Read The Dead in River City for Free Online

terrible shape, the
paint was chipped and the body was warped from various accidents. The odometer
was broken, so God only knew how many miles the car actually had on it, and the
car’s engine sounded anything but reassuring. On top of all that, the color of the
car was arguably the most atrocious color he’d ever seen. The car was
chartreuse, or as Alan called it, puke-y green.
    “That’s got to be the worst car I’ve ever seen.”
Alan remarked.
    “Stop complaining. At least it got us out of our
sticky situation earlier.” Kendra pointed out. “Let’s get in there and get out.
I don’t want to stay here longer than necessary.”
    They made their way across the parking lot, going
inside the mall, unsure of what awaited them inside.

7
    The doors of Jefferson Mall were no longer functioning.
In fact, the glass panes were shattered into thousands of pieces that now
littered the ground. Alan and Kendra stepped through the hole where the glass
panes once were, and strode into the darkened building.
    It was painfully obvious that looters had hit the
entire mall. Stores had broken windows, merchandise was strewn everywhere, and
more evident than anything else, corpses littered the facility. Looters seldom
get along with each other, so it’s no real surprise when looters go on a raid
and don’t come back. Their bodies littered store after store throughout the
mall. Alan was fully convinced that there were still looters somewhere in the
mall, and he wasn’t about to take a chance on anything.
    Alan held the shotgun tight, ready to defend himself.
He was unsure if he would be able to see anyone in the dark, if there was
anyone there at all. Alan never liked the dark, in truth. It wasn’t really fear
of the dark. It was more so the fear of what was lurking in the dark. It could
be nothing, or it could be bloodthirsty looters. Even worse, it could be Dead
Ones. In fact, Alan would be surprised beyond belief if there weren’t any Dead
Ones in the mall.
    “Kendra.” Alan whispered. “Keep quiet. There might
be Dead Ones lurking in the shadows.”
    Kendra nodded, saying nothing. She held her sword
ready, and quietly followed Alan. They reached the end of the entry hallway,
and found themselves in the main part of the mall. It was a seemingly endless
row of stores and abandoned kiosks, each one nearly barren of merchandise.
    Alan led the way through the dim darkness of the
mall, working off of his memory to find a clothing store. Reaching the first
one he could find, they walked in and started looking for something to replace
their attire with.
    “I can’t see a thing in here.” Kendra said.
    “Hold on, let me search for a light.” Alan replied.
“Usually stores keep a few flashlights in case there’s a power outage.”
    Alan found his way to the counter as his eyes
adjusted to the lack of light. He wished his lighter still worked, but he would
have to hope he was right about the flashlights instead. Feeling around, he
found a flashlight and switched it on. The small store that was full of
darkness suddenly had a single beacon of light. Alan and Kendra could see
again.
    “Much better!” Kendra exclaimed, as she went to
search for some clothes.
    “We should make this quick, Kendra. Find stuff we
can wear and then let’s get out of here.” Alan said in a nervous tone.
    “What’s got you so spooked?” Kendra asked, seeing
Alan’s discomfort at the current situation.
    “I just don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here
very long.” Alan replied. “Whether it’s looters or the Dead Ones, this place
isn’t safe.”
    “It’s the zombie apocalypse, Alan. Nowhere is
actually safe.” Kendra retorted.
    Alan ignored her comment as he began searching for
clothes. As he had suspected, the looters had taken most of the merchandise
from the store, but there were still some articles of clothing that weren’t
taken. Alan found a single pair of jeans that actually came close to fitting
him. They were a little bit