Badlands Trilogy (Book 3): Out of the Badlands by Brian J. Jarrett Read Free Book Online Page A

said.
    Lester’s face assumed a mask of concern. “Your folks are gone?”
    Sam swallowed hard. “Yeah. We were staying at a place with some other people, but not anymore.”
    “What happened?” Lester asked.
    “A tree fell on the fence and…something got in and killed everybody.”
    “Something? You mean carriers? Or animals?”
    Sam shrugged. He lowered the pistol a foot or so. Lester doubted he even noticed he’d done it. “I don’t know. They weren’t carriers exactly, they were something else.”
    “I’ve seen them,” Lester said. “Pale, almost pure white. Sharp teeth and claws. Only come out at night. Sound about right?”
    Sam’s eyes lit up. He lowered the pistol all the way, pointing it at the ground. “That’s it!”
    Bingo, Lester thought. “I’ve seen them from a distance, at least. I don’t think many people who’ve been up close and personal with them live to tell the tale.”
    “We saw them up close,” Sam said, his eyes wide. “The light hurts their eyes. They attacked us as night and I used my camera’s flash to blind them. Gave us time to get away.” He paused. “Well, Chloe and me.”
    “What exactly are they?” Chloe asked.
    “I don’t know yet,” Lester replied. “But I think they have something to do with the virus.”
    Sam nearly came out his skin. “That’s the same thing I said! Maybe not a carrier, but some…mutant carrier!”
    “You might be on to something there. They’re bipedal, but clearly not human. They’re also not carriers, at least not the carriers we’ve seen over the past few years. It can’t be a new species of animal because a species can’t just crop up in a matter of months. It takes hundreds of thousands of years, sometimes millions of years, for a species to evolve.” He paused, raising his eyebrows. “So if a species can’t just spring up overnight, what’s the only thing in recent years that’s affected humans so drastically?”
    “The virus!” Sam exclaimed.
    “Exactly. If you ask me I think the carriers are changing. These new creatures might be mutants like you said, or possibly the next evolution of the carrier.”
    “They don’t come out in the daytime.”
    “Well, that’s when the other monsters come out,” Lester said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “The human monsters. Lots of bad people out these days. Cutthroats and the like cruise these roads. I’ve seen them plenty. And believe me, I know a psycho when I see one.”
    Sam nodded. “Right. You’re a shrink.” He paused. “No offense.”
    Lester smiled wide. “No offense taken. I don’t even know if I’d call myself a doctor anymore. Doesn’t seem to be any such thing these days, at least not my kind of doctoring. Maybe I’m just a guy who knows a lot about how the mind works.”
    Sam chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”
    “Say, how about I walk with you two for a bit?” Lester said. He noticed some residual apprehension spread across their faces. “Hear me out. I know the dangerous stretches of this road. I’ve spent a lot of time on it. I keep moving these days. If you stay in one place, eventually they’ll find you. On the move you can avoid them. I’m not sure where you guys are headed exactly, but I can help you navigate the bad areas. Then we can part ways or keep going, totally up to you two. I won’t be offended either way. Besides, you two have the guns. What do you say?”
    The pair looked at each other and then back at Lester. He raised his eyebrows, making his eyes wider. A trick on their subconscious to reinforce that he was harmless.
    “Give us a minute,” Chloe said.
    “Take your time,” Lester said, still smiling.
    Chloe took Sam a few yards away. They huddled together like a two-person football team discussing their next play. Their mouths moved, but Lester couldn’t make out what they were saying. He could tell from their body language that the girl wasn’t sure. But the boy, he was on board.
    A few minutes later the pair