The Zombie Wars: The Enemy Within (White Flag Of The Dead Book 8) Read Free

small pats, and a very satisfied burp came from him.  I was always amazed that such a large sound could come from such a small person.  She rocked him gently, and I could see his eyes close and his body relax against his mother.
    “I’ll put this guy to bed if you want to put the other one to bed as well,” Sarah said, moving to the front of the trailer to put Aaron in his crib.
    “On my way.” I got up and walked back to the rear of the trailer where Jake had his bed.  There was room for a queen-sized bed back there, but since we didn’t need all that room, we put in a couple of storage units, and Jake slept on a bunk on the far wall.  His bed was attached to the top of two dressers, one that held his clothes, and the other his toys.  He was in the middle of the room playing with his cars when I came in.
    “Bedtime, shorty,” I said, gathering up some of his toys.
    “I’m not tired,” Jake said automatically.
    “Don’t have to be; you just have to go to bed,” I said, just as automatically.
    “Mmmm,” Jake grumbled as he climbed the little ladder to his bed. He tumbled into the bedding, covering himself with his blankets.  He curled into a ball and turned away from me, another way he expressed his displeasure with going to bed early. I leaned over, and kissed his head anyway for no other reason than to irritate him a little further. He hunched even deeper under the covers, and I left his room with a smile.
    I put the rest of my gear away and made my way to the master bedroom.  It was a big room, even for a trailer, but it wasn’t the biggest I could have chosen.  There were trailers in our midst that had two floors for sleeping quarters—they were that big. I had no use for anything of that size, and by the time the boys were big enough to argue over separate rooms, I hoped to be living back at the lodge where they could have dozens of rooms to choose from.
    I took off most of my clothing and settled into the bed next to Sarah.  I put my arms around her, and she slipped back into me, molding her body next to mine.  We lay like that for a long time, and I listened to her breathing become slow and more regular.  I was drifting off to sleep myself when I heard something quiet but insistent.
    “Daddy! Daddy!”
    I sighed.  Jake could be a big pain in the ass when it came to going to sleep.  Sometimes he played these games.  I was tempted to ignore him and let him figure it out when he did it again.
    “Daddy!” It was a little louder, and he squeaked a little.  That was different.  I was fully awake now, and I could sense Sarah was as well.
    “What’s wrong?” Sarah could likely feel the tension in me as I listened to the darkness.
    “I don’t know. Watch Aaron.” I slipped out of bed and quickly put my jeans on.  I had no trouble facing danger without a shirt, but it was weird without pants of some sort. I tucked my Glock into the back pocket, grip inward for a quicker draw.  Some people liked reverse appendix carry, but I never was comfortable sweeping myself with my own gun.
    I moved quietly down the trailer and into Jake’s room.  Jake was huddled into a ball under his covers, and I could tell he was nervous because he jumped when I touched him.
    “Daddy?” the little mound whispered again.
    “I’m here, Jake.  Daddy’s here.  Daddy’s got you.  What’s wrong?” I looked around and didn’t see anything that could have spooked him.
    “I saw a man outside,” Jake said, pointing a little hand towards the windows at the rear of the trailer.  From Jake’s vantage point, he could see out the windows that he normally couldn’t when he was on the floor.
    “Probably just a guard, Jake; they’re supposed to be there.  They keep us safe.”
    “No! I seen his eyes!”
    “His eyes, Jake? How could you see his eyes in the dark?” I asked.
    “Shining eyes!” Jake said.
    Aw, hell.  We had a zombie in the perimeter.  I scooped up Jake and brought him to the front of the