Free Sometimes We Ran (Book 1) by Stephen Drivick

sound brave. Inside, I was shaking like a leaf.
    “What if they get so smart we can’t kill them?’ Claire asked. Now she looked really pale.
    I didn’t answer. I guess I didn’t even have an answer. Nothing made sense anymore.
    We decided to continue our walk. My shoulder was aching a little bit, but no permanent damage had been done. All that zombie fighting had cost us some time, and the afternoon was upon us. A chilly fall wind came up, and it felt a little like rain. Claire and I were going to have to find a hiding place for the night soon.
    I would really hate to face these new Red-Eyes in the dark.

Chapter 9
Possible Sanctuary
    Claire and I walked in relative silence for a few more hours. We were both thinking about the incident with the two Red-Eyes.
    Why were they changing? Worst of all, would they change into something that we couldn’t defend against? That thought really bothered me.
    Recently, it had seemed like things may have been calming down. Instead of large groups of undead, I had only been encountering small gatherings of three or four. These new Red-Eyes posed a problem. Based on our chance encounter, they looked like more formidable hunters. Along with the dogs, they could take over and hunt down all the living things in the whole area.
    I looked down at Claire. She and I might be the remnants of a dying species.
    A cool, stiff wind blew into our faces, carrying a variety of paper debris into our path. The afternoon was waning. We would have to find a place to bed down soon.
    “So, what’s the plan, Tiger?” Claire asked as we passed a school bus. I always tried to avoid abandoned school buses; too many kid zombies might be on board.
    “We’ll stick to the original plan,” I answered, as I directed her away from the bus. It looked empty, but you never knew. I really wasn’t up for any more zombie-fighting this afternoon. “We are going to find some supplies, and a place to bed down for the night.”
    We walked a little more until we reached an intersection. This one was a little larger than the one where I met Claire. It had multiple lanes going in all directions. Cars and trucks were scattered everywhere. Claire started to walk ahead.
    “Wait. Let me take a quick look around,” I said. I put my binoculars to my eyes and took a look. Nothing was alive or moving. The intersection was quiet. Just me and Claire and a lot of slowly rusting cars and trucks. I then took a look across the intersection and saw yet another strip mall.
    “What do you think about that strip mall up the road and to the right?” I asked, handing the binoculars to Claire. “It could be a place to resupply and bed down for the night.”
    She peered through the binoculars. “Hard to see from here. It may work. Let’s give it a try.”
    “Sounds like a plan. Let’s scout it out from the gas station across the street.”
    “Okay. I’m ready,” Claire said as she pulled out her revolver.
    With my rifle at the ready for any baddies, we started across the intersection. Like most places where two roads met, it was a scene straight out of a nightmare. Multiple lanes of traffic were piled on top of each other, looking like grotesque modern art. Decaying bodies lay here and there among the wreckage where they had died. Several of the cars had burned with their former owners still inside.
    Claire stopped and stared at the carnage. “Everything okay?” I asked, reaching for her hand.
    “Yeah …Yeah, I’m okay. It’s just a lot of death. They’re not moving around. I guess that’s a good thing. Right?” I agreed. You haven’t really experienced a zombie outbreak till you see one struggling inside a car.
    A low moan came from ahead of us. In a burned-out car in front of us, was the corpse of its former owner. It spotted us, and started straining against the seat belts trying to get out. Thinking it was going to get a good meal, it began making a god-awful racket as we got closer to the car.
    We both stared at the