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    Virus Z: The Complete Collection: Virus Z, #6
    Virus Z: The Complete Collection: Virus Z, #6
    Virus Z: The Complete Collection: Virus Z, #6
    Ebook189 pages3 hours

    Virus Z: The Complete Collection: Virus Z, #6

    By Robert Paine

    2.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Virus Z: The Complete Collection

    An unknown virus, ordered to be silently researched by the government, is in the hands of a tired, overworked CDC Scientist. A small mistake leading to an infection. It started with one. One person becoming what no one truly believed to be real.

    James Ericson witnessed the downfall of Floor Three in the Atlanta CDC Lab. He saw a man he admired turn into a flesh-devouring monster. Now, with just his blood stained lab coat and a mysterious flash drive, he must attempt to outrun the virus.

    Can he make it to safety before it catches him, or will he end up just like the other mindless zombies beginning to fill the streets only one thing on their mind?

    How long can he survive as he stares death in the face?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOur Pack Press
    Release dateJan 19, 2016
    ISBN9781507004159
    Virus Z: The Complete Collection: Virus Z, #6

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    2.5/5

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    • 2/5
      The premise of this book was promising but it is incomplete and has glaring omissions from the story line. It's the little things. Explaining small things or what a room looks like. Or where a Humvee came from and why you would take it instead of the helicopter they just came in on. Or how the infection traveled so far ahead. Simple example. The 3rd floor gets infected shortly after he arrived at work but with no time lapses he essentially runs out the door and everyone has already abandoned the CDC within 2 minutes with no cars left and all of a sudden in 10 minutes the whole country is now infected. Literally he is driving the whole time and the infection is in front of him hundreds of miles away.
      Perhaps I am spoiled by very well written Zombie novels but this one just has so many glaring plot and detail issues it really distracts from the book and overall reading experience. Several times I had to reread a page on hopes that I missed something and it wasn't the the Author that just flat left out information. If you just like hard core zombie books and don't mind making up a lot of stuff on your own kind because the author left it out then by all means give it a shot. If you are looking for a polished and smooth novel then you had best look elsewhere.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    Virus Z - Robert Paine

    Virus Z: The Complete Collection

    An unknown virus, ordered to be silently researched by the government, is in the hands of a tired, overworked CDC Scientist. A small mistake leading to an infection. It started with one. One person becoming what no one truly believed to be real.

    James Ericson witnessed the downfall of Floor Three in the Atlanta CDC Lab. He saw a man he admired turn into a flesh-devouring monster. Now, with just his blood stained lab coat and a mysterious flash drive, he must attempt to outrun the virus.

    Can he make it to safety before it catches him, or will he end up just like the other mindless zombies beginning to fill the streets only one thing on their mind?

    How long can he survive as he stares death in the face?

    Breakout – Episode 1

    All tragedies strike on normal, ordinary days. You get up, go to work, and expect the day to end like all the others. Then, you leave the office, late as always, head home, and arrive only to fall asleep almost as soon as you get through the door. However, sometimes life likes to shake up the natural order of things, just to test our strength and stability.

    James Ericson spent his life in just such a normal, average way. In the city of Atlanta, Georgia, James worked for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention– a.k.a. the CDC, as a lab assistant for a brilliant scientist. His mornings included the same routine as every other person...shower, coffee, and breakfast. Maybe a quick catch up on the news. Just a normal morning.

    Outside the haven of his apartment, people went about their business in a hurried daze. He had lost count of the number of times someone spilled coffee on his white dress shirts on the short trip to his old beat up pick-up truck. Normally, this was the only blip in his otherwise mundane world. Eventually, he gave up on the neat and pressed shirts and began wearing the less expensive polo alternative. Not like it mattered, considering how his white lab coat hid whatever shirt he decided to go with. He just grew tired of paying for dry cleaning.

    After leaving his small studio apartment, he would worry over the exuberant rent he paid while driving to work. That’s what he got for living so close to the CDC research facility. He then sat in traffic with bleary-eyed parents sipping coffee while trying to control unruly children. His only difference to every other person driving on the same highway was that James dealt with safety issues of the human race on a daily basis. He didn’t expect this day to be any different. James certainly wasn’t prepared for his stable life to be so severely shaken. But it would be.

    Even with traffic, the drive only took about thirty minutes before reaching the secured compound. Like every other day, he groaned upon approaching the guard who spent more time watching TV than securing the gate. After a quick flash of his access badge, the only battle left was locating a parking spot. With the number of office workers and scientists fighting for the perfect parking place for shiny new cars, finding adequate space for his old Chevy was more than a small challenge. He had an easier time recording radioactive isotopes.

