Read Online LEFT ALIVE (Zombie series Box Set): Books 1-6 of the Post-apocalyptic zombie action and adventure series by Jeremy Laszlo - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jeremy Laszlo
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I never bought into zombies being an ancient fear of man. No, we weren’t afraid of the dead coming back and eating us, we were afraid of the dead. So why were two radio voices talking about zombies? Wasn’t that just blatant fear-mongering in a world that was now built upon the single foundation of terror?
Unless they weren’t actually the dead rising and walking. I mean, by science fiction standards, sure a poisonous, mutating fertilizer might be capable of raising the dead, but this is the real world. So what if the zombies they were talking about weren’t actually the walking dead? What if they were just the walking hungry? I haven’t seen an herbivore in ages. In fact, I don’t think they survived. Even the squirrels succumbed after their stores of nuts were dried up. All I’ve seen are carrion birds and anything that eats the dead. The only meat we humans are getting is going to be coming from one of those two sources. As for looting, Detroit—and probably every other major metropolitan hub—is picked clean of canned and bagged goods. What else are people supposed to survive on if there is nothing to scavenge? I feel a chill when I come to the conclusion that I no doubt know to be true.
They eat the dead. That’s the mystery behind the zombies. They murdered that Kid and they dragged him into the liquor store, and wherever they went, I know that they ate him. It’s the only source of meat that’s left in the world and even that supply is dwindling. My word, that is the most horrifying and despicable thing that I could ever think of. Isn’t that bad for your health? Or is that just an old wives’ tale we’re told to keep us from becoming cannibals? I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’m not going into any more buildings that look suspicious. I’m sure as Hell going to be avoiding cities from now on.
I come to the conclusion that if I want to survive, I need to start being nocturnal. That was what the others in Detroit were doing. That was why they were sleeping during the day. At night, that’s when they creep out of their lairs and take to the streets. By luck I had avoided them up until this point but without a sanctuary to fortify and hide in, there’s no point staying in my normal daytime routines. If I take to the road at night, I’ll be less likely to be found. I can keep on the move. I can stay safe. As far as that word has meaning. Fear was the only thing keeping me safe and I had to respect where it led me. If it told me that the night was my best chance at safety, then I had to respect that.
But that wasn’t all it told me. It told me that the old world was dead. Everything about it. There was only so much that I could cling to from the past and the most I could afford to keep belonged to Lexi and Val. I could be their father, I could love them, and desire to protect them; but that was all I could bring with me into this world. Everything else, it had to wither, burn, and blow away in the wind. There was no more morality in this world. There were no rules, no gods, and no masters. There was only the independent self. Killing those who got in my way had to be acceptable. Letting the weak die while the horrid strong preyed upon them, that was the only law of the land now. It was a jungle outside of this hotel room and I had to accept it. I was in a new world and I needed to carve out my place within it.
When darkness envelops the world, I open my door and take my first steps out into my nocturnal life. I travel for hours, looking for a pharmacy, though my gash is beginning to feel better. Regular cleaning is doing wonders for it, but I still fear infection. I find nothing and I am still too close to Detroit for comfort. All that I can see of the city are vast, billowing clouds of ash and smoke drifting off toward the east like a mighty curtain hiding the carnage. I can hear booms from explosions far beyond me and the distant cracks of gunshots, too far to register any immediate
Unless they weren’t actually the dead rising and walking. I mean, by science fiction standards, sure a poisonous, mutating fertilizer might be capable of raising the dead, but this is the real world. So what if the zombies they were talking about weren’t actually the walking dead? What if they were just the walking hungry? I haven’t seen an herbivore in ages. In fact, I don’t think they survived. Even the squirrels succumbed after their stores of nuts were dried up. All I’ve seen are carrion birds and anything that eats the dead. The only meat we humans are getting is going to be coming from one of those two sources. As for looting, Detroit—and probably every other major metropolitan hub—is picked clean of canned and bagged goods. What else are people supposed to survive on if there is nothing to scavenge? I feel a chill when I come to the conclusion that I no doubt know to be true.
They eat the dead. That’s the mystery behind the zombies. They murdered that Kid and they dragged him into the liquor store, and wherever they went, I know that they ate him. It’s the only source of meat that’s left in the world and even that supply is dwindling. My word, that is the most horrifying and despicable thing that I could ever think of. Isn’t that bad for your health? Or is that just an old wives’ tale we’re told to keep us from becoming cannibals? I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’m not going into any more buildings that look suspicious. I’m sure as Hell going to be avoiding cities from now on.
I come to the conclusion that if I want to survive, I need to start being nocturnal. That was what the others in Detroit were doing. That was why they were sleeping during the day. At night, that’s when they creep out of their lairs and take to the streets. By luck I had avoided them up until this point but without a sanctuary to fortify and hide in, there’s no point staying in my normal daytime routines. If I take to the road at night, I’ll be less likely to be found. I can keep on the move. I can stay safe. As far as that word has meaning. Fear was the only thing keeping me safe and I had to respect where it led me. If it told me that the night was my best chance at safety, then I had to respect that.
But that wasn’t all it told me. It told me that the old world was dead. Everything about it. There was only so much that I could cling to from the past and the most I could afford to keep belonged to Lexi and Val. I could be their father, I could love them, and desire to protect them; but that was all I could bring with me into this world. Everything else, it had to wither, burn, and blow away in the wind. There was no more morality in this world. There were no rules, no gods, and no masters. There was only the independent self. Killing those who got in my way had to be acceptable. Letting the weak die while the horrid strong preyed upon them, that was the only law of the land now. It was a jungle outside of this hotel room and I had to accept it. I was in a new world and I needed to carve out my place within it.
When darkness envelops the world, I open my door and take my first steps out into my nocturnal life. I travel for hours, looking for a pharmacy, though my gash is beginning to feel better. Regular cleaning is doing wonders for it, but I still fear infection. I find nothing and I am still too close to Detroit for comfort. All that I can see of the city are vast, billowing clouds of ash and smoke drifting off toward the east like a mighty curtain hiding the carnage. I can hear booms from explosions far beyond me and the distant cracks of gunshots, too far to register any immediate
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