The Dead Walk The Earth (Book 3) Read Online Free

and a feeling of helplessness. The dreams were her punishment, sent to torture her for having survived when so many others had not. At times, she felt that she deserved to suffer the reliving of the events, but then again, there was nothing she could have done to prevent the annihilation of her unit. In the end, everyone was running. It just so happens that she was one of the lucky few to escape.
    At the beginning of the crisis, when the virus had spread across into Europe and very few people understood what was actually happening, she had been based in the garrison town of Colchester in the south-east of England. At first, like so many other people in the army, she had believed that they were dealing with civil unrest, and the reports of the illness creeping up from Africa were never connected to the crowds of ‘violent lunatics’ running through the streets and attacking everyone they came into contact with. At the time, Tina had no idea of the approaching doom that was clawing its way across the country, and neither did anyone else around her. It was only when the Prime Minister appeared on live television during an emergency news report, explaining the situation and announcing the effects of the virus to a stunned public that Tina and the other soldiers, shaking their heads in complete disbelief, realised that the violence sweeping the globe was a direct effect of the mysterious illness. Still, even after having been fully informed of what was happening, it was hard to accept that the dead were returning to life and killing the living.
    Like so many others in the same situation, her first thoughts were for her family and friends outside of the army. She felt an overwhelming need to return home and protect her loved ones, but at that point in time, the powers that be had other plans for her.
    The men and women of her unit were given very little time to digest and contemplate the information that they had received. Within minutes of the Prime Minister’s announcement and the subsequent scientific explanations, Tina’s battalion was sent out to help form a defensive line to the north-west of Colchester. They were hastily issued with riot guns and two metre tall Perspex riot shields, along with just a few loaded magazines for their 5.56mm SA-80 rifles. They were far from prepared for what lay ahead, but nevertheless, their commanders sent them forward into the lines.
    Their orders were to secure the main roads leading into the town and prevent the infection from spreading to the general population within their AOR, area of responsibility. A ring of soldiers from various units was thrown up around the urban districts while behind the lines, small teams of scientists, specially equipped troops, and armed police attempted to check the virus that was already taking hold within the garrison’s population. As Tina and the other soldiers prepared to hold the infected at bay, collection and extermination teams swept through the streets, destroying the already infected and reanimated, and centralising anyone suspected of carrying the virus into specially cordoned off areas of the town centre.
    It was there on the front line that the true horror of the situation had been realised by Tina and her comrades. As the days passed, the infected converged upon Colchester from the outlying districts and rural areas. Their numbers increased by the hour as they swarmed towards the barricades. Their bloated and lumbering bodies seemed to be drawn to the urban areas by an unknown force or instinct. They dragged themselves from the suburbs and surrounding towns and villages, charging the lines and smashing their festering carcasses against the shield walls, gnashing their teeth and tearing at the defenders. Their poignant wails and moans drowned out the horrified gasps and cries of the living that stood and stared in terror at the tide of death headed towards them.
    Some of the soldiers broke early, dropping their shields and fleeing from the