    With his parking dilemma solved, he entered the building and trekked through the lobby to the elevator. From there, he rode the elevator to the third floor and moved through the maze of blinding white hallways drenched in florescent light. Occasionally, he would pass a rushing lab assistant or a frazzled scientist with their nose jammed in some sort of file or balancing an overloaded clipboard. Hard-soled shoes echoed on the cold white tiles as he passed by every one of them. James silently thanked his boss for letting him wear sneakers, even though they looked a little odd with dress pants.

    His long stroll through the sterile corridors ended at lab six. On the books, it was a virus research lab dedicated to finding cures for things like swine flu and hepatitis. The employees knew the government officially owned the lab. James had suspicions about what they were really doing but was too afraid to say anything for fear of losing his job.

    Through dual-pane glass doors, he spotted his boss sitting on a rolling stool with his eyes already glued to the lenses of a microscope. Dr. Daniel Capell’s hunched lab coat-clad back was all he could really see. As James approached the glass doors, they automatically opened.

    The interior of the lab consisted of the same blinding white walls and floor. The only thing distracting from the harshness was a Hang in There kitten poster plastered right in front of Doctor Capell and a metal shelf housing dark blue binders. Along the walls, high-tech equipment and rows of empty test tubes rested atop stainless steel tables. To the right of the doctor, a small refrigerator also sat on one of these tables. On the left side of the room, a large sliding glass door led to the huge refrigerator housing all their work. Yet another table cluttered with papers, computers, a printer, and a few more microscopes sat in the middle of the room.

    You know, James muttered as he walked inside, You would think that they would put better security, like a code pad or something on these labs.

    James headed over to his boss and looked over his shoulder. From this angle, James could easily spot the silver slowly replacing the mop of black hair atop the older man’s head.

    They could at least put in a decontamination chamber or something, he added while squinting at the doctor’s work.

    First off, James, Dr. Capell sounded exhausted. You’re late. Second, this isn’t Hollywood. We work with whatever funding the government gives us.

    He pulled his eyes away from the microscope and turned a bleary gaze onto his James.

    Besides we have a decontamination chamber attached to The Vault. It’s not like we’re working on extremely dangerous viruses anyway. All of the dangerous ones are on the fourth floor.

    The Vault was Dr. Capell’s code for the huge refrigerator with the thick glass doors. All the viruses on which they worked existed inside.

    Yeah...sorry about being late. James scratched his head in an attempt to look innocent. You know how parking is around here.

    That’s why you get here early. The older gentleman was having none of his excuses.

    Unlike some people, I need sleep. I’m not a robotic doctor. As his boss stood up from his stool, James took a step back.

    Sleep isn’t exactly a good excuse for being late.

    Dr. Capell turned his back on James and walked over to a shelf holding hundreds of binders filled with notes and data on their research projects. His finger slid down the row of spines until he pulled one from the metal shelf. A brief search and stoic glare at the page accompanied his serious tone.

    I need you to pull C5126 for me. Nancy wants the reports on that one finished by the end of the day.

    Nancy was basically the errand girl for the people up top. If they wanted coffee, she went and got it. When they needed to fire someone, she delivered the bad news. If someone dared fall behind on their work, she was the one who snapped the whip to make the underdogs work faster.

    We barely even looked at C5126. It’s going to take longer than a day to finish the work-ups on it.

    Do you think the brass cares if we barely looked at it, Dr. Capell growled and looked at James out of the corner of his eye. They want it done, so we get it done.

    Aye-aye, Captain. James did a mock salute before turning on his heel and marching towards the coat rack holding his lab coat. He knew the doctor was rolling his eyes even though his back was turned on him.

    You know, Doc, one of these days you’re going to meet a nice girl and you won’t make any progress with her at all because you’re always here working on one thing or another.

    James slipped one arm through the sleeve of his coat. The rough material scratched his arm, leaving a tingling sensation behind in its wake. It smelled of starch and the sterile environment surrounding him.

    I don’t like people, The doctor said matter-of-factly, Besides, I was already married once.

    Only making my case more prominent. James couldn’t hold in a small chuckle. No wonder you’re so good with viruses.

    Natasha wasn’t a virus. The loud sound of a binder being dropped on one of the tables resounded through the room. She was just...difficult.

    Well...with a name like Natasha, I’m not surprised, James mumbled under his breath. In the confines of the lab, the comment didn’t escape Dr. Capell’s ears.

    James, Dr. Capell’s voice was stern, Stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong and get me that sample.

