Read The Grace Series (Book 2): Tainted Grace for Free Online Page A

“Susan, do you mind helping me?”
    Susan looked up, and beamed.   “Sure!”  Her smile was a welcome sight.
    Tea was steeping, mugs were set out, and the macaroni was almost finished cooking.  We had decided to wait until the next day to indulge in the eggs, and would save the potatoes and carrots for once the venison was cured and ready to cook.  Emilie and I had taken strips of smoked trout out of the refrigerator and broken them into bite-sized pieces and arranged them on a small platter.  The four men had settled in at the table and Susan occupied the fourth chair, between Nathan and Boggs.  Emilie and I often tackled meal duties together, enjoying the activity and the time to talk to each other.  We were glad to serve the small meal and then sit on the counter and eat in the background.  It also gave us a chance to sit back and observe the newcomers.  Before the world flipped upside down and kicked our butts, people might think us girls waiting on the men was old fashioned.  We enjoyed it.  And now there was no one to judge anyhow.  Same went for the guys, being protective of us.  It felt natural and we had all fallen into a groove.  We considered each other very much as equals.
    “So, mind telling us how you came across our cabin?” pressed Gus as the big discussion began.
    Bill cleared his throat.  “We’re in a similar situation about ten miles away.  Holed up in an old country style house.  There’s a handful of us.  Six now, was ten.”  His face grew solemn as he spoke.  “The homeowners had obviously been attacked and overrun.  There was blood everywhere and two mutilated bodies.  Or what was left of them.”
    I heard Nathan sigh at the memory.
    “By the time we came across the house,” added Nathan, “the ten of us had hooked up.  We lost four on a scouting trip.  The rest of us were lucky to make it out of that one alive.”
    “We lost four really good people.  One of them just a little child,” Bill said softly, almost as if the memory would bring bad luck to us.
    “We also lost some really good people,” chimed in Susan.  “Three of them.  Well, three adults and a newborn.”  She hung her head.  I noticed Nathan watching her.  A couple of weeks ago I’d have thought Susan was putting on a show to impress someone, but her grief now seemed genuine. 
    I walked to the table with two mugs of steaming tea and set them down first for Susan and Bill. Emilie followed me , balancing three more for Nathan, Gus, and Boggs.
    “How secure is the place you’re holed up in?” asked Gus.
    Bill shrugged. “Not as secure as I’d like.  We’ve focused on the basement as a safe area in the event of a breech.  Most of our time is spent down there.  We have it boarded up the best we can.  It’s cold though.  We have a wood burning fireplace but only light it after dark to mask the smoke.  Nathan and I are the ones with the most hunting skills so are out in search of food right now.  We’ve been out hunting for almost a week.”
    “A week?” asked Boggs.  “How have you kept alive?
    “A little trick we’ve learned,” said Nathan with a wide grin. “The dead can’t climb trees.”
    “But once they know you’re there they can surround you and wait.  Then you have to use ammo carefully…just head shots.  Kill ’em then run like hell before more come,” sighed Bill.
    “You’ve seen the fast ones?” asked Gus.
    “Ya, they’re the worst,” answered Nathan.
    I sipped at my hot tea while Emilie strained the macaroni into the sink and added the can of tomatoes.
    “We suspect they can think,” I added.  Everyone at the table looked at me, Bill and Nathan holding their mugs mid-sip.
    “What do you mean?” asked Bill, grimly.
    “We’ve seen them use humans as bait,” I answered, not bothering to try to sugar coat it.  “They sit back and watch and wait.  They eat on people they use until they are done with them, and then finish them off.