Dead Surge Read Online Free Page B

wiped off her blade and sheathed it. “Went to the bathroom and these two came bumbling out. Couldn’t tell how many for sure with the echoes in there, so we retreated.”
    Rebecca spoke up. “If we had been sure there was only two, we’d have stayed and killed them.”
    No doubt. Sarah and Rebecca were combat veterans of the Zombie Wars and were more than capable of handling themselves. They trained almost as much as Charlie and I did. I looked over the building and saw there was nothing really out of place. These two must have come here infected at some point, and revived inside. Just our bad luck or more to the point, theirs, that we were the first ones to come back to them.
    “All right then,” I said, turning back towards the boat.
    “Wait!” Both women said at the same time.
    “What?”
    “We still need to use the bathroom.” The two women stepped over the zombies and went back inside, finally answering the call of nature.
    I looked over at Charlie who just shook his head at me. Fair enough.
     

 
    Chapter 6
     
    We got back in the boat a few minutes later and headed upriver again. I spent a minute thinking about the last couple of days and I couldn’t shake the feeling we were in for a wild ride.
    Sarah, ever mindful of my moods, sat down next to me and handed me a bottle of water. “Where’s your head?” she asked.
    I shrugged. “Hoping it’s nothing. But I can’t shake the feeling we’ve been handed a warning.”
    “How so?”
    “Well, look at it. We haven’t had a zombie inside our perimeter in years, and just yesterday, there were fifteen of the suckers practically on our doorstep. And here today, where you and Rebecca found zombies that in all likelihood shouldn’t have been there, and it adds up to some serious portents of things to come.” I learned a long time ago to just open up with Sarah. It saved a lot of time.
    Sarah’s green eyes drifted to the riverside for a minute as she contemplated what I had told her. After a minute, she turned back. “I wish I could tell you it’s nothing, John, but this time you may have something.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “We’ll be careful. We’ve survived the worst this virus had to throw at us. We’ll survive this.”
    I pulled her close as the sun began its quick descent to the horizon. In a couple hours, we would be in darkness and I wanted to get to Leport before then. For all the times I wished my feelings on something were wrong, this time, I really hoped my feelings were wrong.
    But I just couldn’t shake the notion this one was going to be a doozy, whatever it was.
    We pulled into the dock at the southern end of Leport and worked our way up to the first small barricade. A small four-foot fence ran along the riverside, disappearing off into the bend by the overpass. On top of the road were two tall towers, and even in this distance, I could see they were still manned. The sentries up there would warn of any activity within sight, and men would be dispatched to deal with the threat.
    The first well-wishers came down to the docks, and I met several people again. One boy in the back ran off in the general direction of the town, and I knew our presence would be reported immediately. However, for now we greeted some old friends, shook hands with a few who had joined us on the long trip west, and more importantly, made it back.
    “John Talon!” A voice called out from above. “John Talon!”
    I looked up to the hills and saw a small figure waving down at me. I smiled, waved back, and flagged the rest of the crew over. Together, we went up a rather steep incline, passed some lively shops, and made our way to the small Victorian home nestled in the riverside homes that covered the Northern Hills of Leport.
    On a wide porch, a middle-aged woman with deep red hair looked at me. She gave me a big grin, and then gave Charlie hug, followed by Rebecca, then Sarah. When she reached me, she took my hand formally, and then gave a slight