The Alpha Plague (Book 5) by Robertson Michael

Author:Robertson, Michael [Robertson, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Zombies
Publisher: Phalanx Press
Published: 2016-06-21T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

The pair had walked for about fifteen minutes through the long grass before the river that Vicky had crossed on her way to Home came into view.

“I dread to think how many more diseased we’d see were this river not here,” Hugh said.

Whilst staring at the body of water—her trousers damp with dew—Vicky thought about her solitary journey to Home after she’d left Flynn.

The strong wind stung Vicky’s eyes and she blinked several times to ease her discomfort. She then looked at her surroundings. In such an overgrown world, the diseased could come from anywhere. Despite the beauty of the lush and vibrant landscape, she couldn’t forget that every long patch of grass or overgrown bush could conceal a diseased waiting to attack.

When Vicky got closer to the river, she looked down. Two large blue barrels that had been bound with wood and vines had been dragged up the riverbank. “That must have been the raft Flynn used when he came here.”

“Huh?” Hugh asked.

“He can’t swim.”

The confused frown lifted from Hugh’s face. “I suppose they don’t have Sunday morning swimming lessons at the local leisure centre anymore.”

“Exactly.”

Tracks ran away from the makeshift raft down into the water, and Vicky imagined Flynn on his own, dragging the vessel out as the diseased called at him from the other side. The burn of tears itched her eyes and a lump swelled in her throat. “I can’t believe I left him. The poor kid must have been petrified.”

Hugh said nothing as the sound of moving water washed between them.

After a deep breath, Vicky said, “We may as well use the raft, eh?”

Hugh grinned at her.

“What?”

When he looked at a tree close to them, Vicky snapped, “What? What are you looking at?”

Still without a word, Hugh walked over to the tree and stuck his hands into the leaves that coated its trunk. When he pulled a thick rope out, weighted with a lump of wood that had been tied horizontally along the bottom of it, Vicky smiled too. “That would have saved me a lot of hassle had I known it was there. Flynn too.”

“It would have been on the wrong side for you.”

“That’s true.”

Hugh sheathed his sword, put his axe beneath his right arm, slipped the swing between his legs, jumped backwards to add to his momentum, and flew out across the river. Mid-swing, Hugh shifted, so when he arrived at the bank on the other side, he slipped off and landed on the grass, the rope still in his grip.

Vicky moved over to where Hugh had swung from and waited for him to throw the swing back to her.

Minus the weight of a fully grown adult, the swing only just made its return journey. On the edge of her balance, Vicky hooked the rope, her stomach lurching from the prospect of a fall into the water below.

For a few seconds, Vicky held the swing and stood with her feet firmly on the ground. Then, as Hugh had done, she sat on the swing and launched herself across to the other side.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.