Swarm (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

house.
    Zack stared at it for a little while. “Is it a trap…?” Zack whispered to her.
    “Er… I don’t… I don’t know…” said Laura.
    Zack slowly moved forwards. There were two wide double doors and next to them, embedded in the brickwork, a keypad. Zack pressed a few digits. The keypad beeped. Laura heard the lock click. Zack opened one of the doors.
    Instantly Laura was hit by a smell so pungent, and so disgusting, that it could only be the smell of death. Her throat tightened and a wave of nausea rose from her stomach. She stumbled back out into fresh air. It was too late. She gagged, fell onto her knees and gagged some more. With an empty stomach, all that came spilling out onto the gravel was liquid. It stung her throat and mouth as she tried to spit it out.
    Zack closed the door. Laura stood back up, and spat a few more times.
    “Is that a zombie?” Zack whispered.
    Laura shook her head. “No… someone’s dead in there.
    Zack glanced up, his eyes flicking between the windows, “Wh… how do you know it’s not a zombie?”
    “Zombies don’t smell. Not like that.”
    Zack was silent for a few seconds, “So you think we should go in?”
    “I can’t…. I can’t… you’ve gotta go. Get the car keys; we can stay in the car.”
    “I’m not going by myself.”
    “I can’t… I can’t go in there… it’s too bad… that smell…”
    “Please,” said Zack.
    Laura took a deep breath, “I can’t… I really can’t. I’m sorry.”
    …
    The ground floor was a huge, rectangular, open plan area — a kitchen and living room rolled into one. In front of Zack was the most striking feature of the house. A glass wall, revealing an open view of the fields beyond. The building itself was rectangular, and had four main walls. Two short. Two long – the huge sheet of glass being one of the long ones. It allowed a view so seamless and expansive, that it felt like he was still outside. The sky was a moody grey. The fields rose gently, eventually drawing a line in the horizon. The occasional tree was dotted around, appearing as black outlines due to the low-level light. On the right, way off in the distance, the trees were closer and greater in number. Instead of a black isolated shape, they drew a thick, irregular line.
    Zack headed to the staircase, which was built into the same wall as the house’s entrance. His dread grew as he ascended. Pictures of his loved ones looked down at him. Family holidays. School photos. He had seen them a hundred times.
    A part of him knew what he was going to find. The stench was getting stronger. Zack came onto the landing – wide and long. Windows lined one side, and doors lined the other. He moved first to his Grandparent’s bedroom. The door was open. The bed was made. Inside this room was another room. The en suite. He didn’t think that they would be there and didn’t check.
    He tried the next door in the corridor. The spare room. Again the bed was made.
    Once more he returned to the corridor, his feet moving slowly along the soft luxury carpet. He pushed open the next door.
    The full stench hit him. Two corpses lay in the bath, hideously swollen. The maggots obscured their faces, but Zack knew it was them.

Chapter 9
    Laura thought about Stacy. Should she have gone back for her? Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? What if Stacy was still there, still unconscious? Why had she not considered this? What was wrong with her? Yet the more she thought about it, the less she saw it as an option. There was no way… too much time had passed. Stacy would be gone.
    Stacy. What was she going to do about Stacy? What was she going to do about — the sight of Zack coming back distracted her. He came towards her. His face had lost its colour. He passed her and got in the vehicle. Laura got in with him. A few seconds of silence. She opened her mouth, ready to ask him if there was any food, but he spoke first.
    “I’ve gotta go to my parents’ house.” He stared