Survive by Todd Sprague Read Free Book Online

Nancy, and their husbands Kurt and Roger, as well as their children. “We can get this sorted out then.”
    They all agreed to reconvene in the morning. John and Sara hugged May and June goodnight, then walked back to their cabin, Princess dutifully following along, only occasionally stopping to sniff at this or that.
    Sara and John got ready for bed. Despite the long, terrifying day, or perhaps because of it, they made love that night, a frantic, hurried kind of love that left them both exhausted. They drifted off into uneasy sleep to the sound of Princess snoring like a freight train.
    * * *
     
    Sometime later, still pitch black outside, they were awakened by a loud crash, followed by the sound of a car horn blaring. John jumped out of bed, throwing on his shorts to cover up his nudity. He stepped in to his shoes, and headed out the door, grabbing his carbine on the way out. Sara followed as quickly as she could, tucking her little Beretta into the pocket of the bathrobe she hastily threw on. They ran toward the road, just beyond John’s parent’s driveway. As they drew closer, both Harold and Patrick caught up with them. Patrick had a double barreled shotgun over one shoulder. Across the road, a beat up old Ford F 250 had driven into the ditch, and now the rear wheels where up in the air, spinning impotently. The horn was still blaring, engine running.
    Patrick shined a flashlight in to the cab of the truck. They stared in stunned silence as the saw a form slumped over the steering wheel. Another form was hunched over that one, moving rhythmically, slowly. As the light filled the cab, a woman jerked up and revealed herself. Her face, especially her mouth, was covered in blood. A chunk of gore hung from her mouth as she chewed.
    “Holy shit!” Patrick said, leveling the double barrels at the truck. John was faster, bringing his AR 15 up to ready position and firing one shot through the rear window of the truck. The woman’s head snapped back, blood spattering all over the front windshield. She slid slowly to the right and dropped out of sight.
    Harold opened the driver’s side door, allowing the figure inside to slide to the left and fall out onto the dirt road. They could then see that it was a male, covered in blood.
    “Amos Hopkins. That must be his wife Sissy.” Harold said, pointing back into the truck. “They live a couple miles up the road.”
    “Dad, get away from him.” John said, calmly. His carbine was trained on the dead man.
    Everyone jumped as the dead man suddenly sat up, even John, who thought he was ready for it. He fired at the same instant Sara fired from right behind him. The man’s head exploded from the simultaneous assault.
    “What the frig?” Patrick yelled. “He was dead! Holy hell, how did he just get up?” Patrick held the shotgun out in front of himself as if to ward off the twice-dead creature.
    “Weren’t you listening earlier?” John asked. He moved to the door of the truck, making sure the female inside was truly dead as well. She had a bandage on her left arm, as well as a hospital bracelet.
    “Damn. They’re already here. I thought we’d have more time.” said John, shaking his head slowly.
    They turned the truck off and put Amos Hopkins back in the truck with his wife, closing the doors behind them.
    “We’ll take care of them in the morning.” Harold said as they walked back to the driveway. “I think I’ll stay up awhile. No sense in trying to sleep now.”
    “Alright Dad. Just be careful. Holler if you need me.” John and Sara walked back to the little cabin. John took Sara’s hand.
    “You’re pretty damn good with that gun, little lady.” John said in his best John Wayne voice.
    “Ayup. Good thing you took me to the range all those times. And here I just thought you were trying to show my ass off to all your shooting buddies.” Sara gave said body part a little extra wiggle as she walked.
    “Oh most definitely that too!”
    * * *
     
    As he stood