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

child the way Jack did. It was one of the traits that attracted her to him. But for now, she had to stay focused. “We were talking about the cure when he went berserk.”
    “I had just mentioned the idea about water,” Anna put in.
    Carla nodded, recalling her input. She looked at Joe and Mike. “Do you two think he remembers that conversation?”
    Mike thought a moment. “I’m not sure, really. He was pretty far gone, but for myself, I do remember some things about that stage.”
    “ I do, too, but there’s no way to tell for sure. If we ask him, he might lie,” Joe reasoned.
    “ We have to decide two things,” Carla said. “One, do we tell him? And two, how are we going to do this?”
     
    * * *
     
    In the end, and with great protest from Anna, which Carla and then her uncle overruled, they decided not to inform Jack of their plan.
    Knowledge is power, after all. Jack was in a state of hyper-awareness and considered himself invincible. Both Joe’s and Mike’s experiences were that they had no intention of going back to “normal.” When Jack realized what was about to happen to him, he would become violent, if not deadly. The instinct for self-preservation was undeniable, in humans and zombies.
    They had no way of knowing that Jack did remember, and that he was already planning a counter-attack whenever they came for him.
    Carla, exhausted as she was, realized she was the only legal person of the three adults to go out in public. They had decided to buy two large buckets for water, the kind that held about twenty gallons of water. If Jack fought his way out of one, they would have a backup ready. While she was at the hardware store, she decided to pick up three pairs of the thickest gloves they had. S he had no idea if the guys could be re-infected, but she had seen enough of this crap to not take any chances. She certainly didn’t want to go through this infection herself.
    Driving back to the Los Feliz home, she turned on the radio. Not the police radio. She thought a little music would help but when she heard “Sympathy for the Devil,” she snapped it off.
    Can’t catch a break, she thought.
    She thought grimly that the Stones couldn’t have possibly had this scenario in mind, but it was ironic nonetheless.
    Just hang on, girl, she told herself as she pulled into the driveway. Just a little longer and this will all be over.
    She couldn’t have been more wrong about anything in her entire life.
     
     
    Chapter Seventeen
     
     
    I was Jack Carter, park ranger, lover of wildlife, great father and friend to my community, but I sat chained in my own cellar and tried to think of a plan. I had time, but just a couple of hours, at the most.
    I looked around. They’d learned to clear everything out of the way. No more bobby pins...not so much as a piece of string within reach.
    They’re coming, I thought. Soon.
    Joe had come down eventually to give me some water. No food. I realized they didn’t need to think that far in advance. They would “cure” me, and I was far from happy with the method. Sure, I would fight them. Even hand-cuffed to the strongest beam supporting the house, I would lure them in with smiles and cooperative conversation, but I would fight for my new life. I felt powerful and I liked it.
    I was so hungry . Steak would have been okay, but I was now lusting for more. I craved human flesh. More specifically, brains. I couldn’t deny it any longer. It didn’t even seem odd. I could barely wait for freedom. Human flesh, brains, that’s it . Nothing else would do for me now. I would stay away from my family when I escaped, I promised myself—and escape, I would—but my desire to feed now encompassed me.
    What about Anna? I was sad about Anna. But dammit, she’s got her boyfriend now, I reminded myself . She doesn’t need me. And that hussy, Carla, will take care of Anna. If I don’t take care of Carla first...No! I tried to hold on to reason. This isn’t right. A part of my mind