After The Rising by T.D Jackson (free novel reading sites .txt) 📕

along the side obviouly someone had taken a lot of pride in it but now it was overgrown. Jon turned the engine off and Dave stared out the window longingly "We used to play football in that garden my brother and me" He smiled "We only got interested in football after my mum put the flower beds in, she used to yell at us for ruining them" He talked some more whilst me and Jon sat there awkwardly not knowing what to say. He reached for the door handle "Don't do it" I said with out turning round. He opened the door jumped the low wall and ran through a side door and opened a side door into the house I looked at Jon "He did it didn't he?" "Yep" "I said don't do it didn't I?" "Yep" "You gonna go get him or me" "It's your turn to pull the noob's arse out the fire I did it the last time" "Rock paper scissors?" We did I lost scissors loses to rock. I unclipped my seatbelt "O.K start the engine up I'll be back in a sec" I got out and headed in pursuit of Dave, I opened  the side door and was in a small kitchen the smell of rotting food flooded my nostrils "Dave get your arse back here!" No reply I headed out of the kitchen and down a small hallway I looked into one of the rooms, a living room tv sofa and chairs left as if the occupants would be back in a second. I closed the door and walked to the bottom of the stairs "Dave I'm not joking you idiot!" I pulled out my knife "Dave? You O.K?" I started up the stairs straight ahead was a toilet just to the left of that was the bathroom, two more room's presumably bedrooms the doors closed the last room was open Dave was sitting on a bed crying. I walked into the room a walk in cupboard was to my right the room was tiny the bed and tv desk took up most of the space "Dave! What the hell are you doing running off like that?" He looked up from a photo album "I'm sorry I just wanted to get this" He held up the black album for me to see I ignored it "You said you would stay in the car" "I'm sorry" "Grab the book and let's go" I turned and walked out the room. Dave got up and walked towards the door. What happened next flashed by, the door of the walk in cupboard flew open hitting me in the face and cutting me off from Dave and blocking my view, something heavy hit the floor "Jake?" I heard Dave say I ducked down looking under the cupboard door, a small boy in a red and white striped t-shirt the familliar rotting smell had spilled in to the room "Dave get away from him" "He he's my brother he wouldnt hurt me" "Dave that is not your brother he will kill you" "No he wont" I heard the creature start to moan and saw it take a step towards him "Dave kill it" "No!" I reached forward and grabbed the creatures ankles yanking it towards me from under the cupboard door. The creature squirmed, a boy no more than 8 years old, it turned over on to it's back and tried to get up, I put my foot on it' throat to hold it in place. I leaned forward putting more weight on to the creature holding out the kukri  "No!" The cupboard door opened and Dave came flying at me, he punched me on the jaw and I fell back, he stepped over the creature and pointed at me "That's my brother" I sat up "DAVE!" To late his brother had sat up grabbed his leg and took a bite out of his calf. Dave fell forward screaming. I got up and kicked Jake in the face as he released Dave's leg I drove the kukri through his eye socket pinning him to the floor, he twitched once, twuice then lay still. I looked up from the re-deadened corpse at Dave he was in a foetal position crying clutching his leg.

I carried Dave out he could barely walk. Jon got out of the car and came to meet us "What happened?" "I got bit" Dave howled. Jon looked at me, I nodded. Jon went back to the car and opened the back door "Why are you taking me back with you I'm dead" "Dave don't worry you are gonna be fine" He looked me in the eye "I don't want to become one of those things" I nodded "We wont let it happen" Dave started to say something but the words caught in his throat, his head started to fall back but I caught him and lowered him to the pavement, Jon moved away cleaning blood from his knife, he had driven it straight through the brain. stem. Dave had a million mile stare in his eyes as the light faded away, he never felt a thing or turned. We put him in a body bag which was unfortunatley standard issue for every single team these days, we laid him on the back seat smoked and left. It is not the first time we had done this and I doubt it would be the last time either.

