Read Online Until the End of the World (Book 2): And After by Sarah Lyons Fleming - Free Book Online
Authors: Sarah Lyons Fleming
Tags: Zombie Apocalypse
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and whisper, “So I’m not crazy?”
“You’re a little crazy.”
He chucks me under the chin, but I can’t shake the panicky feeling in my belly. There’s so much that can go wrong, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before our luck runs out. We escaped Brooklyn. We made it here. I’m in bed with Adrian, something that should have been impossible. A person can only be so lucky. I feel tears brewing and clench my teeth. I barely cried all winter, but this time I lose the battle.
Adrian pulls me to him. “Don’t cry, sweetie. We’ll be all right.”
I nod into his chest. I want to cross my fingers, knock on wood, throw some salt in the hope of keeping bad luck away. I know it won’t do any good, but there are two things I don’t think I could stand to lose, and they’re both in this room with me right now.
CHAPTER 14
Ana’s been on duty at the gatehouse all night, and now she rushes into the kitchen. “There’s a pod of Lexers at the tower.”
Adrian’s at the tower, the little cabin on stilts before the first gate. I drop the fork in the bacon pan and turn to Mikayla, who shoos me out with wide eyes. I wrestle my gloves over my sweaty hands and pick up my cleaver at the door. We rush out the back door and into the lot that holds the vehicles. Ana opens the ambulance door, and I take the passenger’s side.
“Caleb’s gone to the tents to wake everyone.” She hands me her radio. “Here, call. They’re fine. Nothing can get to them up there.”
I press the button. “Adrian? We’re coming!”
“Cass, we’re fine,” he says in a calm voice. “There’s only fifty of them, and the ladder’s up. Relax.”
He’s surrounded by Lexers, and he’s telling me to relax. Nelly opens the rear doors and climbs in with Jamie, Shawn, Dan, Caleb and Marcus. Ana thrusts the key into the ignition and revs the motor. She’d barely driven before Bornavirus, and now she drives like she does everything else—maniacally. There are thumps and curses from the back when she does a donut and races down the driveway. She slams on the brakes beside Peter at the first gate, which results in several more thuds from the back.
“What’s the plan?” he asks.
Killing them through the fence is easy, but taking on fifty in a clearing is a good way to get killed. I speak into the radio. “Adrian? What do you want us to do? Should we come down and lead them away?”
“They’ll just come back. We’re going to spike them and then shoot the ones we can’t reach. We’ve got plenty of ammo. Might draw some others, so we don’t want you guys out here. We’re fine.”
It’s killing me how calm he is. Doesn’t he know this is when a person is allowed to freak the fuck out? I stare at the radio and grit my teeth.
Nelly kneels in the opening that connects the back to the cab and rests a hand on my leg. “He’s fine, darlin’.”
I take a breath and speak into the radio. “Okay. We’re up at the gate. Tell us when it’s safe.”
“We will.”
We sit in silence. The entrance that allows vehicle access to the farm is corrugated metal, with a viewing platform on either side. I climb one and stand in the early morning light, wishing I could see what’s happening a quarter of a mile down the road. But I can only stare at the trees while I imagine them dropping the long spikes into the top of the Lexers’ skulls from the cabin’s walkway. I jump at the first gunshot; now they must be going after the ones they can’t reach.
Movies make you believe that head shots are easy. Point, pull the trigger and you’re good. Center mass is easy, but it’s a lot harder to get a head shot in a moving person than they would have you believe. Head shots can be tricky on paper targets, but add in the movement, fear and lack of time to properly sight, and they become extremely difficult. Adrian’s good at this, though, and he has time on his side. I know he’s safe, but it’s out of my control, and I hate that
“You’re a little crazy.”
He chucks me under the chin, but I can’t shake the panicky feeling in my belly. There’s so much that can go wrong, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before our luck runs out. We escaped Brooklyn. We made it here. I’m in bed with Adrian, something that should have been impossible. A person can only be so lucky. I feel tears brewing and clench my teeth. I barely cried all winter, but this time I lose the battle.
Adrian pulls me to him. “Don’t cry, sweetie. We’ll be all right.”
I nod into his chest. I want to cross my fingers, knock on wood, throw some salt in the hope of keeping bad luck away. I know it won’t do any good, but there are two things I don’t think I could stand to lose, and they’re both in this room with me right now.
CHAPTER 14
Ana’s been on duty at the gatehouse all night, and now she rushes into the kitchen. “There’s a pod of Lexers at the tower.”
Adrian’s at the tower, the little cabin on stilts before the first gate. I drop the fork in the bacon pan and turn to Mikayla, who shoos me out with wide eyes. I wrestle my gloves over my sweaty hands and pick up my cleaver at the door. We rush out the back door and into the lot that holds the vehicles. Ana opens the ambulance door, and I take the passenger’s side.
“Caleb’s gone to the tents to wake everyone.” She hands me her radio. “Here, call. They’re fine. Nothing can get to them up there.”
I press the button. “Adrian? We’re coming!”
“Cass, we’re fine,” he says in a calm voice. “There’s only fifty of them, and the ladder’s up. Relax.”
He’s surrounded by Lexers, and he’s telling me to relax. Nelly opens the rear doors and climbs in with Jamie, Shawn, Dan, Caleb and Marcus. Ana thrusts the key into the ignition and revs the motor. She’d barely driven before Bornavirus, and now she drives like she does everything else—maniacally. There are thumps and curses from the back when she does a donut and races down the driveway. She slams on the brakes beside Peter at the first gate, which results in several more thuds from the back.
“What’s the plan?” he asks.
Killing them through the fence is easy, but taking on fifty in a clearing is a good way to get killed. I speak into the radio. “Adrian? What do you want us to do? Should we come down and lead them away?”
“They’ll just come back. We’re going to spike them and then shoot the ones we can’t reach. We’ve got plenty of ammo. Might draw some others, so we don’t want you guys out here. We’re fine.”
It’s killing me how calm he is. Doesn’t he know this is when a person is allowed to freak the fuck out? I stare at the radio and grit my teeth.
Nelly kneels in the opening that connects the back to the cab and rests a hand on my leg. “He’s fine, darlin’.”
I take a breath and speak into the radio. “Okay. We’re up at the gate. Tell us when it’s safe.”
“We will.”
We sit in silence. The entrance that allows vehicle access to the farm is corrugated metal, with a viewing platform on either side. I climb one and stand in the early morning light, wishing I could see what’s happening a quarter of a mile down the road. But I can only stare at the trees while I imagine them dropping the long spikes into the top of the Lexers’ skulls from the cabin’s walkway. I jump at the first gunshot; now they must be going after the ones they can’t reach.
Movies make you believe that head shots are easy. Point, pull the trigger and you’re good. Center mass is easy, but it’s a lot harder to get a head shot in a moving person than they would have you believe. Head shots can be tricky on paper targets, but add in the movement, fear and lack of time to properly sight, and they become extremely difficult. Adrian’s good at this, though, and he has time on his side. I know he’s safe, but it’s out of my control, and I hate that
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