Sometimes We Ran (Book 2): Community by Stephen Drivick Read Free Book Online

“Most people have been out there too long, killing and scratching to survive. By the time we find them, they’re…,” Wallace struggled for an appropriate word. “Broken. Most survivors are useless. But not you.”
    I couldn’t imagine what he was trying to say. “What are you driving at, Wallace?”
    He sat down and moved closer. The scent of liquor got stronger. “Have you ever stood outside on a starry night, looked up and asked, why me? Why was I spared while so many went to their death? For what reason was I given the chance to live?”
    A shiver went down my spine. Wallace had hit the bull’s-eye. I had been asking myself the same things for a least a year now. The look on my face must have given him my answer.
    Wallace continued. “I asked myself that question every night for six months. I obsessed on it. It occupied my every thought. It almost drove me insane. And then I had a breakthrough. I was spared to make a difference. God in his infinite wisdom had left me here to do something important,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
    “What did you come up with?” I asked, terrified at what the answer might be.
    Wallace started to beam. “I was left here to take it back. Me and my men were still alive at the end of it ready to cleanse the Earth. Return it to the living. A chance to start all over again. Think of it, John. A chance to reboot the world and form it in your own image.”
    “What image is that?”
    Wallace stood and held his arms apart. “They’re all gone.”
    “Who’s all gone, Wallace?”
    He bent down to whisper in my ear. “All the people who stood in this great country’s way: the lawyers, the politicians, the immigrants, the race-baiters, the queers, the lazy. Every useless waste of skin that held us back. Swept away by the hand of God and the zombie swarms. It left people like you and me. Survivors. Ready to push those undead bastards into the sea .” He paused to take a breath. “I need you, John. I need your survival instinct, your calm, your ability to think on your feet, and your sense of loyalty to your friends. Together we can take it all back. What do you think?” He walked to the end of the table to await my answer.
    I sat there, taking small breaths, unable to process all the information that had been presented. Wallace wanted me to join him in trying to take back the earth. He had a grand plan. He obsessed over it. It was his legacy, his gift to mankind. I could only come to one conclusion as I sat there stunned in the little quarantine room.
    Wallace had gone a little nuts.
    He wanted an answer. “Well, John. What do you say?”
    I stood up. “I’m sorry. I’m not in the world-building business. I’m a survivor. Nothing more.”
    Wallace stepped back with a shocked look on his face. “I can’t lie to you. I’m a little disappointed with your lack of vision. We’ll talk again after you think about what I said. You know deep down I’m right.” He turned toward the door. As he stepped into the hallway, he paused for a second. “Oh by the way before I forget, our resources here are quite limited. When quarantine is over, we usually put our survivors with the general population of the shelter. A guy like you will do okay I think, but your little girlfriend Claire Margaret may have some trouble. Some of those guys haven’t seen a new woman in about a year or so. I would hate for her to be hurt or anything.”
    My hands tightened into fists. Rage built up in my body till I felt like I might explode. I didn’t like where this was going. “If you hurt Claire, you and I are going to have a problem,” I said in a low, even tone.
    Wallace winked. “Now, there’s that survival instinct I was talking about. Think about what I said. We’ll talk later.” With that, he quickly walked out into the hall and disappeared. The door shut and locked behind him.
    I stood for a few seconds boiling with anger. Wallace was a nut, and this whole setup was no safe