OUTNUMBERED volume 3: A Zombie Apocalypse Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

pharmacies to get high and staying on the move and hiding out in different places. It's a wonder they're still alive.
    "And then there is Grace Abbot." Ira shook his head and exhaled hard. "Miss Abbot, say's she's twenty-one, but I think that's overstating her age by about three or possibly four years. She claims to have worked at retail outlets as a clerk, but the way she was dressed and physical signs I saw during her exam lead me to think she's been existing as a prostitute. When I inquired as to how she'd existed these past three years she abruptly changed the subject. She has an attitude and a hard edge. She may cause problems. I hope I'm wrong, but that's my gut feeling."
    "It's late, my friend, let's call it a day and get some rest. It's been a long day all around."

CHAPTER TWO
     
    F our days later, I drove to Mason City with Marcie Tanka and Janice Holescheck. We'd left Fort Dodge earlier after pilfering boxes full of books from the public library and the Buena Vista University Library. We worked from a long list of subjects to collect information on, but we'd concentrated mainly on medical home remedies, growing and preserving foods hundreds of years ago and cloth weaving. This was the first of many trips we anticipated making to preserve knowledge that would be imperative during the anticipated imminent decline of civilization.
    Zombies were present throughout our drive, but they were scattered in small random-sized groups. We dealt with the ones that were close enough to interfere with us and hurried away from the others. One thing we guard against is getting too cocky for our own good and placing ourselves or our friends in needless danger.
    Ten miles south of Mason City, I crested a slight hill and saw a pickup moving from the shoulder onto our lane of the roadway. I flipped on my lights and flashed them several times to get the other people's attention. It must have worked because they sped away from us and kept going. That irked me so I sped up and followed them toward the city.
    As we approached the city limits, the strangers slowed to avoid a wreck that blocked both lanes. They pulled onto the steeply inclined grassy surface past the right shoulder to skirt the wreckage. We caught up to them and were about ten yards away when the sliding rear window opened and a handgun pointed at us. Three shots rang out, but none hit our truck. I accepted that as positive proof they definitely didn't want to have a friendly conversation with us. Our truck stopped dead still. The slider window closed as the strangers sped off. So much for civility.
    Marcie frowned when she said, "Welcome to my harsh new world."
     
    ~*~*~*~
    Life at Deliverance went on as usual. Our leadership committee met with all of our people who had unique qualifications and asked them to become mentors to the younger members and train those who were interested in learning their skills. In the future, the group would need all the help we could muster when our modern technology, equipment and utilities wore out or were made useless when our electrical generation shut down.
    Our five new members joined the group, but three didn't adjust to their daily work and training assignments. Janice told me Grace didn't fit in with any group she was assigned to. She was surly and snapped at anyone who tried to teach her the proper method of performing the work.  She still dressed provocatively and talked with a smart mouth.
    Shane received several negative reports on Matthew and Maureen. They both were ill-tempered and hard to deal with. I had expected that after Ira suggested they showed indications of drug abuse. Both seemed intelligent when I spoke to them and I knew each had college degrees. We all agreed to be patient and give them a chance to adjust to the new people and environment.
    The Margherio's were a pleasant change from the other three. Anthony's skills in building maintenance fit our building upkeep needs, and Irene found a home in our office doing