My Zombie Summer (Book 1): The Undead Road by David Powers King Read Free Book Online

smell of their own. As gross as it sounded, I couldn’t think of a better kind of Vector repellant.
    “It is only you or is this a caravan?” Cody asked.
    “Just us,” Dad said. “I know we’re a bunch of outsiders. Will your people be happy to see us?”
    “You’re in Nebraska—most neighborly state in the country, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be happy to see you. I sure am, though.” Cody gave Kaylynn a wink.
    I thought Kaylynn would give Cody one of her I’m-going-to-smash-your-face-in glares, but a hint of color rose to the surface of her pale cheeks—a soft pink. I couldn’t believe it. We had found her less than an hour ago and she was already crushing on another guy?
    It shouldn’t have surprised me. The girls I knew liked the tall, buff, complete jerks. Then you have guys like me, a toothpick in comparison, who would treat a girl better than his own self. If she gave me a chance, I would build Kaylynn a pedestal and keep flowers on it!
    That’s kind of creepy—ditch the pedestal, keep the flowers. Whatever. I didn’t have time for jealousy junk. We had to survive the night. That’s what mattered.
    “Give us a second, would you?” Dad turned back and asked Kaylynn and me to come in the car. When we did, Dad rolled up his window—it was time for another family meeting. “This could be a safe haven.”
    “How do we know it’s safe?” Mom asked. She seemed objectionable, but open.
    “We don’t,” Dad said. “It’s worth looking into.”
    Jewel wasn’t listening. She was too busy head-bobbing to something on her iPod. When she noticed that everyone was staring at her, she hit pause and yanked the buds from her ears. “Something happen?”
    “There’re people in this town, Jewel,” Kaylynn said. “There’s a guy outside.”
    “What guy? Where?” Jewel peeked out the window, enough so she could see. “Hey . . . he’s a hottie!”
    Dad groaned. And so did I. “I’m not making any promises. If they’re willing to trade for gas, we can make it to the Rockies in a straight shot. Or if this is a sound place, maybe they’ll let us stay.” Dad gave Jewel, Kaylynn, and me an equal share of his famous grin. “Just leave all the talking to me, you three. At the first sign of trouble, we’ll high tail out of here. Copy that?”
    The three of us nodded in unison.
    Dad rolled his window down. “Where do we go?”
    “I’ll catch a ride on your back.” Cody passed my door and went to the rear of our car. It jostled when he climbed onto the bumper. Chloe made a little growl in her throat when Cody slapped the roof a couple of times. “Head down this road. I’ll tell you when to turn.”
    We drove east, away from the lowering sun. Some quiet time would’ve been nice, but Jewel couldn’t wait to ask Kaylynn about Mr. Blond-Rambo. Mom asked about the Vector that he’d left in the road, and then she lectured me—and Kaylynn—for leaving the group. I chose not to listen. It was Kaylynn’s fault, anyway.
    We passed a few houses and vacant lots. Many of them fit the narrow stereotype of what I thought a small country town was like: laidback, rundown, faded siding, weathered porches. Some had their doors smashed in. Others had broken windows. Not the work of Vectors.
    “Turn right,” Cody said. “Head down this road!”
    Dad took the turn slowly and we headed south on 9th Street. The pavement was almost white. It had more cracks, lines and tar sealant than I’d ever seen. House after house and tree after tree, Dad checked all of the intersections before crossing them. If this was a safe place with plenty of people around, maybe we could stay. Or we could drop Kaylynn off and move on, but the idea of leaving her alone with a vulture like Cody leering at her body, exposed to his constant ogling—
    Yeah. I pretty much hated that idea.
    The east side of town was as plain as the west. All the buildings were sandwiched between the two routes. I didn’t bother to look. I couldn’t