Free Infected (Book 2): The Flight by Caleb Cleek Page B

disease.”  Even the studio makeup and lighting couldn’t hide the pallor that washed over her skin.  She had lost the objectivity and indifference newscasters strive so hard to portray.  She had just as much at stake as the viewers.  She was susceptible to the same fears and emotions as everybody else, and she had reached the limit of what she could hide.
    In an uncharacteristic act of vulnerability, she turned to the side and asked, “Could somebody please bring me some water?”  A young woman quickly and self-consciously walked onto the set with a clear plastic bottle and set it on the desk before scurrying out of view.   The anchor twisted the top and chugged half the bottle before recapping it and setting it out of view below the desk.  She continued speaking, obviously disturbed.
    Bruce, who was sitting at the right side of the ring of chairs, turned and asked, “What do we do?”
    “Do whatever you want,” James said as he stood up.  “I’m out of here, though.  I’m going home to get my wife and we’re heading to our cabin in Blairsville.  We don’t have a lot of room, but anyone who needs a place can come with us.  We have plenty of food there and we have a well with good water on the property.”
    “But they said to stay where we are,” Meagan interrupted.
    “I’m not begging you to come.  I’m just offering an out of the way place to hide out,” James retorted.  “Do whatever you want.  I don’t care.  What about you?” he asked, turning to face Zeke.
    “I don’t know.” Zeke hesitated. “Blairsville is a two hour drive on a good day.  Traffic was really heavy leaving town when I came in.  With the announcement we just heard, it’s going to be gridlock.  I appreciate the offer, but I think I like my chances here in the building.  There’s food and water and we can lock up and stay secure.  I’m afraid it’s going to be anarchy out there.”
    “All right,” James said as he started for the door.  “Anybody else want to come?” Several people shook their heads no, while others simply stared at the floor, wondering if they were doing the right thing by passing on a place to escape outside of the city.  “Good luck to all of you,” he said as he walked out the door.
    “Wait a minute,” Bruce said, standing up.  “I’m coming with you.”  He nearly toppled his chair in his haste to not be left behind. 
    After the two left the room, Zeke turned his back to the TV and the others in the room and walked to the window which overlooked the empty street.  Looking as far as possible in either direction, he saw no one except an old bum burrowing through a trash can.  After several minutes, James’s Infinity pull out of the side street and start east toward the freeway. 
    “Why don’t you turn it to a local station and see what’s happening here?” someone suggested.  The local situation was different, but not better.  Five minutes was enough for Zeke to realize he should have turned around before he made it to work.  The clips didn’t show the infected mauling people. Instead it showed healthy people looting and mugging other people.  Gangs were leaving their neighborhoods in mass, having already plundered the local stores.  Moving to higher-end shopping centers, they were killing anyone who got in their way and walking out with whatever they could carry. 
    Scenes from grocery stores were just as bad.  Soccer moms were heaping weeks’ worth of food into over laden carts and simply pushing past objecting employees without paying.  Mini vans were exiting the premises with groceries stacked up to the windows.  Within half an hour of the CDC announcement, shelves were picked clean of anything useful.  Many owners simply refused to open the doors of their businesses.  Armed guards for hire became the top commodity in the city.  They defended businesses until somebody with a bigger gun wanted to shop. A lone man could do little against a determined,