Last Stand on Zombie Island by Christopher L. Eger

members and George exchanged grim looks.
    “Well, I suppose we should issue a statement. Perhaps work out a curfew, post it at the Community Center, and make copies of it for the officers to post around town.” George said.
    “Yes, go ahead and do that, I’m going home to my family,” one of the council members, a popular local pharmacist, said as he pushed himself away from the table and vanished.
    The remaining two members seconded the first and left George alone with his thoughts. He stared at his steno pad where he had been taking notes, flipped to a new page and stared at it. He put his glasses on and picked up his pen.
     
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    ChapteR 12
 
 
Gulf Shores Town Green
     
    “May I have your attention, please,” a balding older man with glasses and a suit called out over a police megaphone from the tailgate of the truck. The crowd he was addressing amounted to a few hundred men and women that had gathered in the open air of the Town Green. Most had come there to report crimes, look for loved ones, or just seek refuge. A few were curiosity seekers wondering what the crowds and excitement were. Before being interrupted by the Emergency Alert System, the local radio station had announced it as the location of a shelter. The crowd’s individual conversations, which formed a loud commotion at first, died down to a dull hum as people stopped talking and gave the man with the megaphone their attention.
    “For those of you that do not know me, I am George Meaux, City Administrator. After meeting with the City Council and local police and fire chiefs, I am being told to release the following announcements,” the man said into the megaphone. The echoes of the device’s speaker bounced back at him from the concrete and brick buildings at every corner of the town green.
    “Starting tonight at sundown, there is a 24-hour curfew in effect for the entire city. The Community Center behind me is staying open as a shelter of last resort for anyone who feels his or her home may not be safe enough to remain during this emergency. However, once the curfew is in effect, anyone staying here will have to remain here. In short, you need to stay here or go home, but no matter what you choose, you need to choose soon and stick with your decision. You will see National Guard MPs augmenting our own local people in their duties with agreement of your City Council. There have been some looters reported and I need to remind everyone that this will not be tolerated. Now we are all aware of how to pull together. We have all lived through more hurricanes and tornadoes than I can count, red algae blooms, an oil spill, and a recession. This latest crisis is just one more thing to endure,” he went on.
    “What about the missing kids?” someone yelled from the crowd, which brought rumbles of agreement.
    “We have people out looking for the missing children right now. When found, they will be brought here to the Community Center. We have a team from the school system here that is staying on-site to assist in family reunification,” George answered.
    “How many people have died?” a woman yelled out. The crowd’s roar of questions soon drowned out everything and threatened to wash over the impromptu meeting.
    George put his free hand in the air to control the crowd. “There have, unfortunately, been some deaths during the riots. We are turning an offsite location into a disaster mortuary until we can get the County or the State in here to help us transport them to the medical center. We are posting these announcements on the bulletin board at City Hall and the National Guard will be bringing flyers around town. Now please, if you excuse me, I have a meeting with emergency officials. We will pass on further information when we get it,” George said, handing the megaphone to a gasmask-wearing female MP with a shotgun slung over her shoulder and climbed down from the tailgate.
    Before he even made it two feet away from the