Read The Last Town (Book 2): Preparing For The Dead for Free Online

There’s not enough security here, we have to beef it up.”
    “You can’t turn the hospital into an armed checkpoint, Narvaez.”
    Narvaez glanced at Reese, then adjusted his sunglasses. “I want to put my guys in MOPP gear, too. Word is this infection gets transmitted through body fluids, like saliva and blood, but I’ve heard people can turn after they die, too.”
    Reese frowned. “Wait a minute. I just saw on the news back at the stationhouse that only people who die from the virus turn. And if they bite someone, then that person can turn, too. But nothing about people who drop from other causes getting up to grab a mouthful of person.”
    “I’ve heard differently,” Narvaez said.
    “Yeah? From who?”
    “My battalion commander, who heard it from a pal deep inside Big Army,” Narvaez said. “So just to be safe, I want to put my guys in protective gear. You might want to pass that back to your people, so they can take some precautions themselves.”
    Reese shook his head. “Narvaez, you guys start putting on space suits and gas masks, people are going to freak.”
    An ambulance pulled in, lights flashing. Another stopped on the street, waiting for the first unit to clear the bay. The driver hopped out of the first ambulance and looked around a little frantically, but no one from the hospital came out to meet him. Narvaez waved a few of his men toward the ambulance.
    “Guys, go see if you can help that guy out, all right?” He looked back at Reese. “So let ’em freak. I’ve got troops to protect, so they can enact their mission.” He pointed to the vehicle entrance. “We need to close the north tower drop-off, so we can restrict traffic flow here. We’ll also need to set up a position outside, establish a triage center out on George Burns, so patients can be evaluated before they come into the hospital. Critical care cases should be the only ones admitted, people with less than life-threatening issues should be taken care of elsewhere.”
    “Captain, I’m not so sure you’re the guy who should be making those decisions,” Reese said. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the hospital behind them. “Let’s let those folks figure out the best way to treat their patients. That’s not the National Guard’s job.”
    “Listen, Detective, you want this place to stay open? Because you need to take a look around and figure out how this is going to happen. You may not see things the same way I do, but to me? Cedar-Sinai is a cunt’s hair away from being shut down. Too many patients, not enough resources, not enough beds—”
    “Captain!”
    Narvaez turned as one of his troops waved his left arm in the air. With his right, the soldier kept his M4 assault rifle leveled at the back of the ambulance that had just pulled in. The soldier next to him had his weapon pulled back to his shoulder, in a fighting stance. Both men backed away as a third man tumbled out of the back of the ambulance. He wore a paramedic’s uniform, and his shirt was splotched with blood. The paramedic held his right wrist in his left hand, and even from where he stood, Reese could see blood seeping into the gauze compress the paramedic was holding against his wrist. The driver came around the front of the vehicle and took the other man by the arm, leading him away.
    “Let’s check this out,” Narvaez said, heading toward the ambulance. He pulled his M4 into his hands as he moved, not waiting for Reese to chime in. Reese sighed and hefted the twelve-gauge shotgun he had been issued before leaving the stationhouse. He flipped off the safety tang and followed the National Guard officer, making sure he kept the shotgun’s barrel low.
    “What’s up?” Narvaez said, coming to halt beside his troops. He looked into the ambulance.
    “Check this shit out,” one of the soldiers said.
    Narvaez laughed. “Oh, fuck me,” he said, chortling.
    Reese rolled up and looked into the ambulance as well. A figure lay strapped into a