Read Online Hamsikker: A Zombie Apocalypse Novel by Russ Watts - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Russ Watts
Ads: Link
achievement in itself. Jonas couldn’t imagine ever seeing the sea again. He was thankful they hadn’t been in central Louisville when the dead had risen. So many people had died that day that there were surely no survivors from the city now.
Louisville’s infrastructure had disintegrated as quickly as everywhere else, hanging on a little longer than St. Louis, yet imploding far faster than Cincinnati or Nashville. Local industry had been ticking along nicely, keeping thousands employed right up until that fateful day when everything had imploded. Once the zombie outbreak began the city crumbled, taking the suburbs with it before the National Guard even had a solitary finger on the trigger. The mayor had put a bullet in his brain, the emergency services had been overrun, and within twenty four hours, everything they had built up over the last two hundred years was gone.
Looking around Jeffersontown, Jonas was pleased he had been somewhere he knew. LA had never really been home, just a stop on the way to somewhere unknown. He, Janey, and Erik had grown up in Jeffersontown, and whilst he had moved away and things had changed, many of the streets were still familiar to him. Jeffersontown was unexceptional really, just another satellite town feeding a big city. It was certainly no Babylon, and didn’t deserve what had happened to it. Jonas had moved out as soon as he could, hopeful of finding success in LA. His parents had put a lot of pressure on him to be a success, and at best, he had been nothing more than mediocre at school. There had been little interest in sports, and all the other subjects had passed him by without grabbing any real attention. They had been happy, a real family, and it was only when his mother was knocked down by cancer that things turned sour. Once she was diagnosed, she’d made it another three months, and then she was gone. In a flash, their father turned from a happy family man into a drunk, quick with his temper, and quicker still with his fists. Janey had suffered worst, and Jonas had tried to stand up for her, but it was useless. He had been too young, and his father too strong. He was clever too, only taking it out on them where the bruises wouldn’t show.
Once Jonas had graduated, he moved to LA, hoping to find work, and maybe fame and fortune, and leave small-town suburbia behind. He and Erik had drifted apart, despite a promise not to let the distance divide them. Growing up they had been as close as brothers, and with Janey in tow, they had been close. His sister was only a year younger than he was, and he always wondered if she and Erik might have progressed beyond friends once they were older, but his father put a stop to that. Erik had been focused for some time on joining the force, but all Jonas ever dreamt of was leaving. When the time came, he hadn’t looked back. He had abandoned Janey to her fate, and it was to her credit that she still talked to him. She said she didn’t blame him for what happened, but he blamed himself. He had almost not turned up to the funeral either, but someone had to sort out the estate, and Janey wasn’t about to waste her time on her father anymore.
When he’d reached LA, Jonas started working in a bar in the daytime, and working out in the evenings. A succession of women had passed through his room over the couple of years he’d lived there, but fame and fortune never found its way to his door. He’d become a drifter, not knowing what to do with his life, nor really caring. He had coasted for a few years until he’d met Dakota, and then things had changed. Everything he had been running away from suddenly became exactly what he craved, and she was his world. Looking at her now, he saw the dirt streaked down her cheeks, her once beautiful hair tangled and greasy, and her shoulders slumped as she walked wearily beside him without talking. There once was a time when she would just talk and talk and talk, until he had to kiss her to get her to
Louisville’s infrastructure had disintegrated as quickly as everywhere else, hanging on a little longer than St. Louis, yet imploding far faster than Cincinnati or Nashville. Local industry had been ticking along nicely, keeping thousands employed right up until that fateful day when everything had imploded. Once the zombie outbreak began the city crumbled, taking the suburbs with it before the National Guard even had a solitary finger on the trigger. The mayor had put a bullet in his brain, the emergency services had been overrun, and within twenty four hours, everything they had built up over the last two hundred years was gone.
Looking around Jeffersontown, Jonas was pleased he had been somewhere he knew. LA had never really been home, just a stop on the way to somewhere unknown. He, Janey, and Erik had grown up in Jeffersontown, and whilst he had moved away and things had changed, many of the streets were still familiar to him. Jeffersontown was unexceptional really, just another satellite town feeding a big city. It was certainly no Babylon, and didn’t deserve what had happened to it. Jonas had moved out as soon as he could, hopeful of finding success in LA. His parents had put a lot of pressure on him to be a success, and at best, he had been nothing more than mediocre at school. There had been little interest in sports, and all the other subjects had passed him by without grabbing any real attention. They had been happy, a real family, and it was only when his mother was knocked down by cancer that things turned sour. Once she was diagnosed, she’d made it another three months, and then she was gone. In a flash, their father turned from a happy family man into a drunk, quick with his temper, and quicker still with his fists. Janey had suffered worst, and Jonas had tried to stand up for her, but it was useless. He had been too young, and his father too strong. He was clever too, only taking it out on them where the bruises wouldn’t show.
Once Jonas had graduated, he moved to LA, hoping to find work, and maybe fame and fortune, and leave small-town suburbia behind. He and Erik had drifted apart, despite a promise not to let the distance divide them. Growing up they had been as close as brothers, and with Janey in tow, they had been close. His sister was only a year younger than he was, and he always wondered if she and Erik might have progressed beyond friends once they were older, but his father put a stop to that. Erik had been focused for some time on joining the force, but all Jonas ever dreamt of was leaving. When the time came, he hadn’t looked back. He had abandoned Janey to her fate, and it was to her credit that she still talked to him. She said she didn’t blame him for what happened, but he blamed himself. He had almost not turned up to the funeral either, but someone had to sort out the estate, and Janey wasn’t about to waste her time on her father anymore.
When he’d reached LA, Jonas started working in a bar in the daytime, and working out in the evenings. A succession of women had passed through his room over the couple of years he’d lived there, but fame and fortune never found its way to his door. He’d become a drifter, not knowing what to do with his life, nor really caring. He had coasted for a few years until he’d met Dakota, and then things had changed. Everything he had been running away from suddenly became exactly what he craved, and she was his world. Looking at her now, he saw the dirt streaked down her cheeks, her once beautiful hair tangled and greasy, and her shoulders slumped as she walked wearily beside him without talking. There once was a time when she would just talk and talk and talk, until he had to kiss her to get her to
Similar Books
