Free The Lingering (Book 2): Rangers by Ben Brown

a good Ranger. It was time to improvise. With luck, he would find his companion merely pinned down. If that were the case, then he hoped for a quick return.
     
    * * *
     
    La Roux navigated his huge body silently through the dark undergrowth of the woods, and despite his concerns over Callum’s safety, he did not allow himself to panic. He knew the young man was most likely the best Ranger he had ever met. No matter how bad things got, Callum never seemed flustered or intimidated by events unfolding around him. If anyone could take care of themselves, it was Callum Wentworth.
    More shots rang out from the direction of the camp, and La Roux quickened his pace. He knew Callum intended to create as much havoc as he could, but the sounds of gunfire somehow frightened the Cajun. He knew Callum only ever used his gun in the most extreme of circumstances, the rest of the time he relied on silent forms of killing, such as his tomahawk. If the young Ranger had resorted to using his gun, then things must be grim.
    After a few minutes of running, La Roux could hear the sounds of undead all around him. He drew to a stop, pulled his large hunting knife, and readied himself for their inevitable attack. To his left, a blood chilling cry of the undead filled the air, and he spun on his heels to face the threat. He had heard such calls of the undead before, and he knew it meant only one thing … Lingerers were about to feast and they were calling for they kind to join them. La Roux did not think; he just reacted. Every muscle in his body leaped into adrenaline filled action, and he charged toward the terrifying bellows.
    This is what Rangers were born to do. They faced death head on, and never flinched in the face of overwhelming odds. La Roux’s heart pumped adrenaline to every cell of his body, and an almost euphoric sense of anticipation filled him. As far as he and every other Ranger was concerned, Lingerers were a blight that needed to be eradicated. Facing the undead always filled him with fear, but the greater feeling that prevailed over him was one of good. Fear always faded because he knew that if he died in battle, then at least he died ridding the world of the undead. He did not suppose this bought him a free ticket into heaven, but he hoped it got him close.
    La Roux burst into the clearing and abruptly halted. Two Lingerers were about to feed on an unconscious man laid in the dirt. It took La Roux a second to realize the Lingerers’ intended meal was Callum! With his shock dissipating, La Roux leaped to the young Ranger’s aid.
    One of the Lingerers already had its mouth a mere inch from Callum’s face, so La Roux threw his knife at it with all his might. The blade tore into the creature’s skull and near sliced its head in two. The second Lingerer turned its attention to the Cajun and charged him like an enraged bull. La Roux parried the charging creature, and sent it headfirst into a nearby tree. The foul thing crumpled to the dirt, but it was far from out of the fight. As the Lingerer struggled back to its feet, La Roux pulled his neckerchief up over his mouth and nose—so as to block unwanted Lingerer gore from entering his system—then moved to finish it. However, the Cajun had hardly moved before strong hands gripped him from behind. More Lingerers had arrived.
    La Roux threw his full body weight backward, and slammed the new arrival to the dirt beneath him. No sooner than they had landed in the dirt, then La Roux rolled to one side and grabbed up a nearby rock. The creature, which had just been beneath him, lunged forward, but the rock in La Roux’s hand met it halfway. He drove the rock into the creature’s mouth with the speed and force of a runaway steam train. The Lingerers jaw shattered, and La Roux pounded its head with the rock twice more. The Cajun now knelt near the corpse of the Lingerer that had his knife protruding from its skull. He retrieved his weapon and rounded on the Lingerer he had just thrown