Read Heartland Junk (Part II): Sanctuary for Free Online

"Sleeping?"
                  "I don't like it," Rivet said, picking the axe off the back seat. "Get the crowbar and let's check it out."
                  The worn steps creaked under our weight as we ascended. Flakes of blue paint cracked away, revealing the washed-out wooden boards beneath. I gently nudged the swinging screen door open and walked across the dark porch. Rivet's footsteps fell like whispers behind me. The door into the kitchen was closed, the room dark beyond the glass.
                  "Halloo?" Rivet called. There was no reply. I tried the knob. It turned easily under my hand. I pushed the door open and stepped back, nerves screaming, waiting for something to jump out of the darkness to eat me. Fuck, where were they? Had the zombies broken in?
                  "Shit," said Rivet. "You don't think those people caught up to Abby and Theo?"
                  "Jennie?" I called into the dark kitchen. Heavy silence was the only reply. Not even an echo of my voice. "Dammit!" I hissed. "Let's stick together."
                  "No fucking shit," Rivet hissed back. If he was taking this seriously, I should be scared shitless.
                  We crept through the kitchen, scanning the shadows. Looking for pink pricks in the archway leading to the living room. Listening for creaks in the rooms above us. I angled toward the closed dining room door, but Rivet said, "This way," and went toward the living room side.
                  "You didn't bring a flashlight?" I whispered to Rivet.
                  "Why would I? It was daytime."
                  "Of course," I snapped. "And it was never going to get dark."
                  "You didn't bring one either, dunbfuck," Rivet whispered back. I walked into the living room behind Rivet, feeling the darkness envelop me. I could dimly make out the shape of the sofa across the room, and the open doorway to the foyer materialized as a deeper black inside the surrounding void.
                  "I figured you had one," I said.
                  "Like it's my job to have a flashlight, like... shh, " he cut himself off. I'd heard it. Just the softest ghost of a creaking door hinge. Not in the living room, but...
                  "Behind us," Rivet whispered. I nodded. He probably couldn't even see it, it was so dark. My heart was hammering. The iron crowbar grew slick in my sweaty palms.
                  Swish, a soft shoe on linoleum. Definitely someone behind us. In the kitchen. They must have come through the door from the dining room. Need to turn around. I was locked in place. Need to move. On three. I gripped the crowbar tighter. One...I felt Rivet tense, unseen, beside me. Two...deep breath. Shaking. Fuck, if they'd killed Jennie...I'd rip the throats out of every last one of them. I'd make them beg for death. I'd...
                  Three.
                  I spun, crowbar raised, and the kitchen flared into brightness. I shut my eyes against the sudden glare and swung blindly. The crowbar smashed into something soft. Rivet shouted, then grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back, then started laughing.
                  I opened my eyes and saw Jennie standing in the middle of the kitchen. A smashed pile of icing and cake lay at her feet, a candle still fizzling weakly on top.
                  "Surprise," she managed. Her hands were shaking slightly.
                  "What...?" I began.
                  "Happy birthday, Rayman," Rivet said, clapping his hand over my shoulder. "Thank God you have terrible aim."
                  "Holy shit," I exclaimed. "I could have killed you! What the hell were you thinking?"
                  "We wanted to surprise you," Jennie said. I wondered how close the crowbar had come to splitting her skull.