Read The Reaper: No Mercy for Free Online Page B

the diseased savages to combat with their limited numbers, and Dennis had been forced to pull as many survivors together as he could with the remnants of his platoon.
    They had performed a lightning-quick load-up with as many civilians as possible jammed into the armored Humvees, M-ATVs, and LMTVs, along with as many civilian vehicles necessary to hold everyone. Hell, he even remembered a score of people riding atop their lone fuel truck, totally against regulations, but you did what you had to do when the shit hit the fan. In the end, it had proved a long, vicious fight leaving the city limits, the result being fewer troops and civilians. Thank God, their munitions and supplies including MREs had still been loaded in the vehicles, but even so they didn't hesitate to grab more supplies along the way.
    In Paris, they had taken over eight large industrial complex buildings in total, all connected, with concrete and steel walls, and now everyone was carrying a gun. The industrial complex was almost a half mile from the city proper, and Rodriguez prayed it was far enough from Ringo's gang activities to be left alone long enough to find a more secure location. His confidence was supported by the fact that the buildings had already been ransacked before he and his men took possession of them.
    Shortly after Rodriguez and his group arrived, Ringo and his gang had shown up under a flag of truce. After an hour of arguing, recrimination, and threats, an agreement had been reached. Ringo and his men would leave the soldiers and their group alone, if the soldiers left Ringo and his gang alone, while not interfering in their activities.
    Times were tough, and you didn't know from one moment to the next when your ticket would be punched. Yeah, the gang were a bunch of vicious fuckers that were truly a pain in the ass, but Rodriguez knew if he took the fight to them what remained of his fighting force would not be effective enough to protect the multitude of civilians they had saved. A true Catch-22. Rodriguez frowned, deep in thought as he ascended the stairs leading to his usual guard position.
     
    *****

Chapter 4
     
    Andy smiled as Darcie handed the Reaper a cup of hot coffee. It was instant, but they didn't want to start up their generator in order to brew a pot, because of the others . Instead water had been heated over a propane cookstove then instant grounds added. After all, you gave what you had to the man who had just saved your life. They had just finished telling their stories to each other, and that had provided enough time for the water to heat up. Andy was feeling more confident around the Reaper as he watched the interaction between him and the children. Jesus Christ, the man had coloring books in his backpack. The Reaper had withdrawn four of them along with two boxes of crayons which he quickly distributed to the excited kids. Andy kicked himself for not thinking of that himself, as the children were beyond bored and this would help. He had just spent the last hour filling the Reaper in on their journey from St. Louis and his life in general, how he'd originally hooked up with Darcie and her children—his now—and their overall situation.
    The Reaper in return had told him what he knew about the virus, Newaygo, the shadow government and survivor groups in general. It was heartbreaking news, yet hopeful at the same time. As he finished, he informed them he was deliberately heading in a southwest direction, not only to tie survivor groups together for mutual support, but also, ultimately, to spy out the area in Colorado where the shadow government’s main forces were hiding.
    "So that's what's been happening in the outside world," said Andy. The Reaper grunted as he thanked Darcie for the mug and took a slow sip of its strong, black contents. Another shot rang out from somewhere outside, and all the adults jumped save for Andy and the Reaper. While he and the Reaper had carefully crept back to the Methodist church they