Read Generation Dead Book 2: What You Fear for Free Online Page B

When he was just about my age, my father sent him into the wilds to learn about what might have happened to the centers the state had set up.  What he found out was not pleasant at all.
    “I’m Aaron, sir.  Nice to meet you.”  I matched his grip, and hoped he would be friendly about it.
    “Well met, Aaron.  I knew your mother.  How are your parents, by the way?  I haven’t seen them in a while.’  The president asked.
    Julia spoke up while Jake and I remained silent.  “Our mothers are dead, President Jackson.  They were helping with the cholera outbreak in Ottawa when they both got sick.  They died within three days of each other.”
    Jackson looked down.  “I’m sorry.  Such a tragic thing.  To have survived the zombies only to be taken out by a disease that once was curable.  Very sad.  What about your fathers?”
    Julia shrugged.  “After the funeral, our dads kept to themselves for a while, then just up and left.  They left a note and told us not to follow.  They’d be back after a while.”
    President Jackson looked thoughtful.  “So as far as you know, they’re still alive?”
    Jake spoke up.  “No idea, actually.  But they’re unavailable, so we’re picking up the slack, as it were.”
    Jackson looked hard at Jake.  “At least you have slack, son.  You might figure on a little gratitude when he returns.”
    Jake returned the stare.  “If he does, and I’m not so sure I’d welcome him if he did.”
    “You will.”  The President looked very confident, and I found myself believing it, even though I knew the odds were long.  If Dad could return, why didn’t he?
    “So, with introductions out of the way, what can I do for you?”  The president sat back in his chair, and waited patiently.
    “Well, sir, our problem begins with this.”  Jake pulled out the canning jar that held the syringe.  In the noon light, it was still as dark and nasty as we had seen it previously.
    The guard stepped forward, but retreated as the president raised his hand. “Interesting.  What is it?” he asked as he studied the needle
    “We took that off of a man in St. Charles.  He was breaking into homes as people slept and injecting them with it,” Jake said.
    “What?  Why? What’s in it?” Jackson did not look as closely as he had before.
    “It was turning people into zombies.  Our guess is that you’re looking at a syringe full of straight Enillo Virus,” I said.
    The president sat back in his chair.  “Holy Mother of God.” 

     
    Chapter 10
     
     
    I understood how he felt.  He was looking at death incarnate right on his own front porch.  The slightest prick from that needle and you were dead and gone, reanimated later as a carnivorous corpse. If someone put that mess into an aerosol spray, a room full of people could be infected at once.  The guard stepped back a pace as well, and in that minute I got a good look at the man.  He was as old as the president himself, with years of hard fighting etched into the lines of his face.  I suddenly realized this was one of the original men that Trevor Jackson had started out with, fighting side by side for years.  Now, he was still serving, as a loyal guard and companion, ending his years of service with honor.
    President Jackson regained his composure quickly enough.  “You said they were turning people into zombies.  Do you know why?  What happened to the man who owned this?”
    Jake spoke up.  “We don’t know the why, and as to the man, he died from an injection of that same material.  What we do know is there is a man behind this madness, someone called Ben, who seems to have a kind of vendetta against my father,” Jake also relayed the information about the town that had been turned, and what we had done to contain it.
    The President pondered that for a moment, looking off into the distance, but not really looking at anything.  After a long pause, he shrugged.  “Can’t say as that brings anyone to mind,