The Dead Walk The Earth II by Luke Duffy Read Free Book Online

of the infected were consumed. Glass shattered and roofs were already beginning to collapse in on themselves as the immense heat ravaged their wooden frames.
    “So much for avoiding contact,” Marty remarked.
    Bull looked at him and grinned. His face was glowing brightly in the reflection from the fire. Beyond the entrance to the alley, he could see hundreds of dark figures making their way along the street and headed directly for the glowing flames. Safe from detection and tucked away in the shadows, Bull and the others sat and watched in awe for a few minutes as hundreds of diseased human shapes were reduced to nothing more than charred bones.
    “Come on,” Danny said as he patted Marty on the shoulder and turned to lead them off into the darkness. “This alley will lead us back into the street where we started. Hopefully, it’ll be clear at this end and then it’s a straight run to the PUP.”
    Each of them prepared themselves to move. They checked their weapons and ammunition, ensuring that they were ready to fight if necessary.
    “I used up three mags in that gang-fuck,” Bull grunted, shaking his head as he raised himself to his feet.
    In single file they moved off. Bull brought up the rear and as they reached the far end of the alley, the roaring fire had become nothing more than an orange glow over the rooftops of the houses. The occasional pop and crunch could be heard as structures collapsed but otherwise, the night was silent again as the men made their escape through the darkness and back into the rural areas.

 
    3
     
    “Did you mean those things you said before?”
    She turned and looked back at him. He was barely visible but she could just about see his bulk, shrouded in shadow and sitting at the far end of the sofa. She could hear his fingers scraping out the last of the tuna from the tin, quickly accompanied by the smacking of his lips.
    Since they had moved up into the manager’s office and barricaded the door shut, they had barely spoken a word. They had sat in silence as the light outside beyond the large windows of the spacious room slowly faded and was replaced by the oppressive blackness of night.
    “You said I was fat and threatened to leave me behind. You said some really horrible things, Tina. Did you mean them?”
    She thought for a while and then nodded.
    “Yes, Christopher,” she said softly as she realised that he could not see the movements of her head. “I meant what I said, but I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    There was a sudden deep intake of breath from the far end of the couch and Christopher began to reply but then she cut him short. Tina realised that she had not made herself clear in her reply and she did not want to have to listen to him during his triumphant ascent towards the emotional high ground.
    “I mean,” she began to correct herself. “I meant what I said about you being fat, not that I would leave you there to be eaten by those things.”
    Silence filled the space between them for a few minutes. At first Tina wondered if Christopher was contemplating what he was going to say next but then she heard his sniffles. He was crying again.
    She was confused about her own emotions at first. Initially, she felt sorry for him as he sat with his head in his hands and his slumped shoulders quivering, but her feelings rapidly changed when she remembered the events that had occurred earlier in the day. It had not been the first time that they had been in trouble because of him, and she was confident that it would not be the last.
    Her sympathy was quickly turning to anger as the minutes ticked by but now was not the time to lose her temper with her emotionally delicate brother. She held her breath and counted backwards from ten while he cried away beside her. She concentrated her thoughts and feelings on the fact that they were safe for the time being and had a place to hide. She did her best to sweep the images of gaping mouths and gnashing teeth from her