Read Born 01 - Born for Free Online Page A

virus should have died out years ago but the ones who got sick after it mutated survived, if you can call it that. They are contagious but don’t seem to die, no matter how sick their bodies get. There aren’t many of them left but somehow they still manage to ruin lives.
    I count the heads, seven. Not to mention the one on the ground, if it's a human. It could be an animal. The infected have no sense. They attack anything that moves. Their hunger is too great. I've seen them attack a bush on a windy day.
    I can take down three before they get close enough to make reloading my bow a gamble. I don’t like gambles. I know Anna has a pocket full of bullets, but I will be forced to trust she can shoot them before the infected get to me. It too feels like a gamble when I think about it.
    I feel stuck. My back is against a wall. I know Leo will take down one. Together we can guarantee four. It doesn’t feel safe enough. I turn back and look at the hill behind me. I want to go home. I want to climb the hill and climb into my own bed and lock the world out. Again I regret opening the stupid door. I should have left them. I should have left him in the hole.
    I am about to run and whistle when I look at Jake once more. He winks at me and grins. My stomach does the hurting twinge thing. My lips grin back. I never told them to do it. They seem to be making choices for themselves.
    I pull the arrow back and site in the largest one. I feel the gusts of wind and the cycle they seem to come in. A large gust hits and then leaves space in the air until the next one. I exhale and release the arrow. He has dark brown hair and his face is swollen. He was a man once. I turn my heart off to him and reload instantly.
    I feel the next gust and fire compensating for it. The arrow slices into a matted head of dark blonde locks. I reload, ignoring the tickles on my cheeks. The infected have noticed two are down. They turn their faces around, searching. My next arrow hits the milky eye of an older one. The remaining four stand up and begin to make the squeal. I cringe, knowing the sound will haunt me for weeks.
    My next arrow hits the one pointing at me. She drops the second it slides through her open mouth.
    I feel a shiver at the sight. I reload as the remaining three shriek and start their mad dash toward me.
    I drop another one before I turn and start to run for the nearest tree. I want to run the other way. I want to run into the hills and leave them but my feet don’t listen to me. My leg won't make it far with the bullet hole in it. The long grass tangles in my feet and pulls at me. My leg burns and tries to convince me to stop running.
    "Emma. Emma." I ignore the voice and run. I feel the panic hitting.
    "Emma, they're all dead."
    I reach the bark of the huge tree. I want to climb but the pain in my thigh is killing me. I grip the massive branch and pull myself into the tree using only my arms. I've practiced this. I pull myself up and sit on the branch. I look down at the two people standing in the grass looking at me like I'm nuts. Leo paces. He understands. We've run from them many times.
    Jake approaches the tree limping slightly. He puts his hands out like he is scared of me. "Emma, they're all dead."
    "How?"
    Anna beams. "I shot them. I waited for them to run to you and then dropped them all instantly."
    "You? You killed them?"
    She tilts her head. "You still don’t trust us to help you?"
    I want to say yes, but I sit for a moment in the tree.
    "I'm stuck."
    Jake stands below the huge branch and puts his arms out. "Jump."
    I throw down my bow and arrows and look around. The field doesn’t move, except where the winds stroke the dark amber colored grass.
    I turn over on my belly and lower myself from the branch. I hang there for a second before the strong arms circle me and hold me tightly. The screaming agony of my leg is dulled suddenly.
    Leo nudges my legs and whines.
    Jake's breath brushes against my face as he speaks softly, "You