Read This Would Be Paradise (Book 2) for Free Online

like puffing out my chest.
    “You know how to use an AR-15?”
    “No idea what that is.” I swore this guy had ADHD or something.
    The corner of his lips quirked upward. “It’s an automatic rifle. Mac was using one.”
    I shook my head. “Nope. Only used handguns and a hunting rifle.”
    “We could use another good shot here. Seems we’re running low on trained people and able bodies. When the rain stops, I can give you a lesson if you’d like.”
    I chewed my lip. Clearly, he wanted to enlist me, and to be fair, they really did need more people willing to fight. But I needed to find John’s gun shop and then Hargrove. Staying here meant stepping toward permanence, and what if we never found our group? That wasn’t an option. However, maybe they would offer some resources if I stayed for a bit.
    “I’ll think about it.”
    “Let me know.”
    He walked back into the hallway.
    After hanging my clothes to dry in our room and taking a quick shower to warm up, thanks to the hookup Roy had finagled in one of the main level units, I spent the rest of the day with the others in the common area on high alert. The downpour didn’t let up until nightfall, and by then it was too dark for Chloe and I to leave.
    Chloe was happy to have another kid to hang out with. They were playing snakes and ladders with erasers instead of the long-lost game pieces. Mac had managed to make some sort of canned bean salad for supper, which was actually pretty good. I should ask for some of his recipes. 
    A couple of infected had made it to the apartment by the time it got dark. Tim easily dispatched them from the roof, never wasting a bullet. Tomorrow, there would be a round-up effort to clear the mass of bodies, and I was dreading it. My elbow had finally healed from my fall off the fence, and I wasn’t too keen on reinjuring myself.
    “Looks like you’re stuck here another night, huh?” Roy grunted as he sat beside me on the couch.
    “Looks like it.”
    “Tomorrow’s gonna be fun. Dragging wet deadweight around all day.”
    “Maybe we’ll leave tonight, get a head start,” I mused.
    Roy chuckled, thinking I was joking. “You finally ready to tell me where you’re heading? Maybe we can help.”
    “Still not ready.”
    Roy shook his head. “Fine, but don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
    As much as part of me wanted to tell Roy about John’s gun shop, I had a hard time trusting someone I’d just met. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, which made keeping my plan to myself all the more difficult. But he had offered to help; I’d have to keep that in mind.
    “Thank you, I appreciate it,” I said and meant it.
    We decided to call it a night, and as we walked to our room, a lone shot reverberated through the building from the rooftop.

Chapter 6
    “Man, I’m out of shape,” Mac wheezed as he dragged another body to the truck bed.
    “I could have told you that,” said José.
    Mac shot him a glare and José smirked.
    “Oh, that’s hilarious, Mr. Hair Gel,” Mac countered.
    José’s grin fell into a scowl. I had a feeling they bantered like this often.
    Tim had thrown us out here pretty much as soon as the sky lit up. When we started, rain puddles had been everywhere. Now, with the high-noon sun beating down on us, the puddles had evaporated. I was sweating from the heat and effort, my elbow groaning like an unoiled hinge. It was kind of worrying. I was too young to be having joint problems.
    All the able bodies had been conscripted into corpse duty, minus the kids, of course. A lady as old as sixty was out here with us, which made me feel bad about complaining. She hadn’t said one grouchy remark all day.
    Tim shared little information with us. After we’d rounded up all the bodies, he told us we would dump them in the primary school’s soccer field then use as little gasoline as possible to create a controlled burn. I wasn’t looking forward to that last part, imagining how awful the smell of burned flesh would