Mass Extinction Event (Book 2): Days 9-16 Read Online Free Page A

wooden house, but although it's out here in the middle of nowhere, it looks to have been fairly well maintained. There are some piles of wood over by the door, and a nearby fence looks as if it was painted quite recently. In a way, it reminds me of my family's house back home, although this place is quite a bit smaller. Still, what really matters is that we seem to be miles from anywhere, which means there's a good chance that this house and all the land is completely cut off from everything that's been happening in the world.
    "Hello?" I call out, walking cautiously toward the door. "Is anyone home?"
    No reply.
    Deciding that it might be too dangerous to try the door, I head to one of the windows. It's dark inside, but I can just about make out a kitchen. The place looks clean and tidy, although I'm remaining cautious for now. Walking over to the door, I give it a gentle push but find that it's locked. I look back over at the truck and see Joe's blooded form on the back shelf, and I realize that even though I hate the idea of breaking into this place, I've got no choice. Besides, no-one's answering me, so I figure the occupants of this place must have either died or left. Taking a step back, I pick up a large rock from the ground, and then I throw it at the window before I have a chance to think twice.
    The glass shatters, and I hurry over to get a better look inside. The first thing I notice, to my relief, is that the place doesn't smell bad. I'm not expert, but I'd have thought that after a week of rotting, a dead body would stink pretty bad, so hopefully this means there's no-one inside. I guess the occupants must have been out of the house when disaster struck, or maybe they set off to get help. After all, there's no car anywhere around. Using the butt of the rifle, I clear away the rest of the glass and then I slowly, cautiously climb inside.
    It takes me a few minutes to check all the rooms, but finally I realize that there's definitely not a body here. I don't know where the people went, but right now I don't care: all that matters is finding some more supplies, and hopefully getting hold of some medical equipment that might help Joe. I hurry through to the bathroom and go through the cabinet, but I don't find much more than some pain-killers and a few prescription tablets that I've never heard of before. I pocket them anyway, while reminding myself that at times of emergency, this isn't so much stealing as sharing things around. I hated it when Joe robbed that gas station last week, but this is different: this is a life or death situation. Joe might have some moral gray areas, but I'm certain that I've made the right decision here.
    Once I'm certain that there's no more medicine left, I head through to the kitchen and start going through the fridge. There's no electricity, of course, but I find a few old tins of beans, which I figure could be useful. To my surprise, I also find what appears to be some kind of animal, arranged on a plate with its fur still on; I look closer and realize it seems to be a skunk. Taking a step back, I tell myself that while things are bad, I'm not quite at the point yet where I'm going to eat skunk meat. Closing the fridge, I walk over to the sink and try the taps, but of course there's no water. That's my biggest concern, I guess. We've only got enough water to last a couple more days, and that's before you factor in the need to keep Joe's wounds clean.
    Hearing a noise outside, I duck down for a moment. I wait, but the whole place is silent again. Still, I know I heard something, like a brief shuffling, scratching sound. I take a deep breath and tell myself that there's no option other than to go and take a look. I doubt the occupants of the house have come back, and hopefully none of those creatures have got this far, so I guess the most likely thing is that there's just some animal out there.
    I walk over to the window and take a look outside. There's no sign of anything, so I quickly