The Rising Dead by Devan Sagliani Read Free Book Online Page A

need to stay alive in the event of a catastrophe. He subscribed to Independent Living , Surviving Off the Grid , How to Hoard Smart , Chaos Strategy 101 , and Urban Survivalist . He read and reread the weathered copies over and over until he’d practically memorized them. For instance, right off the top of his head, he knew seven types of fuel sources he could make from plants. Hell, he could lecture better than one of those tweedy nerds giving lame speeches in front of a class of bored college freshman every day at the UNLV campus across the street, that is, if any they ever decided to teach anything useful. Gunner chuckled to himself at the thought of him in a tweed jacket and nerd glasses, opening his briefcase.
    He opened the newest copy of Urban Survivalist to the main article “Making Antibiotic Alternatives and Weapons from Common Discarded Items” and settled in to read for a spell. Gunner wasn't taking any chances, especially since he heard about the bees dying off. Colony Collapse Disorder had already disrupted three billion dollars worth of crop harvesting in the United States alone, and rumor had it the natural pollinators were disappearing in Europe as well. The first cases could be traced all the way back to a small field in Germany, owned by a farmer supposedly linked to Monsanto. Some blamed the death of the bees on a designer neurotoxin, created by a major pharmaceutical manufacturer to disrupt a parasitic insect that was killing off the corn. Gunner didn't buy it for a second. In his experience, these kinds of things were never accidental. No it was all part of the plan to reduce the world population by any and all means necessary. He'd been like the rest of these blind idiots for years until the military woke him up to the terrible truth. In his lifetime, the world had grown by over four billion people. There simply weren't enough resources for everyone. Sooner or later, something would have to be done about it. Gunner figured by the time they started rationing the essentials, he'd be well prepared and years ahead of them.
    Most people thought in day-to-day blocks of time . . . maybe buying enough groceries for a week at a time, if that. They would be the first ones to go when the disaster eventually came. A lot of them wouldn't know what hit 'em. Gunner almost felt sorry for them. Then there were the religious nuts. They took a far more sensible approach to the end of the world, even if it was misguided. Then there were the super rich, the puppet masters with strings of gold, who not only prepared for disasters, they precipitated them, using the ensuing chaos for their own advantage. The blue bloods . . . they stuck together. They knew what was coming next because they were the ones that had set the events in motion. To some degree Gunner respected them, even if he hated their overly privileged guts.
    Last but not least were guys like Gunner, ex-military, ex-government, or just plain paranoid. They'd seen too much of the truth to go back to normal life. One glimpse behind the curtain was all it took to permanently change your outlook. These were the guys who would inherit what was left of the world, the ones who were willing to fight to stay alive at all costs.
    Most of this last breed kept their stuff stashed in a pile in their garage and carried a BOB--a “bug out bag”--to get them through in case something went down while they were out shopping or at work. Your typical BOB had waterproof matches, a flashlight, ammo, soap . . . basic stuff like that. Gunner was ten steps ahead of them, if not more! He'd fortified his living quarters, secretly converting it into a shelter capable of weathering out the worst kind of storm.
    He'd been surprised to learn that North Las Vegas was practically a wasteland when he'd taken the job offer. He'd figured being so close to Nellis Air Force Base would mean the neighborhood would be kept up. He'd figured wrong. Sunrise Manor was about as close to a South of the