The Hungry (Book 3): At the End of the World by Steven Booth, Harry Shannon Read Free Book Online

‘em—six hundred thousand dollars! ”
    “And a minivan,” said Miller absently. She continued to stare at the contents of the folder they’d found on the admissions desk. The papers Greta had left for them. Good lord. Why can’t life ever be simple?
    “Thank you!” Scratch waived his hand in Miller’s general direction. “See, even Penny agrees with me.”
    Miller didn’t even look up. “I didn’t say I agreed with any of you dipsticks. I was simply stating a fact.”
    All three of the men turned to look at her. Scratch opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Sunlight streamed through the windows on the lake side of the lodge. The day was gorgeous, the ground outside white with snow. If we weren’t so well and truly fucked, thought Miller, I would say it was actually beautiful up here.
    “And here’s another fact,” Miller continued. “If I read this document correctly, we all seem to be the proud new owners of a slightly used hunting lodge.” She held up the signed papers. “I’m no contract expert, but I’d say this looks pretty legal.”
    “We really own the place?” Terrill Lee jumped on the chance to redeem himself. “Owning a lodge is better than owning a minivan, right?”
    Sheppard shrugged. “Yeah. Whatever owning something means these days.”
    Miller looked at Sheppard and nodded. “That’s precisely my point, Karl. But until the zombies are gone and the damned courts mean something again, I’d say this place is ours one way or the other.”
    “This joint ain’t got wheels,” said Scratch. “And it also ain’t got a big bag of money.”
    “Scratch, out of all of us, I would have figured you to be the one who’d understand.” Miller set the papers down on the desk. She turned to face the three men. “Your idea was to find someplace safe to hole up for the duration. Look around you. We got a roof, four walls, a view of the lake…”
    “Kinda pretty,” Terrill Lee said quietly. Then he shut up again.
    Miller turned to the side. She pointed off to her right. “Gentlemen, I can see some scoped hunting rifles and twenty-gauge shotguns standing in that gun case from here. There’s electricity, now we have hot water as we’ve discovered, probably some decent food, and if those big-assed windows hold out, best of all, a defensible position. Not to mention a collection of enough twenty-year-old paperback novels to last us a year. I’m not sure that’s worth six-hundred-forty-thousand dollars—plus a fifty thousand dollar minivan,” Miller waved to cut off Scratch, who looked like he was about to say something. He shut up too. “But this was your plan from the beginning. We don’t like the price, but I figure at least we got what we came here for.”
    Terrill Lee beamed like a kid let off the hook. Scratch frowned. Sheppard nodded. Miller was satisfied to have them motivated again.
    “We should inventory the place,” said Sheppard. He stood up. “I want to go check for medical supplies and we should see how much ammunition we have. Just in case.”
    “Now you’re catching on,” Miller said. “Let’s make the best of this.”
    “I suppose,” Scratch said. There was a deep frustration building behind his eyes. He wasn’t stupid—not by a long shot—but this was clearly not the result he was hoping for. Still, he respected Miller enough to reign in his rage.
    Terrill Lee clapped Scratch on the shoulder without thinking and almost got punched. “Smile, Scratch. Penny is right. You got your wish.”
    “Be careful what you wish for,” said Sheppard in a singsong, just loud enough to be heard. “Okay, I’m going to start with the kitchen, Penny.”
    “Excellent. Terrill Lee, go pick an end of the building, work your way back here and see what you can find. You and Scratch ought to separate for a time anyway. Everybody get some paper and a pencil, take it with you and write stuff down. Let’s get a complete map of the lodge and an accurate inventory. Meanwhile,