Read Online My Zombie Summer (Book 1): The Undead Road by David Powers King - Free Book Online Page B

heard a sound like music to my ears.
    Thwack!
    It came from one of four baseball fields next to a junkyard. I ran over the railroad tracks for a closer look. Kaylynn was standing on a pitcher’s mound, retrieving a baseball from Chloe’s mouth. She tossed the ball into the air and swung. The bat made contact, and Chloe chased after it. The ball slammed into the chain-linked catcher’s box. Chloe grabbed it in her mouth and brought it back. I watched Kaylynn do this five or six more times. If I wasn’t a creeper before, I was now.
    I had to say something to her.
    Psyching myself up, I left the cover of the trees and headed for Kaylynn’s diamond. Instead of giving the ball back to her, Chloe ran for me and dropped the ball at my feet. I knelt for it, smiling at the dog. Since I was down at her level, I had to tousle Chloe’s golden head a little. Kaylynn studied me while keeping her expression guarded. Her bat was swaying beside her leg. This was it, the first time I’d ever been alone with a girl, blocks away from anyone else. I had to speak up or die trying.
    “Since when do pitchers bat the ball?” I asked.
    I winced immediately. Man that sucked.
    To my surprise, she smiled. “ All players do.”
    “Yeah, I mean, you know what I mean,” I said, trying to act natural. I never was a very good actor. My drama teacher could’ve told you that. “Is this where you’ve been all this time?”
    “Sometimes. When the weather’s good.”
    “Weather. Right.” I tossed her the ball.
    She caught it with one hand. “Where’s Jewel?”
    “In town,” I said. “She’s worried about you.”
    Kaylynn glanced at the cans in my hand. “I’m glad she cares.”
    “She’s not the only one; my mom, dad . . . me.”
    Kaylynn threw me the ball. “Take my spot, Jay.”
    She headed for home plate. It didn’t take long for me to figure out her game. Setting the cans down, I went to the pitcher’s mound and waited with the ball behind my back. She stood on the plate, her arms bent, and her feet spread. Kaylynn looked like a real pro.
    “Pitch it!” she said.
    I did, but the ball bounced on the ground before it touched home plate.
    Kaylynn threw it back. “A little harder . . .”
    Putting my back into it, I launched the ball her way.
    She swung, and her bat made contact.
    Chloe ran deep into left field, chasing after it. Kaylynn had her free hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. Even with the low sun, the light made her black hair shine, and her purple highlight stood out more. I pitched the ball a dozen more times. She hit them all. I hadn’t had that much fun in weeks. Like her bat, and my ball, I think we were finally making a connection.
    “Chloe’s tired,” Kaylynn said. “That’s enough.”
    “Where’re you staying?” Smooth, Jeremy. . .
    She pointed at an abandoned granary. “That place locks from the inside, and there’s an office space with a cot on the second floor, too. Any distance you can find off the ground is best.” She walked to me, gesturing at the cans by my feet. “What’re those for?”
    “I hadn’t seen you. Thought you’d be hungry.”
    Kaylynn did something unexpected then. She took the two cans and sat by a nearby patch of grass. I sat with her and quietly enjoyed her company. She clearly wanted to keep her distance from other people, but she hadn’t turned me away. Yet. I figured if I waited long enough, she’d tell me why. Until then, I had the can opener. I opened both of them and handed one to her.
    Crap . . . I’d forgotten spoons!
    Kaylynn dug into hers without complaining. She dipped her fingers into the gravy and fed Chloe bits of potato and carrot. That was cool of her, letting others eat first. She had a cube of beef pitched between her thumb and finger, and she tossed it into her mouth.
    She did this a few times. Curiously, she was saving the meat for herself. “You eating?” she asked.
    “Uh, yeah,” I said, having forgotten about my own can. Maybe it was the