Desolation Boulevard by Mark Gordon Read Free Book Online Page B

worried about the long-term affects of their
suspended state. If they continued to hibernate indefinitely, it
was obvious that they would die from dehydration. Could nature
really play such a cruel and pointless trick? He thought that a
virus could cause a reaction like the one he had seen in the
victims, but surely after it had run its course, it too would die
out with the hosts. What would be the point of that? Even viruses
existed to prolong their existence as long as possible. If the
victims of this inexplicable event didn’t regain consciousness
soon, Matt knew that he would be dealing with a town full of
corpses.
    He pulled the car into the farm’s driveway
and killed the engine. He grabbed his shotgun and trudged into the
house, Elvis following closely behind. The sun had dropped behind
the hills and the place was gloomy and depressing. He flicked on
some lights and that made him feel a little better, but he still
fretted for his missing parents. If he couldn’t find them he knew
they would probably die. He didn’t know exactly what he would do if
he did find them, but maybe they would have some chance of survival
if he could provide basic medical care until they regained
consciousness. As he was pondering that idea, Elvis started to
whine. Matt went to the kitchen to find him some food. There was
leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator (made by his mother two days
ago, he thought sadly), which the dog would probably eat, so he
took the plastic wrap from the bowl and took it out onto the
porch.
    “ Here boy, eat this.” He
placed the bowl down on the floor, but Elvis paid it no
attention.
    “ Come on boy, you should
eat. You must be starving.”
    Elvis whined.
    “ What’s wrong?” Matt
coaxed.
    He followed the dog’s gaze through the murky
evening dusk towards town. He couldn’t see anything. The dog
probably smelt a roo or a rabbit out foraging for food in the dusk.
He sat down on the bench, where his father would normally be having
a well-earned beer, and looked towards town while Elvis continued
to whine. It was the only sound Matt could hear.
    Until the scream.
    Matt leapt to his feet and stared in the
direction of the noise. Suddenly Elvis became more animated and
looked at Matt, wagging his tail, as if to say “You hear it too
human?” If it weren’t for the dog’s reaction Matt would have
thought he imagined the cry, as the night became silent once more.
His heart was beating too fast as he waited to hear it again. A
scream that meant someone else in Millfield was conscious! He
thought it had sounded human - a woman maybe. He was cautious with
this line of reasoning, though, because he had heard possums and
even koalas make noises eerily similar to human vocalisations,
especially in the midst of mating. What had him convinced, in the
end though, was the sheer volume of the cry. Despite town being
around four kilometres away, the sound had travelled across the
still night air and assaulted his senses as if the person was in
the next room. Someone had regained consciousness down there. He
called Elvis, grabbed the shotgun and ran to the ute.

Chapter 13
     
    Sally found what she was looking for as the
sun began to dip toward the western horizon - a small boutique
hotel with balconies that faced onto the street.  She entered
the unlocked lobby and called out. There was no answer. This would
be her home for the night. She went behind the front counter and
found the board that held the room keys. Most of the spaces were
empty, which meant that those rooms had probably been occupied
before the “event”, but there were two keys for rooms on the ground
floor. She ruled these out immediately for safety reasons, before
taking the key for Room 14, which was on the first floor. She hoped
it was one of the balcony rooms she had seen from the street. After
checking that the rear entrance to the building was locked, she
secured the lobby doors and headed upstairs to her room. The
stairwell was awfully gloomy