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  CONTENTS

  About Contamination 7: Resistance

  Title Page

  Preface

  Book 4 Recap

  Part One - Two Sides

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Part Two - Inherit The Wasteland

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Part Three - Cling To The Edge

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Afterword

  Contamination T-Shirts

  Preview of Contamination Dead Instinct Available Now!

  About The Author

  Copyright Info

  ABOUT CONTAMINATION 7: RESISTANCE

  The only way to survive is to resist…

  After freeing Dan and Quinn, Sandy Duncan must fight to escape the lumberyard while protecting the others she came to save. The infected lurk outside the gates.

  Is the fate outside the lumberyard even worse than what she faces if she stays?

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  CONTAMINATION

  BOOK SEVEN: RESISTANCE

  By T.W. Piperbrook

  Preface

  At the end of Contamination 6, I mentioned that there would be several standalone novels in the same world. The first of these was Contamination: Dead Instinct.

  I decided to call this novel Contamination 7 (as opposed to a standalone title), as it follows the story of Sandy and Reginald, both of whom were introduced in Book Four. I think it makes the most sense for readers to have read the rest of the series before this book.

  The book picks up almost immediately after we left Sandy, so you'll see a brief cameo appearance by Dan and Quinn, whose story concluded in Book Six.

  I hope you enjoy this return to the characters and the world of Contamination. I know I did!

  Happy reading!

  Tyler Piperbrook

  June, 2016

  Book Four Recap

  While trying to escape St. Matthews, Dan and Quinn rescue a girl named Sandy from the roof of a bank. Afterward, Reginald Morris, a criminal scavenging for supplies in town, steals Dan's station wagon.

  Sandy tells Dan and Quinn she's been staying with Reginald and some others at the lumberyard, but that she was unaware of Reginald's criminal past. Unwilling to lose his uncontaminated food and supplies, Dan heads to the lumberyard in pursuit of his vehicle.

  When they arrive, a young man named Charlie, who is guarding the gate, agrees to bring them in. Paranoid, or perhaps unstable, Reginald shoots Charlie, entraps and ties up Dan and Quinn, and interrogates them.

  While the others are arguing, Sandy frees Dan and Quinn and leads them to their station wagon. She tells them to escape while she stays behind to help the others.

  PART ONE: TWO SIDES

  Chapter One

  What have I done?

  Sandy looked over her shoulder, catching a last glimpse of the station wagon that hung in the shadows. Dan and Quinn were huddled inside. In just a few minutes, the police officer and his daughter would drive off, leaving Sandy to face Reginald. Or at least, that was the plan.

  She'd freed them and told them to leave. Sandy couldn't abandon the rest of the people in the lumberyard.

  Hector, Marcia, Anabel, and Finn needed her help.

  Doubt clawed at her mind like a rabid animal. What if she'd made a mistake? What if she'd done the exact thing that would get her killed? Heaving frantic breaths, Sandy rounded the corner of the warehouse, leaving the vehicle behind. Her hope was that she could get back inside the building quickly and avoid implication.

  She slid her hand along the wall, looking for the exit door in the pale moonlight. She found it halfway down. Twisting the doorknob, she sucked in a breath and snuck back inside. Loud, angry voices told her the others were still arguing about Dan's fate. Reginald was the loudest. What Reginald didn't realize was that Sandy had already made the decision for him.

  She moved through a dark office, listening for Dan and Quinn's car. Nothing. Had Reginald done something to it? Had he disabled the vehicle somehow?

  She didn't see how, or when, but it was possible.

  At least no one was guarding the gate outside. Everyone must be inside, arguing. She weaved between several desks and office chairs, following the glow of the lantern light that splashed over the main warehouse in the adjacent room. Through a dusty, dirt-streaked window, she saw Hector waving his hands at Reginald. Hector was a middle-aged, Hispanic man with a round frame. His hair was dark and thinning. His arguments to save Dan didn't appear to be getting through. Behind Hector were his family—his wife Marcia and his six-year-old daughter Anabel. A young man named Finn stood next to them.

  Reginald's hand fell to his holstered pistol, malice in his eyes. Behind him were Billy, Simon, and Tom—a group of men that had been interrogating Dan and Quinn. Although they'd expressed doubt in killing Dan earlier, they appeared to have been swayed by the promise of safe food and water.

  Using the commotion to her advantage, Sandy slipped back into the main warehouse, avoiding everyone's eyes. Her fear was that some clue on her face might give away what she'd done. Hector's and Reginald's' voices echoed off the cavernous ceiling. She breathed a sigh of relief, realizing the others were too preoccupied to notice her.

  "Dan's lying!" Reginald spat, stepping closer to Hector. "We need to take care of him! He's involved in what's happening."

