Down the Road: The Fall of Austin by Bowie Ibarra Page A

the
bodies to ensure the girl was dead. Both corpses sat motionless,
the girl’s head still stuck deep in Charlie’s bullet-ridden chest.
Moments ago, they were just pot superstars sharing a joint. Now,
they were just a pile of gore entangled in entrails and flesh on
the side of IH-35 north.
    Mike recovered as best he could as Derek
walked up to him. “You all right?”
    “No. Pretty fucking far from all right.”
    “Mike, don’t be a pussy. Things are fucked up
right now. You need to get your shit together.”
    “Goddamn you, Derek,” Mike said with
resentment, angry that he could not save the two people from their
cruel fate of nestling in each other’s gore.
    “What?”
    The two stood silent for several seconds,
taking in the new world forming around them. Both heard the same
screams, the same sirens, the same gunshots. They never imagined
the end of the world would sound anything like this.
    “Take me home,” Mike said.
    “You’re going to need to help me get that out of the car first,” Derek said, pointing to the two
bodies merged in their final mortal moments on earth.
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    1:15 AM
    Texas State Capitol
     
    The two Army fireteam leaders led their men
to the gates of the Texas state capitol. Securing the capitol was
the first step in securing several surrounding blocks so the
military could set up its command center for the state of Texas.
National Guard troops would arrive to barricade the capitol, then
secure the buildings within the barricaded city blocks. Scurrying
from the APC amidst the chaos of downtown to a heavily sandbagged
staging area, the men received their orders.
    “Morning, ladies,” said a stern man in the
digital themed fatigues of the urban warrior, his wrinkled face a
portrait of restrained aggression. “I’m Captain Barrigan. You and
your men will secure this building this morning. The state
legislature was in session today and many legislators stuck around
before we had a chance to secure it. We have confirmed several
viral enemies within the building.”
    The men grimaced in surprised confusion at
the mention of viral enemies .
    “You need to clear the building of the Virals
and rescue any of the state legislature who are still in the
building. Are these orders clear?”
    All responded, “Yes, sir.”
    “National Guard will be arriving at 0600
hours. Your work needs to be completed by then. Do you
understand?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    The Captain took a long swig from a large cup
of Starbucks coffee, smacked his lips, and said, “Questions?”
    Sgt. Arnold was the first to raise his hand.
“What are viral enemies, sir?”
    “Viral enemies are humans exhibiting what we
can only describe as hyper-crazed behavior, including severe
violence and tendencies to bite. The reason we refer to them as
Virals is that sources close to the US military believe the
sickness is possibly viral. Avoid bites at all costs, or contact
with blood or saliva from these combatants.”
    “What happens if we do, sir?” asked Spc.
Goodson.
    Cpt. Barrigan told a bold-faced lie. “We
don’t know for sure.” The subtext was clear, though.
    “How do we take them down, sir?” asked Sgt.
Nickson.
    “Intelligence gathered confirm a traditional
shot to the head terminates the combatants. Any other
questions?”
    “Why is this happening?” asked Sgt.
Arnold.
    “We don’t know.”
    The men stood silent.
    Cpt. Barrigan moved away from the iron gates
of the capitol. On the sidewalk just several feet away from the men
lay three dead bodies. As the men peered through the bars across
the lawn of the antique building, shadowy figures walked in the
distance. They seemed human, but now they weren’t so sure.
    “All right. Get your gear ready,” Cpt.
Barrigan stated.
    The fireteams gathered while their leaders
conferred over a map of the capitol with Cpt. Barrigan.
    “Men, here’s the building’s floorplan. How do
you think you want to do it?”
    “Drop us on the roof and work our way