American Infection (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

toward me. Soon as that fucker comes out, I'm gonna shoot him. Make sure you hit the ground, got it?"
    Sarah nodded her head, apparently afraid that the energy of speaking would detract from her efforts to hold the door.
    "Again, on go, you jump toward me, and stay down," I said, making sure she clearly understood the directions.
    Sarah nodded again, still straining against the door.
    "One, two, three, Go!" I shouted.
    Sarah flung herself toward my feet, landing hard on the ground and immediately curling into a fetal position with her hands covering her ears. The bathroom door flew open and the infected's momentum carried him out the door, smashing into the wall across the small hallway. The collision with the wall must have stunned the infected. For just a moment, the creature paused and met my eyes. I didn't see a human anymore. I saw black eyes, and a mouth filled with blood and rage; I saw an animal, a predator and an enemy. I didn't hesitate. I fired the semi‐automatic Beretta twice, in rapid succession. The second bullet was unnecessary, as the first landed square between the creature's eyes. Its body crumpled to the floor, falling forward so that its head landed inches from Sarah's feet.
    After a brief moment of stunned silence, Sarah slowly lifted her head and looked down at the body laying only inches from her own. She scrambled to her feet and ran to me.
    "Did it bite you, or scratch you?" I asked, holding her at arm's length until I could be certain she wasn't infected.
    "No," Sarah said, stretching out her arms, flipping them over to reveal nothing more than the red skin from having been pressed against a door.
    I let my arms fall and Sarah quickly closed the gap, wrapping her arms around my waist, holding me tightly. I put my arms around her neck and upper back, kissing her forehead. We released and turned to see Melissa standing at the doorway.
    "That was fucking intense," was all Melissa could muster. For such a sweet, little housewife, she had sure had a shitty mouth.
    As the three of us were walking between the fuel pumps, across the Royal Farms parking lot, back to the car, we saw Matt and Rob running toward us from the gun shop, each carrying a large black bag over their shoulders. When Matt and Rob saw we appeared to be uninjured and were walking rather than fleeing, they slowed to a jog.
    "What the hell was that?" Matt asked, as we converged on the van, tossing his oversized, gun‐filled bag onto the hood of the vehicle. "We heard gunshots."
    "I found one in the bathroom," Sarah said. "I opened the door and he was just sitting there."
    "It's dead now, doesn't matter," I interjected. "But we don't wanna hang out long. What'd you guys find?"
    "Lots of good shit," Matt replied, as I reached across the hood of the van to have a look at our new toys. "I'll tell you on the way…"
    Before Matt could finish speaking, I read the look of horror in his eyes. Turning to see what had caught Matt's attention, I understood the fear. Coming south down Route 222, straight toward our minivan, was a swarm of two or three hundred infected, sprinting at full speed in that awkward gallop. One in the front fell, only to be trampled on and replaced by a faster infected from behind. The group was cresting a hill about a quarter mile away, growing larger as more and more infected emerged from over the horizon.
    "Jesus fucking Christ," Rob yelled. "Get in the God damned car."
    Matt nearly leaped over the hood, pulling his bag behind him. He threw the bag into the passenger seat, which Rob then tossed into the back before he sat down.
    "Where the hell are the keys?" Matt shouted, his hands searching the floor beneath the steering column.
    "Oh shit," Sarah whispered, looking toward the Royal Farms, feeling her pockets. "I think I dropped them in the store."
    "Fuck," Matt shouted, slamming his hands against the steering wheel. He punched the 12‐o'clock position on the wheel two more times for effect.
    Matt threw open his