All That I See - 02 by Shane Gregory Read Free Book Online Page B

early. We’ll have a few hours to drive around.”
     
    She went upstairs, and I went out on the front porch to get some air. I looked out across the property, and I had a little flashback about the day I lost Jen. I’d been standing on that very spot shooting zombies while my friends were trapped in the truck. Th e truck was still there, but as ide from the damages to it where I had crashed into it , there were no traces of the violence that day. The bodies had been burned, the blood and gore had been either washed away by the rain or lapped up by some animal. This really was a good place. Had we put a little more effort into securing it, everyone might have survived that day.
    Sara and I had not confirmed that the menstrual cycle attracted the creatures, but we would know soon enough. We hadn’t talked about it, but I figured she would be having her period any day now….or should have had it already.
    There was some movement out in the pasture in front of the house near one of the watering troughs. It was one of the chickens. I was amazed the poor thing had survived all this time. I looked around for the other one, but I didn’t see it. Chickens usually stuck together, so either the other one had died during the past couple of weeks or it was off somewhere laying an egg or brooding. With all of the zombie activity, I didn’t think it would be easy to catch them. They would probably be wary of people.
    The front door opened and Sara stepped outside.
    “I can’t sleep,” she said, coming out and standing next to me.
    “ Good to know one of the chickens made it,” I said, nodding toward the pasture.
    “ The other one is around somewhere, ” she said. “I saw them both out there this morning.”
    “I’m curious,” I said. “Shouldn’t it be about time for your period?”
    “I’m late,” she said.
    “How? I mean—“
    “I don’t know. Stress probably.”
    “Oh.”
    We continued to stare out at the pasture.
    “Well, it’s bound to come,” I said. “When it does, we need to be in a secure location, just in case it is something that affects the infected.”
    “We should go back and check on our seedlings,” she said. “They’ll need to be watered. I hope those men didn’t steal all of our food and supplies.”
    “Chances are, they did,” I said. “They have the M-four.”
    “I’m really worried abo ut Nicholas and Judy,” she said, “e specially with those men in town. I’m afraid something has happened to them.”
    “Let’s go right now,” I said. “I’m going to need you to drive; I’m still not a hundred percent.”
    We drove the Crown Victoria. Sara still had her AR-15 with a partial magazine, and the Somervilles left her a loaded .22 revolver. She told me that she and Mr. Somerville had gone out right after I got sick and collected a few supplies from some of the nearby houses. However, they had not been able to find any more firearms. My hope was that Wheeler, Corndog, and the others had ignored our school bus where we kept most of our supplies. We had enough stuff in the house for them to think that was our complete store. If they did take the bus, then we’d have to start over.
    “Let’s go over to Tucker Road first,” I said. “I’d rather not have to see that bastard if I don’t have to.” I was referring to Nathan, the leader of the group at the high school.
    “I don’t know where it is,” Sara said. “We’re going to have to fi nd a map of the area somewhere.”
    “I wouldn’t know where to get one,” I said. “It’s not like the county back roads show up on the highway maps. I always had to look them up on the internet. The map from the helicopter would have come in handy about now.”
    “ The welcome center has maps,” she said.
    “Yeah, but that’s close to town, and I think those are just city maps.”
    “No, they have county maps, too. I’m going over there. Couldn’t hurt.”
    “ Well, it could hurt, but we don’t have much of a