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

Roper handed it to Einstein. “It’s a little riskier with horses, but it’s safer than travelling during daylight.”
    Dallas looked at Einstein. “Your thoughts?”
    Einstein studied the bottle a moment. “I’m pretty sure the reception you got in town will be replayed everywhere we go. One thing we know will happen for sure is survival of the fittest. Pretty soon, people will start wanting what we have. People will turn on each other, so we’ll not just be fighting the undead but the living as well. If they can’t see us, they don’t know what we have and can’t come after us.”
    “It’s settled, then. Let’s find a place to lay low until sundown, and then we can hit the road at night.”
    “It’ll be cooler then as well. The horses will need less water and fewer stops.” Leading the way, Roper and Merlin sauntered along as if they were out for a Sunday ride. When Dallas pulled up next to her, she said, “We got lucky back there.”
    “Yeah. Yeah, we did. The kid’s all right though, isn’t he?”
    “He’s also right about people degenerating. We’ve already seen that more than once. We’re going to need to be very careful in the future about all of our contact with other survivors.”
    “Agreed. Assume the worst from everyone and every situation.” She pointed to a cluster of large rocks. “See that rock formation over there? That looks like as good a place as any to stay until dark.”
    Dallas shaded her eyes with her hand on the bill of her Harley cap. “Perfect.”
    “Dallas...I’ve been thinking. I need you to promise me something.” Roper turned to Dallas and took her hand in both of hers. “Promise me that no matter what happens, if I get bit or scratched or whatever, that you’ll shoot me right away. I don’t ever want to become one of those things.”
    Dallas squeezed her hand. “Only if you’ll do the same.”
    Roper turned her palm and shook Dallas’s hand. “Deal.”
    When they reached the outcropping of rocks, they took everything off the horses and tied them to a nearby tree. The rocks formed a shallow cave, so they stowed all of their supplies in there and told Einstein to take a nap if he needed one.
    He was out in ten seconds.
    Sitting on the grass with the horses, Roper and Dallas weighed their options and decided the desert was still their best shot for now. Getting out of California was tantamount, and even if they had to inch along at night, anything was better than staying in the red zone.
    “You know, I just want you to understand that if we’d had to shoot our way out of the mini-mart, I would have.” Dallas said.
    Roper tossed a rock at bug sitting on a leaf. “I know you would have. I’m glad we didn’t have to, though. Once we start killing people, we’ll never be the same.”
    Dallas felt tears sting her dry eyes as she managed to whisper, “We already aren’t.”
     
    ****
     
    While it was slower going at night, it was much cooler and easier on the horses. There were no helicopters and the two times they saw Hummer lights, they were too far off in the distance to be a threat.
    As they clopped along, the smell of hay lingered in the air, along with the sound of creek water as they made their way along the aqueduct and its tributaries.
    Every now and then they would hear distant shots firing, but that could have been for anything. The rest of the time there was an eerie silence hanging in the air like L.A. smog—only the clip-clop of the hooves and creaking of leather saddles could be heard.
    “I’m starving,” Einstein groaned, looking at his watch. It was a little after one in the morning.
    “Me, too,” Roper said. “My stomach’s been growling for two hours.”
    “What are those lights down there?” Dallas pointed in the semi-darkness surrounding them.
    “By my guesstimate, that’s Rio Nuevo. It’s another smallish farming community.”
    No one said anything, until Einstein whispered, “I really need to eat. I feel lightheaded and