“Because, man, there is a new power in the universe. It’s no longer ‘right and wrong.’ Now it’s Alive or fucking cannibalism,” Fish said shining light on the realization of the last week.
“Why haven’t more people shown up yet? Didn’t you tell anyone else about this place?” Jamison asked.
“No,” Rex simply answered. “If word got out that there was a safe place with supplies, weapons, and solitude, this place wouldn’t be in any better situation than those refugee camps you all came from. The ones where the military is in charge and there are multitudes of Alphas coming to eat you. Otherwise, with a mass of people down here, it would get cramped. I’m surprised we had enough for your group. I pray that dysentery or the flu doesn’t break out,” Rex continued.
“But we have a doctor,” Walker said. “Doesn’t matter. The current situation caused the flow of antibiotic production to cease. We’re trying to remedy that by growing out own penicillin. But it’s a slow process.” Walker took this information like a paper cut drenched in lemon juice.
Reynolds and Razor were clearing out furniture for everyone to have a place to sit. Reynolds opened a store room to make room for more beds. He found a crate with a tarp thrown over it. His curiosity got the best of him. He heard footsteps to see Rex coming to help out.
“Hey man, what the hell is this?” Reynolds said as he nudged the box with his foot.
“Oh…that. That’s…uh. That’s a…side project. We were working on some home defensives, but couldn’t get the damn thing to work.”
“That’s some serious at home defense. Got rounds for it?”
“About enough for thirty minutes of constant firing at four thousand rounds a second.” Reynolds let out a whistle.
“The old man, Harrison, he’s some kind of engineer. We could get him to have a peek.”
“What’d y’all find?” Razor asked.
“It’s a goddamn Mini gun, XM133 to be exact. Sixty pounds of straight-up ass-whooping, ” Reynolds explained. “The second day, we raided a military compound. There wasn’t anyone left to defend, so we ‘acquired’ some supplies including this and some MREs and such.” Rex explained, expecting the military man to be cool with his explanation. Reynolds simply nodded, remembering what he said about investing in friends with guns.
As Clint was whipping up something to celebrate the end of their journey, everyone rejoiced and chatted among themselves. “The shower works,” said a familiar booming voice. Everyone gasped as they tried to put a face with the voice. The face didn’t match what they knew. The common clothes didn’t match either. “What do you think?” Redbeard said as he stroked his smoothly shaved skin. Tara was the first to grab him by the chin and inspect him. “All the years we’ve been married, you wait until the end of the world to trim that damn thing?” she smiled as she stroked his short red mustache and goatee and kissed him, rubbing his stark white cheeks. “I didn’t think you could get any uglier!” Devin said to him as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
Ethan was in Carter’s office watching the monitors with Jenna. He was monitoring the radio signals. He was still getting chatter from around the world. He didn’t understand most of it, but he heard a voice that seemed very familiar. “Echo One-One to Echo Base.”
“Echo Base heard. What is it, boys?”
“Perimeter swept, heading inside for the night. Coming in from the south.”
“Echo Base to One-One. Enter when ready.” Ethan listened to the chatter.
“Michaels!” Ethan shouted into the microphone.
“Identify yourself!” The radio spoke back.
“You left without saying good-bye. Where are you? I have a present for you!”
“Somewhere you can’t find me.”
“Sure about that asshole? I made it out of the Fort after you left us to die! Or did you forget about that?”
“Radio silence on that! I was just following orders!”
“I’ve got my own orders now. I’m going to find you, and every name of everyone you left at the fort will be carved into your chest. I’ll make damn sure you remember!” Ethan said as he tapped the revolver on his belt.
“You won’t find me,” Michaels responded. “I’m too far away.”
“I don’t give a shit! The blood of thousands is on your hands! I don’t care if I have to walk. I will find you!” Ethan shouted.
“Good luck, seems the old man’s plan worked.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Gonna take credit for his discovery?” Ethan was getting restless.
“No, he wasn’t on orders from us.”
“And just who the fuck is ‘us,’ Echo Base?” There was a second of silence.
“Take care of yourself. Echo Base out.”
“Go fuck yourself!” Ethan threw the microphone to the side and sat with his head in his hands. “Echo base?” he turned to ask to Jenna.
The group sat down and enjoyed their meal. Being in the cavern made them feel safe. Being with friends that had become family over the last week made them feel safe. They had endured enough for a lifetime. They decided to spend the night at Carter’s hide out and see what the world had in store for them tomorrow.
