Revenence: Dead Silence, A Zombie Novel Read Free Page A

thought better of it, and backed up a few steps toward the safety of her car.  The garage door was open, and a bright overhead light was shining.  She figured she might as well make herself known and figure out who was in there before she got too far away from the car.  She was pretty sure that if it was one of those things that heard her voice, and not a normal human being, they'd come running at her without hesitation.  This would afford her the opportunity to get back into her car, start it, and drive away before it could eclipse the three-hundred feet or so between herself and the garage.  Drive away, or run it over.  She wasn't sure where she'd go after that, but she thought it was a solid enough plan to start with, at least.  She stood there for about twenty seconds before she worked up the nerve to call out loudly.  "Who's in there?" she demanded, full of false bravado.  Nobody responded, and she took a couple steps forward.  More loudly this time-"WHO'S IN THERE?"  Still silence.  She tightened the grip of the baton in her hand and marched resolutely, but slowly, toward the garage.  She was just outside the open overhead door when she shielded her eyes from the glaring fluorescent light mounted on the ceiling, and saw the woman squatting down in the loft of the garage, bow drawn, arrow pointed straight at Shari's face.  "You gonna be one of them?" she inquired with a noticeable southern twang.
    Shari simply stood staring for a moment staring at the woman's resolute expression, locking gazes with her.
    A faint , meek "No," was all she could muster up.  She was thinking to herself, What if I was?  I'm supposed to say yes, so you can put an arrow betwixt my eyes? , but she thought it was a good idea to placate the lady pointing an arrow at her head.
    "Well, have you  been bitten?" she demanded.
    "No.  I had to get off the road, they...there were accidents everywhere, and those things..."
    "I know," the woman said as she lowered her bow, placing the arrow back into her hip quiver.  She threw down a rope ladder and descended from the loft.  "Just be glad you were out in the country, where there's not a lotta traffic.  Otherwise, I suspect you'd have never had a chance."  She crossed the garage toward Shari.  She was a tall, lean, weathered blonde of about forty-five.  She looked like a cliche country girl, alright...worn jeans, cowboy boots and hat, flannel buttoned down to reveal the upper swell of an ample bosom.  "My husband is a truck driver, pretty sure he was up near Carbondale as of this morning, up in Illinois.  God knows what it's like in a city of that size, if the shit's hit the fan there like it has here.  I hope he was on his way into the city, not out.  No traffic tryin' to get into the city, I imagine, less accidents.  Out, on the other hand, southbound outta the city, road's gotta be jammed to high heaven.  As you said yourself, accidents everywhere, even on this godforsaken country road leadin' to nowhere."
    "Yeah, I don't know if it's a local thing, or what," Shari offered quietly.  "I got on the road outside of Central City, but I didn't see anything unusual until about five miles south down the highway. I didn't think to turn on the radio."
    "Well, radio ain't worth a damn anyway.  Emergency broadcast came through about an hour ago, no real info though.  Then nothin' but static.  Internet, TV, no one's offerin' any explanation.  I guess whoever's job it is to inform us has likely headed home to their families, or attempt to, at any rate.  Can't say I blame 'em.  Still, it'd be nice to have some fuckin' clue as to what's goin' on."
    Shari looked nervously toward the treeline shielding the property from the gravel road.  "There are some of those things on the road up there, headed this way," she informed the cowgirl, pointing in the direction where she had seen them running toward her, apparently already aware of her car approaching.  "I'm pretty sure they saw me come