The Dying of the Light (Book 1): End by Jason Kristopher Read Free Book Online Page B

the colonel paused the video.
     
    I glanced around at the soldiers looking at me, wondering what was going on, and noticed the video again. There I was, freeze-framed for all eternity as I walked toward a squad of soldiers, my rifle on the ground behind me, my arms raised and hands folded atop my head. I jumped as Maxwell broke the silence.
     
    “Mr. Blake here was the only survivor of the massacre. Fall Creek was once home to nearly fifteen hundred men, women and children. Now, it’s empty. Nothing lives there, and the whole area has been quarantined by us for the foreseeable future due to a ‘toxic spill.’ This was followed by an unfortunate fire that raged out of control and destroyed the town completely.” Colonel Maxwell realized that most of his team was staring at me, and gave me another look — this time one of pity — as he shouted. “Eyes front!
     
    “When the town first fell off the grid and someone from outside finally noticed, several state troopers were sent in to investigate. We found their bodies and vehicles near the town hall. They had no idea what they were walking into, and were clearly outmatched and overwhelmed. When they didn’t report back, their commander talked to the Governor, who dispatched the Colorado Army National Guard’s 157 th Infantry out of Denver.
     
    “You have all been chosen because you are the best at what you do. So were these guys.” The colonel stepped to one side as he started another video. This one was from a helmet camera. I noticed that some of the soldiers — operators, not soldiers — began taking notes and talking in quiet whispers, critiquing the performance and methods of the unit on the screen. I was impressed that they would be able to focus after what they had just seen, and resolved to train myself to be just as good.
     
    “We believe that the initial infection was spread by a bitten hunter returning to town,” Maxwell continued. I turned back to the screen, as hard as it was. I had a general idea of what had happened to start the whole thing, but I hadn’t been filled in on any detail. At the time, I hadn’t cared to learn and wanted merely to put it behind me. Now, things were different. “After it was all over, we had search teams scouring the mountains for weeks as far out as 20 miles, but we only found three of the bastards outside the city; they’d probably gone after animals or fleeing people. Where we realized the real magnitude of what we were up against, and just how unprepared we were, was when we discovered this video, taken sometime after the National Guard arrived in the town, likely during the second day.”
     
    On the screen, a small squad of soldiers walked through the afternoon light and moved into a small cafe. I realized I was looking at the same squad I’d seen from the roof across the street, and knew what was coming next. As usual, blood and broken bodies were everywhere, and the soldiers were taking their time carefully clearing the way as they moved forward. I saw a flyer posted on the glass by the entrance announcing Friday’s high-school football game against neighboring Ranger Canyon; a game that would never be played. Go Ravens , I sighed.
     
    Suddenly everyone jumped as a zombie came moaning through the kitchen door.
     
    “Halt! Freeze or we will open fire,” yelled one of the soldiers. When the moaning just continued, the unit suited actions to words and fired. I shook my head as I watched the well-trained but ignorant men aim for and hit the zombie’s chests and legs, which didn’t even slow them down. More moans were heard from around a corner and two more walkers shambled towards the team. The sound of breaking glass from the front of the restaurant caused the camera to swing around, showing another walker moving in.
     
    The squad fell apart and was overcome within moments, one of them running screaming out into the street, clutching an arm that had been bitten and mangled beyond repair. The camera