Stage 6 Read Free Page A

dad started attacking our front door, and we could only assume that by morning there would be more. Additionally, the entire state of Texas was quarantined and we couldn’t get out even if we wanted to.
    “Alright,” I said, “You two should get that Infected blood off of you. As long as it doesn’t get into any openings you should be ok, but let’s not take any chances. I’ll stand guard tonight also, to make sure we don’t turn psycho and eat each other.”
    Hunter barked in affirmation.

Day 2
    I woke up early in the morning, my phone alarm set to six o’clock. Surprisingly, after being relieved by Lucy for the night shift I had slept quite well considering the circumstances. I felt well rested for the day. I guess the excitement, although terrifying, kept me going. I checked all the windows for break-ins, of which I found none. Then I stopped dead as I neared the kitchen window to the backyard; through the non barricaded sliver in the side I could see the horrifying result of Devin’s dad’s banging around our house. There were ten Infected wandering about, slamming into the walls and stumbling every few steps. They appeared to be searching for ways in. Shocked, I ran to the front door to the see the same thing but even worse. The streets were filled with wandering Infected swarming all the houses, and there were at least twenty outside my house. There was no way of knowing but I assumed we were surrounded around the sides of the house as well. Shaken by the news, I went to wake Lucy and my mom up. They reacted better than I anticipated, and set about making breakfast. I guess their way of dealing with the situation was to try and start the day normally. I, on the other hand was immediately concerned with our chances for survival. Sooner or later they would learn that the windows were our soft spots, and attempt to break them. Sure our barricades were strong, but they weren’t invincible and the Infected were fighting for their food after all. They had all day and weren’t about to give up. We only had several household items left for scrap wood; we had the rest of our chairs and the shelves in the cabinet. And our food, even rationed for the three of us, would only last three weeks at the most. I voiced my concerns to Lucy and my mom, but they said nothing in reply. We sat there in silence, listening to the barely intelligible moans outside.
    Then Lucy said, “What if there are others nearby? There is strength in numbers, and if we are outnumbered by ten-to-one we need every person we can find. I’m sure that other people are nearby.”
    I replied happily for the first time in over a day, “Yeah! Ian and his family live across the street. They hunt a lot and probably have quite a few more weapons than us. They aren’t used to being the ones hunted, but still they should be ok...”
    My mom still said nothing, and I knew now that I would have to take charge here.
    “Alright, there’s still some furniture we can chop down. Lucy, gather all the things we have left that can be used as barricades. Here, use this saw.”
    “Mom, why don’t you see if you can organize all our food into items that can be stored long term, and food we have to eat right away. I’ll see if we can call Ian and his family, or try and put up a sign or something to let others know we’re alive. Alright?”
    They nodded consent, and we set off on our own separate jobs.
    I muttered to myself, “I hope the phones are working today...” and pulled out my cell phone to call Ian. I anxiously waited for him to pick up.
    Ring ring... Ring ring...
    “Jack! Hello, dude, are you ok? I’m surprised you can call me. I didn’t think the phones would be working.”
    Relieved to hear my good friend’s voice, I answered quickly “Yeah man I’m here. I don’t know what’s up with the phones, but are you guys doing ok?”
    A pause followed, then “Well not really. My mom was out shopping when it happened, so we don’t really know what