Zombie Patrol by Elizabeth Basque, J. R. Rain Page A

notebook. “A lot of these space rocks—meteors—landed all over. And others are getting really sick, too.”
    I perused her handwritten notes as I ate. “Why didn’t you just print all of this?”
    Jared spoke up. “ It would have been easier to track us, sir. As it was, I had to hack into another data base. I found one in Colorado.”
    I nodded, impressed. But it was the notes that had my attention. A dozen people were sick in China. Some in Nepal, as well. As I leafed through the pages, I learned that this infection from space rocks was a global event.
    “Look here, Dad.” Anna guided me to the second-to-last page of her notes. “I copied this from a blog from someone living in Nepal. This person reported that some of the sick ones are biting—and even eating—other people.”
    I set my fork down having suddenly lost my appetite. I did my best to decipher my daughter’s scribbled handwriting:
    If anyone is reading this, please help us! The infected ones are so very, very strong. They are attacking us, biting us, eating us. Those who have not escaped were eaten by our own people—by those we knew and loved. Eaten alive. If anyone can read this please...
    Anna was on the verge of tears again. I wanted to hold her, except Jared did it for me. The little fucking bastard.
    Calm down, I thought, surprised by the sudden flare of anger within me.
    I pushed down my useless jealousy. Anyway, now I was beginning to understand the magnitude of all of this. I now knew why those agents had so desperately sought my brother and his friend.
    They’re eating us...
    Jesus.
    From her notes, I deduced that the afflicted people in Third World countries had gone through the sickness, followed by a period of feeling better. Those in Germany, Australia, and North America weren’t feeling better. I chewed on that when I saw that Jared had already wolfed down his dinner.
    Anna had done a good job of research, but I didn’t think all of this had hit her yet. She was mainly concerned about her uncle, except how any of this wild information could help Joe, I hadn’t a clue. At least, not yet.
    “Would you like some more?” I asked Jared.
    “Well, if it’s no trouble...” I sensed his fear, and I didn’t blame the kid. Hell, even I was nervous about going down into the kitchen alone—and Joe was my own goddamn brother. At least, I thought he was my brother. Eating other people? God help us. I rubbed my face. At the very least, I needed coffee. And lots of it.
    “ I’ll get it for you,” I said and stood.
    “Be careful, Daddy, ” Anna pleaded.
    “ I’ll be all right. I won’t make a sound.”
    Once outside my office, I drew my gun. After all, I had another reason for going back down. I had to see my brother.
    * * *
    Since I knew the cellar door always creaked, I grabbed the WD-40 from the kitchen shelf and sprayed the hinges from the outside. I waited a minute or two to let it seep in, and then turned the knob.
    No squeak. Score one for the good guys. I sidestepped the known creaky areas of the stairs and stopped my descent when I had my brother and his friend in sight.
    They were both still there, thank God, standing there in the dark, motionless. A very deep shudder rippled through me. They did not look human standing there. They did not look normal. They looked like they were...waiting. Silently waiting.
    Jesus Christ.
    I could see their eyes, glowing red from even here. The meteor, I thought. Something is in them. Something not of this world.
    They are so very strong...
    Biting us...
    Eating us...
    They still hadn’t noticed me there on the stairs. Apparently, noise was the key to disrupting their quiet state. I backed up the stairs again and softly closed the door.
    * * *
    The sun was setting. I drew the curtains closed, draping a blanket over the windows to make sure that no light leaked out. I risked lighting a small candle, which I placed on the floor between us. The truth was, I felt like shit. I needed to nap.