Beyond the Barriers Read Online Free PDF

moved all the crap aside, including my rarely used vacuum, and tugged open the entrance to the space under the house.
    I climbed inside and pushed the stuff to a back corner where the dirt met the concrete wall, and hoped it wasn’t too visible if someone else came along and looked. I was going to bolt up the house, but I had no illusions about how tenuous the hold on my property would become once I wasn’t here to defend it with a gun, or even my fists.
    I was climbing back out, knocking dirt off my shoes, when a loud knock came from the front door. I popped up and looked at the couch where the guns sat. I almost went for them, but I didn’t think any crazies would be around this early. To the front of the house, I went, when my cell phone rang again. I popped it out of my pocket and looked at the display. Allison. Didn’t she have anyone else to bug? Like her new boyfriend?
    I pocketed the phone and stared out the peephole in the door. My neighbor Devon stood on the porch. He craned his neck around to peek in the window then looked up and down the street. His face was covered in sweat, and his eyes shifted rapidly as he tried to look everywhere at once. I opened the door, and he let out a sigh of relief.
    “Man, I thought you left or something. Except your car is here. Is everything okay? I mean, not that you need anyone checking up on you and all. Because of the war stuff. I bet you have a million weapons in there. Probably a good thing you didn’t start shooting.” He was babbling, and I felt like joining him. Devon and I had hung out a few times, shot the shit, talked about our wives, and downed a few six packs of beer. He was about as liberal as they come, but I liked him just the same. He had a quick wit and a fun way of looking at the world—kind of like a schizoid who was in control of his other personalities. He could flip from dead serious to making fun of the other neighbors in an angry German accent at the drop of a hat.
    His wife was pretty and genuinely nice. I remember the day Lisa stopped by after she found out Allison had left me. She said she was sorry and brought over a meatloaf. I was touched by her kindness, and shocked when she hugged me, walking off with a furtive look over her shoulder.
    “What do you know, Dev?”
    “I know the whole goddamn fucking place is going crazy. Did you hear there was an attack at Walmart and the new Safeway? The things came out of nowhere and started attacking people. Just biting them in public.”
    “Where did you hear that?” News sure was traveling fast in this tiny town today.
    “My wife’s friend owns a latte stand, and the customers were reporting what they saw when they ordered drinks. Isn’t that funny? Let me get a triple shot mocha. Hey, did you hear zombies were eating people at the store?”
    He laughed out loud, then looked down at the patio. His eyes went unfocused for a minute, and I thought I knew what he was thinking, because I had been thinking the same thing all day. What if this was really it? The end of everything? What I saw today, up close, as well as on CNN, had rattled me.
    “What are you going to do?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. Hole up and see what happens. Maybe it won’t get this far and we’ll be safe.”
    “Do you really believe that?”
    “I don’t know. I’ve been watching the news all day, and it is crazy in some of the cities. But we’re so far from all that, you know? I think we’ll be safe here. Just wait it out, wait for the government to call out the army or national guard. All you have to do to survive is not get bit, right?”
    “Look, Dev, I am out of here. I’m packing my shit and heading to the hills. If you have another place to go that’s far from civilization, I suggest you go there and stay put until the smoke clears.”
    “I don’t think it’ll be that bad. It can’t be.” He talked until he had convinced himself. I bet he practiced the speech in his head before he came over. I couldn’t do