The Complex: (The Reanimates) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the gills with family photos and religious icons like her collection of saints. We wished her the best and watched her car pull out of her space and out the gate. We took a moment to collect ourselves then got back to unloading the truck. As we unloaded the last of it the TV let out the emergency alert tone.
    Trent and I stopped in our tracks, staring at the TV transfixed by the tone.
    A haggardly dressed official person came on camera. He wore a look of shock. He took a drink of water, cleared his throat, and began.
    "Today our resources in dealing with this virus have been overrun. We were unaware of the widespread ramifications of the virus. We didn't know there were so many sick people. We thought the people with the fevers would be in the hospital. They weren't. Oh God... maybe one in ten went in with the fever."
    He picked up his drink with very shaky hands and pulled a long sip from the glass. I had to wonder if it was something besides water. I know that's what I'd want if I were in his shoes. He filled his lungs with another deep breath.
    "We are declaring a state of marshal law in the state of California. This is for your protection. It is estimated that 30% of the population has reanimated in these last few hours. This is likely a conservative estimate. The amount of reanimates grows exponentially with every passing moment. The reanimated people are killers. Lock your doors. Do not open them. They are coming. Most of Los Angeles has been lost with surrounding areas falling quickly. Again, go into a secure location now and do not leave it. Do not open the doors. God be with you."
    With that the emergency broadcast ended. The station went back to the national news with a rolling ticker at the bottom giving those ever so helpful little tips on how to stay safe, like not opening the door for anyone and to make sure you ask friends and family if they had any contact with the infected.
    "What's the plan Trent?" I asked. He grabbed his tool box, pulled out a power saw, and said "We'll start with keeping them out of our place. I don't know if they can climb but I don't want to learn the hard way that we should have kept them unable to get on the balcony. Gonna rip out the downstairs patio, so no one or no thing can climb up." He set off down the stairs. Daniel overheard this and went downstairs with Trent. After he made the cuts, Daniel said he had an idea and yanked the wood fencing from the patio pile and dragged it up to our balcony. He asked for a hammer and long nails, which I grabbed from Trent's toolbox. He started nailing the planks from the patio to the railing and rafters. The effect was much like a cage but nothing was coming through, that was clear. Trent asked Daniel if he wanted the same done for his patio, as though he had to ask. He got to work. Soon six other families were coming by to see what we were up to. They all soon asked for the same to be done on their apartments as well. Of all the neighbors only Tyreese and his family were living in a downstairs unit. The upstairs unit had been vacated a week before and the complex had been in the process of preparing the unit for a new occupant. Tyreese had decided to move upstairs to hopefully add a layer of protection and be able to take that extra security precaution of a fenced in balcony. It was amazing how quickly the important stuff, mostly his food, bedding, and a couple changes of clothes for right now, had been moved from his unit by his two teen aged kids and wife. He planned on continuing to shift his stuff into the new unit on an as needed basis. This was good planning on his part, I thought, because who wanted to really take the time to move furniture and knick-knacks when the world could end in a moments notice.
    Steven had lived in an exterior upstairs apartment but he decided to occupy the last vacated upstairs interior facing unit. Steven was an artist living a minimalist lifestyle so moving him was rather easy. He had very little furniture and