Monster of the Apocalypse Read Free Page B

mood.”
    “I don’t Tra-la-la when I feel like crap,” fumed Toshi with an evil look.
    Deo came between them, “Calm down. You guys will argue over anything.” He pointed ahead. “Why don’t we take a look at this hill? C’mon.”
    The topic of discussion became the condition of the road. It looked great. It was a solid, smooth surface with very little debris. Some drifted or washed sand along the edges could mean some weaving might be necessary but as far as they could see, nothing large or dangerous. It was a long way to the bottom, however, and they could not see beyond the first curve.
    “Look,” Lecti said, “not too fast and watch ahead. If you can’t see far enough ahead, then slow down.”
    “Sounds good to me,” simpered Toshi, “I’d just as soon get down in one piece. Deo, you go first.”
    “Yeah, fun!” Deo was all too ready.
    “No, Deo goes last in case he needs to help us if we get in trouble,” vetoed Lecti. “Besides, I don’t want him to leave us behind.”
    “Well then, I’ll go first,” said Toshi. “Try to keep up.”
    She sat on her board, her pack in front between her legs, ready to use her feet as brakes. Putting her feet up on the board and pushing with her arms, she was off.
    Lecti was surprised and didn’t want to get left too far behind. Despite her feelings about Toshi, she did not want to see her get hurt.
    Hurrying, she sat on her board and pushed off just as Toshi rounded the curve, out of sight. She could hear Deo close behind her.
    Catching up with Toshi was easy. She was cautious but fast enough to have fun. A couple of abandoned cars, a tree across their path, and a gully cut through the road. Minor stuff in Lecti’s mind and she was relieved by the easy distance they covered. If it had not involved a grueling hike back to the top, she would have done it again, and even faster.
    Deo passed her when they could see the bottom, and the look on his face said it all.
    A couple of skateboards abandoned in the sagebrush attested to the idea having been tried already. Their boards joined the others, and with packs slung over shoulders, they approached Carson City.

Chapter 3
     
     
     
     
     
    C arson City, Nevada, had grown to just under two hundred thousand souls when the plagues hit. The valley filled, and as it overflowed with people, the outlying areas of Moundhouse, Washoe Valley, and the south Carson Valley either industrialized or filled with cardboard shanties just as other towns had.
    The state capitol had a good number of emergency procedures in place and the equipment to back them up. Hazmat suits were the only real defense against airborne contagion, but they only helped if a problem was recognized. The first plague operated unusually. It infected and lay dormant for months while still being incredibly contagious. Within weeks, everyone who was going to be infected was infected. Those tainted began to die suddenly with few symptoms or warning. Then the other plagues hit. Some communities had greater numbers of survivors by percentage, others less. Roseburg, Oregon, had over ninety that lived, even though it was a smaller community than Carson. Baltimore, a city that had grown into being a large part of the East Coast Metroplex, had none. In Carson City the number was twelve. By percentage, a typical outcome. What followed was typical as well.
    Of the four adults, two committed suicide within a month. Two of the remaining eight were teenagers. One took a motorcycle and all the food he could carry and headed north to Reno, then east on I-80. He had mechanical problems and died in the desert. Of the six children, two were killed by the other teenager as they played in the street. He was racing through side streets in a beautifully restored Hemi Cuda. That evening he drowned when he passed out in a swimming pool after chugging a bottle of expensive scotch.
    Of the remaining two adults, one was a woman that seemed to be able to function despite the horror. She