Free Dead Winter: A gripping crime thriller full of suspense by Jack Parker Page A

slightly as I shut out the cold, the engine roaring to life.
     
    As the vehicle smoothly made its way through the streets, I stared out of the window at the buildings passing me by. Eventually, we would find ourselves unable to travel by car, I just knew it.
     
    I thought I saw someone on the rooftops for a moment, but my view was obscured by trees as we turned a corner. I had that daunting feeling once more, as though someone were watching my every move.
     
    "Something wrong, Ethan?" Paul asked me, looking up from his book. How anyone could read in a moving car was beyond my comprehension.
     
    Several minutes of monochrome buildings and corpses later, we arrived at a dead end of sorts, the road ahead was blocked by a rather nasty looking pile-up of cars. As I had thought, we would have to walk the rest or backtrack, though I doubted the car had enough fuel left in it.
     
    "Well, shit." John sighed, pointing at the fuel gauge on the dashboard, which was blinking red.
     
    "We'll have to walk, I guess." said Dave, moving his hand over to the door handle.
     
    We all agreed that it was the best course of action and proceeded to climb out of the vehicle; stepping foot onto the road, I pulled out my cleaver and anxiously glanced around the street. It would only take an hour or two to pass through the city normally, though in these circumstances it may take even longer.
     
    Nothing is as easy as planned.
     
    We shouldered our backpacks and made to climb over the wreckage of the cars that had blocked our path. The winter wind whipped at my hair for a moment as I hopped over the bonnet of the last car, peering across the corner as I waited for John to take the lead.
     
    John was as good a leader as any, he certainly seemed to act like a leader, to say the least. It was unofficial, but he certainly would get my vote if we had one. There was just something about the way he handled himself that I couldn't put my finger on.
     
    "Fellas, it's this way!" John called to the rest of us, pointing around the corner I had previously been peering at.
     
    To my complete lack of surprise, there was an infected shuffling across the pavement further down the road. John briskly walked towards it, holding the map in one hand and his kukri in the other.
     
    With one fell slash, he planted the long blade into the skull of the infected man, almost lopping part of his head off before the blade stopped. Pushing against the man with his foot, John quickly yanked the blade from his head and a small trail of blood flew through the air as the infected fell to the floor.
     
    John made it look too easy. At least he was wearing the hat.
     
    There had to be some sort of catch, some detail that portrayed him in a different light. I was tempted to consider the possibility that he might be with the military, part of some strange special operations unit; but that seemed highly unlikely. I mean, he'd have told us, right?
     
    "Something the matter, Ethan?" he said to me, whipping the blade through the air to get rid of some of the blood trickling down it.
     
    I shook my head quickly, trying to repress the thoughts and questions I had regarding John's identity and his past. This wasn't the time nor place for such talk.
     
    "The road ahead is blocked again, we'll have to cut through the side-streets for this block." John sighed, pointing with his kukri towards a fuel-tanker blocking the way ahead.
     
    "Always seems to be something in the way.." Claire chimed miserably from behind me, she was examining her pendant nervously.
     
    "Too bloody right. I'm sick and tired of all these obstacles." Dave cut in, sharper than John's knife could ever be.
     
    "Calm down, ladies. It's just a little detour. What? Are you tired already?" John said snidely, the sarcasm was razor sharp.
     
    Once more, I thought I heard something as the five of us wandered along the street; turning my head I noticed a shadow flicker out of sight on the rooftop of a nearby block of flats,