N87 Virus | Prequel |Outbreak Kadin, Karri (best english novels for beginners txt) 📖

“I don’t have a leash for him.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to shoot him.”

“Leroy Ballard, just get the woman a damn rope.” The woman shoved Leroy, and he sulked off to the side, only to return a few seconds later with a long thin rope. He slipped it through the cracked door and Veronica tied a slip knot on one end and placed it over Timber’s head. She tightened it so it was snug, but left room for her to slip a finger between it and his neck.

“Move slowly.” The woman kept her gun leveled at Veronica’s head.

Veronica eased from the Jeep, keeping a tight hold on Timber’s lead and adjusting her shirt to cover her gun. He followed right after, staying pressed to her side.

“Now move over there.” The woman waved the gun toward the side of the road.

“But what about my things?”

“They are my things now.” The woman smiled. Her Winnie the Pooh shirt speckled with blood and stretched to the limit over her hefty bosom. The cartoon bear seemed to dance on her chest with each move she made.

Veronica’s chest burned with anger. The gun tucked in her waistband pressed against her back, begging her to use it. The possible scenarios of her trying to use the gun ran through her mind, and none of them ended with her living. She had never shot a gun and had no idea if she even had any bullets. She really hadn’t thought this whole carrying-a-gun-thing out.

“What are we gonna do with her, Sally Ann?”

“Leave her for the Infected.”

“But she looks like she’d be fun. I wanna take her.” A man with a crooked smile said. Veronica’s heart sank and bile filled her mouth.

“Leroy Paul Ballard, you need to clean that filthy brain of yours! You will do no such thing!”

“Who made you the Queen Bee? I think we should all get to vote on this,” the man standing at the front of the truck said, and the others nodded. Anger roared in Veronica’s chest, flipping every survival instinct she had into hyper-drive.

The group bickered loudly back and forth. Veronica stepped back slowly, trying to create some distance between herself and her attackers. Timber’s body vibrated against hers as his deep growl pierced the air. A flash of movement caught Veronica’s attention, but before she could react, a man with black veins rushed one of her attackers. The thing tackled the man to the ground and chaos broke out around her. A high-pitched, girlish scream parted the man’s lips but was swiftly silenced by the monster’s teeth on his neck. Former humans rushed them from all sides. Gunshots rang out and more of the sick gave chase.

Veronica flew forward, keeping a tight hold on Timber’s rope. She dived into the Jeep with Timber right on her heels. She grabbed the door with both hands and tried to pull it closed, but the hands of a sick woman grasped the edge. Her short black hair framed a delicate face that was smeared in blood. She was missing the tell-tale black veins, but her eyes were wild. Veronica and the woman were locked in a tug of war over the door. The woman jerked back, ripping the door from Veronica’s hands, then lunged for her just as Timber charged. His large body slammed into her, knocking her to the ground, and his bite punctured her shoulder. The woman howled in pain and clawed at Timber, but he didn’t ease up.

“Timber! Come now!” Veronica pulled the gun from her back, aimed it at the woman, and prayed. Timber jumped back and Veronica pulled the trigger. The monster’s brains blew out the back of her head, her face frozen in a twisted grin.

Veronica and Timber zoomed through town in the Jeep. They caught glimpses of their attackers still on the run from the sick monsters, but they didn’t stop.

The Jeep bolted down the asphalt at ninety miles per hour, and the nightmare town quickly disappeared from view. Open fields and nothingness again surrounded them. Timber whimpered in the seat next to her and his big paws scraped at the leather. Veronica placed a shaking hand on his head.

“I know. Mother Nature calls.” She slowed the Jeep and watched the land around them for movement. When she was sure they were alone, she pulled to the shoulder, removed the lead from Timber’s neck, and let him hop out. She kept scanning the area until he finished doing his business. She then kept the Jeep running and popped a squat to relieve herself as well, not bothering to cover herself.

They loaded back in the Jeep and she gave them both some water and waited for her hands to stop shaking. Timber laid his head in her lap and closed his eyes. She picked up her gun and figured out how to open the clip to check for bullets. She had two. Veronica pulled the box of bullets from her bag and filled the clip with what was in it. Nine bullets total. That was better than none, but they definitely needed to be used sparingly. She opened a can of beans, pulled back onto the road, and poured the can into her mouth as she drove. Timber slept peacefully. Every time she looked down at his gigantic head covering her lap, she smiled.

She checked the time and referenced the map. The holdup in Walcaster cost her precious time. She would barely make it to the pickup spot-on time. An hour later they rolled into the next town, Hickory. It was smaller than the last and seemed pretty much intact. Curtains drawn on every window, even the shops. Veronica saw curtains twitch and felt she was being watched. A couple of sick with black veins ran up to her Jeep, but she easily passed them when she increased speed.

Timber was up and staring out the window at the countryside, his tail slowly wagging across the seat. He was so easily