Born In The Apocalypse by Joseph Talluto Read Free Book Online Page A

candle, I kept both hands on my bow, ready to fire at a second’s notice.
    “Let’s get that sheet off; see what we can see,” Trey whispered.
    I personally thought that was not the greatest idea because I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what I could see.  But I walked carefully over to the sheet and gave it a yank.  The sudden brightness blinded us for a second, and when we could see, it wasn’t a good thing.
    The Trippers had been here, no doubt about it.  There were a lot of dark stains all over the floor, and bloody handprints streaked the walls and doors.  There was a strange smell in the stale air, and the candle was burning slightly brighter for some reason.
    “I don’t like the looks of this,” Trey said, walking slowly down the hall.
    “Little late, don’t you think?” I said, bringing my bow forward and adjusting my fingers on the string.
    “Let’s just check a couple rooms, and get out of here.” Trey said.
    I personally thought that wasn’t a better idea than walking around this hallway, but what did I know?
    Trey went to a room and tried the door.  The handle moved easily, and we took a look inside, gagging a little from the stench that greeted us at the door. The room was decently lit since the window was uncovered, and I really wished it hadn’t been. 
    There were four people still in that room, and they looked terrible.  There was a young man in a curled up position near the door, and he almost looked like he was sleeping except for the huge dark stain under his head and shoulders.  If we pushed him over, I’d bet my bow his throat had been torn out.
    Another body was on the ground, and this one was even more gruesome than the last.  Its stomach had been torn open, and the guts had been thrown all over.  Ropes of intestine hung from the desks and chairs, and something that looked like a liver was off to one side.
    Two more small bodies were on the ground, and they looked like they hadn’t been torn open, but rather had their heads bashed in on one of the desks.
    I couldn’t help myself.  “Gee, wonder what the next room is like?”
    Trey backed away with me and didn’t say a word.  We had seen what Trippers could do when the rage was on them, and this was nothing new.  I’d never seen it so up close before, and it was weirdly fascinating.
    “I think we’re done up here.  Even if there was something here, I don’t want to get it.  We’ll let our dads know after we finish hunting,” he said.
    I wondered about that.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell my father about our little trip.  I don’t think he would have approved.
    Trey led the way, and we backtracked the way we had come.  It was a relief to get back downstairs and get away from the smell and the feel of death all over the place.  Trey turned left when he exited the big double doors and headed down a long hallway which I thought took us east, but I was slightly turned around.
    The hallway was nearly without doors or windows, but there was a single door to the north as we ventured further into the gloom.  Trey put a hand on it and looked back at me.
    I shook my head, figuring there was nothing here worth keeping, so just leave it alone.  Trey silently agreed, and we moved on.
    About one hundred yards down the hallway, we found another set of double doors.  By this time, I had figured out where we were and what it as we were standing in front of.
    “It’s a side door to the gym,” I said.
    “How do you know?”
    “Because the name on the side says ‘GYM’.” I said, trying out my new sarcasm.
    Trey wisely avoided the trap and pulled on the door handle.  It wasn’t very dark here since we were close to a side door, but since we didn’t know what was in the gym, we kept the candle lit.
    I stood off to the side, drawing my string back.  If there was something on the other side of the door, I’d rather greet it with an arrow than my face.
    Trey peeked around as the door slowly closed and stopped it with