Invasion of the Dead (Book 5): Resolve Read online

  RESOLVE

  Invasion of the Dead

  Book 5

  (Book 2 of the Tasmania Trilogy)

  By Owen Baillie

  Copyright 2019 Owen Baillie

  PHALANX PRESS

  Copyeditor: Sara Jones

  Developmental Editor: Trevor B. Bacon

  Cover Design: Clarissa Yeo

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real persons, events, or places are purely coincidental; any references to actual places, people, or brands are fictitious. All rights reserved.

  Other Books By Owen Baillie:

  Aftermath (Invasion of the Dead, Book 1)

  Survival (Invasion of the Dead, Book 2)

  Escape (Invasion of the Dead, Book 3)

  Breakdown (Invasion of the Dead, Book 4)

  Resolve (Invasion of the Dead, Book 5)

  Invasion of the Dead Box Set (Books 1-3)

  Recovery

  Murder Inc.

  Cinema 13

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Trevor Bacon, who once again did more work on this than he probably expected. Trev continues to impress me with his astute criticisms, suggestions, and excellent ideas. Sorry this one took so much of your time mate.

  On a short timeframe, Kim Richardson again provided excellent feedback on some overlooked points. The logic and perspective Kim applies makes up for gaps in my storytelling. I still marvel at my luck in having her give feedback on each of these stories.

  Sara Jones edited this book and was able to turn it around promptly again. Sara gave more suggestions and made more changes than ever before and I was grateful and pleased with that. She is an excellent writer herself and I trust her judgment without question.

  Lastly, thank you to the readers who are still with this series. The feedback with each release is the most rewarding thing. The timeframe between books was longer this time and I’ve run out of excuses. I hope it meets your expectation.

  Previously

  Resolve if the fifth volume of a much longer series called Invasion of the Dead, a post-apocalyptic zombie tale set in the south-eastern states of Australia.

  The books are to be read in sections: 1-3, which follows a group of characters beginning in the New South Wales country town of Albury. Books 4-6 follow a group based in the Tasmanian town around Latrobe. Books 7-9 follow the merging of survivors from both groups.

  The fourth volume, Breakdown, returns to the initial stages of the virus and tells briefly of a meeting between numerous high-ranking military officials in an underground defense department facility in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. Their only hope is that a scientist can formulate a vaccine.

  At Frankford in the north-east of Tasmania, former Commando Shane “Mac” McNamara refuses to leave his sick wife, Jessica, to attend a wake for one of his former military colleagues. Jess convinces Mac to attend and he reluctantly agrees. Mac travels north on empty streets to the outskirts of Devonport and his mate Dave-O’s house. Here, they drink beer, play billiards, and reminisce about their fallen mate, Robbo. As darkness falls, a distant explosion sounds. They wait out on the street to see if they can discover more. Smitty tries to call a former military colleague with no response. Dave-O tells them all the neighbors are sick. After Leigh-Ann, Dave-O’s wife, heads inside, a scream sounds from within the house.

  Mac and the others run inside to discover Neville, Dave-O’s sick neighbor, has bitten Leigh-Ann. Behaving like a wild animal, Mac manages to tie Neville up. Smitty tries the emergency help line but nobody answers. Shortly after, Neville climbs to his feet and attacks Dave-O, who kills Neville but is bitten. Concerned about Jessica, Mac calls, but she does not answer. He leaves for home and hits a kangaroo, crashing his SUV into a ditch on a dark road, and blacks out.

  Kumiko and her father help her sick mother to the Mercy Community Hospital in Latrobe. Dozens of people wait outside the closed doors and they can’t get in. With her parents waiting on the front lawn of the hospital, Kumiko walks around the building and finds a side door entrance. She convinces an orderly to let her parents in but he won’t let her stay. With her asthma playing up, Kumiko leaves to find medicine. She is attacked at her car.

