Free The Infected (Book 2): Karen's First Day by Joseph Zuko Page A

retreated.
“Move it, bro!”
    The guys took off running the second they saw Tina’s
knife. Cliff spotted a rock the size of a baseball in the flower garden in front
of the apartment. As he zipped by the rock he snatched it up. Every spring
Cliff played centerfielder on the company softball team. They were six games
into the season and undefeated. Cliff planted his leg and fired the rock. The
thing was a heater. A definite strike. The rock hit the small of Long Hair’s
back. It knocked the wind out of Long Hair and he dropped to his knees. The packages
of steak tumbled to the ground as he fell to his face. Cliff and Tina closed
the gap between them.
    “Jesus, Cliff!” She couldn’t believe her husband almost
killed a man over thirty dollars worth of meat. Cliff couldn’t believe it either.
He was not thinking straight. He knew you needed a certain amount of calories a
day to survive and the primal part of Cliff’s brain equated this theft to his
family’s premature death. Maybe he overreacted a little, but after the shit day
he was having who wouldn’t want to kill someone?
    Neck Tattoo dropped the bag of rice and tried to help his
injured friend. Tina and Cliff were too close for him to get his buddy up.
    Neck Tattoo put his hands up in the air, “I’m sorry! I’m
sorry! Don’t kill me!”
    Long Hair writhed on the ground in agony. Cliff and
Tina’s knives were at the ready, but they were not exactly sure what the hell
to do.
    “Our kitchen is empty! We don’t have any food! I’m
sorry!” Neck Tattoo screeched.
    Cliff and Tina shared a quick glance. Neither of them had
ever been in a situation like this.
    What is the right move here? Tina thought as she
lowered her knife and squatted down next to Long Hair.
    “Let me see it,” she said as she pushed him to his
stomach and lifted up his t-shirt. A dark red circle had already formed next to
his spine.
    “Do you live around here?” Tina asked.
    “We just moved into D eight.” Answered Neck Tattoo
    “If you have any spare ice or a cold pack you should ice
this to keep the swelling down. Take a few Tylenol. I hope this is a lesson to
you. Don’t steal someone’s food. They might fuck you up big time.” She stood
back up. Tina aimed the tip of the blade at the food on the ground. “You can
have this, but that’s it.”
    “What the hell are you doing?” Cliff took a step closer
to his wife.
    “They need to eat too. We’re neighbors,” she said as she
turned and headed back to the van.
    “Are we feeding the whole complex now?” Cliff called
after her.
    “No, just them! I don’t know, maybe the ones that need
help. Goddamn it, Cliff. I don’t know! Let’s go!” Tina did not stop to look
back. The conversation was over as far as she was concerned. Cliff gave the two
thieves a nasty stare as Long Hair fought to get to his feet.
    Neck Tattoo gathered up the packages of meat and the bag
of rice.
    Cliff followed his wife back to the van. All the time he
kept his eyes on the two young men. Long Hair hobbled his way over to building
D as Neck Tattoo carried all of the food. Cliff scanned the apartment complex.
Eyes watched them from every building.
    How many other people are sitting with empty kitchens?
    It had not even been a half hour since tons of shit exploded
into the fan and they were already throwing rocks and fighting for food. They muscled
the last of the supplies up into their place. Tina locked the door and turned
her back to it. She leaned against the door and could feel the cold metal
through her shirt. The cold felt great against her sweaty skin.
    She dropped down to her butt and joined the massive pile
of food in the front hallway of their place. The butcher knife shook in her
hand. She let it fall to the floor and rubbed her palms together. A headache
had already started to creep its way in. Stress, dehydration, fear and muscle
fatigue were taking their toll. The muscles in her quads ached from the steps
and she could already feel