it.” Dr. Minnow answered, “Have a safe trip home.”

  “Thank you again Doc.” Dad said.

  The nurses already had Marie packed for the trip home by the time we got to her room.

  Chapter One

  One month later

  My best friend, Sawyer, sat on the counter swinging her legs as she watched the pancakes cook. Her green eyes were hidden behind cat eye contacts. Her clothes were simple, a black T-shirt and torn up jeans and her black converse tennis shoes. She had a cat ear head band on to go with her eyes. The garbage truck was rumbling outside as it stopped to pick up the trash.

  The TV in the living room was muted but the news station was showing images from some sort of riot. There were people with injuries. The suspect was restrained in a strait jacket before they went back to the anchors with their perky smiles.

  “Are you seeing this?” I asked pointing the spatula towards the TV.

  “Yeah almost every day lately with the same things.” She answered, “I don’t get how the anchors can smile after showing those clips.”

  “I don’t either. I’ve avoided most of the news lately.”

  “Not missing much. Same stories about a shooting here or a riot there, lately more riots though.” Sawyer said, “Hey start flipping or they’ll burn.”

  “What?” I asked, “Oh.” I cringed when one of the four pancakes revealed that it had burned, hitting my nose with the smell.

  “So Marie seemed way more energetic last night.” She said as she flipped the three good pancakes onto Marie’s favorite mint green plate.

  “Yeah still healing and recovering so yesterday was one of the better ones.” I agreed.

  Luckily for Sawyer’s hair I thought to myself.

  “I still can’t believe you actually talked her into not only cutting your hair but adding blue and pink highlights. Your mom is going to be pissed.”

  “I could say I got attacked by angry highlighters.” Sawyer said as she shrugged and twirled some of her now chin length platinum blonde hair with her finger.

  I rolled my eyes causing Sawyer to start laughing as we finished making breakfast. Marie staggered in followed closely by Carter.

  Her brown eyes were glazed over and she was drooling.

  “Morning.” I greeted her as she stared at me.

  She didn’t say anything.

  Then she growled.

  I stepped back coming up against Sawyer’s legs.

  “Hon, the girls made you breakfast.” Carter told her calmly as he touched her shoulder.

  She snapped at him like a dog would. Carter didn’t flinch as he stepped to put himself between Marie and us.

  “Marie.” He said and clapped his hands in front of her face.

  She shook her head at the sudden noise.

  “What?” she asked, “Oh, you made my favorite.”

  Marie took the plate I was holding and went into the dining room. It was quiet for a moment while we all took in what had just happened.

  “What was that about?” Sawyer asked, breaking the silence as she slid off the counter.

  “I don’t know; she’s had a couple mornings like this. She’s just a little off I guess from the medications.” Carter responded.

  “You call that ‘a little’ off?” I asked, “Carter, she growled at us.”

  “She doesn’t seem to remember the spells after she snaps out of them. I’m going to call Dr. Minnow after breakfast.” He said.

  We heard glass shatter in the dining room.

/>   “Marie, are you okay?” Carter called.

  There was no answer.

  Carter took a step towards the doorway when she came in. Her bare feet bled from where she had stepped on broken glass. She didn’t seem to notice anything around her.

  “Marie?” I asked, stepping towards her.

  She looked at me; her eyes blank as she started screaming and lunged.

  Carter stepped quickly behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders before she could reach me. He pulled her into his chest.

  She kept screaming as she clawed at his arm. She bit him taking a chunk of flesh from his arm. Carter grunted but held on as she flailed around trying to get free. Blood was dripping from her chin onto Carter’s arm. It joined the blood spilling from the bite down her white shirt.

  Sawyer and I stood frozen as Marie continued to scream. Neither of us even turned towards the sound of the door opening.

  The neighbor, Sam, walked in.

  Marie didn’t even glance at him. Her gaze was locked on me.

  An explosion echoed through the room followed by an acrid and sour smell.

  I finally turned my head and looked at Sam to see him holding the revolver he always carried on his hip. Marie slumped into Carter. A hole seeped blood from her chest. Her new heart pumping as the screaming faded to a gurgle. Carter lowered her to the ground and placed both his hands over the wound using his body to put pressure there.

  “What the hell?” he yelled at Sam.

  “She was crazed.” Sam told him. “Same thing happened to the Nathan’s down the way.”

  “She wasn’t crazed; she was having a reaction to medication.” Carter responded.

  Sam took off his cowboy hat showing his short cut black hair streaked with grey. He placed the hat on the counter. My gaze stayed glued to Marie; she stared back.

  I dropped down to the tiles.

  She was dead and no one could explain what had just happened.

  “We need to call 911.” I said, still staring at Marie.

  “Y-yeah I-I can do that.” Sawyer stuttered.