Read Online Born in the Apocalypse 2: State Of Ruin by Joseph Talluto - Free Book Online Page A

around the house showed everything was well, so I opened the garage door to a very excited Judy who pushed me with her nose.
    “Whoa, girl, easy,” I laughed as I put her halter on and picketed her in the backyard. She happily started cropping the grass and I was content to let her. While she ate I went through the house a little more carefully. Several cans of food were discovered in the kitchen while some dried goods came out of the pantry. I was especially happy to see some small oatmeal packets. Those would make a quick meal whenever I needed one and all I needed was the water from my canteen.
    I looked over the rest of the house, even going into the basement and didn’t see anything that would be of any use to me. The house, and all its belongings, I decided, were useless.
    Disappointed, I went outside to saddle Judy and was startled to see a man holding his hands out to my horse, talking in a low, steady voice. Judy had backed to the end of her picket rope and her ears were back. She was about to do something serious if I didn’t intervene.
    “That’s my horse,” I said. I stayed in the garage keeping me out of sight of anyone who might be lurking nearby.
    “Jesus!” The man who was approaching Judy jerked suddenly and his hand slipped under his coat. I moved my hand to the butt of my gun and waited for him to figure out what he wanted to do.
    The move was not lost on the man, who looked to be about thirty. He was a little shorter than I was, with sandy blonde hair and very bright eyes. He smiled at me, and it seemed to be a genuine smile, except for the fact that it didn’t reach past his mouth.
    “Whoa, kid. You scared me there. Thought you might be a Tripper,” he said. He pulled his hand away from his coat.
    “Trippers don’t talk,” I said, keeping my hand on my gun. “You need something?” I walked over to Judy’s picket pin and pulled it out of the ground, walking her back into the garage so I could put her saddle on her. I kept her between me and the man. I didn’t get a bad vibe off of him, except that he seemed unusually interested in Judy.
    “I could use a ride, and when I saw your horse just standing there, I thought my luck had changed for the better,” the man said. “My name’s Kevin. You are…?”
    “Josh. Take one of the bikes over there. They should get you where you want to go.” I said, pointing to the corner where two well-kept bicycles stood at the ready.
    Kevin looked at the bikes, and went over to them. The first one was a girl’s bike, which he put aside to take out the second one. It had an attachment for putting a basket on it, and Kevin quickly located the basket.
    “These are great! Thanks!” Kevin put his pack on the rack and tied it down. He located a bike pump and managed to inflate the tires while I saddled Judy and got my gear situated. I watched Kevin get on the bike and start to ride off. He stopped about fifty yards off.
    “Hey, Josh!”
    “What?”
    “Where you headed?”
    “West.”
    “Why?”
    “Already been east,” I said.
    Kevin smiled. “Good answer. Luck on your journey!” He turned and rode off, heading out and down the road. I hoped he wouldn’t run into the Trippers I had left on the bridge. He seemed like a decent sort, much better than what I normally ran into.  I finished saddling Judy and once all my gear was in place I mounted up again and we headed west, the rising sun illuminating our way with brilliant orange and yellow hues.
     

 
    Chapter 15
     
     
    Two weeks later, I rode up on the outskirts of Rockford. Judy and I had traveled overland, and avoided most towns and cities. I must have been in every farmhouse from here to Aurora, and in all, I had to say it was a pretty nice trip. The weather cooperated, only dousing me once in the open, and the scavenging was pretty decent. I found some more dried goods, a very small semi-automatic pistol that came with a nearly full box of ammunition, and a couple of bowie knives. I