The Swiss Family RobinZOM (Book 5) by Perrin Briar Read Free Book Online

only one thing we can do with them,” Bill said.
    Flap, flap.
    Flap, flap, flap.
    Flap, flap.
    “It’s coming back,” Fritz said.
    “I don’t think it’s just one,” Bill said.
    The foliage burst open, and a dozen of the disgusting creatures flew out of it, spinning and grasping, kicking and punching at any and all contenders, living or alive.
    The Robinsons ran.

Chapter Three
    The skin cracked and popped, and the smoke smelled like fried bacon a month past its use-by date. The limbs, still jerking and jiving, crawled out of the fire in different directions, leaving a zigzag trail of fire in their wake.
    Bill collected them and tossed them back onto the fire. He watched, unblinking, as the pieces of undead flesh finally stopped moving under their own volition and only jerked under the popping of burning wood.
    The night air was chilly. Bill hugged his jumper around himself and poked at the blackened shards of bone that remained in the fire.
    “Penny for your thoughts,” Liz said.
    Bill looked up and was surprised to find it was dark.
    “Where are the boys?” he said.
    “They’re asleep,” Liz said.
    “How long have I been staring at the fire?” Bill said.
    “About three hours,” Liz said. “Something on your mind?”
    “It’s nothing,” Bill said.
    Liz gave Bill a look as if she didn’t believe him.
    “It’s these creatures,” Bill said. “We had one of them. We beat it, hammered it, hacked it up into pieces until we were exhausted, and it still ran away. Nothing should still be alive after a beating like that. But it’s out there somewhere causing havoc. There’s no way to beat them.”
    “Of course there’s a way to beat them,” Liz said. “We just haven’t thought of it yet.”
    “Short of setting fire to the entire island, there’s nothing we can do,” Bill said. “They’re unstoppable.”
    “Nothing is unstoppable,” Liz said.
    “These things are,” Bill said. “There’s no way around that. Maybe if we had a pit of acid we could drop them all in…”
    Bill shook his head.
    “It’s no good,” he said. “They’ve evolved beyond anything we’ve seen up to now. I’m sick of nature being against us. When is it going to work in our favour?”
    “Does anything ever really work in our favour?” Liz said. “That’s how life makes itself interesting, by making it unpredictable.”
    She leaned her head against Bill’s shoulder.
    “I think I’d prefer a boring life,” Bill said.
    “We’ll come up with something,” Liz said. “You’ll see. Come on. Let’s go to bed and think this through in the morning.”
    Bill’s legs felt stiff. He walked bent and hunched over. He leaned back, stretching the muscles in his back. He turned to follow Liz, and stopped. He turned back to the ashes. Something was snagged on an upturned log. It was a singed square flap of skin. It had a tattoo on it – the snake swallowing its tail. Bill picked it up and held it in his hand. It was still warm.
    There was something about it, something that held his attention, something he remembered… He turned it around at ninety-degree intervals, and then stopped. His eyes grew wide and he dropped the square of skin.
    “Oh my God,” he said, face turning pale. “That’s impossible.”
    “What?” Liz said. “What is it?”
    “This is the tattoo from the creature we caught today,” Bill said.
    “Yeah, so?” Liz said.
    “I thought I recognised it when we were hitting it,” Bill said. “Now I know where I saw it before.”
    “Wait,” Liz said. “You’ve seen this before?”
    “Yes,” Bill said. “I have. I know who the creature was. He was the noisy man in the bar from The Long Journey, at the next table to us. I remember looking at him, annoyed because it was hard to hear the radio. He turned back to his friend and I saw this on the back of his arm.”
    Bill picked up the skin and extended it to Liz, who scrunched up her face and didn’t take it.
    “So?” Liz said. “What