Occupation Read Online Free

Nicodemus said.  “I’ve never seen them move like that either.  Something’s not right.”
    “Let’s get the hell out of here before we lose sunlight.  I need a damn drink,” Barabbas groaned as he struggled to pull himself together.
    Minutes later, the duo exited the church and surveyed the street one last time before getting into the car.  All was quiet except for the lone figure of a single man, staggering in the street, slowly turning in their direction. 
    “You know…come to think of it, I think you may be right,” Nicodemus said. 
    “About what?” Barabbas asked. 
    “I’m starting to think maybe Felipe’s really does put crack in that queso.  Fuck it, let’s get cleaned up and head over to Juan’s.  I could use a burrito.”
    Barabbas nonchalantly shook his head as they retreated to the car.  As the engine revved, showing off its aggressive 4-liter prowess, the sound was soon accompanied by the radio changing stations to Pop radio…again.  The MINI made a quick U-turn as the lone figure of a man slowly staggered toward the car.  As it crept closer toward them, the hand of Nicodemus Jackson stretched out the window, holding his prized .44 cannon.  One shot to the head dropped him.  Clean kill.  Not elegant but efficient.  Fatality.  The MINI then sped off into the waning hours of daylight as swiftly as it came.
     
    ***
     
    When the ‘apocalypse’ as it was called occurred, very few saw it coming, and the news reports as to why it occurred in the first place were murky at best.  Some say it started in Miami.  Some say New York or London, but no one really knew for sure.  What was paramount was the fact that the world at large was now caught in the grip of something terrible.  Something devastating.  Something that threatened to change the course of human history, as we knew it was now upon us.  Human beings were suddenly… changing , turning into mindless scavengers of flesh and blood and killing everything in sight.  The media and pop culture had a name for the epidemic sweeping the planet, although few could actually bring themselves to think that such things could actually exist beyond the realm of film and television… zombies .
    Eventually, word spread of mass riots taking place throughout the world.  Bristol, Tottenham and London were plagued with civil unrest and stories soon followed of a deadly virus spreading.  Martial law had been declared.  BBC news reports were shoddy and inconclusive at best in those days and the U.S. media fared only marginally better.  Soon, rumors began to spread out of Miami of a brutal attack on a homeless man brought on by a drug commonly called ‘bath salts’.  Allegedly once the drug entered a person’s system, it infected the internal organs in such a way that the victim would suffer painful convulsions.  Coupled with an extremely high blood pressure, the victim would become overwrought with extreme rage and inhuman strength.  It didn’t take long for the word ‘zombie’ to be uttered in mainstream media after gruesome photos surfaced of the homeless man’s face completely chewed off. 
    In the months that followed, more mysterious attacks occurred.  Fort Lauderdale.  Port St. Lucie followed by Jacksonville, parts of Atlanta and Alabama.  Whatever it was that caused this… thing , it was spreading throughout the country fast.  As the first rumors spread throughout the Alabama/Mississippi borders, stories began to pop up throughout New Orleans of a possible quarantine.  Certain areas of the city designated as high crime zones were cordoned off, for what reason we were not made aware.  What is known was that as a seemingly civilized society, I now witnessed the systematic slaughter and destruction of innocent men, women and children.  Lives were irrevocably ripped apart under the guise of National Security while the city of New Orleans carried on as if the madness and destruction did not exist.  Beyond the bright