Read HOOD: A Post Apocalyptic Novel (American Rebirth Series Book 1) for Free Online Page B

quietly.
    Hood's eyes were wide and his body cold with shock.
    You can't. You're not gonna. . .
    He backed away, staring at Lucky's motionless body.
    Not now. You can't freak out now. Stay focused. They need you. Taylor needs you.
    Hood snapped into motion, running down the street, honking the foghorn. Townsfolk had already started to come out of their houses, hearing the gunfire.
    “EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE! TAKE YOUR FAMILIES AND HEAD INTO THE WOODS. WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!” Hood shouted.
    He pulled out his .38 Special from its holster and pulled back the hammer. He ran straight home, screaming as loud as he could and firing the air-horn until it was empty. He tossed it aside, disgusted.
    How could we let this happen? How did we not see this coming?
    Hood's mind raced. They’d been too complacent. They hadn’t known how big a threat they had become to the Kaiser and his mongrel Sheriff. They had taken too much from them not to face reprisal.
    The road home was quiet, and he knew what that meant. The distant gunfire had stopped. Hood felt sick to his stomach. Lucky is dead. They're all dead. Maybe some of them got away. You can't think about that now. The dark, consuming emptiness of loss had gripped him. Hope all he like, he knew what happened to people outnumbered and taken unawares. His legs burned from sprinting and he gasped for air, but he kept running.
    He dashed through the covered bridge over the stream in town, his mind racing with fear. Where is Taylor? She must be at home still. The old style homes packed together in the woods, surrounded by horse fencing with great expanses of shrubbery all stood quiet. At least some of the townspeople will get out. I pray they will get out. Don't stop running, whatever you do. Hood turned the corner at the intersection. Ted and Karen Anderson with their kids Micah and Katie stood in front of the old brick library with its sagging roof and faded hanging sign that read Clearwater Town Library - Knowledge and Peace. They were a tall, lithe family all gripped with fear. Ted saw Hood and hurried towards him, his wife and kids following behind. He held an old revolver in hand, and looked scared to have to use it, his eyes darting around.
    “What's happened? Where is everyone?” Ted shouted, wide-eyed.
    Hood slowed to a stop, breathing heavily. “Just run. Take your family and run.”
    “Come with us!” Karen implored, staring nervously back towards town.
    “I can't. I'm going back to find Taylor.” Hood leaned down and propped himself up by his knees, his head throbbing from dehydration.
    The kids cried to their parents for an explanation. Karen gave them a soothing shush as she held their heads. Ted's dark glare into Hood's eyes said what his voice would not. You did this. You all brought his wrath down on us. Hood did not blame him if he thought that. When horrible things happen, we all search for a reason. We refuse to accept that maybe it was inevitable.
    “You can't fight it. Just run into the country. Stay off the roads. When you can't run, hide. And stay hidden. You can do this.” Hood stood up straight, looking at every one of them. The kids wore the fear of the unknown in their eyes. The parents wore the fear of something worse.
    “Come on,” Ted said to his family, ushering them away.
    “Go. Get out of here!” Hood turned and broke into a run again down the street towards home, not bothering to watch them leave. Hate me if you want. Just stay together and survive. Hood cut behind the old grocer with its faded, empty parking lot into the woods. Maybe this was our fault. Maybe we pushed too hard, took too much. How can this be happening? Please, someone tell me this isn't real. The path through the tall grass and the trees no longer gave any feelings of nostalgia or calm, instead pure, unfiltered fear that seized him. She's smart. She can take care of herself. You just have to find her. Hood wound up and over the short hills until it spat him out onto the old