Free Camp Zero (Book 2): State of Shock by Jack Hunt Page A

that firing you did earlier today. Gunfire carries on the wind. You need to be more careful.”
    “Who are you?” I asked him.
    “No one special. Just someone trying to survive.”
    As we arrived in the camp there wasn’t much to the place. There were no tents like the kind that someone might have bought from a local camping store. Instead they had set up branches in A-frames to create a form of protection from the elements. It was a lot like Camp Zero, except instead of a tarp they used tree leaves and debris to cover gaps and prevent rain from getting in.
    What the hell was this place?
    “How long have you been here?”
    “Since they took over the town.”

Chapter 14
    W hile there were people of all ages, most looked to be in their thirties or forties, some with children. All of them look weathered. After being reassured multiple times that we’d be safe, I was taken into a large makeshift tent and two women tore my sleeve open and laid me back on a bed of branches. It wasn’t soft but it sure as hell beat the cold earth.
    Hank left them to tend to my wounds. Across from me was Luke. I figured they had assigned this place to be their medical bay. There were six other beds and a woman and man occupied two, both looked like they had sustained serious injuries to the shoulder region.
    “Here, you might want to bite down on this.”
    A woman handed me a chunk of leather that looked as if it had been ripped from a saddle.
    “Why?”
    I saw the needle and didn’t think twice. I took the piece of leather in my mouth. I winced as it penetrated my skin. It stung but it was nothing compared to what Luke was going through. He was writhing around in agony and a guy and two women were trying to keep him still as they began digging in his leg with what looked like needle nose pliers. It wasn’t the right device and it sure as hell didn’t look thin enough to go into the bloodied hole. It would have widened it and caused even more pain. Unfortunately, whatever meds they had weren’t strong enough for the pain. Luke screamed so loud that he passed out.
    Once they had sewn up my wound, I was given some water and told to rest but I wanted to get up and speak to Hank.
    “He’s busy. He’ll see you later.”
    The women were persistent. I leaned back on my elbows and felt a heavy wave of tiredness hit me. So much had happened in the span of twenty-four hours. My thoughts drifted to Brett. It was hard to imagine that he was gone. Though we had never really formed a close bond, he was the first foster parent that had treated me with some degree of respect and decency. I watched those with medical experience come and go. I offered the mound that I was on but they told me they were fine.
    An hour passed before Hank returned. When he did, Ally and Kiera were with him. They were drinking from metal cups. Spirals of steam swirled above.
    “Brought you some soup.”
    “Soup?”
    “Nothing fancy just MRE potato and cheddar soup.”
    “After what we have eaten over the past month, I’m grateful.”
    I nursed it between my hands and every now and again I would wince at the pain in my arm. Hank took a seat across from me and brought out a pipe, and a leather pouch. He stuffed the end with tobacco and lit it. The area filled with a sweet smell.
    “So you are from Mount Pleasant, Ally was telling me.”
    I looked over at her. Kiera was gazing around. She hadn’t said hardly anything over the past six months. I actually wondered if she would ever talk again.
    “Yes, we, uh, were surviving in a bunker just east of here. But our supplies ran out and we had to fish, trap and hunt for new supplies.”
    “They killed your friends?”
    I nodded taking a sip. It burned my upper lip.
    “Sorry for your loss.”
    I shrugged. “What about you, you lose anyone?”
    He blew out a mouthful of smoke and leaned back against the side of the enclosure. “Many. Family. Friends.”
    “Why are you in the woods? Why not seek out a town nearby to stay