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

“You bitch! You’re just going to leave me here?” Veronica screamed.

She pressed the clasp on her seat belt, but it wouldn’t open. Another howl pierced the air. She was on display like the prized pig at the barbecue. She killed the engine, and the headlight shut off, leaving them surrounded by darkness. Timber squirmed over to her and nudged her cheek with his cold nose. She felt the blood.

“Shh.” She placed a hand on his back, hoping it was enough to keep him from darting from the vehicle and attracting unwanted attention.

The moon unveiled itself from the clouds and kissed the road with a touch of light. Veronica looked around for anyone, human or not, but couldn’t only see a few feet in front of her. She started to lose feeling in her legs and felt pressure on her lungs with each breath she took. She pressed on the clasp again, but it was jammed. A pair of bare feet appeared outside her broken driver-side window. She felt the rumble of a growl vibrating in Timber’s torso and clamped her hands down around his muzzle. Veronica held her breath and kept her eyes locked on the person outside her window. The feet turned in a circle like the owner was surveying the area. The person dropped to a knee and two blood coated hands came into view as they pressed against the road. A scream in the distance sliced through the quiet night and the person jumped to their feet and took off into the darkness.

“Fuck this.” Veronica released her hold on Timber and felt around on the ground below her head until her hand handed on a large shard of glass. She grasped it in her bandaged hand and sawed at her seatbelt with it. The glass cut into her bandage, then her hand, until blood was dripping from her arm, but she didn’t stop. When she severed the last thread, she fell to the ground and crawled from the Jeep.

Timber was next to her in an instant. She pulled her backpack, gun, and map from the wreckage and sprinted down the off ramp. She found a little fast-food joint right off the state highway and down the ramp from the interstate. Veronica peered inside but only saw darkness. Blood ran down her arm, leaving a trail everywhere she went. Another scream filled the darkness, human or monster she couldn’t tell, but it sounded close. She held her gun at the ready as she entered the restaurant. The moonlight filtered through the windows, distorting the world into one of shadow. Movement in the kitchen caught her attention. She turned, gun raised to face it as the howl of a former human echoed through the restaurant, sending a chill down her spine. She was so focused on the moving shadow in the kitchen, she almost missed the one to her right. A monster in an orange jumpsuit lunged for her from the darkness, but Timber tackled it.

Timber let out a yelp as he crashed to the floor. From the kitchen came another, this one in a guard uniform, and headed right for Veronica. She fired, hitting him in the chest twice. Timber had his jaws clenched around the former prisoner’s forearm, but that didn’t stop it from trying to grab Timber with its free hand. Timber shook his head as he kept a death grip on its arm. Its back was to her and all its focus was on Timber. Veronica swiftly cleared the few feet between them and raised her gun, aiming at the back of its head, and fired. Its body fell to the floor.

Veronica stood in the darkness, huffing, and listened. The hair on Timber’s back was standing upright like the spines of a dragon, teeth bared with a low growl rumbling into the air, he scoured the room. Tears sprang to her eyes, and a cry escaped her lips. When she was sure all she heard was Timber’s fury and her fear, she turned in a circle, surveying her surroundings. They were alone. She fell to her knees, dropping her gun to the floor, and pulled Timber into a hug. Veronica cried into his fur.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you.” She held his face in her hands and kissed his head repeatedly. She buried her face into his back and he leaned on her, resting his head on her shoulder. They stayed that way for what felt like forever before Veronica finally pulled away.

“We can’t stay here. If we don’t leave, we will not make it in time for pickup.”

Veronica found a flashlight on the dead guard’s belt and pulled a first aid kit from her bag. She tried to examine Timber first, but blood from her hand was getting all over his fur. She tore off the blood-soaked bandage and looked at her hand. No black veins. Her bite had been healing nicely, but the glass had sliced right down the middle of it, exposing pink flesh. She pulled what glass she could see from the wound and cleaned it as best she could. She applied pressure with napkins from a table nearby. Once the bleeding stopped, she ripped a strip of fabric from the bottom of her shirt. She was all out of gauze, so she took the biggest band aid she had and slapped it on there, then wrapped the fabric around it, tying it firmly to keep pressure applied. Then she looked over Timber. Thankfully, he didn’t have a scratch on him. No signs of black veins on his belly or bleeding eyes either.

“Let’s hope dogs are immune Perrito.”

She checked the guard for keys but found none. He did still have his state issued thermal gun that would only work with his fingerprint but no back up powder and lead handgun Veronica could use. She put the last of the