Free The Liger Plague (Book 1) by Joseph Souza

Antivirus and bacterial. Stops 99.9% of all organisms that you might come in contact with. So wear it with confidence if you want to stay healthy.”
    “Kind of like safe sex, huh, Colonel?” Mueller said, wrapping the rubber band around his head. “Little snug but not bad.”
    “Should have just wrapped it around your fat ass, Mikey.” Silva laughed.
    Tag walked over to his golf cart, jumped in, and started the ignition.
    “Where you going, Colonel?”
    “I have a few important things I need to do. It’s going to be a long night, and we’re going to need to prepare for the worst.”
    “So what should the two of us do?” Mueller asked.
    “I’m so glad you asked. You and Officer Silva need to head up to Main Street and take control of the situation. Try to keep the peace if you can. Make sure riots don’t break out. Get the residents to return to their homes and stay inside. All the tourists should head down to the beach and spread out in order to minimize the risk of catching this disease. It’s warm tonight, so they should be able to sleep on the beach without too much discomfort. Any breeze off the water should help minimize the spread of infection if, indeed, that becomes an issue. We might need to take some water and supplies out of the local grocery stores and deliver them around the island.”
    “Okay, Colonel, we’re on it. Any other instructions before we take off?”
    “We’ll need to start identifying any medical personnel and round them up: doctors, PAs and nurses. We’ll need to set up a sick bay if people start coming down with symptoms.”
    “At that point will it even matter?” Silva asked.
    “Might, might not, depending on the agent we’re dealing with. Quarantining is always the safest strategy, especially if this bug’s a virulent flu strain. And if there’s any casualties, then we’re going to need to safely dispose of the bodies, and the best way to accomplish this is to burn them. I know that sounds harsh, but that’s the reality of the situation, and we must be prepared for the worst.”
    “Damn fine mess we’re in, Colonel! Seeing how you’re the expert on these matters, we’ll follow your lead.”
    “See you around the island, officers,” Tag said, speeding off in the golf cart.
    Tag heard his phone go off. He was relieved to see that it was a text message from his son saying that he was okay. Now he just needed to hear from his daughter.
     

Chapter 6
    He zipped down the hill and turned left onto Atlantic View Road. Once he drove out of the grove of trees, he could hear the familiar roar of surf pounding the shore. Down below and to his right, he could see the beach bathed in the soft glow of moonlight. A few people had already made their way down to escape the chaos taking place in town. The golf cart’s motor whirred in his ears, and the ocean breeze swept past his face. He pumped the gas pedal to the floor, but the cart had reached its top speed. Looking to his left, he observed the row of modest homes lined up and down the quiet residential street. The island sloped down from the center of town until it descended upon the east and west end beaches. The beach facing the Atlantic was the most popular and spectacular of them all. Many of the houses sat empty for long periods of time during the summer. Tag wondered if at some point these homes could be used to house people in the event things on the island got worse.
    The golf cart swerved as it reached the far end of the beach. The northern tip of the island shore was composed mostly of woods, ledges and large rocks covered in seaweed and barnacles. Only a few isolated homes existed on the north end of Cooke’s, and they belonged mostly to the full-time residents. Seagulls soared above the surf, squawking and fighting for supremacy. Tag could feel the salty spray wash over his face as he turned the corner and headed west. Because of the rocks and rough water, not many boats were docked on this part of the island.