Read Online DISEASE: A Zombie Novel by M.F. Wahl - Free Book Online Page A

Casey finds she can still appreciate a well-made male form.
    It’s not long before everyone is deemed safe and the group is allowed to clothe themselves once again. Dressing Alex however, is difficult. He could care less about modesty and all he wants is to get his knapsack back. Taking it from him in the first place was a challenge because he’s so obsessive and rarely lets anyone else handle it.
    Once dressed, they step away from the foyer and into the lobby. Casey wonders if Alex has ever been in a hotel before. Certainly he’s never seen anything like this—s
he’s
never seen anything like this.
    Danny speaks briefly with a tall, weaselly looking man who’s been watching from the sidelines. He’s unimpressed and shakes his head at Danny while the two mumble quietly. Eventually, the man crosses over to Casey and Alex.
    “Hello,” the weasel extends his hand. His grip is surprisingly strong. “I’m Opie, and you are?”
    “Casey,” she says. “And this is Alex.”
    Casey turns Alex to face Opie but the boy has other ideas. Opie takes it in stride.
    “Well, Casey, please come with me.”
    He and Danny lead them into a quiet area of the lobby and show them where to sit. Opie offers to bring Casey coffee and the boy a hot chocolate. She can’t believe her ears, it’s been over a year since she’s had a cup of coffee and hot chocolate just seems unthinkable. Opie promises to have it sent quickly, and then melts into the darkness behind them.
    Danny drops onto an overstuffed armchair. It’s a bit frayed but still in good condition. The blond man seems out of place on the posh furniture. He traces his finger along the top of the designer coffee table before them. Outside he was like a man in his element, in here he’s awkward, or nervous, or both? Maybe he’s worried about having picked up tagalongs. Casey notices he’s staring at her again.
    “Stop doing that, you’re making me uncomfortable.”
    “Sorry.”
    He looks at the kid instead. They sit in silence for a while, Casey beginning to feel a little guilty for snapping. Alex peeks over the high back of his chair and they watch the strange scene behind him. Two children, a bit older than him, kick a ball in the middle of the lobby as adults mill about on their day-to-day business.
    “You two look like you could be brothers,” Casey says.
    “Pretty sure I’d know if I had a dumb, mute brother.”
    “He’s not dumb.”
    “Oh.”
    Danny glances over his shoulder, waiting for someone. “Lot should be here soon.”
    “So, she’s your leader, right? That’s what your men said.”
    “Something like that.”
    The ambiguity isn’t comforting, but Danny is unwilling to elaborate. Casey can tell he’s on edge.
    “How old are you anyway?” she asks.
    “Why?”
    “Just curious.”
    “Twenty. How old are you?”
    “Old enough to know better,” Casey cracks a smile, trying to ease the weird tension coming from him. Danny stares a moment before a shy smile touches his lips. He relaxes slightly and Casey’s glad. She thinks they’ve been building a rapport, maybe even an attraction, and would hate to lose it now.
    She’s struck by how kind Danny looks when he lets his defenses down—young too, when he’s not mad at the world. She would even go so far as to say he’s handsome, but only in the classical, blond-haired, blue-eyed, tall, muscular, and broad-shouldered way. As if anybody would go for that kind of thing. God, he’s only twenty! Twelve years younger than her.
    Danny suddenly tenses as an older woman’s hand slides over his shoulder. His half-shy smile drops away in an instant and his face hardens, darkens, ages. As his defenses come hammering back up, Casey is thrown out. The beautiful young man that sat before her transforms instantly into the hardened and grizzled killer she first met. The change in his demeanor is so drastic it raises Casey’s hackles.
    “I hope Danny has been treating you well,” the woman says.
    Casey