Read Online Darkly The Thunder by William W. Johnstone - Free Book Online Page B

resort town?”
    â€œThat’s the one.”
    â€œCan we skip ahead, Mr. Jennings? Hit the high spots?”
    â€œJust like a reporter, Sunny. You don’t want to know the whole story. You don’t want to know why somebody did something. All you want is the gory part of the story.”
    Sunny chuckled with no small amount of irony. Trouble was, he was right. “All right, Mr. Jennings. I can take all the time in the world to get this done. We’ll do it your way.”
    â€œTime is something we don’t have much of. But we can get it down, I think. But we’ll do it Sand’s way, Sunny.”
    She shook her head and said wearily, “Whatever, Mr. Jennings. May I use your bathroom?”
    â€œSure.” He pointed. “One right down that hall.”
    After using the toilet, she washed her hands and face. She noticed several magazines and a newspaper on a stand by the commode. She picked them up. Everything was old, dated 1979. She looked in the medicine cabinet. All the prescription medicines were years out of date. She closed the mirrored cabinet door and stared for a long terrifying moment. She had to cling to the vanity to keep from passing out. Bite her lips to keep from screaming.
    She had no reflection in the mirror.
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    The college kids smelled it, before they saw it. Then they rounded a curve in the gravel road and came face to face with the source of the horrible odor.
    Piles of dead cattle and sheep. The stinking mound was completely blocking the road. The animals had been torn apart, heads and legs and entrails tossed in all directions. Sandy turned her head and vomited.
    Paul took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. He said, “We’re going to have to climb over the animals, people. It’s the only way out.”
    â€œYou’ve got to be kidding!” Bos protested.
    Paul fixed him with a hard look, and then gave them all a hard choice. “It’s either that or we go back to the ghost town and wait until help comes.”
    With a grim look on her face, Sandy wiped her mouth, took a drink of water from her canteen, and moved toward the mound of stinking death. Slowly, the others followed.
    The wild shrieking brought them all to the feet, running toward the drunk tank. Gordie yelled for someone to get the kids out of this section of the building, and not to leave them alone.
    He slid to a halt on the concrete floor and stared in horror at the sight before him.
    Hubbard was being squeezed against the bars; already the bars had crushed his shoulders and hips, the bones breaking and sticking out, the blood squirting. The front of his head was being slowly crushed, the skull indenting. His screaming ceased as his brains oozed out of his mouth and ears and nose. Broken teeth fell from his mouth and clicked wetly on the floor.
    The broken and crushed remains of Hubbard the hardware man slopped to the cell floor.

    FOR EVERY EVIL UNDER THE SUN
THERE IS A REMEDY OR THERE IS NONE
IF THERE BE ONE, TRY AND FIND IT
IF THERE BE NONE, NEVER MIND IT.

    The voice howled with laughter.
    ISN’T THIS FUN? THIS IS MORE FUN THAN DANCING ON SOMEONE’S BLUE SUEDE SHOES.
    Gordie leaned against the brain- and blood-splattered wall opposite the death cell. He felt the ooze of gore through his shirt and pulled away from the wall.
    Maj. Jackson looked at the gory mess in the drunk tank and lifted his eyes to the sheriff. “You want to try to evac the town?”
    â€œLet’s try it.”
    DON’T.
    â€œHow do you propose to stop us?” Jackson asked, feeling sort of silly talking to the air.
    EASILY, TOY SOLDIER.
    â€œI don’t think you’re that powerful,” Gordie said.
    THEN GO TO YOUR OFFICE AND LOOK OUT THE WINDOW TO THE STREET, GREASEBALL.
    â€œWhat are you going to do?”
    HAVE FUN.
    Jackson caught Gordie’s eyes and shrugged. “Do we have a choice?”
    â€œI guess not.”
    FOR ONCE, YOU’RE