The Hungry (Book 2): The Wrath of God by Steven Booth, Harry Shannon Read Free Book Online

the antidote, the super strength had evaporated. She was just a mortal now. "Look, damn it, a zombie just got one of your men!"
    Hanratty got it. Her eyes changed. She turned to look where Miller's eyes were pointing, but one second before she looked Dale and the zombie fell backwards, onto the ground below some crates. They were probably really getting acquainted by now. Hell, Dale would likely be coming back himself in a few minutes. Hungry.
    "Where is he?"
    "Goddamn it, Major!" Miller protested. Psycho handcuffed Miller and dragged her back to the helicopter. Inside the cargo bay, Sheppard and Scratch jumped to their feet the second they saw Psycho roughly handling Miller. They moved to brace the soldier, one to each side.
    "What the hell do you think you're doing?" said Sheppard.
    Scratch took two bold steps toward Psycho. The soldier stiffened at his approach, drew his sidearm. Scratch stopped. "What the fuck is your problem, jackass?" Nevertheless, Scratch kept his hands open and away from his sides.
    "Zombies!" cried Miller. She was visibly shaken and struggled against her restraints. "Damn it, Scratch, they're right outside."
    "Where?" cried Terrill Lee. He looked out one of the windows. "Holy shit!"
    Psycho's resolve to follow orders crumbled then and there. He weakened and peeked out of the window. Then Psycho jumped back, jaw dropped wide with shock. Outside, the zombie had stood up, blood dripping down its torn shirt. It was flanked by two others, one of them a freshly reanimated soldier named Dale. They were almost on top of Brubeck.
    "Rat, we got hostiles!" Psycho shouted into his microphone. He dropped Miller's arm, and ran from the cargo bay, weapon at the ready. Shots rang out—small popping sounds dulled somewhat by the engines.
    Helpless and unarmed, Miller, Terrill Lee, Scratch, and Sheppard watched out the windows as Psycho came down the cargo ramp, shooting as he ran. Brubeck turned just in time to see the danger. He ducked just as the zombie Dale reached out for him. By this time, the entire team had been alerted. They all responded at once, firing at will, and the zombies' brains were immediately turned to red and gray mist by a hail of bullets. The torsos collapsed onto the tarmac and Dale's bled out in pulsing crimson waves. All of this happened within seconds and in pantomime, those awful sounds masked by the continuous strop of the heavy rotors.
    Miller and the others watched through the windows as the mercenary team stood over their fallen comrade. They conferred for at least one full minute. Some kind of a decision was reached. Then the loading operation continued, but at a much faster pace. Miller thought the soldiers seemed a lot more serious, and a bit less cocky. They worked in pairs, concentrating on the contents of one large crate. Hanratty was grim and alert, standing guard.
    Sheppard approached Miller. "You okay, Penny? We need to talk."
    "Yes we fucking do. And yes, I'm okay. But talking will have to wait. Right now we have to get us some weapons and pronto."
    "Agreed," Scratch said. "One way or the other."
    A few minutes later the huge unmarked crate, along with a few other large boxes, had been rolled into the cargo bay on an electric pallet truck and fully secured. The team was efficient again, but Miller could see she'd been right. They all seemed shaken by their first encounter with the living dead. Good, they were finally in the damned loop.
    Miller watched. She was upset, and furious at being handcuffed, but not insensitive enough to go head to head with Hanratty after the loss of one of her team members. Miller knew all too well how that felt. So she sat quietly, her stomach rumbling, while the soldiers got their shit together and prepared for departure.
    Well, now it's on.
    On board, Major Hanratty avoided looking at them. But as she gave the order for the pilot to lift off, she met Miller's gaze. Miller saw rage in her eyes. When she saw that Miller was still handcuffed, Rat