Zombie Games (Book 4): Road Kill by Kristen Middleton Read Free Book Online Page B

mind.
    “ You need to learn how to use a knife,” he’d said, when Justice turned eight.
    Because Jimmy couldn’t hold down a job, both Justice and his younger sister were left alone with him during the day while their mother had worked two jobs.
    “ No, please,” he’d begged.
    Jimmy had raised his finger. “Don’t be a baby, Justice. Now, I’m going to throw this knife at you and you’re going to catch it.”
    “I can’t! It’s going to cut me!”
    “Not if you catch it like I showed you. Now get ready.”
    “But why do I have to learn this?” he’d asked, scared shitless of the gleaming blade in Jimmy’s hand.
    “Because, that’s what bad guys do!” he’d spat. “They throw knives at you and try to kill you. But you’re going to be a survivor, boy. I’m going to teach you what my daddy never did, or your daddy for that matter. Now, pay attention.”
    And so they’d spent hours going over techniques that Jimmy promised would help him survive, should he ever get jumped by thugs or need to survive in a war. Oddly enough, all of the drills and combat training he’d forced upon him had helped Justice stay alive when the zombies arrived.
    Unfortunately, Jimmy, who was one tough son-of-a-bitch, hadn’t survived the vaccine. He’d turned into a zombie and Justice had been forced to kill him. It had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do, because deep down, he’d loved the man.
    “You want a candy bar?” asked Allie, holding one out. “Chocolate makes everything a little better.”
    If only it were really so.
    He smiled and shook his head.
    Justice wat ched Allie and Kylie, and hoped he could keep all of them safe. They were still just a couple of naïve little girls even through all of this mess. In a way, both of them reminded him of his younger stepsister, Amy, a little girl of eleven who’d wanted nothing more than to laugh and have fun. And she had, until Jimmy had turned into a zombie and had taken the lives of both his sister and mother. Jimmy had been the only one in the family to get the vaccine and the only one who’d died without fear. He could only imagine the complete horror his mother and sister must have felt when Jimmy had gone after them. Before Justice had gotten the chance to save either of them.
    He blinked back tears and t ried pushing the image of his mother and sister’s glossy blond hair and lifeless blue eyes out of his head, but it was difficult. He’d never forget finding them mutilated at the hands of Jimmy, who, ironically, had been the monster he’d taught Justice to defeat.
    “Justice, you okay?” asked Luke.
    He wiped his eyes quickly. “Yeah, just got dust in my eyes or something.”
    “We’ve got what we need,” he said, picking up a large blue container.
    “I’ll cover you but we need to move fast,” said Justice.
    “We’ve got some water,” said Allie, struggling with a box filled with plastic bottles. “And I found a few diet sodas.”
    “Give me some of those,” said Kylie, reaching inside. “You’re going to drop that box.”
    “Thanks, ” she said. “It was a little too heavy.”
    “Are we about ready?” asked Justice.
    “Yeah, why don’t you make yourself useful and carry something?” asked Allie. “Like those paper towels.”
    Justice grabbed a roll that was sitting on the counter, and slid it down into his tank-top. “Okay, let’s go.”
    Thunder echoed in the distance as they moved to the door.  Stepping outside, they noticed that the skies were now ominously dark.
    “Loo ks like a storm is brewing,” said Luke, glancing up as lightening flashed across the sky.
    “Maybe we shou ld hang out here until it passes,” said Kylie. The clouds were moving quickly and the last place she wanted to be was in Justice’s truck if there was a tornado.
    “No,” said Justice , feeling the hair stand up on the back of his neck. It was much too quiet outside, an eerie calm before the storm. “This place isn’t