The Survivors Book III: Winter by V. L. Dreyer Read Free Book Online

and I managed to get to a barn.  I'm up in a hayloft, out of their reach.  Apparently they can't climb, so that's pretty awesome.  Downside is that I'm trapped up here.  I have some food, but my water's almost gone.  I managed to shoot one, but there are six more down there.  I don't think they can get up here, but… I don't know."
    " I'm almost there.  You just need to keep it together a little bit longer, okay?  Now, tell me exactly where you are."
    " Yeah… yeah, okay.  Yeah."  I paused and blinked up at the sun, trying to get my bearings.  "I'm a little bit north of the road that runs westward out of Ohaupo.  There's a house.  It used to be painted blue, but it's faded now.  So, you know, faded blue.  It has a collapsed roof in the front.  There's a barn about a hundred meters further back.  That's where I am.  There are mutants in the barn, though.  Be careful.  I don't think I… I—" Tears welled up in my eyes.  I knew I was rambling, but that was the concussion kicking in.  "I don't think I could handle it if anything happened to you.  I love you.  I love you so much."
    " Nothing's going to happen to me," he told me in that deep, husky voice that sent shivers down my spine every time.  "I am coming for you, do you hear me?  Just stay strong a little bit longer.  I love you, too, and I won't let anything happen to you.  Not again.  Okay?"
    " Okay," I agreed softly; the weakness I could hear in my own voice was alarming, but I was too exhausted to care.  I switched the radio off and clipped it back onto my belt, then lay my head against the old wood and settled in to wait.
    ***
    I had no real sense of time passing as I waited, drifting in and out of consciousness.  Every so often, one of the mutants below me would snarl or yowl and bring me awake again, but I couldn't see what they were doing.  I could hear them circling below me, like a school of piranhas, just waiting for me to come down so that they could devour me.
    " Leave me alone," I mumbled sleepily, closing my eyes.  Maybe if I wished hard enough, they'd go away, and I could just go home.  That'd be nice.  I missed home.  I missed Michael.
    " Sandy?  Are you still with me?"
    " What?"  I blinked owlishly, startled by the unexpected voice.  It took a few seconds for my addled brain to comprehend that it was actually coming from my radio.  I picked the radio up and pressed the receiver.  "Hey, I'm here.  Please tell me you're nearby."
    " I am.  I see you.  Look towards the road."
    I lifted my head and stared into the distance.  My eyes didn't want to focus properly, but I could just make out the figure on the big quad bike, waving at me.  Relief rushed through me as I raised my hand and waved back.
    " Thank God.  I don't feel good, and the barn is full of mutants.  What do I do?"
    " I'm going to give them something else to worry about," he answered, his voice deep and commanding even through the radio.  With a direct line of sight to him, the connection was as clear as a bell.  I could almost feel his arms around me… right up until he threw a spanner in the works.  "You just get ready to jump."
    " Wait, what?  Jump?"  I shot a glance down at the ground below me.  "Are you crazy?  That's gotta be like three, maybe four meters."
    " Don't jump now, silly," he answered dryly.  "Just get ready.  I'll tell you when to jump."
    " I'm not sure I like this plan, but… okay," I agreed grudgingly.  "Be careful."
    While he was doing whatever he had to do, I quickly unloaded my shotgun and shoved the spare rounds back into my pocket, then strapped the gun to my back.  If I was going to have to fall that far, then having the gun loaded was a terrible idea, even with the mutants swarming below.  Besides, Michael said that he had a plan.
    Once I was ready, I inched close to the edge of the platform and watched him getting ready.  I couldn't see the details, but I could see him doing something with an object in his