Phase One: Identify (Territory of the Dead) Read Online Free PDF

presence like ours, I don't see how it couldn't be cleaned up. The latest report stated that soldiers in Fort Polk were preparing to move out, containing the problem here in Louisiana. I'd actually be surprised if it wasn't over by morning.” 
     
    The older man laughed without humor before hissing, “Then be prepared to be shocked. I just came from the base area. We went there first, desperate to get help. The base is on total lock down. Nobody is allowed in, and nobody out.”
     
    The woman next to him gasped as she heard him. “Do you know why?”
     
    He looked at her and nodded. “There was a young soldier behind the chain link fence on guard duty. Even military trained, he was nearly in a complete panic. He told me that there was a huge contamination on post, wiping out the majority of the soldiers stationed there. Based on the amount of gunfire I heard, I daresay he was telling the truth.”
     
    The woman looked at the reporter, her eyes narrowed in anger. “Why haven't you reported this? This is what people need to know. All night, you've been running around this station asking people your silly questions. We want answers, not more questions.”
     
    Several people chimed in their agreement, before getting quiet again. “Are the other states experiencing the same things we are? How widespread is it? I want to know what steps are being taken to rectify this. Why don't you tell us since you seem to be the newsman around here.” Her voice was direct and very grim. She was not pleased.
     
    The reporter grinned at the camera, but it was strained. “Those are good questions. We actually haven't been able to make contact with anyone outside of a two hundred miles radius. It appears to be a technical issue with out satellites and phone towers. I'm confident that the proper personnel are taking care of this though, even as we speak.”
     
    The older man shook his head, grimacing at the reporter. The room at the station had grown quiet, as everyone watched the exchange. His voice was coarse with fear, and even anger, when he spoke again. “Keep believing that, if it gets you through the night. I know the truth. We can't count on anyone coming to our rescue. The world we have known is gone. I'm willing to bet there isn't a town anywhere that isn't in the same boat as we are.”
     
    I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen. “This is awful,” I muttered, halfway speaking to myself.
     
    Jayden heard me though, and pretty much echoed my thoughts. “If the military is down, we are all but screwed.”
     
    Even though it was the middle of the night, I wanted to check on Amanda badly. Standing up, I walked into the foyer and grabbed Dad's phone off the table. Surely under circumstances like these, it wouldn't be out of the way to call.
     
    Quickly I dialed the number for Amanda, but got nothing but a busy signal. I tried twice more, with the same results. A thought crossed my mind, as I quietly went back into the living room.
     
    “ Jayden, I was wondering if there was anyone you need to call?”
     
    He looked up at me and sighed heavily. “I didn't even think about it about my grandparents. They live in Florida, and this is going to devastate them.”
     
    His brown eyes filled with tears again, and he blinked furiously in an attempt to keep them from falling. “I can't call them tonight,” he said, running a hand through his straight hair. “I'll have to tomorrow, though. It's going to kill them. At least, if they aren't dead already.”
     
    His expression changed, turning intense and angry. “Dammit,” he hissed, slamming his fist into his palm. “I just can't deal with this. Maybe I'd just be better off dead as well.”
     
    “No, son,” my dad spoke up quietly from the recliner. He was still laid back on it, feet propped up, but his eyes were open and watching Jayden with a compassionate look on his face. “Don't ever think that,” he continued, focused on the young man across from him.