Read Online Wormwood Dawn (Episode IV) by Edward Crae - Free Book Online Page B

churning with hunger, Dan pulled into the gas station, carefully navigating through the maze of burned out vehicles to reach the parking lot. The station was mostly destroyed, with broken out glass, crumbled cinder block walls, and gas pumps that were ripped from the ground. The large awning that covered the fuelling area had collapsed, and several semis that were parked in the lot had been overturned.
    It was a fucking mess.
    Dan pulled the Hummer up to the curb, glaring at the destruction. Though there was little of the station left, there would possibly be something leftover he could eat. He hoped so, anyway. His stomach was churning, and his mouth was bone dry.
    He shut off the Hummer, grabbing his shotgun from the passenger seat and quietly stepping out. Everything was quiet; a little too quiet. He pushed the door closed, avoiding slamming it as he normally would. There was something in the air that told him to be discreet.
    The full-length windows made an easy entrance into the station’s café area. Here, the machines and tables were broken and scattered; cream and sugar packets covering everything. There was a donut rack that was overturned with its contents spilled everywhere. No matter, day old donuts were bad enough; much less, month old.
    Dan rounded the corner into the main area, aiming his shotgun in front of him. He swept it from side to side as he scanned the shadows, his heart racing for some reason. But there was nothing. All was quiet here. Still, he couldn’t help thinking that the mutant killer would pop out of the darkness at any time.
    There were still cigarettes left behind the counter, he noticed. He grabbed a pack and tore it open with shaking, anticipating hands. He grabbed a lighter from the display and lit one, feeling the heavenly rush of nicotine as it entered his lungs.
    “Oh yeah,” he whispered as he exhaled. “That’s right.”
    He grabbed several packs that were left over, stuffing them in his pockets, and headed toward the shelves. Though most of them overturned and empty, there were a few bags of jerky, some candy bars, and shit tons of gum and hard candy. He grabbed everything he could; filling his pockets with whatever would fit.
    The coolers along the back wall caught his attention. Again, they were mostly empty, with the exception of random brands of bottled water, rotten bologna, and a few six packs of shitty beer. He immediately reached through the broken door and grabbed a bottle, cracking it open and guzzling it. Though it tasted like shit, it hit the spot.
    “From the land of sky blue waters, waters, ” he sang.
    A sudden thump in the back room startled Dan as he finished the beer. He set the bottle on the floor, bringing up his shotgun and pointing it at the swinging doors by the counter. There was another thump, a dragging sound, and a moan.
    Shit, he thought, ducking down and moving along the only standing shelf. He stopped at the end, crouching and peeking around the shelf’s edge, and waited. The shuffling continued, growing louder by the second, still followed by the dragging sound. Dan’s heart began thumping, and his skin crawled as he anticipated the inevitable. He would wait to cock the shotgun, though. There was no reason to put any zombies on alert.
    The swinging doors flapped open, banged against the walls, and flapped closed again. Dan could see the withered hand of something behind them; something that had pushed them open. The thumping sounded again, and the doors flapped open a second time. Behind them stood a strange creature; a type he had never seen before.
    It was rotted and covered in fungus; half of it, anyway. The flesh was torn midway through its chest, with the left half of its human skin hanging off and dragging on the floor behind it. The exposed flesh underneath was white and sinewy, appearing as hard as boiled leather. The creature’s face was split down the middle, and the open gash was lined on either side with hooked fangs that