Read Online Frenzy (The Frenzy Series Book 1) by Casey L. Bond - Free Book Online

didn’t yet realize were gone, were tucked inside, along with the food. I didn’t want to go back home after dinner and after we became dinner.
    My stomach knotted. Saul was hoping to get to know me because I suggested it, but what if he didn’t like me? What if the gossips found out and smeared our names? I knew that if we were to ever get married he would have to ask Father for permission, and would likely receive it. Father would respect him as much as I did.
    Mrs. Dillinger loved company and she loved to talk, though not idly. I replayed our conversation in my mind. “Why are our clothes like this? Old-timey? The vampires wear modern clothes.”
    Roman had worn denim pants, a snug-fitting cotton shirt, and a leather jacket.
    She pursed her lips upon hearing the word ‘vampire’. “They come and go into the city, taking whatever they want. Most of the homes and buildings were burned after the Great Infection to kill the germs, but what most young folks don’t know is that the infection killed probably ninety-five percent of the people it touched. The rest were changed. It was like they reverted to a more primitive version of human beings. The bacteria might have affected their brains and their ability to think clearly and make decisions, it was said.”
    “Who burned the city?” With a haunted look in her eyes, she answered, “The only ones who escaped. Though not at first. Running was first. When things settled, people snuck back in to... well, to destroy the infection.” As well as the people who were Infected , she didn’t say. Wasn’t that murder? What if those people could have been cured somehow, even if in the future?
    “I see the question in your eyes and the same one’s been running through my mind for years.” She paused, folding her hands into her lap. “To answer your question, the Elders were afraid of using clothes from the city. They thought the infection had contaminated everything and were afraid to expose survivors to the germs. There was one factory on the outskirts of town with bolts of fabric and everything needed to make clothing inside: needles, thread, enormous machines that would sew the garments for you. The Elders took what they could from that place, including the few patterns we have, thinking it was better to make our own. The patterns are costumes.”
    “I saw that on the package,” I giggled.
    “They wanted women to look like women and to be modest. Girls from before were very bold in their clothing choices.” She raised her brow and smiled.
    “I borrowed clothes from Ford. Can you tell me how to dart them so that they fit me?”
    “Absolutely,” she immediately agreed. “A girl can’t hunt in skirts, now can she?”
     

     
    Saul was standing beneath the Oak waiting for me, a grin on his cleanly-shaven face. He smelled of pine soap. “Hi.”
    “Hi.” I waved with my free hand. Let the awkwardness begin.
    He motioned behind him where a blanket was spread over a nearby log. He must have dragged the heavy wood over, because I didn’t notice it there the other day. “This is nice, thank you.” I settled onto the blanket and took the food from my bag. He brought two boiled eggs and a jar of green beans. We would eat well tonight, and the company here would be much better than at home. Thank goodness he remembered forks and a jar of boiled water for drinking.
    “How was the beginning of your apprenticeship?”
    He smiled for a quick second. “They aren’t happy that I’m in the rotation; something about losing me before I even get started. They think it’s too risky. That’s why many from town aren’t volunteering at all anymore.”
    “The problem with that is that if no one volunteers…”
    “Exactly. They will feed, one way or another.”
    The river water was gently tickling the rocks in its bed. A few buzzards circled overhead. Normally I wouldn’t have given them a second thought, but Mercedes was somewhere across the creek bank, slowly dying,