Read Online American Infection (Book 2) by Justin Smith - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Justin Smith
Tags: Zombie Apocalypse
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east and became Miner Street. We would need to turn off Miner onto Price, where Matt's parents lived three blocks from the campus. This part of the city, surrounding the university, was much more residential than the road leading into West Chester. Houses dating to the 1950s had been built on top of one another, but at least the campus should be mostly desolate. School had ended for the students in mid‐May.
The problem with entering a residential area, though, was the number of potential infected, even if they did skew toward the senior citizen age range this time of year. Miner Street bent north and a hundred yards ahead I saw the sign for Price Street.
Brian left the road and we hugged the houses as we inched our way toward Price. At the third house, on the corner of Miner and Price, Brian peered around the end of the home's brick wall and looked down the street. He swung his head back behind the cover of the wall and muttered "fuck" under his breath.
I moved forward, past Matt and Brian, chest‐to‐chest with both men as I tried to stay close to the wall. Tilting my head around the corner, I gasped. Down Price Street, beginning about a block from our position and continuing as far as I could see, infected covered the road. They stood silently, seemingly unaware of each other, heads cocked to the side, swaying airily, arms and hands held chest high. Inches apart, some shoulder to shoulder, there must have been hundreds, if not thousands, just waiting for the slightest provocation.
And we were about to provide it for them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Friday, 7:15 a.m.
The five of us worked our way back along the wall to the home's front porch, which provided a small enclave in which we were hidden from view in three directions. Huddled together, I could hear our hearts beating, pounding. I had known getting to Matt's parent's house would be risky, but this was beyond my worst fears. There was no possible way we could skirt so many infected. And if it was this bad on the outskirts of the city, surely it would only be worse the further into town we went.
"This shit's not gonna happen," Rob said, looking at Matt. "There's no fucking way we can get to your parent's place if the streets are crawling like that."
Matt nodded his understanding. I knew he wouldn't expect us to go into battle against a thousand infected.
"What about the sewers?" Dale said. "Pull off a manhole cover?"
"You know what's down there, man?" Brian said. "Tight little space, crawlin' through shit. On top of that, where the hell you think we're gonna pop up? In the middle of a damn street. Surrounded by those fucks. No way."
"Matt, how far down Price is your parent's place?" I asked.
"Maybe a quarter mile, half mile, something like that," he said. "About four blocks."
"Alright, now all those things are in the street, right?" I said, speaking to everyone. "I'm thinking we can work our way behind the houses. Long as we stick to the back yards, stay close to the ground, take our time, we can do this."
"And what happens when one of those things sees us between houses and starts going ape‐shit?" Brian asked. "They'll surround us before we have time to piss our pants."
"Don't get seen," Rob said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Listen, guys, this is ridiculous," Matt said. "There's no way in hell my parents are even still alive. Not with that many infected in the streets. If there was anything alive in West Chester, those things would be all over it. Not just standing there. It's my call. And I say we turn back. I'm not gonna risk all of us ending up dead, too, and then Sarah and Melissa are on their own. I won't do that to them"
"Finally, some fucking logic," Brian said. "Thank you."
I looked at Matt. While I couldn't read his thoughts behind the blackness of his eyes, I tried to allow my own eyes to express that I would still follow him into the city. He shook his head and looked down, breaking my stare.
"If that's that, then we need to get the hell out of
The problem with entering a residential area, though, was the number of potential infected, even if they did skew toward the senior citizen age range this time of year. Miner Street bent north and a hundred yards ahead I saw the sign for Price Street.
Brian left the road and we hugged the houses as we inched our way toward Price. At the third house, on the corner of Miner and Price, Brian peered around the end of the home's brick wall and looked down the street. He swung his head back behind the cover of the wall and muttered "fuck" under his breath.
I moved forward, past Matt and Brian, chest‐to‐chest with both men as I tried to stay close to the wall. Tilting my head around the corner, I gasped. Down Price Street, beginning about a block from our position and continuing as far as I could see, infected covered the road. They stood silently, seemingly unaware of each other, heads cocked to the side, swaying airily, arms and hands held chest high. Inches apart, some shoulder to shoulder, there must have been hundreds, if not thousands, just waiting for the slightest provocation.
And we were about to provide it for them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Friday, 7:15 a.m.
The five of us worked our way back along the wall to the home's front porch, which provided a small enclave in which we were hidden from view in three directions. Huddled together, I could hear our hearts beating, pounding. I had known getting to Matt's parent's house would be risky, but this was beyond my worst fears. There was no possible way we could skirt so many infected. And if it was this bad on the outskirts of the city, surely it would only be worse the further into town we went.
"This shit's not gonna happen," Rob said, looking at Matt. "There's no fucking way we can get to your parent's place if the streets are crawling like that."
Matt nodded his understanding. I knew he wouldn't expect us to go into battle against a thousand infected.
"What about the sewers?" Dale said. "Pull off a manhole cover?"
"You know what's down there, man?" Brian said. "Tight little space, crawlin' through shit. On top of that, where the hell you think we're gonna pop up? In the middle of a damn street. Surrounded by those fucks. No way."
"Matt, how far down Price is your parent's place?" I asked.
"Maybe a quarter mile, half mile, something like that," he said. "About four blocks."
"Alright, now all those things are in the street, right?" I said, speaking to everyone. "I'm thinking we can work our way behind the houses. Long as we stick to the back yards, stay close to the ground, take our time, we can do this."
"And what happens when one of those things sees us between houses and starts going ape‐shit?" Brian asked. "They'll surround us before we have time to piss our pants."
"Don't get seen," Rob said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Listen, guys, this is ridiculous," Matt said. "There's no way in hell my parents are even still alive. Not with that many infected in the streets. If there was anything alive in West Chester, those things would be all over it. Not just standing there. It's my call. And I say we turn back. I'm not gonna risk all of us ending up dead, too, and then Sarah and Melissa are on their own. I won't do that to them"
"Finally, some fucking logic," Brian said. "Thank you."
I looked at Matt. While I couldn't read his thoughts behind the blackness of his eyes, I tried to allow my own eyes to express that I would still follow him into the city. He shook his head and looked down, breaking my stare.
"If that's that, then we need to get the hell out of
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