Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary Read Online Free PDF Page B

were still evident in the distance, but it was far from
the route we’d be taking.
    I
believe I’d dealt with the situation up to that point fairly well. I started
off reasonably secure. I had not lost anyone close to me. I had not been in any
personal danger. I did see the three nimrods get themselves killed, which
served to cement the reality of the situation and ensure I remained cautious.
And I met Briana. She had experienced something dreadful when the zombies
arose, something to do with her family. I would have to remember that. It was important
to keep in mind that many of those we’d encounter in the days to come would be
closer to her in what they’d gone through than me.
    Understand,
I never was an emotional man. I was far from heartless and in no way a
sociopath who cared only for himself, but while I tried to be diplomatic most
of the time, I did have the unnerving tendency to eventually say, or let on,
exactly what I thought. And, aside from where children were concerned, I have
very little patience. The point of all this was that I knew I had to be careful
about how I behaved around others. The danger of giving grievous insult by
downplaying their personal tragedies or not understanding their situations was
very real. With everyone’s survival at stake, it would be best to avoid starting
conflicts out of stupidity or carelessness.
    So,
after getting cleaned up and taking a lukewarm bath in the tub that was still
full – I let Briana go first – and eating our fill of the food in the cooler,
we finished loading our belongings. The sandwiches Briana made the day before
seemed to be keeping, and we decided to eat them on the road before they went
bad.
    I gave
the house one final walk through, starting at the top and going from room to
room. I checked drawers, closets, even looked under the beds, but I only added
a few things to what I was taking. There was an old oil painting, small and
framed, that I was able to wrap in a towel and slip in the back – it had been a
gift from my parents when I went off to college. That was it for personal items.
I hated leaving so much behind, but I couldn’t take it all, or very much for
that matter. Practical survival gear took precedence, although I think I would
have packed the photo albums no matter how difficult that made traveling.
    Briana
added to the pile as well. You know, I think she enjoyed going through my
stuff, but I could accept her curiosity. It was better than her on and off
moping. Briana talked readily enough, but she often fell silent and seemed to
be thinking about… something dark.
    The
items Briana took included additional clothing for herself, mostly shirts and
jogging pants, the type with elastic around the ankles. She added quite a few
kitchen knives and some extra cooking gear as well. These were nice to have but
not essential, and we could dump them if we needed the space. She also
appropriated a stuffed rabbit pillow thingee. Now, this is kind of hard to
explain. It was a gag gift from a co-worker a year or so ago, and I had tossed
it in the guest room without worrying about it since. It was basically a plush
rabbit twisted in a circle with a gap between the head and the tail. You put it
around your neck and then sit back against a chair. It supposedly kept a person
comfortable while in a car or on a plane. I never cared for it, rabbit design
notwithstanding, but Briana said she’d used them before and liked the things.
She also declared it to be cute.
    When all
was packed and done and ready, we prepared to drive off. That was when we
encountered our first snag. Remember, there was no power. My Jeep Wrangler was
in the garage, and the garage doors required electricity to operate. The things
were composed of flimsy aluminum paneling, and I was positive I could push
right through. Still, that seemed like a really bad idea. Any damage to the vehicle
would leave us screwed. In the end, I used bolt cutters to snip the pieces of
metal locking the