Read The Hungry 5: All Hell Breaks Loose (The Sheriff Penny Miller Series) for Free Online

us?”
    “If they are, then they’re doing a hell of a job!”
    “Stop!”
    As they came around the large boulder, Sheppard stomped on the brakes. The Hummer skidded in the dust and bounced on the gravel. Sheppard spun the wheel and just saved their lives. They almost slammed into the back of the pickup, which had stopped cold. Sheppard brought the larger vehicle to a stop as well.
    “Incoming!”
    Miller didn’t even bother to wonder which of her friends had called the warning. She dove out of the Hummer, Sheppard at her heels. She ran for the rocks and they both hit the ground.
    The Hummer exploded, leaving nothing but the chassis behind. The truck exploded seconds later. Rolls of toilet paper floated in the air and settled down on the debris as if someone had played a bad prank for Halloween.
    “Well, there’s your problem,” Scratch drawled.
    “Move,” Miller said, though she stayed on the ground. The others obeyed. They got to their feet and ran up the slope toward the mouth of the cave.
    “Get inside,” Miller ordered. She rolled over onto her back and studied the sky outside. The drone was coming back for another pass. It would be too late now, whatever its motive. She still wasn’t sure if it was trying to kill them or herd them like cattle. Either way, they were going to be underground soon. They had made it.
    “Penny, come on!” Sheppard called. He was in the cool shadow near the entrance. Scratch looked ready to come out and get her.
    “Stay there, I’m coming.”
    Ears still ringing, Miller picked herself off the ground. She stumbled up the slope before the drone returned and followed Scratch, Rat, and Sheppard into the deep mountain caves.

CHAPTER THREE

    After all the bright sunlight and so many loud explosions, the sudden silence in the shadowy underground cave was startling. Miller found herself temporarily blinded. The cool darkness seemed to have swallowed her friends alive. She closed her eyes to allow them to adjust. Then she opened them again. At first glance, the cave opening appeared empty. She couldn’t find her people, but they were probably just hiding in the boulders or flat on the rocky ground. The air smelled a tad rancid and cold water was dripping from somewhere high above them. Miller stood up and cupped her palms to make her words carry. She did not shout.
    “Is everyone all right?”
    Something moved a few yards to her right. Scratch appeared, a tall specter rising up from the damp gloom. His hands were moving and Miller could hear faint slapping sounds. He was patting the sand and dust off his clothes. “All arms and legs accounted for here, Penny.”
    “I’m good,” said Sheppard. He was over near Scratch.
    “One hundred percent,” said Rat. Her speech was a little slurred, but that was probably still from the beating Miller had given her just the day before, when they were both accelerated and on the zombie virus. It was still damn good to hear her voice, but then their bond was odd, to say the least.
    Sheppard approached Miller. “You want to tell us what that was all about?”
    “Say that again?”
    “You hesitated in the face of a threat, Penny. Twice in ten minutes. That’s not like you.”
    Miller stared at him, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She didn’t know how to respond. What the hell had she been thinking, anyway? She looked away. “Duly noted, Karl.”
    Sheppard had the good sense to drop it.
    Scratch coughed. “Just one other thing.”
    They all turned to look at him. “Yes?”
    “I mean… what the fuck ?”
    Miller was still having trouble seeing. She blinked and turned her head back and forth. She wanted to soak up their immediate surroundings to get a plan formulated. She went with him. “Which what the fuck do you mean?”
    “Which what the fuck do I mean? I mean, what the fuck they used fucking drones? ” Scratch pointed at the ceiling of the cave and thus the now invisible sky above. He turned to Sheppard. “Don’t your friends