Apokalypsis | Book 6 | Apokalypsis 6 Morris, Kate (cheapest way to read ebooks TXT) 📖

house could get broken into, or someone could come back the driveway and take some of the livestock. We can’t afford that, not in the dead of winter like it is.”

“Right, adding new mouths to feed all the time will wear down on our resources,” Alex stated. “We can’t afford for our shit to get stolen.”

“It’s all good, man,” Tristan corrected him in a gentler tone than he’d typically use on another man. He didn’t want conflict before going into battle with him. “We’ve got the deer hunter over there.”

He indicated Roman, who was packing down a crate onto the back of his ATV. Alex chuckled.

“Lock the house, Stephanie,” he told the girl. She had cold, blue eyes that always seemed wary and distrustful of everyone. Tristan could relate. This girl had been through hell. He wasn’t sure of her whole story, just bits and pieces he’d heard from Avery, but he was pretty sure the horrors in her life that made her so hard started way before the pandemic struck.

“I will,” she said and looked at Alex, who was packing flares into the bag on the back of his ATV and not conversing with them. Then she walked away again without another word.

They rode out into the field and down the path in the woods, which was becoming well-trod from the animals. Tristan wasn’t sure if it was smart to have such delineated paths, but with so many large animals on the farm, there probably wasn’t much they could do to stop it from happening.

Parking near some trees, they unloaded their haul and began the trek. Tristan found them a suitable spot.

“Ground your gear,” he said. “Let’s get set up.”

They gathered their supplies, organized them, and went from tree to tree with what they each needed.

“Okay, it’s time,” he announced. “Roman, Abraham, and Ben will stay here after you help us get everything up there. Elijah, come with me.”

“Yes, sir,” Elijah answered.

“Alex, you make sure everyone gets set up.”

He only sent a nod and went straight to work.

They carried their load into the clearing. Then he and Elijah climbed the slippery rock formations up into the opening of the massive cave. The boys tossed the rope up, and Elijah pulled the box of supplies up while Tristan watched their backs. As he figured, those things were asleep somewhere in the cave, if they slept at all. Once he was fairly certain that they wouldn’t be attacked, Tristan unslung his backpack to the ground, knelt beside it, and began rooting for the supplies he required.

Box after box was raised up into the cave, and he went about working on their loot while Elijah brought up another haul. Being quiet was imperative to this going off without a hitch. They were all very aware of that fact.

“That’s it,” Elijah whispered to him after tapping his shoulder.

“Help me stack, Elijah,” he returned quietly.

They took the bundles of old newspapers, pre-shredded of course, the kindling, dried pine boughs, and small sticks. After that massive undertaking came the actual firewood. Tristan had a plan to suck the oxygen out of the cave, hoping that this opening was the primary source of it. The noise of the roaring fire and the lack of oxygen should effectively chase them out into the open to escape. Should. He had a lot of faith riding on this operation.

It was nearly three o’clock by the time they were finished with the preparations, which worried him that they wouldn’t be able to pull it off before dark. However, there was no going back.

Once they had the wood and kindling in position where they wanted it in a tall pyramid with plenty of airflow at the base, Tristan struck his flare, and Elijah lit his own. Then they walked back and forth, lighting the newspapers. Within moments, it went up in a deep woosh, assisted by the kerosene-soaked newspapers.

“Let’s go!” he whispered fervently to his companion and tossed his flare into the fire. Elijah did the same, and they climbed down the overhang again.

He sent a hand signal to Elijah, and they split off, jogging for their positions in the woods. The other guys were spread out along the same tree line. Any crawlers that tried to escape would be dealt with. He just hoped Avery’s dad didn’t come out. He’d lied about his confidence that her father wasn’t in there. He’d only seen a few of them the other day. There was no way to know how many were staying in the cave.

The fire roared for a good ten minutes before the screaming began. It took so long that Tristan was starting to think his plan was a failure. However, one of them came flying off the ridge above them and hit the ground on its side on fire. Tristan quickly put it out of its misery.

Four more followed, and the boys took aim and killed them, as well. The fire above them raged on, and Tristan felt guilty about the sounds of pain and terror coming from inside the cave. But he knew it was what needed to be done. These were probably the ones that had stalked their properties since they all moved to the area. There was no peaceful co-mingling with them. They simply weren’t human anymore. He had to keep that in the forefront of his mind as another flew off the ledge and charged toward them. It was a woman, and he did not hesitate in shooting her in the chest.

A few strays came out minutes later but were fully enflamed. Near him, Roman shot one and Elijah the other. It seemed the last humane act they could offer their former brethren. Nothing about this was a good thing. It was just sad.

They waited for over an hour for the flames to die down and no others to come running out of the cave. He whistled down the line and brought them in.

“I’m going back up. I want to check it out,” he told them.