The Last Infection: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller Read Online Free

at a loss for words, not sure what he should do. The boy got straight to the point before he could gather his thoughts.
    “We want some of that food,” he whispered, pointing at the vending machine.
    “Why should I share?” Chris asked.
    “We saw it first,” the girl added, raising her voice louder than necessary.
    Chris lowered his bat and motioned for her to keep it down.
    “And how did you plan to get in side it?”
    “We were working on a plan,” the boy said.
    Chris risked a look back and found signs of prying on the edge of the machine.
    “You’re not going to get in it that way,” he said, “…at least not without making enough noise to attract attention to yourself.”
    The girl eyed him suspiciously.
    “So what’s your plan?”
    Chris held up a finger with one hand, then leaned down and picked up his ring of keys. He found the key he needed and went to work on the machine, turning his back to the kids. A moment later, the lock was undone. He pulled the face of the machine open and stood back out of the way. He looked at the children and smiled.
    There was a moment when he thought the kids might try to get past him. The girl leaned forward as if drawn by some unseen force. The boy squeezed her hand and pulled her back on her heels. The resemblance of the two adolescents was unmistakable. Their faces were nearly carbon copies of one another, save for the softer impressions of the little girl’s cheeks and mouth. A number of questions stuffed Chris’ mind, but he tried to push them aside. He quickly reminded himself that he didn’t care or at least didn’t want to.
    Chris looked at the contents of the vending machine and verified that it was in fact the largest haul he’d ever seen. He thought for a split second about shooing the kids away, but his guilt quickly got the best of him. He rolled his eyes and his shoulders relaxed. “Fine,” he said more to himself than the kids. “I’ll split some of it with you.” He swore under his breath and the kids stepped forward. It was the little girl’s sudden stop that grabbed his attention. The expression on her face hardened as she turned her focus toward the doorway. “What’s wrong with her?”
    The boy raise d his hand then in a barely auditable murmur said, “We need to hurry.”
    Chris didn’t argue. He was annoyed at himself for missing whatever the girl heard. He grabbed an empty garbage bag from the can near the door and started throwing in every item he could grab. The boy joined in to help as the girl moved closer to the doorway, then poked her head out into the hall. Chris knew they were making way too much noise, but the need for food was urging him to move faster. It was the echo of clumsy steps that told him what the girl heard. The haunting moan that followed the steps confirmed his thought immediately.
    “We gotta go ,” the boy said in a voice draped in obvious dread.
    Chris kept grabbing snacks, as the moans grew louder. His mind was already trying to piece together a plan. If he couldn’t get back down the hall to the stairs, he’d have to explore the other side of the floor. One thing was certain; he didn’t want two kids running close behind him. The kids were standing out in the hall when he wrapped up the top of the trash bag and slung it over his shoulder. The trio headed back down the hall toward the stairway door when the sound of the moans increased from somewhere in the darkness up ahead. Chris gauged the distance and quickly determined they wouldn’t reach the stairwell in time.
    “Come on,” he said, spinning the boy around by the collar of his jacket.
    Chris didn’t look back to see what was coming after them. He rushed past the break room and into the light cascading through the glass wall encompassing the front of the building. A chorus of the zombie death song pushed him to keep moving. The volume increased tenfold as the undead appeared to detect them. Chris turned toward the center of the floor to find a