EPILOGUE
SATURDAY 2213 CST
GLASGOW
Carter’s walkie-talkie came alive on his belt. “Hey! Hey! We got a problem!” Rex’s voice was shouting so hard the walkie-talkie vibrated. Carter motioned for everyone to quiet down. Carter stuck a fork full of beans in his mouth and spoke, “What kind of problem, man?” Rex’s voice was speaking, but everyone heard the ominous background sounds. The sounds of screams and gunfire filled the dining hall. Rex’s words finally sank into everyone’s mind. “They got back up! And they’re pissed!”
“To the wall!” Ethan found himself saying as he ran without thinking. They all filed out. After climbing the ladder to the surface, the sky was filled with smoke, and the parking lot was empty except for Rex who was cowering as he looked over the wall in a crouched position. Reynolds was the first to come to Rex’s side. Reynolds looked over and saw bodies slamming themselves into buildings and people on the streets being tackled and eaten. “They just got back up!” Rex called out. The rest of the group lined the wall as they looked to the new faces of red eyes. These were a familiar sight, but the characteristics were different. Instead of being a slow-moving mob, these were running. There were no Alphas in sight. Only former humans began to feast on the living. At the sight of heads sticking above the concrete wall, a mass of bloody faces began running at the tall concrete wall. They moaned with excitement as their bodies pressed against the wall.
Over the commotion, there was a sonata of sounds. The group turned one by one to find Redbeard and others returning from the door pushing carts. Redbeard placed his shoulder armor on. He put his helmet on his head. The blank spot where his beard was displayed more chainmail. He reached down, slinging a belt of ammunition out of a box and around his shoulder. The brass casings clanked against his chainmail. His hands were wrapped around a M60 light machine gun in his hands. “Roo-yah!” Gavin was the next to join them. He closed the action of the AK47 he just picked up.
“Fuck yeah!” Tripod said as he went to grab another weapons cart. The rest of them, including Carter, Rex, and Fish, came to the weapons cache and picked up weapons. Magazines were slammed into rifles. Handguns were filled with magazines and stuck them in holsters. Rifles and shotguns were loaded and mounted. Everyone stood at the wall.
Everyone watched as the creatures tore down the sleeping city around them. Carter was the first to shoulder his rifle. “So much for the quiet life,” he said as he put a round into a grenade launcher under his AK47 and fired. The grenade whizzed through the air and connected with an overturned semitruck launching glass and metal into the air followed by fire. “Kill them all!” Carter shouted as he and everyone else released hot lead from the ends of their weapons. The air was filled with the thunderous noise of automatic gunfire.
Table of Contents
&
nbsp; Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgments
Contents
Prologue Present Day
Good Morning Chapter 1 Monday 0630 CST Memphis
Neighbors Chapter 2 Monday 0830 EST Philadelphia
The Date Chapter 3 Monday 0930 CST St. Louis
Unexpected Guests Chapter 4 Monday 0845 EST Philadelphia
Time for Work Chapter 5 Monday 0700 CST Memphis
No News Chapter 6 Monday 0900 EST Philadelphia
Jeff and Henry Chapter 7 Monday 1100 CST Ohio
The Ivans Chapter 8 Monday 1130 CST Memphis
Escape Chapter 9 Monday 1135 CST Memphis
The Text Chapter 10 Monday 1215 CST Memphis
Devin's Neighborhood Chapter 11 Monday 1245 CST Memphis
A Knight in Shoulder Pads Chapter 12 Monday 1045 EST Philadelphia
Second Base Chapter 13 Monday 1300 CST Kentucky
The Garage Chapter 14 Monday 1059 EST Philadelphia
