OUTNUMBERED volume 4: A Zombie Apocalypse Series Read Free Page B

I finish eating we need to go to the office. There are pictures I want to print off so everyone at the meeting has a copy. You'll want to puke when you see them."
    I patted her belly. At four months it had started to show a little mound on her slender frame. Ira had detected two heartbeats and I' been thrilled at the thought of twins to spoil. We wouldn't know their sex until the birth. The leadership committee had declined to install x-ray machines or ultrasound equipment and had instead committed to a gradual lessening of our dependence on modern technology. Some of our people wanted to extend the way of life we'd enjoyed prior to the zombie influx, but we felt when the electrical power failed it would be like stepping off a cliff. It was deemed better to give up selected modern conveniences slowly rather than losing all of it abruptly.
     
    At eight-forty I walked into the office with Kira. We kissed, and I hugged her tight before sitting at a computer. I hit the start button on the machine, waited a minute, then plugged the card from the camera into the computer slot. When the pictures appeared on the screen, I scrolled through them. Kira gasped and groaned several times before I highlighted the entire file and hit the print button.
    Kira sat on my lap and clung to me fiercely as the printer rattled and banged while kicking out color prints of the baby monster, its mother, and the rest of the room.
    Shane, John and Ed walked through the office to enter the small meeting room beside it. They wanted to know what the emergency meeting was about. I put them off by promising to show them something new and frightening after everyone arrived.
    Kira and I entered the meeting room almost at the appointed time. Everyone else was there. We'd separated the photos into eight stacks of thirty-two and Kira passed them around as I took my place at the head of the table. A digital recorder was in my shirt pocket. I laid it on the table and hit the record button. Andrea, Ira, Frances, and Morgan had entered through the primary entrance. They appeared as curious and apprehensive as the rest of the group.
    That curiosity caused everyone to flip through the pictures one by one, some faster than others. I heard, "Oh, my God!" "Holy Shit.", "What the hell?", and several bolder expletives voiced as total surprise and disbelief gave way to the gravity of what they saw.
    Side conversations broke out as several members went through the photos a second time. After a few more minutes, I banged my knuckles on the tables.
    "Okay folks, you've all had time to grasp the enormity of what Frances and I experienced today. Before we discuss the situation, take a moment to mourn the loss of Jeff Tanka. He and a new member to Deliverance stumbled into what we took photos of.
    A few seconds passed before I started on the meeting's agenda, "As you can see, these new zombies almost look human. The bloodshot red eyes and general grubbiness are the main features that set them apart from us. The close up shots of the baby indicate it was born a few hours preceding the photos being taken. The photos of the female zombie clearly indicate, without doubt in my opinion, that she was the birth mother." Several members spoke until I cut them off. "There's more you need to know before a discussion begins. Frances, will you give your opinion on the growth of the infant we found; remember everyone, the photos of the birth mother indicates the birth was very recent, a matter of hours." I looked to Ira. "Do you agree Ira?" He nodded and absently mumbled, yes, as he continued to stare at photos. I nodded to Frances.
    "In my opinion, Tom is correct in everything he's said, and I agree with him completely. While the baby was newly borne, it showed signs of being nine months to a year old. As the pictures show, it was crawling and had a full set of upper and lower teeth, and a full head of hair that needed to be cut. I didn't touch it because it was slimy and dirty. The thing looked