Turned: A Spine-Chilling Young Adult Apocalyptic Fiction (The Undead Series, Book 1) Read Online Free

dare to challenge him. After all, his father saved these people. Saved them from their stomachs being ripped out of their abdomen and engulfed in the bloody, stench-filled mouth of a zombie. Saved their children from turning into those flesh-eating animals. There was no way in hell anyone would go against him after that.
    If Jasper didn’t return within the next ten minutes, my only option was to push forward with my legs bound to the other town fifteen miles away by myself on nothing but a hope and a prayer, but deep down I knew that in my condition I didn’t have a chance for survival. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own.
    Of course, I didn’t have much prayer in me at that point. And I was losing any hope that a higher power existed, so why pray? My God wouldn’t have let this happen. My eyes started to swell up with tears when hollers over the hill interrupted my contemplation.
    “Retta!” Trent’s voice was carried through the breeze and was dripping with insincerity. “I know you ran away, and you know this isn’t going to last long. If you don’t come back, you’re going to get eaten alive by a zombie.” Of course, Trent was probably right…I would probably die if Jasper didn’t make it back to me. Someone must have punched him in the stomach because I heard the echo of “Jesus, woman!”
    There was more mumbling followed by “You better not scare her off any more.” It was Meredith, Trent’s sister, who had accompanied him on this hunt.
    “Shit,” I whispered. “They’re going to find me out here out in the open.”
    I peered carefully behind the tree and didn’t see Trent and Meredith come over the hill yet, so I decided I better scoot down under the bridge. I didn’t really want to get wet if I was going to have to walk another fifteen miles, but it was better than Trent finding me. Plus, they would never think I’d step foot in the water in my condition.
    Having talked myself into it, I scooted down the hill as quietly as possible, stepped into the shallow water, and glued my back to the wall of the bridge. I could hear Trent and Meredith getting closer as the moments wore on. I stood pressed against the wall, shuttering from the painful shivers that crawled through my body. The water wouldn’t have made a normal person cold, but due to my deteriorating health, it made me freeze.
    Within the next minute, both Trent and Meredith stood on top of the bridge. Trent kneeled down and kicked his legs over the bridge, and they dangled right in my face. I held my breath, wishing I could stick my knife right through his shins. Trent grabbed a fistful of rocks and threw them down in the shallow water. A splash of water hit my arm, and I grimaced silently. After half a minute, I heard Meredith speak.
    “C’mon, what are you stopping for? Let’s keep it moving.” Trent picked up a flat pebble and made it skip in the water. He let out a big sigh and got up.
    “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “Let’s go. I need to find this bitch.” I waited until their voices faded all the way into the distance. Then, as I was about to get up, I heard a whisper.
    “Psst. Hey beautiful.” I smiled. I looked up the embankment and saw Jasper. I hadn’t heard him creep up on me.
    “I know we don’t know each other, but can I live in your socks so I can be with you every step of the way?” Jasper smiled as he quietly walked over to the embankment.
    “Baby,” I whispered softly, “is there an airport nearby or is that just my heart taking off for you?” Jasper grinned ear-to-ear as he slid down the embankment and scooped me up in his arms. He carried me up the hill, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him as he laid me down on the only soft patch of grass left.
    He was wearing a cut-off, faded t-shirt that once pictured each of the Marvel comic super heroes, and his biceps were dripping with sweat despite me feeling incredibly cold. I took another moment to drink him in, running my hands over the curves