Zombie Theorem (Book 1): The Culling by James Wallace Read Free Book Online

the crackers and granola bars off the table and stowed them under the table. Smart guy, seemed he had the same idea I did in regards to rationing.
    I sat on the floor and finished my sandwich and carrots. Washed it all down with a bottle of water and looked around our little bedraggled group. The first thing I noticed was everyone seemed to be alienating Lisa. “I’m going to have to watch her. People who are shunned seemed to do stupid things,” I thought to myself. Brian seemed to be telling some stories from when he was in the service. He had a pretty good amount of people around him. That’s good he can keep control of these people since they felt assured with having him around. Matt was on the end of one of the couches talking to a couple of people from our team. So far, so good, everyone was relaxing and settling down.
    The sun was going down and the office was starting to darken. I looked up at the emergency battery lights and wondered how long they would last. Our offices were pretty high up, and not much light was going to filter in through the windows during the night. 
    I looked at my watch and saw it was getting close to 9 pm. I yawned and looked over at Matt. I was amazed to see him still awake. He had to have been up for at least 19 hours since he started at 2 am. His eyes had that glazed over look but looked like he was hanging in there. “Alright team I think we need to get some sleep. But in order to give me and hopefully you some peace of mind, I’m going to lock the lobby doors.” Everyone looked over to me and nodded their agreement. “If someone does come for us, they will surely pound on the windows or hopefully get the phones fixed and ring us up.” I walked toward the doors, closed them and engaged the frame locks. Then yanked on them hard to make sure they were secure.
    “Uhm I don’t mean to be a pain, but what if we have to pee? Do we have to ask for permission from daddy?” Lisa asked sarcastically.
    Brian stood up and fielded that question. “For safety and convenience why don’t we take turns on watch? I’m not that tired and don’t sleep much anyway. So I’ll take the first watch and then wake Dan in 3 hours, who then will wake Matt for 3 hours and then wake me so I can take the final watch.” I agreed and so did Matt, who took this as a cue to go ahead and pass out. I found a semi comfortable place between two of the couches, leaned back my head, resting on the wall, and fell into a restless sleep.
    My sleep was fitful and filled with images, not dreams mind you. It was just a slideshow of images. I saw Stacey and Marco, but not as alive and not really dead either. They both looked as they did when we found them but they looked like they were alive. Open eyes and open mouths as if being caught screaming by a photographer. I awoke with a start, Brian had been whispering my name and gently moving my shoulder.
    “Hey Boss time for your shift. It’s been quiet. I took three people to the bathroom, here’s the door keys. Mind if I steal your spot?” I smiled up at him and held out my hand. He grabbed it and nearly ripped my arm out of its socket and simultaneously launched me into the air. He caught me before I lost my balance. “Alright Boss wake me if you need me. I’m used to taking cat naps so don’t worry about it.”
    “Don’t worry Brian you deserve to crash out. If I can’t handle something I’ll just scream like a little girl, I’m sure that will wake you up.” I croaked out.
    He chuckled a little and within seconds was snoring softly. I quietly ambled around the office for an hour, looking out the windows and down at the Bay Bridge and could see the new lights dancing on the wire strands. Everything just felt surreal. How could everything look so normal out there but be so wrong in here I thought. I rested my head on the window and tried to think about what I may have missed or could’ve done differently. I knew I had to lead these people, I was responsible