Free Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins by R.A. Neely Page A

infected moved
on to someone else."
    "How can you be so calm?" she asked.
    Jackson glanced at her before turning back to the window.
"You know that I spent some time in jail?"
    "Yes," Shirley replied.
    "For now let's just say that jail taught me how to
survive. Panicking isn't gonna help us get out of here."
    "How are we going to get out of here?" Strangely,
she found herself drawing strength from Jackson. During their time working
together, she was the one in charge. The roles were reversed now. Jackson was
on charge here but it didn't bother her. She felt he would keep her safe.
    "For now we'll wait. Hopefully the infected will move
on once they're done. Then we can head towards your shelter." He left the
window and walked towards her.
    "Let's get on the floor," he said as he sat down.
"Less chance of being seen that way."
    Shirley nodded and quickly complied. Seeing the fear in her
eyes, Jackson tried to reassure her.
    "We'll be fine.  No reason to take unnecessary
risks though."
    "Okay. What do we do while we're waiting?"
    "Sleep," Jackson replied. At her look he
explained. "I don't know how hard it'll be to get to your shelter. Don't
know when it'll be safe to rest again when we leave here. So for now, we
sleep."
    I guess that makes sense Shirley thought. Shirley removed
her suit jacket and made a pillow out of it. Jackson sat with his back against
her desk and closed his eyes.
    "We'll sleep a few hours and then I'll see if the cost
is clear."
    ***
    Shirley opened her eyes. For a split second, she thought she
was walking up like on any other typical day. Then she wondered why the ceiling
looked different. A moment later, all her memories came crashing back. She sat
up with a sigh of disappointment. Was it too much to ask that all this has just
been a crazy dream? That she was at this moment actually in her king size bed
at home?
    Shirley looked around and saw Jackson standing at the
window. Was the cost clear? She'd be happy to be on her way out of here.
    "Is it safe to leave?" she asked in a low voice.
    Jackson shook his head. "Not yet," he replied in
kind.
    "There's still one out there that I can see,"he said
moving towards her.
    "Is it leaving?"
    Jackson shrugged. "We might be able to sneak past it.
I'd rather not fight it without some kind of weapon if I can help it."
    Shirley nodded. That made sense. She was completely reliant
on Jackson for her safety right now. If he wasn't ready then she wasn't budging
until he said so. She'd probably have been caught up in that initial attack if
he hadn't been in her office. She could imagine herself opening her door to see
what was happening and that would have been that.
    "I did see something interesting though," he said.
"Remember the guy who got knocked out earlier?"
    "Yes. You said he was lucky because the infected left
him alone."
    Jackson nodded. "Turns out he wasn't lucky. Looks like
he's one of them now."
    "What?" Shirley asked, a bit louder than she'd
intended.
    Jackson held up a finger for silence. He moved back to the
window and peered out. The infected was on its feet and shuffling around the
room. Looks like it hadn't heard them.
    Jackson left the window and returned to Shirley's side.
    "Didn't hear us," he said quietly.
    Shirley hung her head in embarrassment. "Sorry,"
she said in a low voice.
    Jackson shook his head. "We're fine. But like I was
saying, he's moving around like the ones that attacked.
    "How can that be possible?"
    "How can people be running around acting like
animals?" he asked with a shrug.
    Carol nodded. "Point taken."
    "Might be the bite though. Everyone else attacked is
still on the ground. He was the only one that survived an attack as far as I
could tell."
    "Are you sure it's the bite?" she asked.
"What if it's airborne or something?"
    "Were already in trouble if it's airborne." At her
look he explained further. "If it's airborne we've already been exposed or
probably will be when we leave this office."
    Shirley nodded her