Read Alaskan Undead Apocalypse (Book 4): Resolution for Free Online Page B

likely stop at the pizza
joint at the end of the strip by the gas station. He’d eaten there
before and remembered it to be reasonably good and reasonably
priced.
    As he slowed his cab, he thought perhaps he
saw a person lying on the ground near a parked vehicle at the gas
station. There was a crowd around the body, which wasn’t moving. A
heart attack maybe. Some poor old tourist just got too excited in
his big visit to the Last Frontier, Abdul figured. Not having met
the person or even really knowing what was going on, Abdul still
felt bad for the poor guy. Maybe it wasn’t anything more than an
asthma attack. The scene quickly dropped out of sight, as did the
gas station oasis.
    The man in the backseat had been oblivious
to all of it, though he’d been technically awake to see it all. At
one point after the two of them watched a half dozen cars pass
them, the man held up his right arm and Abdul could see a nasty
looking wound that was unmistakably a bite. Not only was it a bite,
but it looked like a human bite mark on the inside of his forearm
near the elbow.
    The wound wasn’t bleeding badly, but it was
bleeding steadily enough for Abdul to open the divider and pass
through a roll of paper towels. Abdul didn’t want a mess. His
concern was as much for the man’s wellbeing as it was for the
appearance of his cab. He was technically responsible for the
cleanliness of his cab, which would also dramatically impact his
ability to collect good tips, but the reality was that Abdul was a
bit of a clean freak. He didn’t like messes, especially messes that
he had to spend any amount of time cleansing. And since his cab was
his office, he didn’t want some man bleeding all over it.
    He shot the man a concerned look, to which
the man said, “Some crazy son of a bitch bit me. Feels like he bit
me clear to the bone but it doesn’t look that bad I guess. Probably
an escaped mental patient or somethin’. I guess I shoulda seen
someone before we left Providence, but I didn’t think it was that
bad and I just wanted to get away. Sounded like things were
starting to get crazy in there. I think I even heard gunshots
inside.” Abdul didn’t say anything and so the man promised, “I’ll
try and keep it off your seat. Sorry.”
    “Do you want me to take you somewhere to
have that looked at?” Abdul asked.
    “Nah. I can just go to the clinic in
Whittier. ‘Sides, it doesn’t look that bad. Hurts like hell
though,” the man said through gritted teeth.
    Abdul returned his eyes to the road and
didn’t see the man lay his head down. That was the last interaction
the two of them had before arriving in Whittier. Abdul retreated
into his thoughts and Bob’s voice for the remainder of their
trip.
    Arriving at the Anton Anderson Tunnel that
led to Whittier on the other side of the mountain, Abdul was
pleased to be able to climb onto the tail end of a line of cars
already queued to enter the tunnel. It didn’t appear that he was
going to have to pay the twelve-dollar toll in order to use the
tunnel. He peeked into his rearview mirror and was surprised not to
see the man’s head pop up. That eventuality unfortunately forced
him into a bit of a moral dilemma. He was forced into deciding
whether to tell his passenger or not about their luck with the toll
charge. He could not tell the man and pocket the extra twelve
dollars, or he could be honest and hope the man would consider that
when figuring his tip.
    The long, dark drive through the two and a
half mile long tunnel was loud and malodorous, with foul diesel
fumes and car exhaust finding their way into his closed windows and
vents despite his best efforts. Finally seeing the literal light at
the end of the tunnel helped him tolerate the noises and smells for
the final several hundred feet.
    Once out in the open again, Abdul relaxed
considerably and again allowed Marley’s warm lyrics to lift his
spirits. The sky was great and heavy with the threat of rain, but
then again, he was