Read Online Undead 02 The Undead Haze by Eloise J. Knapp - Free Book Online

a time as any. “He had a mark on his chest. A brand. I have the same one, given to me by that guy I told you about. Kevin. Him being here could mean they’re still hunting me, and somewhat successfully.”
    Beau paused and seemed to be thinking. “No. This guy was skin and bones when I found him. Is it possible he tried to escape Kevin and couldn’t make it on his own? He attacked me because he was probably starving, afraid out of his mind, and didn’t know what else to do.”
    “It’s possible. I guess there’s no way to know for sure why he was here.”
    “Guess it doesn’t matter, anyway. You or a stranger, right?” he shrugged.
    The memory hit me hard. I was in the car with Blaze, Gabe, and Frank. Gabe was trying to pick a fight with us after we fled the scene of a massacre. She wanted us to save a bunch of useless survivors. We didn’t. Blaze put her in her place after asking her if she’d die for a stranger. You don’t seem to value your life…right now, and for the rest of our lives, it’s always going to be you or them . What Beau said dredged up Blaze’s statement. I was surprised I remembered it word for word.
    “Hey, are you alright?”
    “Yeah. I...I’ve heard someone say that before,” I said. “That’s all.”
    Beau tilted his head, remembering something. “My sister used to say it. Started saying it when I was a kid. She lived by it. Now I guess I do, too.”
    It was one of those one-sided awkward moments. He was just talking about his sister. So was I. But he didn’t know it. I looked anywhere but at him.
    At the doors were numerous bags and buckets he must’ve been collecting during the night, before his mishap with that crazy guy.
    “Did you bring the whole store in?”
    I received a smirk in response and unexpectedly became nervous.
    He was Blaze’s sister. He knew where she was. Nervousness and excitement blended, but there wasn’t much I could do. I already decided not to talk about what I found out about ten minutes ago.
    “It’s for the truck. I figured we might as well bring everything we can.” He began rifling through the bags. “Anything could be useful at this point. Before I met you, and even Don, I kept seeing groups of…I don’t know. Raiders, I guess.” He paused. “Have you ever seen that Romero movie? Dawn of the Dead?”
    I nodded. Who hadn’t?
    “Yeah, like those motorcycle guys in the end. Like that. They were crazy. They had people in the backs of trucks, tied up. I guess this kind of stuff is going to be common nowadays.”
    “End of the world as we knew it also means a new world,” I agreed. “Which direction were they going?”
    “West.” Buford frowned. “Which isn’t good news because that’s the direction I’m headed. It’s strange, because you wouldn’t think I’d ever see them again, but if they kept popping up on my route before, they could now.”
    Seizing the moment, I said, “Speaking of which, I’ll go with you.”
    Beau’s frown disappeared and he grinned. “Great. I knew you’d come around.”
    “And I’m feeling a lot better, although I don’t look it,” I added, remembering my reflection upstairs. “In a few days we should consider leaving.”
    Having found whatever he was looking for, he lifted a bag and straightened up. “We should lay really low for a while. If we’re quiet for a few days, I’m sure our onlookers will disperse.”
    I nodded, realizing the ruckus I made earlier was bound to bring the crowd back again. We went upstairs, and as I passed the broken window I noticed a few slows wandering the courtyard to the left of Parks.
    “What’s in the bag?” I asked before we separated into our offices.
    “Oh. Shaving cream, scissors, stuff like that. I found them in the store and figured cleaning myself up might improve morale.” Then he added, “Plus if we encounter other survivors, looking clean would make me seem more…”
    “In control?” I said, in total agreement.
    One aspect of the