The Coalition: Part 1 The State of Extinction (Zombie Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

height. His grip was very powerful and Ron figured he must be an athlete of some kind. Gathering what remained of his wits, Ron pulled himself upright and followed the man into a hallway and then to a door that opened into yet another stairwell. Ron hesitated at the door, but the man insisted.
    “Fucking get in here , or shatterproof or not, they’ll push that glass in and follow us wherever we try to run.”
    Cutter did as he was told and followed the guy into the darkness. As he closed the door behind them, the fellow produced a flashlight. A beam of white light pierced the shadows, and Ron saw that his rescuer was showing him the way up the stairs. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll lock the door here,” He heard keys, jangling one against others, and a lock slid shut. “But I’ve noticed that they calm down pretty quick if they don’t see anyone to eat. They’ll probably just mill around the building for a while and then wander off. They’ve been doing variations on that theme all day.”
    Already , the younger man was moving briskly up the stairs. “Come on, damn it,” the youth repeated, shining the light just briefly in Ron’s face.
    “Okay,” he answered. “I…well, thanks,” he said. “I thought they had me.”
    “That’s okay,” the man replied. “I was watching you heading this way. I think I watched you all the way from that warehouse ; that office supply place. What were you doing there? They got any guns there?” he asked, hope in his voice.
    “No,” Ron said. “I … uh … I work there. They made us go into work today. They made us…” he trailed off.
    For a second , his savior said nothing, and then he spoke up. “I understand,” he said. “They were trying to dick us all.”
    In a few moments, they were on the third floor of the tower. “I’m Ted Siskey, by the way. You can call me Ted.”
    Ron nodded as they moved out into the light of a hallway. “Ron,” he answered, extending his right hand. “Cutter.” For the first time , he had a good look at the Siskey. As he had figured, the guy was only about twenty-one or so. He was taller than Ron, probably six-feet-four or so, and very lean. His hair was blond, his eyes green. Siskey looked like he belonged on a recruitment poster for the German Army.
    “You live here?” Ron asked. He had to pause then, his knee was all but screaming at him.
    “No,” Siskey said, shrugging. “I was visiting a pal of mine who works security here.” He sighed. “Used to work security. They…uh…they got him about two hours ago. He went out front to check some doors…goddamn it.”
    Ron didn’t say anything. He couldn’t say anything to that , but that explained the keys, at least. When Ted moved on, Ron followed him, limping slightly, hoping that they could find some painkillers . He would like to chew a few aspirin at least .
    “Who else is in the tower?” Ron finally asked. “I know they only sold about a hundred units here. Out of three hundred, for Pete’s sake.” He laughed. “I came to a sales pitch about two months back,” he added. “Hell…maybe I met your pal when I was here.”
    “Jake,” Siskey said. “His name was Jake Sears. Played baseball with me my senior year.”
    “Baseball?” They stopped at the end of the hallway where there was a window and they both peered down at the street, which was packed with the dead.
    “UNCC,” Siskey added. “I went there on a baseball scholarship. Graduated this past year,” he said. “Jake was a junior , so he only had one more year. He worked here to earn his spending cash.” The shamblers were still agitated and they were obviously trying to push their ways into the building. “Poor bastard,” Ted whispered. Ron heard it.
    “If they get in, are we safe?” he asked.
    “Fuck if I know,” Ted admitted. “What I suspect, though, is if we don’t find some guns , we’re screwed. My suspicion is that Uncle Sam ain’t going to arrive with the cavalry to rescue us