Free Glory (Book 1) by Michael McManamon Page B

didn't bother closing the door behind her. She didn't need to. She wasn't worried about what was going to happen to her house once she left.
    She walked into the backyard.
    Before she got very far, she turned back around. She wanted to see her house one more time and didn't have the willpower to stop herself. It felt strange knowing that she would never be going back in there again. This was her home.
    No, not anymor e .
    She tried not to think about it. There was no point. Things had changed. That was all that she needed to know. All that she needed to deal with.
    Jane turned and faced the trees behind her house. Her home backed out onto a big forest. It stretched for quite a long way. She often hiked out there with her husband. She had taken her daughter there a lot too. The little girl had been too small to do much walking, but she knew that Becky had loved it.
    Becky. Her silly little goose.
    Jane turned and looked at the large maple tree where she had buried her daughter. She saw the freshly dug grave. Harold laid dead beside it.
    She thought about going over to the grave, touching it one more time, but she shook her head and told herself that none of that mattered anymore. Her daughter was dead. Her husband was missing. Jane was alone and needed to deal with it.
    "I love you," she mouthed toward the grave. "I'm sorry."
    That was all that she managed.
    Jane turned and started walking toward the forest. She needed to get moving. She didn't know where she was headed. She told herself that anywhere would be better than here. She might even meet some other survivors. Hopefully. For all Jane knew, she was the only one left. That thought played heavily in her mind.
    Am I the only one?
    She tried not to worry about it. As with everything else that had happened, there was nothing that she could do about it. No answers. No help. Nothing.
    Jane hiked her backpack up over her shoulders again. She got another strong grip on the baseball bat and walked into the forest, never looking back.

Chapter 3
    Adam sat on the sofa and looked out of the window. He couldn't stop thinking about the girl, wondering if she was okay. Several times he had thought of going into her room to check on her, to make sure that everything was fine. But he knew that she needed her space. He was a stranger to her. If anything, he would scare her.
    Just like that man ha d .
    Adam thought about the man, how he had been on top of the young girl. He hadn't been trying to bite her neck as Adam had first thought. He had been trying to kiss her. After all that had happened in the past couple of days, Adam just couldn't understand why anyone would have done something like that; let alone with someone not even in her teens. It didn't make any sense to him.
    Adam rubbed his chin and shivered.
    He pictured the man's face. His surprise. He thought of the man's words : We can share he r .
    What the hell had that guy been thinking?
    Adam couldn't understand it.
    Now the young woman was safe. He had come in at the right time and saved her. He felt a twinge of pride at this. It felt good helping someone. And, even though he still felt anger toward the man who had attacked her, Adam felt a smile curve his lips upward.
    "He said that he wanted to help," a voice said, taking him by surprise.
    Adam turned around. Standing there was Shelly. She was clutching her blanket to her chest.
    "What?"
    "The man. He said that he wanted to help me."
    Shelly walked closer into the room. She still looked a little bit hesitant to come near Adam, but he knew that she was feeling more comfortable than before.
    "He did?"
    "Yeah." Shelly came all the way into the living room and sat down on a recliner chair. "He saw me from outside. I was looking out the window. At first I thought that he was one of those people - the ones who've gone crazy. But then he waved. And smiled."
    Adam nodded his head. He was listening intently. He didn't really want to hear the details. He thought that they would upset