Read DEAD: Reclamation: Book 10 of the DEAD series for Free Online

Plus, the nearby stream was visibly teaming with fish. It took less than an hour for Chad to hook a half dozen very large trout.
    They were cooking the fish over a fire when a voice called out, “Coming out of the woods!”
    Chad and Ronni looked up to see a figure with a cap pulled low and a scarf wrapped around the lower half of the face. That, along with the heavy, bulky clothing, made it impossible to determine gender visually. However, the voice clued Chad in right away.
    “If this is your place, we didn’t mean anything.” Chad rose to his feet, careful to keep his hands out wide. He stepped over just enough to put his body between the stranger and his daughter.
    “Actually, I have a camp on that island.” The stranger hiked a thumb over her shoulder.
    Chad craned his neck and nodded. That island would be a good choice if a person was alone or only with a couple of others. If he had any plans of settling here, that would be an ideal location.
    “Still, if we have imposed or trespassed, we will be on our way.” Chad brought his eyes back to the stranger.
    “Actually, I’d really like to join you for dinner if I could.” Making a show of being very cautious, the woman brought a small bag off her shoulder and opened it. She produced a handful of blackberries. “I’ll supply dessert.”
    Chad had glanced at Ronni. His daughter gave a non-committal shrug. That is how they met Caroline Hardin.
    Caroline had been with a group of seven. Together, the group had fortified a small settlement just north of the lodge. They had considered staying in the lodge itself, but they preferred the idea of being away from anyplace that might attract attention—living or otherwise. What they had done instead was to strip the lodge of anything they could use as they built their own little settlement in the woods.
    They had fared well until one of them contracted a virus of some sort. It had spread fast with fever and the inability to keep anything in or down. Two died quick, but the others lingered. At some point, Caroline had slipped out of consciousness. She awoke having no idea how much time had passed. She was also the only one to survive.
    Not wanting to venture from a location that had seen so little traffic of the undead, much less the living, Caroline had decided that she would make camp on the island. She had been slowly bringing what she needed from her old camp when Chad and Ronni arrived.
    They had stayed in the area for years. With it only being the three of them, Chad had agreed that the island would be the best place for them to settle. Then a drought hit, and with it, the land became a tinderbox waiting for that one spark. It came in the form of lighting. The wildfires raged in the hills and Chad made the decision for them to move. Taking what they could salvage, the trio moved on.
    They had been on the go for the better part of five months when they found a place that a faded sign identified as Hyatt Reservoir. After two days where they made a complete circuit of the massive lake, they found a hilltop that had a creek at the base.
    They had found their new home. They started with a perimeter fence and cleared enough land to have a decent farm. Today marked the day they would start on the construction of their log cabin.
    With winter still months away, they would have plenty of time to get in that first crop. It would be sparse as far as vegetables were concerned, but they would have no shortage of meat and fish.
    He felt a little like a character from a movie he had seen when he was young. Jeremiah Johnson had been the title. There had been a scene where Jeremiah and the Native American woman had built a cabin together.
    He shook his head as his mind allowed that part of the movie to play out. It had ended poorly.
    “Are you just gonna stand there?”
    The voice of his daughter snapped him back to reality. He gave a sheepish smile and moved down the length of the log to make the next notch.
     
    ***
     
    Jody