  Mac wakes on the side of the road and races home to find Jessica asleep on the couch. Mac takes his and kids to his parent’s house, where his father is sick in bed. The kids remain there and Mac leaves with Jessica for the Mersey Community Hospital. On the way, they come across a car accident where a sick man attacks one of the passengers.

  At the Mersey Community Hospital, Juliet Silverstein battles a tummy bug and a double shift in an emergency room full of people. Juliet finds one of the dead patients missing from an examination room. A call from the other section of hospital alerts them to an attack. Juliet rushes to the bathroom again. When she returns, patrons in the ER are screaming.

  Jim Bennets, the local primary school principal stocks up on supplies at the school in an attempt to make a refuge for people. After checking the perimeter and the school’s freezer, he finds a trio group of some kids running away from an attack by numerous infected people. Jim offers to drive them home. As they leave in the car, Jim hears reports on the news that police have shot and killed a dozen infected people in Hobart.

  Kumiko is attacked in the car park by an infected man. A biker with a grey beard and shaved head saves her. Her asthma is getting worse. She leaves the biker as a group of people converges on the car park. They just miss her as she drives away. People fight on the streets. Kumiko eventually finds a pharmacy and tries to locate medicine. The Pharmacist jumps out thinking she is a thief. The Pharmacist provides her medicine and she begins to feel better. An infected man enters the store and attacks them. The pharmacist fights it off as Kumiko hides. She tries to escape but another infected arrives. Under attack, another man appears and helps her escape.

  Juliet runs back to the ER amongst the screams. Several crazed people attack the waiting patrons. People manage to kill the three attackers. Juliet then herds the survivors out of the waiting room so they can clean up the mess. As a silver car pulls in to the small car park outside, they order the security guard to lock the doors.

  Jim drops the boys off at home as sick people wander the streets. Jim collects his shotgun form home, then returns to the school, where he finds a sick boy he used to teach walking the streets. It starts to rain and Jim rushes inside the school building but forgets to close the school gates. Under pouring rain, he returns to the gate as other infected race to enter. Jim gets it to shut but another infected has gotten inside from somewhere else.

  Leaving the accident for the hospital, Mac gets a call from Smitty who says Leigh Ann has died and Dave-O is sick. Smitty has intel that things are going to get worse. Mac stops at another accident, where he finds an injured man and drags him free intent on taking him to the hospital. An infected chases and Mac fends him off before driving away. They reach the parking outside the hospital entrance.

  Kumiko and Dan run through the now crowded streets to Kumiko’s car, but its swarming with crazy people and she abandons it, fleeing up a side street. They find Dan’s car and make a run for it as the infected attack, then drive towards the Mersey Community Hospital. Before they reach it though, they have an accident and Kumiko blacks out.

 
With the doors locked, Juliet starts to organize the ER again. She helps a guy named Bill and stacks dead bodies into more examination rooms. With another nurse and one of the doctors, they discuss potential treatments for the virus. Outside the entrance doors, a man shouts for them to let him in.

  Mac fights his way through a pack of infected to the hospital doors with Jessica, convinces them to open up, then leaves Jessica with a biker. Mac returns to the SUV, wakes the injured man and helps him to the hospital. The infected overwhelm them though and the man goes down, bitten. Mac fights on and makes it.

  Inside the hospital, Juliet and a doctor (Seth) attend to Jessica. They cannot determine if Jessica has a common cold or the lethal virus. After discussing the situation with Juliet, Mac says he needs to leave and collect his kids. His phone rings and he excuses himself. Seth insists Juliet get some sleep after her lengthy shift.

  Mac takes a call from Smitty, who informs him Dave-O and Leigh Anne are both dead. Mac says he will come for Smitty, but phones his mother first and finds out she is sick. Mac needs to collect his kids, but the Nissan is damaged and unable to be driven. Jessica is medicated but must stay at the hospital. Sensing his desperation, Juliet offers Mac the use of her car. After promising Jessica to return, Mac leaves for Dave-O’s place. The infected fill Dave-O’s street as Mac parks the car and runs for the door. He makes it inside but the house is surrounded by many infected.

