Read Online Infection Z (Book 2) by Ryan Casey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ryan Casey
Tags: Zombies
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Sarah—the last time any of them had seen Sarah—she’d been drawing the zombies towards her so that the rest of the group could flee, giving them a slightly greater chance of escape.
And they’d taken that chance. They’d taken that chance and they’d ran.
When they looked back, Sarah was already too far gone.
“We could at least do with a car,” Clarice said, stretching out her arms.
“We could do with a lot of things,” Newbie said. “But we don’t exactly have a lot of options right now.”
Hayden looked at Clarice as she stood beside him. He half-smiled at her, then tilted his head at Newbie, just like he used to when he was about to have a quiet word with Mum and Dad about something he and Clarice wanted when they were younger.
Clarice half-smiled and nodded, and Hayden jogged after Newbie, his jelly legs barely carrying him.
He walked beside him in silence for a while. In a way, Hayden wanted Newbie to break the quietness. They hadn’t discussed Newbie’s flip in temper back in the tunnel earlier. Hitting Hayden across the cheek with the axe, a wound that still stung to this moment, but was numbed somewhat by the cold.
But he knew one of them had to address it eventually. And if Newbie wasn’t going to be the one to start it, it looked like it was up to Hayden.
“About what happened before. Back in the tunnel. I—”
“It’s forgotten. You were only doing what I did when you went after your parents. Trying to stop me.”
“It’s forgotten,”weren’t exactly the words Hayden wanted to hear. How about “sorry for smacking you across the face with an axe”?
“I … Newbie, we’re behind you. We’ve got your back. All of … both of us. We’re here with you. But right now we’re exhausted. We’ve been running all morning. We’re lucky we haven’t crossed paths with a large group of the zombies, but we won’t get lucky so long. And I don’t want to be knackered when we do lock horns.”
The pair of them walked through the field, Clarice just behind them. Over to the left, flies swarmed around the malnourished remains of a sheep, left out in the cold to starve by its undead farmer.
“When you got that phone call from your parents,” Newbie said. “Can you remember how you felt?”
Hayden could remember it all too well. Hope mixed with fear mixed with worry and joy. “Yeah. Just about.”
“And can you remember what your thoughts were like at that time? Can you remember how much your mind was filled with that one sole goal: get to my family?”
Hayden couldn’t argue with Newbie. “But I heard first hand from my mum. Not to put a downer on the Warrington transmission, but it’s a bit more speculative than an actual—”
“And do you really think your reaction to the call would’ve been much different if it had been from, say, a neighbour? Some sign of life on your parents’ street? Wouldn’t you have, like, believed the smallest glimmer of hope if it was right in front of you?”
Hayden wanted to protest, but he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t because Newbie had a point. “I guess I would still have tried to find some kind of answer. But—”
“Then there you have it. We need hope, Hayden. I need hope. Otherwise, what’s the point in living in this world at all?”
He looked at Hayden when he said that, and Hayden lowered his gaze to the ground. Speaking was helping him keep his mind off his light-headedness and his hunger, so it counted for something.
“I’m sorry about your face. I shouldn’t have hit you. But I think you would’ve done the same if I’d tried to stop you going after your family. And if you had … well, I think you’d have done the same.”
Hayden had an idea what the “and if you had …” was going to end with. “If you had the balls to stand up to me.” And Newbie was right: he was taller and beefier than Hayden, so maybe he’d be unwise to pick a fight with.
But if he’d stopped him trying to save his family? He had
And they’d taken that chance. They’d taken that chance and they’d ran.
When they looked back, Sarah was already too far gone.
“We could at least do with a car,” Clarice said, stretching out her arms.
“We could do with a lot of things,” Newbie said. “But we don’t exactly have a lot of options right now.”
Hayden looked at Clarice as she stood beside him. He half-smiled at her, then tilted his head at Newbie, just like he used to when he was about to have a quiet word with Mum and Dad about something he and Clarice wanted when they were younger.
Clarice half-smiled and nodded, and Hayden jogged after Newbie, his jelly legs barely carrying him.
He walked beside him in silence for a while. In a way, Hayden wanted Newbie to break the quietness. They hadn’t discussed Newbie’s flip in temper back in the tunnel earlier. Hitting Hayden across the cheek with the axe, a wound that still stung to this moment, but was numbed somewhat by the cold.
But he knew one of them had to address it eventually. And if Newbie wasn’t going to be the one to start it, it looked like it was up to Hayden.
“About what happened before. Back in the tunnel. I—”
“It’s forgotten. You were only doing what I did when you went after your parents. Trying to stop me.”
“It’s forgotten,”weren’t exactly the words Hayden wanted to hear. How about “sorry for smacking you across the face with an axe”?
“I … Newbie, we’re behind you. We’ve got your back. All of … both of us. We’re here with you. But right now we’re exhausted. We’ve been running all morning. We’re lucky we haven’t crossed paths with a large group of the zombies, but we won’t get lucky so long. And I don’t want to be knackered when we do lock horns.”
The pair of them walked through the field, Clarice just behind them. Over to the left, flies swarmed around the malnourished remains of a sheep, left out in the cold to starve by its undead farmer.
“When you got that phone call from your parents,” Newbie said. “Can you remember how you felt?”
Hayden could remember it all too well. Hope mixed with fear mixed with worry and joy. “Yeah. Just about.”
“And can you remember what your thoughts were like at that time? Can you remember how much your mind was filled with that one sole goal: get to my family?”
Hayden couldn’t argue with Newbie. “But I heard first hand from my mum. Not to put a downer on the Warrington transmission, but it’s a bit more speculative than an actual—”
“And do you really think your reaction to the call would’ve been much different if it had been from, say, a neighbour? Some sign of life on your parents’ street? Wouldn’t you have, like, believed the smallest glimmer of hope if it was right in front of you?”
Hayden wanted to protest, but he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t because Newbie had a point. “I guess I would still have tried to find some kind of answer. But—”
“Then there you have it. We need hope, Hayden. I need hope. Otherwise, what’s the point in living in this world at all?”
He looked at Hayden when he said that, and Hayden lowered his gaze to the ground. Speaking was helping him keep his mind off his light-headedness and his hunger, so it counted for something.
“I’m sorry about your face. I shouldn’t have hit you. But I think you would’ve done the same if I’d tried to stop you going after your family. And if you had … well, I think you’d have done the same.”
Hayden had an idea what the “and if you had …” was going to end with. “If you had the balls to stand up to me.” And Newbie was right: he was taller and beefier than Hayden, so maybe he’d be unwise to pick a fight with.
But if he’d stopped him trying to save his family? He had
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