  "How can we be sure?" Hector asked.

  "I know he's in on it." Reginald pursed his lips emphatically. "No one could have all the information he does and not be involved. If you believe him, he's one of the only ones who survived in St. Matthews. And he's the only one with safe food and water. Isn't that proof enough?"

  "I want to talk to him," Hector said plaintively. "I want to find out for myself."

  "He's dangerous. He and his daughter need to go," Billy agreed from beside Reginald.

  Hector fell silent for a moment. He looked over at Simon and Tom. "What do you think? Do you agree with this?"

  The men traded an anxious glance and nodded.

  Hector turned back to face Marcia, whose eyes
glistened with tears. She shook her head no. Anabel was crying and holding onto her. Hector put his head in his hands. "I don't know how we're even considering this. You're talking about killing a police officer. I won't have any part in harming them. When this is over, I'll have to live with myself. Can you do the same?"

  Reginald took a bold step toward Hector. "If you don't agree, you and your family can leave. The food stays here."

  Sandy's eyes roamed between Reginald, Simon, Billy, and Tom. She wanted to step in, but she feared her intrusion might escalate the situation.

  "So you're going to starve us?" Hector repeated.

  Reginald's face reddened under the glow of the lanterns. It looked like he was sweating. "You haven't been out there recently," he shouted. "You don't know what it's like!"

  "I know exactly what it's like," Hector tried, motioning to his family. "We survived and got here from New Mexico. Remember?"

  "But you haven't done shit since. All you've done is keep guard. You haven't even gone on any supply runs. You don't deserve the food and water I found in that station wagon." Reginald cracked his neck. His eyes were wild and nervous; it was obvious the new world had cracked his already-violent mind. Or maybe something else was going on. His body was shaking.

  Hector held up his hands. "With the rest of the food contaminated, we'll have nothing to eat. You're threatening us with infection, probably death."

  Reginald reached for his gun. "Come any closer, and I'll do worse than that."

  Fear crossed Hector's face. Reginald stared at him with the expression of a man past his threats.

  Before anything could happen, Sandy stepped in and held up her hands. "Stop! We don't need to argue like this."

  Reginald broke his combative stare and turned to face her. She kept stoic, even though she wanted nothing more than to disappear, or run from the room.

  "There's no need to argue," she continued. "The only reason we're alive is because we've worked together. We need to cooperate."

  Reginald blew an explosive breath. "You changed that by bringing Dan and Quinn here. This is your fault! You could've gotten all of us killed!"

  "I didn't mean any harm by it. I was trying to help them, like they helped me in town."

  Reginald's eyes narrowed as he took a step toward her. It seemed like he'd already forgotten about Hector and had focused his rage on her.

  "Reginald, please, leave her alone," Hector said.

  Sandy held up her hands to defend herself. Before she could finish her sentence, a car engine started outside. Everyone's attention turned to the windows, where headlights illuminated the pane. Tires crunched furiously as a car shot by, spitting up gravel, kicking up dust.

  "What the hell?" Reginald shouted.

  Dan and Quinn! Sandy thought.

  Chapter Two

  Reginald, Simon, Tom, and Billy drew their guns and raced for the door, opening it in time to see a car battering through the gate.

  "Goddamit!" Reginald screamed in rage.

  The armed men raced into the parking lot. Gunshots split the air. The people left in the warehouse looked around frantically. Reginald's men had the only guns. It was an unlucky coincidence. Or a planned one, Sandy thought. She looked over at Hector, who had a knife tucked in his belt. She had one, also, from freeing Dan and Quinn. The others had small blades. Anabel buried her face in Marcia's shirt. Finn held up his hands, as if he might stop a bullet.

  "We need to get out of here!" Sandy told them.

  Hector nodded, fear in his eyes. Before they could determine a plan, Reginald raced back in the room. Simon was right behind him.

  "Don't let them out of your sight! I don't trust them!" Reginald yelled.

  Simon waved his pistol, eliciting gasps of fear from the people in the room. And then Reginald ran back outside. A few more bullets sounded from outside; moments later, a second car shot past the warehouse. Clouds of dust blew through the open doorway, creating a murky blackness.

  And then both vehicles were gone and the warehouse was silent.

  Sandy watched Simon. Her hope was that he wouldn't figure out what she'd done until she could figure out a way to get these people to safety.

  She sized up Simon. He was in good shape—his arms were toned and tanned underneath his white muscle shirt. One of his arms had a full sleeve of tattoos. She'd gone on several supply runs with him, discussing lost family and sharing hopes of rescue, but those conversations seemed to have been forgotten in Reginald's spreading paranoia.

