Outbreak (Book 2): The Mutation by Scott Shoyer Page A

and after the cities were decimated, it continued on to the smaller communities. It wasn’t long before the infection crossed the Texas border and spread across the U.S. and to the world.
    No one knew what the virus was, and the news only speculated but offered no facts. Some said it was a Super Bug from Africa, while others said it was a man-made virus meant to be used in bio-warfare. One researche r said he knew for a fact that it was man-made, and that it wasn’t a virus at all, but a mutated form of bio-nanotechnology. Another “expert ” said it was an alien pathogen from outer space meant to weaken human beings for the impending invasion.
    All the nuts came out of the woodwork.
    The only thing Walt cared about was its slow but steady advancement to the Will to Heal Center. They were in a remote location in Spicewood, Texas, but the infection was relentless and would eventually wind up on their doorsteps.
    Spicewood was located nine miles southeast of Marble Falls and twenty-two miles from Austin. The center itself was tucked far off of route 71 south. The isolated location was chosen as the best means for treating patients. Take them out of their daily setting, detox them, give them the tools to cope, and then re-introduce them into the society they were once forced to leave.
    Even if one were to accidentally stumble upon the center, there was a large iron gate which opened up to another long, winding dirt road that extended for another two miles.
    When it became clear that the virus, or whatever it was, wasn’t going away, Walt closed the gates to the Will to Heal Center, and no longer accepted new patients. In those early days of the infection, they had thirty-two patients and ten staff members, and Walt felt secure that they were in a remote enough location and had enough supplies to weather the storm.
    A newer resident, Cheryl, was the one who woke Walt up to their predicament and urged him and the other residents and staffers to go on the offensive while they still could. There was still a lot of lumber, nails, pipes, and other building supplies the construction crew had left behind from when the center was expanded. Walt was glad that the crew had been too lazy to gather up their belongings.
    Cheryl and Walt worked closely and organized a plan to strengthen the center and eventually turn it into a fort. Windows were boarded up and unnecessary doors were removed while walls were built in their places. There was a considerable amount of talented people from all walks of life getting treatment at the center, and everyone contributed. Addiction didn’t discriminate, and as a result, there were cops, firemen, doctors, lawyers, and architects amongst the patients in the center. After much hard word, they created a stronghold that the military itself would’ve been proud of.
    Walt declared a nine o’clock curfew and that no one was to walk around outside alone. The main drawback to being a rehab facility was that, besides what could be found in the kitchen and groundskeeper’s shed, they had no weapons. Cheryl and Joe, a policeman from San Antonio, stepped up and trained those who wanted to learn about hand-to-hand combat.
    And, of course, Walt had his nail-studded Louisville Slugger, Stevie.
    Everyone kept busy during the day as they looked over every square inch of the grounds and made sure they didn’t miss anything. Everyone also spent time cooking meals together, holding support meetings, and therapy sessions with the remaining staff.
    *****
    One morning Walt bolted awake to the sound of a dull pounding noise. He grabbed his bat and ran to the common area. Others also heard the noise and gathered around, clutching whatever they could find for protection.
    “What the hell was that noise? ” Walt yelled as he entered the common room.
    “Someone, or thing, ” Joe responded, “is banging on the front door.”
    Everyone looked at Walt for the next move. Walt never felt so weighed down by the burden of