Read Online The Coalition: Part 1 The State of Extinction (Zombie Series) by Robert Mathis Kurtz - Free Book Online

quite trust Ron.
    “You’ve talked to Colonel Dale?”
    The boy nodded again.
    Ron wasn’t really sure that Colonel Dale really was a Colonel. He claimed to be, but having never served in the military, Ron never knew what to ask or what to look for when the man spoke about his rank and what he’d done in the Service. It didn’t help that the military service that he claimed to have been a part was that of Great Britain . Also, there was something faintly feminine about Colonel Dale, so the fact that he’d been an officer made Ron wonder if the Brits had ever had a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy.
    “What did he say to you?” Ron looked for a place to sit and chose a recliner that was his favorite when he was there. He pointed to it and shrugged. Oliver shrugged back, agreeing.
    “Ah, he just told me to be really careful. He said that the deads were creeping into town and that they were all over the place. He said some people had been killed by them the past couple of days.”
    Ron jumped at that. “He did? Who got killed?” As far as Ron had been able to tell, there were about a thousand living people in this part of Charlotte . Of course, he didn’t know them all, but he’d sat and done his math based on people he saw and the movements of folk through the streets from time to time on a daily basis. He had come to a rough approximation of about a thousand still alive here. That was out of about a hundred thousand who had formerly called the city center their home.
    The kid threw up his hands. Ron noticed that his hands were dirty and he wanted to tell the boy to wash them. But he held his tongue. “He said something about a guy named Ryder getting cornered at the Target Store. And a woman named Maggie Pierce getting chased down on Tryon Street a couple of days back. Some others, but he didn’t give me any names.”
    “That’s all?” Ron didn’t know those names at all.
    “And he told me to be extra careful.” He paused, looking at the maple hardwood floors some rich fellow had had paid thousands of dollars to have installed in his boy’s tree house. “And he asked me for about the hundredth time if I wanted to come stay with him or someone else. He said there’s a guy two blocks away with a wife and three kids. Said they wouldn’t mind another kid.”
    “That would be the Lunds,” Ron said.
    “Yeah. That’s right. He mentioned their name. I think I saw them a time or two. Their mom called to me once.” He stopped. “But I just kept on goin’. I’m not a little kid. I don’t need a mother and father. And I especially don’t need any little kids hangin’ around me.” At that, Oliver stood and walked across the room to his kitchen. He turned on the water and filled a glass, drank it down. “You want some water?” he asked.
    “Yes,” Cutter answered. “I do, indeed.” As he crossed the big central room, he went to the sink. However, before taking the glass of water from Oliver he took the time to clean the blood from his hands. The kid hardly seemed to notice and said nothing as Cutter scrubbed the stains from his hands. He gulped down the water and put the glass back on the sink. “You know,” he mentioned, “eventually the system’s going to break down and the water will stop flowing. We should set you up something to catch rainwater. I’ve got them at some of my safe houses. It would be pretty simple to rig one here.”
    “Okay,” Oliver replied , as he edged over to one of the windows to peek out through the blinds. “They’re really out there,” he said. “You drew a big crowd.” It wasn’t quite an accusation, but nearly so.
    “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “But you were my best bet.”
    “That’s all right,” the kid replied.
    “Anyway,” Cutter said, plucking his pack from the floor and reaching inside. “I brought you something.” He labored to dig into the pack. “It’s at the bottom , because I was going to stop here on my way back, not on my way