After the Fall (Book 1): Outside Read Online Free

once I get kitted up a bit. Cant believe I didn’t think. Pretty stupid.”
    “It’s ok.” James peered out the window of the shop, as if checking they were fully alone. “I guess you’re here because Simon gave you a hard time? Don’t worry about him, about what he’s thinking, or what anyone else thinks. I know what it’s like, I lost people too, remember? But what you’re doing, it’s the right thing. You need to get moving, or you’ll die. And you’ve still got your daughter to look after.”
    James didn’t wait for a response, but turned and left Jack in the shop, alone.
    He breathed deeply, his heart thumping. He looked at the door. Nothing could stop him from leaving, from running. But where would he run too?
    He tried on a few jackets until he found one that fit. He pulled on a pair of leather trousers. They were tight, but that felt good, felt safe. He put on a ski helmet, lighter and less claustrophobic than a motorcycle helmet. Then gloves, then boots.
    He put his old clothes in a pile in a corner of the shop.
    He picked up his sledgehammer. He gave it a swing.
    He was ready.
    He took another deep breath and walked out to join the runners.

Chapter 5
     
    Jack sat in the back of the flatbed of a Mitsubishi L200. They bounced out of the holiday park onto the main road. Light flecks of rain hit his cold cheeks. They turned to the right, towards the town of Tulloch.
    Simon was in the front of the cab, in the dry, with driver Ash. Jack shared the back of the pickup with Marcus, a thin teenager with night black hair, long and matted from lack of washing and turning into one big dreadlock. He held an axe comfortably down by his boots.
    “She’s a good driver,” said Marcus.
    “Is she?” asked Jack, his eyes scanning the green hills and farmland that surrounded the road. Pylons, emptied of electricity and useless beyond perches for hundreds of birds, stood in mocking testament to the world that was gone.
    “Yeah, she used to ride the ambulances in Bristol. Can’t half shift it when she needs to.”
    A farmhouse stood about fifty yards back from the road. Its windows were boarded up. Its front door stood wide open.
    “Where are we going?” said Jack.
    “We’re going to the industrial estate. We’ve been all over the shops in Tulloch, but there is an industrial estate about five mile down the road. I think James’ plan is we clear all the shops and factories within ten miles, then we start working the houses. Should be enough to keep us going for the next year or so.”
    “Unless more people arrive.”
    “Well, yeah, but then we will have more people to go on the runs.”
    The truck bounced roughly over a pothole.
    Jack grabbed on tight to the side of the flatbed. He felt exposed. What was to stop a zombie from jumping from one of the hedges, or one of the trees, into the truck? How did people know they couldn’t do that?
    “How come this is your first run?” said Marcus.
    “I’ve been looking after my daughter.”
    Marcus nodded, seemingly satisfied.
    “Are these runs dangerous?” said Jack.
    Marcus shook his head. “Nah, you get used to them. Can get a bit hairy if you come across more than a few dead-heads. But that’s pretty rare now around Tulloch. Reckon we’ve cleared most of them. Just listen to what Ash says, and Simon, he’s pretty handy.”
    The words didn’t ease Jack’s flustered and turning stomach. He imagined this was how a rabbit felt when forced to run across an open plane, with the eagles hovering above.
    “You ever lost anyone on a run?”
    Marcus gave Jack a strange look. “You only just arrived?”
    Jack shook his head. “No, I just don’t go out much.”
    Marcus shrugged. “Yeah, we lost a few people in the early days. And we lost Ian, that accountant, last week. You know, people with no experience.” Marcus caught himself. “Not you of course, sure you’ll be ok.”
    Jack didn’t answer, but instead turned to watch the world. At first it looked the