Free The Infected (Book 3): Nightfall by Joseph Zuko Page A

couldn’t give him the silent treatment
all day. She asked him to take care of the infected boy and he did it with very
little hesitation so she was grateful. Karen knew she couldn’t board up the
rest of these windows by herself and she needed help from this stranger to keep
her girls alive.
    Leon entered the spare
bedroom with his head down like a sad puppy dog. He had cleaned most of the
blood off of his body, but Karen could still smell the stench of death on him.
Then it hit her, was she mad at Leon for killing that infected boy so horribly
or was she afraid of a man who’s first thought was to drive four inches of
spinning steal into a child’s face? At this point in the game it didn’t matter
and she had to bury the hatchet quickly if she wanted to keep her girls safe.
    “Leon?” she called to him
softly. His head raised a little. “Thank you for stepping up and taking care of
that…infected…boy.” Karen moved closer to him. “I really appreciate how much
you have helped the girls and I today. We’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for
you. So, thank you.” She forced a very believable smile onto her face. Her good
hand reached out and gently touched his forearm. Leon registered her sincerity
and smiled his big bright smile back at her.
    “You’re welcome,” he said
softly and just like that he was back in. Leon would walk to the ends of this
god-forsaken earth for a woman that talked nice to him and made him feel
special.
    “You ready to get back to
work?”
    “Yeah.” Leon grabbed a
chunk of lumber and the drill. He was ready to get this place locked down.
     
    They finished barricading
the bedroom window quickly. All of the windows facing the street were now
covered. They also secured the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. It
was too big for a single sheet of plywood so they used seven of the twelve-foot
long two by sixes. They bolted them up horizontally with a five inch gap
between each of the lengths of lumber. At that point they felt dizzy and
exhausted. It had been too many hours since either of them had eaten and they
were burning calories like crazy today.
    “We need a break.” Karen’s
voice was lethargic. Only Penny’s bedroom windows and the ones in the living
room remained. Thankfully they faced into the backyard and there was a fence
around the property. On the other side of the fence was a thick lush forest.
Evergreen trees stretched out of the earth and towered forty-feet in the air
over Penny’s home. It might have been a false feeling of safety but the woods
behind the house somehow made it feel protected. As if the evergreens
themselves wouldn’t allow the evil to pass.
    “I need food. I’ve only
had jail food for the last week. Three meals a day of near spoiled milk and dry
bologna and cheese sandwiches.” Leon stuck out his tongue in disgust.
    “Girls, are you hungry?”
Karen already knew the answer.
    “Yes, Mama. I’m hungry.”
Valerie called from the living room.
    “Me hungry too,” Robin
could not be left out.
    Of course they were
hungry. The girls were always hungry and Troy needed some food too. No rest for
a mom though. Who else was going to fix a meal for everyone?
     
    “Let’s see what we have got
here,” Leon led the charge into the kitchen. He nosed around in the
refrigerator and the cupboards. Penny loved to stockpile food so there were
plenty of choices. The dream of making a big fancy feast was appealing, but
they still had a lot of work to do so Leon knew he needed to keep it fast and
easy. He pulled a loaf of bread, a couple of jars and some cans out of the
pantry and set them on the counter next to the range. He quickly found all of
the dishes and utensils he would need to make diner and got to work. 
     
    Karen’s thoughts had wandered
off and she was thinking about Jim. Hoping he was safe and on his way home. She
remembered her phone in her pocket. She hadn’t checked it in over an hour. She
dug the device out of her pocket and