The Fall (Book 2): Dead Will Rise by Joshua Guess Read Free Book Online

be ready for them. Better immobile and ready than to flee into unknown road conditions with enemies on our tails.”
    Mulling it over, he eventually agreed. “You're right. Plus it will give me time to scrounge up a zombie and test a theory.”
    Laura shook her head, wisps of red hair drifting from her ponytail. “I think you should wait until we get to Kentucky, Kell. It's way too risky out here. Besides, you wouldn't have the time you'd want to observe and record.” She pointed to the vials still resting in his hand. “Why don't you tie those back up, stick that thing in the safe, and try to work out ways to cure people instead of just thinking of ways to kill the undead.”
    He smiled at her, a thin and fluttery thing, coming back to ground level as his excitement faded. “Of course. You're right.”
    Laura grinned at him. “I usually am.”
    She set the lock before she left, the door closing with a heavy click behind her. Kell sat staring for long minutes, mind working out the possibilities, the endless permutations of all the available data.
    The rack went back into the safe, locked in tight and secure from casual harm.
    Wrapped thickly in fabric and bundled together, the three vials went in the pouch on his belt.

Four
     
    The sky gaped wide above him, stars shining bright. At three in the morning, Kell barely noticed them. There were no fires, no sources of light to make it easier to spot them by anyone who might be watching. On his stomach, on top of the RV, he watched for trouble.
    His turn on watch duty would be over at dawn, when the rest of the camp rose and readied to travel. When Kate woke him for his shift, he'd worried the other migrants would be careless, forcing him and the other three people in his group to spread out and watch the entire camp themselves.
    Faint guilt flushed his cheeks as he scanned the starlit hills. He needn't have worried; the migrants posted twice the guards his own group used, operating in pairs and disciplined enough to meet even Laura's strict requirements.
    Every guard wore their armor, and while Kell's own people were covered in the bits and pieces of gear acquired or constructed over time to create full body armor, the rest of the migrants used more streamlined material. Heavy cloth layers sewn together with dense stitching around the seams. A few of them wore Kevlar over their cloth armor, and he suspected the rest wore theirs below. Overall, the stuff would work well against the undead, if not so much when dealing with knives or bullets except for low-velocity rounds.
    Still, it was more foresight and preparedness than most of his group expected. Which, when he thought about it, was stupid and dismissive. These people had survived The Fall, too. Seen and dealt with situations more severe than anyone could have dreamed a few years before. Kell thought them weak and lazy given their time in the relative safety of North Jackson's walls.
    The weapons in their hands reflected glints of moonlight from wicked edges and points. Whatever else these people might be, they were not easy prey.
    Kell shifted his weight, careful to avoid putting any pressure on his belt pouch. Kate called it paranoia to live in his armor the way he did, always ready to flee at a moment's notice. His pouch, loosened slightly to allow him to lay flat, carried not only the vials containing samples of the New Plague, but also homemade ammonia grenades, sealed blood bait, and an assortment of other things he'd rather not crush. The ladies chided him for carrying an arsenal at all times, and for wearing his backpack everywhere he went.
    The rest of the unit had begun to do the same. Once they reached Kentucky, safe in their new home, they would all relax that discipline. During the trip, Kell didn't want to be caught weaponless for even a second.
    The long hours crept by slowly, the world turning beneath them as the stars gave way to the first gray tones of dawn. Below, Kell watched the other guards move from