Read Online Orbital Decay by A. G. Claymore - Free Book Online Page A

moved over to the corner. It looked quiet. They set off at a brisk walk. Lise had to carry Brendan, so running wasn’t really an option. Halfway to the creek, they stopped for a short rest next to a midsize sedan that was pushed up against a streetlight. Its taillights gleamed dully in the gathering dusk.
    They all jumped as a car horn sounded. There was a driver in the sedan, though he was in no shape to drive anymore, and he was leaning on the horn with his elbow as he scratched at the window.
    “Shit!” Ben’s heart was racing. “We’ve gotta get moving.” He moved to pick up Brendan, but Lise stopped him.
    “I’ve got him,” she said firmly. “You need both hands to deal with the results of all this noise.” She nodded over at the car with its grisly occupant, the horn still blaring.
    Sure enough, the street was coming to life, or a grotesque facsimile of it. They hadn’t cleared out this street after all. Far from it. There were at least ten shuffling revenants moving into the street ahead of them.
    “Daddy, I need my costume too!” Brendan chided.
    “Oh God,” Lise muttered. “He thinks it’s Halloween.”
    “Let him,” Ben answered quietly. He brought the weapon up and started firing as he moved forward. “Abe, take the left side. I’ll take the right.”
    No longer caring about noise, they moved down the street at a fast walk, shooting everything that moved. Lise followed with a very confused little boy. They reached the end of the street and crossed into the back yard of the house with the pool. Ben rounded the corner and found himself face to face with a man who must have been the owner… once. He fired into the man’s rotting head at point-blank range and gagged as some of the spatter hit his open mouth.
    They pushed the canoe down the bank and into the river, Abe holding the bow while Lise put Brendan in the middle before taking the rear seat.
    “Abe, sit in front of Brendan and keep an eye out,” Ben said, still trying to work up enough saliva to spit out the taste of rot. Thank God I got that shot last night. “Lise is better with a paddle than both of us put together so I’ll take the front and she’ll steer.”
    The trip back was slower – they had more weight and they were travelling against the current. It seemed to take forever to reach the rail bridge and then they came to the camp. Two of the infected who hadn’t come after the canoe the first time were still there, feeding on the remains of a dog.
    “Daddy, what are they doing?” Brendan’s three-year-old mind had no context to put this into and he was mystified, wondering if this was normal behavior.
    It was Abe who answered. “Little buddy, I need you to watch the woods on that side of the canoe.” He pointed away from the scene. “Can you do that for me?”
    “Okay.”
    Ben turned to find his son earnestly searching the woods on the right hand side of the boat. Little Brendan seemed to be accepting the new reality better than some adults – so far. Will he ever remember what life was like before today? He caught Abe’s eye and gave him a quick nod of thanks, before turning back to his efforts. On her own, Lise was barely keeping up with the current.
    They rounded the last bend and the highway was there, but now a smoking Humvee lay on its side at the bottom of the embankment, and an angry scar in the grass led up to the new hole in the railing. The roof had torn loose and lay half in the water.
    “That’s new,” Ben commented as they drew even with the scene. “Must have been a patrol vehicle. Oh Hell!” He stared in horror as the driver, still strapped into his seat, tried to get at the body on the passenger side. The driver had succumbed to the infection and lost control. The Army wouldn’t be able to stop this if they were already infected. “Abe…”
    Two three-round bursts hit the driver and he stopped moving.
    “Daddy!” Brendan’s little voice was showing the strain. Lise must have kept him