Last Another Day Read Online Free PDF Page B

as a tough vehicle.
    When he drew to a stop in front of the old house, Logan was abruptly brought back to his unhappy childhood, as he once again played in the dusty yard while his father yelled for more beer.
    “Ready?” Max asked.
    “No.”
    “We've got to move fast. More infected will come.”
    “I know.” Logan got out, not at all sure if he wanted to do this.
    Turn around.
    He sighed, remembering his mother's gaunt face.
    “Let's go,” he told Max before turning to the back window. “Hey, boy. Stay down and keep quiet. We won't be long.”
    The familiar walls of his childhood home closed in around him. His heart thumped in his ears. The faded carpets brought back memories of the hours his mother spent on her knees, scrubbing them because his father refused to replace them.
    Everything was quiet, except for a ticking clock on the wall. The furniture gleamed, the air rich with the mixed odors of polish and roast meat. Logan walked through the living room, past the dining room, spotting a half-empty plate of food on the table.
    The hair on the back of his neck prickled. He stepped into the hallway, glancing back to make sure Max was still behind him. Much as he hated to admit it, he needed the reassurance.
    The main bedroom lay ahead. He rounded the corner with trepidation. There he saw his mother, still dressed in frayed and blood-stained pajamas, chewing on his father's intestines. The old guy was still alive, mouth working as his eyes rolled around in their sockets.
    So, she got the old bastard after all.
    Logan raised his gun and aimed for his father's head. At the last moment, his father saw him and raised a hand, as if in supplication. His mouth tried to form words but failed as he choked on his own blood.
    Logan's mother raised empty eyes to his before snarling, fingers tightening around a rope of innards.
    He pulled the trigger twice.
    Two shots and he lost the only family he ever had.
    With the sound still ringing in his ears, he turned and stumbled outside. At Max's insistence, he handed over the keys and allowed himself to be driven.
    All Logan could see when he closed his eyes was his mother's dead gaze, any sign of the gentle soul that once inhabited her body gone. Despite everything, he'd always loved her and now, he'd never get the chance to tell her that.

4

Chapter 4 - Max
    As he approached the turnoff to Riebeeckstad, Max closed his window. Wind edged through a small gap at the top. The atmosphere was stifling. Sweat pooled under his armpits, staining his uniform with salty patches.
    Up ahead, the crossing materialized.
    Disaster had struck.
    Cars choked the road with broken, bloodstained windows while infected wandered about. He glanced at Logan who stared into the distance, showing no signs of interest.
    “You okay, Logan?”
    Seconds ticked by before Logan responded.
    “I will be. Just get us to wherever we're going.”
    Max took the hint.
    With no other option, he steered onto the shoulder of the road and forced the Land Rover around the crossing, driving through ditches, over rocks and termite mounds. Infected tried to cut him off. He ignored them, averting his eyes and gritting his teeth whenever he hit one.
    They're not people anymore , he reminded himself when guilt threatened to set in.
    He glanced into the back where the boy they'd rescued, cowered. Luckily he had enough sense to keep his head down. Max guessed his family was gone.
    He'd heard enough at the army base to know what was happening. The virus had broken out several weeks before in Europe. Due to a combination of disbelief, denial, and incompetence it could not be contained and spread throughout the unsuspecting population.
    Like everyone else, the South African government ignored the signs. They did not believe the reports streaming in until it was too late. The virus snuck in and from there on, it was all downhill.
    A family returning from holiday unwittingly brought it with them. Their twelve-year-old son was bitten by a