Read Dark of Night - Flesh and Fire for Free Online

immediate threat. They were becoming too weary to even show their fear. More than half of them had fallen asleep. A naïve person, Dez knew, would look at those sleeping bodies and think that it was a sign of the resilience of youth. Dez would want to smack that person for being an idiot. These kids were so deep into habitual shock that they were retreating into exhausted sleep, and that sleep was in no way refreshing.
    Dez moved past the small bodies and tapped Biel on the shoulder and nodded to the door. He followed her outside and they walked a few paces away from the bus.
    “Look,” she said, “there were a bunch of farmers in that last batch, and I saw some yesterday, too.”
    “So what?” asked Biel.
    “So this is farm country, or near enough to it.”
    “Again…so what? If you’re thinking about holing up inside a farmhouse then you’re nuts. It didn’t keep the farmers from getting killed.”
    “Maybe,” she said, “and maybe they tried to make a fight of it. Or went running to help neighbors and got bit. Whatever. This bus is getting rank and we’re nearly out of food. Most farmers have stores of stuff, and they have rain barrels. And a barn could be reinforced pretty easily. They’re stronger than houses and don’t have as many windows.”
    “So, you’re suggesting what? That we take the kids on a class trip to some hypothetical farm somewhere? Those woods are full of the dead.”
    “No, Einstein, that’s not what I’m saying,” she snapped. “I’m saying I go looking for a farm. Me. I can move faster alone. I can scout around and come back.”
    “What if you don’t find anything?”
    “Then I’ll try a different direction tomorrow morning, and somewhere else tomorrow afternoon. And I’ll keep trying until I find something better than a rusting tin box on an open road.”
    Biel looked badly shaken at the thought. “You’d leave us alone?”
    “Not for long. I’d be out a couple hours at a time. You stay here and keep the bus buttoned up. You can do that, can’t you?”
    “I--.”
    “You can do that,” she repeated, putting a more encouraging stress on her words. “C’mon, man, you’ve done this a lot of times. You’re a pro. And I won’t be far away. If the shit really hits the fan fire a shot and I’ll hear it. But… only do that if things are going totally south. Don’t do it just because you get spooked, you hear me?”
    He nodded. It was a quick, nervous, uncertain nod, though.
    Dez flashed him her very best smile and patted him on the shoulder. “That’s my man.”
    Biel actually blushed.
    Dez went back to the bus, stuffed the last two full magazines for her Glock into a pocket, slung a water bottle over her shoulder, and left without saying a word. The kids didn’t even seem to notice. Or care.
    Or anything.
    At the edge of the forest she turned and waved to Biel, who stood in the doorway of the bus. He lifted one uncertain hand and then fled inside and closed the door.
    “Jesus,” Dez breathed, “what am I doing?”
    She turned and ran into the woods.
    Dez wasn’t sure what to expect, or if there would be anything worth finding. Most of this area was state forest. But there had been farmers. A lot of farmers.
    There had to be farms.
    The sun scorched a hot line across the afternoon sky as she put mile after mile between her and her kids.
     

 
~9~
     
     
    Rachael Elle
     
     
     
    After a few long hours spent walking off of the exit, Rachael stopped to rest. She shrugged off the backpack and let it fall and then slumped down with her back to a burned out shell of a state police cruiser. The woods and road were quiet except for insect and bird sounds. That was good, that was safe.
    Her rest period lasted less than a minute. The quiet was suddenly shattered by the frantic sound of whinnying, which was nearly a scream in the silence. A horse?
    “God,” she cried as she jumped to her feet, grabbed her bag, and instantly took off running after the sound.