  Kumiko and Dan wake in the car as darkness closes in. They witness a strange creature wandering around outside, but it disappears. Infected attack as the speed away, but when they reach the hospital, it is full of sick, and Dan refuses to leave Kumiko. She agrees to go with him if he promises to bring her back when it is safe. They soon reach Dan’s Nan’s house, which is next to a primary school, but they are forced to flee the car as something more aggressive attacks. The other infected close in. They see an open gate leading into the school and run for it.

  Inside the school, Jim remembers he forgot to close one of the back gates. Jim fights off infected on his way to the back fence, where he sees a car stop in the middle of the street and two people run for their lives. Jim calls them inside the school and they all work to close the gate as the infected fight to enter the school.

  Surrounded by infected, Mac and Smitty are stuck at Dave-O’s house for the night. They fall asleep and wake at 6 am. The road outside is clear. Mac finds an M4 assault rifle in the roof. They collect supplies and leave in Dave-O’s Holden Commodore parked in the garage.

  Kumiko wakes in the middle of the night and sits outside under the stars. Dan joins her and they discuss the world and where it is going. They learn about each other and their relationship develops. The next morning, Jim prepares Dan and Kumiko before he leaves for home to get the generator.

  Juliet wakes from her three-hour sleep to find the door locked. The keys are on the floor beneath the door. In another room, she finds a dead doctor who was infected and a woman named Jessica hiding. In the ER, many people have been killed. Juliet finds her friend, Deidre, as one of the aggressive infected chases her. She finds Jessica and another woman named Meg, and they run for a vehicle in the basement car park. As they drive away, the aggressive infected stands in their way.

  Jim drives home to get the generator and as the infected converge on his home, is stuck inside the garage.

  Mac and Smitty leave Dave-O’s and head to Mac’s parent’s house. Mac’s infected mother attacks and he is forced to shoot her. He finds his father attacking Tyler and kills him too.

  Kumiko and Dan leave a horde of infected at the entrance to the school after Jim’s departure. Inside, they hear a message on the radio about the virus being a terrorist attack. Dan says that after dark he’s going to check on his grandmother.

  Juliet drives at the aggressive infected. At the last moment, it steps out of the way. Hundreds of infected fight to get inside the main entrance of the hospital. A military convoy appears and warns the ladies to leave. The military attack the infected and many personnel are killed as the infected overwhelm them. Bill, the biker, appears on a motorbike and crashes. The infected converge on him. The women must decide if they help him.

  The dead hang around outside Jim’s garage, waiting for him. He loads the generator into his SUV, then spends his time looking through old photos waiting for them to leave. Eventually, he tries to raise the garage door and the infected attack. One gets inside and Jim kills, it, but almost suffocates from the car fumes.

  Mac and Smitty bury Mac’s parents up the back of their property. Tyler tries to watch and Mac gets angry at him. They leave for Mersey Community Hospital.

  The girls help Bill escape the infected attack after crashing his Harley Davidson. Meg surprises Juliet by assisting. They find a fuel station and become trapped inside the store where they treat Bill’s ankle that he injured falling off his motorbike. The infected surround the store, eager to be let in.

  Mac and the others are waved over by a policeman who tells them Mersey Community is no more. He suggests Mole Creek where the army has set up a site. Mac checks the hospital anyway and recognizes the fire-bombing. They head back to Mac’s house and find Dutch. The kids can’t find the dog. Mac’s neighbors, Shelli and Ken arrive, asking to tag along to Mole Creek.

  When Jim hasn’t returned, Dan decides to check on his grandmother. He leaves via the back fence and agrees with Kumiko to meet back there in an hour. She falls asleep in the office and races to the rear of the school. After fighting his way, Dan, with Kumiko’s help, manages to get back inside the safety of the school.

