Read Rise of the Plague (Book 0): The Sickness (Monte's Story) for Free Online

a group having twice as many chases them. The group behind them has the sickness.
    The guards at the concrete rails look on the verge of panic. One of them reaches for the bullhorn.
    “Return to you homes. Don’t come any closer or you will be shot!” He yells.
    Ignoring the warning, the normal people out front continue running straight for the rails, with the maniacs on their heels.
    I cup my hand over my mouth, in disbelief of what’s happening. The Army has to help them— they have to let these people in. The man with the bullhorn warns the oncoming group once more, this time his voice is harsh and furious.
    “Turn back now! Do not come any closer or you will be shot!”
    “Those people have no choice, if they don’t come this way, the ones with the sickness will get them. You have to help them!” I yell at the soldier shouting commands.
    The man lowers the bullhorn, and looks at the men beside him and lets out a heavy sigh. He turns back to me and gives me an icy glare, but says nothing before returning his stare out on the approaching crowd.
    A soldier turns to the one with the bullhorn and says, “Sir if we wait for the civilians to reach the blockade, we won’t be able to stop the horde. There are too many and the civilians are blocking our shots.”
    “Fire,” he commands, setting the bullhorn on the concrete rail.
    I feel a jolt of shock rock my body. Did he really say that? To shoot at all those people?
    My eardrums are flooded by the repeating sound of gunshots tearing through the summertime morning. In only a matter of seconds, all of the people who had been approaching—are dead. The ones with the sickness and the ones who needed help lie motionless on the asphalt. Their bodies litter the street only twenty feet from the edge of the barricade. That could have been me. I sink to my knees, stunned —almost feeling temporarily removed from my body.
    “That’s it boys. We’re not bringing in any more civilians through decontamination. This is a full quarantine—nobody in or out. Those who do not yield our warning will be shot. Understood? Now let’s get these bodies to the pile,” he says.
    “Yes, sir,” the men on the front line shout.
    I rise to my feet in total disbelief. They can make that call on their own—to not let anyone else out of the city? What if they don’t have the sickness? I’m thinking that bus ride out of here is sounding more appealing by the minute.

THE SCHOOL BUS
    There is no way that I am going to stay in this make-shift camp any longer than I have to. Soldiers slaughtering innocent people instead of helping—I want as far away from these guys as I can get.
    The soldier that held the bullhorn looks to me with fire in his eyes. Leaving his post, behind the barricade, he begins striding confidently toward me. I’m feeling miniscule, like I am an ant among a giant. The soldier is taller than me by at least a foot, making him about six-two. His body is roughly three times my size and the creases around his eyes and mouth tell me that he’s super-old, probably in his fifties.
    “Colonel Kennedy Channing. What is your name miss?” He asks.
    “Monte,”
    “I remember letting you in. Dirt bike. On your own,” He says.
    “Yes,” I whisper, uneasy about what he may say to me.
    “Listen, I don’t expect you to understand, but what happened here…” The Colonel looks away. Returning his eyes to mine, he continues, “The event you witnessed here is as bad as it gets. It is a memory that I cannot take from you, although I certainly wish I could. While I owe you no explanation, I would like leave you with a thought. The innocent people that were coming toward us were all over the road, leaving no clear shots for my men to fire at the horde behind them. Had we waited until the civilians were closer, there is no guarantee that my men could have stopped the horde and they could have escaped the town’s boundaries. That would have put you and everyone in this camp at