Free Plagued: The Midamerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment (Plagued States of America) by Better Hero Army Page B

water over the rail onto the deck. Peske spat curses and climbed back into his seat, buckling himself in. He gave the vehicle two jabs at the gas to get it unstuck and gunned the engine. The duck lurched forward into the water, sinking even further before suddenly coming nose up. The noise of the engine was lost to the water momentarily, leaving only the sputtering and growling from the exhaust spewing skyward. The duck turned to face the river current, sinking slightly until the rear wheels touched ground and the vehicle jolted forward. Again the half-breed was tossed and Tom felt sorry for her having to be subjected to such treatment.
    The duck broke free of the water and climbed up the bank on the other side, lurching side to side over rocks and into ruts. The noise of the engine roared to life. Tom felt everyone around him letting out their breath, sighing with relief.
    “Come on,” Hank announced. “We’re going to have to jump for it.”
    Rick leapt across with no trouble and started jogging ahead to scout the area. Tom found himself near the front of the line, wanting to just get it over with. He looked down the drop. If he missed, it would hurt a lot, but it wouldn’t kill him. The washout was mostly dirt and water. The four who jumped ahead of him hadn’t missed. So like them he took a running start at it. His landing wasn’t as graceful as he had hoped. Tom hit the pavement and took two staggering steps before falling sideways. He scraped the palms of his hands and whacked his elbow hard. Two of the men on the other side helped him to his feet, asking if he was alright.
    “I’m fine,” Tom said. “Just hurt my ego.”
    The real problem with crossing came near the end. Those who were afraid or lacked confidence waited and worked themselves into such rigid anxiety that Hank had to yell at them. Carrie jumped across right behind Tom, landing much more elegantly. In an effort to make the three scared stragglers jump, Hank pointed her out.
    “You pussies,” he yelled at them. “She jumped it no problem. Now jump or we’re going to leave you here.”
    “Maybe we can find another crossing for them,” Tyler called back.
    By then most everyone waited safely on the duck, including Tyler. Tom sat on the deck next to Penelope’s cage, looking in on her to see if she was injured. Her eyes danced, leery of something, looking out toward the forest on both sides.
    “What is it?” Tom asked her as she sniffed the air, her eyes narrowing. “Zombies?”
    She shook her head but growled just the same. She stopped looking both ways and turned her attention westward, her nose lifted as she inhaled deeply. Peske walked alongside the cage, watching her.
    “What is it, Kitty?” he asked softly, following her stare. The duck engine idled softly making it impossible to tell by the sounds of the forest what may be out there. But there were no sounds except the idling. No birdsong. The birds had disappeared. Maybe they had been gone the whole time, Tom thought.
    The half-breed pointed toward the river.
    “Something’s coming!” Peske shouted with his hands to his mouth. “Come on!”
    Just then Tom could see it. It wasn’t a zombie or another survivor, or anything he imagined, but the dread he felt in the pit of his stomach was the same. A shaggy brown bear emerged along a path on the far side of the river. It was enormous. He had seen live bears in the zoo as a child, but never anything like this. Even the stuffed bear they kept back at Biters Hill was paltry by comparison. If it weighed less than a thousand pounds he would have been surprised. It probably could have stood upright and put its paws on the top rail of the duck.
    “Behind you!” Peske shouted. Hank turned and saw the giant bear. Tom couldn’t tell if Hank was frozen with fear or just trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. Hank’s hand patted his side the same way Rick had felt for a sidearm last night. Tom knew that they were accustomed to