After Life by Daniel Kelley Read Free Book Online

office earlier, but she had tried to dismiss it. It persisted, though.
    “Is that just the flu?” Madison asked.
    “I guess,” Donnie said, shrugging. “Says he’s got some kind of bug. He went to the bathroom fifteen-twenty minutes ago, haven’t seen him since. Figured I’d try to be missing when he returns.”
    “I wouldn’t stay,” Madison said. “He’s going to be in a bad enough mood, Donnie. You’ll want to be there when he gets back.”
    Donnie sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He stomped, looking like nothing so much as a tantrum-throwing toddler. He left, the door standing open behind him.
    Madison ran her fingers through her hair, straightening a bit and tucking it behind her right ear. Michelle noticed this.
    “What’s up?” she asked.
    Madison stopped short. Michelle always surprised her by how attuned she was with Madison’s mannerisms. She briefly considered lying to her, but was sure Michelle would pick up on it. “I’m just a little worried about Lambert.”
    “Lambert?”
    “You were locked down the whole time, right?”
    “2010?” Michelle asked. “Pretty much. My sister put the whole place on lockdown — no one in, no one out, no matter who they were.”
    “Your sister was smart.”
    “Yeah. Was.”
    “Anyway,” Madison continued. “You weren’t out there. Some guys — the proud ones, the ones who thought they were strong, like Lambert — wouldn’t let on when they had been bitten. It was crazy. Everyone knew a bite meant you were a zombie. But still, the cocky guys just refused to believe, thought they were too strong, they could fight it off, something. Ben at the gate told me Lambert refused to strip for inspection when he showed up this morning, and he’s been flushed all day, and getting worse quickly.”
    “You think he’s …?”
    “I don’t want to believe that. And if he is infected, it’s the slowest-moving infection I’ve ever seen. Usually, it takes only a few minutes, less if someone’s been bitten multiple times. But he’s been more worried than normal about these phone calls when it doesn’t seem that out of the ordinary from my perspective. Maybe that’s why he’s so concerned.”
    “So what do we do?”
    “I’m not sure,” Madison said, then stopped. She cocked her head toward the hallway. Straining her ears, she thought for sure she had heard the tell-tale coughs that indicated Lambert’s exit from the bathroom and, judging from the fact that the sound was getting louder, he hadn’t then made the left turn down his own hallway — he was coming their way.
    Michelle turned to see for herself. Lambert, who earlier had seemed under the weather but functional, was now stumbling along, face firmly pressed into his handkerchief, barely holding himself upright against the wall. His suit jacket was only a memory, and his white shirt was translucent with sweat.
    Lambert nearly fell as he crossed the threshold into their office. He doubled over, his gut pushing his suspenders to their breaking point, and hacked something that even he found disgusting into his latest handkerchief, a brown one that didn’t match anything else he was wearing.
    “Salvisa,” he rasped when he had gotten over his fit.
    “What about him?” Madison asked.
    “Any word?”
    “No. Nothing about Salvisa.” Madison looked over to her assistant. “Michelle, can you go to Lambert’s office? See if you can help Donnie and Cal out a little?”
    Michelle balked, and Lambert coughed. “What are you sending her away for?” he said angrily.
    “Michelle, please.”
    Michelle took a couple of steps toward the door, then looked back at Madison with raised eyebrows. The two held eye contact for a moment, then, when Lambert doubled over in another coughing fit, Madison raised her jacket, giving Michelle a glimpse of the ever-present handgun. Michelle nodded and left.
    “And shut the door, please,” Madison called after her.

Chapter 6: All A’ s
    Stacy, Celia, and