The Dying & The Dead 1: Post Apocalyptic Survival Read Free

Dale.
     
    “There
are rumours of a family around here. I’ll be honest with you, that’s why I’m
here and not at my house near the Dome where a hot bath is waiting. There are
rumours of a family of mouth-breathers living nearby. Someone saw them passing
through months ago, but the Capita has a feeling they may have settled here. 
God knows why, they must be crazy to live so close to the Dome”.
     
    Dale
rubbed the back of his neck. His hair felt rough and needed cutting.
     
    “I
don’t know what to say.”
     
    Did
his voice sound different? Did he sound nervous? His heart hammered into his
chest, and his throat closed tighter around every word he spoke. He hoped
Charles couldn’t sense it.
     
    “Forget
the mouth-breathers, then. I’m sure we’ll catch them. Have you heard anything
of the rats?”
     
    “Rats?”
     
    “The Resistance,
Dale. Rats that live in plain sight.”
     
    How
did Charles know his name? He didn’t remember telling him. His stomach sank so
low it felt as though it was going to leak out of him somehow. He looked over
Charles's shoulder, to the distance, to the road that led into town where the
buildings were empty and the infected wandered freely. Right now, streets full
of the cannibal infected seemed safer than sharing a meadow with Charles Bull.
     
    “We
haven’t seen the Resistance,” said Stephanie. “But you’re a flawless
investigator. Tell me, have any Resistance members ever given themselves away
when you just came out and asked them about it?”
     
    “You’re
a funny lady,” said Charles. “Let me share something with you. Forget the Resistance
for a minute; they're worms in the soil. There’s more to the rumours of the mouth-breathers,
and I think you’ll find it interesting.”
     
    “Go
on,” said Stephanie. Her voice was cold and given their predicament, Dale
wished she’d seem a bit less hostile.
     
    “They
say the mouth-breathers are a woman with two children,” said Charles, and
turned away from Stephanie and looked at the children. “Twins.”
     
    Ice spread
across Dale’s chest. He knew where this was going, but he didn’t know how to
stop it. Charles’s leather coat creaked as he stepped forward.
     
    “It’s
a funny thing this genetic mutation, don’t you think? That some of us are
immune yet others get hungry for flesh. And the cruel trick of it is that the
only way you can find out is to contract the virus in the first place. Breathe
tainted air. Get bitten by one of them. How long do the virus comas last, by
the way?”
     
    “A
couple of hours “said Stephanie.
     
    Charles’s
eyes lit up. “Caught you, mouth-breather,” he said, smiling. He put his hand to
his chest and laughed. “No, you’re right. Roughly a couple of hours in a coma
and you wake a person, or a monster. There are some who think the mouth-breathers
are still monsters, just a different kind. But I don’t take stock in that.”
     
    Then
why do you use the words, thoughtDale? Mouth-breather was a term that
sickened him, yet it was used by everyone these days. Some used it because they
hated those lucky enough to be immune. Others just said it out of fear of
displeasing the Capita.
     
    “We
better get going,” said Stephanie, and looked up at the sky where the colour
had shifted to a dark grey. “It’s getting late.”
     
    “Do
you mind if I speak to your children?” said Charles.
     
    “I’d
rather you didn’t. We need to get back,” said Dale.
     
    They’re
my children, hethought . Mine and Stephanie’s . Suddenly there was no doubt that they
were a family. They just needed to leave the meadow, leave Charles Bull behind.
Suddenly the path away from the meadow seemed miles away, yet the Capita’s
bulbous Dome swelled larger than ever across the horizon.
     
    Charles
turned his head to Dale. Beneath his black mask, his eyes gave a look that
chilled Dale’s skin.
     
    “Don’t
mistake my politeness for weakness.”
     
    He
walked up to the