Read Online The Dead Road: The Complete Collection by Robert Paine - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Robert Paine
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winding back roads it took us almost twenty minutes. Eli drove carefully, both hands on the wheel as he navigated the uneven pavement. The car was handling poorly since plowing through the crowd of monsters, drifting rather severely to the left, and the broken windshield provided limited visibility to the right. The blood that clung to the glass resisted the feeble efforts of the windshield washer fluid, created a smear of crimson in a pair of arcs along the glass. As we made our way through the wooded back roads Eli was forced to slow to 10 miles per hour just to be sure we didn't run off the road.
I turned to Amy as we drove, "Do you know when that group of things picked up your scent?"
She looked confused, "Scent? What are they, bloodhounds?"
I nodded, "Kind of. When we were being chased down the mountain I am pretty sure they followed our scent. We left visual distractions for them, blinking lights and such, but they ignored them to follow us."
She shook her head, "I didn't see any following me when I drove up there. I really don't know where they came from."
When we rounded the corner into her driveway, we got our answer.
The front yard was large expanse of grass, dotted with a few flower beds here and there, but all of it had been trampled. The grass lay flat, the flowers were torn up, and swaths of mulch were dragged from the beds onto the lawn. A dozen of the monsters wandered about, circling the yard like slow-moving vultures, groaning quietly as they moved. A few seemed to move close to the front door, while others made wide, sweeping patrols through the grounds, searching sightlessly with their dead eyes. A jeep was parked next to the house, and another pair of dead things seemed to hover around it, leaning in through the open top, pawing blindly at the seats.
Roger gasped in horror, "What the fuck?" he muttered.
Eli turned the engine off, parking at the base of the driveway. "That's how they were circling last night, man. When we got to the parking lot! They were moving like they were looking for you, circling around the spot where your car was parked."
I sat back with a sigh, "If I had to guess, Amy, this pack followed you from town when the outbreak first started."
Amy frowned, looking at the house. "The doors are all closed. So are the windows. Nothing's broken. And they wouldn't still be here if everyone inside was dead, right?"
"Probably not." I scanned the house as well, looking for any signs of life.
"Then we have to go in." Her voice was firm and determined.
I nodded, "Yeah, we really do."
Eli nodded as well, that same look of grim determination he had at the radio station returning to his face. I touched his shoulder and he almost jumped. "Let's not use the car this time. I have an idea."
I climbed out of the car, grabbing the rifle. My hunting rifle could hold eight rounds, one in the chamber and a seven round box, and I had another forty or so in the hip pockets of my cargo pants. I didn't have any extra cartridges, so I would have to reload by hand, but as long as I kept close by the car that wouldn't be an issue either.
I leaned against the car, watching the circling monsters carefully. I tracked their movement, watching their patterns. I counted fourteen in total. As long as I didn't miss, I would only have to reload once. I leaned down to whisper to the others. "Okay, Roger, you get out with the shotgun and cover me. If any of them get too close, you handle them."
Eli looked at me, "What's your plan, man?"
"We pull up to the edge of the yard. I figure the driveway's two hundred feet long or so. I'm going to lean over the car and take them out, one at a time. Once I start dropping them they should come our way, making them even easier to hit, since they'll be moving in a straight line towards us. I fire until empty, then we get back in the car and you back us up to the road while I reload. Then we do it again. We
I turned to Amy as we drove, "Do you know when that group of things picked up your scent?"
She looked confused, "Scent? What are they, bloodhounds?"
I nodded, "Kind of. When we were being chased down the mountain I am pretty sure they followed our scent. We left visual distractions for them, blinking lights and such, but they ignored them to follow us."
She shook her head, "I didn't see any following me when I drove up there. I really don't know where they came from."
When we rounded the corner into her driveway, we got our answer.
The front yard was large expanse of grass, dotted with a few flower beds here and there, but all of it had been trampled. The grass lay flat, the flowers were torn up, and swaths of mulch were dragged from the beds onto the lawn. A dozen of the monsters wandered about, circling the yard like slow-moving vultures, groaning quietly as they moved. A few seemed to move close to the front door, while others made wide, sweeping patrols through the grounds, searching sightlessly with their dead eyes. A jeep was parked next to the house, and another pair of dead things seemed to hover around it, leaning in through the open top, pawing blindly at the seats.
Roger gasped in horror, "What the fuck?" he muttered.
Eli turned the engine off, parking at the base of the driveway. "That's how they were circling last night, man. When we got to the parking lot! They were moving like they were looking for you, circling around the spot where your car was parked."
I sat back with a sigh, "If I had to guess, Amy, this pack followed you from town when the outbreak first started."
Amy frowned, looking at the house. "The doors are all closed. So are the windows. Nothing's broken. And they wouldn't still be here if everyone inside was dead, right?"
"Probably not." I scanned the house as well, looking for any signs of life.
"Then we have to go in." Her voice was firm and determined.
I nodded, "Yeah, we really do."
Eli nodded as well, that same look of grim determination he had at the radio station returning to his face. I touched his shoulder and he almost jumped. "Let's not use the car this time. I have an idea."
I climbed out of the car, grabbing the rifle. My hunting rifle could hold eight rounds, one in the chamber and a seven round box, and I had another forty or so in the hip pockets of my cargo pants. I didn't have any extra cartridges, so I would have to reload by hand, but as long as I kept close by the car that wouldn't be an issue either.
I leaned against the car, watching the circling monsters carefully. I tracked their movement, watching their patterns. I counted fourteen in total. As long as I didn't miss, I would only have to reload once. I leaned down to whisper to the others. "Okay, Roger, you get out with the shotgun and cover me. If any of them get too close, you handle them."
Eli looked at me, "What's your plan, man?"
"We pull up to the edge of the yard. I figure the driveway's two hundred feet long or so. I'm going to lean over the car and take them out, one at a time. Once I start dropping them they should come our way, making them even easier to hit, since they'll be moving in a straight line towards us. I fire until empty, then we get back in the car and you back us up to the road while I reload. Then we do it again. We
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