Decay (Book 1): Civilization Read Free Page A

The sirens were close. Jonathan followed his father out into the garage where they each grabbed a pair of binoculars and climbed the ladder to the roof.
    They exited the garage onto the roof through a stainless steel door.  From up above, the door was hidden under the shingles. Lying along the roof was a series of solar panels. These were in place mostly to serve as an emergency power source, but they helped reduce the electric bill. Another source of backup power was a propane powered generator that sat in a shed in the back of the house with a large enough tank to run it for at least a solid month.
    “What do you think is going on, Dad?” Jonathan asked curiously as he slid up against one of the solar panels. It was after seven in the evening, and there was enough light left from the day to see most of the town from here.
    Brian watched the ambulances through his binoculars. There were many police officers speeding around the town as well. “I have been watching on and off most of the day. The chaos has mostly been in the northern side of the city. It seems to be moving this way. I am not really sure what kept it north for so long. We should have put better procedures into place to contain any contamination that could spread this quickly. You should probably go back in the house. Do not worry about a thing. We will be safe here. I will be in in a little while.”
    Jonathan descended the ladder, returned the binoculars to their shelf, and walked back into the house. If he had known that this was the last chance he would have to tell his father he loved him he would have done just that.
    He was awoken by the tumult coming from outside. Sitting up in fear, Jonathan jumped from his bed and ran to find his father. “Dad! DAD!” Jonathan screamed as he ran through the house, opening doors as he went. As he opened the door leading out into the garage the noise erupted into a bevy of screams and chaos. The garage door was open, and he could see his father running toward the front gate. As the gate opened he could see the blue Dodge Magnum sitting across the street up on the sidewalk. It looked as though it had been hit by another vehicle, pushed into the light posts, and was unable to move.
    Jonathan could just make out the woman driving and her two children sitting in the back of the car. Their screams tore through the air like a bolt of lightning causing all the hair on Jonathan’s body to stand up. There was so much terror in their screams. Before Brian made it to the car another group of people had gotten there first. They looked angry with the woman, beating on the windows trying to get to her. Jonathan realized they were being attacked, and his father was trying to save them.
    As Brian reached the driver side door he looked at the attackers all around them, then back to Jonathan. “Close the gate!” he shouted to Jonathan as he realized he was not going to make it back through. “Close the gate and get inside! I will get in on my own!”
    Jonathan did what his father told him and regretted it instantly. He ran into the garage and hit the button that closes the gate, followed by the garage door. He turned back just in time to see his father pull the children from the car and signal for them to run up the hill. The last image he saw of his father was him shoving some of the attackers away from the ladies car. Soon his father was lost in the chaos, and then the entire world outside vanished as the garage door slide into place against the floor. The unsettling screams were only muffled by the walls around him. Jonathan dropped to his knees on the hard concrete floor and didn’t even try to hold back the surge of tears.

 
    Chapter 2
    The cool rain drops fell gently onto the roof of the house. It only rained a few times a year in Clay Hills, and the sun still tore through the thin clouds like a lighthouse through the fog. This rain only lasted a few hours and created an underwater effect in the house as the light