Determined To Live Read Online Free PDF Page A

moving again. I sit up and give Will room
to sit beside me. He wraps his arm around me, and we say nothing.
    Will is certain
I'm innocent. Me? Not so much.
    I try my best to
not think about it.
    There's nothing
I can do about it now anyway, right?
    I mean, it's
done. I can't bring her back.
    But...oh my God!
    I killed someone!
    Killing zombies
is one thing, but a living human being?
    How could I have
done that, even as mentally screwed up as I am?
    Stop it!
    Just forget it.
    There is
absolutely nothing you can do about it now!
    Easier said than
done.
    But I'm going to
do my best. I need to stay focused, I need to get my kids back.
    I need to keep
us all alive.

Chapter
Five
    Just before we
cross the highway and enter Hill City - technically
I wouldn't even go so far as to call it a city, more of a town - Jake
pulls into a gas station and then up next to the pumps. There
are half a dozen undead stumbling around in the parking lot, and
about the same amount inside the store - that I can see, anyway. Jake
and Will both get out of the truck, but I stay inside. Not
as if my handicapped ass can do much to help anyway.
    I keep my attention
on Will and any undead that's an immediate threat to him. These are
the original - the " normal "
- zombies. I never thought I would be grateful to see these hideous
things, but the new and improved version is much worse because we
don't know a damn thing about them - and they're fast!
    Did I mention
they're fast? Just making sure.
    Will walks around
the truck and meets Jake by the pumps. Jake inserts the nozzle into
the truck, and lets out a few swear words when he remembers it has to
be approved and turned on by someone inside.
    I lower my window
halfway and watch as the guys shoot their way to the front door. I
roll it back up when a zombie notices me and heads in my direction.
His body jerks and sways as he makes his way to my window, where he
presses his face against the glass. I just sit there on my own side
and watch him with disinterest. I realize that just a few weeks ago - Days? Damn, I don't even
know! - if some man had
come up and started licking my window like this, I would have been
terrified.
    But now?
    I roll my window
down enough to get the barrel out.
    I just shoot
them.
    BANG!
    Bye, bitch.
    My God! Why the
hell did I ever think this zombie shit would be fun? I know I've told
you before, but this really sucks.
    Yeah, yeah.
Bites.
    Whatever.
    Headlights coming
down the highway from the overpass jerk me out of my depressing
thoughts. I lean forward and stare hard at the rusty white truck
filled with men in the front and in the bed of the truck, all of them
holding shotguns. I watch as they shoot every undead they get near.
Their yells and hollers attract the zombies to them in groups.
    Oh, this can't
be good!
    A
car with a woman and a man pull up to the stop sign on the ramp from
the highway, waiting for the truck to pass so they can safely turn.
To my horror, the men in the truck swing their shotguns at the
car... and start
shooting !
    I see the woman's
head slam back against her seat before banging against the dash. The
man is lying over the steering wheel. The truck stops, and the men
jump out of the back. They run to the car and start taking stuff out
of it, throwing it in their own vehicle. One of them grabs the woman
and flings her out of the car and onto the ground. Bile rises to my
mouth as I watch, unable to turn away.
    Until now.
    I turn and look
inside the store, watching as Will shoots the last of the undead.
Jake is already at the console turning the pumps on. I look around
and see no undead paying attention to me, as all their attention is
on the fools from the truck. Jake and Will come out of the store and
I open my door.
    Frantically, I wave
to get their attention. When I have it, I put my finger to my lips to
signal them to be quiet, and then again frantically motion them to
get over here. They both stay quiet and run to me.
    "What's wro―"
    "Shh!
We gotta problem.