Free Age of Decay (Book 1): Contagion by Brian Lamacraft Page B

together in case we run into any of them in the mall. Don’t panic and don’t run.”
    Samantha gave Jason a little shove. “Move along, Kesler.”
    “Oh, very funny.”
    As they approached the mall door, Trevor motioned them to stop. “Hon, take Samantha with you and go into convenience store its right inside the entrance.”
    “Okay.”
    He nodded to his son. “Stand guard and watch them.”
    “But, I want to go with you.”
    “Watch over the girls for me. Need to make sure the mall is clear. Don’t want to run into a bunch of them inside.”
    “Fine.” What am I, a babysitter?
    “Need the two of you to grab food we can carry. Get nuts, dried fruit, power bars, anything that will give us energy.”
    “Sure,” said Lauren.
    “Okay, here goes.” Trevor opened the door slowly. The mall had a few lights on, but otherwise it was quite dark. In the distance, they could see a couple of dead that turned towards them. He raised his rifle.
    “No, lad,” said Ian. “Save the ammunition. I can deal with these. Watch for more of ‘em.”
    The woman looked to be in her thirties with long strawberry blonde hair. She shuffled slowly towards Ian, her mouth dripped saliva as she opened her mouth and gave a low guttural moan. The other one was a young man, his black tie flopped to the side of his stained white business shirt, his arm was torn and bloody from an obvious bite. Ian approached the female first and slammed the bat to the top of her head, shattering her skull in a vicious blow. You’re not so tough, are ya? She dropped quickly to the ground. The other one lunged towards Ian, but he stepped back and drove the front of the bat into the thing’s chest. As it staggered back, he drove it again into the side of its head. As he dropped to the ground, Ian brought the bat down and the head exploded in a spray of blood and brain matter.
    “Hurry up and get those supplies, we have company in here!” said Trevor.
    “Working as fast as we can, just a few more minutes.”
    Ian stopped by the girl with the strawberry blonde hair as he took off his hockey helmet. He rubbed his face standing there over the corpse. “Oh hell, lad. Bloody, fucking hell.”
    “Something wrong?”
    “She looks like my sister. Damn the hair, it’s the same. She lives in Toronto, ya know. Got a young one, too, just turned four. Am I gonna she her again, lad?”
    “I don’t know,” replied Trevor. “God, I don’t know. Everything is gone now. I don’t know if the survivors of this can find a cure.”
    “Yeah, lad. Gettin’ used to this isn’t gonna be easy. So much death, it’s a struggle just to live. Do they have it better than us, those dead?”
    Trevor looked down at the female, her ruined, smashed skull. “I suppose they do.”
    ***
“What else is in this mall?” said Trevor.
    “Not much, lad. A couple of clothing stores, food, and a hardware store which may have something I can use.”
    “Like what?”
    “A good axe.”
    “Good thinking.”
    The group moved through the shopping mall slowly. Trevor and Jason were at the front with their rifles at the ready. Ian stayed at the back to protect the girls in case any of them should come from behind.
    “I’ll be right back,” said Ian as they arrived at the hardware store.
    It didn’t take long till they saw them, more dead moving in the mall towards them. “Make it quick, we’ll handle these ‘til you get back.”
    “Pick your shots, we can’t waste ammo,” said Trevor.
    “Right,” said Jason.
    Trevor aimed carefully down the sights of the AR-15 and let two shots go towards the first target. One round tore into the neck of the closest one, and the other round tore through the top of its head. The next rounds slammed into the next one before it could get too close. Jason aimed his rifle at the last one.
    “No.” Samantha got her bat ready. “I’ll deal with this one.”
    “Stay back let them handle it,” said Lauren. “It’s too dangerous.”
    “I want to