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

we do the
selfless thing and share?" He chuckled as she blushed.
    "I'll take the top she said."
    Jackson smiled. "You sure? Someone might need the extra
bunk."
    "Yes, I'm sure," she said, still blushing.
    "Alright. On a serious note though, I want to pick
different bunks."
    "Why?" Shirley asked.
    "I think this place is a disaster waiting to
happen."
    Shirley noted that he was still speaking quietly and matched
her voice to his. "How? We've got food, water, and shelter."
    "True, but I already saw a huge red flag when we were
on that tour with Roberta."
    "What's that?"
    "She mentioned that they were letting extra people in.
People they didn't plan for. That's why she made the comment about us sharing a
bunk."
    "How is that a problem? A few people will have to
double up at some point. Doesn't seem like that big a deal."
    Jackson shook his head. "The bunks aren't the problem
although it doesn't help the situation. Think about it. If they're short on
beds, what else might they be short on?"
    Shirley thought for a moment. "The food," she
responded.
    Jackson nodded. "Exactly. How long are people going to
stay calm if they're not getting enough to eat?"
    "What's the worst that can happen?" Shirley asked.
"They'll have to lower the ration amount or something."
    "That might work for a bit. But what happens when everyone
realizes the government isn't coming to the rescue?"
    "They should get here eventually. They won't be here
today, of course. But a few days? A week? They should be able to get people
here by then."
    Jackson shook his head. "I don't think that's going to happen.
Tell me, what's the population of Emerald Falls?"
    Shirley shrugged. "I don't know. Around two hundred
thousand or so I think."
    "Alright. We've seen firsthand what happens when the infected
attack. Most of the time, they just kill you. But every now and then, someone
survives an attack and becomes one of them. If just a fraction of that two
million becomes infected, how can anyone deal with that? You said yourself that
the police couldn't handle this. How is the military any different?"
    Shirley frowned as she considered his words. "The
military has better gear. Surely they can deal with the infected."
    James shook his head again. "Look, take Emerald Falls.
If just ten percent of that two hundred thousand turns, how many is that?"
    Shirley paused to do that math in her head. "That's
what, twenty thousand?"
    Jackson nodded. "And that's just Emerald Falls. What
about the larger cities? There's not gonna be any stopping this outbreak. Not
man to man anyway. Maybe they'll bomb some cities to contain it. Maybe that
would work. But that doesn't help us. Either we die to the infected or we die
along with them if the government bombs the city."
    "What do we do then?"
    "We're gonna need to get outta the city at some
point," Jackson said. "Between the infected and the people, it's not
gonna be safe."
    "When should we go?" Shirley asked. If you had
asked her a few hours ago if she'd throw her lot in with someone, she'd have
laughed in their face. She trusted Jackson though. He'd already proved he could
keep her safe. If he felt they needed leave, then that's what they needed to
do.
    "We'll give it a day or two," Jackson replied.
"We need food and rest. I also want to see if I can get my hands on a
better weapon at some point. Stay ready though. Sleep with your shoes on."
    Shirley raised an eyebrow. "Why on earth would I sleep
with my shoes on?"
    "We might have to leave suddenly," Jackson
replied. "If it happens that way, the last thing you want is to have and stop
and worry about your shoes."
    "I'm in trouble if we have to much running," she
said indicating her heels.
    "Give them here," Jackson said. Shirley frowned
but handed the shoes over. Jackson quickly broke the heel off of each shoe and
handed them back.
    Shirley chuckled. "A few hours ago that would've pissed
me off. But I guess that makes sense."
    Jackson smiled. "You're welcome. When we do leave,
we'll try and hit