Read Online The Ugly Beginning - 01 by T. W. Brown - Free Book Online Page A

had a big, dark stain on her right side around the shoulder area. That side of her shirt was torn leaving an exposed breast.
    “Nasty,” Kevin breathed.
    He climbed out of the car as the blonde zombie came stumbling across the four-lane road. He easily reached the raised strip that acted as a divider with its shrubs and young trees spaced out perfectly. The closer she got to where he waited, the stronger the gag-inducing stench became. Nothing he’d ever experienced in his life—up to that point—could compare.
    Hands reached out, and even in the darkness he could see the mouth open. The zombie made a rattling sound that was like a sigh mixed with a high-pitched growl. Kevin timed his swing, bringing the sword down on the top of the skull. He had considered decapitating the zombie, but remembered a scene from Day of the Dead, when a zombie’s head lay in that dark tunnel, eyes darting back and forth. The sword crashed through the skull. Another thing left out in the movies was just how much his hands stung from the impact, or vibration, or whatever.
    The pain was enough to make him let go of the pommel. The body hit the ground, knocking the sword loose with a clatter as it skittered a few feet away on the road. Shaking the pins and needles from his hands, Kevin scooped up the weapon, wiped it across the back of the zombie at his feet and headed for the car.
     
    ***
     
    Mike and Cary hauled the last loads to the El Camino. Most of the back end was loaded with camping gear: tent, stove, lanterns, sleeping bags, Jack Daniels. A few moments later, the blue, plastic tarp was secured with twine and bungee cords. They left nothing to chance, grabbing shovels, an axe, a pick, and splitting maul.
    They discussed the possibility of doing the whole “Mall Scenario,” but felt there were some definite drawbacks. First, it would be a few days before society degraded to the point where commandeering a shopping mall would go unnoticed. Second, if zombies gathered, it would be like a siege. Eventually they would need to move, and that never ended well in the movies. Also, there was the rot factor. They had smelled just one of those things, and it was worse than the smell of that tannery they had gone to during a field trip in fifth grade. Large numbers of those things could only be worse. Plus, the food in the malls would eventually go bad if it didn’t just plain run out.
     For the past ten minutes, they had been debating Cary’s plan. It was inspired by the book he had just finished. So far, Mike could not find any real holes in the logic.
    “So this father and his son just keep walking?” Mike asked.
    “Yeah, that’s the whole story.”
    “But why did they leave that underground bunker?”
    “Fear. Habit. Who can be sure? But we have it way better. The world isn’t just some wasteland,” Cary explained.
    “So we snatch up a bunch of seeds and start a farm?”
    “Mostly. I mean, we’ll need to fortify a defense. But, if we get out there far enough, it will work.”
    “You realize that mountains make lousy locations for farms,” Mike said.
    “I’m not talking the peaks of the Rockies. I’m just saying a place away from most population centers. The reason to be on top of some sort of hill is so we can see what’s coming.”
    “Well,” Mike tugged on the tarp, ensuring it was held fast, “I’m pretty convinced. I bet Darrin will go for it. But Kevin…”
    “You think he wants to play Road Warrior ?” Cary laughed.
    “Dude, he’s always going to those survivalist camps. Reading that crazy militia crap about how to live off the grid. Right now he’s probably trying to figure out how to build a still that converts urine to gasoline.”
    The two locked stares for a moment, then burst out laughing. They climbed into the cab of the El Camino still chuckling. Mike turned the key and the CD player came alive a second later. A guttural guitar carried on the night air turning quite a few heads. None of the