  "Hand over your weapons!" Simon demanded.

  Sandy watched him for a second, defiance flickering in her eyes before she reluctantly dug into her jeans. She pulled out her knife, dropping it in the dirt.

  "The rest of you, too!" Simon ordered, waving his gun.

  Hector relinquished his knife. The others dropped their small blades in the dirt and held up empty hands. Simon bent down and retrieved the weapons, then patted them down. When he was satisfied they were unarmed, he stepped back, trading his attention between them and the doorway. There was no sign of Reginald and his men, no sign of Dan and Quinn. The roar of car engines had segued to the sound of night insects.

  Simon walked to the doorway, peered out into the night, and said, "The gate's open. Shit." He took a few steps into the parking lot, torn between guarding the people he'd been told to watch and shutting it. Finally, he seemed to make a decision. "Come with me."

  He waved his pistol, herding the people in the warehouse in front of him. Sandy walked single-file with her scared companions as they entered the parking lot. The smell of burned tires was a stinging reminder that Dan and Quinn had escaped, while Sandy and the others were left behind.

  "If you don't trust us, why not let us leave, like Reginald said?" Hector asked Simon.

  "Be quiet." Simon's face grew hard. "We don't know how many creatures we might've stirred up with all the noise."

  He flicked on a flashlight, illuminating the dusty parking lot and instructing them to hurry. Sandy swallowed and covered her mouth as she walked over the gravel, trying not to choke on dust, following the thin beam of Simon's flashlight. Between the dust and the darkness, she could barely see; every shadow resembled a creature, hissing and waiting to pounce.

  The front gates were broken open where Dan had crashed through them. Simon swiveled his flashlight until he found the lock and chains in the gravel. Then he shone the beam on Sandy and the others, waving them over to the fence.

  "We can help you," Sandy started. "You don't have to do this."

  "Keep quiet, I said."

  Simon scooped up the chains and lock and dug for the keys to the lock, keeping a wary eye on them. Sandy had the frantic thought that they should run through the gates, but they were more likely to get shot than get away. She looked over at Hector, who was holding Marcia and Anabel close. Finn watched her with a hopeless expression.

  While Simon was busy with the gate, Marcia hissed at Sandy, "I saw you slipping out before. What were you doing?"

  A feeling of panic washed over Sandy. She didn't think anyone had noticed. Taking a chance, she admitted, "I cut Dan and Quinn loose."

  "My God," Hector said, mouth agape.

  "Reginald will kill you!" Marcia whispered.

  Sandy looked over at Simon, who was still securing the gates. "He'll kill all of us, if we don't get out of here. You heard his threats. You've seen what he's done. Something's wrong with him. We need to leave. If we don't, we'll die."

  The others looked around nervously. Before they could concoct a plan, Simon swung the gates closed and locked them in. Sandy watched the entrance with the sinking feeling that none of them would ever see the other side of it again.

  Chapter Three

  Sandy looked over her shoulder, praying she wouldn't see headlights past the fence. Reginald would be back soon, with or without Dan and Quinn. And when he returned, their chances at escape would be slim.

  She needed to figure something out. Fast.

  With no choice b
ut to walk quietly ahead of Simon, Sandy and the others entered the warehouse, surveying the shelves full of lumber and supplies. In the time Sandy had been staying here, she'd gotten used to the smell of wood and the odor of grease and equipment. Those scents were familiar enough to feel a little like home. But not anymore. Now the lumberyard was a place from which they needed to escape.

  Simon closed the door and stationed himself in front of it, pointing his pistol at them. He instructed them to stand ten feet away. Mind brimming with desperate thoughts, Sandy attempted to rationalize with him.

  "This is about food," Sandy guessed.

  Simon remained quiet.

  "You're afraid Reginald will starve you, just like he threatened to do to Hector and his family," Sandy said.

  Simon looked away.

  "Reginald killed Charlie. What makes you think he won't kill the rest of us?"

  "Charlie's death was an accident," Simon argued, but without Reginald around, he didn't sound as convinced.

  "He's persuaded every one of that. But it's not true. I was there."

  Simon chewed his lip. "So was I. Reginald's been fair with me," he said. "He's the one who found the lumberyard. He's the one who's kept us safe this long."

  "But he's turned against Hector and his family, and now he's turned against me. He'll do the same to you, as soon as you do something he doesn't like."

  "I'll take that up with him when the time comes."

  Realizing that her words weren't having an effect, Sandy struggled to think of another argument. Anabel cried, holding Marcia tightly, peering out from the folds of her mother's shirt.

  "Listen, Simon," Hector tried again, taking a slow step toward him. "There's no reason to hold us here. Let us leave, like Reginald said. We won't come back."