Free After the End by Bonnie Dee Page A

knew more about cruising the internet than actually setting up systems.
    "If you meet other people, you could bring them back here. There's safety in numbers." Ann's long fingers fiddled nervously with her bracelet. "Maybe you'll even find a policeman who can tell us what to do?"
    "Maybe," Ari agreed, but he thought the cops were as clueless as anyone else, and he hesitated to expand their group by too many. The smaller the team the better the organization. Right now, despite they fact they were practically strangers, Ari felt he had a handle on who everyone was and what to expect from them. So far, no one had lost their cool too badly. Add in a wild card, someone unstable or abrasive and the group dynamic would shift.
    "They say the first stage of a crisis is the most dangerous," he continued. "After things settle down is the time to make a move."
    "There should be enough camp beds and sleeping bags for all of us here. We'll set up camp while you're gone." Lila supported him and he was grateful for it.
    "I'll keep first watch," Joe volunteered.
    "I want to go with you," Hector announced. "I'm a good shot and I can't stand waiting around any more. I wanna see what's happening out there."
    Ari thought he could move faster with only him and Derrick, but Hector might prove useful. At least the guy could shoot. Likely the only shooting Derrick had done was with an X-box controller. "Okay," he agreed.
    They checked their gear. With a rifle strapped to his back, a skinning knife in a holster by his side and another semi-automatic in hand, Ari figured he was as ready as he'd ever be. Hector also had his rifle held ready for use and Derrick held several empty backpacks to carry their loot.
    Joe opened the door and locked it behind them after they'd stepped out onto the sidewalk. Even with sunglasses on, the outdoors seemed bright after the dimness of the store. Ari squinted down the street with its jumbled cars and nearly empty sidewalks. Such quiet stillness in the middle of the day on a city street was weird and unsettling. There were sirens in the distance and some traffic noise, also a helicopter off to the south, but overall the impression of desertion and silence rested like a muffling quilt over the city.
    Pieces of the man who'd broken through the window earlier lay among the shattered glass in front of that building. There were other broken bodies here and there, but no living people in sight. Then in the distance, several blocks away, Ari saw people moving. He raised his binoculars to see if they were living or zombie. Several figures darted quickly down the sidewalk and around the corner. They were living humans. He'd already become familiar with the jerky gait of zombies, like marionettes operated by an amateur puppeteer. That should make them easy to outrun, yet the creatures seemed to be doing a pretty good job of attacking and killing people. They weren't slow, merely awkward
    "This is freaky." Hector, walking on Ari's left, echoed his thought. The man's white knuckle grip on his rifle and his darting gaze made Ari a little nervous. It was good to be alert and vigilant, but not so good if the guy snapped and started shooting randomly.
    They reached a mom & pop grocery which had caught Ari's eye earlier. Iron grates covered the display windows. The door was locked. Frustrated, Ari jerked on the door for a few seconds then began to beat at the lock with the butt of his rifle. A flurry of movement inside the store stopped his assault and a moment later the door opened a few inches. Dark eyes peered through the gap. "What do you want?"
    "Groceries," Ari kept the duh to himself. He held his rifle in one hand and held up his free hand, palm open to show his harmless intent. "Just groceries. That's all. There's a group of us. We need supplies."
    A woman's voice speaking in Korean came from behind the man in the doorway, a rapid-fire patter of either fear or anger. The storekeeper muttered a sharp comment and opened the door a