Dead Life (Book 2) Read Free Page A

thought we should load up on medical supplies.  Cindy was a registered nurse and she worked with a surgical unit.  Our medical capabilities had just expanded.
                  We unloaded what we thought we'd need for the next night and got ready to settle in.  There was a television in the conference room that was used for training videos.  There was no antennae but we had that covered.  I'd brought along a digital antennae and we hooked it up so we could see if there was anything on the news.  We all picked out something to eat from the frozen department and settled in to watch a little TV.  It felt almost like a normal evening at home with friends.
                  Three of the major networks were still broadcasting.  They were all basically running the same stories over and over.  The National Guard had been mobilized.  There was a curfew in place.  Anyone out past dark was subject to arrest and all looters were to be shot on sight.  It was a good thing we had decided to stay for the night.  There was no way we'd have been able to make it out of the city tonight.  We all decided to put on the Meyer's uniform shirts in case the Guard decided they were coming into the store.
                  The local news affiliates didn't have much live footage to show.  I was assuming they either couldn't find any film crews willing to go out and get killed or that the government still wasn't allowing much information to leak out.  The national news was about the same as the local.  They were advising people to stay in their homes and wait for assistance.  We were also being told not to go to the local hospitals.  In most areas, the outbreaks were getting started at local medical facilities.  It was lucky for Cindy that her shift had ended just as the first bite victims had begun coming in.
                  We watched for about an hour and when the stories started repeating themselves, we decided it was time to get some rest.  The store seemed to be fairly secure.  There was no way to open any of the doors from outside and the front entry doors would only open with a key.  Al volunteered himself and Cindy to take the first watch.  We weren't worried about any zombies getting in the store.  The windows in the front of the store were about an inch thick and set in steel frames.  It was the National Guard that worried me.  If they decided they were coming in we'd need to be ready to move.  At the moment, they were more dangerous than the zombies.
                  There were some air mattresses in the seasonal section so Gina and I got two foot pumps, two mattresses, and some sleeping bags from the truck.  Then we headed for the conference room.
                  While we were pumping up the mattresses, Gina and I talked about where we would go from here.  I told her about the place my dad used to take me hunting and my plans to head out to Callaway County to try and find it.  She liked the idea but there was something else she had in mind.
                  “My dad owns a hotel in Booneville and I'd like to stop there and make sure he's okay.”
                  “Yeah, we can do that.  We're not planning on being able to go straight down Highway 70 to get there but going through Boonville shouldn't be a problem.  We'll talk to Al in the morning.”
                  “Is it up to Al?  Because if he says no...”
                  “Settle down.  No, it's not up to Al.  It's not even up to me.  It's the right thing to do so we'll do it.  We'll try calling your dad in the morning.”
                  “I'm sorry.  I just want to make sure they're okay and see if they want to come with us.”
                  “You mean your mom and dad?”
                  “NO, I guess you could call her my step-mother.  Dad got married to Kym last year.  Mom died about