Zombie Rage (Walking Plague Trilogy #2) by J.R. Rain, Elizabeth Basque Read Free Book Online Page A

He almost smiled at the craziness of it all. Almost.
    “ So,” Carla finally began. “Any ideas?”
    “ First of all, we can’t let him out of there,” Joe declared. Everyone nodded agreement except Anna. “Anna, you know we can’t. Look what Mike did. Hell, I was on my way to infect or kill a couple of others when Mike cured me.”
    “ Cured,” Anna repeated bitterly. “Tell me how it felt, Uncle Joey. How was it, drowning? I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I can do it.”
    “ You won’t have to, honey. Maybe you should just let the grownups decide. I know this is hard on you. Why don’t you and Jared go to the park or the zoo for a few hours?”
    “ Let the grownups decide?” Anna shot back loudly. “This is my dad’s life we’re talking about here!”
    The adults were silent.
    “He’s my dad!” she said again, eyes blazing with fury and leftover tears. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been in on this since day one. I helped you,” she pointed at her uncle, “and you.” Now, she pointed a finger at Mike. “I may be fourteen, but I’ve held up pretty well, I’ve thought straight, done research for you, done everything I could. And now you want me to go to the fucking zoo while you kill my father? No!”
    She felt a little satisfaction in silencing them all. She had never before used the F-word among so-called grownups. “I’ve got news for you,” she added. “I’m not going anywhere. I can take it.”
    “Calm down,” Joe pleaded. Anna nodded. She took Jared’s hand. No one but Jared knew how hard she held on.
    “ Okay, this is getting us nowhere,” Carla said impatiently. She needed some shut-eye. Then she needed to get back to work. Now that Joe was here—and normal —maybe he could take over. When it was done.
    A big it .
    A very, very big it .
    She took a deep breath. “Anna, I know you’re upset. But just shut up for one minute out of your life and let us talk.” She didn’t wait to see Anna’s jaw drop or Jared hold back a smile. “Joe, Mike. He’s coherent. He’s thinking again. He’s powerful. How with it is he?”
    “ He’s extremely with it right now,” Mike told her. “He will try to be as truthful as he can without letting on that he probably still wants to...” he couldn’t say it in front of Anna. “If he’s like we were, he wants to be good, but he’s not quite sure he can.”
    “ Right,” Joe echoed. “When you and Jack asked me if I was okay, I didn’t tell the whole truth. And Mike and I felt a sort of bond. We could almost read each other’s minds.”
    “ Because you were both infected?” asked Carla.
    “ Maybe,” said Joe.
    “ Probably,” added Mike.
    Carla said, “And then you two planned together how to escape.”
    “Right. I told Mike I was a pretty good lock-picker. We talked about it, planned it, and waited for you and Jack to leave. All premeditated. And it worked.”
    “ And,” Mike said, “if Joe and I could feel that bond, I’m pretty sure that Jack senses the change in Joe.”
    “ That Joe is normal?” said Carla.
    “ That’s right,” said Mike. “He knows who is ‘human’ and who isn’t. Which is why I stayed hidden.”
    “ A good idea,” said Joe. “But I’d be willing to bet he still knows you’re here.”
    Mike nodded. “And probably not too happy about it.”
    “You did try to kill Anna.”
    “ I was also out of my mind.”
    “ Try explaining that to him now,” said Joe.
    They all knew, of course, there was no reasoning with Jack. There was only curing him, if possible.
    Joe looked at Carla, then Anna. “You two can’t trust what he says. Believe me. I know you care about him but he’s just not right in the head.”
    Carla shook her head. It was so much. Was it just a couple of nights ago that she was falling in love with him? She still was. She had to remind herself who the real Jack Carter was. Kind, handsome, and a sense of humor. She’d never met a single father who cared for his