Wave Number Z

Chapter 1

It hadn't rained in two months.

The dirt was dry, and Jakob's shoe chipped the crusted mud into hard slabs. His foot wasn't doing much. He'd need a shovel if he wanted to be done with his work before nightfall. But shovels were hard to come by. There might be one in his garage back at the house, but that was a thirty-minute walk from here.

Jakob heaved a sigh, crouching down so that his knees touched against the rock-solid floor. Grasping big handfuls, he tossed the dirt over the body.

Dad's body.

A year ago he would have been sobbing, despite Dad's rule that boys should never cry. But now Jakob was numb to everything. All the death, all the sacrifice, all the pain. They'd thought Dad was immune, like all the rest of them. Turned out he wasn't. So if Dad wasn't immune, then who was next? Whom would Jakob be covering in cracked mud tomorrow?

He'd heard Uncle Kay telling Shawn that there was a possibility they all had the virus, and some people's bodies took longer to shut down, is all. He'd said that could be the only reason they were still alive. Maybe there was no such thing as being immune, after all. But death was around the corner one way or another, so did it really matter which way they would go?

Jakob had covered Dad's face first so it wouldn't watch him while he did his digging and covering. Now all that was left to do was the feet. He'd taken off Dad's shoes earlier because Uncle Kay had said there were better uses for them than being holed up in the Earth. Jakob guessed he agreed, but he didn't want to be the one who had to wear those shoes.

Finally, he finished, dusting off his scraped-up hands. Jakob stood, groaning as he stretched out his legs and wiggled his foot. It had fallen asleep while he was burying. Jakob glanced upwards. The sun had just started to sink, and the sky's tint became red, like blood soaking a grey blanket. Grey was the customary color, mostly thanks to pollution.

Jakob wiped a thin sheen of sweat off his brow. Today had been a particularly hot day. For a year now the weather had been wonky. Some days it was insanely hot, and other days Jakob thought he might freeze to death. But lately, it had been so, so dry. Jakob had decided, on one of his long walks here, that he would give a whole finger for just a tiny bit of rain.

Jakob turned, his feet shuffling in the dust as he made his way towards the edge of the site. He barely had enough time to get back to the house. Jakob tried to ignore the quiet scrapes and taps coming from underneath the ground. Anxiety gripped his heart like a cold metal hand. This place was dangerous. They could come out of the ground at any moment. But Uncle Kay had said the holes would hold them for just a little while longer. Long enough for Jakob's family, or what was left of it, to make their escape.

But the noises sounded louder than usual, and Jakob was tense.

Finally, he neared the end of the area, and unable to resist, Jakob turned back one last time to face the Graveyard. He had named it that, even though Uncle Kay had told him that that wasn't what it was, not really. The bodies that Jakob had buried there weren't dead. At least they wouldn't be for long. Uncle Kay said it was just like they were in a really deep sleep. But Jakob knew that when they woke up, the bodies wouldn't be the same, not truly alive anymore. So he decided that he'd call it what he wanted to.

There were 998 bodies buried in the Graveyard, almost the whole town. Jakob had kept count. He didn't know most of them, despite how small Cromer Valley was. He felt like he was violating them, in some way. Once they woke up again they'd be angry. Uncle Kay had told him to stop thinking like that, though. Uncle Kay had said that burying them would hold them for long enough. Long enough to get Cooper to safety, which was all that really mattered to Jakob, anymore. Ever since Dad had fallen asleep.

Jakob shoved his thoughts aside and started towards home. It was dangerous in the light, but even more so by nightfall. Uncle Kay would be annoyed, and Shawn would be livid.

Jakob didn't like the new Shawn. He was always bossy, ordering Jakob around. Before the outbreak, Shawn had been fun and carefree. He was the kind of guy that was bringing a new girlfriend home every couple of weeks just because he didn't care, the kind of guy that would juggle the dishes instead of rinsing them like he was supposed to. He would drop them half the time and would get in trouble, but he didn't really mind, which was funny. Shawn's laugh was the best, a snorting kind of laugh that was so truly happy it made you join right in. Shawn didn't laugh anymore. He was always glaring.

Jakob broke into a jog, picking splinters from his palms as he went. The sun sank lower. Jakob didn't want to get in trouble, but part of him wished the sun would just set already. Then maybe he would have a break from the smoldering heat.

Jakob slowed down as he reached the edge of Uncle Kay's property. He carefully lifted his foot, stepping over a piece of string stretching taught, low to the ground. He then maneuvered throughout the rest of Uncle Kay's traps. Uncle Kay said that they would catch intruders. Jakob had asked what they would do once the intruders were caught. Uncle Kay had shrugged off the question with a grunt, telling Jakob to get back to work.

Jakob knew that Uncle Kay liked to act tough. But inside, he was just as afraid as the rest of them.

Author's Note:

And here it is... the start of a new story! Obviously, I have a lot on my plate right now (between Zodiac and The 100th Game) and I was going to wait to continue to work on this story, but I just couldn't. Personally, if I'm not working on a couple of projects at a time I get bored with my work. So I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Wave Number Z! I already have so many ideas for this novel!If you think this chapter deserved it, and want to read more, leave a vote! And comment on your thoughts.Until next time...

-Rose H.