Read Wormwood Dawn (Episode II) for Free Online

comet’s name. Not that I’m a big believer, but you got to hand it to those prophets. They saw things, you know. They had no idea what they were seeing, but they wrote down their visions as best they could. This has been a long time coming, and someday soon the new kingdom will be born. Our kingdom.”
    Dan nodded uncomfortably, not really sure whether she was being preachy or what.
    “Don’t scoff at everything,” she warned. “Just because it’s in the Bible doesn’t mean it’s Jesusy. Some of that shit is history, and some of it is the future. Now get out of here. If I see you again, I might not be so friendly.”
     
    Shirley’s garage had a new occupant. It was a nice black Jeep complete with a shortwave radio, armored chassis, and a modified engine that would give Tony Stewart a boner. It was gift any trigger-happy country bumpkin would enjoy.
    Dan and Drew perused the mess left by the gunfight. There were plenty of weapons to go around, and the Humvee was loaded with even more; not to mention, a buttload of ammo. There were twelve M4A1 rifles, six metal ammo boxes full of 5.56 rounds, two SPAS-12 shotguns, one single-use LAW rocket launcher, and an assortment of explosives.
    “Fucking jackpot, man,” Dan said, grinning. “We could take on the entire Brady Bunch with this shit.”
    “And the Partridge Family,” Drew added.
    “This body armor is Kevlar,” Dan said as he unstrapped one of the mercs’ vests. “Fairly heavy, but tough as shit.”
    Drew was checking out the chassis of the Humvee, nodding his approval as he knocked on certain areas. “This is armored, too,” he said. “But we could make it better with some welding and a few steel plates.” Dan stopped to watch him. “The windshield is way too big; it would need to be plated, with a small opening. Might as well break out the glass, too. Even the fucking tires are bulletproof, I bet.”
    “Do you know how to weld?”
    Drew scrunched up his face. “A little,” he said. “Never really done it; just watched a guy at the winery I worked at.”
    “There’s a welder at the winery?”
    “Oh yeah. He’s the guy who fixes the vats and shit. Those things are made of steel. He’s also modified some of the harvesting machines. The guy’s a fucking MacGuyver.”
    A gunshot rang out, and the round ricocheted off of the other Jeep.
    “Shit,” Dan said. “I guess it’s time to leave.”
    They quickly piled the mercs’ bodies into the Jeep, loading up the Humvee with the armor, rifles, and the unused LAW . Drew hopped in the Jeep, starting it up, and stopped in front of Dan.
    “Where are we taking these guys?” he asked.
    Dan shook his head. “I have no clue. I’m a little worried about them coming back to life like that hunter.”
    Drew thought for a moment. “Well, there are too many of them to burn. That might stink a little. Was there a basement at Steve’s house?”
    “I don’t think so,” Dan said. “But we could throw them in my car and sink it in the lake. I don’t really need it anymore.”
    Drew nodded, pulling away. Dan hopped in the Humvee, taking one last look at the scene, and followed.

Chapter Six
    After having to stop several times to reload the Jeep with the bodies that kept falling out, Dan and Drew had finally loaded them up in Dan’s car, and “disappeared it” in the nearby lake. Now the garage was ready to accommodate their new prize; a shiny new, armored Humvee.
    They spent the evening loading up all of the extra magazines, inspecting the rifles, and trying on the body armor to find pieces that fit them. Once they had gathered up a full suit each, they laid them out, standing over them to admire their work. Pauli stood nearby, looking up at them curiously with his bulging eyes and jutting bottom teeth.
    “If we need to,” Dan said, “we could dress like them and sneak into some of the detention centers to set people free.”
    “Oh boy,” Drew said. “You already almost got blown up, and you wanna