Read Online Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna - Free Book Online

looks ugly as hell—all ungainly metal and rubber.
    And this is the tricky part.
    Strapped to my back is a large can of Viktor’s fuel. I now have to dismount and make myself vulnerable as I move to the cart, hoping that no Ferals are hiding around or beneath it.
    For a crazy moment, I wonder if any could have gotten inside. So it’s with my revolver in hand that I approach the cart.
    â€œI’ll keep an eye out,” Viktor says. But it doesn’t stop me from darting my own around. Then I’m crossing to the cart and the fuel chamber and pouring Viktor’s mix inside.
    When it’s done, I nod back to Viktor and move to the door. With a deep breath, I open it, my pistol out, ready for something to jump out. When nothing does, I cautiously look inside and see that it appears to be empty.
    Muttering thanks to my father, like I often do, I climb behind the steering column and press the ignition button. The engine coughs but doesn’t start. I punch it again. The same thing.
    It’s then that I hear Viktor yelling. I know what that means. He’s caught sight of Ferals. He’s a sitting duck standing still, so he’s already off moving, and as I slide over to the other seat to look out the window I see Rex’s hooves kicking up dirt and grass as he tears away.
    I count to twenty, timing the beats to my heart, which is beating pretty fast at this point. I’m protected in the cart, but not against everything. Even with my racing heart, the count seems to take forever. Then I hit the button again.
    This time it catches and the engine roars to life. With a smile as wide as Rex I press on the accelerator and pull away from the Ferrari’s hiding place.
    There’s a thump as I slam into something solid and I wince, but there’s no blood splatter on the window as I watch the Feral’s grimy body spin away.
    Then I’m shooting down the hill and to the west.
    Viktor and I had planned this part as well. Whether or not we were discovered, I would continue on to the old country road and down to the farms at its end. Viktor couldn’t guarantee that they weren’t infested, but he was optimistic there might be some good forage there.
    It feels good to be moving again. And as much as I enjoyed riding Rex (well, all of me save my ass), this feels somehow better. To have an engine under my control. It’s not the air, of course, but it’s definitely closer.
    I leave the Ferals far behind me and pull onto the dirt road and open up the cart. Viktor assured me that it’s clear at least of vehicles, which is rare enough. I’ve foraged and flown over enough roads to know how unusual that is.
    I wonder how it went down out here when the Sick came down. Were people enjoying their quiet country lives when the Bug hit? When the Ferals caught up to them? Did they flee to the big cities like so many others did? Or were their homes empty? Waiting for a day when they could visit them?
    Of course there’s no way to tell. So many stories. So much horror.
    The Ferrari’s wheels handle the rough road easily. That was something that Sergei got right—I think he pulled the wheels off a vehicle they found. But it handles easily.
    It’s not long before I see a house approaching rapidly. It’s a tall one, dilapidated after all this time but still standing. It doesn’t look dangerous enough to fall on me, which is important.
    I slow the cart down and let it coast to a stop in front of the house, angling my head to scan the structure. One of the difficulties with foraging is finding the right way in, which often, but not always, serves as your way out.
    There’s a front door that looks mostly rotted away, which means easy access. But doors like that mean that Ferals might have gotten in. Though they also could have entered by the windows that circle the porch. From here the panes look mostly intact, but I can’t see all of them.
    The second floor looks