Road's End: Apocalypse Riders Read Online Free PDF

small tin of pineapples into my hands. "Something a little tastier than beans," he said with a grim smile. I nodded. "We're perfectly safe here," he said, "You can relax."
    "Am I safe from you?" His expression darkened.
    "Just stay here and don't make too much noise." He walked back up the stairs. I listened to him leave before digging into the pineapples. They were sweet and delicious, and he was right - it was a huge improvement over beans and bland canned vegetables, and they lifted my mood almost instantly.
    I started to pull the curtain shut around my cot, but I heard a knock at the door - the knock. I froze. Adam wouldn’t have knocked. Not knowing I was the only one inside. There was nowhere to hide except behind the bar, and I’d be discovered there very quickly.
    The door creaked as it opened. “Who’s there?” I called. Feet shuffled.
    “Who the fuck’s down there?” a man called back.
    “Go ahead, sounds like a girl,” a second man mumbled to the first.
    “Girls can shoot guns, you fuckwit,” the first guy mumbled, then called, “We’re coming down!”
    “I’ll fucking shoot you both!” I shrieked, jumping up from the cot and flattening myself against the far wall. Their footsteps halted.
    “What the fuck is going on?” Adam. I sighed with relief. Not the response you’re supposed to have. He’s not your friend. “Holy shit, what are you guys doing out here?”
    “Shit, Lark, where in hell have you been?” They greeted each other like old friends. I assumed they were part of his biker club, which was confirmed when they appeared - they wore the same black leather jackets with the winged devil on the back. A young woman trailed behind them, her blond hair windblown, her eyes distant.
    “She wasn’t armed,” one of the men said - the second voice I’d heard. He was tall - really tall - and his bushy black beard was peppered with white hair. “What’s your name, sugar?”
    I snarled, “I’m not ‘sugar.’”
    “Her name’s Josie,” Adam said, “Josie, this is Van,” he said, indicating the tall guy, “And this is Preacher.” The other biker had fully gray hair and a broken-looking nose. He didn’t introduce the woman at all.
    “She’s with you, Lark?” Preacher asked.
    “I’m trying to take her back to the town, but she’s a little… hesitant.” Adam said. Lark? Maybe it was a biker thing. Not my business. The three men settled at the bar - further away from me, but there was no getting out of earshot, though Adam kept his voice low. “I found her wandering the city. Don’t know how long she was alone for, but…” he shrugged. The two men glanced back at me.
    “She crazy?” one of them asked.
    Adam shook his head. “She’ll be okay.”
    “I can hear you,” I sneered. I sat back on my cot, curling my feet beneath me. They didn’t reply - Adam handed them cans of food and canteens, and they started talking about other members of their club, some other club business. The blond took a seat on the next cot - nearly right next to me with the curtains pulled back. “You got a name?” I asked her.
    She smiled. “They’ve been calling me Sunny. ‘Cause of my hair.”
    “Okay, but what’s your name?”
    She looked away. I decided not to press the issue. Changing your name after the end of the world as you knew it wasn’t the craziest thing a person could do.
    The room was soon filled with the smell of leather and cigarettes. I don't know where they could have possibly gotten any out here - they were definitely a rare luxury, even in the city. I wanted to ask for one, but on the other hand, I didn't want to ask these guys for anything. Their laughter was rough and laced with bitterness, their stances arrogant, even as they sat.
    "Sunny!" Preacher called, "Come sit with me if you two ain't gonna make small talk." She skipped over, and when he opened his arms, she sat on his lap. My stomach twisted. Was she a captive, too?
    She didn't seem like it. She smiled