Free Glory (Book 5) by Michael McManamon Page A

able to find Jane . He had let her down once again.
    No , he argued , that wasn't true. He had tried. He really had.
    He stepped onto the school's pavement and looked for any sign of the others. They weren't at the playground. They weren't on the roof. He thought about calling out to them, then decided that it wasn't necessary. He'd see them soon enough.
    He headed to the side door and opened it.
    A surge of happiness overcame him. It felt good to be back. Like this was his home. His family.
    He went inside and walked to the library.
    At the library door, he stopped.
    He could hear voices…and they weren't familiar.
    His happiness was replaced by panic. Images of people like Sam and Big Mike ran through his already crowded mind.
    He raised his gun out in front of him and, without pause, barged through the library door.
    A group of people spun around to see him. Claire, Shelly, Charles and Robert were among them. They were all seated in the middle of the library.
    "Whoa!" Claire shouted as soon as she saw him...and the gun. She darted to her feet and rushed over to him. "It's okay. They were just passing by the school when Shelly saw them. They're like us . Survivor s . They're not here to hurt us."
    Adam wanted to keep the gun trained on the newcomers, but he lowered it anyway.
    "Come on," Claire continued. She put his hand on his arm and led him over to the group. "Everyone, this is Adam, the guy we told you all about."
    "Hey, Adam," one of them said. A young man. "I'm Scooter."
    Adam looked him over. He didn't look all that dangerous. Except for the axe that he had beside him. That being said, Adam supposed that it was understandable. It was important to have protection. So long as Scooter didn't use it against any of them, Adam figured it wouldn't be a problem.
    "My name is Julie," a young woman said next.
    Adam noticed that she was wearing a tight t-shirt and a pair of tight jeans. And if they hadn't been covered in blood and dirt, Adam would have found her attractive. Almost sexy. He also knew that if he continued to look at her, Claire would notice. She probably already had.
    He turned to look at Claire. She rolled her eyes at him. Other than that, she didn't seem too bothered.
    "I'm Marianne," a woman said. A lot older than Julie. A lot older than himself. A little bit overweight. And a little bit homely. Yet, there was something about her that Adam liked. It might have been the way she held herself. It might have been the bright yellow shirt she wore. Or the purse that she carried. "And this is Buster," she added.
    Marianne pointed to a dog. Adam hadn't thought much about pets since the whole change had taken place. He had never really had one of his own, aside from a small fish when he was around ten years old. But now that he saw Buster he realized that there must be thousands of animals out there, looking for their owners. And just as many more that had been killed by them.
    Buster raised his head when he heard his name, though he didn't seem all too concerned with it. He was too busy being pet by Charles.
    He turned to look at an old woman.
    "I'm Alice," she said. She looked tired compared to the rest. Worn down. But he supposed that was to be expected at her age.
    "And who is this?" he asked, looking at a little girl sitting beside Robert.
    It was the little boy who answered, "This is Emily." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "She's going to be my best friend."
    Emily nodded her head in agreement.
    He looked around at the group, again . No, they definitely didn't look dangerous . He was sure that they'd be fine . Maybe better than fin e . It was good to have more people around.
    "It's nice to meet you all," he said.
    They shared the same sentiments.
    But, now it was time to broach a more serious subject . He had to tell them about Jane. "I couldn't find her," he said bluntly.
    "Jane?" Robert asked. "You couldn't find her?" The little boy no longer looked excited at the prospect of having a new friend.