Estranged Read Online Free Page A

looked past Kas to see Fenn
still struggling to get a screaming Teia into her car seat. “Fenn,
do you need help?”
    “ Nope, I got it,” he
called back— BANG! The garage door shuddered against its rails as something
crashed into it. Kalei wasn’t surprised they would try getting in
that way; she just wished they would have taken longer to think of
it. Fenn pulled himself away from the back seat, shutting the door
as he pulled out the keys and said, “Hurry up and get in. I’m
driving.”
    Kalei was loath to give up control of
her car, especially in a dire situation such as this, but she had
to admit it was necessary. “Alright, I need my hands free to shoot
anyway.” She scooped up Kas and rushed her over to the other
side.
    “ Auntie, I can walk on my
own—” Kas screamed and Kalei’s gut jumped as the garage door
crashed against the rails again. Kalei glanced at the door and saw
a massive influx of metal where it had been hit. She doubted it
could withstand another strike like that. The thought wasn’t
comforting.
    She turned her attention back to Kas
as she opened the car door and set the girl down. “I know, sweetie.
I’m sorry. Climb in and get your seatbelt on. I need you to be a
big girl and keep your sister quiet, okay?”
    A third hit slammed into the garage
door, punctuating the end of Kalei’s sentence. The door buckled and
sagged, but, against Kalei’s earlier assessment, the rails
continued to hold. Kas scrambled into her seat, and once her legs
were clear, Kalei shut the door and hurriedly climbed into the car
herself.
    Teia was not in agreement with the
situation. As Kalei sat herself in the front seat, all she could
hear was Teia in the back, screaming for her daddy. Kas tried to
get her little sister to calm down, but screaming “Be quiet!” at
Teia just added to the chaos. Another crash coupled with a metal
ripping sound blasted through the garage and the door finally
crashed to the floor. Both girls fell silent.
    Kalei looked over her shoulder and saw
the silhouettes of six Estranged pouring through the breach against
a backdrop of the setting sun peeking above the house across the
street. It was almost beautiful, but the circumstances cast the
scene in a menacing light. Fenn put the gearshift in reverse and
hit the gas.
    The car bumped as it ran into their
assailants and slowed as the tires tried to find traction on the
remains of the garage door. In any other car, Kalei would have been
nervous, but she had faith in her four-wheel drive. Fenn gave it
some more gas and the vehicle found its way over the obstacles.
Kalei flicked the safety off and turned to watch for the next wave
of attackers. When the tires cleared the bodies of the first few,
another dozen Estranged ran at them from the yard. They charged the
car, punching and pounding and climbing onto the moving
vehicle.
    Kalei reflexively checked on the girls
and found them staring at the windows like little statues,
wide-eyed with fear. The Estranged shot into the living room, the
Estranged under the tires, the Estranged pounding at their
windows... Kalei knew this night would haunt these girls for the
rest of their lives. Kalei felt her jaw clench as her hands
tightened into fists. She cocked her gun and opened the
sunroof.
    Kalei was already climbing onto her
seat, sticking her torso through the sunroof as they reached the
end of the driveway. As she pulled the gun free of the car, she saw
a middle-aged man push a young girl aside and jump onto the hood.
His hair was long and thick, falling down his back in a thick,
greasy lump. The remnants of a checkered tie hung from his neck,
and his slacks were ripped and shredded to the point that they
could no longer reach his knees. Despite all that, he was the
picture of health: plenty of flesh on his arms and gut, plenty of
strength in his legs, and a desperate hunger in his eyes. On his
chest, he had a few small tattoos hiding behind the erratic
swinging of his tie, but Kalei