Last Stand of the Dead - 06 by Joseph Talluto Read Free Book Online Page A

all over again with this woman.  I d id n’t know what I’d do if I lost her.  I really didn’t.
    My reflections were broken by Tommy calling over the radio.  “Gladstone’s been hit!  They just got hit!”
    The map came out again.  We were five miles away.  I radioed back.  “We’re there.  Call the Colonel and let him know.  This may be the one we’ve been looking for.”
    “Roger that, out.”
    I looked over at Sarah.  “Full gear this time.   Take no chances.”
    “Got it.   You, too.”
    “Definitely.”
    We raced around a large bend on 34, and drove as fast as we could towards Gladstone.  It was a little bit off the beaten path of 34, but as Sarah pointed out, it was right in line with the railroad tracks that had crossed the river at Burlington.  Gladstone had survived the Upheaval due to geography.  It was in the middle of nowhere and anywhere, and slightly south of never heard of it. 
    We reached the southern end of Gladstone about ten minutes after Tommy had alerted us.  As we came up around a bend, I could see what might have been a problem for a town now that wasn’t a problem for the Upheaval.  This was a train town, and the tracks led along the northern border of the town. It wasn’t hard to figure out how the zombies had attacked.
    As we turned up Walnut Street, the town was in chaos.  Two buildings were on fire, and there were several people lying around.  One person turned to us as we drove slowly past, but he didn’t see us.  He was focused on his wife who lay in a pool of blood at his feet.  He was holding a length of pipe in his hand and we knew exactly what he was waiting for.
    Further in, we passed the fire district building, and I pulled over as a man stepped out and flagged us down.
    “You’re too late!  They hit us about thirty minutes ago, pulled out about ten minutes ago.”  The man looked haggard, like he wasn’t used to making serious decisions on a minute to minute basis.
    I looked at the building.  It was being used as a treatment center, but it was easy to see they weren’t treating anyone who was going to live.  There were about fifteen people lying on the ground, most of them holding small wounds and looking sick.  I knew in about twenty minutes that this town was going to have another visit from the dead.
    “What happened?” I asked, looking around.  Several more people had seen us pull up, and were coming over to see what was going on.  I cast a look over at Charlie, and he relayed the news to the rest of the crew.  In situations like this, emotions ran high, and people said and did things they would later regret.  We were actually in danger if we played it wrong.
    “They just attacked!” A woman yelled at me.  “Right off the tracks!   Damndest thing I ever saw!”
    “How did they attack?” I asked.  This was the first group of people I had encountered who had seen the attack from beginning to end and they might have some valuable information. 
    Another man spoke up, a thin drink of water with a long scar on the side of his face.  “They just ran through town, biting anyone they met.  Crazy thing, they didn’t stop to eat, just bite and run.  If they couldn’t get you right away, they ran off.”
    That was weird.  “Anything else?” I asked.
    Another woman yelled at us. “They took some of our kids!  They just grabbed them and ran away!  You have to get them back!”
    I looked down.  “Your kids are dead.  These guys aren’t taking kids for food; they’re taking them for recruits.”
    Several people yelled at once, and one man walked forward, holding a length of lumber which was dark at one end. 
    “Damn you!  Why weren’t you here sooner?  You could have stopped them with all your damn guns!”  The man stepped up to about fifteen feet away when a shot from behind me split the air between us.
    Charlie lowered his rifle slightly.  “Let’s try and stay friends, shall we?”
    One look at Charlie in full