Read Online Land of Dust and Bones: The Secret Apocalypse Book 7 by James Harden - Free Book Online Page A

efficient.
    “It’s amazing,” Billy says. “The cattle,
they just walk up to the guillotine. They don’t know. They don’t care.”
    “So why did your place use the old method?”
I ask. “A sledgehammer seems like it would be slow and kind of cruel. I mean,
if you don’t kill the cow on the first go, then won’t it be suffering? Won’t it
be in pain?”
    “Not for long it won’t. But like I said.
The Hammers, most of them, they were good. They could usually do the job in one
go. Sometimes two or three. You ain’t much of a
Hammer if you take more than two goes at it. But it’s quick. It’s bang! You
know? Bang! And they’re dead.”
    “Billy,” Kenji says quietly. “Keep your
voice down.”
    “Sorry. I’m just saying, it’s quick. No
pain. No suffering. No nothing. Just a lot of meat. And a lot of happy
customers. And besides, the air gun, the guillotine and the other killing
machines, they’re machines, you know? They’re putting people out of a job. The
Hammers, that’s the better way. It’s better.”
    I guess he had a good point.
    “My brother,” Billy says. “The one who
became a cop. He always says there’s two kinds of people in this world… Hammers
and nails.”
    Billy laughs and Kenji tells him to keep
his voice down again.
    As gross as this conversation was, it was
making me hungry. I mean, I like meat. I like cheeseburgers and steaks and
ribs. And now I can hardly think straight because I’m so goddamn hungry. The
hunger pains kick in and the pain is so excruciating, I’m convinced my stomach
acid is actually burning a hole right through my insides.
    “Can we talk about something else?” I ask.
    “Sorry,” Billy says. “Most people can’t
handle it. Even though they eat meat every day. They can’t handle the killing.”
    “Well, yeah. But also, thinking about meat
is making me super hungry.”
    Billy laughs again. He doesn’t seem to care
about how much noise he is making. I can tell Kenji is getting worried.
    “So did you make it out here with anyone
else?” I ask, unable to remember if his brothers made it out alive.
    He nods his head slowly. “Yeah. Made it out
here with my family. My brothers. My granddaddy.” He takes a deep breath. “My
granddad, he’s not doing so good . He’s old. Sometimes
I think maybe we should’ve left him behind. It’s hard on him out here. But we
just couldn’t do it. Couldn’t leave him. Family has to stick together. No
matter what.”
    “Where are they now?” Kenji asks. “Where
have you guys been living? You don’t have to tell me the exact coordinates or
anything like that. I just mean like, have you guys found a farm or a town or
something?”
    Kenji asked this question with hope in his
voice. He is desperate to know if there are any places left in the world where
we can make a home. A place where we can survive.
    Billy lowers his head. “Yeah, we’ve got a
place. But I… I’m not supposed to tell outsiders about it. My brother says it’s
too dangerous. I’m sorry.”
    “It’s fine,” I say. “We totally
understand.”
    “So what were you doing out here by
yourself?” Sarah asks. “Where are your brothers?”
    “I was looking for supplies,” he answers
quickly. “I wandered off. Went too far. We saw the road train a couple of
months back. We thought it might still have supplies. It was further than I
thought.”
    “Do your brothers know where you are?”
    “Not exactly. I told them I was going out.
Told them I was looking for… supplies. They trust me. They know I can look
after myself.”
    “You’re not even armed,” I say.
    Billy shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t really
like guns. Too loud. Sometimes… it’s better to be quiet.”
    “Well, we’re glad we found you,” Kenji
says. “And we’re extremely grateful for this.”
    Billy informs us that his camp is about a
three day walk from here. And now that he has fresh water, he could make it
back easily.
    Kenji tells us to get some sleep.