The Survivalist - 02 Read Free

and stuck it in the breast pocket of his jacket.
    “Papa!” Ernest T.’s daughter was leaning out her window. “Mama says, come on!”
    He nodded to Mason and turned to leave.
    “Hold up a second.” Mason quickly dug through his supplies and came back with three large Hershey chocolate bars. He handed them to Ernest T. “For the kids,” he said.
    “You got my word. Bless you, Marshal.”
    “I suggest you head toward Boone. It’s about twenty miles that way.” He pointed up Highway 321. “Go straight to the church and ask for Father Paul. If nothing else, he’ll make sure that everyone gets food and water.”
    Ernest T. nodded again.
    “Just understand that, if you hope to stick around Boone,” warned Mason, “you’ll have to pull your own weight. If you don’t, I’ll personally come back and toss you out on your ear.”
    “We’re all hard workers, Marshal. Even the young’uns. You’ll see.”
    Mason nodded. “Best be on your way then. And don’t stop for anyone. No matter how little you have, there are people out there willing to take it.”

CHAPTER
    2
    President Rosalyn Glass sat at the head of a large mahogany table. Vice President Lincoln Pike was to her right, and the Secretary of Defense, Retired General Kent Carr, sat to her left. Leaders from nearly every remaining government agency took up positions around the conference room table. There was a cold sense of worry in the room that felt like someone had accidentally left the air conditioner running all night.
    She held up a hand, and the chatter in the room quickly subsided.
    “Let’s get to it,” she said, turning to General Carr and nodding. “General, tell us what you know.”
    The general was a tall, proud man who sat perfectly straight as he spoke. He was clean shaven except for a thin pencil mustache that had been out of fashion since the days of Vincent Price. With the collapse of so much of the nation’s defense infrastructure, his role as the Secretary of Defense had recently been expanded to become a true commander’s position.
    “Yes, Madam President,” he said. “Over the past six days, we’ve been receiving reports of a rapidly growing insurrection. Military bases have been attacked and ransacked, supplies taken, and soldiers killed or missing.”
    “Do we know who’s behind it?”
    “The attacks appear to be uncoordinated and lacking any kind of central authority or command structure. Based on what we know, it’s more of a widespread civil uprising than an organized rebellion.”
    “Are you saying this is a national uprising?”
    “It could be the early stages of one, yes.”
    “And you believe that this violence is a result of the lack of services? Food, water, electricity—that sort of thing?”
    “That’s certainly a large part of it. There’s obviously been a great deal of suffering following the outbreak of Superpox-99. People are not only dealing with the death of loved ones but also the complete loss of services. Most people had grown completely dependent on our national infrastructures. Now, they find themselves foraging for their most basic necessities while dodging violence on every corner. All of this is breeding discontent.”
    “That’s understandable,” the president said. “We’ve all lost so much. Still, Americans love their country. There’s got to be more to it than simple discontent and hardship.”
    “Indeed.” He turned to the vice president. “Perhaps it would be better if you explained.” The general made no effort to hide the contempt in his voice.
    Vice President Pike openly sneered at him before turning to face President Glass.
    “The executive order that you signed, Madam President, authorizing action against those infected by the virus is understandably unpopular.”
    “Lest you forget, I signed it at your insistence,” she said, her lips pressing firmly together. The thought of the executive order issued against her own population sat in her gut like rancid peanut