U.G.L.Y by H. A. Rhoades Read Free Book Online Page B

too fa r. I need gas and I could use a shot of anything right now ” I said to the darkness.
         After some effort, I managed to get the SUV back on the road. There was little damage to the car except some scratches and dents. With the four wheel drive I was easily able to drive out of the soft sand and back onto the pavement.
    I drove north following the glowing horizon. It took another hour of driving before I crested the last hill. Two intersecting remote highways met below, surrounded by the light from restaurants and gas stations, spread out across the valley floor.
     

13 .
     
    -Crossroads-
     
         Kramer J unction rose out of the desert like a Christmas parade. A crossroads intersecting US 395 and US 58, quite literally in the middle of nowhere. It was a n oasis of fast food restaurants and gas stations offering weary travelers treats for their tired bodies and tired vehicles .
    I sat behind the wheel of my SUV and stared into the flickering lights. As the vehicle descended the hill covering the final 10 or so miles of road, a flash caught my eye in the distance. To the North of the junction a prison sat on a hill. This prison was not affected by the first wave of infection but It was one of the prisons authorities had transferred surviving prisoners to, making room for the ill.
    The flash I saw was the lights in the prison flickering on and off, then a small explosion followed that could be seen sending a fireball into the night sky that lit up the surrounding desert. The flash disappeared quickly and before I could give it much more thought I had arrived at a gas station on the edge of the junction.
    I badly needed to stretch my legs and get a cup of coffee, maybe a bottle of whiskey as well. I pulled into the station and up to the nearest pump. I thought briefly that the explosion I saw was a result of the new infection and it had now gotten ahead of me as I worked my way North. That thought sent a shudder through my body and my next thought led me to never finding the kids. I pushed it out of my mind and slowly walked towards the door to the mini mart.
         Through the lit window I could see people inside the store, standing very still and watching a TV screen. I walked into the store and could hear a news report about the outbreak in the southland area creating a growing death toll. And it was spreading.
    “ Hey kid ” I said loudly so I could get the clerks attention “ I need gas ”.
    “ Uh, yea ” the clerk, a young kid with dirty blond hair about 18 answered “ how much? ”
    “ Here Take $50, that should fill it up.
         I glanced at the TV monitor hanging above the register to see a reporter in a news room reading a prepared statement from the CDC. The statement said that people were showing symptoms similar to the original U.G.L.Y outbreak and were attacking each other. The reporter described what I had seen outside the bar. It seemed to be spreading through contact with other patients who would rapidly fall ill before becoming very aggressive. There were reports of containment. I knew there was no containment, I saw how fast it spread and what its victims turned into.
    “ Contained my ass ” I said a little louder than I had expected to.
    A few heads turned to look at me but turned back to watch the screen without asking me about what I said. I turned slowly to the door and walked out into the night air. W hat a fucking mess this was. I was having some difficulty understanding what was happening even though I watched it happen in front of me. I was growing suspicious of groups of people and Wondered if I should avoid populated areas.
    I started gassing up the car and thought about the first wave of the infection. An epidemic that caused millions of people to kill each other. No one really knew yet what had caused it and the event had passed so fast there was little the CDC or government officials could do to try to understand it.
    What I saw at the bar was similar. T he