Read Online Beyond Death: Origins, Book 1 by Silas Cooper - Free Book Online

you know if the coast is still clear,” Chase instructed.
    Lucas just nodded as Chase grabbed for one of the dissection tools they’d put in the cup holders. Back in stealth mode, he scanned the perimeters. Luckily, houses were just past a thin line of trees.
    “Grab all the gear. We’re going to hike it just through that tree line. Hopefully, it’ll stay empty, and we can find a car with gas to hotwire,” Chase barked out directions in a low voice.
    “Shit. Great. Can’t wait,” Lucas sighed as he got out and grabbed the gear from behind his seat. “Wait, you can hotwire a car too. Anything you don’t know?”
    “Now’s not the time for that long list,” Chase huffed.
    Weighted down by bags containing a frozen dead mouse and laptop among other things, Chase had Lucas just a step behind him as they went. Luck holding out, the street was clear once they got to it. Looking in cars, old ones with a better possibility of not having an alarm, he made short work of finding nothing. Car after car either had a sticker about an alarm, which he could disable if necessary, but they’d be harder to hotwire anyway.  The two older models didn’t have enough gas to get them to Jayda’s even. He doubted gas stations were safe or in working order. If empty, he had a credit card to try.
    Finally finding a car that looked promising with a full tank of gas, Chase had Lucas keep watch as he used what they had to try to jimmy the door open. Sweat broke out all over him as he tried to work fast and quiet with his limited resources. A sigh expelled from both of them when the lock popped open.
    “Hey!” a male voice shouted.
    They turned to see a man with a gun coming out from the back of a house. Turning and raising their arms as if the guy was a cop, they said nothing.
    “Get the hell away from my car or I’ll blow your heads off!” the armed man yelled.
    Chase did a quick look for any zombies who could have heard the man a mile away. Seeing none, he ventured to speak.
    “Listen, sorry. We thought the street was abandoned. My truck broke down just over there. We knew it wasn’t safe to just walk around unarmed outdoors. Really, I wouldn’t steal anyone’s car in a normal situation,” Chase offered.
    “Yeah, right, man. You got the locked door open, didn’t you?”
    “Well, I used to be military,” Chase said.
    “Military, huh?”
    “Used to be, over a decade ago,” Chase added.
    “Still, I bet you have connections. Bet you know something about what’s going on?”
    “Not really,” Chase said.
    He’d finally lowered his hands since the guy had lowered his gun. He nodded for Lucas to do the same as the guy got closer to them.
    “Bullshit, you’re bags read Biomedical and UCLA. You guys are like science geeks, and one with military experience. I’m guessing you know something. I’m Dax, by the way. Why don’t you guys come in for something to eat and tell me all about why you needed to steal my car,” he demanded instead of asked, motioning with his gun toward his house.
    “Fine,” Chase said. ”I’ll tell you everything, but we have to be quick. Really quick.”
    “Sure. This way,” Dax ushered them to the door.
    Behind the door, Chase took a second to take in his surroundings. The windows were neatly boarded up, and all the doors but the one they’d entered into had boards across them as well. Some furniture like bookshelves and a cedar chest were pushed against some of the boards.
    “I love what you’ve done with the place,” Chase said.
    “I didn’t leave when the rest of them fled the hordes of those things the TV people are finally calling zombies, for lack of a better term they say. This is my mother’s place. I was here packing it up when the shit hit the fan.”
    “Is your mother here?” Chase asked.
    “No, she died a few months back. I was just finally getting around to taking what I wanted so I could sell the rest along with the house. I ended up having to make the place