Free Trudge: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse by Shawn Chesser Page B

narrowly avoided colliding with a fast moving out of control pickup thanks to Carl’s quick reflexes. Instead it plowed into a string of parked cars in front of the Holiday Inn. Undead poured from the hotel swarming the ruined truck.
    After the near collision Carl recommended that Raven get buckled up in one of the back seats.
     Three Myrtle Beach Police Department Ford Crown Victoria cruisers screeched to a stop between the Denny’s and the hotel. Without delay the zombies surrounded the police cars. In a scene that reminded Brook of the Rodney King riots in LA, the three patrol cars roared away to safety, leaving the truck driver for dead. She supposed this would be the case in the next few days as society continued to disintegrate.
    The news helicopter flitting around the downtown area reminded Carl to turn on the radio and scan for a transmitting station. WKNB AM was the only one on the air, they listened as they drove. The female reporter said that President Bernard Odero was in a secure location but Vice President Chauncey Lindstrom was still in the District of Columbia; Speaker of the house Valerie Clay was in a third safe location. She went on to report that the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta was working around the clock to find a counter to the virus. So far they knew that the mortality rate was 100%. Any bite or saliva contact definitely led to infection, the pathogen was isolated to the mouth and bred and thrived there. The speed of its introduction into the blood stream depended on the location and severity of the bite on the victim’s body. For instance a bite on the neck near the jugular vein or carotid artery resulted in a quick death from loss of blood, consequently the time until reanimation was more rapid. Furthermore she warned people to stay away from areas where many people assemble, churches, hospitals and shopping malls. For quarantine reasons the main roads in and out of most cities would soon be closed as mandated by the CDC, Homeland Security and FEMA. Comfort centers have been established in some cities for the infected and their families.
    Carl said aloud to no one in particular. “I wonder how long the upper levels of government have been in their comfort centers?” sarcastically adding, “I bet those fat cats have caviar and champagne where they are holed up.”
    Brook said, “Sounds to me like the flu or whatever it is called now is far more dangerous than anyone was reporting initially. I'd bet that the government is already planning severe contingency plans if the spread isn't slowed or stopped soon"
    “What measures do you think they’ll resort to?”
    “I remember when Cade told me about a conspiracy theory web site he checked on occasion. He said there was talk about FEMA already having set aside hundreds of thousands of body bags in multiple locations around the continental United States.” 
    “Where are they? Did Cade mention that?” Carl asked.
    “No. It really disturbed me then. I remember he said that all of the locations were near rail lines…"
    “That sure sounds like Nazi Germany and the holocaust not our United States government. Wow really?” Carl intoned incredulously.
    “Considering all of the things our government has swept under the rug or just plain lied about, I would put little past them” Brook said.
    “I wholeheartedly agree little sister."
    Raven said “I have to go pee” then asked her mom, “have you checked your phone to see if Dad called?"
    "Not in a while. Where is that thing?" Her phone was at the bottom of her bag, she checked, "No bars Raven. It looks like there are no new messages either. We’ll have to check again later."
    They pulled over in a deserted Albertsons parking lot so Raven could relieve her bladder. The dark store looked like it had recently been bombed. Trash and bodies littered the entryway and most of the ground level windows were reduced to glittering shards on the asphalt.
    Raven exited the vehicle while Brook