Read Online Plagued: The Midamerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment (Plagued States of America) by Better Hero Army - Free Book Online Page B

no one made much noise. Everyone just sat where they were, looking over the rail into the darkness, listening. The only one sleeping was Penelope. Tom walked past her cage, looking in closely to see if she really was asleep. He couldn’t tell. He took the seat next to Peske, the seat Hank had been occupying since their decision to drive north.
    “I want to talk to you,” Tom said softly. Peske was sitting with his jacket over his arms like a blanket, head down, eyes closed, but not sleeping. Just resting.
    “What about?” Peske asked, not looking up, his voice barely a whisper.
    “I’m looking for someone,” Tom admitted. “A girl. A zombie girl. Turned ten years ago. I think your half-breed has seen her.”
    “So what,” Peske mumbled.
    “So I want to borrow your half-breed to go find her once we get to Midamerica.”
    “Are you crazy, boy? She’ll cut your throat the moment you’re alone. She’s from Midamerica. She knows her place back on the Hill, and out here even. But the airbase, that’s where they live. She’d want back in.”
    “They?” Tom asked.
    “Yeah, them. Them like her. Half-breeds.”
    “How many?”
    “It doesn’t matter how many. They’re as scared of us as they are biters. But they have each other, and if you give her the chance to go back to that, she’ll slit your throat to have it.”
    “I don’t agree,” Tom replied, even though he harbored doubts. “Look, when we get there, we’ll make the call and it will be an hour before a rescue team can reach us. Maybe longer. I just want to borrow her.”
    “You’re not going anywhere with my half-breed,” Peske told him flatly.
    “Fine, then I’ll buy her off you.”
    “She’s not for sale.”
    “Fifty thousand.”
    “Not for sale,” Peske replied blandly.
    “A Districts permit.”
    Peske sat up in his chair, eyeing Tom suspiciously. “You ain’t got that kind of clout.”
    “If your half-breed helps me find that girl, you have no idea the kind of clout I’ll have.”
    “I ain’t letting you have Kitty.”
    “Don’t you even know her real name?”
    “Of course I do, boy,” Peske snapped, leaning into Tom’s face with a hard and angry stare. “You don’t think I don’t know everything about my little girl in there? I’ve had her for three goddamn years, boy. Tried to sell her back to her kin and they refused.” Tom straightened, confused by such a statement. Why would anyone refuse? ”Oh, you thinking you can be some kind of hero with her, too? They said she was dead to them already. Some parents, huh?”
    Yeah, some parents, Tom thought. Not much different than how his own father would react. Not about Larissa, though. No, for her he would have paid. Or traded. Take one of my sons, his father would tell Peske, still bitter about losing Larissa in the first place. Take Tom. It was his fault in the first place.
    “I still want her,” Tom told the old slaver. Screw his father. At least Tom could give her a life again, whether her parents wanted her back or not. At least he’d finally have a reason for being. “And I still need her help finding the girl.”
    “Fine,” Peske said softly. “I’ll take your permit and your fifty thousand, and you get Kitty. But you don’t get Kitty until we leave. Wherever she goes, I go. Deal?”
    “Deal,” Tom said, holding out a hand. Peske looked at it warily, glanced back toward the half-breed’s cage for a minute, then sighed. Tom hadn’t thought much of Peske up until then. The old slaver actually cared for Penelope, and not just as some valuable possession. “I’ll take care of her,” Tom added. “I want to help her.” Peske nodded, taking Tom’s hand.

Sixteen
    Peske checked his watch at least every five minutes. It was the longest wait Tom had ever endured. He knew Hank and the hunters would come back. He knew they would bring fuel no matter what the cost. He just wondered if it would come at a cost, and how many this time. He didn’t like the idea