Read Online The Demented Z (Book 3): Contagion by Derek J Thomas - Free Book Online

minutes now, Tom shuddered with each finishing blow.
  Tom pulled his last arrow free and wiped it
in the snow. Standing back up, he saw
Axel just a few feet away watching him.
    Tom wanted to have a conversation with him and maybe now was
the time. “What’s your deal?
  The woman…April?”
    Axel looked down at his feet, and then off in the
distance. “Wife and
daughter. We needed help and saw
you pass us on the road.”
    “Come on, you’re not a family.”
    “We’re just tryin’ to survive like
everyone else.” Axel responded with a
touch of anger in his voice.
    “I think the two of you need to take the road back out of
here. Follow it and you will come to a
compound…tell them we sent you.”
    “We tried there before winter hit.”
    “Try again. Tell
Miles that Hannah sent you.”
    “No.” Axel said.
  “We’re staying with you.”
  After that he turned and walked away, ending
the conversation.
    Tom watched him walk between bodies.
  He was frustrated and didn’t trust the man,
but would let it be for now. Bear and
Hannah stood next to the supply building.  
They were shoulder to shoulder looking in the window.
  He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but
they kept shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders.
    They both turned at his approach.
    “What’s up?” Tom
asked.
    Hannah glanced over her shoulder and said, “Just wondering
where he got it. Takes
about a week for symptoms to hit.  
     Had to have got it at the compound.”
    “He didn’t seem sick, but his eyes…he definitely had
it.” Tom said.
    Bear shrugged his shoulders.  
“Hind sight…he seemed off a bit.”
    Tom swept his eyes over the bodies lying all around
them. “You two mind doing a sweep of the
perimeter fence? Make sure there are no
holes other than the one we made. Most
of these bodies look like military from here…maybe the others are family or something.
  I just want to be sure that all we have to
worry about is what’s inside the buildings.”
    “Yeah, we got this.”  
Hannah said while patting Bear on the shoulder.
  “Let’s roll big guy.”
    Tom watched the two of them make their way toward the
hill. He was impressed with Hannah.
  She was smart, determined, and a great
shot. He thought back to what she had
said about shooting her dad. He couldn’t
even imagine having to deal with something like that.
  She seemed to take it in stride…or hid it
inside.
    Tom looked in at Logan’s body.
  The body still leaned against the shelving in
a sitting position. Absently, Tom rested
a hand on one of his MAC9s and looked in at the AR15 lying across Logan’s
legs. Next to him sat the crossbow that
was clipped to his belt ring. Not
feeling happy with the short barreled guns and the awkwardness of having a full
bow strapped across his lower back, the two weapons lying in plain sight were
tempting. Tom had no idea how Logan had
gotten infected and really didn’t want to risk touching his items or getting
any closer than he needed to. Man…backpack full of gear too .
  He thought to himself as he turned away.
    
    Hank came striding up to Tom.
  With a thumb pointing over his shoulder he
said, “I’m gonna check the crash hawks.
  Maybe we won’t have to hit the building.”
    “Good idea.” He
watched as Hank started to walk away.  
“Stay sharp.”
    “You know me boss.”
    Tom gazed around, unable to shake the creepy feeling the
military base gave him. In the distance
beyond the buildings he could see Hannah and Bear making their way along the
ridge of the hill, sweeping the fence.  
April and Axel stood off to the side.  
They both leaned on one of the buildings and stared down at their feet.
  Axel’s lips moved as he talked, but the words
faded across the distance.
    Tom climbed back to the top of the hill where he could
survey the base and keep an eye on everyone.  
He spun in a slow circling checking all around.
  The woods were