Read Online Love and Decay, Episode 10 by Rachel Higginson - Free Book Online

became absolutely serious- that was our only
    option at this point. I had one gun with one clip that held ten bullets, a hunting knife and a pocket knife. And Kane had nothing . To say we were ill-prepared didn’t even begin to cover the spectrum of just how under-armed we truly were. Hiding out with Kane didn’t exactly make this the best day of my life, but not dying helped improve my perspective.
    “And if help doesn’t come?”
    I winced, because it was a valid question, “Then at least we have each other.”
    Total sarcasm on my part, but by Kane’s determined nod of approval I realized the blatant
    cynicism was completely lost on him.

Chapter Four
     
    So far, Oklahoma equaled a lot of running. But if I had to choose, I’d pick smooth highway over uneven forest any day. Last week we’d run from a horde of Zombies but managed to out run them thanks to flat ground and armed guards waiting for us.
    Kane and I had neither of those things- plus he was still limping from his thigh injury, he struggled to breathe because of bruised or cracked ribs and he had no weapons.
    Still he was faster than me.
    The bastard.
    And he seemed to have better balance than me since I kept tripping over branches littering the forest floor or roots protruding from the soft ground. The trees were tall here, bare on their wide trunks until the high canopy of leaves that blocked out the heat of the sun.
    The trees were planted close together, making our high-octane run very dangerous. Squeezing between them at a sprinter’s pace was not exactly easy; and all I could imagine was bouncing off a tree trunk straight into the open arms of a Feeder.
    I swear I could feel them breathing down my neck. I had no idea how many there were, or if they simply needed to reach out to touch me; but it didn’t matter because I was not about to die like this.
    I refused.
    And I wasn’t going to let Kane die like this either.
    I gripped my gun tighter, finding some comfort in the weight and feel of the weapon in my capable hands. It felt more natural to run while holding a gun than it had a week ago. I supposed necessity and repetitive circumstances had something to do with that. The metal warmed against my hot palm, and my finger nervously slipped over the safety just to double check and then to the trigger where it rubbed back and forth anxiously waiting to use it.
    I let out a hysterical scream when seven Feeders stepped out of from behind the trees in front of us and moaned. Kane and I skidded to an abrupt halt and spun desperately around, checking the threat from every direction.
    The gun trembled in my hand for a second before I pulled myself together and let the pounding adrenaline take over.
    Thinking quicker than me, Kane ducked down and came back up with a long, sturdy stick. I started shooting before I could form any kind of plan and Kane didn’t hold back. He launched himself at the Feeders in front of us without reserve or fear.
    I gasped at his brutality, the way he went after their heads with a savage grace that I was both thankful for and unnerved by. He shouted out a wild, irate growl and bashed in the first head he came to. I screamed from as much shock as it was from horror.
    Tearing my gaze from Kane’s massacre I unloaded my clip as quickly and accurately as I could. But these were smart Feeders. Their eyes were blood red and dripping a kind of black gunk that I had never seen before. Their skin glistened a papery, translucent white and where it wasn’t peeled away exposing flesh and bone, it was sticky with blood or grime. Their mouths foamed with sticky goop and pus and their rotten teeth dripped the same mucous-like fluid.
    And then there was that stomach-curdling stench that accompanied them wherever they went.
    Kane moved to his second victim, just as another one came up behind him. I took a side angle and shot at the Feeder gnashing his teeth at Kane’s shoulder. I caught the Feeder in the thigh and he stumbled back. Not