Thirteen Roses Book Four: Alone: A Paranormal Zombie Saga by Michael Cairns Read Free Book Online Page B

human emotion yet. He’d come here a month ago ready to cause havoc and now he was scampering from a zombie that couldn’t even hurt him. He was weak and growing weaker every second.  
    A motorbike gunned next to his ear and he jumped again. Krystal was on her knees, hands tiny against the handlebars of the BMW he was riding. But the engine was ticking over. ‘Thanks.’
    ‘You alright?’
    ‘I feel stupid, but yes, I’m okay. There’s one you’ll have to deal with before we get moving.’
    He nodded past her and noticed the tight grin of anticipation on her face. He was also pleased to see her hand go straight to her sword. The zombie clambered over one of the cars towards the channel in which they both sat. Krystal stepped to meet it and as it put its hands on the bonnet, she hacked straight through both arms.  
    The creature fell straight forward, and ploughed face first into the car. He winced at the sound of its teeth shattering against the metal. It tumbled to the floor head first and Krystal buried the point of her sword in its head then yanked it out. She wiped the blade clean and sheathed it, then turned to him.  
    ‘What?’ She asked.
    He moderated his grin. ‘Good job.’
    She beamed. ‘Thanks.’
    She scampered back to her bike and mounted. He watched her for a moment, wondering why he felt pride. Why did he feel any of these things? She was nobody, one in billions… maybe that was it. She wasn’t one in billions any more, not even one in millions. They’d done some rough calculations and figured the entire population of the Earth to be somewhere around a few thousand.
    Of those, more than half were young, innocent women looking forward to a future of enforced child birth. The rest were soldiers or leaders of the soldiers, none of whom were people he’d trust to run anything, least of all Earth. So Krystal was, in many ways, the hope for the future. He chuckled and mounted his bike.  
    He followed Krystal back out onto the road and they sped down the A2. He kept his focus, despite the wind whipping his jacket and the beautiful lines he found between the cars.
    There was a surprising lack of destruction on the ride. There were a few buildings where electrics had gone and fires started, but nothing had spread. Alex was confident there would be more destruction in time, as gas pipes eroded or backed up. There would be explosions and fires, neither of which would be good for zombies or humans. Getting out into the country was the only sane thing to do.  
    He laid on the gas and pushed past Krystal then guided her up a slip road. A petrol station sat at the top and he pulled in.  
    They’d planned this and Krystal went straight up to the shop. She parked her bike and scampered through the electric doors. She knelt and pressed the lock open button before heading for the desk. The clerk emerged from behind some racks, reaching for her, and Luke bit his tongue.  
    It was more difficult than he’d expected, watching in silence and unable to do anything. But she was already moving, dashing back around the aisle and drawing her sword from its sheath. She disappeared from view and the zombie lumbered around to the front door in pursuit. There was a flash of steel and the clerk’s head, still wearing its cap, flew out of the open doors and bounced across the forecourt.  
    Moments later there was a clunk from the pump beside him as Krystal activated it. He stayed on his bike until she came out and stood near him, sword in both hands, rocking gently on the boles of her feet. She was a natural, just as he’d known. Where did his instincts come from? It could have been the millennia in hell, judging the sort of people who made attacking others a lifestyle choice. He certainly knew bad when he saw it.
    He filled up the bike, rolled hers over, and did the same. Then they were back on the road, heading away from the main road and through a housing estate. The other side devolved into an industrial park