The Survivors of Bastion (Fall of Earth Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

‘What?’ I asked.
                  ‘Shh…’ He muttered, holding up a hand, ‘There…’
                  I brought myself to a stop, knowing that he had seen something, but not what. I followed his line of sight, trying to determine what it was that he was looking at exactly, when I saw it.
                  In the next field, a particularly large one that had once been used by farmers from a nearby compound to grow out corn, were a pair of deer. There was a larger one and a smaller, but from this distance of about 100 yards that was all I could determine.
                  ‘Drop,’ I muttered, and we both silently sank to our stomachs behind some tall grass, keeping the pair in view.
                  I retrieved the rifle slung over my shoulder and removed the scope from it, sliding it out of its compartment. Sitting up a little, registering only the sound of Carl’s breathing and the steady, almost non-existent rustle of the wind on the grass, I closed one eye and looked through the scope.
                  A doe and a fawn came into magnified view. They were grazing on the tall grass in the next field, their heads both ducked down as they indulged. For a few moments I watched them, taking part in this ingrained ritual in absolute peace. What it must have been like to be one of them, to have not even noticed the onset of the virus when it had struck but for a marked increase in silence thanks to the large absence of humanity.
                  Eventually I lowered the scope, biting the inside of my lip.
                  ‘What do we do?’ Carl asked.
                  ‘The mother’s got more meat on her, but if I miss her head she’s still gonna have enough strength to get away. Fawn’s got less meat but even an off-shot will weaken her to the point that she won’t get far.’
                  ‘Yeah…’ Carl said. ‘I haven’t eaten meat in a while.’
                  ‘Me neither.’
                  I paused thinking it over again.
                  ‘The other thing,’ I continued, ‘is that the bigger will feed everybody tonight. It won’t be a whole lot, but everybody can have a little.’
                  At this point I was just speaking to myself – I realised this when I glanced over at Carl, who had lowered his head a little.
                  ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
                  ‘I… Nothing, it’s just… We’re gonna kill it.’
                  Carl didn’t say anything else, but the conflicted expression on his face said a lot more.
                  ‘Look,’ I started, ‘we can carry on as we were and after a few steps they’ll both see us and take off, and tonight we can have an extra helping of raw beetroot. Don’t get me wrong, I love the beetroot we produce, but a man needs a good helping of animal sometimes.’
                  ‘A good helping of animal?’ Carl asked.
                  ‘Just something I remember my Dad saying once,’ I said, smiling and shaking my head. Rather than chase the thought up I slid the scope back into it’s compartment on the rifle and raised it up, looking through it once again, but now by the hold of the barrel and the trigger.
                  They were still exactly where they had been. The crosshairs were directed between the two of them. I breathed steadily, waiting for the breeze to settle for a few seconds, but even if it did I would be shooting at nothing but air.
                  Two inches of movement and I would change from the doe to the fawn, and back again. I aimed it at the youngling, right at the thick section of the neck – I had changed my mind about the focus point. If I went for the head and it decided to look up at a moment’s notice, the bullet would go flying