    His tone reminded James of being scolded for breaking a window while playing softball with the neighborhood kids by his father when he was ten. He signaled to his boss that he understood and silently walked to the door of The Vault.

    I guess it’s time to get to work.

    After putting on the shoulder-length rubber gloves, James entered The Vault. The first five seconds was like stepping into a walk-in cooler at a restaurant. In summer, the instant cold might be very refreshing. James may even grow excited at the mention of walking into The Vault. The cold blast of air was slightly annoying in the beginning of cooler late-August morning weather. The interior of the decontamination chamber smelled of chemicals. The burst of steam filling the room a short time after his entrance wasn’t any better. Every time it blasted him, James secretly wondered if he should hold his breath.

    Thanks to the way everything was catalogued, finding the C5126 virus amongst the numerous others was a rather simple task. All the viruses starting with a C were on the same cooling shelf. The five in the code meant the fifth shelf down. The twelve was the number of rows over and the six was the place it held in the row.

    With sample in hand, James returned to the main lab only to find the Doctor pinching the bridge of his nose and looking utterly exhausted.

    Sorry to say this, Doc, but you look like crap, James said as the door to the decontamination chamber closed behind him. How long has it been since you’ve slept?

    The doctor dropped his hand and sighed, I don’t know. A day...maybe two. Is that the sample? Dr. Capell walked over and took the vile out of James’s hand.

    Maybe you should go home, Doc...seriously. In our line of work, negligence can lead to death.

    James, we work with minor viruses like the flu. We’re not diffusing bombs. Besides, he pulled the slide already resting under his microscope lens away with his free hand, if we don’t get the workup on this one finished by the end of the day, we lose our jobs. Do me a favor and stop acting like my mother. Act like what you are...my employee.

    I don’t like it when you’re tired, James mumbled, You get so touchy.

    James, The parental tone was back in the Doctor’s voice, I need you to get me some blank work-up sheets, a new set of slides, and another box of...

    The sound of glass cracking filled the room, immediately drawing James’s attention. He rushed over to his boss’s side and grabbed his wrist. James eyed the stream of red coming from Dr. Capell’s index finger.

    See...negligence. What was the virus on that slide?

    Damn it, James! The doctor yanked his hand away from James and walked over to a sink fitted with emergency nozzles for events such as minor eye trauma. Dr. Capell twisted the faucet to turn on the downpour of water from the middle faucet. If you had been paying any attention at all, you would have known that was an empty slide that I broke. The virus is safely stored in the mini fridge. Now go get me the new slides for which I asked. And stop acting like we’re old pals. I’m not your father or your uncle. I’m your boss.

    At the doctor’s outburst, James decided to ignore the slight falter in his voice but still added, "It’s my job to make sure you don’t injure yourself like you just did. I’m supposed to assist you. You’re so anti-social and believe that you can do everything on your own. You grabbed the sample of C5126 before you even removed the clean slide and something stupid happened. What if that slide you broke hadn’t been clean? Do you know how bad that could be?"

    Yes, James! The doctor yelled over his shoulder, I do know. His voice returned to a normal volume, I know all too well how bad that could be...okay?

    The room fell silent except for the sound of the rushing water from the stainless steel faucet. James had never gotten into a shouting match with Dr. Capell before today. Even though James knew his childish antics sometime annoyed the older man, they normally worked well together. Dr. Capell never shouted. He sometimes scolded James but he was normally pretty patient.

    The doctor turned off the water and pulled a bunch of paper towels from the dispenser. James dumbly stared at the sign explaining proper eye-flushing procedure on the wall next to the dispenser. He’d always thought that sign was ridiculous. Like a couple of scientists couldn’t figure out how to drench their eyes with a ton of water.

    With the paper towels now wrapped around his wounded finger, the doctor suddenly slumped and sank to his knees.

    Doc! James rushed to his side and dropped to his knees beside him. He placed a hand on his boss’s back. Are you sure that was a clean slide?

    Yes, I’m sure, Dr. Capell said. His voice seemed off. Did he strain it when he was yelling? We don’t have a first aid kit in here. I lent ours to the lab next door when their assistant accidentally sliced his hand open on God knows what. James, do me a favor.

    Sure, want me to go get our kit back?

    No point. It’s probably used up by now. Dr. Capell reached up to his lab coat’s chest pocket with his uninjured hand and pulled off his identification badge. Take this and go to the supply closet down the hall to the right. That’s where they store the extra first-aid supplies and other items they don’t want immature lab assistants stealing. Go get a new one from there. They should be in the back of the room.

    Alright. If you pass out because you lose too much blood, you will never hear the end of it, old man. James grabbed the key

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