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

ears had finally stopped ringing. “You’re right about that, Karl. Flat Rock is the only town in this area. You’d have to go all the way over to Elko to find anything worth stealing.”
    Sheppard said, “So you think they’re gone.”
    Miller said, “Let’s verify that before we get caught with our pants down.”
    Scratch smiled. “Cool. I didn’t know it was going to be that kind of party.”
    Rat spat on the rocks. “I’m thirsty. We have any water?”
    No one answered. Miller just pointed toward the dripping sounds coming from further inside the cave. “A seemingly limitless supply, if you don’t mind the bat quano taste. Might be smart to boil it first.”
    “I’ve got some purifying tablets,” Sheppard said. “We’re okay.”
    “Then we go in and see where it leads.”
    “Is that the best plan, Penny?” Scratch hooked a thumb back toward the mouth of the cave. “Do you reckon those drones are still out there looking for us?”
    “They don’t have that much fuel,” said Rat. “My bet is that they went looking for other prey or back home to base.”
    “I wouldn’t count on that happening so easily,” said Sheppard. “If the drones were sent from Mountain Home, they’re here for us and they’re going to be on station or replaced until they’re reasonably sure we’re dead. That’s state of the art equipment with lots of loiter time.”
    “What happened to the ‘I’m a doctor, not a drone expert’ speech you gave me in the Hummer?”
    “I didn’t know about weapons systems, Penny. I didn’t say I don’t know anything at all.”
    Scratch snorted. “I’m going to go look and see if they’re still up there.” He didn’t wait for a response or permission. He jogged back up the slope toward the mouth of the cave. “Maybe we can still get the flying fuck out of here without ending up on some redneck cannibal’s dessert tray.”
    The dust had cleared from the small cave entrance and sunlight was coming through. It seemed quiet outside, but then the acoustics in the cave were lousy and compressed. Miller wavered, wondering if Scratch might not be smart to check outside, despite the risk. The Mountain Home drone pilots could be playing chess with them, perhaps flying ahead to a suspected exit to ambush them when they came out on the other side, or God forbid planning to blow up and close all known exits. Scratch had a point. They might have flown away. On the other hand…
    “Scratch,” Miller called. “Hang on there, cowboy. Let me think on this.”
    Scratch didn’t respond, just continued to head toward the mouth of the cave.
    “Scratch! Get your ass back here,” Rat hollered. Her voice echoed through the damp cave and bounced back. “They have infrared gear on board. They’ll spot you immediately and…”
    The sudden explosion was deafening. A shock wave ripped through the confined space. The walls trembled and the ground rolled like a wave on the ocean. The thin stream of light that had come from the mouth of the cave abruptly vanished. Miller went blind again. The air was suddenly dense with dust and falling gravel. The noise faded away. Miller could hear large rocks moving around and someone groaned.
    “Scratch!” Miller called. “You dumb redneck son of a bitch! If you got yourself blown up, I’ll kill whatever’s left of you.”
    No answer.
    “Scratch?” Miller scrambled to her feet, heart thudding in her chest. “Scratch!”
    Miller coughed. They were all hacking and wheezing now. She couldn’t keep talking, because the dust in the air was too thick. She covered her mouth with her sleeve and tried to inhale some kind of air she didn’t have to chew into submission. She sat on the rocks near where she’d been standing. She couldn’t see a damn thing. This would be one lousy time for a massive zombie attack.
    “Rat?” called Sheppard. “You okay?”
    “Peachy keen.” Rat voice sounded far away from Miller now, and kind of scratchy, but that could have