Alaskan Undead Apocalypse (Book 4): Resolution Read Online Free PDF

the mountain.
There has to be.”
    “And people? Will there be people too?”
Jules asked, her hushed voice as cautious as it was hopeful.
    Neil looked at the others with the same
question in his eyes. He was as curious as all of them were about
that. He also wondered, if there were people to be encountered,
what kind of people they would be. Would they be as fanatical and
crazed as the militia and the Colonel of which Jess spoke?
    He smiled at Jules. “I’m sure there will be,
sweetie.” Neil turned to the rest of the group. “We should get
going while it’s still early. Maybe we can get ahead of the weather
before it gets too bad.”

Chapter 3
     
    DB had been right. There was a trail that
started out wide and flat, but gradually inclined itself up the
mountain. As it climbed, the way became more narrow, rocky, and
difficult. Though it was marked with trail posts and dead lights,
the difficult path challenged them at every step. The higher they
climbed, the deeper the snow became and the stronger the winds
grew. At a certain elevation, the still falling snow blowing into
their faces.
    Neil started doubting the wisdom of their
choice...of his choice for all of them, as they continued to climb
up and up without end. The path didn’t go up and over the mountain,
but rather skirted a wide but elevated tier, like the largest,
first layer of an extravagant wedding cake. The first couple of
hours Neil and the others found themselves beneath a thin canopy of
leafless trees that shrouded the sunlight. Despite the best efforts
of the firs and other evergreen trees spread around them to add
green to the surroundings, everything was draped in a dreary,
lifeless brown. The forest grew less dense, and the ground beneath
began to transform. The patches of yellow and brown grass
struggling to keep their heads barely above the snow gave way to
growing bodies of the white atop grassless mud or bare rock. The
slippery rocks, loose gravel, and snow all conspired against them
as the elements challenged each and every step. Neil tried to
conceal his fear but looking in everyone else’s eyes, he realized
they shared his misgivings. No matter how high their ascent, the
mountain loomed ever upward.
    They could still turn around. It wasn’t too
late. They could go back to Jess’ car and come up with another
plan. Maybe they could drive to some other place and wait out the
winter. Perhaps there were some cabins or homes or some other
shelter that they hadn’t thought of yet.
    They were pulling and pushing one another
along, sometimes literally when traction failed them or legs didn’t
have the energy to push on any longer. All of their feet, cold and
wet to the bone, were soon like cinder blocks threatening to anchor
them to the unforgiving earth. If it weren’t for the trail markers,
they likely would have given up. But each new post renewed their
hope. Like lighthouses shining their beacons into the gloom, the
wooden markers kept them focused on the easier stretches between
when the snow seemed overwhelming and their exhaustion threatened
their next steps.
    Finding a rare stand of trees in a shallow
depression on the inclining mountain that might provide some
respite from the weather, the adults stretched a pair of tarpaulins
between the narrow trunks to block the wind and the snow. Jerry
gathered some branches from the ground and piled them together to
build a fire, hoping they weren’t too green or wet to burn. Using
the last bits of paper they had as kindling, they managed a small
flame that initially struggled to burn the moist wood but finally
took hold.
    The flame flickered and danced as the
changing winds forced it to seek cover. All of the people huddled
around the desperate fire watched absently, the small blaze more an
object of focus than one of warmth. They tried to collectively form
a barrier between the fire and the buffeting winds threatening to
extinguish it.
    They rested for a few hours and allowed some
of their gear