AB (The Blake Reynolds Chronicles Book 1) by Bret Dee Landon Read Free Book Online Page A

She grabbed the phone and dialed his number and got a
busy signal. She hit redial; this time she got the standard message from the
phone company saying that all lines where busy. She tried for another ten
minutes before she threw the phone on the couch and gave up. She sat in the rocking
chair, slowly rocking and watching Kaya play with her toys, all the while
clutching the phone till her knuckles turned white.
    “He will call,
he will call,” she kept thinking to herself.
    Tara kept
glancing at the clock. It was almost eleven. “Damn you, Blake. Why don’t you
call?”
    When the phone
rang, it startled her so much that she dropped it. It only bounced one before
she grabbed it and pressed the answer button.
    “Blake, I’m so glad to hear from you! Is what I am
seeing on the news true?”
    Tara could hear
the pause in his voice. “I’m not sure what they are saying, but what I hear
here on the base is that it is really bad.”
    Tara started to
breathe even heavier as Blake recited what he knew.
    “Listen, this
is what I want you to do: First go and lock all the windows and doors. Close
all the blinds and turn off all the lights. Make it look like no one is in the
house. Next, fill up every container that you can find with water and fill the
tub with water. Then get your Smith and Wesson handgun out and keep it on you
at all times. Get both of my shotguns and put one by the front and one by the
back door,” recited Blake, almost out of breath.
    Even though
Tara had been in the military and had been trained to handle this kind of
situation, the fear she felt for herself, Blake, and Kaya was almost more than
she could bear.
    Blake continued
in a hushed, urgent tone, “I don’t know how much longer this line will stay
connected. I will come and get you when I can. Do you trust me?”
    “Yes,” Tara
said in a soft but firm voice.
    “I love you so
much! Give Kaya a hug for me and tell her that her daddy loves her. Don’t let anyone
through the door until you hear my voice, OK?” The line suddenly dropped, and Tara
wondered if she and Kaya would ever see Blake again.

 
    After she got
off the phone with Blake she was glued to the TV. The president was going to
address the nation. Tara’s eyes were wide open as he stepped up to the podium.
    “My fellow
Americans, for the last several hours you have been hearing many reports on the
radio and television about the infections that are spreading around the world.
Some of them are true, and some are not. I want you to know that from the
reports we are receiving in Washington, most of what you have heard is true.”
    He paused for a
moment, looking down at the podium. A trickle of sweat made its way down the
side of his face. “From this moment on, I will be imposing martial law on the
country. All citizens are ordered to stay in their homes and remain there until
given further instructions. The military will be left in charge of all civic
and law enforcement duties until further notice. They will also be manning all
critical necessities like utilities and hospitals. I know that this will be
hard, but if we stay calm and pull together, our country will survive this.
Expect another report later today with further instructions. Remain calm, and
we will get through this.”

 
    Shortly after
noon Tara scanned the channels to get the most current information. The first
reports from central Mexico started to come in. People were showing the usual
signs of the infection: fever, unconsciousness, and changing eye colors. The
country was in panic, and there were reports of entire towns committing mass
suicide. Men killing their wives and children, and neighbors killing neighbors,
infected or not. Everyone was panicking in the chaos.
    Tara continued
to watch the news reporting that the infection was slowly moving north to the United
States border. The panic started to spread. The news showed store shelves being
cleaned out in a matter of hours, traffic at a complete standstill