Hurricane Dan (A Zombie Novel) by Bret Wellman Read Free Book Online

across the street up the road, she was trying to run in high heels, swinging her purse as she went. There was a man chasing her, stumbling with his arms reaching. Dicky hit the gas, cutting the wheel so the police cruiser was aimed at the man.
    The hood dented on impact and blood splashed the windshield, they felt the sickening thump, thump, as the body slipped under the vehicle.
    "Dat no good," Barns said, "dat no good at all!"
    Dan grabbed his seatbelt so tight that his knuckles were turning white. Was this cop crazy, he wondered, was the situation really bad enough to start running people down with cars?
    Dicky turned on the windshield wipers so he could see through the blood and kept going, his face displaying no emotion.
    For the most part, the city portrayed no image of what was happening. The vast majority of streets were going on as if everything were normal. People were out shopping, hailing cabs, selling CDs on the corner. Other than the one man Dicky had run over, and the assault reports on the radio, everything seemed fine.
    Dicky kept his flashers on, still some of the New York traffic refused to get out of the way. Four taxis and a Camaro forced them to drive over the curb on the last corner before the police station. The people on the sidewalk looked healthy, thankfully.  Dicky slowed to allow them to get out of the way.
    As soon as they stopped, Dicky was out of the car and running into the large brick building labeled "Police." By the time Dan got Barns out of the back, he was already through the big wooden doors and out of sight.
    Dan made one last survey of the city as they crossed the curb to the doors. The sun was coming out but the street they were on was still covered in shadow. Everybody was calm, walking along, doing their own thing. Dan just wanted to scream, "What the fuck is the matter with you, run for your lives!" but he knew that would do no good at all. Most likely it would just convince people that he was a crazy person.
    Only on the inside of the police station could he tell something was wrong. Paperwork was scattered everywhere as if there had been a giant wrestling match right in the middle of the place. All the police and a few men in street clothes were running back and forth, relaying messages and carrying random supplies. It was hard to walk through without bumping shoulders with somebody rushing by. They had a handful of the sick, chained and handcuffed to chairs against one wall. The sick hissed and chomped at the cops as they walked by. Their skin was ripped and bleeding from where they kept yanking against the hand cuffs.
    Dan found Dicky in an office towards the back.
    "When will the riot force be ready?" Dicky asked a man whom Dan could not see from his position outside the door.
    "Riot force?" a gruff voice asked from inside. "And where the hell do you want me to deploy them?"
    "Anywhere damn it, you are about to lose control!"
    "If you are suggesting I can't handle a few drug addicts …"
    "This isn't a bunch of people on drugs, it is spreading like a disease!" Dicky snapped, "You would see it if you got off your ass and left your office."
    "You are out of line, Officer Dickerson! I could have your badge if I wanted, don't forget that."
    Dicky's hands were balled into fists, "Listen here, you little bald-headed fuck, if your daddy wasn't in the government you would be cleaning up somebody else's piss for a living."
    "Dis ain't no good neither," Barns whispered to Dan. "Ain't nothin’ been good all damn day!"
    "You have no clue what you are doing," Dicky continued. "And until you do, we are all fucked!"
    "Your gun and your badge, right now, Officer Dickerson!"
    Dicky unholstered his gun but instead of handing it over, he cocked it and aimed deeper into the room to where Dan could not see.
    "I already shot my partner today, what the fuck makes you think I won't shoot a piece of shit like you?"
    This solidified it; Dan was certain that Dicky was a lunatic.
    "We got to go, Dan, we