Read Online Stung (Zombie Gentlemen) by K.A. Merikan - Free Book Online Page B

his neck.
If anyone saw it, he could claim he was keeping it for a future sweetheart,
which would kill two birds with one stone. He doubted anyone would see it
though. In less than a week’s time, he would give it back to Victor.
    He was making his way to his room after a hearty
supper. As he walked up the stairs and walked into the simple yet clean
corridor, he heard a rustle behind his door. His senses became fully alert
within a split second, and he inched closer with his hand on the hilt of the
machete. With his ear close to the doorframe, he could clearly make out
creaking sounds and the rustling of opening drawers. His mind filled with
dread, but he willed his body to calm down enough to act. Was his cover blown?
    Crunch grabbed the machete and in one swift move,
slammed the door open only to look into the wide eyes of his fellow guard.
Sharpe stared at Crunch, his arm reaching for a huge hunting knife by his belt,
but he didn’t move it from the sheath.
    “The hell ya doin’ here?” Crunch growled and
clenched his fist on the grip of his machete. He quickly weighed his options.
There shouldn't be anything revealing in the room at the moment, but Sharpe
spying on him was a warning sign, and if the man was indeed suspecting
something, was this the right moment to kill him and throw the body to the
zombies?
    “Just needed some baccy to borrow. I know you
still have yours,” rasped the intruder, gritting the chilling keyboard of metal
teeth. There was a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead, but then again, it was
hot outside.
    “Huh? We runnin’ low again?” Crunch sighed,
deciding not to take action just yet and play the part of good friend. “Trish
don’t have any?” As he casually walked into the room, the open chest didn't
escape his attention but he chose to ignore it.
    “His smells like goat shit.” Sharpe pouted,
meeting Crunch’s eyes for only a brief moment. “You on the other hand always
have the good stuff. I’ll give you back the money in a few days,” he promised
with a tight smile.
    “Fuckin’ ask next time.” Crunch sighed and reached
to his pocket for a tin of tobacco. He already hated the guy’s guts, and now he
had yet another reason to watch Sharpe. It wasn’t normal to just cross
boundaries of another guard’s room like that.
    “Sorry, didn’t know where ya were after we were
done with the pigs.” He gave Crunch a wicked smile. Sharpe made no secret of
the fact that he enjoyed taking advantage of his position in the camp and judging
from his tone, Crunch could assume it wasn’t the actual pigs he had in mind.
    In order to blend in, Crunch was forced to keep
his guard persona rather unpleasant, but he avoided unnecessary violence.
“Yeah, I had a wander about the fences.”
    “And? Any rotting lady was to your likin’?” Sharpe
gave him a cool grin.
    Crunch snorted and shook his head. “If ya wanna
rise in the ranks, Sharpe, ya gotta give that added effort. It’s good to check
if everything's nice and solid once in a while.” He looked into the other man’s
eyes, wondering if the seeds he tried to plant were starting to sprout. What he
wanted was for Sharpe to find something better to do than following him. If
everything would go according to plan, in less than a week Honeyhill would be
free and men like Sharpe would go down.
    The other guard shook his head, his face tensing
though the slight tremor around his eyes made it obvious he was fighting to
keep calm. “Been here longer than most of ya,” he snapped.
    “Just take the fuckin’ tobacco.” Crunch rolled his
eyes and shook the tin at him. “Tease the ‘pigs’ less, do yar job more. Not
‘ard, is it?”
    “No, not hard. It’s hard to be around freaks.”
Sharpe left the room without a goodbye, his heavy footsteps thudding outside
until he ran downstairs.
    Crunch looked down at the tin of tobacco still in
his hand and shook his head. “Bellend,” he muttered before looking up to find
clues of Sharpe’s