Affliction Z (Book 3): Descended in Blood Read Online Free

South Boston. Phil had expected that Sean would keep moving, leaving him with roughly the same amount of distance, maybe more, to cover.
    “What do you suppose is there?” Ralph asked.
    Phil eased into the vehicle, leaving one foot on the soft ground. He stared at the display while creating a visual in his mind of the area they were en route to. Rolling hills and lots of wide open space, best he could recall.
    “Could be anything,” Phil said. “Maybe a friend, or another bunker. Could even be that they got in an accident or had a run-in with those things that attacked us last night.”
    Ralph nodded as though he’d considered those possibilities.
    “This guy has a background,” Phil said. “He spent a dozen years in the special forces community. And he knew this was coming, even before we did. I’d say there is a good chance he already had a network established. The people he knew might not have made it, but I’m willing to bet their preparations held up.”
    “What you propose we do if he’s got others there? I mean, if he’s former spec ops, I imagine the people he kept in touch with were, too. How do we handle them?”
    Looking down at dirt permanently etched in his weathered hands, Phil shrugged. “Kill them?”
    Ralph looked back, past Phil, and jutted his chin toward the woods. “What about the idiot?”
    Phil had pondered that question several times that morning. Even now, he considered driving off, leaving Derrick behind. It would make things easier for everyone, including Derrick. Nature would take its course. With him along, they were all at risk. That didn’t sit easy with Phil.
    “We keep him along,” Phil said. “For now.”
    Ralph stepped off the ATV and grabbed his AR-15. The ATV carried four M4 rifles, but that wasn’t enough. Before leaving, the two men grabbed five or six additional weapons each.
    “He’s gonna get us killed,” Ralph said as he headed toward the trees off to the right, away from Derrick.
    A breeze blew past. It chilled the sweat on Phil’s brow. He almost didn’t notice the smell it carried over his own body odor. Wood smoke. He sat up and looked to the west where farmland spread through the valley and across the hills. There was no sign of a fire. It had to have come through the trees.
    Phil reached for his rifle and aimed it in the direction Ralph had walked. Visibility was reduced to nothing after the first ten feet or so. The dense woods were impenetrable by the sun, its light being filtered and reducing visibility from the clearing. A lack of sleep and a heavy dose of paranoia left Phil seeing things in the shadows. Figures raced through the trees. They stopped and stared in his direction. Teeth were bared. No one stepped out into the open.
    He dropped his other foot to the ground and repositioned himself along the far side of the ATV, using the railing to support his rifle. The wind died down again. The woods fell still. Phil peered through his scope, affording him a deeper view into the woods, past the area where the shadows came to life.
    He saw nothing.
    “Got a deer?”
    Startled, Phil swung around and leveled his rifle at Derrick. The young man dropped his own weapon and hoisted his good arm into the air.
    “Jesus Christ, what’d I do?”
    Phil lowered his head and pulled in a deep breath. “Just a little on edge, son. That’s all.”
    Derrick smiled, though it was obvious the gesture was forced. He reached for his pistol and continued toward the ATV. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed.
    “That smoke?” he asked.
    Phil nodded. “Coming from those woods.”
    “Where’s Ralph?”
    Phil glanced at his son, arching an eyebrow. “In those woods.”
    The men stood still and silent for a few minutes. Phil honed in on the ambient sounds of the forest. Only, he heard no birds or insects.
    Why hadn’t Ralph returned? Had he decided to set off on his own? No, he’d have waited until he was alone with the ATV for that. It had food, water, and