Schism Read Online Free PDF Page A

ears.
    “You’re not hurt?”
    Morgan shook her head. “No.”
    Charlie peered over the back of his seat and stared across the street at the bodies lying on the ground. He released the pistol from his grip and murmured to Andy, “sorry.”
    “For what?” She hadn’t seen his paralysis.
    “For—never mind.”
    “Are they gone?” Morgan asked as she slowly sat up.
    Andy nodded. “For now.” Once her pounding heart settled, she stepped back outside and examined the damage to their truck. Charlie opened his door to join her, and together they stared at the busted front tire.
    “Now what? We don’t have a spare.”
    Andy glanced up at the other cars in the street. “No, but we can take a tire off of one of those. But let’s do it quickly before anyone else comes.”
    After finding the right-sized tire from another truck, they removed it and replaced the one on their own.
    “It’s rather flat,” Charlie noted while turning the crank on the jack.
    “We’ll pump some air into later.”
    Once back in the truck and moving again, Morgan asked where they were going. But Andy didn’t answer right away. Her attention was fixed on the three people in the street that she had just turned into corpses. She sucked in a sharp breath and pressed down on the gas to escape the scene. I’ve killed someone…more than one. I am a killer…
    Morgan repeated her question. “Where are we going?”
    “Jesus, Morgan! Let me get us out of here first, okay?”
    Morgan fell back into her seat and looked away, tears in her eyes.
    The truck fell silent as Andy backtracked across the Potomac. Horrible decision, going north. And now they were running low on gas. And food.

Chapter IV
    B en Kelly tapped his fingers impatiently against the doorframe of his old pickup truck as he waited for his cousin, Jim, to exit the convenience store—the fifth one they’d stopped at that day. An ancient minivan already sat parked outside the store. If the previous four stores had not been vacant, they would have passed this one entirely, especially with another vehicle parked out front. But they were getting desperate.
    Ben checked his watch. Nearly seven o’clock. The sun was beginning to set behind him, and he cursed under his breath. They should’ve been in Tennessee by now.
    The day hadn’t gone as planned. After a quick start that morning, the engine of their truck overheated after a rodent found its way under the hood. It took hours to find the pest; hours of precious time they couldn’t afford to waste. Worse still, Ben was starving, and not a scrap to eat anywhere.
    While stewing in frustration, he heard the front door of the convenience store burst open, followed by the sound of people shouting. Jim was the first to appear, his right hand grasping for the pistol in his holster. Ben stood up, startled by what he saw.
    A girl was arguing with Jim. Secured across her torso by a strap over her right shoulder was a military combat rifle. And by the way she handled the weapon, he could tell that she knew how to use it.
    Seconds after she appeared, another young woman emerged from the doorway. “Andy! Wait!” she yelled.
    Ben jumped out of his truck and grabbed his own gun before making his way to the scene. “What’s going on?”
    His cousin turned to him, clearly aggravated. “They’re taking all the food!” he yelled and made a gesture toward the two women.
    Without a word, Ben turned and gave each of them a long look. The unarmed one was tall and wiry. Rather pretty, she had delicate features and dark, wavy hair, but her face was pale and she had a bruised eye in the latter stages of healing. The first girl was shorter than her friend, trim and athletic, with sharper features. Her long, unruly blond hair hung over her muscular shoulders, but it was her eyes that were most remarkable; green like emeralds and filled with the intensity of a wild animal.
    These eyes were now looking at Jim as though she were ready to attack, but instead,