Free Deadlocked 7 by A.R. Wise

said Billy.
    “But nothing. No more debate.” Laura pointed out at the truck barricade. “Get out there and tell them the plan. We need to cut down the size of our caravan by three or four trucks.”
    “Okay,” said Billy. “I know Abe has some fireman suits in his truck. I’ll get him to give those to some of the Rollers so they can get to work on the outside of the barricade. That’ll protect them from any embers.”
    “ Great,” said Laura. “I’m going to start getting the people in here to pack up.”
    “I’ll take care of that, ” said Zack. “You go be with Annie.”
    “I can’t,” said Laura. “I can’t see her like that. If I see her, I’m going to start crying. These people don’t need to see me like that.”
    “They understand, Laura,” said Zack. “No expects you to be…”
    “No more debating.” Laura pushed away from him and headed into the crowd of survivors.
    “Damn it,” said Zack when he was alone with Arthur. “She’s going to kill herself.”
    “She’s a tough one,” said Arthur.
    “No one’s tough enough to deal with this.” Zack put his hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “She’s in denial and is trying to stay strong for the rest of us.” He shook his head. “It’s not going to last, kid. Trust me.”
    Arthur watched as Laura moved through the crowd, telling the survivors of the plan to head south. He saw her hands shaking as she went, as if her body was trying to break, with or without her.

PART TWO
    STAY TOGETHER
     
     
    Chapter Six – Downright Nasty
    Six months after the apocalypse
    Hero, Billy, Clyde, and Reagan are planning an assault on the military.
     
    The trip to the Rocky Mountains from the east coast had been an arduous one. They’d started in a helicopter, but it didn’t get them very far before they were forced to land on top of a small hospital that was overrun with zombies. It seemed certain that they would die there, but Reagan and Hero were able to secure a top floor and Clyde was able to save both Kim and Billy’s lives from the injuries they’d sustained in the fight on the island in Georgia.
    The zombies that infested the hospital popped within a week, leaving the building a stinking tomb, but otherwise safe. There was plenty of food, and it seemed like a safe place to lay low for a while. Then the military came looking for them.
    When they left the helicopter on top of the hospital, they’d also left a marker of their location. The military came looking for the man that had killed General Covington, but they weren’t looking for a fight. They seemed desperate to keep Reagan alive, which afforded the group an opportunity to escape.
    They spent the next month moving across the ravaged countryside, desperate to find a place to rest. They scavenged supplies, and tried to help other survivors they met along the way.
    The new military, outfitted in fatigues that were different from any that had been seen before, had done an efficient job of corralling the populace. Television and radio were effective tools in forcing most survivors into line, telling lies about the safety that could be found within the walls of the camps. People were urged not to trust anyone other than the new military. Video of police officers taking part in the spread of the disease was shown to dissuade the populace from relying on any local protection.
    Social media and the internet had once been thought of as a source of free thought, but survivors quickly learned that it was just another tool of distorted truth. The people that had been responsible for the apocalypse left little to chance. They flooded social media with false promises of safety and freedom within the military camps, while also providing proof that the terrorists responsible for the virus were indistinguishable from everyone else. In the United States, the populace was eager to place blame on Arabs, or other foreigners, but the overwhelming proof was right in front of them. The people that were caught