Read Online Generation Dead by Joseph Talluto - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Joseph Talluto
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been acting a little funny, and our conversation last night proved he had something in his head.
We didn’t speak all the way back to the main stairwell. We just held hands, and that was nice enough for me. At the top of the stairs, we saw Jake waiting for us on the patio. He had a slip of paper in his hand and I knew what it was before he even spoke.
“Got a call from Ottawa. We got another job,” Jake said, handing me the paper. It had an address on it, and the item we were going after was another heirloom.
“Where the hell is Peotone?” I asked, looking at the address and item list.
Julia looked at the items and whistled. “Looks like we might have to do some heavy hauling for this one.”
She wasn’t kidding . The items included a set of books, a .22 rifle, and a roll-top desk.
“A desk? Seriously? I hope you said no,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. We’d had strange requests before, and there were some things we said no to as a matter of logistics. We had gone after cameras, sweaters, and the occasional chair or two, but a desk? What was next, a piano?
“I didn’t say yes, but I said we’d try our best,” Jake said with a smile. “We can take the truck, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Why can’t we take a boat?” I had no idea where Peotone was, so I assumed it was accessible by boat like most of our outings.
Julia fielded that one. “Peotone is in the middle of literally nowhere, surrounded on all sides by fields. In normal farm country it’s be a cakewalk.”
“Let me guess. It isn’t normal farm country,” I said bleakly.
“Big prize for the big boy,” Jake said. “It’s right smack dab in the middle of a grey corridor, being one of the towns that connects directly to the interstate.” A grey corridor was a section of the country that ran alongside a highway. You could live in it, but the threat of zombies was increased because of its proximity to a highway that once had transported thousands of fleeing people, and thousands of infected people. A lot of the towns were just abandoned, and it looked like Peotone was one of them.
“Which one?” It didn’t matter, but by this time, I figured I would at least sound interested.
“I-57,” Jake said, “Right off the main connection to the city itself.”
“Great.” I couldn’t have been more sarcastic if I took lessons. Ordinarily I would be fine, but we just got back from zombie central, not to mention a couple of altercations in the capital that left a bad taste in my mouth. Add it all up and I had a serious case of the ‘no wannas.’
“What’s the pay?” Julia asked.
“I decided to up the rate, since this was a big item. If we managed to get the desk, we would require an additional two gold pieces and five silvers. Not that we’d have anything we were saving the money for, right?” Jake cocked a side grin at me and I came close to knocking him on the head for it.
“All right. When do you want to go?” I figured it was better to stay busy than bored and get to thinking about all of the things that weren’t quite right with my world.
Jake mused for a minute, taking the time to look out over the treetops. “Let’s take a day to get our bearings back, then another to set up and plan, and take off on the third. Cool?”
I was good with it, but Julia apparently wasn’t.
“Hey, guys. I think I want to sit this one out.” Julia seemed nervous; as if she was fearful, we would make fun of her.
Jake cocked his head and gave her the full brunt of his brown eyes. “What’s up? You got a boyfriend somewhere?”
Julia snorted. “With you two around? Who could compete? No, I just want to get some things done around here that need doing; that have needed doing for a long time.”
Jake nodded, and I think he might have actually understood more than Julia was giving him credit for. I knew for sure when he spoke again.
“You’re
We didn’t speak all the way back to the main stairwell. We just held hands, and that was nice enough for me. At the top of the stairs, we saw Jake waiting for us on the patio. He had a slip of paper in his hand and I knew what it was before he even spoke.
“Got a call from Ottawa. We got another job,” Jake said, handing me the paper. It had an address on it, and the item we were going after was another heirloom.
“Where the hell is Peotone?” I asked, looking at the address and item list.
Julia looked at the items and whistled. “Looks like we might have to do some heavy hauling for this one.”
She wasn’t kidding . The items included a set of books, a .22 rifle, and a roll-top desk.
“A desk? Seriously? I hope you said no,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. We’d had strange requests before, and there were some things we said no to as a matter of logistics. We had gone after cameras, sweaters, and the occasional chair or two, but a desk? What was next, a piano?
“I didn’t say yes, but I said we’d try our best,” Jake said with a smile. “We can take the truck, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Why can’t we take a boat?” I had no idea where Peotone was, so I assumed it was accessible by boat like most of our outings.
Julia fielded that one. “Peotone is in the middle of literally nowhere, surrounded on all sides by fields. In normal farm country it’s be a cakewalk.”
“Let me guess. It isn’t normal farm country,” I said bleakly.
“Big prize for the big boy,” Jake said. “It’s right smack dab in the middle of a grey corridor, being one of the towns that connects directly to the interstate.” A grey corridor was a section of the country that ran alongside a highway. You could live in it, but the threat of zombies was increased because of its proximity to a highway that once had transported thousands of fleeing people, and thousands of infected people. A lot of the towns were just abandoned, and it looked like Peotone was one of them.
“Which one?” It didn’t matter, but by this time, I figured I would at least sound interested.
“I-57,” Jake said, “Right off the main connection to the city itself.”
“Great.” I couldn’t have been more sarcastic if I took lessons. Ordinarily I would be fine, but we just got back from zombie central, not to mention a couple of altercations in the capital that left a bad taste in my mouth. Add it all up and I had a serious case of the ‘no wannas.’
“What’s the pay?” Julia asked.
“I decided to up the rate, since this was a big item. If we managed to get the desk, we would require an additional two gold pieces and five silvers. Not that we’d have anything we were saving the money for, right?” Jake cocked a side grin at me and I came close to knocking him on the head for it.
“All right. When do you want to go?” I figured it was better to stay busy than bored and get to thinking about all of the things that weren’t quite right with my world.
Jake mused for a minute, taking the time to look out over the treetops. “Let’s take a day to get our bearings back, then another to set up and plan, and take off on the third. Cool?”
I was good with it, but Julia apparently wasn’t.
“Hey, guys. I think I want to sit this one out.” Julia seemed nervous; as if she was fearful, we would make fun of her.
Jake cocked his head and gave her the full brunt of his brown eyes. “What’s up? You got a boyfriend somewhere?”
Julia snorted. “With you two around? Who could compete? No, I just want to get some things done around here that need doing; that have needed doing for a long time.”
Jake nodded, and I think he might have actually understood more than Julia was giving him credit for. I knew for sure when he spoke again.
“You’re
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