The Last Outbreak (Book 1): Awakening Read Online Free PDF

passenger seat quickly exited the SUV, made their way over to Joe, and dragged his limp body up onto the rear seat. Two quick slaps from Griffin and a small trail of blood ran from the corner of Joe’s mouth. “Come on, wake up.”
     
    Nothing.
     
    “JOE, LET’S GO BUDDY!”
     
    No movement.
     
    The man from the passenger seat stepped away as he stared down at his chest, arms, and hands. Slowly walking out to the middle of the roadway, he stood illuminated by the SUV’s headlights. “Griffin, who exactly does all this blood belong to?”

5
 
    Was the pounding in his head drowning out the thunder coming from beyond his bedroom or was it the other way around? With the amount of alcohol he’d poured into his six foot-two inch, one-hundred-ninety-five pound body last night, the new day came as a colossal slap in the face. Ethan Runner was sure of four things. He knew he’d gotten less than three hours of sleep. He knew the sun was up. He knew who was pounding at his door. And mostly he knew this day was going to kick his ass.
     
    Sliding out from under the comforter, Ethan pushed into a seated position, rubbed his eyes, and started toward the maniac nearly breaking down his front door. For the third time in as many weeks, his overly enthusiastic best friend and co-worker decided to play good cop.
     
    Crossing the living room, the head-splitting reverberation against the front door began to fade; however, the team of jackhammers working the inside of his forehead amplified their fury. “I’m getting way too old for this—never again.”
     
    At the door, he didn’t bother to check, as he knew who it was and why he was here. Stepping aside, he pulled the door open, turned, and started back to the kitchen. “I know, we’re late. I just need to dump some caffeine down my throat and after I find my pants, we’ll get moving.”
     
    David walked through the door as if his heels were on fire. “Hey, I got you covered.” His friend followed him away from the entry and held at arm’s length a tall cup of the strong stuff. “You got like two minutes to get this stuff in you; we need to go. But I don’t care how late we are today, you need a shower. We’re not doing this again.”
     
    As Ethan moved out of the kitchen, he attempted a compromise. “You know I really don’t care about this job, but I don’t want you taking the fall for this. Go get the truck and meet me back here in ten minutes, no use in both of us getting the call. Does that work for ya?”
     
    The throbbing behind Ethan’s eyes began to manifest itself into a permanent scowl as David fought to keep from laughing. “You know she won’t call me and if she reaches the truck she’ll want to talk to you anyway. Your sister is relentless.”
     
    “Yeah, Emma called me like three times in the middle of the night.”
     
    “She what?”
     
    “Probably just trying to make sure I knew what today was.”
     
    “You didn’t answer?” David said.
     
    “You really think that would have put her mind at ease, hearing me unable to form a complete sentence? I just feel lucky to be alive today. Oh, and by the way, your ability to bounce back after last night is a bit annoying. We consumed the exact same drinks and somehow you seem to have come out the other side without a scratch. You really aren’t human, are you?”
     
    David moved to the couch, flopped back into the oversized pillows, and grabbed the TV remote. “Buddy, I stopped drinking hours before you last night. And I hate to say it, but I told you this would happen.”
     
    “First of all, nobody likes a know-it-all—it’s not funny, it’s not clever, and it kinda pisses people off. Oh yeah and while we’re at it, NOBODY likes a know-it-all, period.”
     
    Before Ethan could finish, David had turned his attention to the television. “Just get in the shower, I’ll be the guy on the couch just waiting for you to get your crap together. Now go.”
     
    Down the hall and into his