Free The Last Outbreak (Book 2): Devastation by Jeff Olah Page B

by myself.”
    Carly shook her head. “Thank you, but no one here is on their own. So please don’t ever do that again, okay?”
    Ethan simply nodded. “I’m sorry.”
     
    Again on the move, Ben guided the truck back through the downed gates and crept out into the street. “Hey guys, we’re starting to draw a crowd. What are we doing?”
    Ethan leaned away from the rear door and held Carly’s hand. Craning his neck, he looked toward the cab. “Ben, take us back to Main and Third. And go the long way, we need to get away from this crowd.”
    “Okay, where to?”
    “Let’s go back to the station. We’re getting into that building tonight, and then we’re driving the hell out of this town.”

12
 
    Light slipped in through the slender void between the lobby doors. It did little to illuminate much beyond a three-foot arc, although Frank’s eyes had become accustomed to the growing darkness. Moving into the far corner, he figured he’d be hidden from anyone or anything that entered the hall. At least for a minute or two. He just hoped that whoever or whatever had entered the building would come and go without catching a glimpse of him huddled against the rear wall of the cell.
    He estimated that three of those crazed individuals were now inside. He’d yet to see them, although as they crashed one by one through the large picture window in the chief’s office, their sound was unmistakable. The low monotonous growling that had been muffled by the walls of the station over the last several days was now filling the interior of the building.
    Even in the dark, placing a location on the trio wasn’t hard to do. From one area of the building to the next, their slow pronounced movements and reckless behavior acted as a virtual GPS for Frank’s mind.
    He pictured them breaking through the window and then struggling to find their way out of the chief’s office. They could be heard slamming into walls, overturning office furniture, and finally progressing out into the hall. Moving from one area to the next, the sounds of destruction quickly moved away from the opposite side of the station and out into the lobby.
    As their lumbering footfalls grew close, Frank watched the doors. He held his breath and pushed back into the block wall, hoping to fade into the pronounced darkness. And as the sliver of moonlight disappeared from between the doors, he knew someone was standing on the opposite side. He couldn’t yet see them, but he could hear their deep labored breathing.
     
    .      .      .
     
    On their second pass, Ben slowed the truck and turned to Ethan. “So, we good?”
    “Yeah,” Ethan said. “But I’d like to try something else this time.”
    “What are you thinking, plow right through the front doors? Rip the place apart, grab whatever weapons are left, and then drive away?”
    Ethan smiled. “Well… we’re gonna need the front doors intact for what I have planned, but I really do appreciate your enthusiasm.”
    “Okay, so?”
    “Let’s go around to the back and pull right up to the doors. We can pop the locks and use the truck to seal off the entrance.”
    Ben paused briefly and then just shrugged. “Okay, sounds good to me.” He let off the brake, wheeled into the parking lot and backed to within three feet of the rear doors.
    Griffin moved quickly from one side of the truck to the other, looking through the badly stained windows for any wayward Feeders. “It looks clear, but that may not last long, so let’s get in there quick. And let’s do this right—I’m done running, at least for today.”
    Retrieving a tire iron from the cab, Ethan stood at the rear door alongside Griffin. He turned to the others and spoke quickly. “I’ll pop the door and Griff will go in. If it’s clear, we’ll all fall in behind—check out the rest of the building. Stay close and be alert. Ben will back the truck up even with the building and then he and I will come inside.” Back to Griffin, he said,