Rotting to the Core (Keep Your Crowbar Handy Book 2) by S.P. Durnin Read Free Book Online Page B

and
disappeared down the hallway at speed. He watched zombies stagger
around and, once again, marveled at her ability to move so quickly
without making any sound. It was a bit unnerving, actually. When
they'd sheltered (read: been trapped) in George Foster's immense
Columbus safe-house, more than once she'd startled Jake badly when
he'd turned around to find her sitting next to him at the table. Or
in the motor pool. Or on the roof . There'd been no warning.
No footsteps, no rustle of cloth, no stray breeze caused by her
approach, nothing. She'd just suddenly been there. At that
point, Jake was inclined to believe her claim that 'Mom, taught me
the Ways of the Ninja'.
    Besides, he'd seen Kat fight.
    He wondered if she could teach him how to
move like that.
    “Back's all clear.”
    O'Connor started at her quiet voice near his
ear. Once his heart rate went back to normal, he turned his head
slightly to find Kat looking over his shoulder, not quite touching
the side of his face with her own.
    “That's very off-putting, you know.”
    “How so?” Kat asked, not taking her eyes of
the horde.
    “What if you scared me and I'd I jumped into
the doorway?” He managed not to leap from his hiding place next to
the entrance in surprise, but it was a near thing.
    Kat shrugged, giving him an easy smile. “You
worry too much. You didn't freak out. And you didn't scream like a
little girl either. I'm impressed. Really.”
    “I will spank you. And it will hurt.”
    “Promises, promises.” Cho bumped a hip
against his and nodded towards the rear of the building. “Come on.
I checked the street out back. Not a maggot-head to be seen. Let's
flee.”
    Jake followed her through the dark lobby. “I
think the word is retreat.”
    “Are we coming back?”
    “Oh, hell no.” Jake shook his head.
    “Then we're fleeing. Retreating suggests the
intention to eventually return and continue fighting.” Kat
cracked the back door slightly and double checked the area before
hopping down the outer stairs one by one. “Since we're not going to
do that, we're most definitely fleeing.”
    He raised an eyebrow and followed Kat down a
side alley. “That's a pretty fine distinction. How, exactly, did
you come up with it?”
    “Hey, don't let the cool hair fool you.” Kat
blew a rogue strand of her blue-dyed pixie-cut away from her eyes
and noiselessly pulled her sword. Swiveling it into a Zatochi or
reverse grip so the blade sat up against the back of her arm, the
pretty Ninja-girl began strolling almost uncaringly down the alley,
all the while humming tunelessly to herself.
    O'Connor didn't know what to say to that.
Despite what some of the other members of their party believed, he
knew Kat was quite intelligent and possessed a frighteningly quick
mind. It was just a little difficult for people to realize that,
mostly due to her habit of being distracted by nearby discussions.
Or articles of clothing. Or even shiny objects. He just rolled his
eyes and followed her swaying hips, trying mightily not to stare at
the “Hello Kitty” patch stitched to the left buttock of her pants,
towards refuge.
    They were trotting past Wilmington's Dairy
Freeze when everything went pear-shaped.
    Kat stopped as she came abreast of the
dumpster in the alley on the building's southern end, did a double
take, then yanked Jake down beside it. He began to demand an
explanation, but she quickly clapped a firm hand over the writer's
mouth, forestalling any comment. She tilted her head to the left,
crossed her eyes, and let her tongue loll out of her mouth, then
nodded in the direction they'd been heading. Kat's meaning was
clear enough, even if her mode of communicating it was a bit
ridiculous. When Jake nodded, she removed her hand from his
face.
    “How many?” he breathed.
    Kat glanced around the dumpster quickly.
“Enough. Take a look. Carefully.”
    Jake moved into a squatting position and
slowly rose just enough so that his eyeballs topped the