We handed Dave's body over when we got back to the out post his family would be devastated his first time out and he get's carried back. It is a fact that the more time you go out and survive the higher your odds of survival, but the odds catch up to all of us eventually even me even Jon.

I sat down in a chair and Jon got us a drink we touched glasses drank in silence and had another, my phone rang "Yes boss" "Tom how are you?" "I have just moved on to my 2nd double wiskey in 60 seconds" "That good huh?" "Yep what can I do for you?" "You are volounteering?" "What can I say maybe it's the booze" "The other half of the training it's tommorow you will be gone a few day's heli will be picking you all up at 5:00am" A few people may have been shocked but after all I had seen and done "Yeah no worries should I pass the message along to Jon" "If you would" "Where are we going?" "Outpost 1" Outpost 1 was the larget outpost it was half of a large city it was an incredible accomplishment that took thousands of lives and months of combing the area for the dead. Now it was the base of parliament weapon troop store had a large civillian population. It was the closest to normality you could get, it was so good you could pay to spend a week of leave there enjoy the sights and sounds it still had the odd hotel for various generals army officers and government higher up's. Outpost 1 was just over the border in Scotland the outpost we were in was Outpost 5 there were  8 in all 1 in Scotland 3 in Ireland 1 in the far west of Wales. There were 3 in England including ours Hastings to the South and Coventry but the only way in and out was by a river surronded on all sides by the undead, it was in the centre of the undead shit storm. I hung up on Kane and told Jon the news "Road trip" He said "I hate flying" "Would you prefer to walk?" "Flying is not so bad"     

 

     

Road Trip

After the phone call from Kane me and Jon headed to the local pub The Black Horse. The publican brewed his own not quite as nice as the stuff you would get at the higher end shops in the town but still not bad. I walked up to the bar and ordered a drink Jon went straight over to a group of 6 guys playing poker and sat down, I smiled. These guy obviously had not been in town long otherwise they would have refused to let him play "Hey" I turned and looked down the bar, Toby was standing there a pint in his hand. Toby was my younger brother 3 years younger than me all though you could not tell by looking at us that we were related. He was 6ft and built like a brick wall his straightened black hair and douchebag beard were a stark contrast to my slight frame 5'9 brown hair and stubble. He walked over and clapped me on the back "How's shit?" I sipped my drink "Not to good we lost a noobie today" "His own fault?" Yeah" "Don't think about it then" I considred him for a moment. Toby had hardened over the lat two years but we all had, his girlfriend was killed the girls we rescued from the courthouse had told us what Tooth and the rest had done to them, I don't think I will repeat it "Maybe how is life in the TRT?" He loved the job he talked about it with such pride he enjoyed the work taking on the undead and occasionaly the living. He had shown a natural talent for it and his superiors praised him for it though being praised for having a natural talent for killing is like congratulating your cat for taking a keen interest in your pet mouse "It is awesome we raided a dead ring" A dead ring is simple you put a man in a confined space with anywhere between 1 and 6 undead and bet on how long they will survive if they will survive or they give up, rarely they bet on the number of dead killed as it is such a bitch to get them in. I looked over at Jon, he wa dealing out a fresh hand he was already building up the pot nicely. He would not jump in straight away but now was the moment I could see he was dealing seconds if they caught him I would be expected to go over there and help him out, probably be kicked out and banned from the pub hopefully he would not get caught I liked this pub. He looked up and smiled giving me a wink, that was the signal he was going for the pot. My job? Simple Jon had been working out how much cash they had, if they were in no danger of starving I would head over after Jon had won the pot with a tray of drinks for the group encouraging them to stay for a second hand and make Jon more cash he always cut me in for this service and just in case some one caught him and he needed backup. I turned back to the barman ordered  7 pints of the premium stuff and just as I turned to bring it to them I could hear the groans as they realised they had lost. I offered them the drinks to drown their sorrows as Jon started the subtle art of goading them