Running with the Horde Read Online Free PDF Page B

madness intruded onto Serendipity Lane from neighboring streets and houses, invading the stillness like a pub crawl passing by a church.
    My guts were queasy as I strained to identify the potpourri of noises I was hearing. I didn’t know if the power outage was permanent but I knew things just went from extremely terrible to unbearably terrible.
    Was the enigmatic S ickness to blame for all this? With no power, it was possible I may remain in the dark on that front forever.
    I decided right then if I was ever going to lapse into a coma again for an extended period of time I would try not to do it right before a global pandemic. It just didn’t seem like a sensible thing to do.
    I sat on the porch until one of my neighbors fired up a generator, drowning out everything. I shuffled off to bed awash in a sea troubling thoughts, wondering where all this was leading.

Chapter 7
    “Roland’s Last Stand”
                  The first time I was confronted with the reality of the zombie apocalypse I was busy feeling sorry for myself on the front porch watching my stupid neighbors argue. They were bickering over their neighborhood response plan. Those that had decided to stick around and ride out the storm of power outages, rioting and the ever present Sickness had formed a cabal to protect our street.
                  I wasn’t included in their plans. I was largely being ignored as the neighborhood nut bag since I’d wandered home from the hospital a few days prior.
                  Some folks occasionally spared enough time from their busy days to shoot me a dirty look or give me the finger. I didn’t give a shit. I spent most of my time on the porch in a drunken stupor and I never did cut my grass like I said I would.
                  When I wasn’t drinking I nailed a few boards up on the windows just to fit in with everyone. When in Rome and all that shit. I didn’t think it would keep looters out but with no power and no one to talk to, I had a lot of time on my hands and had to do something with it.
                  The committee was formed to address the scary rumors that were being circulated by passersby and one old man’s ham radio. Everyone was afraid to leave our street but they wanted to feel like they were taking some type of preventative measures against whatever was coming.
                  The scuttlebutt was that the authorities had lost control and things were in complete anarchy not only in our neighborhood but in most other places. Without some sort of law and order presence, it wouldn’t be long until the chaos reached our street. The good folks of Serendipity Lane wanted to be prepared when that happened.
                  Even worse, there were word of mouth reports of rampant cannibalism. I found this one hard to believe. Things were bad out there, I’d seen that with my own eyes but surely there was still enough actual food around. There was no need for people to resort to such extremes. I told as much to Don or Dave, the one neighbor who spared a moment to keep me in the loop now and then. He just shrugged and walked away.
                  Guns were pooled and plans were made to fend off looters should they come. The bizarre warzone sounds from the neighborhood at large the last two days made me think that they would indeed come. When they did, there would be no one to help us. The neighborhood response plan was looking like a pretty good idea. I was coming to regret my decision not be more involved.
                  I did take the time to load up the gun my dad left me. That took me a while to figure out. I had never even fired a gun before so I felt silly carrying it around but it did make me feel a little better.
                  The morning it happened was a slow build of pregnant insanity. Primal screams and gunfire woke me from restless slumber very early on in the