Zombie Rules (Book 4): Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page B

sounds good,” I responded. Kelly ignored him and ran to the far end of the cafeteria where Rhonda was. I watched as the two of them embraced. Rhonda’s hair was still the same strawberry blonde color but about an inch or two longer than the last time I saw her. Her weight was about the same, as was everyone else. I guess they were doing good, food wise.
    I looked over the others. Everyone looked about the same and there were two strangers sitting at the far end of the cafeteria chatting with Gus while Tonya sat across from them, her back to me. They appeared to be about my age, perhaps a year or two older. One of them eyed me curiously as he toyed with an empty coffee mug. They were probably telling them about me and I could only imagine what the two of them were saying. The other one barely glanced at me but instead had an intense interest in Kelly and ogled her shamelessly.
    I grabbed a chair and sat, watching them casually. It was difficult to believe my friends and family had been murdered while these people sat here in the comfort of this school in blissful ignorance. Marc pulled up a chair, sat, and patted my leg.
    “Damn, Zach, it’s so good to see the two of you. How’ve you been?” he asked.
    “I miss my kids, Marc,” I answered with equal quietness. My answer was guarded. I hoped that it would provoke some kind of informational response, but if Marc knew anything he was keeping a good poker face. I kept at it.
    “But otherwise, we’ve done okay. I’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of me when the weather warms up. Those people just about destroyed everything.” Ward hurried in with a tray of cups filled with steaming tea. I nodded in thanks and took a couple of sips before continuing.
    “You know, I’m somewhat surprised those goons didn’t pay you guys a visit as well.” Ward had distributed the tea and came back to sit with us. I watched them casually, but intensely as Marc repeated what I’d said. There was no outward reaction, but they also avoided making eye contact with me.
    The distant whistling of a tea kettle interrupted our conversation. Ward jumped up.
    “One day, I’ll find a big, two gallon kettle,” he said with a grin and hurried back into the kitchen. He came back a moment later with the kettle and held it up.
    “Who wants a refill?” he asked loudly. There was a chorus of responses. I nodded gratefully as he refilled my cup first. The tea bags were soggy now, but we reused them anyway. It was brackish and tasted like green tea about three years past the expiration date. As I took another sip, I looked up and saw Tonya standing. She purposely walked toward us and sat down on the other side of the table. Ward hurriedly placed a new teabag in her cup and poured hot water in.
    “Have any of you seen Bo or Penny?” I asked. They all shook their heads.
    “Ward and I went down to the horse farm just before the first snowfall,” Marc said. “But nobody was around.”
    “What about Johnny and his crew?” My question drew some sidelong looks. Johnny was friends with Chet. Unfortunately, Chet and several other people were killed when their tanker truck overturned and exploded during a fuel run. The ones who were left, Johnny and two of his friends, were an unlikeable sort and everyone generally avoided them.
    “I saw them driving down Franklin Road back in November,” Tonya said, “but I don’t think they’re living in that big old house anymore. They certainly didn’t bother to stop and chat.”
    “We went by there yesterday,” Marc said. “Nobody answered our knocks, but we didn’t go inside.”
    “There was a grave in the backyard,” Ward added. “We couldn’t tell how long it’d been there, but it wasn’t there in November.” I nodded in silence and sipped my tea, casually wondering which one of them had died.
    “Oh, I almost forgot,” I said, looking at Tonya. “A while back, Benny loaned me a couple of books. I’ve got them in the truck and figured you’d