Dead South Rising (Book 2): Death Row Read Free

important. Said they were fragile. Bryan wasn’t sure what fragile meant.  
    That means breakable, Bryan . What’s inside can break easily.  
    Of course, this made Bryan curious. He’d often shook presents at Christmas time or on his birthday, and he’d never broken one; he was sure some of those had been fragile .  
    Doctor Holliday had also said something else, but under his breath, like he thought Bryan couldn’t hear. But Bryan did hear. Something about David’s fragile heart breaking when he opened the present. He didn’t know what the doctor was talking about, what he meant.  
    He decided not to shake the package.
    He continued holding it tight, listening to Doc’s words over and over in his head.
    Don’t open the box, okay, Bryan? And don’t shake the box. See that only David gets the present. No one else. Okay?  
    Okay, Doctor Holliday.
    And you can just call me, ‘Doc.’
    Okay… Doc.
    Bryan could handle it, would show Doc he could trust him.
    Trustworthy .
    Bryan would prove himself trustworthy . He’d heard that word before, from his grandpa. That word, he understood.
    Maybe if he did good carrying this special present to David, Doc would come back and ask him to deliver another. Bryan was enjoying playing Santa Claus. People smiled when they talked about Santa Claus. He made people happy. Bryan wanted to make people happy, just like Santa. He smiled at the thought.
    Like hands tugging the reins on a horse, curiosity yanked him, and his pace slowed. He really wanted to know what was sealed inside the cardboard, what he was carrying.
    What was David’s present? I want to know! I want to know!
    He was approaching the loading dock, at the back of the building. He’d have to go in this way because the Alamo’s front doors were locked. The man named Roy had told him so. That same man had let him out through the back door beside the dock, said he’d leave it unlocked for Bryan.  
    The adults will be busy, Bryan. Council meeting. It’s safe inside the fence. Just don’t go outside the fence.
    And Bryan hadn’t gone outside the fence, had stayed behind that barrier that looked like jail bars. He had obeyed Roy, until Doc gave him permission to go into the forbidden field with him. Took the boy to his truck. Doc was an adult, said it was okay. Bryan was sure Roy would be fine with this.
    Bug-B-Gone.
    That’s what the sign on the pickup truck said. It had made Bryan giggle, the funny cartoon bug running away from the spray can with arms and legs… and a goofy grin.
    Then he stopped, looking all along the steel rods that kept them in, others out. And he wondered just how Doc had managed to get inside.
    He’s an adult, of course.
    Of course. The adults could get in and out through the gate. It was much too heavy for Bryan, no way he could ever slide the massive metal gate to the side so he could go for a walk in the field, where he was forbidden.
    Forbidden .
    That was the word the Janitor had used. Bryan hadn’t asked yet to go out into the field and play, though he wanted to. It looked fun. Four big mountains of dirt with grass growing out of them like an old man’s hair rose out of the ground. There was a bulldozer and some other machines sitting around like jungle gym toys just waiting, begging to be climbed on. He and Charlie could have lots of fun crawling on and around those.
    He was especially interested in the tennis courts, just beyond the mounds of earth. The pool near the building was fun, sure. No doubt about it, as his grandpa used to say. On the tennis courts, he could bounce a ball, climb the chain-link fence, jump the nets—all like he did at school. And he wouldn’t have to worry about Charlie running off, getting lost. He’d keep the gate door closed to be sure, just like the adults. Maybe if he promised to do this, like the big main gate stayed closed, the Janitor would let him play on the tennis courts. He bet Doc would let him.
    Before he and Charlie could play on the