Read Online Man Eaters by Linda Kay Silva - Free Book Online

Roper’s voice. In less than twelve hours, she’d seen her neighbors turned into those things, and others killed by a military that was supposed to protect them. The bitterness was tangible.
    So, keep moving they did.
    When they found a safe place to stop in a small patch of ancient oaks, they watered the horses before opening the trail mix and water for themselves.
    “We’ll need to get on the other side of the aqueduct and then go into town,” Roper said before tossing some trail mix back in her mouth.
    “I don’t like the idea of being that vulnerable crossing the aqueduct,” said Dallas.
    “Agreed. It’s safer if we go on foot. We can leave the kid with the horses. We won’t be able to carry as much, but we’ll be safer in town on foot.”
    Dallas turned to Einstein. “You okay with that?”
    He nodded. “I don’t see that we have much choice. We need water and we ought to get it every chance we can.
    “Good. We’ll ride to the nearest cover, leave you there, and set out on foot. It’s a small town and it’s possible it hasn’t experienced the kind of looting that’s probably happening in the cities.”
    “Well, we know it’s very possible the man eaters have made it this far, so be on your toes.”
    “Roger that.”
    Twenty minutes later, Dallas and Roper made it to the small town of Wilsonville. It was so still and so deserted, Dallas half expected tumbleweeds to roll by.
    “Ghost town,” she whispered to Roper.
    The small, wild west-kitchy town did, indeed, appear unpopulated. There was no movement in the streets, no one working their businesses, nothing at all to indicate that this was once a thriving small town community.
    “Don’t be fooled. There are eyes out there looking at us, sizing us up. Don’t forget the four Billy Bobs. We need to assume everyone is hostile until proven otherwise. It’s survival of the fittest now, Dallas.” Roper stopped and removed her sunglasses. “Look me in the eye and tell me the truth. Do you truly believe you can shoot another human being?”
    Dallas thought for a moment. Her whole adult life had been about saving lives, not taking them. Did she have what it took to murder someone? “I’m not sure.”
    Replacing her glasses, Roper nodded. “Good to know.”
    “It’s not that I—”
    “No need to explain. It is what it is and we are what we are. I’ve hunted with my granddaddy and killed some beautiful creatures that were no danger to me. Killing a man or woman who poses a threat? Piece of cake. If you can’t pull the trigger, I can, and you can take that to the bank.”
    Dallas pulled the rifle around to the front. “Well, you may know I’m unsure, but they don’t.”
    As they wound their way through the small streets, Dallas did, indeed, feel watched. It was incredibly disconcerting, like a bug on your back you can’t quite reach to flick off.
    “They’re watching, huh?”
    Roper cocked her head as she listened. “Yep. So look. We’ll have to do a bash and snatch of the mini-mart over there.”
    “I can’t believe they haven’t been looted.”
    “That’s the difference between country folk and everyone else. We’re not quite as ego-centric as others. We tend to take care of our own. Come on.”
    Dallas followed her to the side of the mini-mart facing a parking lot. There was no movement to speak of—just an eerie silence that penetrated her leather jacket like a coastal fog.
    After smashing the window and hearing the alarm go off, they went in, list in hand, and rifled through the goods to locate their necessities.
    “Watch the windows,” Roper said as she filled her backpack with boxes of energy bars.
    As Dallas stood guard, she saw movement. “They’re coming.”
    “Man eaters?”
    “I don’t think so. Townies, I think.”
    When Roper’s backpack was full, she took Dallas’s and began filling it up as well.
    “Yep. There are ten...fifteen, maybe, and they don’t look very happy about our presence.”
    “Do they