Read Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope (Post Apocalyptic Thriller) for Free Online Page B

pleaded for his life. He had a lot to live for, it
seemed. A wife, two daughters, and a couple dogs. The man’s words were reduced
to tears. He must’ve given up hope that Turk’s crazy little brother would spare
his life.
    Turk had given Marcus the ultimatum of one shot, but he
failed to put a time restriction on the job. Now, Marcus dragged it out for his
own pleasure.
    “Do it now,” Turk yelled.
    And so Marcus did.
     

Chapter 6
    Addison walked through the deserted streets of Lynchburg,
Virginia. Surprisingly, people weren’t out rioting or looting. She noticed
every church parking lot was full while walking through the section of the city
she referred to as God’s Quarters . Amid reports that the sickness had
reared its maniacal head in the U.S., she saw hand painted signs stating things
like, “The time to repent is now,” and “Only God can save us.” Plenty of people
agreed, judging by the turnout she saw.
    Addison walked on. No salvation today , she thought.
    The day had been as odd as she had figured it would be.
First, class had been canceled. Once news had spread that something was wrong,
teachers and students alike didn’t care to be at school. She kicked around
campus for a little while, stopping in front of every television she passed.
After that, she went to work. The general manager of the restaurant, Laura, was
locking the front door as Addison arrived. Laura had been the one to tell her
of the outbreaks in New York, Atlanta and Miami. Addison was not aware that the
virus had reached the U.S. prior to that, and now she wondered if other areas
had been affected. She knew it was more a matter of when, not if. And probably
hours, not days.
    She pushed that thought to the back of her mind.
    She recognized a hymn being sung by the congregation in the
last church along the gauntlet. The words had faded in her memory, but the tune
would be there forever. She used to think that would be a long, long time. Now,
she hoped to make it to the end of the week.
    The scene changed as she passed from God’s Quarters to a
seedier section of town. The air smelled of smoke, and the breeze hitting her
in the face stung her eyes. Here, residents were out in the street. A few store
windows were shattered. People climbed in and out through jagged holes. They
carried televisions, computers, stereo equipment and other electronics.
    All the things one would need during the apocalypse ,
she thought.
    She crossed the street to avoid the crowd gathered in front
of a store. People were drinking and smoking and cussing and yelling. The
further away she was the better. She ignored the first of the cat calls
directed toward her and picked up her pace. In her peripheral vision she
noticed three men cross the street. The one in the middle looked to be over
six-feet tall and skinny. He had a brown leather messenger bag slung over his
shoulder. His two companions were shorter, probably closer to her height. One
was heavy, the other average.
    One of them called out to her. “What’s the rush, Baby?”
    She ignored the man and continued walking. She had to travel
one more block north, then two blocks west in order to reach her apartment
complex. Once there, she could call out for help. Whether or not someone would
come to her aide was yet to be determined. She had to hold out hope, though.
One thing was certain. The assistance she needed would not be found amid the
looters.
    “Hey,” the guy called again. “Slow down, bitch.”
    Laughing followed the shouts. Then the footsteps stopped.
Against her better judgment, Addison cast a glance over her shoulder. The tall
guy had his arms out, across the chests of the other two. He said something to
them. His gaze remained fixed on her. Their eyes met and a smile spread across
his face. It did not instill confidence in her that he wanted to help her. The
last thing she saw before whipping her head back around was the two shorter men
backing up and turning around.
    Addison pressed on,