Free The Hunger (Book 2): Consumed by Jason Brant Page A

a solid plan.  The Minutemen had weapons and manpower beyond anything their little group of four could cope with.
    But if they did nothing, it might only be a matter of time before one of Ralph’s men caught them off guard again.  They’d been lucky to survive the sinking of the Duchess.  They might not be so fortunate next time.
    During the third night, Lance awakened again, bolting upright on the futon.  Cass mumbled from beside him, but didn’t fully wake up.
    He patrolled the first floor as he had before, moving silently through the old home.  He was about to go back to bed when he realized the rain had finally stopped.
    The bittersweet realization that they would leave in the morning washed over him as he stood at the front door, leaning against the jam.  He watched the stars twinkle in the black canvas above, wishing they could stay where they were.
    Everything was simple there.  The threat to their lives felt minimal, far away.  They hadn’t seen a single infected in three days.  He enjoyed their time together.
    Wished it could stay that way.
    But Brown felt the calling, the need to help other people.
    He watched the sky lighten a bit as the day approached.
    That was when he noticed the glow above the tree line, beyond the fields in front of the house.
    And it wasn’t from the sunrise.
    He blinked twice, wondering if his fatigued eyes were playing tricks on him.  The light not only stayed, but intensified, standing out in the darkness of the electricity-free world.
    Beams of light pierced the sky for a moment, swinging wildly through the air before disappearing as they swiped over the forest ahead.
    “Holy shit.”  Lance speed-walked back to the living room and roused everyone.
    “What is it?”  Brown muttered.
    “There’s a light outside.”
    The three of them jerked up in their beds, shock cutting through the fog that enveloped their still-waking minds.
    “Say what?”  Cass groped in the dark for her clothing.
    “There’s a definite glow past the fields up there.  And I just saw a spotlight of some kind.”
    They stood at the front door a moment later, silently watching as the bright beam appeared again.
    “Whoa.  Who is crazy enough to light up the sky like that?  Seriously, that will attract way too much attention.”  Cass crossed her arms over her chest as the chilled, night wind blew through the door.  “The morning is coming so the Vladdies have probably retreated to god-knows-where, but still.”
    “Are we close enough to Greensburg for that to be the safe zone?”  Eifort asked.
    “I don’t think so,” Brown said.  “We drove for a long time, but I doubt we crossed more than thirty or forty miles.  We aren’t too far away, but that light is much too close.  And it looks like it’s moving closer.”
    Cass shook her head slowly.  “I don’t like it.”
    They heard the rumble of engines then, quiet at first, but rapidly increasing in volume.
    The sound built to a dull roar in the otherwise peaceful night, blotting out the songs of the insects on the farm.
    “That sounds like an awful lot of vehicles.”  Lance felt his heartbeat accelerate as the noise from the road continued to grow.
    “I really don’t like this.”  Cass stepped backward into the house.
    Headlights bloomed as they crested a hill, illuminating the road running in front of the fields.  Hefty engines revved louder as an eighteen-wheeler appeared in the receding darkness.
    The increasing light of morning illuminated the metal cylinder of a gas truck.
    “Oh shit.”  Lance took an instinctive step back inside.  “I think it’s those Minutemen assholes.”
    Lance spun around and followed Cass into the kitchen.
    “The guns are outside!”  Eifort jumped from the porch and sprinted across the lawn.  “I’ll get them!”
    “No!”  Brown hobbled down the stairs after her, calling her name.
    Cass cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.  “Come back inside!  Forget the