United States may be facets of a widespread terrorist attack. Power outages, violent assaults and accounts of…cannibalism have been reported in all major cities. People are encouraged to stay indoors or find safe shelter until the crisis has been resolved. Military troops and transports are deployed nationwide. From Denver comes an unsubstantiated report of a skirmish between National Guardsmen and possibly unarmed civilians causing an unconfirmed number of casualties."
The reporter's voice was obliterated by static. Ari rotated the antenna, searching for the signal and caught more fragments of the news bulletin. "…at least fifty confirmed dead…witnesses described the attackers as 'zombies'…scientists claim the phenomenon might be… We interrupt this broadcast for a press briefing from the White House…"
"There! You got it. Stop moving the damn thing," Hector shouted.
But the announcer's voice almost immediately broke up again. Ari tried for several minutes to get the station back then stepped away from the radio with a curse. Joe took his place, scanning up and down the dial for another signal, but only static came from the radio.
"If we could find a battery-powered laptop with an air card for satellite reception, we'd have the whole internet for information," Derrick said. "All this stupid store's got is a couple of desktops in the offices in back. I checked. We need to get to an electronic store."
"No. I need to go find my girlfriend. I'm not waiting any more." Deb shouldered the rifle Ari had assigned her. In the camo-vest and pants she wore, she looked like an entirely different woman than the one Lila had first seen on the train. Her dark face was fierce, her jaw set and her eyes narrowed. She looked like a warrior ready for battle.
The others tried to convince her of the wisdom of staying with the group.
"I've got my family in Queens, my wife and my little girls. You think I don't want to get to them? But there ain't no way," Hector said.
"Because it's clear across the city and over the bridge. But Julie's only a few blocks away," Deb argued.
"We should find someone in authority. There must be patrolling police or even soldiers," Ann said. "There's probably someplace they're sending everyone to keep them safe."
"Like the Astrodome after Katrina? What a great idea," Deb scoffed.
Derrick loudly pressed for a trip to Best Buy, while Ronnie whined about wanting her mommy, the poor kid. The clamor of voices grew as everyone expressed an opinion about what they should do, where they should go or told about the loved ones they needed to reach. Their bickering voices rose above the continuing static of the radio.
Lila wanted to retreat someplace absolutely silent, wrap her arms around herself and rock until this bad dream was over. She looked at Ari, who'd walked away from the group to sit on the floor and lean against a shelving unit displaying fishing rods. Resting his arms on his knees, he closed his eyes. She studied his strong jaw, his full lips pressed grimly tight and the spatters of blood on his olive drab T-shirt. God, what he'd had to do to that thing in the subway and no one had even remembered to thank him for it.
She went over and sat beside him, offering a bottle of water from her tote bag. "Here."
He opened his eyes and accepted the bottle. "Thanks." He uncapped and drank deeply, his Adam's apple bobbing with each swallow.
A little flutter of heat in her belly made Lila look away. It was so wrong to be attracted to a stranger while her loved ones and maybe the entire world was in jeopardy. She gazed at the industrial green carpet on the floor. "So, how are you doing?"
"Fine. You?"
"Holding up." Unable to think of anything to say, she was glad to sit in silence for a few minutes. Finally, she spoke again. "Hey, thanks for what you did, killing that thing. It must've been hard."
He shrugged. "Had to be done."
"No one else was brave enough to do it. How long have you been in the
The reporter's voice was obliterated by static. Ari rotated the antenna, searching for the signal and caught more fragments of the news bulletin. "…at least fifty confirmed dead…witnesses described the attackers as 'zombies'…scientists claim the phenomenon might be… We interrupt this broadcast for a press briefing from the White House…"
"There! You got it. Stop moving the damn thing," Hector shouted.
But the announcer's voice almost immediately broke up again. Ari tried for several minutes to get the station back then stepped away from the radio with a curse. Joe took his place, scanning up and down the dial for another signal, but only static came from the radio.
"If we could find a battery-powered laptop with an air card for satellite reception, we'd have the whole internet for information," Derrick said. "All this stupid store's got is a couple of desktops in the offices in back. I checked. We need to get to an electronic store."
"No. I need to go find my girlfriend. I'm not waiting any more." Deb shouldered the rifle Ari had assigned her. In the camo-vest and pants she wore, she looked like an entirely different woman than the one Lila had first seen on the train. Her dark face was fierce, her jaw set and her eyes narrowed. She looked like a warrior ready for battle.
The others tried to convince her of the wisdom of staying with the group.
"I've got my family in Queens, my wife and my little girls. You think I don't want to get to them? But there ain't no way," Hector said.
"Because it's clear across the city and over the bridge. But Julie's only a few blocks away," Deb argued.
"We should find someone in authority. There must be patrolling police or even soldiers," Ann said. "There's probably someplace they're sending everyone to keep them safe."
"Like the Astrodome after Katrina? What a great idea," Deb scoffed.
Derrick loudly pressed for a trip to Best Buy, while Ronnie whined about wanting her mommy, the poor kid. The clamor of voices grew as everyone expressed an opinion about what they should do, where they should go or told about the loved ones they needed to reach. Their bickering voices rose above the continuing static of the radio.
Lila wanted to retreat someplace absolutely silent, wrap her arms around herself and rock until this bad dream was over. She looked at Ari, who'd walked away from the group to sit on the floor and lean against a shelving unit displaying fishing rods. Resting his arms on his knees, he closed his eyes. She studied his strong jaw, his full lips pressed grimly tight and the spatters of blood on his olive drab T-shirt. God, what he'd had to do to that thing in the subway and no one had even remembered to thank him for it.
She went over and sat beside him, offering a bottle of water from her tote bag. "Here."
He opened his eyes and accepted the bottle. "Thanks." He uncapped and drank deeply, his Adam's apple bobbing with each swallow.
A little flutter of heat in her belly made Lila look away. It was so wrong to be attracted to a stranger while her loved ones and maybe the entire world was in jeopardy. She gazed at the industrial green carpet on the floor. "So, how are you doing?"
"Fine. You?"
"Holding up." Unable to think of anything to say, she was glad to sit in silence for a few minutes. Finally, she spoke again. "Hey, thanks for what you did, killing that thing. It must've been hard."
He shrugged. "Had to be done."
"No one else was brave enough to do it. How long have you been in the
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