Free The Living Dead (Book 1): Contagion by L.I. Albemont

me from now on. Like I said before, you might need some protection. Where’s your husband?”
                “I’m expecting him back anytime and hell will freeze over before I’ll need you to protect me. Get out.” She stopped short of pointing the gun at him again but kept both hands on it as she held it at her side.
                “You’re lying. He couldn’t make it back if he wanted to. Planes aren’t flying and the roads are mostly closed. And what happened to your fancy security system? Not working too well, is it?”
                Virginia realized she had forgotten to set it before she went to sleep this morning.
                “Get out of my house this minute. If you don’t, you’d better believe I will protect myself” and this time she raised the gun. She followed as he retreated down the stairs, uttering threats as he went. She relocked the front door and checked the others to see which one he had used to get in. All were still locked. She went into the laundry room and found the window there forced open and the lock broken. Searching the garage she found a rake handle she cut down to size and used as a bar so the window couldn’t be opened. It wasn’t perfect but would have to do.
                The wound in her side had broken open. She changed the bandage and took two acetaminophen for the pain. Hurriedly dressing in thick corduroys and a warm sweater, she thought of what she once would have done in a situation like this. With one call to 911, police would have been out in minutes. Larry would be taken into custody and she would be safe. Not now. There was no one to call.
                Other than the window, the house seemed undisturbed. Outside it was still snowing and so dark the street lamps came on early. She poured a cup of the coffee she had made yesterday, heated it in the microwave and drank it, grateful for the warmth. She turned on the television. Two of the local affiliates were off the air. NBC was still broadcasting but it wasn’t live. They showed footage shot yesterday in New York City as multitudes of people tried to leave the city on foot. The streets were choked with cars abandoned once true gridlock took hold. They carried suitcases and backpacks. Children cried as their parents hurried them along. Others had dogs on leashes and birds in cages, everyone trying to save what was precious to them. The screen changed to the male anchor.
                “We warn you that the footage you are about to see is uncut and disturbing. There will be instances of nudity as many of the infected revived in city morgues and in hospitals. Please keep this in mind if you have younger viewers watching.”
                The image switched back to the New York video. It was obvious that the mood of the crowd had changed from impatience to fear and panic. People screamed as groups of lurching, mutilated infected appeared at the edges of the crowd. Some were indeed, nude, with gaping, putrid black wounds and missing limbs. They attacked those at the perimeter. In the terror and frenzy the weaker and smaller in the crowd were crushed underfoot. Virginia changed the channel, unable to watch anymore.
                FOX news displayed a map pinpointing heavily infested locations around the world. New York City and DC were overrun. So were all of the Caribbean islands. The entire state of Florida was considered lost. Blockades were set up at the Georgia and Alabama borders where National Guardsmen had orders to shoot to kill anyone approaching the barricades. The western part of the country was said to have fewer cases than elsewhere. Air traffic worldwide had come to a complete halt and the Dow had all but disappeared. Europe and Great Britain reported cases of infection but appeared to be holding up better than the U.S. so far. China and now Russia still claimed to be infection free.
                She