Jake's Law: A Zombie Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

saving my ass, Deputy. I can usually hit what I aim at, but I can’t shoot fast enough to take on a group like that.”
    “ You need something bigger, and I’m not a deputy anymore.”
    The man stared at the badge more closely. “A Ranger?”
    “No. This belonged to my great-grandfather. I wear it as a reminder.”
    “A reminder of what?”
    Jake tapped his pistol. “That this makes the laws now.”
    The man shrugged. “If you say so.” He kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot. “I can cook up some stew if you’re hungry. I live in Oracle.”
    “Why come out here to kill zombies? Aren’t there any of the bastards in Oracle?”
    The man frowned. “Too damned many.” He glanced at the building. “I taught high school science here. Some of those zombies were my students. I needed to … tidy up.”
    Jake noticed movement in the distance – more zombies drawn by the noise. “We had better get out of here before reinforcements arrive.”
    “You don’t look like you’re afraid of a few zombies. You’ve got the firepower. Let’s wipe them out.” A look of grim determination swept over the man’s face. Jake recognized the look of a zealot. Zealots had no instinct for survival.
    He shook his head. “It’s not my war.”
    “Not your war? That’s a curious attitude. Whose war is it, do you think?”
    “We lost the war. Clean up isn’t my thing. I kill zombies when they get in my way. I’m not angry with them the way you seem to be.”
    The man nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m at war with them. I hate them with the same degree of passion I had about teaching.” He glanced at the burning school. “Maybe I’m simply teaching them a lesson.”
    “Do you think they learn?”
    “About as well as some of my students did,” he snorted. “Now, about that stew. My name’s Reed by the way, Alton Reed.”
    The sound of a human voice sounded strange to Jake after so long alone, but he found it sweet in his ears. A few minutes of conversation and a shared meal wasn’t a commitment to humanity. “Sounds good. My name’s Jake Blakely.”
    “Great! Follow me , Jake.”
    He followed Reed’s pickup out of San Manuel past the abandoned smelter. Jake had watched the demolition of the twin, five-hundred-foot smokestacks that had once stood there in January of 2007, while sitting in his jeep nursing a six-pack of beer. It had been the most excitement the town had experienced in years. As he drove by the abandoned local Pinal County branch sheriff’s office, memories of his days as a deputy in nearby Pima County rushed over him. Not all of them had been good, but he especially missed the search and rescue missions. Hikers were always getting lost, injured, or trapped on a cliff. It was certainly better than writing tickets and getting involved in domestic disputes.
    They continued through the winding canyons surrounding San Manuel to Oracle. Just past American Avenue, the main street for downtown Oracle, Reed crossed Tucson Wash and turned onto Goodman Ranch Road. They drove about three miles out into the desert before reaching a parked RV, a Country Coach Magna, nestled in a little depression between copses of saguaros and mesquite. Reed pulled up beside the RV, stopped, and hopped out.
    “Here’s home,” he announced, waving his arm at the vehicle.
    A small gas-powered generator sat humming beside the RV, supplying electricity. Inside, the forty-two-foot RV was cramped with stacked boxes of canned goods and bottled water. A hacksaw and short lengths of steel pipe littered the floor. Reed dropped his rifle on the couch beside a 20-gauge Marlin shotgun. Jake took a seat at the table while Reed opened a can of beef stew, poured it in a pot, and set it on the stove. He added a few herbs and a splash of hot sauce. After a few minutes, the delicious aroma of hot stew filled the trailer. His host ladled out two bowls of stew and produced two bottles of cold beer.
    “Do the zombies bother you out