Empty Bodies (Book 2): Adaptation by Zach Bohannon Page B

with a small laugh. “Jessica, it’s dangerous out there. You don’t…”
    “I know what it’s like out there,” Jessica said, cutting him off with frustration in her voice. “You have no idea what we went through, what we saw.”
    “Jessica, I almost got killed today.”
    “Yeah, and what’s it going to be like around here if that happens? And even if it doesn’t, do you think we can actually hold this place forever? Everyone in here needs to be prepared in case something happens and we have to leave, or if we have to defend this place. Does anyone else even know where the weapons are that you have?”
    “What I’m trying to do is give everyone here an idea of normalcy. Give them jobs, a purpose, so that they can live normal lives.”
    “All you’re doing is distracting them. Everyone needs to know what it’s like out there. The truth.”
    Lawrence sighed. “Look, let me think on taking you out on a run, okay?”
    Jessica put her hands on her waist and looked at the wall next to her, exhaling a deep breath. Without looking toward him, she nodded. “Yeah.”
    “Good,” he said, and turned around and walked away from her. “I’ll let you know.”
    Jessica took a deep breath and walked behind him, toward the lounge. Lawrence stopped to speak with Trevor in the hallway, and Jessica continued walking without looking over at them.
    ***
    Lawrence
    After speaking with Trevor for a few minutes about a couple of things he’d seen on his latest run, Lawrence retreated to his room. His entire body ached from the events at the animal hospital, and he was exhausted. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, kicking his shoes off right as he sat down. He then lay on the bed and felt relief in his back and in his legs.
    With his right hand resting on his stomach, Lawrence looked to the ceiling and breathed heavy. In his solitude, his mind naturally went back to his wife and their young son. He looked over at the table by the bed and grabbed the photograph of them at Six Flags.
    Lawrence held the photograph up in front of his face, ignoring the soreness in his bicep as he tried to hold the picture steady. It was the only physical photograph he had of them. As he looked into their faces and saw how happy all three of them had been, Lawrence began to cry.
    He clutched the photograph to his chest, closed his eyes, and wept.
    ***
    5 days earlier

    The scene at the park was mad. Lawrence had just watched his partner turn into some kind of creature and attack him. Somehow, he’d managed to get away from her. He wanted to try and help her, but when he looked around and saw people being eaten alive, and others running every direction, he decided it best to get the hell out of there.
    He ran through all the commotion and reached the ambulance, which they’d kept running. Luckily, no one had jumped inside and driven off with it. All he could think about was Bailey and Carter. He knew they were home, as Bailey was in between jobs, having recently been laid off, and Carter had taken the day off from school because he wasn’t feeling well. Lawrence picked up his cell phone and hit the preset number for home as he tried pulling out of the parking lot. People were running all around him, looking as if they didn’t know what to do or where to go. The phone rang and rang.
    “Come on, pick up the phone, Bailey!”
    Lawrence heard a bang on the passenger side door and saw a woman crying through the window. He hit the power locks to unlock the door, and she swung it open.
    “Get in!” he yelled.
    As the crying woman tried to get into the ambulance, she screamed and was pulled back onto the ground. Someone was on top of her and Lawrence saw the blood begin to squirt from either side. Soon, someone else was on the woman. He looked on with his eyes wide, as one of the sick men came into view and tried to climb into the ambulance. The man’s eyes had gone pale and he was spitting toward Lawrence.  
    Lawrence pressed the gas and