Omega Virus (Book 1): Beta Hour by Jake A. Strife Read Free Book Online Page A

the garage and then it sounded like a war going on in there!”
    “A
horde of Corpses,” I replied as I looked from Tiffany to Wesley. Hopefully, she
wouldn't mount and kill him at any second, although she glared every so often
with utter hatred.
    “Are
you alright?” Dave’s voice crackled through.
    “Yeah,
all three of us,” I said.
    “Zach!”
Jessie's voice chimed in. “Where are you now?”
    “We’re
heading to the 7n20.”
    “Oh
good,” Dave said, “Check out the game section. See if they have—ow!”
    “Sorry.”
Jessie’s voice came back. “What were you saying?”
    “We
need supplies. It looks like we’re going to be staying at the game studio for a
while.”
    “Please
be safe.”
    “We
will. Over and out.”
    I
rolled down the window as we drove through the streets. The city of Milpeg had
gone to hell in just a matter of hours, and only Corpses still moved. Instead of
a ten-minute trip, Wesley made it almost an hour. He stopped every time he saw
a Corpse. The scoreboard in his head had to be overflowing.
    Finally,
we pulled up outside of the expansive parking lot. Hundreds of corpses shambled
around. Everyone had to have rushed for supplies and walked into a massacre.
    Before
we climbed out of the car Wesley reloaded all of the guns and gave us extra
clips.
    “I
suspect. That we won’t be alone inside.” Wesley said, sounding a little too
happy.
    “Probably
not,” I agreed.
    Wesley
ran to a clear aisle and motioned us over. We had to be careful. To catch the
attention of one Corpse would be to bring them all down upon us.
    We
made our way to the front of the store, just as drops of rain started falling.
I looked up at the dark and dreary sky. We still had a while until nightfall,
but a storm would make things worse, especially if we had to carry a ton of
food and supplies to the SUV.
    A
security camera on the side of the building moved back and forth, and I stared
at it in suspicion.
    “What
is it?” Tiffany asked.
    “Nothing,”
I whispered. “Let’s just hurry up; it’s getting cold out.”
    “Of
course, the zombie apocalypse had to start in winter,” Tiffany said, as she
Swatted a water droplet off my nose.
    Her
touch, ever so slight, gave me goosebumps. I shook off the feeling, reminding
myself I wanted to be with Jessie, not Tiffany ; no
matter what my stupid dream had made me feel.
    “It’ll
be Christmas in a week,” I said.
    “I
could care less.” Tiffany checked her gun. “Holidays aren’t my thing.”
    “Well,
I care,” Wesley announced as he fiddled with the
sliding door mechanism.
    “You
do?”
    “Of
course,” he said. “It’s time to go shopping for some new toys.”
    I
rolled my eyes. “Of course.”
    The
doors slid open, and we walked through into the dark store. There were no
Corpses anywhere, although blood pooled in multiple places. We walked through
the woman’s clothing section and continued to the directory.
    “Guns
and weapons upstairs,” Wesley grinned and started away.
    “Shouldn’t
we start with food?” I asked.
    “You
can.” Wesley nodded to the escalator. “I’m going to get me some guns, and maybe
some new blades as well. And see if I can find any hottie survivors.”
    Wesley
got on the still-moving escalator and rode it up. The doors were locked, but
the escalators still ran. How long would the power last? The world would soon
be even more depressing.
    Tiffany
shrugged and rushed to catch up with him.
    “No
one has their priorities straight.” I sighed.
    As
I started after them, a shadowy figure struck Wesley on the head with what
looked like a rifle. Tiffany didn’t have time to react and got slugged as well.
They both collapsed.
    “Oh,
crap!” I gasped.
    I
scrambled around the side of the escalator and peeked upstairs. A couple of
people dragged Wesley and Tiffany out of sight. One stopped and snapped their
head in my direction. I pulled back and held my breath. My heart thundered so
loudly, at any second, it would betray