The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by Michael W. Garza Read Free Book Online

“And why not? You got something better to do?”
    Chris laughed at her , which only made the situation worse. “How about try to stay alive? Keep my ass from being eaten? There’s two pretty good things I can do right there.” He stopped laughing and held a determined gaze. He’d had enough of her holier than thou attitude. “Here’s a little dose of reality, honey. The world’s gone to crap and the infected and zed heads don’t care if their next meal is six years old or sixty.”
    Jenn turned away from him and faced the parking lot. The lights from the lot silhouetted her on the edge of the roof. “I know that as much as anyone.”
    Chris instantly felt badly about what he’d said. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he had a good idea of what her response meant. He walked away from the group and Jenn turned her attention to the kids. He could hear them as she tried to settle them down for the night.
    “It’s going to get cold up here,” she said, sliding off a small backpack. She sat it down and removed a pair of towels, then offered them up to the kids as pillows or blankets.
    “Are we going to leave in the morning?” Alicen asked.
    “I hope so,” Jenn replied.
    “…for Catalina?”
    Chris rolled his eyes, but didn’t look over at them. Jenn got to her feet and headed in his direction as she answered the little girl.
    “We’ll see.”
    Typical parental response , Chris thought. Grownups never offered much commitment unless they were dead set on something. Kid’s minds didn’t seem to work that way. To them, everything was more black or white. Jake urged his sister to be quiet before she could get out a follow up question. The two laid down, choosing to use the towels as pillows. Their jackets appeared warm enough for the weather, but even so, it would be a long, cold night. Jenn came to a stop a few feet from Chris and the two stood side by side looking out over the city in silence. She finally ended the standoff several minutes later.
    “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
    Chris shook his head.
    “Don’t worry about it.”
    “No,” she said. “You came to help us and you didn’t have to do that . A lot of people wouldn’t have done it. It’s not your responsibility to help everyone you come across.”
    The silence returned and Chris fought off the a wkwardness as long as he could.
    “You from Denver?”
    She shook her head.
    “Kansas City.”
    “Boy, you’re a long way from home.”
    “Hasn’t been my home since all this started.” She wiped her hand across her face and her shoulders relaxed. “…hung on as long as I could and finally realized help wasn’t coming. I felt like I had to get out of there.”
    “What brought you to our fine city?” Chris flashed an uneasy smile. “Skiing?”
    “Just passing through,” she said. “My parents were living in Vegas when the infection spread. Last time I got them on the phone, they were held up on the tenth floor of the Harrah’s casino.” She pushed her hair back behind her head and tied it up with something she pulled from her pocket. “What about you?’
    “Me? I’m a Denver boy, born and bred.” Chris slipped his hands in his pockets as the loss of adrenalin gave way to the cold. “Actually, I was born a few miles south of here, but spent most of my life in and around the city.”
    “You alone?” she asked sheepishly. It was a hard question to ask these days.
    “Have been for a while,” he offered.
    “Then why stay?”
    Chris shrugged , then tried to rub the tired from his eyes. He pushed his hair up over his ears. It was longer than he cared for and he swore he was going to shave it off, if he got the chance. He found himself struggling to find a good answer to her question.
    “Go where?”
    Jenn looked back at the kids and lowered her voice.
    “How about Catalina?”
    Chris shook his head again.
    “Don’t tell me they pulled you into that safe zone crap?”
    “You don’t know if it’s true or not,” she said