Read Online The Grace Series (Book 2): Tainted Grace by M. Lauryl Lewis - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: M. Lauryl Lewis
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comprehend the depth of those words.
“Ok,” I managed to say weakly.
He held a hand out for me and I took it. He pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me. “It’ll be ok, Zo.”
The next thing I knew, we were all standing outside in the cold rain. The back of the step van was well packed, including the deer carcass secured on each end by two ropes. A small walkway had been left between boxes of supplies in the event of needing to exit quickly. Susan, Nathan, and Emilie stepped into the back and Gus secured the back door by turning a handle. I heard them slide an improvised latch shut from the inside, making it so that hostiles could not gain entry from the outside. Gus climbed in through the driver’s door, and Boggs and I waited for Bill to climb in through the passenger door and into the rear of the vehicle where he would sit with Nathan and the girls. He had made a last minute trip to the shed to retrieve ropes he had forgotten to pack earlier. Once he was on board, Boggs helped boost me up into the cab, where I took a seat in the kitchen chair that had been placed between the existing driver's and passenger’s seats. I wrapped my arms around myself for warmth and closed my eyes to concentrate. My mind was gloriously clear of any signatures that belonged to the living dead.
“We’re clear,” I said as I opened my eyes.
Gus nodded at me, and turned the key. The step van roared to life with a shuddering rumble. Rain fell steadily, so Gus turned on the windshield wipers.
“We have a couple hours of daylight left,” said Gus as he started to pull forward. “We’ll leave the lights off as long as we can. According to the map we’re about as high as we’ll get in elevation, so hopefully the roads will only get better as we drive.”
I looked at the gravel driveway briefly and noted that patches of snow remained, but most of it looked like slush now. It was still cold out, but luck was on our side with the rain. The driveway was bumpier than I recalled it being. The van turned in a large loop and we began our trek away from the cabin. I wondered if we would ever see it again.
Once we neared the end of the drive, I felt the faintest of buzzes in my head. I wasn't able to see anything it saw, and somehow I knew it was a lone zombie. A slow Roamer, most likely. The buzz was so weak it was unlike any I had felt before.
“We have company,” I blurted out. “It’s either really weak or really far away,” I continued.
“Thanks, Zo,” said Boggs.
Gus rounded the corner of the drive, turning right onto the highway.
“This is the way we first came,” I said. “The way we headed toward that bed and breakfast.”
“Yup,” was all Gus said in reply. That outing held some bad memories for him, Boggs, and certainly for myself.
Bill called forward to us from his perch on one of the mattresses in the back. “Is the B-and-B still standing?” he asked.
“It was standing the last time we were there,” said Gus. “But, we scavenged the good stuff from it already.”
“Fair enough,” said Bill.
“We were also stuck there overnight, surrounded by the dead…uh…Runners,” I added.
“It’d be a detour as well. The route we mapped out takes us past the turn off,” added Boggs from beside me.
We continued north on the highway, eventually veering west. We passed a familiar minivan that sat in a ditch, its passenger slider door still open. We had passed this van once before and inspected it. It had been obvious that a family had been slaughtered inside. I tried my best to rid my mind of the images that had been burned into my memory back then. It had been raining that day as well.
After about fifteen minutes Gus slowed the van, coming to a stop. “Fuel’s getting a bit low,” he said. “I think we’ll make it to your hole-up, but we should be watching for sources of gas to siphon.”
“Nate and I didn’t come this way,
“Ok,” I managed to say weakly.
He held a hand out for me and I took it. He pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me. “It’ll be ok, Zo.”
The next thing I knew, we were all standing outside in the cold rain. The back of the step van was well packed, including the deer carcass secured on each end by two ropes. A small walkway had been left between boxes of supplies in the event of needing to exit quickly. Susan, Nathan, and Emilie stepped into the back and Gus secured the back door by turning a handle. I heard them slide an improvised latch shut from the inside, making it so that hostiles could not gain entry from the outside. Gus climbed in through the driver’s door, and Boggs and I waited for Bill to climb in through the passenger door and into the rear of the vehicle where he would sit with Nathan and the girls. He had made a last minute trip to the shed to retrieve ropes he had forgotten to pack earlier. Once he was on board, Boggs helped boost me up into the cab, where I took a seat in the kitchen chair that had been placed between the existing driver's and passenger’s seats. I wrapped my arms around myself for warmth and closed my eyes to concentrate. My mind was gloriously clear of any signatures that belonged to the living dead.
“We’re clear,” I said as I opened my eyes.
Gus nodded at me, and turned the key. The step van roared to life with a shuddering rumble. Rain fell steadily, so Gus turned on the windshield wipers.
“We have a couple hours of daylight left,” said Gus as he started to pull forward. “We’ll leave the lights off as long as we can. According to the map we’re about as high as we’ll get in elevation, so hopefully the roads will only get better as we drive.”
I looked at the gravel driveway briefly and noted that patches of snow remained, but most of it looked like slush now. It was still cold out, but luck was on our side with the rain. The driveway was bumpier than I recalled it being. The van turned in a large loop and we began our trek away from the cabin. I wondered if we would ever see it again.
Once we neared the end of the drive, I felt the faintest of buzzes in my head. I wasn't able to see anything it saw, and somehow I knew it was a lone zombie. A slow Roamer, most likely. The buzz was so weak it was unlike any I had felt before.
“We have company,” I blurted out. “It’s either really weak or really far away,” I continued.
“Thanks, Zo,” said Boggs.
Gus rounded the corner of the drive, turning right onto the highway.
“This is the way we first came,” I said. “The way we headed toward that bed and breakfast.”
“Yup,” was all Gus said in reply. That outing held some bad memories for him, Boggs, and certainly for myself.
Bill called forward to us from his perch on one of the mattresses in the back. “Is the B-and-B still standing?” he asked.
“It was standing the last time we were there,” said Gus. “But, we scavenged the good stuff from it already.”
“Fair enough,” said Bill.
“We were also stuck there overnight, surrounded by the dead…uh…Runners,” I added.
“It’d be a detour as well. The route we mapped out takes us past the turn off,” added Boggs from beside me.
We continued north on the highway, eventually veering west. We passed a familiar minivan that sat in a ditch, its passenger slider door still open. We had passed this van once before and inspected it. It had been obvious that a family had been slaughtered inside. I tried my best to rid my mind of the images that had been burned into my memory back then. It had been raining that day as well.
After about fifteen minutes Gus slowed the van, coming to a stop. “Fuel’s getting a bit low,” he said. “I think we’ll make it to your hole-up, but we should be watching for sources of gas to siphon.”
“Nate and I didn’t come this way,
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