Free Man Eaters by Linda Kay Silva Page A

They. Are. Dead!” The woman’s hysterical tone rose above the cacophony of shouts from the men as they jumped from the truck and shined a light on the X mark on the side of the house. “You sure?”
    “Dead as a doornail.”
    Dallas watched in amazement as two of the men ran into the house, only to return shortly after. “She’s right. They’re dead.”
    The men conferred with each other before hopping back into the truck and jumping out at the next house.
    “Yep,” the tallest one said. “Dead. They’re all dead. That was no vaccine. They...they killed all those people.”
    A ruckus broke out now, with everyone talking and no one listening.
    Roper looked at Dallas. “The kid hasn’t been wrong once,” she whispered. “There is no vaccine.”
    “We gotta get outta here. Far away from here.”
    By the time they got back to the horses, they were frightened enough to be able to ride quite a distance before Dallas called a rest stop.
    “Okay,” she said, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. “That was fucked up.”
    “It’s just like I said. Containment is a scary thing in the games, and it looks like our government isn’t taking any chances.”
    “But killing healthy people?”
    “We don’t know they are healthy. Maybe they know something we don’t.”
    “Regardless of what they thought or what we think we know,” Dallas said, “we need to grab some shuteye and regroup in the morning. I can’t talk about what we heard and saw until I have some time to process it, if you don’t mind.”
    Roper shook her head. “Not at all. I’ll take care of the horses, you guys drink some water and try to get some rest.”
    Dallas sat with the rifle between her legs as Einstein scrunched down in his sleeping bag. “You were right, Einstein. You’ve been right all along.”
    “Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”
    “This is an apocalypse, isn’t it?”
    “It will be if they can’t stop it. Right now, as in any apocalypse scenario, there are three groups of the living. The first are those who do what they are told and stay inside. The second are those like us, who are making a run for it. It’s the third we have to worry about. Those are the people who take advantage of situations like these and prey on everyone else. Those are the ones we need to look out for. Those are the ones who can hurt us the most.”
    Dallas thought about Katrina and how people turned so savage and so barbaric in an instant, that they stole things they didn’t even need. “Get some rest. I promise we’ll get you some real food tomorrow.”
    When Einstein was asleep, Roper came over from the horses. “I need to get a shoe off of Lance. It’s got something stuck in it.”
    “Is that bad?”
    “Riding at night isn’t easy. He’s probably picked up a stone. I’m gonna need some tools, though.”
    Dallas studied her profile in the darkness. Even in the darkness, it was easy to see how handsome Roper was. Handsome. Was that the right word? Dallas was too tired to find another. “You’re not thinking of going back there?”
    “Not much choice. We need him. Besides, I can grab the kid something to eat. It’ll take a few days for food to go bad in this heat without refrigeration. I can grab some meat and eggs and be back before you know it.”
    Dallas didn’t answer for a long time. She had become used to having Roper there, and the thought of her going into that town alone didn’t sit well with her. It made her anxious.
    “When you going to go?”
    “Just before dawn. It will be easier to get in and out more quickly if I can see what I’m doing. I’ll take Merlin and hitch him up where we left the horses last time. Should be easy getting in and out of a barn.”
    “And the food?”
    “Easy. I’m busting into that Burger King. Without electricity, there won’t be any alarms to sound. I’ll grab a stack of all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce—”
    “That’s McDonald’s, you Goober.”
    They both