Snareville II: Circles Read Online Free Page B

and keep off a small army.
    We all nursed some of the home brew or local wine.
    “How’s Momma Pepper and Cindy?” Ella asked.
    “They’re fine. Cindy’s still having morning sickness.” I used the instant messaging system Wally had run out to his island on a wifi system. It was set up months ago during the winter when they figured out how to run wires and electricity over the water. They had a nice little patch of civilization going these days.
    “Who’re they?” Cherry asked.
    “Dan’s broodmares.” Wally answered. Everyone chuckled.
    “Hey,” I said, “none of you have anything to talk about. Some of y’all are doing your best to repopulate the planet.” I turned to my second hand. “Right, Bill?”
    He grinned and took another pull on his beer. “Doing my part.”
    “What’ll this be? Second set?”
    “Yeah.”
    “We’re even then,” I took a pull off mine.
    “You people are nuts,” Cherry said. “Zombie chow. That’s all you’re doing. Making zombie chow.”
    “I hope not,” Jinks said from her seat by the wood stove. “We’ve got a way to kill off every zed in the world. We just got to find a way to get it out there.”
    “What do you mean? You can’t have that many bullets,” Wally asked.
    “Not bullets,” Cody said. “Gas. Or at least something you spray. Right, Boss?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Aerosol antivirus. Just need a delivery system.”
    “Huh,” Wally grunted.
    I explained how it worked. Wally only asked a question here and there. Otherwise, he was pretty close mouthed. After an hour or so of debate about delivery, we changed subjects. The mares would be ready to go back to their own pastures, me back to the girls and my babies. Everyone of our crew liked the place Wally had set up for himself, but we wanted to be home. It was the trip that worried us. We’d take the same route home, with the same hopes that we wouldn’t have any troubles during the three day journey. Seemed like forever.

Chapter 3
    Next morning, the Raiders pulled their horses from various stalls and corrals around the island. They threw on saddles, tightened cinches, slid bridles onto the horses’ heads. Pack saddles were going back light. Just rations to get them and horses back over the three days. Even then, the troops would be looking for fresh meat. After the horses, they geared themselves out. Guns went back on. Dan slid the rifle onto his back with the sling, one pistol on his hip, the other in a rig across his chest.
    Jinks checked her M-203. The action of the grenade launcher was smooth. She slid a forty millimeter flechette round into the tube and slung it across her back. Ella slid a thirty round magazine into her rifle, cocked it and hung it from her shoulder. Cody and Bill were already mounted up, rifles strapped across their saddles, as everyone gathered in front of the main barn. From the stud building, Wally led his fully tacked bay stallion, rifle in his other hand. He wore a digital uniform, patched out with insignia Dan didn’t recognize. Cherry led the grey stallion, outfitted the same.
    From the river, they heard the blast of the ferry horn.
    “What the hell you doing?” Dan asked.
    “Figured I’d tag along,” Wally said. “I can take the boys down for a couple weeks, breed the rest of your mares and save y’all a trip back up. Services are already paid for.”
    “We don’t have any ammo for those things,” Cody indicated the AK-47s they both carried.
    Wally pointed to the saddle bags that hung over the horns of both saddles. “No worries. We got two battle packs worth of magazines each.”
    Dan swung into the saddle as the rest of his troop mounted up. “Fine, as long as you guys keep up and those studs don’t make a shitload of noise every time we run into a wandering band of horses.”
    “Do my best, Sir,” Wally said with a half-grin. He and Cherry swung aboard. She was dressed in hunter camo, with heavy work boots on her feet. Her hair was clean, pulled