The Dead Series (Book 4): Dead End by Jon Schafer Read Free Book Online Page B

out how to take them all apart to make sure the barrels, gas chambers and bolts weren’t jammed up or plugged and that the firing pins were intact. The pistols came next, but they had worked out a system by this time, so it went slightly faster.
    When t he last piece was finally snapped into place, as the man fumbling around with it finally figured out how to get the cylinder back on his revolver, Tick-Tock gave a silent sigh of relief. The trainee looked up at him as if expecting praise that he’d finally gotten it right, and Tick-Tock had to bite back an acid comment at this. He knew that if he had more time, he would break these people down before he built them back up, but he didn’t have time. Time was their enemy. He didn’t have the time to give them a thorough training, so he needed to use a combination of praise and a boot in the ass to get everyone ready to move. He wanted nothing more than to get down in this guy’s face like a drill instructor and scream that if he ever finished last again he would be doing bends and motherfuckers until he puked, but this was not to be.
    Forcing a smile, Tick-Tock gave the man a strained, “Good job,” before saying in a louder voice to everyone, “now we need to go through your packs and make sure you have everything you need and that you’re not carrying a bunch of crap that you don’t. I want everyone up on their feet with their weapons in front of them. If you still have a pack, put it at your right foot and your sleeping bag at your left.”
    They all rose from the blankets and sheets they had laid out on the floor of the recreation room to break their weapons down on and stood at a semi-posture of attention. Two of them picked up their packs and started to rummage through them until Tick-Tock stopped them with a barked, “Did I tell you to do that?”
    The packs were immediately dropped , and the whole group went rigid.
    Lowering and shaking his head in mock disgust, Tick-Tock said, “We went over this before. We need to act and think as one. If you want to be an individual, you’re going to die like an individual.” Pointing at the first woman that had picked up her pack, he asked, “Why?”
    Stammering slightly, she said, “I knew we were going to go through them, so I figured I’d pick it up and get started.”
    “I’m only going to tell you this one last time,” Tick-Tock said in a stern voice. “You only do what I say to do when I say to do it. Nothing more, and nothing less. I don’t expect you all to become some kind of Rambo, zombie killer ninja assassins, nor do I want you to be. That’s not what I’m trying to do here. All I’m trying to do is teach you how to survive. Your greatest asset is staying in a group, moving as a group, and thinking and acting like a group. To do this, you need to follow some simple instructions. If you learn to do that, we’ll all make it through this to safety. Are we clear on this?”
    The , “Yes, sir,” came almost as one voice, giving Tick-Tock hope.
    Looking at Denise standing behind the m, he raised one eyebrow. She smiled and blew a kiss at him before taking over. With a list in her hands, she said, “We told you all before to make up a new pack if you lost yours in the minivan, so I want everyone to pick up their backpack and dump it out in front of them. Get everything out of the side pockets, too. You might have been ready to go before, but that was in a vehicle. Now we’re going on foot, so you’ll need to carry only the essentials.”
    When the contents of the assortment of book bags, packs and even a few pillowcases they had scrounged were scattered in front of them, she continued, “I want everyone to place their bag in their left hand and pick up each item with their right and hold it up as I call it off. If you don’t have that item, raise your right hand.”
    When they were ready, she called out loudly, “One pair of pants.”
    When everyone had them in their hand, she said, “Roll them