Read Online As The World Dies Untold Tales Volume 3 by Rhiannon Frater - Free Book Online Page B

crystalizing each time he exhaled.
    Staggering across the cabin, he waved his arm irritably, sloshing a good portion of the icy Jack Daniels across his arm and onto the floor. Tripping over the corner of the kitchen table, he half fell, half slumped into a chair. Cradling the liquor bottle against his chest, he bowed his head and whispered, “Please, just leave me alone.”
    “You have to go to Eastland and see if my brother is okay. He must have hid in the attic when the zombies broke into the house.”
    “My wife is in Dallas. I’m sure she’s okay. She’s not on this side. She’s a better shot than I am.”
    “My kids were visiting their grandparents...”
    A few of the ghosts managed to appear nearly solid, while others were mere wisps of shadow and light. He could feel their fingers clawing at his flesh, a sheen of frost forming on his exposed forearms.
    “Back the fuck off!” he shouted.
    For nearly two months Rune had stayed sequestered in the cabin far away from any vestiges of the human world. It had been weeks since he had seen a zombie and even longer since he’d seen a living, breathing person. He’d found the cabin at the end of a long, winding dirt road buried in the Texas Hill Country. It had been a godsend. Stocked for hunting season, it had provided him with ample supplies, allowing him to avoid salvaging runs. The full liquor cabinet had been an added bonus, but he hadn’t started imbibing so heartily until the first of the ghosts had arrived.
    The ghostly invasion had started with the former owner of the cabin. Confused and believing himself to be alive, he’d awakened Rune in the dead of night by yanking him out of bed and yelling at him. It had taken Rune hours to convince the ghost of his new nature. Then he’d had to endure the man sobbing for days in the living room. After a week, the ghost had departed, much to Rune’s relief. Within a few hours, other spirits began to appear.
    The one thing Rune hated about the spirit world was how fast word traveled.
    “My brother is at Fort Hood. He thinks I’m alive and is trying to rescue me. You have to let him know that I’m dead and so are my husband and kids. We were at the mall when...”
    “My parents are scared, mister. They’re crying all the time. Please tell them not to cry. Grandma is with me...”
    “It’s not fair! Why am I dead? I prepared for this shit! I had a fully stocked shelter under the house! Why the hell did I go on vacation?”
    Rune pressed his forehead to the wooden table, his hands laced behind his neck. He was shivering so violently the chair he was perched on was rattling.
    “Can you go check on my husband? He’s in Georgia.”
    “Lady, don’t make him go to another state. He has to check on Texans!”
    “My husband is from Texas. He was on a business trip!”
    “I want my mommy! Where is my mommy?”
    “We were pinned down on all sides. We couldn’t get out. Do you understand? We were running out of ammo and they just kept coming!”
    Rune smashed his fists down on the table. “Shut up! Shut the fuck up!”
    Silence filled the cabin. It was so abrupt he thought he’d passed out for a second. Slowly, he raised his head. His brain spun about in his skull before settling again. Across from him sat an old timer. Thin, a little craggy around the jowls, and sporting a steady gaze, the man gave him a brief nod.
    “Wha-wha-what?”
    “You have to move on, Rune. You’ve been here too long. I know you think it’s safe. It’s not. You gotta keep moving, son.”
    Matted, dirty tendrils of silver hair hung in Rune’s face as he gaped at the man. “Huh?”
    The older man reached across the table and tugged the nearly empty bottle from Rune’s grip. “Time to move on, Rune. Your purpose is not to sit in this cabin. Poisoning your liver. Going crazy. Your purpose is out there.” The man nodded toward the front door. “You need to keep moving. You need to keep alive.”
    “Fuckin’ ghosts always trying to