Zombie-in-Chief by Scott Kenemore

Author:Scott Kenemore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2017-07-19T04:00:00+00:00

THE REPORTER

Jessica spent the balance of the convention’s opening trying to get back into the good graces of her boss. She filed several pieces in quick succession about the impact of the conventioneers on the Cleveland economy, the role of Gen Y’ers in the election, and the potential for violence breaking out. She interviewed and wrote. Wrote and interviewed. She filed stories that George hadn’t even asked for, just to show that she was working hard.

Her heart, however, was elsewhere.

As the convention speakers were—eventually—announced, she studied each one for signs of zombification. The old general. Had he been bitten by a member of the undead while serving in foreign lands? The New Jersey governor. Did an outsize taste for human flesh explain his girth? The ageless 1980’s sitcom actor? Had his long absence from the limelight been due to an extended zombification process? (And what was that process? Jessica still had so many questions. There were resources on the web that claimed to reveal the secrets of the walking dead, but so much of what Jessica found did not comport with what the Knights of Romero had told her. That zombies had become their own sort of secret society. That they had learned to blend in. Jessica second-guessed every speaker, worrying she had missed some telltale sign of membership in the legion of the dead.)

At the end of the first day of the convention, Jessica stepped outside for a rare smoke break. She had told herself she would curtail the habit completely many times before—or at least move to vaping—but the bracing knowledge that the next leader of the free world might be a zombie seemed to override the impulse for self improvement. There was a large smoking area on the side of the arena. Jessica joined perhaps a hundred others in lighting up and milling about idly.

Jessica’s head swam. She could not remember feeling so exhausted and unnerved, yet so galvanized at the same time. Some part of her wished desperately to curl up with an electric blanket and a bottled of schnapps for the next 24-48 hours. Blueberry schnapps. Definitely blueberry.

Jessica hardly noticed when a small figure concealed in a baggy pink sweatshirt eased up beside her.

“Got a light?” a voice said.

Immediately, Jessica snapped back to the present. Blankets and schnapps were suddenly light years away. The voice was familiar. It was the bald member of the Knights of Romero. The one they had called Trish.

“Don’t look,” Trish said as Jessica leaned over, all agog. “Just light my smoke and keep looking straight ahead.”

Jessica tried to do so.

“I’ve been wondering if I should get in touch with you,” Jessica whispered. “I found out that Bob Hogson knows. He let it slip in an interview. More or less.”

“At the moment, Hogson is small potatoes,” Trish said. “Listen to me carefully. Tomorrow something’s going to happen during the convention. Something very important. You know how there’s a slot in the evening schedule where it just says ‘An Address’?”

Jessica did. But

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.