The Demented Z (Book 1):The Demented Read Free Page A

the little entry bell above the door jingled for a new customer.
    “Sorry
we’re still closed.” Came a thin voice from somewhere in the back.
    Once
all three of them were inside, Tom closed the door and locked the deadbolt.
For the first time all morning there was peace. Other than sirens that were
barely audible, sounding far off in the distance, there was quiet inside the
little store.
    Breaking
the silence was a “Hello?” from the back.
    Tom
wanted to trust the thin voice, but after this morning, he felt caution was
required. He gestured for his companions to stay put while he quietly circled
to the left around a long row of bookshelves. The bookstore was narrow, with
only two freestanding bookshelves, breaking the store into a center aisle with
an aisle to each side.
    Darkness
enveloped him as he worked his way farther away from the front windows.
Staying tight to the inner bookshelf, he pulled out his favorite Leatherman and
flipped it to rage monster killing pliers. Reaching the end of the aisle, he
could see a sliver of light coming from underneath a door centered along the
back. Placing his ear up to the dark wood of the door, he could hear nothing
from the other side. Holding the Leatherman over his shoulder, he reached down
and slowly turned the doorknob, pushing the door open.
    He
was a bit surprised to find himself staring down the black holes of a double barrel
shotgun. Behind the gun, on the other side of a desk, stood a grey haired elderly
woman with a look of “go ahead and try it” on her face. Just to the right of
her, behind the desk, he could see a small monitor displaying four grainy
security camera views. In the upper left he could just make out the blonde and
the boy still standing by the front door. She had watched him the whole time.
    Slowly
raising his left hand, while dropping the Leatherman, he said, “I can explain.”
    “You
damn well better…and call your friends up here.”
    They
must have either heard or sensed something was going on, because he could see
them moving toward him on the video display. He slowly sidestepped to make
room in the doorway, saying nothing, knowing she could see them coming between
the aisles.
    Seeing
a woman and young boy did not lower the shotgun an inch. “So…what’s your
story?”
    “When
did you get to work this morning?” Tom asked.
    “What’s
that got to do with anything?”
    Looking
over his shoulder and pointing his thumb back toward the entrance, he said,
“Things have changed out there…its chaos.”
    “He…he
saved me.” The boy stammered, almost in tears. This caused the shotgun to
lower a bit. Now Tom would get a gut shot instead of a head shot, not really a
great trade off.
    She
continued to eye them suspiciously. “Why are you here…sneaking between my
books, with a knife or whatever that thing is?”
    Tom
lowered his hands to his sides. “People are going crazy out there, attacking
each other. We barely escaped the hotel. The streets are a mess, and we had to
find somewhere to hole up for a bit. I’m sorry, but please trust us.” Getting
no response, he continued on. “Do you have a TV or radio?”
    “I
live in the apartment above, but...” before she could finish, there was a loud
rumbling from the street, and popping noises that cut her off.
    Tom
immediately recognized the popping as gunfire, and knew it must be close,
probably on their street. No sooner had he finished this thought, a large
white truck, the back loaded with people, went roaring past the front of the
store. At least one of the passengers in the back had a pistol and was firing
behind them. A few seconds later there was a loud squealing of tires followed
by an enormous bang. They must have crashed into something just down the
street.
    The
crash was followed by an eerie silence.
    Several
seconds later, out of the front store window, Tom saw people sprinting toward
the truck. They had the same crazed, single minded run of those that pursued
the boy