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

bullets she had in her gun and prayed she wouldn’t need it again. She stood by the door and held the handle with one hand and kept her gun tightly gripped in her other. Her hands shook as she stood and listened. No screaming. Timber whined and wagged his tail.

“Just because it’s quiet doesn’t mean it’s safe. Stay close, Timber.” She pushed open the door and wandered into the fall night air.

There were three cars in the parking lot. Two electric, both dead, and one gas powered, which was locked up tight. She hurried through the dark with Timber right by her side. They stayed in the shadows, avoiding streetlamps as the trekked down the old highway. She checked every car she passed, but most were locked and it was far too dangerous to go searching for keys out in the open. She saw a few parking lots set back from the road that were full of vehicles but it would have been easy to be cornered by the monsters or more people with ill intentions so she stayed close to the highway. One time a set of headlights appeared on the road. She slipped into a drainage ditch and held Timber close as it passed. People could no longer be trusted. They were worse than the monsters. The monsters had an excuse; they were sick. Normal people were just assholes. The thought left a burning feeling in her chest.

Veronica was exhausted, and even Timber seemed to drag his paws as they walked. Veronica knew she needed sleep but was running on pure adrenaline now. She had no idea what time it was, but based on everything that’s happened since she was last able to check the time; she knew she didn’t have time to stop even if she found somewhere safe. A glint of silver shining in the moonlight caught her eye from the shoulder on the opposite side of the road. A parked car. She moved into the shadows and kept her eye on the car. It appeared abandoned. When she was almost even with it she stopped, crouched down, and listened. Crickets called into the night, but other than that silence. Timber pranced next to her as he too stared at the car.

“It’s one of those little electric cars. Hope it has power. We’re going to try it.” She patted his head before bolting across the road to the car, Timber right on her heels.

She prayed as she grabbed the handle and yanked. The door opened and the overhead light clicked on. It had power! She pointed to the passenger seat and Timber squeezed in. Veronica took the driver’s seat and locked the doors. She dropped her bag in the back but kept the gun resting on the center console. She whipped her head around and looked at the surrounding land. Still and silent.

“Car on.” The voice command felt foreign to her. A little rideshare sticker graced the corner on the driver side window. She had only driven a smart electric car a few times. Alejandro preferred gas and vowed to always have a gas-powered vehicle as long as it was legal. The car didn’t turn on.

Veronica opened the glove compartment, but the owner’s manual wasn’t there. She sighed and dropped her head to the steering wheel. Tears filled her eyes, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. Timber whined. Veronica leaned back and rested her head on the seat. That’s when she saw it. A note handwritten in pink pen clipped to the visor. ‘My name is Barbie’.

“Barbie, on.” The car buzzed to life. “Yes!”

Timber barked and wiggled in his seat, sensing her excitement. Veronica patted his head and looked at the clock. 4:00 a.m. Sunrise was in about 3 hours. She pulled the map out and looked over the route. She would have to break some speed records to get to the meetup site by sunup, but with no traffic she just might.

Veronica's eyelids were heavy as the sun broke the horizon. The light burned her eyes. But she forced them to stay open. As the car hummed down the deserted highway, Timber was curled up in the passenger seat, asleep. He looked so peaceful. The sign for the wildlife refuge appeared, and Veronica felt her tense muscles relax. It was almost over, only five miles to go until she made it to the pickup spot.

She turned on the gravel road that headed toward the marshland campground that sat at the longitude and latitude Marc had sent her. The car bumped on the large gravel and jolted her around in her seat. Veronica felt lucky that she didn't have to walk on the worn, uneven road.

A plume of dark smoke rose from the trees up ahead. A knot formed in Veronica's stomach as a sickening feeling washed over her. She watched the smoke rise into the sky. A huge pothole almost bottomed out Barbie and Timber woke with a start. He sat straight up in his seat and stared out the window, wagging his tail.

The trees hung over the road like a canopy. Water lined one side of the roadway and forest the other. So many places for the monsters to hide. Large alligators and birds with long slender legs graced the banks. The large reptiles were preparing to bathe in the morning sun.

Veronica's hands shook on the steering wheel as the glint of silver metal in the marsh water caught her eye. The smoke rose from that crumpled metal. When the car was even with the balloon of smoke, she pulled over and surveyed the wreckage.

She and Timber exited Barbie and pushed their way through the trees. Her heart thudded in her chest as reality slammed into her like a right hook from the heavyweight champ. There would be no rescue. Timber stayed right behind her. She created a path for them through the trees and the dirty water. Her foot sunk down into some deep mud