The Road to Macon: A Zombie Novel by Micah Gurley

empty room, except for the metal racks that stood waiting for their charge, its contents emptied to those officers who liked his idea of arming themselves. He walked to the back of the room to find Neil, still tied with zip bands and gagged, so as not to cause trouble. A few officers had spoken up about the whereabouts of his presence, thought most, having seen his actions, didn't give another thought for him. Those few though had remained to look for him.
    Kyle leaned down and took the gag from Neil's mouth. Neil opened and closed his mouth a few times, while his eyes, full of hate and violence, never left Kyle. For his part, Kyle only saw a dangerous coward, and didn't feel threatened at all.
    "You will pay for what you did," said Neil, more calmly than Kyle would have thought. "You disgrace your uniform and the service you were in.
    Kyle, though calm, felt his fury begin to mount at the absurd commentary coming from Neil. "If you had just listened to me, Tim would still be living. You killed him with your pride and foolishness. That will forever be on you.”
    "You have caused all these people to abandon their posts. The fifth general order says...”
    Kyle interrupted him, his voice full of menace, "We are no longer in the military Neil. We are security guards and society is coming apart. That you cling so dogmatically to those orders shows what a danger you are. I am going to let you go, you have some people looking for you, but if you threaten me or anyone else, I will kill you." Kyle had not meant to threaten death but he knew as soon as he said it, that he meant it.
    Neil, trying to look defiant, shuddered at the cold, calculated certainty that came from Kyle. He did not speak again, and allowed himself to be freed. Kyle reached down a hand to help him up, but Neil, not looking at Kyle, got up and walked out of the room. Kyle sighed and followed him.
    By now most of the plant staff had taken off, desperate to get to their families. Many security officers said that they would head home and check things out with their families, then head out to Macon if things looked bad. Many ignored Kyle completely, except for accusatory glares concerning the newly freed Neil.
    Kyle was okay with them going, selfishly happy that he didn’t have to worry about them or that their group wouldn’t get too large. He had mixed feelings about the size of the group. With a lot of people came a lot of support, but also more headaches. He didn't need more problems or his attention diverted. Small groups were quick and could get things done, and that’s what he wanted now. He was in a hurry and needed to be on the road.
    He looked at his watch, 11:35. Late again. Kyle felt desperate to get to his brother. He knew it was probably just his mind running rampant, but after what he saw this morning, he didn’t want to take any chances.
    Kyle walked out of the security building, carrying a duffel bag in his hands and a large backpack on his back. He strained, the weight of the duffel almost causing him to lose his balance. The duffel, like the ones Patrick had already loaded, were full of Remington .223 ammo for the rifles, while the pack on his back had been filled with miscellaneous items that he thought might be needed.
    Eric was waiting for him at the last Tahoe parked near the security building. Kyle smiled at Eric, learning against the big truck. Kyle smiled at the nonchalant air that Eric gave off. He wished he felt as good as Eric appeared.
    “We got the radio torn out and put into your the truck,” he said, with a wink. Kyle shook his head in acknowledgement at this, also wondering why he had just winked. It was also true that Eric, though not officially educated, could repair, build, or create just about anything he wanted.
    “Thanks Eric.” He strained as he lifted the ammo bag into the back of the Tahoe. “I’m going to see you out there?” If there was anyone that Kyle could depend on, it was this guy.
    “Need to check on the