The Survivor Chronicles (Book 3): The Forsaken by Erica Stevens Read Free Book Online Page A

the other side of the grocery store, but it froze when it heard the commotion.
    They'd sent out scouts , he realized in horror. Scouts that most people wouldn't have thought to look for as no normal person would expect them to be above them.
    He hit the doors at a dead run and shoved them open with his shoulder. He didn't expect any of the sick people to still be back here, but then he hadn't expected them to set such an elaborate trap either. With his gun raised, he searched the shadows as he ran toward the exit.
    "They're coming!" Riley cried.
    "Please don't let the door be blocked!" John panted as he ran beside Carl. Carl crashed into the bar on the exit door as the swishing sound of the doors swinging open behind them reached him. For a second he didn't think the door was going to open as he shoved his shoulder into it and pushed forcefully against the bar.
    He practically fell on his face as the door gave way beneath him and he plummeted outside. Someone grabbed hold of the back of his shirt, causing him to gag as the collar tightened against his neck and briefly cut off his air supply. John yanked him back to his feet as Xander spun and slammed the door shut.
    "Get me the dumpster!" Xander gasped. His face was florid as he pressed his back against the door and braced his legs on the ground.
    A loud bang echoed from behind Xander as the sick people inside the store crashed into the door. John released him and lurched awkwardly for the dumpster. "Help me," John grunted to the three strangers standing near him as Riley threw herself against the door with Xander.
    One of the men bolted away from them and ran toward the woods bordering the back of the store. Carl cursed as the resounding thudding against the back door began to grow. The girl moved to help John as Carl got behind him and started pushing the dumpster. Carl's nose wrinkled at the ripe smell of the garbage, but the dumpster started to groan as its wheels began to turn. The other man joined Xander and Riley as a strange howling erupted from inside the store.
    John's eyes widened as he shot Carl a look. "Almost sounds like werewolves."
    "Screw you," Carl returned breathlessly as Xander, Riley, and the man got out of the way in time for them to wedge the dumpster against the door.
    Carl wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm as he surveyed the area around them. From the sounds of it, he thought all of the ones that had been inside were beating against the door, but he wasn't about to fall for that. Going back for the car was out of the question, he knew that. The woods behind the store offered some protection but he couldn't shake the feeling that the woods belonged to those people now.
    "This way," the girl said and started running toward the right.
    Carl glanced at the others but there was little choice right now as the howling at the back door had ceased. "Hurry," the man encouraged.
    Carl didn't have to be told twice as he broke into a brisk run behind them. His lungs began to burn before they made it to the end of the supermarket and he was laboring to breathe in the stale air. He was beginning to rethink his thoughts on not quitting smoking as they sprinted across the back of the stores bordering the grocery store.
    They grabbed at the doors of the other buildings as they ran, but none of the doors gave way to their grasp. Carl chanced a look over his shoulder, he didn't see anything pursuing them but that didn't mean anything. He fell back as Xander and Riley began to lag. Though Xander wasn't complaining, he was beginning to sweat excessively and his limp had become more pronounced by the time they got to the end of the street.
    The businesses fell away and homes started to replace them. Xander wasn't going to make it much farther if they didn't find somewhere to hide soon. The man ran up the back steps of one of the houses and twisted the handle. The door opened with a groan of hinges that almost made Carl balk against the idea of going in