Free Zombie Mountain (Walking Plague Trilogy #3) by J.R. Rain, Elizabeth Basque Page A

jerked his head toward Julie.
    “ Well, shit.”
    “ You haven’t been back inside the observatory yet?” Mike asked.
    “ I told you, we just got here.” Jack was furious. A million questions raced through his mind and a million visions of what had become of Anna. If Cole has laid one hand on her....
    Mike was free, and Jack wasted no time.
    “Brice, leave her. Come on.”
    Halfway out the door, Brice said, “We can’t leave her here, Jack. The crazies will get her.”
    Jack lost it. “If this woman is with Cole, she is an enemy! You can’t trust her!”
    “ She’s alive and still a human being, Jack!” Brice replied, almost as angrily.
    He didn’t understand, but there wasn’t time to explain.
    “Trust me, Brice,” said Jack, spitting out the words evenly. Leave her.”
    The older man hesitated.
    “Look. You come with us. Or you can stay with her,” said Jack, his patience evaporated. “I’d rather you come. Either way, I’m leaving.”
    Brice shrugged his shoulders, and Jack bolted with Mike behind him. They ran toward the observatory, where Jared was slamming his gun against the thick glass window near the main entrance. He was yelling at someone inside. If that wasn’t enough to attract more zombies, an alarm suddenly sounded from within the great building.
    “Ah hell, here goes nothing!”
    Jack and Mike sprinted while new arrivals from the undead crowded their path.
     
     
    Chapter Fourteen
     
    Cole paid no attention to Jared’s pounding. Let him pound, he thought, smiling, let him make some noise, the fool.
    Cole had almost finished his tasks. Joe had put up a good fight, no mistake about that. When Joe Carter had let Cole in, and Carla, Joe had taken a huge risk by knocking Cole’s gun away. They’d fought hard, but the devil in the flesh had finally wrestled Joe to the floor. The agent, after all, was a highly efficient killing machine. He easily hogtied the Navy man on the floor.
    However, by the time he’d contained Joe, Carla had disappeared. Cole was seething after wasting precious time searching the huge building. When he found her, he gave her a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget. Joe was horrified to see her return with a mean black eye, a fat lip and a serious bruise on her temple. Cole used her own cuffs to chain her to a door nearby.
    Then came Anna. Cole wanted both Joe and Carla to witness what he had in mind for the youngster. He tore the boards down and stepped back, ready for anything. He didn’t know whether the girl was still in a mindless rage or regaining her senses. Either way, she might be strong by now.
    Anna stumbled out of the dark office, eyes fiery red but not focused on anything. The agent shouted, “Boo!” and she moved toward him, arms outstretched. She let out a guttural sound. Cole knew that response quite well. It meant she was barely human.
    She’d ripped out some of her own hair and torn her clothing. She smelled of urine. She might be borderline crazy, but she was still a kid. He subdued her easily enough, although he was concerned by her strength that might continue to increase. He tied her to a steel rail along the wall, not far from where Carla was cuffed at the door. All the while, Anna hissed and snapped at him like an agitated gator. The railing had a few broken screws in the wall mounts. As she snapped at him, drywall dust sifted down. Wouldn’t take much for a crazy to pull it loose. And the girl was already damn strong. Crazy and a little too strong, if truth be told.
    “Not sure how long this railing will hold her,” he told Carla and Joe. “I suggest you two keep still and don’t get her riled up.”
    Cole got to work on the rest of his plan. First, he tossed all their food out the side door, aiming for the dead crazies. He gathered what clothing they had, jackets, shoes, and anything else they would need, and threw it out as well.
    Next, he unlocked several doors leading outside throughout the building. Including the roof. He left