Read The Zombie Wars: The Enemy Within (White Flag Of The Dead Book 8) for Free Online Page B

level area on the side of the mountain.  It wasn’t very big, but it was big enough for a small two- bedroom cabin that Darnell shared with his seventeen-year-old daughter, Alison.  His wife had actually passed away from breast cancer ten years ago, and Alison was all he had.  He’d been fortunate that his sister had helped him and Alison through the rough times of loss and Alison growing up, but she had been taken by the zombies in the first wave of the Upheaval.
    The cabin was small but snug, and it was as comfortable as the two of them could make it.  Darnell only wished for one thing in this world, and that was for Alison to find a good man to take care of her when he was gone. 
    Darnell walked through the door and immediately felt the tension in the air.  It was a heavy feeling of dread, like something horrible had happened.  Tibbles reached behind the clock on the wall and pulled out an old but cared-for Smith and Wesson revolver.  It had been his father’s when he had been a state trooper many years ago and had been in Tibbles’ possession ever since he passed away.
    “Alison?” Tibbles called out. 
    “In here, Dad!” Alison’s voice didn’t seem to have any danger in it, so Tibbles relaxed.  He kept the gun, choosing to tuck it in his coat pocket as he walked over to the living room.
    Darnell found Alison sitting in the living room talking to a man about twice her age.  He was clean-shaven with a short haircut, and his clothing was pressed and clean.  His Native American features went very well with his coal black eyes and hair, and there was a hint humor in his face that he claimed was part of his Irish heritage a couple of generations ago.
    “Well, Luke Blacktail. What can I do for you?” Darnell asked of his visitor, shaking his hand as the man rose to greet him.
    “Well, Mr. Tibbles, there is not much I need these days that requires welding,” Luke said, smiling.  His entire face changed when he smiled.  His stern features melted away, and he seemed genuinely human. But his smile was gone in a minute when he became more serious.
    “I do have a question I would like you to answer, if you would, please.” Luke Blacktail sat back down, indicating that Darnell should do the same.
    Darnell stood his ground.  “I’ll stand, and I’ll excuse my daughter from this conversation.” He waved a hand at Alison. “Why don’t you head to your room, sweetheart? This won’t take a minute.”
    “It might take a little longer than that, and she can stay,” Blacktail said.
    Darnell shook his head. “It won’t. And neither will she.  Please, honey. Into the other room.” Darnell watched her leave the room, a worried look on her face.
    Luke’s eyes were hard.  “You are a stubborn man, Mr. Tibbles.”
    Darnell’s eyes were equally hard.  “Learned it from our boss.”
    “That might be considered a dangerous thing to say,” Luke said.
    “Are we there, then?  Have we reached the point where we are no longer a community but a kingdom?” Darnell asked.
    Luke Blacktail leaned back and sighed.  He’d had similar thoughts himself, and lately it seemed more often than not Cole Hobbes was acting more like a ruler than a leader.
    “Not yet. But I caution you to choose your words with care around others,” Blacktail said.
    “I’m the soul of caution,” Darnell said, with a smile of his own.  “Now that we have that out of the way and know where we both stand, what was your question?”
    Luke spoke softly. “What do you want me to do with the scout that came back?”
    Darnell’s heart suddenly leapt into his throat.  He had no idea the men would return so soon. “He’s actually here? He made it back? What about the other one?”
    Luke shook his head.  “Only one returned. He said they ran into some trouble in the Dakotas, and his partner was killed by some ghouls that surprised them one morning.”
    “That’s too bad. Was he married?” Darnell explained his conversation with