Read Online Dead Highways (Book 3): Discord by Richard Brown - Free Book Online

around as much as the tight space would allow.
    “Try not to move!” Robinson shouted to him. “We’re gonna get you out brother.” He turned his attention to me. “Okay, Jimmy. Lift on three.” I nodded that I understood. “One…Two…Three.”
    The golf cart came up easier than I expected. Perhaps the last few apocalyptic weeks had strengthened me, or more likely, Robinson (the out of shape cop sporting a spare tire around his midsection) made up for my lack of muscle. The cart bounced a little as it landed back upright on all four of its small tires.
    Robinson and I knelt down next to Bowser. He rolled over on his back and looked up at us.
    “Motherfucker,” he said, his lips pulled back in a grimace.
    “Can you move?” Robinson asked.
    Bowser exhaled deeply. “Yeah, I can move bitch.” He pulled himself up to a sitting position, crying out a little as he did. “My leg hurts.”
    “The bad leg?”
    “What do you think?”
    “Don’t gotta be an ass,” Robinson said, offering a hand. “We ain’t got time for that.”
    Robinson helped lift Bowser back to his feet. Once up, the big bearded guy hopped around on one leg. I noticed fresh bloody scrapes on both legs, likely caused when he fell against the curb.
    “Everyone okay? Only got a few shots left!” Ted yelled, looking back at us. He had the butt of his rifle planted against his shoulder. “We need to go now!”
    Peaches had already run out of ammo. Anticipating a quick exit, she scooted back into cart number thirteen next to Naima—the accidental vampire with zombie potential. I squeezed in on the other side.
    Bowser waited in the passenger seat of the reclaimed cart while Robinson bent down and pulled the female zombie he’d quieted moments before out of their path.
    Ted fired off his final shots and then stepped onto the back of our cart. “I’m on.”
    Not to wait a single second longer, Peaches floored the accelerator.
    I glanced back as we sped away. Robinson and Bowser sat in their cart, but their cart wasn’t moving. The growing pack of infected were almost upon them. If they didn’t get moving soon, they’d be history.
    Ted noticed this too. “Stop!” he shouted from the rear of the cart. “We gotta go back.”
    Peaches acted as though she hadn’t heard him. Ted hopped off the moving cart anyway.
    “Peaches stop,” I said. She sighed and finally hit the brakes. “Jesus, what is your problem?”
    “Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. A moment later, tears began streaming down from her eyes.
    No time to get all emotional, I thought as I leapt out of the cart. “Turn this thing around and follow me…please.”
    I started running after Ted. Robinson and Bowser had abandoned their cart and were heading our way on foot—very slowly. Bowser limped along with an arm around Robinson for support. Right behind them a hundred or more zombies nipped at their heels. I wasn’t sure if we could all safely fit inside the one cart, but if not, we needed to at least get Bowser off his feet. The rest of us could go on foot for a while if it came to that. I took Sally out, fully aware I only had one round left in the chamber, perhaps the only round between us that was ready to fire. I wouldn’t hesitate to part with it if I absolutely had to. One shot was better than nothing. One shot could take a life (if a zombie could be considered alive) and save a life at the same time.
    Ted caught up to the two men and helped support Bowser. Now they limped along at a slightly faster pace—fast enough to at least put some good distance between them and the growing number of dead trailing behind packed together like sardines, and smelling just as bad.
    “Jimmy, see if you can find a car with the keys in it.” Ted nodded toward a large parking lot to my left. “And plenty of gas.”
    Peaches pulled up about ten feet in front of them, and they started to help Bowser into the passenger seat next to Naima. I went off alone, climbing over a short