Control: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller by Saul Tanpepper

Author:Saul Tanpepper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: suspense, medical, urban, extinction, pandemic, disaster, biotechnology, infection, gameland, flense
Published: 2017-01-12T16:00:00+00:00

" 'This is a safe haven community,' " Bix read off the hand painted sign along the side of the road. The underlying billboard could still be seen through the whitewash, a public service announcement encouraging people to get their flu shots. " 'To ensure that it remains that way, please respect our rules. Failure to do so will result in swift judgment.' "

"Wonder what they mean by that," Finn said, glancing at Red.

They'd finally untied him, after he promised not to run. He claimed he no longer felt any loyalty to Adrian and was grateful to them for saving his life. In fact, he wanted to see the man dead just as much as the rest of them. "Roy was my friend," he told them. "None of us deserved what Adrian did, but least of all Roy."

Neither Finn nor Bix wanted to let him go. They had seen how he and other men like him had acted back there at the compound, before their escape. They were animals with the taste of blood on their tongues.

But Bren felt sorry for Red. Surprisingly, Harrison agreed with her. He even declared he'd take responsibility for him. Finn heard Bix grumble unhappily that his father might have hit his head harder than they realized back there in Missoula. But he didn't argue.

They had stopped at an old rest area populated by several picnic grills thick with rust and protected by an overhang constructed of rough-hewn logs. The site afforded them a clear panoramic view for at least a quarter mile around. Some of the grills appeared to have been used recently, and all were stuffed full of garbage— spent wood, shards of foil, charred animal bones. Several fire rings, and more than a few ratty sleeping bags, also littered the area.

While there, they prepared a hasty breakfast of canned dog food over boiled rice, and washed it down with coffee they had found at the station, which they had to strain between their teeth for lack of filters. It was the first coffee most of them had had since leaving the bunker, and their first decent meal in more than two days.

They debated whether to leave the bulk of their supplies and half their crew behind, but in the end, after listening to Red's assertion that the settlement was a pocket of civilized behavior run by strong but fair people, they decided to risk it. Their best chance of catching up with Adrian was here, but if they missed him, they didn't want to have to backtrack too much to retrieve anything. They were getting too close to Salt Lake City, and if they failed to stop him before he reached it, their task became monumentally harder, if not impossible.

"No guns," Bix remarked, as he went on to read the list of rules. " 'Weapons must be surrendered upon arrival and will be returned upon departure.' "

At the very bottom was one final ominous admonition: Treat our Haven with respect and civility, and Haven will return the favor.

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