Free HOOD: A Post Apocalyptic Novel (American Rebirth Series Book 1) by Evan Pickering Page A

torch. Whiskey got to setting up the jack. Hood got the cross wrench and started loosening the lug nuts. Whiskey paused to toss the lighter back to Kerry.
    “Where are you guys headed?” Kerry said as she caught the zippo with both hands, before pulling a strand of hair out of her mouth.
    “Don't ask questions. Don't even talk.” Whiskey said, voicing his irritation from under the truck. He pulled himself out from underneath the truck and started cranking the old portable spring jack. The suspension of the truck creaked.
    Hood stood up, cross wrench in hand, wiping his brow with his forearm.
    “We're going north. That's about all I'll say.” Hood exhaled, looking at her. “Where are you headed?”
    She wore a blank expression.“I don't know anymore,” she said, solemn. She looked away to watch Whiskey as he worked.
    Hood waited to see if she would say anything else. She glanced back at him momentarily and managed a faint smile. Hood crouched down to remove the now-loose lug nuts by hand and take off the wheel. No one spoke and the wind continued to blow sporadically. Hood glanced over at Kerry as she knelt next to the dead man's body, checking him with her cuffed hands for anything of value. She moved away from the body empty-handed, crouching next to the truck and staring at the dead man's unshaven face. It began to rain.
    Hood couldn't shake the thought that she seemed all too comfortable in handcuffs.
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6 – Dissent
     
     

    Hood watched the rain water drip from Whiskey's short hair. He stared intently through the windshield as the old wiper blades struggled to clear off the torrents. Between the two of them, Kerry was asleep, her head leaned back against the seat and her cuffed hands lying in her lap.
    Whiskey flicked a glance over at her, then to Hood, who raised his eyebrows inquisitively. She lay asleep, lithe and lazy, wobbling slightly with the truck as it shook. Whiskey's forearm worked as he squeezed the steering wheel, his attention on the road. Hood waved his hand in front of her face, no reaction. He shrugged.
    “This doesn't seem strange to you?” Whiskey whispered.
    “I'm not going to complain about it,” Hood said simply.
    Whiskey shook his head, keeping his voice low. “She's sleepin'.”
    “So?”
    Whiskey turned his attention from the road for a moment to cast a serious look at Hood.
    I know. If it were me in her shoes I don't think I'd be sleeping. But who says that's a bad thing?
    Hood lifted up his left leg onto the dashboard, drumming on his knee with his fingertips. The predawn light painted the world an inky blue. Slowly the rain let up until the wiper blades squeaked loudly against the dry windshield, prompting Whiskey to flick them off. The road was smoother but the truck still rocked back and forth from time to time. The surrounding area was nothing but defunct farm fields and huge swaths of trees. The air smelled like wet grass.
    “She's exhausted, probably.” Hood's voice was just above a whisper.
    Whiskey chortled. “I know why you're okay with this.”
    “Pff. Ever occur to you I just want to help her out?” Hood retorted quietly.
    “Yeah, you want to help her out of something, all right.”
    Hood laughed, struggling to keep his voice down. The cab of the truck grew quiet again save for the hum of the engine and the squeaking of the suspension. Kerry remained comatose, her soft rhythmic breathing of someone deep in slumber. Hood couldn't deny his attraction to the girl. It was a dangerous way to feel about a stranger. He wanted to believe she was just a good person trying to survive. And that was precisely the problem.
    “We're not a taxi service and we ain't headed into something pretty.” Whiskey switched hands on the steering wheel, leaning his left arm on the driver side door.
    “Maybe we could use her help.”
    “You want to drag her into this shit?”
    “What, now you're looking out for her?”
    Whiskey