The Dead in River City Read Online Free PDF Page A

as
he came, and went to work on his idea.
    Alan had never run so fast in his life. He had
minutes to take care of the small horde outside before they broke inside. He
ran to the food storage of the hotel. Knowing that any cooking supplies would
be there, he had one specific item in mind: a propane tank. Frantically
searching the room, he found a single propane tank. Lifting it up, he could
tell it was missing some… possibly half the propane inside was gone. It would
have to do. Alan took the propane tank, and fled back to the lobby.
    Alan returned to the lobby to see that the glass of
the front doors was cracking from the pressure. He had mere seconds to finish
the job. He rushed to the door, dropping the propane tank in front of it. Glass
shattered as the Dead Ones began reaching inside. Barely escaping their grasp,
Alan ran from the door, getting a safe distance back. He turned as the glass
broke away piece by piece. Raising the shotgun, he aimed for the half-empty
propane tank, hoping his plan would work. He had no time to waste. Alan pulled
the trigger and blasted the propane tank.
    The resulting explosion was quite spectacular. It
broke the rest of the glass that hadn’t been destroyed by the Dead Ones. The
Dead Ones themselves were not only knocked back by the explosion, but also
engulfed in flames. As their bodies burned, Alan walked forward; putting them
down with the shotgun, making sure each and every Dead One was well and truly
dead.
    Outside the front door, the smoke from the flaming
bodies filled the air. Burning, rotting flesh had an acrid smell that overtook
the scent of the cool nighttime air. Seeing that his work was done, he walked
back inside. Before he ever reached the room, Kendra met up with him, still a
little drowsy.
    “Alan, what happened?” She asked, seeing the grisly
scene just outside the front door.
    “Dead Ones.” He began. “Don’t worry, I took care of
them. I’m sorry I woke you.” He apologized.
    “It’s ok.” She said with a big yawn.
    “Let’s go back to sleep. I have a feeling we’ll have
a long day tomorrow.” Alan told her.
    They returned to their room, with Alan locking the
door behind them. Each climbed into their bed, and tried to sleep for the rest
of the night. The room was silent, save for each other’s breathing, and soon,
albeit, restlessly, they slept.

6
    Dim sunlight shone through the window of their room
as Kendra began to awaken. To her surprise, they were both still alive. She was
sure the explosion in the early morning darkness would have attracted more Dead
Ones. She didn’t voice her concerns, and just tried to trust Alan and sleep.
She actually slept better than she had in weeks. Glancing at the clock with her
tired eyes, she saw that it was 6:30am and that dawn was breaking. She rubbed
the sleep from her eyes and got out of bed.
    “Alan. Alan, get up.” Kendra said, walking to Alan’s
bed and shaking him to get up.
    Alan jolted awake. “Wha… Kendra?” he reacted in
shock.
    “You ok?” Kendra asked. “That doesn’t seem a normal
reaction.”
    “Guess I’m still on edge from last night.” He
remarked, rubbing his eyes. “What time is it?”
    “6:30.” She replied. “We need to get moving.”
    Alan nodded without a word and went to the bathroom
to clean himself up as best as he could. The hotel only had so much in the way
of hygiene products that they could use. He tried to finish up quickly so that
Kendra could have a turn. He spent mere minutes in the shower before dressing
back into his clothes from the day before. Stepping out of the bathroom, he
motioned the Kendra that she was free to use the bathroom.
    Kendra enjoyed her showed immensely. She couldn’t
remember when she’d last had the opportunity to take one, but it was lovelier
than she remembered. Until she met Alan, she’d been quite limited in her
ability to travel. When she was alone, she spent most of her time going from
place to place, fortifying it, and trying