The Mortis Desolation (Book 1): Mortis by Logan Rutherford Read Free Book Online Page A

disappeared around the corner.
    I held my breath. My heart thumped in my chest, pumping fear and adrenaline through me. Sweat began to bead on my brow as my throat completely dried up.
    The Xenomortis let out a heart-stopping roar. It sounded like a million soldiers storming into battle, yelling all the way.
    The thuds stopped, and so did my heart for a brief second.
    Two distinct squishing sounds penetrated the silence.
    I looked up to the side-view mirror, and the Xenomortis appeared around the corner, covered in black zombie blood and guts. The Xenomortis walked past the zombies without looking back, and the group of about ten zombies shuffled behind, following it as if it was their master.
    The Xenomortis went around the left of the car and disappeared from view. I listened as it shuffled toward the hardware store. The sound of metal being torn apart filled the air, and my mind raced at the possibilities of what could be happening.
    I sat up, but motioned for everyone else to stay put. I crawled up to the front of the van and peeked out the driver’s mirror.
    The Xenomortis shuffled toward the hardware store, heading straight for the open back door. After a few moments, it reached it, and didn’t stop as it disappeared into the darkness of the store, with the zombies following right behind.

Chapter Fourteen
    A fter a few moments of dead silence, everybody else sat up. They all looked out of the window making sure the Xenomortis was gone.
    “Where did it go?” Peter asked, searching the outside for any sign. Then he saw the destroyed chain-link fence. “Don’t tell me…”
    I nodded my head. “It and the zombies all marched right inside the hardware store.”
    “You mean the zombies followed it?” Daniel asked.
    Before I could answer, John jumped in. “Do you think we could talk about this while we’re driving away from one of the most dangerous situations we could ever be in?”
    “Yeah,” I said as I moved to the passenger’s seat.
    Everybody held their breath as Julia started the van. I swore it had never been that loud before. Julia did her best not to just punch it. She eased the van forward until there was enough distance between us and the hardware store that she could accelerate without the engine noise attracting any unwanted attention.
    “So where were you?” John asked.
    “The zombies,” Daniel began. “You said they followed the Xenomortis.”
    “Yeah, that’s right,” I said. I turned around in my seat to get a look at the three guys in the back. “The Xenomortis got the zombies’ attention, and the two that ignored it, it killed.”
    “Holy shit,” John hissed.
    “I saw part of it too,” Peter said. The color had yet to return to his face. “It was unreal. I couldn’t believe it. It was like the Xenomortis was recruiting, or ordering, or…I don’t know what. It was insane, though. And the fact that it went into the hardware store with the atras is even worse.”
    John looked at Peter, puzzled. “What does the Xeno going in there mean?”
    Peter gave John a blank look. “I don’t know, John. I have no idea. But whatever it is, it cannot be good. I doubt the Xenomortis was going in there to get an atras body for us.”
    I turned around in my seat and looked out the windshield, watching the town go by as we headed toward the Interstate. To say I didn’t feel good about any of this would be an understatement. There was too much happening at once. Too much change going on, and I couldn’t grasp any of it. I missed the days of simple scout runs, even though those days were just a few ago. I missed shooting the shit with Pike as we drove back from one of those runs.
    But most of all, I missed Ashley.
    The knot in my stomach hurt so much I wanted to cry. But I wouldn’t let myself. I was a leader now. I had to be strong. If I wanted to cry, I’d have to save it until I was alone.
    I couldn’t wait to be alone.
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    W e crossed over the trench's dirt bridge, and Julia parked