  Using a spear gun and a bottle of liquid petroleum gas, Jim fights his way out of the garage by exploding the bottle and killing the infected. He drives away with the generator, grateful he still has his life.

  Jim has not returned, and Dan wakes Kumiko to tell her the infected are threatening to break down the school fence. They check the perimeter and watch the fence buckle as the infected swarm into the school.

  Outside the fuel station convenience store, the infected have cleared away and Juliet makes a break for the car to fill up on fuel. They obtain a little fuel and escape from the attacking infected. They turn down the wrong streets and are almost trapped, but a large SUV drives past and the driver tells them to follow, which they do, and momentarily escape.

  Despite the kids not finding their dog, Mac and the others leave the property. Mac promises to return for it. On the highway, they come across a traffic accident. Dutch gets out and fires the gun at one of the aggressive types. Its finds a way to attack Ken and Shelli and Mac must use all his driving skills to save them.

  Opening the entrance gates to the school, Jim is attacked and uses a spear from the gun to kill the infected. More attack though, and he is about to die when his phone wrings, motivating him to fight back. He answers it and finds his daughters are under attack. Jim fights his way back inside the school.

  Kumiko and Dan hide inside the administration building. They are glad to Jim return. Jim needs their help to get the generator out of the car by distracting the infected.

  The infected fill the streets as Juliet and the others follow the SUV to safety. They reach a big solid set of gates and Jessica urges Juliet to turn back, but it’s too late. They enter and the gates close. Rough men appear and one grabs Jessica. Bill strikes him and the man attacks Bill.

  Mac and the others drive until they find the crashed petrol tanker blocking the road beside the school. Dutch is keen to investigate the school after seeing the sign welcoming people. Gunfire from inside the school grounds draws them in. Ken and Shelli wait with the kids in their car.

  Kumiko and Dan create a distraction for Jim to retrieve the generator. But they are cut off from the building and are forced to run towards the playground and eventually, onto the equipment. Kumiko falls off one of the wooden platforms as the infected converge on them.

  Jim unloads the generator from the back of his vehicle. The weight of it freezes his back and he is caught holding it, unable t
o move, with the infected approaching and Kumiko screaming in the distance.

  Juliet and the others, including Bill, are locked in a massive empty metal storage tank. A young woman has been inside the tank for two days after the men killed her brother and friend. Bill vows to escape.

  Jim abandons the generator and fights the infected with the spear. He goes down and crawls underneath the car to avoid their groping hands. The infected disappear as one of the aggressive types arrives and drags Jim out.

  Dan jumps off the playground to help Kumiko. She climbs back up out of reach and uses the shotgun to kill several infected, but Dan is stuck amongst the infected on the ground.

  Sam, the man who offered Juliet and the others advice upon capture, arrives at the tank and opens the door. He convinces Juliet and the others to follow him towards the back of the lot. Eventually, they realize the other men are chasing, and that they won’t all be able to climb the fence in time. They convince Bill he must escape. He reluctantly agrees, climbs over the fence as the men close in and runs off through a field, promising to return.

  Mac, Smitty and Dutch enter the school. They split up; Mac saves Jim from the aggressive infected and then fights it. Eventually, he kills it with the shotgun. They take the generator into the school and then Mac heads towards the playground.

  Kumiko helps Dan up onto the safety of the playground platform. They noticed an aggressive infected watching them. Men with guns approach and start to shoot dead the infected. They begin to leave the playground and converge on the men with guns. The aggressive type attacks the men.

  Running towards the playground, Mac sees the aggressive woman attack Dutch. He fires and hits the woman and she runs away. Dutch dies though. Kumiko and Dan join Mac and Smitty. The radio crackles; Ken, Shelli and the kids are in trouble and heading towards the school. Mac runs towards them.

  Jim watches as the Nissan with the old couple and the kids’ crashes through the entrance gates. Jim races from the building and grabs the young girl, then takes her back and puts her inside the office.