Read Online The Zed Files Trilogy (Book 1): The Hanging Tree by David Andrew Wright - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: David Andrew Wright
Tags: Zombies
Ads: Link
table. He is already lighting up a bowl. “Plenty of it, man. Might as well eat while ya can. May not have a goddamned thing for supper tomorrow.” He laughs a low throaty giggle before sucking another hit off the small brass pipe. “Hell, may not be a tomorrow.”
The first bowl of soup and rice had gone down fast. The ground hog had been poorly cooked and the little dark clumps of meat were tough as shoe leather. The bones had been boiled into a watery broth and seasoned with too much black pepper and some fairly raw wild onions. But I still can’t remember the last time I ate something hot and salty and flavorful and delicious. My stomach gurgles as the food fast tracks through my body.
“Yeah, I think I will. Thanks,” I say as I dish more rice into my bowl.
“Why the fuck are we feeding this guy?” the skinny blonde woman at the end of the table asks. This is Betty.
I look at Kevin as I reach for the soup ladle. “Don’t worry bout it, man,” he says in a long exhale of skunk. “She just takes a while to warm up to people.”
I look over at Betty who is staring me down with the craziest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Her long blonde hair is brushed and worn loose. It is much longer than Karen’s and somewhat wavy. The hint of an incredible body suggests itself from beneath her jacket. I return her stare with no emotion. I give her nothing to push against. Instead, I meet her head on in the void with a heart full of apathy. Her eyes shift away for a nanosecond. I let my own gaze fall away in victory. “Give me that fucking pipe,” she snaps to Kevin.
He is in mid-toke. Without missing a beat, he continues his inhale while shooting a sideways glance back at her. “Woman…” he croaks while holding his breath.
“I want some fucking chocolate,” the dark haired woman at the end of the table says in a long dreamy voice. This is Daisy. She has the beauty to match Betty but seemingly none of the hatred. They both look young but at least 21. She’s rolling some weed into a spliff using a piece of newspaper. Tyler moves over slightly and tries awkwardly to put his arm around her. She throws his hand off with a shrug, “I didn’t say I wanted you crawling all over me. I said I wanted some goddamned motherfucking chocolate.”
Tyler puts his hand back in his lap as he smiles and shrugs. Daisy smiles across the table to Betty who winks back at her. Daisy’s eyes are green and hints of purple streak through her dark brown hair.
Karen sits next to Kevin caddy corner from me. She sits hunched over with her shoulders drawn in. She stares into the glass of water in front of her. She is a million miles away from this place.
Betty looks at her and flicks her tongue in the air. She turns back to Daisy and smiles and winks again. Daisy holds up her badly rolled joint and shrugs.
“So what brings you to this neck of the woods?” Tyler beams at me. “Did you live around here or did you get stuck here like us?”
I shovel in another mouthful of soup. “Stuck,” I say and swallow. “I was trying to get out West when I heard what was coming.”
“West from where?” Tyler asks.
I look around at my fellow diners. Even Karen is listening. “East of here,” I say and take another bite of soup.
Daisy rolls her eyes and lets her hands land on the table with a thud. “No shit.” She turns the badly rolled joint over and over in her hands. Both she and Betty are hard around the edges. They have an air of jail and plastic surgery. They must be strippers. “Where’d you guys come from?”
“ I’s over in Louisville,” Kevin yawns and leans back in his chair. “Went to the titty bars. My buddy Travis and me. Little smoke, little coke, go over and watch the girls here work.” Kevin smiles at Betty who gives him the finger. Kevin ignores her and continues. “Travis went outside to get
The first bowl of soup and rice had gone down fast. The ground hog had been poorly cooked and the little dark clumps of meat were tough as shoe leather. The bones had been boiled into a watery broth and seasoned with too much black pepper and some fairly raw wild onions. But I still can’t remember the last time I ate something hot and salty and flavorful and delicious. My stomach gurgles as the food fast tracks through my body.
“Yeah, I think I will. Thanks,” I say as I dish more rice into my bowl.
“Why the fuck are we feeding this guy?” the skinny blonde woman at the end of the table asks. This is Betty.
I look at Kevin as I reach for the soup ladle. “Don’t worry bout it, man,” he says in a long exhale of skunk. “She just takes a while to warm up to people.”
I look over at Betty who is staring me down with the craziest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Her long blonde hair is brushed and worn loose. It is much longer than Karen’s and somewhat wavy. The hint of an incredible body suggests itself from beneath her jacket. I return her stare with no emotion. I give her nothing to push against. Instead, I meet her head on in the void with a heart full of apathy. Her eyes shift away for a nanosecond. I let my own gaze fall away in victory. “Give me that fucking pipe,” she snaps to Kevin.
He is in mid-toke. Without missing a beat, he continues his inhale while shooting a sideways glance back at her. “Woman…” he croaks while holding his breath.
“I want some fucking chocolate,” the dark haired woman at the end of the table says in a long dreamy voice. This is Daisy. She has the beauty to match Betty but seemingly none of the hatred. They both look young but at least 21. She’s rolling some weed into a spliff using a piece of newspaper. Tyler moves over slightly and tries awkwardly to put his arm around her. She throws his hand off with a shrug, “I didn’t say I wanted you crawling all over me. I said I wanted some goddamned motherfucking chocolate.”
Tyler puts his hand back in his lap as he smiles and shrugs. Daisy smiles across the table to Betty who winks back at her. Daisy’s eyes are green and hints of purple streak through her dark brown hair.
Karen sits next to Kevin caddy corner from me. She sits hunched over with her shoulders drawn in. She stares into the glass of water in front of her. She is a million miles away from this place.
Betty looks at her and flicks her tongue in the air. She turns back to Daisy and smiles and winks again. Daisy holds up her badly rolled joint and shrugs.
“So what brings you to this neck of the woods?” Tyler beams at me. “Did you live around here or did you get stuck here like us?”
I shovel in another mouthful of soup. “Stuck,” I say and swallow. “I was trying to get out West when I heard what was coming.”
“West from where?” Tyler asks.
I look around at my fellow diners. Even Karen is listening. “East of here,” I say and take another bite of soup.
Daisy rolls her eyes and lets her hands land on the table with a thud. “No shit.” She turns the badly rolled joint over and over in her hands. Both she and Betty are hard around the edges. They have an air of jail and plastic surgery. They must be strippers. “Where’d you guys come from?”
“ I’s over in Louisville,” Kevin yawns and leans back in his chair. “Went to the titty bars. My buddy Travis and me. Little smoke, little coke, go over and watch the girls here work.” Kevin smiles at Betty who gives him the finger. Kevin ignores her and continues. “Travis went outside to get
Similar Books
