Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins by R.A. Neely

attack. The
infected broke onto the floor and killed everyone. I don't know if anyone
survived. I do not know when or if government authorities will regain control
of the situation. Keep  yourself safe. If someone you know is bitten, you
need to get  away from them as soon as you can. I've seen firsthand that
the bite spreads the infection. Good luck, Emerald Falls. Be safe."
    She nodded again and Jackson cut the camera.
    "All good?" he asked.
    Shirley nodded. "That gives people a chance. The rest
is up to them."
    Jackson nodded in response as she left the anchor desk. He
led her to the stairway and took a moment to listen for infected on the other
side. Hearing nothing, he opened the door and headed down. They reached the
main lobby without incident but they saw the signs of the infected attack here
as well.  Bodies were in several places around the room. The receptionist
sat slumped in her chair, not even having a chance to run when she was
attacked.
    Jackson shook his head at the carnage. "Poor bastards.
Never had a chance."
    Shirley grimaced. Better them than her she thought. The
infected attacking everything in sight is probably the only thing that let them
survive that initial assault. This was sad sure, but she wouldn't lose any
sleep over it. She'd felt obligated to warn the city about the infection.
People deserved a chance to defend themselves. But form this point on, she
wanted to survive herself. She normally didn't show this side of her to anyone.
It was okay to be ambitious, but if you appeared callous then people would look
down on you. Not that she saw herself as callous, just practical. She felt she
could trust Jackson though. He was the only thing keeping her safe so she had
might as well be herself. 
    "Better them than us," she replied.
    Jackson looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and nodded.
"Fair enough. How do we get to this shelter of yours?" 
    "It's near city hall."
    Jackson snorted. "Fitting. Mayor has to be the first to
get to safety and all."
    Shirley smiled. "Fair enough. On the bright side, it's
only a few blocks from here."
    Jackson nodded. "Alright. I want to look around first.
See if I can find something to use as a weapon."
    Shirley nodded. "What should we look for?"
    "Anything really. Scissors, letter openers, a broom
stick if the shaft looks sturdy enough."
    Shirley nodded again and they started looking behind the
receptionist's desk. Their search turned up a pair of scissors and a roll of
duck tape.
    "Can you do anything with this?" Shirley asked.
    Jackson nodded. "I can improvise a knife outta that.
Let's keeping looking though. I don't want to be that close if I don't have to
be."
    They extended their search to a few side rooms but didn't
turn up anything else useful. James was disappointed but figured it would have
to do. Motioning for Shirley to follow he lead the way to the rear exit of the
building. Going out the front would be faster but he didn't want to draw
attention from any infected that were out there. That didn't mean the rear exit
would be safe. There could easily be infected milling around out there. But
hopefully there would be less of them.
    "You ready?" Jackson asked. At her nod he opened
the door and stepped outside. Fortunately there was no sign of infected.
Following Shirley's instructions he lead them towards the shelter, sticking to
alleyways and back streets. They managed to reach the shelter without running
into any infected. The shelter was a nondescript building. One would walk past
it without giving it a second glance. They approached the building and met a
sturdy steel door.
    Knocking got no response. Just as she was about to yell in
frustration she noticed a scanner of some sort mounted on the wall next to the
door. She tried her hand but that didn't seem to work. She then remembered the
invitation she'd received. She fished in her pocket and breathed a sigh of
relief when she touched it. She then placed the invitation face down on the
scanner and