Read Wormwood Dawn (Episode I) for Free Online

with about three inches to spare along the bottom.
    He drove in a screw at the top corner, and then fastened it all along the top. On the bottom, he screwed the short studs to the wall, overlapping the OSB high enough to hold the bottom in place. Then, he lifted the remaining sheet over the front windows, securing it the same way. The end of the board covered the door, which would provide a little bit more security.
    Or maybe not.
    The storm door opened outward.
    Shit, he thought. He went back out to the garage, bundling a few of the decking scraps and some more studs. He screwed the decking in front of the door horizontally, bracing them with the leftover studs. He left about an inch between them to see out of—and poke his .308 or shotgun through. When he was finished, he stepped back to admire his work.
    “Nice,” he said. Behind him, the cat purred. “What do you think, kitty?”
    The cat sniffed the air, meowed, and went back into the house.
    “ Pffft!” Dan snorted.
    It looked good; tight and secure. Who cares how pretty it was?
    Suddenly, his cell phone rang. It was one in the morning; who the hell would be calling?
    “Hello?” he said.
    “Dude!” It was Drew; his friend in Martinsville.
    “What’s up, Drew?”
    “What the fuck is going on man? Are you okay?”
    “Yeah, you?”
    “Shit is crazy here. I just now got free. The National Guard is all over the place. They’ve been detaining people left and right. I snuck away about an hour ago and I’m just outside town. I can’t get home.”
    “Do you have your car?”
    “Nope. I’m screwed. All the sickies are running around attacking people. I got pulled over on my way to Indy, and they took me to the flea market where they’re based.”
    “They made the flea market into a base?”
    “Yep. They’ve got all the normal people holed up there. There’s probably five hundred or so in the same building. They’ve got the windows all boarded up and there’s machine guns everywhere. What the hell is happening?”
    “Not sure, buddy,” Dan replied, shaking his head—though he didn’t know why. “I’m working on boarding up my house right now. Any way you can make it out?”
    Drew sighed as he thought for a minute. “I might be able to steal a car or something.”
    “Try getting a pickup. We might need it to haul some materials here. I don’t think anyone will come around, but I need more shit to block the windows and stuff. You got a gun?”
    “Not on me. I don’t usually carry, but I guess I should have today.”
    “Where were you going in Indy?”
    “My dad’s house. He’s out in the county. I thought maybe I could go there, but he’s not answering his phone. He’s probably dead or in some detainee camp.”
    “Alright. Find a truck. If you can’t, call me back and I’ll pick you up somewhere south of town.”
    “Cool. I’ll give it a shot. Later.”
    Dan stuffed the phone in his pocket and went back into the house. There were more materials in the garage, and he had plenty of windows and doors to board up. He would work until Drew arrived, and then the two of them would continue. The problem was, he had little food, and there would come a time when they would have to venture out into the world to find more. The shit had already hit the fan, he realized, and the hunt would be dangerous; not only because of the loonies, but because of the military and those who were also on the hunt.
    There were no rules anymore. No one was safe.

Chapter Four
     
    With his MP3 player on shuffle, Dan piled his living room with scraps of wood and began the arduous task of boarding up his windows and doors. There were few windows around the house that were less than five feet off the ground, meaning they would be difficult to enter, but he boarded them up anyway—at least halfway. The sliding glass door was more of a problem. There were no scraps, studs, or enough OSB to cover them completely so he had to saw away some studs from the garage.
    Another