The Lingering Outbreak At Hope Cove by Ben Brown Read Free Book Online

pipe.
    Sally’s brow furrowed as she considered the question. “When I was eight, my mother died, and daddy started treating me like some fragile doll. He sheltered me from all the things that made life hard. He did it because he loved me.” Tears started to fill her eyes and Jon turned his gaze to the fire. “I know he did it because he thought it was the right thing, but I now feel as if I am ill prepared for the future. I know daddy pictured me marrying some well-to-do lawyer or doctor from Boston, but I guess those dreams are a thing of the past.”
    “Maybe not,” Jon said as he blew out a smoke ring. “Humanity has always survived plagues, and it will survive this-un. Hold on to dreams, Sally, they help when times are bad. That said, you didn’t answer my question. Can you bring yourself to kill those things?”
    Sally cuffed her eyes dry, and then nodded determinedly. “Yes, I think I could.” She then fixed Jon with pleading eyes. “Or at least I could if I knew for sure they were no longer people. The one that pinned you, it used to be the pastor, but it weren’t no more. Were it?”
    Jon smiled kindly. “The pastor died the moment he got bit. The thing my boy killed were no more the pastor, than he were human.”
    She nodded. “I guess you are right, but how would I kill the things? I ain’t never fired a gun and I ain’t got no weapon.”
    “Leave the guns to Cal and me, but we will need to find you something to defend yourself with. Teaching you to use a bow will take too long, so it will have to be a hand weapon for you. We should reach Warrington tomorrow; mayhap we will find you a good knife, or even a sword.”
    Sally’s face turned pale. “You mean I would have to kill them up close?”
    “Hopefully all the killing will be done by me and the boy, but you need to be able to defend yourself. Learning to fire a gun or shoot an arrow takes time. Time we don’t have. I hope that you won’t need to defend yourself from those creatures, but we can’t live on hope. As my dear old pa used to say, ‘Pray for rain, but dig a well while you pray.’
    “Once we find the rest of my family, we'll head north to join Naalnish and his tribe. Once we are safe I’ll teach, you, Tilly, and Emily, how to use both gun and bow. I suspect the coming years will see a need for such skills in women and men alike.”
    Sally’s gaze turned to the rabbits, and as if wishing to change the subject, she said, “I think they are done.”
    “I think so too. Give yon sleeping beauty an elbow in the ribs.”
    She giggled and did as asked. The three ate in relative silence, and then Callum took first watch. His father slept with one eye open, a trick taught to him by Chief Qaletaqa. It was not that he thought his son would fall asleep; rather he did it because of years of self-discipline. He never slept with both eyes shut, not unless he was safe in his own bed.
     
    ***
    With the rise of the sun, the three travelers and Hector prepared to move on. The night had passed without incident, which filled the three with a slight ray of optimism. Maybe things were not as bleak as they had first thought.
    The three traveled the road side by side, and for almost the whole day, the going was good. There were no signs of the creatures, or of any panic. In fact, for all intents and purposes, they owned the road. They saw no one, not a single traveler, not a single coach. This in itself seemed ominous.
    “Pa, how busy is this road normally?” Callum asked.
    Jon could not help but hear the unease in his son’s voice, an unease he too shared. “Well,” he said as he drew to a stop, “this road feeds all the settlements north of Warrington. Normally it is heavy with carts and coaches.”
    “Do you think Warrington is overrun?” Sally asked as her horse moved nervously beneath her.
    Jon’s eyes first fixed on her, and then he moved his gaze to his son. Finally, he said, “I think it might have. If those monsters have reached