The Quest: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 6 by Darrell Maloney Read Free Book Online Page B

When Tom was told of their plans, he let out a slow whistle.
         “I definitely don’t envy you good folks.”
         The man told him, “Yeah, we know. We set out way too late. But we figure if we can make it as far as Kansas City before winter sets in, we can hold up there until spring. It might take a whole year to get to Minnesota but we’ll make it.”
         The wife added, “We have to make it. The people up there are the only family we’ve got left. Everyone else died. Even our baby, from the plague.”
         “Well, we wish you a safe journey, and will pray you get there safely.”
         It was the walkers which worried Tom the most. Some had been friendly, and others had looked shady. A couple of them eyed the pair’s horses in obvious envy.
         “We’ve got to protect what’s ours,” Tom had told Sara the first day on the trail.
         Part of that process was finding a safe place to bed down each night.
         And that was why Sara was on the pole. She was looking for a clearing in the nearby woods, a quarter to half a mile away. From that distance, no one would be able to see their small campfire after darkness fell. They might be able to smell it if the wind was right. But like an echo in a canyon, smoke in the woods was hard to pin down.
         She also kept an eye out for a water source. They brought enough water for two days’ ride. That meant that every other day, they had to find water they could boil to refill their canteens.
         But that wasn’t a problem. This part of Texas was littered with playa lakes, ponds and streams.
         Most of them also had a healthy population of fish or frogs.
         “Okay, Tom, There’s a small clearing due east. Maybe a quarter mile. And there’s a pond just north of that, maybe a hundred yards or so.”
         “Hot dog! We’ll be eating good tonight.”
         On the first night of their journey Tom had scored two catfish and a couple of bullfrogs as well. Sara ate her fill of the fish but shied away from the frogs.
         “I’d have to be awful darn hungry to eat Kermit and his friends.”
         That struck Tom as funny.
         “But it doesn’t bother you at all to eat Nemo’s cousins, huh?”
         “That’s different. Fish are made to be eaten. Frogs are made for…”
         She was suddenly at a loss.
         “I honestly don’t know what frogs are good for. To hop around and go ribbit , I guess.”
         “Well, food might not always be easy to come by. If you get hungry enough you’ll eat it, I’m pretty sure.”
         “You’re probably right. But I’m not that hungry yet.”
         As Sara climbed off the tower, Tom put a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet.
         Then he pointed to a jackrabbit about seventy yards away. Only the top half of its head was visible above the heavy grass.
         He spoke in a whisper.
         “Think you can do it?”
         “Oh, hell yeah.”
         She took a .22 rifle from a sheathe on her saddle. The .22 was for hunting small game on their journey.
         Tom had a deer rifle for the bigger game they might come across.
         Sara took a knee and took steady aim. She chose as her target a spot in the grass about six inches below the rabbit’s eyes. That was where she expected his chest to be.
         She took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. Through her scope she could see her prey slowly turn his head and look directly at her.
         Then she saw him fall.
         The dead rabbit was on their way to the clearing where they’d build a small campfire and spend the night.
         “You know,” Tom said as they led the horses, “Before the blackout most people wouldn’t eat a jackrabbit. The meat’s tough and gamey. But these days, with meat being scarce and all, you gotta get it wherever you can.”
         “How bad do you think it was, Tom? In the cities,