Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2): Siren Songs Read Online Free Page B

but
he'd learned over the past few days to always plan for the worst. The
last time he'd seen the military they were pointing rifles at him
from up on a bridge. The time before that they'd been dropping bombs
on his head.
    The Humvee pulled right up in front of them. Liam wasn't surprised
to see the passenger was their secretive friend Douglas Hayes from
the CDC. He was still dressed in his white shirt, but without his
hideous tie. He was now wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses and an
ostentatious CDC baseball cap. He had a big smile for them all.
    “Hey guys. So glad to see you made it across the bridge!”
    Grandma made a motion across Liam's chest, as if holding him back.
“And we're glad you made it across as well.”
    Liam wondered if Grandma said that to prevent him from unloading
what he really felt—which would include a lot of cuss words.
Hayes had antagonized the roadblock officers when they first tried to
cross the now-destroyed bridge, and then angrily stormed off when
they wouldn't recognize his authority with the federal government.
Where he went after that was a mystery.
    “I found a friend here who was more than happy to pick me up
and drive me around. I can pretty much go wherever I want now.
Fortunately there are still some law enforcement agencies willing to
help the CDC track down this plague.”
    Liam took this as a slam on the police officers who would not let
him across earlier today, although none of them were close enough to
hear the disparaging remarks. He noticed Phil's cruiser had started
to move. Hayes started to speak again, keeping him in the
conversation.
    “Liam, what do you say we take a ride with your grandma and
your girlfriend? We can go back to your house, find your parents, get
you all safe, and then I can protect you all.”
    Liam couldn't help himself from replying. “Hayes, you told
us the Army wasn't in Missouri anymore. This looks military to me.
Was that a lie you told us?”
    Liam saw the driver was the same plain looking redhead woman he'd
seen with Hayes way back in the St. Louis Arch candy shop. She was
wearing a ball cap as well, and she tried to face the other way, but
it wasn't hard to figure out. Her red locks were very distinctive.
That would mean more people than Hayes survived the attack from the
looters underneath the Arch. He'd said looters shot all his coworkers
under the Arch. Was that a lie too?
    “This isn't US Army.” He didn't elaborate. Hayes
lifted his phone, and appeared to take a snapshot of Liam. Then he
looked down in his lap. The Humvee windows were very small, so it was
difficult to say for sure what he was doing. “Come on. We can
have you home for a late lunch. Just give me an address.”
    “Give us a minute. I want to talk this over with Liam and
Victoria.”
    “Sure, take all the time you need. We're going to turn the
rig around.” The Humvee moved fifty feet down the gravel road
to the turnaround at the roadblock.
    “Grandma, what do we do? I don't trust him, but it would be
nice if we could agree with him enough that he'd take us home.
    “If I've heard you correctly, almost everything this man has
told you has been a half truth. I don't feel right getting in a car
with him.”
    “Liam might be right. He was talking to soldiers on the
Jefferson Barracks Bridge yesterday and they wouldn't let him across.
But they didn't shoot him either. Now he's with soldiers again. He's
had plenty of opportunities to hurt us. Maybe it's worth the risk to
get you to Liam's parents where you'll be safe. Surely he has some
pity for our situation?”
    They all agreed Hayes wasn't truthful, and they mostly agreed he'd
not put them in any actual danger since they'd met him. He even
claimed to have helped Liam and Victoria avoid getting shot by
snipers at one point. The lure of a quick ride home was powerful;
Liam wanted to see Grandma get to safety. If his parents were there,
they'd take care of Hayes for him.
    As the military truck was turning around, an