Read Online Rocky Mountain Die by Jake Bible - Free Book Online Page A

twice, but she keeps getting away,” Charlie says. “She’s the one skinning people. There’s something wrong with her.”
    “Ya think?” I say.
    “Her crosses are wired,” Elsbeth says.
    “Wires are crossed,” Charlie corrects.
    “Don’t do that,” Elsbeth glares. “I know what it is.”
    “My bad,” Charlie smiles.
    “Your bad,” Elsbeth smiles back.
    “You little shit,” I say to my son. “You’ve been off having fun little adventures while we worry about how to get from point A to point B? No fair.”
    “Where are the sisters?” Stuart asks.
    “Close,” Elsbeth says. “Waiting.”
    “For what?” Stella asks.
    “For the signal,” Elsbeth says.
    “Hold on, hold on,” I say. “Why the hell did Kramer condition all of us and keep us alive? What’s his angle?”
    “Not sure,” Charlie says.
    “He needs an army,” Cassie says.
    We look over and her eyes are wide open and bright. She’s staring at us and shaking her head.
    “Hi,” Elsbeth says. “You still crazy?”
    “Yeah,” Cassie says. “Still crazy.”
    “At least she’s self-aware,” I say.
    “What army?” Stuart asks.
    “Kramer needs an army of his own to do two things,” Cassie says. “One is to take the Stronghold. Two is to fight off the Consortium.”
    “Take the Stronghold? Why?” I ask. “We’re already heading there. We know it may not be easy, but we’ll talk our way in. You guys have me around. If I’m good for one thing, other than my brilliant tactical skills and engineering expertise, it’s talking my way into things.”
    “You usually talk your way into trouble, Jace,” Stuart says. “That’s not the same as talking your way into a community of survivors.”
    “Something’s hidden at the Stronghold,” Cassie says. “Something Kramer wants. Camille wants it too. That’s why she sent us after all of you. That’s why she’s coming to kill every last person she finds. Loyalty above all else. Loyalty above all else. Loyalty above all else.”
    She starts banging her head on the floor, over and over, while saying the same phrase again and again.
    Elsbeth stands up, baseball bat in hand, and walks over to her.
    “You are annoying,” she says and raises the bat over her head.
    She looks around at us.
    “If you’re expecting someone to stop you, I think you misjudged your crowd,” I say and look at the others. “Am I wrong?”
    “Nope,” Stella says. “Go for it.”
    “Batter up,” Stuart says.
    Elsbeth grins and is about to swing away when a loud crash from below echoes through the bookstore. Then the moans begin and all of a sudden we’re forced to remember that Consortiums and Camilles and Kramers aren’t why we’re in the Hell we’re in.
    It always comes back to the motherfucking Zs.
     
    ***
     
    There is a simple truth in the zombie apocalypse: the disabled will die first.
    It’s a shitty truth and not very PC, but let’s face it folks, if you can’t get up and run from the Zs that are ready to pick your skull clean of your tasty, tasty brains then you are fucked.
    I am currently fucked. Thank God and the Giant Spaghetti Monster in the sky that I have friends and family willing to save my ass.
    “They’re already everywhere,” Charlie whispers as we crouch by the railing and watch the Zs swarm inside the store. The front doors have completely collapsed and the undead bastards just keep on coming. “How do we get Dad downstairs? We step foot on the escalators and they’ll hear us and see us.”
    A couple of Zs stop and look around, hunting for prey they know is inside.
    “Shhh,” Stella says and pulls us all back from the railing.
    I’m easy to pull. I’m in a wheelchair.
    We move ass to the far corner of the Children’s Books section, well out of undead earshot, and huddle up again. Elsbeth is getting a lot of happiness from dragging Cassie by the feet to each spot we go. My son isn’t getting too much happiness with pushing my wheelchair. I am getting a distinct