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I considered pressing the matter If this were a normal zombie attack, one of the hit-and-run outbreaks that can happen anywhere, I probably would have It’s always best to question the survivors before they can start deluding theh After the adrenaline fades, half the people who survive a zounned down a thousand zouts, while the other half deny that they were ever close enough to the undead to be in any actual danger If you want the real story, you have to get it fast

But Steve was a professional bodyguard, and that made him less likely than most men to lie to himself Factor in the fact that unless he left the convoy after the paperas coular basis, and getting the scoop wasn’t worth alienating the large, potentially violentmy head, I took a step back

“Sure, Steve,” I said “Just let us know if there’s anything we can do”

There was a clatter as Shaun jumped down from the fence I didn’t turn, and he trotted to a stop beside uards “Christ, Steve, where’s Tyrone?” he said

Shaun has done uards than I have A little friendliness is unavoidable, but he’d actually gotten out there and made friends Maybe that’s why Steve answered his question with a quiet, “Conversion was confirmed at twenty-two hundred hours, twenty-seven minutes Tracy put him down, but not before he was able to pass on the infection”

Shaun whistled, long and low “How many down?”

“Four casualties from the convoy and an as-yet-undeter s and collect Miss Meissonier, we’ll take the three of you to deconta you as well”

“Are all the zombies down?” I asked

Steve frowned at me “Miss Mason?”

“The zombies Shaun and I just eli the part where one of us nearly got eaten in the process, “and you seeates Are all the zoative on infected activity within the area”

“Channels are not a one hundred percent guarantee,” I said, keeping my tone reasonable “You’re down hands, and we’ve already been in primary contact, which means we’ll need the same decon you will Why not let Shaun and me stay and help? We’re licensed, and if you have auards exchanged uneasy glances before looking to Steve Whatever he said would go Steve frowned down at the bodies littering the tarmac, and finally said, “I hope you both understand that I won’t hesitate to shoot either one of you”

“We wouldn’t go out with you if we thought you’d hesitate,” said Shaun He held up his crossbow “Anybody got bolts for this thing?”

Cleanup is the worst thing about a s is pretty much invisible Anyone without a hazard license is confined outside the contas, and sterilizations are done When the cordons co is routine enough that, unless you know the signs, you could even fail to realize that there was an incident We’ve had a lot of practice at cover-ups

That changes if you have to be involved Part of getting your hazard license is going along on a cleanup run, just to e and I both three made our first cleanup run, and I almost passed out twice It’s horrible, h the head, it doesn’t look like a zo place at the wrong time, and I hate the whole process

Sterilization is horrific You burn any vegetation the zoround, you drench it with a solution of chlorinated saline If it’s a rural or suburban area, you kill any animals you find Squirrels, cats, whatever; if it’s mammalian and can carry the virus in its live state, it dies, even if it’s too so amplification And when you’re done, you shuffle back to the hazo inside, and you spend two hours having your skin steamed off, which is a nice way to prepare for the teeks of nighth

If you ever start to feel like I have a glao out and poke a zombie with a stick while one of your friends makes a home movie for your buddies, please do me a favor: Go out for your hazard license first If you still want to do this crap after the first time you’ve burned the body of a six-year-old with blood on her lips and a Barbie in her hands, I’ll welcome you with open ar of Shaun Mason, February 11, 2040

Nine

I collapsed onto our bed at the local four-star hotel a little after dawn,eyes already squeezed shut Shaun was a bit steadier on his feet and he stayed upright long enough to make sure the room’s blackout curtains were drawn I lasses off my face a moment later I swatted ineffectually at the air

“Stop that Give those back”

“They’re on the bedside table,” he said The bedsprings creaked as he sat down, taking the side of the bed that was closer to theRustling followed as he removed his shoes and slumped sideways I didn’t have to openWe shared the same room until puberty hit, and since then we’ve never been e That was a clusterfuck”