Chloe Zombie Apocalypse series (Book 2): The Journey Read Online Free Page B

had cleared and in its place, an orange glow from the setting sun. It was cooler and fresher, which was a relief after the thick stuffiness of the day. It was nice. Just nice.
    The windows of the empty buildings glimmered in the setting sun. Chloë and her father walked around them. Looked at every single one from outside. The group decided they’d take a proper look around tomorrow. A thorough investigation, as Dad called it. But for now, they just looked at these places from outside. Observed them.
    And they seemed… quiet. Really quiet.
    No sounds other than the birdsong in the nearby hills.
    Nothing but the happy chatter and laughter of her group a few streets down.
    Nothing but the crackling transmission.
    The familiar tune underneath the crackling.
    The woman’s voice.
    “Is anyone out there? I repeat, is anyone out there? Safe haven. Safe place. Safe community. Pwllheli. Pwllheli, North West Wales. Survivors welcomed. Survivors welcomed. Pwllheli.”
    “I thought you said this place was good,” Chloë said.
    Dad rolled his eyes. Shook his head. “And it is good. It really is.”
    “Everyone seems happy.”
    “And so they should be.”
    “Then what’s the problem?”
    Dad opened his mouth. Then he closed it. Half-smiled. Shook his head. “I sometimes forget.”
    “Forget what?”
    “That you’re still my daughter. You’ve… you’ve grown up a lot, Chlo. Not so much in height. Still a shorty to me. But you’ve matured. You’re using words I never thought you’d utter. You’re showing confidence. It’s good, but it’s…”
    “But it’s what?”
    He turned away. Shook his head. “Nothing.”
    Chloë looked ahead at the long, stretching road. Felt the cool breeze brushing against her skin. She knew what her dad was going to say. “It’s not you.”
    But then, her and her dad had been separated for so long. Both of them had been through stuff. Both of them had been put through things no people ever thought they would do. Of course she’d changed. They’d both changed.
    Everyone had grown up in this world.
    Grow up, or die.
    “They have a right to know about the transmission,” Dad said.
    Chloë swallowed a lump in her throat. She could taste the tangy tomato of bean juice. She hadn’t enjoyed her lukewarm baked beans, as much of a luxury as it should’ve been. Because she couldn’t get the discovery out of her mind.
    The discovery of the transmission.
    The transmission leading people towards a place called Pwllheli in North West Wales. Dad had told her about that.
    The transmission that offered hope of a safe haven.
    “I’ve heard transmissions in the past,” Chloë said.
    “Haven’t we all?”
    “I’ve… I’ve been to places that call themselves safe before.”
    “Chloë, we’ve all been through—”
    “After Elizabeth died, some people took us in. Army people. Back in Preston. Just a few days after the start of… of this. We lived there for some time. Lived in these barracks. And it was good. It was nice. Until we found out they were trying to feed us people. Humans. And Elizabeth was one of them.”
    She saw her dad’s jaw slacken. It was the first time she’d been honest about how her sister died.
    “And then mum,” Chloë said, sniffing back tears she couldn’t afford to shed. “She… I was with another group. The one I got away from Preston with. Mum and me got split from the rest. Got taken in by a man called Mike. Only Mike had a problem with the people who my old group ended up with. And… and there was a fight. Mum got captured. Killed. They shot her in the head while I watched.”
    “No.”
    “I watched Mum’s skull explode.”
    “Chloë—”
    “I watched her brains splatter out of her head and hit the concrete—”
    “Stop!”
    Dad’s voice echoed through the empty town. From a flat roof to the right, some birds flapped away.
    “I’m not telling you this to upset you,” Chloë said. “I’m—I’m telling you this because you need to know why