Stopping the Dead Read Free

would hold against the dead for a long while.  Panicking people would overwhelm them, but Adam didn’t think that was an issue just yet.  He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of zombies, and he was a hell of a lot more open minded than most people he knew.  The twins were taking it fine because they were Marines, trained and disciplined.  They might be freaking out on the inside, but they knew how to maintain control, and they’d both served two tours in Afghanistan already.  That same inner calm that Adam felt would eventually settle over them, but until then, they’d maintain their composure through the basic pride and discipline of the Marine Corps.
    And as for Ernst, Adam thought, chuckling.  He was just crazy.  Ernst believed that anything could happen, and prepared for it accordingly.  How he got all of his money, Adam didn’t know, and Ernst didn’t talk about it.  But hell, Adam thought, I can probably ask when I get back.
    Adam’s thoughts jumped back to the moment as he came up to the intersection of Canal and Bridge Streets.  Far to the right, near Main Street, he could see flashing lights, cruisers blocking access to downtown.
    Adam nodded to himself, and began the long, slow process of cutting through back streets towards South Main Street. 
    He kept the truck at a steady pace, following the mental map he had created for himself and looking out for anything odd.  A few times he caught sight of shambling figures in alleys and driveways, heard the sounds of fighting overpowering the blast of his AC and the rumble of the diesel.
    Within twenty minutes, though, he had made it to South Main, where everything seemed fine.  People cooking on their grills, sitting around fire-pits.  Adam wanted to stop and yell at them, tell them what was going on downtown.
    And what if it’s contained and I start a fucking panic? he thought.  No.  Better to be a little paranoid and get the dogs, get up his medic gear, and screw back over to Ernst’s place.  If everything blew over and was settled, no blood no foul.
    But if it was bad, then the government would make sure that the city was evacuated.
    Adam checked in on the handheld as he turned the truck up onto Daniel Webster Highway and saw cars and pick-ups flashing their lights, ripping through traffic to get to t he National Guard armory.  Exhaust was rising from trucks and humvees, all of the lights in the yard on and soldiers scrambling out of hastily parked personal vehicles.
    Fuck, Adam thought.  This is going to suck.
    He turned left onto the highway and made it to his condo in a matter of moments.  The neighbor’s dachshunds started barking at him as he climbed out of the truck, and he wondered, just for a moment, if it’d be okay to shoot the neighbor.
    Sorry, officer, Adam chuckled, I thought he was a zombie.
    Still grinning at the idea, Adam walked up to his house and unlocked the front door.  Jack and Diane, his Rhodesian Ridgebacks, came bounding towards him, nearly knocking him over as he stepped into the foyer.
    “Easy, easy!” he said, petting them both.  “Stay here while I get some stuff.”
    Both of the dogs stayed, tails thumping loudly against the floor as Adam moved through the condo quickly.  He gathered up his medical supplies and weapons, a couple of books he’d meant to read, and extra clothes.  He tossed them haphazardly into a duffel bag and walked back out to the dogs.
    “Come on,” he said, leading the way.  The dogs barked happily, following him quickly to the truck.  He tossed the bag into the bed and let the dogs into the cab.  “Be right back.”
    Adam hurried back in and made his way to the kitchen.  He loaded a backpack with the dogs’ canned food, shouldered a full fifty pound back of dry food for them, and glanced once around the condo.
    Got everything I need for now, he thought, and left, locking the door behind him.
    He added the food to the duffel bag in the bed and