The Lost Journal Part 2 (A Secret Apocalypse Story) by James Harden Read Free Book Online Page A

inside, getting off these streets, getting to high ground.
But at that moment another flash of lightning and another loud clap of thunder
cracked and ripped the sky apart. It sounded like it was right on top of us.
    The
lightning bolt lit up the dark streets.
    Directly in
front of us, about four city blocks away we could see the infected. From where
we were standing they were just shapes off in the distance, moving and running
in all directions. Some of them were just standing there in the middle of the
street. Some were shuffling aimlessly. Some of them were headed in our
direction. They didn’t know we were here yet. But they would soon enough.
    We all
froze. Unsure of what to do. Too scared to head any deeper into city.
    Another
flash of lightning.
    To our
right, again, about four city blocks away there were more dark shapes. Some of
them standing, or shuffling. Others were running.
    We had been
so lucky up until this point. We could’ve taken a wrong turn. Found ourselves
surrounded.
    "Bloody
hell," Jack whispered.
    Maria had
her hands over her mouth, shaking her head. "What do we do?" she said quietly.
"There’s so many of them."
    "Get down.
Stay calm," I said to them both. "They haven’t seen us yet."
    We crouched
down behind an abandoned car.
    "Where did
they come from?" Maria asked.
    "There might
have been an evacuation route through here," I explained. "Bad news if you have
a lot of people in a confined area. The virus would’ve spread from person to
person in a matter of minutes."
    "We’ll never
make it to Center Point," Jack said. "Not with that many infected running wild
through the city."
    "We need
another place to hide," I said. "Somewhere close. Something we can fortify."
    Jack
motioned with his head over my shoulder, back down the road, away from the
infected. "The Town Hall. It’s an old building. Solid stone walls. If we can
board it up, secure the doors and the exits, it might be all right. At least
for a while."
    "Perfect.
Let’s go. We don’t have much time."
    We stayed
low to the ground, sneaking between the abandoned cars as we made our way to the
Town Hall.
    "It should
be another block or so," Jack said.
    We had come
to another main intersection. But then Jack stopped. He looked left. Then he
looked right.
    "What are
you doing?" Maria asked. "It’s straight ahead."
    But Jack
didn’t answer. He was staring at something.
    I followed
his gaze.
    There was a
group of about fifty people. They were definitely infected. They were feeding
on a horse.
    Multiple
horses.
    At first I
thought I was seeing things. Why would there be horses in the middle of the
city? But then I saw a whole squad of police officers. They were dressed in
riot gear. They were wearing big bullet proof vests. Helmets. Face masks. Even
with all of that protective gear they had still been overwhelmed. Bitten.
Infected.
    And now,
they were eating, feeding on their own horses.
    They were all
kneeling down, hunched and huddled together over the huge animals.
    Blood and
guts sprawled out all over the road.
    They
reminded me of a bunch of hyenas feeding on a carcass.
    I pushed
Jack, urging him forward. The group of infected hadn’t seen us yet. If we could
cross the intersection as quickly and as quietly as possible we might just make
it.
    Unfortunately
we weren’t fast enough.
    We were
about half way across the intersection when they saw us.
    It’s not safe on the streets.

    We were way out in the open of the intersection. No cover. Nothing to hide
behind. Not even any abandoned cars.
    No man’s
land.
    One of them
turned towards us.
    It was a
police officer in full riot gear. His face was hidden behind a helmet and
protective mask.
    More of them
turned towards us.
    Our only
option was to run.
    Run as fast
as we could.
    "Go," I
whispered. "Go!"
    Jack was out
in front. I was hoping he knew the way. Maria was right behind Jack. She snuck
a glance over her shoulder. I told her not to look. I told her to keep running.
    We were
coming up