The Zombie Chronicles - Book 2 (Apocalypse Infection Unleashed Series) Read Online Free Page B

glancing around at the old, rusty cars. It seemed like they’d been left there for a reason. Most of them had been stripped down and didn’t even have tires. I wondered if we’d even find gas.
    Lucas held up the clear, six-foot hose I’d packed. “So, uh…which car should we try first?”
    Running a hand through his hair, Nick glanced around. “The red one.”
    Lucas nodded and rushed over to the gas tank. I scanned my surroundings. Everything looked okay, peaceful, and quiet. Birds flew across the blue sky. The girls and I stood guard as gas traveled up the hose and started to flow down the loop toward the ground and into the can.
    “ We got gas, baby!” Lucas shouted.
    “ Awesome!” Claire’s voice rang.
    “ That’s fantastic,” I said. “We should check out all these cars and take as much as we can get our hands on.”
    He slapped me on the back. “That’s the plan, buddy.”
    Jackie twisted the silver ring on her finger as she stared off into the field. “Hey, guys, uh…”
    “ What is it?” I asked her.
    “ There’s something moving over there.” She pointed to some rustling cornstalks, moving around as if something was pushing through them.
    My senses were already on full alert, but now my heart began to race even faster. As I whipped out my gun, I felt a wave of anxiety come over me. Breathing slowly to maintain my aim, I said, “She’s right. I see something!”
    “ You guys are creeping me out,” Claire said. “Let’s hurry up and get outta here.”
    I grabbed her shoulder, anxious to prove to her that I wasn’t making it up. “See it?”
    Lucas took a few steps forward and scanned the fields ahead. “Don’t go playing Rambo until we know for sure. We sure as heck don’t wanna invite a bunch of zombies to this little siphoning party if we don’t need to. Maybe it’s just an animal—some lost groundhog or something.”
    “ Right,” I agreed, having fought off enough zombies for one day.
    Jackie grabbed my hand and started to lead me away from the car. “Let’s just go. We’ve got enough gas for now.”
    I put my gun away, knowing she was right. “Nick, let’s go.”
    Nick squinted into the cornfield. “All right. Let’s get outta here. We don’t wanna take any chances.”
    Lucas picked up the hose and gas can. “Well, this oughtta be enough gas to get us started.”
    “ What a cruel world we live in,” Jackie said. “Now all it takes is a shadow to drive us all into a panic.”
    “ It’ll be different when we get back to the island, I swear,” I said, hoping it was true. “We’ll be able to walk around freely, without fear.”
    She let out a long sigh. “It sounds like heaven.”
    “ I’ve always taken the place for granted,” I admitted shamefully. “I’ve even been going around calling it a prison cell for a year, but now that I’ve been out here, I’ve come to realize that I had a pretty carefree life back there. Everyone out here struggles just to live another day, always having to be on constant guard. This has sure been a reality check for me! I love my island now because I know nothing is guaranteed anymore. I’m done taking things for granted.”
    “ Yeah,” Nick said. “I thought the island was a slice of heaven, but I had to listen to you gripe and complain about how you were stuck on that rock and wanted nothing more than to get off of it.”
    “ I know,” Lucas said, “and now he just wants to get back as soon as possible.”
    “ I guess I was just…naïve,” I said.
    “ And stubborn,” Nick chimed in.
    “ Fine. And stubborn. You happy now? I admit it. I was completely clueless and stubborn as a jackass, okay?”
    He clapped my back, and a wide grin grew across his face. “I think this little reality check will make you appreciate the Erie islands a whole lot more, and now maybe you’ll understand why they had all those security precautions in place. They were just trying to protect us.”
    “ Well, now I know,” I replied