The Reawakening (The Living Dead Trilogy, Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

to it. As I stood there, out of nowhere three dogs sauntered towards us, their ears pinned back on their heads, and their backs hunched in a threatening manner. They moved with such a determined gait that I knew instantly we were in trouble. We had two choices: either sprint towards the car or retreat back to the safety of the house. Dar was maybe five feet behind me. If the pack made a break, they would certainly reach us. I stopped and began to retrace my steps, and was startled to see that one of the dogs coming towards us was Buster, Susan’s friendly golden retriever. What had gotten into him? He would sooner lick us to death than attack.
    I instructed Dar to walk slowly back to the house and not make any sudden moves. We needed to remain calm so as not to alarm the dogs. As we continued our slow retreat, I kept my gaze locked on the pack’s eyes. They seemed fitful and tense, ready to charge at any moment. To my right, the injured chick struggled to rise to its feet, but I could see that it was too weak and injured to survive.
    Just then the pack broke. Their savage barks filled the air, and they sprayed saliva and drool in all directions. We dropped our suitcases, and I shouted for Dar to head back to the house. I turned and grabbed her arm to pull her along with me. Dar tripped ten feet from the screen door. When I looked back, I noticed that a mangy mutt had bolted ahead of the pack and was closing in on us. I lifted Dar up, placed my arm around her shoulder, and helped her to the door. The approaching dog’s growls signaled that he was not far behind us.
    I reached the door handle and twisted, shoving Dar inside, then turned and kicked the mutt in the head just as it leapt up towards my throat. It fell back against the ground and whimpered, though the kick did not deter it. It stood back up and made another mad charge. I slipped inside the door at the last second and secured the lock. The beast jumped up against the storm door and bared its fangs. A streak of bloody saliva dribbled down the pane of glass. The dog’s eyes gleamed in the light and appeared as a demon sent from beyond. Its fur was matted with blood, dirt, and caked mud. I slammed shut the main door and retreated back into the dining room, wondering why my brother had not come out with his gun and shot them all dead.
    I searched, but he was nowhere to be found. Dar sat in a fetal position on the floor, staring off into space. I took her to the living room and laid her down on the couch. Her eyes didn’t waver but stared straight ahead as if in a daze. I threw a blanket over her shivering body. She didn’t complain or say a word, instead pulling the blanket up to her chin.
    I ran upstairs, searching every room until I found Rick in the main bedroom on his knees and hunched over Susan’s prostrate body. Her face looked pale and her lips bloodless and dry. Sweat poured off her scalp and down her forehead. Rick tore the blanket off her body and threw it aside.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I don’t know.” He swiped a wet cloth over her head. “I thought you two were heading back?”
    “Something came up. Is Susan okay?”
    “I’m worried, Thom. As soon as you two left, she collapsed and started to go into convulsions. She’s come down with a fever. If it gets any higher, I’m going to have to run her an ice bath.” He turned around and faced me. “Why in the world did you come back here?”
    “Something strange is happening out there, Rick. We nearly got ripped apart by a pack of dogs as we walked out to the car. We had to sprint back inside the house. And you’re not going to believe this, but one of those dogs was Buster.”
    “Buster? No way! He’d never attack anyone like that.”
    “I’m here to tell you he did.”
    “Poor guy is scared of his own shadow. At the sound of thunder, he’s shivering under the bed like a coward.”
    “Something got into him, Rick. There were two other dogs with him, and they all appeared rabid. In