Read Online The Dead Road: The Complete Collection by Robert Paine - Free Book Online
Authors: Robert Paine
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driver looked really bad, blood coming from his mouth and nose. There was someone else in the car too, in the back seat. I don't know what happened or where they were going, but when the people got them out of the car they both kinda went crazy. They were snarling and biting. No one knew what was going on. The people kept reaching in, trying to grab at the guys from the car, pulling away other people. All in all probably ten people got bit before the cops came. They trapped the two back in the crashed car. Parker's friend was the first one to say zombies. I almost smacked him for making light of the situation. I thought he was being disrespectful of some really hurting people. Turns out he should have smacked me for doubting."
"So what happened? With the car?"
She finished her beer and tossed the can into the river. "Well the police showed up and tried to take control. They tried to talk to the guys from Maine, then threatened them with pepper spray and stuff if they didn't calm down. They were in that car hissing and scratching, like a pair of angry cats trapped in a cage. Officer Adcox opened the car door and sprayed them both with enough pepper spray that I could smell it from across the street, but it didn't do a lick of good. That guy just jumped out and tackled him down, wound up taking a bite out of his shoulder. That's when Officer Murphy shot the man dead. People were crying and stuff. They all thought Murphy shouldn't have fired, you know? Like there was a better way to handle things. But looking back, things may have been different if they shot sooner."
"Did you go home after that?"
She shook her head, "Naw. Officer Murphy started taking statements. Other cops arrived too, with an ambulance for the people that were bit. There were probably twenty witnesses, and only three police, taking down everything they all said. They had us sitting and waiting our turn. The store let us drink sodas out of their fridge while we waited, as long as we bought something to eat. We had a little picnic lunch, talking and joking, trying to keep things all smiles. That's when things went bad. The people that were bitten were feeling sicker, but the only ambulance had already left with Officer Adcox. I could hear one of the other officers calling for assistance, but the hospital's twenty miles away. They started trying to figure out how to get people there in their cars.
"I remember it clear as day. The cops were all in a little clutch, trying to plan how they were going to carry a dozen sick people in three cars when the first guy that got bit stood up. He had this look in his eyes like he was staring off into space as he moved towards the cops. One of the guys in the crowd waiting his turn to be interviewed, I think it was Frank Dooley, the owner of the bait shop, that tried to get in the way, but the sick guy tackled and bit him. The cops turned, but, then I saw everyone that got bit was standing up, groaning. Parker grabbed me by the arm and we ran to my car. Behind us we heard screaming, and gunshots. We got in the car and drove home as fast as we could. On the radio was a new story about the National Guard being called in to help with some sort of outbreak in Concord, over in New Hampshire. We knew things were a lot worse off than it looked."
I nodded and drank my beer as she talked, then set the empty can down by the tire. "What made you go to the radio station? To send that message?"
"Stockton's the only real town for fifty miles. After we got home we were listening to the radio. Parker pulled his old police band out of the garage to listen. It was like listening to hell boil up on earth. Lots of police calling for help, no one answering. The neighboring towns were talking about imposing a curfew, telling people to stay inside, but it didn't matter.
"The thing, the disease, whatever it is, it got loose. That car crash, those guys from Maine, that was how it started here, but it was already
"So what happened? With the car?"
She finished her beer and tossed the can into the river. "Well the police showed up and tried to take control. They tried to talk to the guys from Maine, then threatened them with pepper spray and stuff if they didn't calm down. They were in that car hissing and scratching, like a pair of angry cats trapped in a cage. Officer Adcox opened the car door and sprayed them both with enough pepper spray that I could smell it from across the street, but it didn't do a lick of good. That guy just jumped out and tackled him down, wound up taking a bite out of his shoulder. That's when Officer Murphy shot the man dead. People were crying and stuff. They all thought Murphy shouldn't have fired, you know? Like there was a better way to handle things. But looking back, things may have been different if they shot sooner."
"Did you go home after that?"
She shook her head, "Naw. Officer Murphy started taking statements. Other cops arrived too, with an ambulance for the people that were bit. There were probably twenty witnesses, and only three police, taking down everything they all said. They had us sitting and waiting our turn. The store let us drink sodas out of their fridge while we waited, as long as we bought something to eat. We had a little picnic lunch, talking and joking, trying to keep things all smiles. That's when things went bad. The people that were bitten were feeling sicker, but the only ambulance had already left with Officer Adcox. I could hear one of the other officers calling for assistance, but the hospital's twenty miles away. They started trying to figure out how to get people there in their cars.
"I remember it clear as day. The cops were all in a little clutch, trying to plan how they were going to carry a dozen sick people in three cars when the first guy that got bit stood up. He had this look in his eyes like he was staring off into space as he moved towards the cops. One of the guys in the crowd waiting his turn to be interviewed, I think it was Frank Dooley, the owner of the bait shop, that tried to get in the way, but the sick guy tackled and bit him. The cops turned, but, then I saw everyone that got bit was standing up, groaning. Parker grabbed me by the arm and we ran to my car. Behind us we heard screaming, and gunshots. We got in the car and drove home as fast as we could. On the radio was a new story about the National Guard being called in to help with some sort of outbreak in Concord, over in New Hampshire. We knew things were a lot worse off than it looked."
I nodded and drank my beer as she talked, then set the empty can down by the tire. "What made you go to the radio station? To send that message?"
"Stockton's the only real town for fifty miles. After we got home we were listening to the radio. Parker pulled his old police band out of the garage to listen. It was like listening to hell boil up on earth. Lots of police calling for help, no one answering. The neighboring towns were talking about imposing a curfew, telling people to stay inside, but it didn't matter.
"The thing, the disease, whatever it is, it got loose. That car crash, those guys from Maine, that was how it started here, but it was already
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