3.2 As the World Dies Untold Tales Vol. 2 by Rhiannon Frater Read Free Book Online Page A

T he terrifying sound of two large metal objects slamming together quickly followed .
    “ Shit,” Mr. Cloy said, his eyes going wide behind his glasses.
    Ken darted around the counter and whipped back one of the curtains. Outside were six cars : two smashed together , a van, a station wagon, and two police cruisers hemming them in. Steam was billowing out from under the crumpled hood of one of the crashed cars and people were pouring out of the vehicles. Some were shouting, others were crying. A few were covered in blood.
    “ Oh shit,” Ken said.
    Lenore took one long look at the scene. “It’s here,” she said simply.
     
     

 
     
    3.
    Things Going Bad Fast
     
    Lenore took a long hard look at the chaos right outside their door. Two highway patrol cars and the town’s only police car had the wreck surrounded. The people pouring out of the crashed vehicles were families with children, and the cops hesitated on drawing their weapons.
    Mr. Cloy opened the door slightly so they could hear what was going on. Ken reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder. She knew the gesture was not only to comfort her, but also him. She rested her hand o n his fingers and slightly squeezed.
    “ Please, we’re just trying to get away!” A young white woman with brown hair sobbed uncontrollably , holding her baby tight. “Please! We have to get away from the highway!”
    “ Ma’am, calm down,” one of the highway patrol men said. His hand lingered near his weapon, but he looked calm. “You were going over a hundred miles per hour. That ’s not safe.”
    “ I t’s not safe back there!” A Hispanic man spoke up , his face was bruised and blood was splattered over his shirt. His family was still in their vehicle. The mother leaned over the back of her seat trying to calm their children. “It’s insane on the highway. We had to get off of it !”
    “ People were hurting each other...ripping each other apart...even...even...” another woman cried out.
    “ They were eating each other!” An older white man shouted out the dramatic words . H is face was so red Lenore wondered if he was going to pop a blood vessel . “We got the hell out of the city when things started going bad, but out on the highway there was a car accident and it slowed all the traffic down. Next thing you know there are these...things...people...they were pulling people out of cars...and...eating them ! ” The man wiped his face with the back of his hand. “They pulled my wife out of the car... and I couldn’t...I couldn’t...” He began to sob and silence fell over the road.
    The Hispanic man covered in bruises and blood continued the story. “ We had to drive up the embankment to g et off the highway. Then everyone started to try and do it! We were the first ones off, so we made it to the frontage and we just floored it !”
    “ Look, we’re hearing about the violence in the cities and a thing or two about the car wrecks on the highways but that doesn’t give you the right to speed down these roads. There are children, pets, old people-” one of the highway patrolman started to say.
    “ Then give us a ticket and we’ll leave!” This was from the first woman clutching the baby. “We’ll leave!”
    The town’s only policeman, Chief Murphy, pulled up on his belt and said in a soothing voice, “Okay, everyone just calm down. I know you folks saw something bad back there, but we need to keep this orderly.”
    “ You have no idea what we saw back there ! ” one of the drivers shouted. “You have no idea.”
    Mr. Cloy leaned toward Lenore and Ken and whispered. “City folk always think they can just come out here and do what they want.”
    “ Did you hear what they were saying?” Lenore asked him incredulously. Mr. Cloy had a one - track mind, but he was being ridiculous
    Ken nodded in agreement. “I don’t blame them for freaking out. What they said sounds crazy , but look at them! They’re freaking traumatized.”
    Mr. Cloy