The House Chapter 15 Monday 1400 CST Memphis
Coffee Break Chapter 16 Monday 1455 CST Memphis
Steam Rolling Chapter 17 Monday 1108 EST Philadelphia
Getting Out of Town Chapter 18 Monday 1500 CST Memphis
Class Chapter 19 Monday 1324 CST Memphis
The Gas Station Chapter 20 Monday 1505 CST Memphis
A New Ride Chapter 21 Monday 1110 EST Philadelphia
Channel 7 Chapter 22 Monday 1400 CST Memphis
The Cleansing Chapter 23 Monday 1200 CST Millington
The Microwave Chapter 24 Tuesday 0200 CST Memphis
Southern Hospitality Chapter 25 Tuesday 0230 CST Memphis
Noise at the Door Chapter 26 Tuesday 0800 CST Memphis
Junk Food Chapter 27 Tuesday 0630 Millington
Biology Chapter 28 Tuesday 0800 Memphis
Armor Chapter 29 2100 EST Pennsylvania
Mud Island Chapter 30 Tuesday 1100 CST Memphis
The Farmhouse Chapter 31 Tuesday, 1700 CST Millington
Danny's Apartment Chapter 32 Monday 1500 CST St. Louis
Answers Chapter 33 Tuesday 2130 CST Memphis
Children Chapter 34 Monday 1500 CST St. Louis
The Prison Chapter 35 Monday 2000 MDT Idaho
Darwin Chapter 36 Tuesday 2200 CST Memphis
Revenge Chapter 37 Tuesday 0930 CST St. Louis
Base Chapter 38 Tuesday 0400 Fort Knox
Rooftop Access Chapter 39 Wednesday 0300 St. Louis
Darkness Chapter 40 Tuesday 2300 CST Millington
Daddy Issues Chapter 41 Tuesday 2300 Memphis
A New Evil Chapter 42 Tuesday 2310 Millington
The Song of the Dead Chapter 43 Wednesday 0018 Memphis
Inbound Chapter 44 Tuesday 2230 CST Fort Knox
Honor Chapter 45 Wednesday 0045 Memphis
The Attack Chapter 46 Wednesday 0100 CST Memphis
The Mall Chapter 47 Wednesday 0150 CST Millington
In the Ditch Chapter 48 Wednesday 0156 CST Millington
Safety Check Chapter 49 Wednesday 0300 Kentucky
The Vikings Elite Chapter 50 Wednesday 0900 Millington
Playing Defense Chapter 51 Wednesday 0700 Fort Knox
The Relic Chapter 52 Wednesday 0600 CST Fort Knox
Road Trip Chapter 53 Wednesday 0650 CST Millington
The Changing Chapter 54 Wednesday 0900 CST Fort Knox
Rainstorm Chapter 55 Wednesday 1400 CST Brownsville
Casual Business Chapter 56 Wednesday 1900 CST Fort Knox
The Hospital Chapter 57 Wednesday 1530 Brownsville
Something is Coming Chapter 58 Thursday 00:45 Fort Knox
The Meet Up Chapter 59 Wednesday 1700 CST Brownsville
The Wall Chapter 60 Thursday 0228 CST Fort Knox
A Game of Pickup Chapter 61 Wednesday 1600 CST Milan
Breach Chapter 62 Thursday 0245 CST Fort Knox
The Depot Chapter 63 Wednesday 1615 CST Milan
The Exodus Chapter 64 Thursday 0350 CST Fort Knox
Sacrifice Chapter 65 Thursday 0700 CST Clarksville
Back on the Road Chapter 66 Thursday 1300 CST Elizabethtown
The Vault Chapter 67 Thursday 0900 Fort Knox
Dinner Party Chapter 68 Thursday 1700 Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge
Artillery Chapter 69 Friday 0400 CST Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge
Sneaky Bastards Chapter 70 Friday 0930 CST Elizabethtown
CB Radio Chapter 71 Friday 0925 CST Elizabethtown
Richard's Plan Chapter 72 Thursday 1600 CST Virginia
The Rescue Chapter 73 Friday 0935 CST Elizabethtown
Playing in the Woods Chapter 74 Friday 1000 CST Elizabethtown
Louie's Chapter 75 Friday 1500 CST Elizabethtown
The House is Buying Chapter 76 Friday 1930 CST Elizabethtown
Serious Downtime Chapter 77 Friday 2345 CST Elizabethtown
The Next Day Chapter 78 Saturday 0650 CST Elizabethtown
The Ground Quaketh Chapter 79 Saturday 1037 CST Elizabethtown
The Church Chapter 80 Saturday 0800 CST Mississippi
The Silence Chapter 81 Saturday 1038 CST Elizabethtown
The Town Chapter 82 Saturday 1445 CST Glasgow
Horsing Around Chapter 83 Saturday 1500 CST Glasgow
The Drive-In Chapter 84 Saturday 1600 CST Glasgow
The Tour Chapter 85 Saturday 1630 CST Glasgow
Epilogue Saturday 2213 CST Glasgow
The Week of the Dead Page 33