The Infected (Book 1): Jim's First Day Read Online Free PDF

conviction.
    “We
can’t jump from here!” squawks Bill.
    “We
don’t have a lot of options and we have to move fast. There aren’t any of them
at the back of the building right now. Help me with this?” I walk over to a
large stack of twin-sized mattresses; grab one off the stack and head back for
the open window. Devon and Sam grab one each and follow me onto the roof. Bill
and Tracy grab one together. I guess they are going to go along with this. God,
I hope it works. I stand at the edge of the building. Boom! Boom! Boom! Tanks
explode one after another. Each one lands in a different spot. It only adds to
the chaos. More buildings are burning down. The cars closest to the Jiffy Lube
are all set ablaze. Another tank explodes and lands on our roof. It is only ten
feet from where we are standing. We drop to the ground and duck behind our
mattresses for cover. The heat coming off it is intense. It is so hot that the
plastic bag that incases the mattress has begun to melt and shrink.
    “Goddamn
that was close!” I fight to get back up, “Sam, grab the end of this.”
    Sam
lets go of his mattress and picks up the end of mine. Almost half of the roof
is on fire. We lift the mattress over the edge and aim for the top of the van
in the parking lot.
    “Ready?”
I ask. Sam nods. “Drop it.” We both let go and the mattress hits the top of the
van perfectly. A sigh of relief...then the vans alarm goes off.
    “SHIT!
Lets move!” We drop the other three mattresses on top of the van as fast as we
can. The fire creeps closer and closer to us. One tank after another blows
apart and sends its aluminum torpedo flying into the air. “I’ll go first,” I
throw my leg over the side of the building. I hate heights! I really, really
hate heights. I am not a fan of climbing up a six-foot ladder. That is how much
I hate heights. I pivot on my butt and bring my other leg over the side. I take
a deep breath. I want to close my eyes but I know that is a really bad idea. I
push off and try to land on my back. I fall ten feet and land hard on the stack
of mattresses. I cave the top of the van in when I land. I do a quick body
check and nothing has broken.
    “You
okay?!” Sam yells down to me.
    “I’m
fine,” I sit up and climb down onto the hood and drop to the pavement. They
send Tracy over next and she lands it perfectly. She climbs off and joins me in
the parking lot.
    “Hurry
up!” I yell up at them. Sam goes next, then Devon. The van’s alarm blasts.
    “Linda?”
Sam pulls at my shoulder. I turn and see her stumble out of the backdoor of our
building. That demon woman has spotted us and runs as fast as she can with a
busted knee. Not too far behind her is a group of infected kids from the
school. They are on the other side of the parking lot and moving fast in this
direction. 
    “Bill,
jump!” He sits on the edge of the building and shakes his head.
    “Stop
thinking and jump!” shouts Sam.
    “I
can’t!!” 
    “They’re
coming! We have to move!” I yell up at him. I have my keys in my hands ready to
go. More of them creep around the side of the building. They file into our
parking lot.   
    “FUCK
IT!” Bill lets go of the building. His body twists in the air. He jumped too
far. He is not going to land right. Goddamn it. Bill slams down on the edge of
the mattresses, falls off immediately and lands hard. He puts his hands out to
break his fall and both wrists snap in the wrong direction. He lands face first
on the asphalt. I roll him over to his back. His nose is broken, his lips are
cut and two front teeth are knocked out. He is out cold.
    “Sam,
grab him.” We grab Bill by his arms and drag him towards the street. His hands
flop around as we pull him by his forearms. The bones grind on each other
inside his wrist. Linda leads the pack of infected over the fence that
separates the two parking lots. Bill’s body is too heavy and they gain on us
with every step. I click the unlock button on my key fob,