Torn Apart (Book 1): Terror In Texas by C.A. Hoaks Read Free Book Online Page B

into the back seat next to Amy scarcely able to control the bile at the back of his throat. Jake slammed the back door closed then jerked the passenger door opened.
    Jake slid into the front seat and pulled at the door, but an infected had wrapped its fingers over the top and reaching toward him. The blood-covered soldier’s vice-like grip forced the door back open. The barrier became the prize in a tug of war with Jake wrestled against the infected soldier’s steely grip.
    “Drive, damn it!” Jake yelled.
    Larry jammed the vehicle in gear and stomped the gas despite the open door. A blossom of black appeared on the infected soldier’s forehead. The soldier’s grip relaxed, his body slid down against the door leaving his fingers still hooked over the door. He was shot.
    “What the fuck?” Jake looked at Larry and saw he had both hands wrapped around the steering wheel, no gun in hand. He glanced over his shoulder at Matt who was barely sitting upright. “Who fired?”
    “Damned if I know!” Larry answered. “Close the fucking door!”
    Jake pulled the door shut severing off two finger tips still clinging to it. The infected disappeared down the side of the vehicle just as another shot echoed in the distance.
    Larry slammed his foot into the accelerator and raced over another fallen infected toward the entrance of the alley. They rolled over three more newly felled bodies as they spilled into the morning glare.
    “We had help but beats me who in the hell they are.” Matt looked out the window just in time to see a rifle barrel disappear from a nearby roof top.

Chapter 6
River Rats
    Liz pulled herself to her feet and ran. She could hear the infected getting closer. They were stumbling down the embankment all around her. She heard moaning and faltering steps following her, but she was focused on escaping the infected in front of her. She didn’t have time to look over her shoulder.
    Tears slid down her face as she dodged around outstretched arms. She prayed sending her girls through the fence would keep them safe. With her they had no chance, they would have died. She could only pray Amy would find a safe place to hide.
    “Run Amy” She called out. “Hide! I WILL find you!”
    Twenty minutes later, Liz was exhausted and could barely stay ahead of the infected still following her. She had no choice but to keep running away from her daughters if she wanted to survive. Even though she was leading a growing crowd of infected away from her daughters, she was also moving farther and farther away from them herself.
    Her sides ached, her breath grated in her throat, but she kept moving and dodging around the blood-covered, creatures. Their reaction to her passing was slow and confused. By the time the infected grabbed for her, she was out of their reach. She just had to keep moving and not let them close in around her.
    Liz’s mind fought to make sense of the horror movie come to life. What could cause people to turn on each other and tear flesh from their victims? Liz was terrified for her husband and daughters. She prayed they would stay safe.
    She passed three vehicles and noticed a van parked at the side of the street with a side door open. She had outpaced the closest infected and dodged around the stalled cars. She knew she could not continue at her current pace, so she duck-walked around the car nearest the van keeping low enough the infected could not see her. She eased up to the van and peeked inside. When she saw no movement, she slipped inside and slowly slid the door closed as quietly as she could.
    The van smelled of insecticides and chemicals. The smell was so overpowering she had to fight to keep from gaging. She looked around and noticed one of the sprayers had been tipped over and chemicals were still dripping on the floor of the van. She righted the sprayer and used a rag to mop up the liquid and dropped the cloth out the window. With the chemical smell saturating her sinuses, she couldn’t tell if