Read Online The Fall (Book 4): Genesis Game by Joshua Guess - Free Book Online Page A

they keep moving south.”
    “Dammit,” Kincaid said. “Do we have any idea of the local terrain? Is there somewhere we can put the van that's far enough off this road that it won't be seen?”
    Kell had been in the same meetings as Kincaid where detailed explanations of the safety of the route had been laid out in plain English. Both men knew the entire purpose of taking this path was due to its lack of travel by marauders and normal survivors alike. Which meant the chance of some other fucking thing happening was just as likely. Better to find a safe spot and hunker down.
    Nodding, Rob pointed back the way they came. “There's a town about five miles back with a big industrial complex. It's fenced in all the way around.”
    “I know that place,” Emily cut in. “We scouted it. I can get us there.”
    Kincaid faced her. “How likely is it someone will come looking for us there?”
    She grimaced. “I seriously doubt anyone will come close.”
    Turns out she was right.
     
     
     
    “Wow,” Kell said. “You guys have a weird definition of the word safe.”
    The industrial complex was found as promised, and if at first something seemed a bit off about it, the place seemed to be in good repair and utterly deserted. Though the place was situated firmly within the small town it inhabited, there weren't even the usual straggler zombies you nearly always saw.
    That realization turned up Rational Kell's interest by a few magnitudes, and when they turned onto the road leading to the huge set of buildings, tanks, and pipes, understanding clicked into place like tumblers in a lock.
    The lack of zombies was unusual but not unheard of. That observation made the next almost impossible to miss.
    There were no animals. No birds fluttering across the warm winds, no dogs gone feral and chasing down squirrels. There were also no plants. Or rather, there were no living plants, at least within five hundred feet of the complex.
    “What the fuck?” Mason whispered as he huddled next to Kell, staring through the windshield. “What happened here?”
    Kell pointed to the vast round-ended tanks dotting the periphery of the site. “My guess is entropy. Without people to maintain the systems here, they started to fail.”
    Whatever agent had been stored in those tanks had clearly been strong enough to wipe out everything in the area, and keep even grass from growing near ground zero. Rational Kell began reciting a laundry list of possible culprits in the back of his mind, none of them appealing.
    “How screwed are we if we stay here?” Kincaid asked.
    Kell shrugged. “If the scouts came here before, then it's probably pretty safe. The fence looks brand new. Whatever happened here kept anything from growing on it, so we'll be able to see anyone approaching through the chain link.”
    Kincaid cleared his throat. “Not what I mean. Are we at risk if we stay here, do you think?”
    Kell glanced at Emily. “Did you guys hang around when you scouted it?”
    She shook her head. “It was a quick pass. Didn't go inside the fence.”
    “We should be fine,” Kell said. “Whatever killed everything off had to have dispersed relatively fast, so as long as we don't go licking any strange surfaces I don't see it being a problem.”
    “What if another system fails and a tank ruptures or something?” Kincaid asked.
    “Either it'll be something harmless or we'll be screwed,” Kell said. “Nothing we can do about it.”
    Camp was easy enough to set up since everyone but Kell—embarrassingly—would sleep on simple bedrolls on the ground outside the van. Lee helped Kell set up his own space in the safety of the van itself, which would be shut tight once the sun began to set.
    With sunset hours away, Kell decided to check out the huge tangle of mechanical equipment, buildings, and storage facilities. Lee joined him. The apocalypse had a way of showing you the importance of the buddy system. Especially when one of your arms is out of