Read Online The Reckoning - 02 by D. A. Roberts - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: D. A. Roberts
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paused long enough to snag the pistol from the belt of the redneck-zombie and yanked a hunting knife off of the other one. They both went into my cargo pocket. I'd check them over, later. Right now, we had bigger problems to deal with.
“Let’s move,” I replied, heading off at a trot, towards the cars we’d seen earlier.
Gunny came along right behind me and Odin trotted on ahead. Once we cleared the trees, I could see the cars just ahead in the road. One was a small economy car with a broken out windshield and grill. There was blood on the hood of the car. The second vehicle was an extended cab Ford F-250. It looked to be intact.
“Looks like the little car hit someone or something and the pickup stopped to help,” said Gunny.
“Sounds right to me,” I agreed. “Let’s just hope that they left the keys in it.”
“If they didn’t, I’m pretty sure I know where to start looking,” said Gunny.
I headed over to the truck and checked the door. It was unlocked and I peeked inside before I opened it. There were a couple backpacks in the back seat, but nobody was inside. Then I pulled open the door and heard the chime, indicating the keys were in the ignition. I couldn’t help but smile. Now if it would only start.
Quickly, I yanked off my pack and tossed it into the back seat. Gunny followed suit on the passenger side. I held open the door for Odin. He bounded inside and crawled into the back seat. Gunny climbed in and put his rifle between his knees. My Henry went into the seat beside me.
“Come on baby,” I said, reaching for the ignition.
Thankfully, it had only been a few days since the end of the world. If the truck had been sitting for weeks or months, there wouldn’t have been any chance at all that it would have started. It turned over and fired right up. The big engine rumbled to life and idled smoothly. I backed into the grass at the side of the road and turned around. Then I headed off down the highway back towards Springfield, grinning from ear to ear. It was good to not be on foot, anymore.
My smile faded quickly when I saw that the gas gauge read almost empty. We were driving, but not for long. We were going to have to find some gas and soon, or we’d be right back out there walking.
“What the hell was that all about, back there?” asked Gunny.
“That was something new,” I replied. “I’ve never seen a zombie do that. I guess there are six types of zombie to worry about, now.”
“What are you going to call this one?”
“ Trackers ,” I replied. “I guess I’ll call them Trackers .”
Right about then, the low fuel indicator light dinged on. It was a shrill reminder of our sad lack of fuel.
“How far do you think we’ll make it on the gas we’ve got?” asked Gunny.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “Probably not all that far.”
“Aw, shit,” he muttered. “I ain’t exactly looking forward to going back out there on foot. Not with them gawd-damned Trackers out there.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We’ve got to find some fuel.”
We hadn’t driven more than another mile when the engine started to cut out. The owners of the truck must have been driving for some distance on the empty line, since most of the time you can go quite a ways after the low fuel indicator comes on. Up ahead, I saw the tool and die place where we’d spent the night on the way out.
“There’s a place right up here where we can
“Let’s move,” I replied, heading off at a trot, towards the cars we’d seen earlier.
Gunny came along right behind me and Odin trotted on ahead. Once we cleared the trees, I could see the cars just ahead in the road. One was a small economy car with a broken out windshield and grill. There was blood on the hood of the car. The second vehicle was an extended cab Ford F-250. It looked to be intact.
“Looks like the little car hit someone or something and the pickup stopped to help,” said Gunny.
“Sounds right to me,” I agreed. “Let’s just hope that they left the keys in it.”
“If they didn’t, I’m pretty sure I know where to start looking,” said Gunny.
I headed over to the truck and checked the door. It was unlocked and I peeked inside before I opened it. There were a couple backpacks in the back seat, but nobody was inside. Then I pulled open the door and heard the chime, indicating the keys were in the ignition. I couldn’t help but smile. Now if it would only start.
Quickly, I yanked off my pack and tossed it into the back seat. Gunny followed suit on the passenger side. I held open the door for Odin. He bounded inside and crawled into the back seat. Gunny climbed in and put his rifle between his knees. My Henry went into the seat beside me.
“Come on baby,” I said, reaching for the ignition.
Thankfully, it had only been a few days since the end of the world. If the truck had been sitting for weeks or months, there wouldn’t have been any chance at all that it would have started. It turned over and fired right up. The big engine rumbled to life and idled smoothly. I backed into the grass at the side of the road and turned around. Then I headed off down the highway back towards Springfield, grinning from ear to ear. It was good to not be on foot, anymore.
My smile faded quickly when I saw that the gas gauge read almost empty. We were driving, but not for long. We were going to have to find some gas and soon, or we’d be right back out there walking.
“What the hell was that all about, back there?” asked Gunny.
“That was something new,” I replied. “I’ve never seen a zombie do that. I guess there are six types of zombie to worry about, now.”
“What are you going to call this one?”
“ Trackers ,” I replied. “I guess I’ll call them Trackers .”
Right about then, the low fuel indicator light dinged on. It was a shrill reminder of our sad lack of fuel.
“How far do you think we’ll make it on the gas we’ve got?” asked Gunny.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “Probably not all that far.”
“Aw, shit,” he muttered. “I ain’t exactly looking forward to going back out there on foot. Not with them gawd-damned Trackers out there.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We’ve got to find some fuel.”
We hadn’t driven more than another mile when the engine started to cut out. The owners of the truck must have been driving for some distance on the empty line, since most of the time you can go quite a ways after the low fuel indicator comes on. Up ahead, I saw the tool and die place where we’d spent the night on the way out.
“There’s a place right up here where we can
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