Season Of Decay (The Decaying World Saga Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

they had the time for a quick search of the area, but not much more. He started to give directions when something caught his eye.
    “What is that?” He pulled at Jonah’s coat to get a better look at the hand-drawn symbol on his shoulder. The centerpiece was an open mouth skull, backed by two crossing arrows.
    Jonah smiled sheepishly.
    “It’s our symbol,” he said.
    “ Our, who?” Rowan asked.
    He found the symbol on Bree’s long coat and again on Gabriel’s before Jonah had a chance to respond. The other boys revealed theirs.
    “We’re the Knights of Rowan,” Bale said matter-a-factly.
    The sound of it made Rowan laugh. He swallowed his snicker once he realized none of the kids were smiling.
    “What do you have to do with my nights?” he asked.
    “Not that kind of night. They were protectors,” Tate said, “A long time ago, in the old world.”
    “Mia used to read me books about them,” Jonah said. “When we still had books.”
    Rowan could read, barely, but Mia had taken to it. They were given access to a wide assortment of books from the old world in the home of their former tribe before the infected took it all away. He wasn’t sure what to make of the group naming themselves, so he decided to let it be.
    “We’ll head for the buildings across the street,” he said then nodded to Bree, “but if we don’t find anything promising, we’ll head back.”
    He let Jonah lead them. Bale was next, moving with an arrow notched and his bowstring up close to his face, ready to fire. The other three went as a group and Rowan followed them across the street. He was halfway to their destination when a series of murmurs brought him to a sliding stop.
    Jonah and Bale were already leaning against the building, Jonah peeking around the corner. The others stopped before they reached the destination. Rowan broke off his straight line and headed for Jonah, waving Bree forward as he did. He took Jonah’s place, and the moment he slid his eyes around the corner, the sound of crunching steps in the snow echoed clearly between the two buildings.
    Rowan stepped forward, motioning for the others to stay where they were. He was near the front of the building when the sounds behind him said neither Jonah nor the rest of the newly christened Knights of Rowan followed his directions. His first glimpse of the open area beyond the buildings was a confusing picture. The row of structures he expected to see were replaced by a series of wide circular cuts in the ground surrounded by a tall fence. The odd scene kept him still, and it wasn’t until Jonah shoved him from behind that he realized the footsteps were closing in on them from the opposite side of the building.
    “Spread out,” Rowan said. “Bree, take Gabriel and Tate and slide along the face of this building.” He tapped the exterior of the wall behind him. “We’ll go out wide in case they rush us.”
    The use of the word they heightened the tension of the situation. The moment they stepped out from their position, the footsteps slowed then stopped. Rowan’s eyes were on the corner of the far end of the building. He tried to work through his options if a pack of the dead or worse a group of infected rushed out toward them. Silence covered the area and the stillness heightened the fear.
    Rowan drew his bowstring back until his hand touched his cheek. Bree was midway across the face of the building when the footsteps started forward again. Rowan nearly released his arrow when a fuzzy bunny leapt out into the open. It took him a moment to process what he was looking at. The sudden release of tension came out in a snort he couldn’t control. The kids broke into laughter and the burst of sound caused the rabbit to jump off in the direction it came.
    “I think we’ve reached our limit,” Rowan said between laughs. “There’s not much out here.”
    Bale chimed in with an astute inspiration.
    “We should’ve shot the rabbit.”
    He was right, but the effort