Renewal 7 - When the Student Is Ready Read Online Free PDF Page A

leaving Terry’s narrow view, but in the process, another one had grabbed the brush guard on the front. Terry went back to weaving in the chaos of flying bodies. In an instant of bad timing, he juked left as a cannibal body passed under the dual back tires. With no traction on the rear wheels in that particular moment, the back end of the truck slid around to the right. Big Bertha was skidding almost exactly sideways. This situation was well outside Terry’s skill level. He just held on.
    At in the first second, nothing changed. Sliding sideways, squealing tires, and a freaking cannibal on the bumper. In the next second, the tires began to hook to the pavement, causing a rapid deceleration and flinging the creature violently off the truck. In the third second, the tires had stopped, but the truck... not quite. Bertha tilted as the left side came off the ground. Terry couldn’t see it, but swarms of cannibals were piling under the left side of the truck, trying to help it fall on its side. In the fourth and fifth seconds, they almost managed it. Big Bertha hovered just below the tipping point. Terry grabbed the door and held on. Seth followed some instinctive urge and almost climbed on top of Terry. That may have made the difference. In the sixth second, Bertha won. She ponderously crushed the life out of a whole mess of straining, snapping cannibals.
    Terry didn’t waste any time. He was churning through the pile of bodies even before Bertha stopped rocking from side to side. He could not have been higher on adrenalin, his eyes zipping all over the narrow field of view. It was over. However many he had mowed down, it was enough to send the others back to the lair.
    Following Seth’s half-guessed directions, Terry trucked through once-friendly neighborhoods at high speed, in search of the way out of Tullahoma. Only when they were on the highway, five miles out of town, did the adrenalin give way to total exhaustion.
    “Son of a bitch,” Seth said, encompassing the whole ordeal.
    “You were right. Bad idea.” Terry said to his big friend.
    “When I said bad idea, I was thinking someone might try to shoot us, not eat us.”
    “Could’ve been worse...” Terry said.
    “Really? How?”
    “Could’ve been zombies.”
     
    Chapter 7 – 4
    Terry and Seth traded jokes on the last few miles back to Manchester, but the laughter never really settled their nerves. Seth was ready to head back to Teeny Town to report to Bill and to get some rest, but Terry wanted to stop by the square before they went back. He was hoping to get another chance to talk to Charlie, and if nothing else, to soak up some of the rare happy atmosphere.
    The town looked abandoned until they made the last turn into the square. The convoy of state trucks was still parked on the north side, doling out sacks of food to the long lines of Coffee County families. Dusty was sitting on the hood of the truck he had borrowed from the community, hand folded behind his head as he enjoyed the long afternoon light, and the sounds of joy.
    A few people had naturally turned to look as the truck approached. Terry saw jerking heads and double takes in the crowd. Faces turned to surprise, and then shock, and finally horror, as people ran away from Big Bertha. Dusty jumped to his feet on the hood of his truck, and after a quick look, put his face in his hands.
    Terry pulled next to Dusty, and hopped out of the truck. He was expecting happy, but he was hearing screams and angry shouting. Dusty looked at Terry, and then pointedly shot his attention at Big Bertha. Terry turned around and it all became clear. Bertha was splattered with blood and gore, mostly unidentifiable bits of fleshy organic mush. Terry’s mouth dropped open for three beats.
    Dusty angrily asked, “Why’d you bring that here, dumbass?”
    “I wasn’t think, Dusty. It never occurred to me,” Terry answered.
    “Well, you’d better come up with an explanation before you scare our potential help out of