Controlling the Dead Read Online Free PDF Page A

the base in Clarksville went to Nashville for safekeeping. If not, I’d still be popping them like Reece eats stale Cheetos.
    I’ve only replaced them with drinking. Even worse, my wallowing keeps Reece from being with Glinda. He hasn’t said as much, but he is eager to get back. I’m not because it will take days since we have to meet the team in a rendezvous spot.
    “Kan?” Reece’s muffled voice floats through the white door. He hits his fist on it around waist level—obviously not bothered to lift his arm.
    “Hang on. I’m…not decent.” I sit up, putting on my hoodie and sunglasses despite my sweat covered clothing. My body throbs in pain as it does first thing every morning. The pain has been fading with time. I’m on my way to healing, outwardly at least. I grab the PGA off the little cherry wood nightstand and take a gulp.
    Wiping my mouth with my sleeve, I open the door only to see him standing there. I squint. Even with the sunglasses, it’s brighter out here than it is in the bedroom. Reece’s tattoos curl up his arms, under the vest, up his neck and stubby head. The head he keeps shaved shiny bald. The tattoos tell a story, his story, which I know absolutely nothing about. Except for his little spiel yesterday, he keeps quiet, even when he is drunk. I suspect whatever the ending to his story is, it’s bad. It probably has a lot to do with killing teenage boy zombies he knew personally. Maybe even had affection for those boys. I finally look into his piercing gray eyes.
    He scoffs. “Getting decent requires a hood, sunglasses, and the bottle that never gets empty. I’ll make a note.”
    “What? My body hurts and there aren’t any more pills.”
    “That’s what happens when you eat them like candy.” He smirks, “Can’t really say anything. I need a joint.” We laugh and he goes on, “We should pack a van to drive to the meeting spot with loot.”
    I roll my eyes, but he can’t see it. What he means by loot is Pure Grain Alcohol. I try a different plan. “Do we really think we should take a van full of liquor to meet the team? Maybe you could head on straight to Nashville? I can go meet the team. You can wait on Mago.”
    He thinks this over studying me. “You think the team got any help?”
    “I don’t know. This is the best way, though.”
    “I don’t think so, Kan. We should stick together.” He doesn’t want to leave me alone, and I’m relieved because I really don’t want to be alone.
    I feign a sigh, “All right. Let’s go get the guys.”
     
    *
     
    After I sew a looted Fleur de Lis patch on Reece’s vest, we promptly load up the van we found with our looted goods. It takes most of the morning. We don’t talk about the vaccine, Mago, Pappers, my hair, the old couple, or anything else. I think Reece is just as tired of talking about it as I am, and we both know we’ll have to bring everyone else up to speed.
    With Reece riding the bike and me driving the van, we leave around noon and start the journey to meet the team, traveling along rural highways before hitting a major interstate. The closer we get the more the cars pile up. We eventually have to drive in the grassy middle median area, which slows us down. We drive all night, and I’m dead tired. I’ll sleep when we get there.
    I’m in a daze sometime around noon the next day when shots fire through the air. I look into my rearview mirror, but Reece is glancing around while trying to duck from gunfire. I squint my eyes against the sunlight, spotting a goofy looking black dude jumping up and down, waving his arms. The sight of the giant man next to him tells me our team is flagging us down.
    Ty and Bunyan catch on we’ve spotted them. Pulling to a stop, I roll down my window. “I don’t pick up hitchhikers,” I lift my lips in a half smile.
    Upon getting at better look at me, Ty hisses a breath in between his teeth. “Damn, Kan. You look like shit.”
    “Took you guys long enough. We’ve been waiting for