Read Online Krisis (After the Cure Book 3) by Deirdre Gould - Free Book Online Page B

their brown backs like a heat shimmer over the long grass. More than a hundred of them wandering over eight crumbling lanes where thousands of cars had zipped through just a decade before.
    “I haven’t seen a deer in years,” said Nella, “I thought they were all eaten. I thought the Infected got them.”
    Frank shaded his eyes with one hand. “It’s the capitol, maybe the Infected were better contained here. I heard on the radio in the shelter that the President issued an executive order to shoot on sight. They would have protected the capitol before everything else.”
    Nella tore her gaze from the animals and scanned the horizon, looking for some sign of the large buildings of the capitol, buildings that should have been visible by then. “What about survivors? What are they eating? Wouldn’t they hunt any game in the area?”
    She saw a frown flash over his face, but he glanced at her and quickly exchanged it for a grin. “C’mon Nella, when have you ever heard of a politician performing actual manual labor?”
    She smiled back, but when she took his hand, he squeezed it a little too tightly. Joking aside, what about the refugees? People who had camped on the road before them had almost certainly been hungry and used to providing for themselves. A herd of deer like this would feed hundreds of people. Unease began to rumble through her. She tried to shake it off. “Do you think we should go around them?”
    He shook his head. “No, we can go through, they’ll probably scatter when we get closer.”
    They walked down the slope, heavy hiking boots clumping against the road, the boxes of Cure darts jingling in Nella’s pack. A few of the deer looked up at them, chewing lazily. None of them moved. Frank waved his long arms at them, but the few that had looked up went back to grazing and ignored him.
    They were within reach of the outskirts of the herd. For a moment Nella forgot her worry in the thrill of touching a sleek, furry pelt in front of her. The doe she touched looked up at her and snuffled Nella’s outstretched hand.
    “Maybe they were petting zoo deer,” offered Frank quietly. The doe’s ears twitched but it didn’t bolt.
    “Or maybe they’ve never seen a human before,” Nella responded.
    Frank frowned. “That’s impossible. The capitol is huge, there must be people that pass by here every day, even after the Plague.”
    Nella bent over and ripped up a bundle of grass. She offered it to the doe. The animal pulled it gently from her grip. “We haven’t seen anyone.”
    “Maybe they blocked off this side for some reason.”
    “Maybe.”
    Frank began gently pushing his way through the herd. “Careful,” said Nella softly, “if they get spooked we might be trampled.” She followed him through the warm, shifting mass of beasts. “Are we going to make it before nightfall?”
    Once they made it up the next hill and had left the deer behind, he pulled out a battered road atlas from his pack and spread it open on the warm tar, crouching beside it. “We only have about a mile left. We should start seeing lights soon anyway, even if my measurement is off. Want to keep going or are you nervous about getting there in the dark?”
    Nella knelt beside him, her hand fiddling with the handle of a heavy folded knife. “I was nervous about bands of looters or desperate refugees. I was even nervous about what a new government might be like when we reached the city. But now I’m scared that there won’t be anyone . We should have seen rooftops by now. Monuments, spires, something. We should have seen new farms to feed the people in the capitol out here.”
    Frank reached around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “The trees are taller now, maybe they’re just blocking the view a little farther than they used to. Maybe they’ve turned their parks into farms like we did. There are a lot more parks here than there are behind our Barrier.”
    Nella nodded. “I hope so. I think I’m more afraid