Fear of the Dead Read Online Free Page A
Author: Mortimer Jackson
because of all the congestion.
Or maybe they were infected.
Every so often Vanessa would catch blood on some of the broken windows, trailing about from car to car.
There was no way of driving into the city save for the highway. At least, as far as Vanessa knew. If it remained packed all throughout though, then there was no way of getting to the city at all.
What now?
She downed a Snickers bar as she mulled it over in her head. If there was an answer to the problem, she couldn’t figure it out.
Vanessa made a U-turn back to Fremont, where at least she knew she could use the back roads to get to Oakland. Once there, it would just be a matter of passing the Bay Bridge to get to the city.
The clock on her car said it was 6:20 PM. She checked it only when she realized it was getting darker. Vanessa didn’t want to be caught driving at night. Not only was she deathly tired, but there was the matter of safety to consider as well. Once she started using her headlights, it would only be easier to be spotted by an infected. All the while she herself would only be able to make out what was immediately in front of her.
When she reached Parkinson Avenue, she began setting her sights on finding a suitable place to crash. A Motel 6 sign caught her eye. She headed in and found the front desk. To no surprise, there was no one there. 12 room keys hung on a pin board, none missing. She grabbed the one that said number 9, which was on the second floor, and right above where she parked her Corolla.
Common sense might have told her that the best place to bunk would have been in the room closest to the car. But for reasons unknown to her, she felt safer being one floor up. Like birds, and how they slept on the highest perches they could find.
For dinner, Vanessa ate a box of Pringles. Sour cream and onion. She took it all in with her water. She wanted to sit down and write about everything she’d seen and done. But by then it was dark, and the will to sleep had finally caught up. She climbed beneath the covers, and closed her eyes.
Chapter Three
Day Three
Tuesday
April 22, 2003
6:03 AM
There might not be anyone left. It’s an idea I’ve been carrying with me since yesterday, and in truth one that’s been getting easier to believe with everything I’ve seen so far. The highways are jam-packed with empty cars, and yet there’s no one around. I’m beginning to wonder if the evacuees even had the chance to escape. If not, then everyone I know might already be gone. Dead. Infected. Any attempt to reach them might be pointless.
I don’t know what to make of it. It scares me to death thinking that of all the people that could have survived, I’m the only one that did.
6:08 AM
Vanessa dropped the notebook and wiped her eyes. The air in the motel turned warm and stuffy. She had to leave.
For the sake of clearing her head and reverting to the comforts of what had once been routine, Vanessa left her room and jogged. Not a bright idea she was sure to remind herself. But the dead weight of survival had been on her shoulders for long enough. Just once, Vanessa wanted to let it go.
She ran in the middle of Hobbs Street, keeping to the center of the road for no other reason than the fact that it was a liberating experience. Knowing that she was alone, and that no cars would show. Her heart, which strained from the run, was rejuvenated by a feeling of immense freedom. And before she knew it, she’d already gone about a mile and a half.
Sweat was beginning to soak the pores of her skin.
Vanessa needed a bath, and a fresh pair of clothes. Two blocks down to her right was an outlet mall, which featured among other businesses a Gap, a Burlington Coat Factory, and an Old Navy store.
By way of a stray brick through the window, Vanessa worked her way inside the first two stores, but disregarded the latter.
Even in the face of Armageddon, nothing would ever possess her to step foot inside an Old Navy.
She left
Or maybe they were infected.
Every so often Vanessa would catch blood on some of the broken windows, trailing about from car to car.
There was no way of driving into the city save for the highway. At least, as far as Vanessa knew. If it remained packed all throughout though, then there was no way of getting to the city at all.
What now?
She downed a Snickers bar as she mulled it over in her head. If there was an answer to the problem, she couldn’t figure it out.
Vanessa made a U-turn back to Fremont, where at least she knew she could use the back roads to get to Oakland. Once there, it would just be a matter of passing the Bay Bridge to get to the city.
The clock on her car said it was 6:20 PM. She checked it only when she realized it was getting darker. Vanessa didn’t want to be caught driving at night. Not only was she deathly tired, but there was the matter of safety to consider as well. Once she started using her headlights, it would only be easier to be spotted by an infected. All the while she herself would only be able to make out what was immediately in front of her.
When she reached Parkinson Avenue, she began setting her sights on finding a suitable place to crash. A Motel 6 sign caught her eye. She headed in and found the front desk. To no surprise, there was no one there. 12 room keys hung on a pin board, none missing. She grabbed the one that said number 9, which was on the second floor, and right above where she parked her Corolla.
Common sense might have told her that the best place to bunk would have been in the room closest to the car. But for reasons unknown to her, she felt safer being one floor up. Like birds, and how they slept on the highest perches they could find.
For dinner, Vanessa ate a box of Pringles. Sour cream and onion. She took it all in with her water. She wanted to sit down and write about everything she’d seen and done. But by then it was dark, and the will to sleep had finally caught up. She climbed beneath the covers, and closed her eyes.
Chapter Three
Day Three
Tuesday
April 22, 2003
6:03 AM
There might not be anyone left. It’s an idea I’ve been carrying with me since yesterday, and in truth one that’s been getting easier to believe with everything I’ve seen so far. The highways are jam-packed with empty cars, and yet there’s no one around. I’m beginning to wonder if the evacuees even had the chance to escape. If not, then everyone I know might already be gone. Dead. Infected. Any attempt to reach them might be pointless.
I don’t know what to make of it. It scares me to death thinking that of all the people that could have survived, I’m the only one that did.
6:08 AM
Vanessa dropped the notebook and wiped her eyes. The air in the motel turned warm and stuffy. She had to leave.
For the sake of clearing her head and reverting to the comforts of what had once been routine, Vanessa left her room and jogged. Not a bright idea she was sure to remind herself. But the dead weight of survival had been on her shoulders for long enough. Just once, Vanessa wanted to let it go.
She ran in the middle of Hobbs Street, keeping to the center of the road for no other reason than the fact that it was a liberating experience. Knowing that she was alone, and that no cars would show. Her heart, which strained from the run, was rejuvenated by a feeling of immense freedom. And before she knew it, she’d already gone about a mile and a half.
Sweat was beginning to soak the pores of her skin.
Vanessa needed a bath, and a fresh pair of clothes. Two blocks down to her right was an outlet mall, which featured among other businesses a Gap, a Burlington Coat Factory, and an Old Navy store.
By way of a stray brick through the window, Vanessa worked her way inside the first two stores, but disregarded the latter.
Even in the face of Armageddon, nothing would ever possess her to step foot inside an Old Navy.
She left
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