When the Dead Rise (Book 1): The Beginning by C.M. Fick Page B

he didn't have much time left. He ran to the bottom of the stairs. He was about to shout up, when Marcy and Stevie barreled down the stairs, loaded with bags.
    "Let's go!" He grabbed the bag Stevie was struggling with, pushing the boy past the door and down the hall to the garage. Just as he swung the door closed behind them, Powell heard the glass in the kitchen shatter. While Marcy helped Stevie into the back, he shoved the remaining bags into the back and closed the hatch. Jumping in the SUV, he hit the door opener and started the engine. As soon as the door was clear, he backed out onto the road that looped around the complex.
    "Where are we going?" Marcy asked from the seat beside him.
    He put the SUV in gear, suppressing the urge to tell her to be quiet, but also knew that by talking he'd calm his children. "Our cabin in the mountains. It's not far from Cripple Creek. We have a seventeen hour drive ahead of us but we'll be safe there." Or so he hoped.
     

Volume 4: Confessions, Quarantines and Cover-ups
    Investigative Journalism...
    By the age of forty-two Allegra Lozano of Austin, Texas had won a Selden Ring Award, a Worth Bingham Prize, a Pulitzer Prize, and two IRE Awards for her Investigative Journalism works. She'd recently wrapped up two years of research on the true cost of the Iraq War and its effects on the US economy; she hoped to earn at least one more award for the piece. Initially, she'd wanted to research pharmaceutical companies, specifically a large company named Synergy and their processes for testing and pushing drugs through the FDA, but was immediately blacklisted by Synergy's legal, public relations, and communications departments.
    Allegra's most promising insider had been a young woman named Sabrina Manahan who was the administrative assistant of Synergy's R&D department head. Sabrina had initially been eager to work with Allegra but after the legal department issued a warning to their employees about the ramifications of giving her information, Sabrina stopped responding to all correspondence. When Allegra hadn't been able to find another reliable source within the company, she'd moved onto the Iraq War while keeping tabs on the pharmaceutical giant. So when an email from Sabrina appeared in her inbox with the subject 'URGENT', Allegra opened it with both apprehension and excitement, knowing this could be her opportunity to root out and expose the unethical practices of Synergy Pharmaceuticals.
    The email was short and included three video files; Allegra read with growing unease.
     
    Dear Allegra,
     
    I'm sorry, but this email isn't what you're expecting. I don't think anyone expected what's currently happing in San Antonio and I don't believe it can be stopped. I'm sending you this, in hopes that you will be able to spread the word to the American people so they can prepare themselves for what is coming.
     
    Enclosed you will find three videos; the first is titled 'Confession' - Hugo Farner's confession. The second is a recording taken in our primary quarantine lab two days ago, titled 'QUAR-04-23'. The third, titled 'Sab', is a video from me attempting to explain the events that led up to the first two videos. I fear that by the time you read this, I will no longer be alive and so I leave it to you to warn people of what's coming.
     
    Sincerely,
    Sabrina Manahan
    Administrative Assistant to Hugo Farner, Director
    Research & Development Department
    Synergy Pharmaceuticals
    San Antonio, TX.
    Encl: Confession.avi, QUAR-04-23.avi, Sab.avi
     
    After reading the email several times over, Allegra prepared herself to witness whatever story the videos were going to tell. She clicked on the file titled 'Confession' and sat back to watch with her trusty notepad and chewed-on pencil at the ready.
    Confession...
    Hugo Farner sat at his desk with a look of utter defeat; his complexion, which normally held an unhealthy red hue from high blood pressure, was pale and drawn. He looked into the camera with