Jade: Earth's Last Hope Against the Undead Read Online Free Page A

back at Jade,
hindering her progress. Trent tried to subdue some of this abuse by
taking the brunt of the hits for her, but it wasn’t enough. She was
beginning to lose her way and more so, her patience. Then Trent had
her hand and was pulling her along, clearing the way for her.
    He can be so sweet when he
wants to . She felt herself gushing even now, so close
to the threat of death.
    “Hurry now,” Kat said.
    The base of a large tree came into view and
they paused there for several seconds. Jade worried about where
they could possibly go from here. It appeared Kat hadn’t been
leading them anywhere at all. Then she heard the straining ropes,
the squeaking of a wheel high above. Upon further inspection she
saw them lowering the scaffolding from high above and prayed they
would hurry. But they didn’t. They were patient, ever calculated in
their precise movements. They drew no attention because they were
so calm, so well hidden. Staring up into the canopy of trees she
thought there would be very few of them in such an impossibly tiny
space.
    The three of them stepped onto the
scaffolding and were drawn upward. As the zombies closed in around
them, they paused, not drawing the scaffolding an inch farther
until the zombies dispersed.
    A horde of undead swarmed some forty or
fifty feet beneath them, never looking up, seemingly more concerned
with the possibility of finding low hanging fruit on foot up ahead.
Up here she offered no sustenance to the undead, yet still there
was no sense in alarming them for fear of what else they might
attract.
    When the last of this horde had passed out
of sight, the scaffolding shook to life, on its journey upward once
again. Rising into the top part of the tree, Jade began to consider
how long such a large tree, some ten or so feet at its widest, had
been here. It had likely seen and survived many wars, one of the
biggest in fact.
    But will it survive this one?
    On top, she exited the scaffolding, still
following Kat. They walked along a large leveled base, as Jade
stared up at a green umbrella that was so thick she couldn’t feel a
single raindrop. They crossed to a very large limb and Kat
disappeared somewhere near the branch, heading down into the base
of the tree.
    Dim lights, clearly the sort powered by some
solar resource, lit the now visible corridor. These lights escorted
them down a tight spiral staircase that ran in circles around the
outer rim of the tree. They came to a ladder and one by one they
climbed down into the base of the tree, where the quarters were
cramped and tight, but far more comfortable than the cottage.
    “Who do we have here, Kat?”
    His hair was graying and slicked back,
trying to appear younger than his true age. The look on his face
was astute and his thick-rimmed glasses suggested a higher
intelligence. She watched as he observed them.
    “My name is Trent.” He extended his hand,
which this man stared at for a second before shaking. “And this is
Jade. We traveled here from New Jersey.”
    “I see. And how did you hear of this
place?”
    “It’s Valley Forge. How do you think we
heard of it?” Jade said.
    He examined her with a curious eye, not
judging, but intrigued. Then he looked at Kat, waiting for an
answer.
    “A horde was coming and they were in the
path. I decided it would be best to avoid them being eaten. That
might draw attention.”
    He seemed to consider this for a long time.
Then he shook Jade’s hand as well. “Well then, so nice to meet you.
My name is Dr. Joseph Michaels. Welcome to our humble abode.”
    “This tree is amazing.”
    “Why yes it is, Jade. But you haven’t seen
anything yet.” He paused, grinning. “And this isn’t a tree at all.
It may very well look like one from the outside, but it's far from
anything so natural. Kat, why don’t you show them to the guest
quarters below?”
    Kat continued down another set of stairs,
this time a much wider spiral. Jade pulled Trent, her interest
piqued. The farther they