Dawn of the Apocalypse: The Necrose Series Starter Collection by Tim Moon

Author:Tim Moon [Moon, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Beast Mountain Ltd.
Published: 2016-08-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

October 10, 2015

Kailua-Kona

0814 Hours

BEN PUSHED THE gas pedal as close to the floor as he dared, racing north on the highway toward the Waikoloa Beach Resort and Spa.

Ty and Anuhea sat in the back with Eric, the guy from the Harley shop. Eric held one of Ben’s spare t-shirts to the wound on his neck. He looked a little pale but insisted he’d be okay. The kid sat in Charlotte’s lap in the passenger seat.

“What’s your name, kid?” Ben asked as he watched the road for cyclists.

The boy wiped his face and glanced up at Charlotte before facing Ben.

“Oliver,” he said softly.

“Nice to meet you, Oliver. I’m Ben. That’s Charlotte. Ty and Anuhea are in the back seat with Eric.”

He leaned forward a little, peering into the backseat then ducked back into Charlotte’s arms.

“Do you know your parents’ phone number? I’d like to tell them that you’re safe,” Ben said, keeping his eyes on the road.

“They’re gone,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Charlotte asked.

Ben got the feeling everyone was listening intently to hear what Oliver would say.

“My dad left a long time ago. He was a soldier and Mom said he died fighting for us,” Oliver said.

“Oh,” Ben said. “He sounds like a good man. I’m sorry he…left. What about your mom?”

“We were watching the race for Uncle Joe. Mom got in a fight with one of the scary people. She got hurt real bad,” Oliver said with a thick voice. “She told me to run and hide, but I couldn’t leave. The bad people took her. I couldn’t help, and now she’s gone too.”

Charlotte hugged him and rested her cheek on his head. Anuhea reached forward and patted his knee.

“Oliver, it’s not your fault, buddy. You’re safe now, that’s what your mom wanted,” Ben said before his throat constricted completely at the pain in Oliver’s face. His eyes prickled and filled with tears. But Ben held them back, turning away from Oliver’s sad little face and focusing instead on the road.

The steering wheel felt hot beneath his hands. Glancing down, Ben noticed that his knuckles were white. He wondered if it was fear of those creatures, whatever they were, or the pain that had hit him when he realized the kid sitting less than an arm’s reach away was now an orphan.

What the hell was I thinking?

Ben wasn’t a parent. He had no idea what to do with Oliver, and now here he was responsible for Oliver’s life.

Ben carefully flexed one hand at a time to relieve the cramps. He took a few deep breaths to ease the tension building in his chest.

Coming around a bend, Ben saw a group of cyclists still thinking there was a race to win, who continued to mash their pedals. Annoyed and incredulous looks contorted their faces as the car whipped past them.

“What was that back there?” Ty asked loudly.

“Hell on Earth,” said Eric, softly.

“Those poor people,” Charlotte murmured, hugging Oliver.

Ty and Anuhea held each other in the backseat. In the rear view mirror, Anuhea looked like she was in shock.

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