Read The Hungry (Book 2): The Wrath of God for Free Online

virus itself, or that his best friend had been 'patient zero'? Miller cleared her throat. She decided to edit out a lot. "Sheppard worked at Crystal Palace with the man who started it all, Colonel Sanchez."
    Lovell frowned. "Crystal Palace?"
    "That's what they called the secret base," she said. "It's where we're going." She hooked her thumb at Scratch sitting next to her. "Scratch over there was with me when the zombies arrived that first night. He helped me fight them off." Still editing, Miller left out that Scratch was her prisoner at the time, had killed her deputy in cold blood, had shot her without thinking, and had almost left her for dead. None of that seemed relevant, considering Scratch had also saved her life more than once and had turned out to be a halfway decent human being. Sometimes. Sort of.
    "What about the other dude? Where did he come in?"
    "Terrill Lee, well…" Miller couldn't think of anything to say. "He's my ex-husband. He's a veterinarian. I got shot and went to him for help."
    "I see," said Lovell. He clearly didn't, but dropped the thread. "What about the zombies? Anything special we should know about them?"
    "Aim for the brain, cowboy," she said. "It's how you put them down. Sheppard can explain this better than me, but their nervous system stays active after death, so if any part of them is attached to a working brain, they're a danger. Oh, and don't get bit by one. It would be bad ." She made a gesture with both hands across her throat, crossed her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and made a guttural choking noise. "You'll turn into a monster faster than a teenage girl having her first PMS."
    "That's what Rat said." He considered what she said. "So it's all true? Shoot 'em in the head and they're history? The way it is in the movies and shit? It can't be that simple."
    "Nothing's simple when there's a hundred slobbering zombies coming at you and all you have is a six shooter and no reloads. It can be a bit overwhelming, brother. And believe me, one's a threat, but a group of them is a recipe for disaster. They come at you from all sides and take you by surprise. When we run into some, you'll see what I mean."
    "You make it sound as if they're intelligent," said Lovell.
    "No, not intelligent. Just really, really hungry. Desperate. Which makes any dumb, wild creature kind of cunning, you know? Speaking of which, when does the flight attendant come around with the Mountain Dew and salted peanuts? I'm starving."
    The call came over the headphones: "Heads up," said the pilot, "we're descending into Nellis. Major, secure your troops."
    Rat's voice took over the intercom. "Roger that. All right, sweethearts, when we touch down, I want you to remember that we are still on the clock. There is going to be a very big kaboom in just over twenty-six hours, and I don't want to be where it happens just because you left your dicks hanging out. Let's get what we need, get it on board, and get our asses back in the air and on the way home for some R&R. Nobody dies."
    The men all said, "Nobody dies."
    The Rat said, "We all go home."
    The chanted, "We all go home."
    Miller thought, not much chance of that, lady. She studied Terrill Lee. He had raised his hand like a second grader who needed to pee. "Major?"
    "Yes," Rat replied.
    "I thought we were landing at Nellis."
    "So?"
    Terrill Lee turned to look out the window. "Nellis is that airfield over there, Major. I'm pretty certain we're coming in to North Las Vegas Airport instead."
    "It's Nellis," insisted Hanratty.
    Terrill Lee shook his head. "Uh, no. It's not. Don't you think we should inform the pilots?"
    Surprisingly, Major Hanratty smiled. "I'm sure the pilots know exactly what they're doing. And so do I." Her tone left no room for argument.
    Miller watched this odd exchange closely. She didn't know Nellis Air Force Base from the Saint Louis Arch, but she knew that Terrill Lee did. He had grown up near Las Vegas, had done his pre-veterinary work at UNLV, knew the