Sometimes We Ran (Book 1) Read Free Page A

and extended my hand palm up to show that I was friendly. The cat would have nothing of it, and arched its back. It showed its teeth and howled a little bit. I guess it had gone a little feral.
    Okay, little fella. I’ll leave you alone.
Just to show him I wasn’t a bad guy, I ripped a few pieces of beef jerky into bite-sized chunks, and dropped them in front of the cat’s nose. Hunger overcame fear, and it pounced on the small meal like a playful kitten.
Enjoy, little buddy. Maybe one day you can help me out of a jam.
I waved goodbye to my little feline companion, and walked outside into the fading sunlight.
    I thought about staying the night here. My legs and back were aching, and I could use a nice long rest. However, the little girl zombie may not have been alone. I decided to walk on down the road. When it gets dark, I’ll find a place to bed down and rest. You do not want to travel at night. Things get much worse at night.
    As a walked away from the gas station, I noticed the sign It said $3.58/gallon for regular unleaded. Not a bad price for gas during an apocalypse.

Chapter 2
Another Day On the Road
    Another bad thing about the end of the world: the dreams.
    Cities burning. Long lines of the undead walking out of them. I am alone with a bow and arrow, trying to put them down. It’s not working.
    Slowly they approach. As they get closer, I recognize my Mom and sister. My Dad shows up as well, although he died long before the outbreak. I fire arrow after arrow, but they keep coming. I am running out of arrows and the situation is grim. Then I catch a glimpse of her.
    It’s Gia, the woman I married. Her face is nothing more than a skull, but it’s her. I know the dress she’s wearing and I smell her body spray. She always hated snooty perfume. She gets closer and closer. Her jaws open to take a bite as the other undead raise their voices in a shrill shriek of victory.
    And then …
    I jump awake from the nightmare. I was back in the real world, covered in a thin film of sweat with my heart pounding in my chest. It’s okay. It was only a dream. I got up and took a look around. The sun was just coming up. It was that between-time in the early morning; not quite light, but with the night and all its horrors fading away. Now I remember. After my little sightseeing tour of the gas station, I found this little sanctuary. I walked a few more miles down the road till the sun started going down, and then stopped here for a little rest. Like I said, you don’t want to travel at night.
    It was an automobile body shop. The doors to the service bays were sturdy and somewhat zombie-proof. It was a good place to stay the night. In one of the bays was a really slick American muscle car that was just about complete. It was a really nice car that even looked drivable. I thought about taking it, but what do I do about gas and oil? Not to mention it wasn’t exactly subtle, painted bright orange and all. I bet the exhaust could wake the dead.
    Wake the dead. That’s a good one.
    I opened the sturdy American-built steel door and sat inside. It even smelled new. This would have been a great car for a cruise-in or car show. Speeding down the road with your best girl at your side. Really sad. It’s going to sit here, maybe forever, till it rusts back into the earth. I debated about taking this glorious machine out for a ride. (Hey, if you have to fight the undead, might as well do it in style.) The fact is, though, the car was a liability. The loud exhaust would attract too much attention from bad people, both living and dead. As a former car guy, I decided to try to slow down the ravages of Mother Nature. I rooted around the shop, found a tarp, and covered up the sleeping beast. Maybe someone in the future can put this dinosaur from a simpler time to good use.
    My thoughts turned to breakfast. I grabbed my backpack and took an inventory. A couple cans of vegetables and assorted soups, the bags of beef jerky from the gas station