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    23 Hours
    23 Hours
    23 Hours
    Ebook73 pages1 hour

    23 Hours

    By Kevin Riley

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    About this ebook

    I went to that cabin with a very simple plan; drink until the whiskey ran out, then use my last bullet to set myself free. I'd been bitten so I knew exactly how much time I had left. I also knew what would happen when time ran out and there was no way I was going to let that happen. I wasn't upset about it; I was almost relieved. Hell, I was even looking forward to the freedom that death would bring.  Then I found that damn kid.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKeyboard Monkey Publishing
    Release dateAug 1, 2013
    ISBN9781386765363
    23 Hours
    Author

    Kevin Riley

    Kevin Riley grew up near Pittsburgh where many technologies and innovations have pioneered. He has a BS in Earth Science from Edinboro University and an MS in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

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      Book preview

      23 Hours - Kevin Riley

      Chapter 1

      Damn that kid, I muttered under my breath; not that he’d really understand what I was saying. And besides, it wasn’t his fault; he didn’t ask me to save him, if that’s what I was really doing. For all I knew I was just going to cause him to die an even worse death, maybe even at my own hands. Then again if it wasn’t for him I’d have already been dead. I went into that shack with absolutely no intention of ever coming out. My plan was to drink myself stupid over and over until the whiskey ran out and then, with my last bullet, save myself from that hell. So maybe it was him who had saved me, or doomed me to a more horrible death.

      He gently tapped me on the shoulder and I hesitated before turning around. I knew what he wanted and sure enough the hunger showed in his eyes and in his grumbling belly. I tried to hide the anger I felt. It wasn’t his fault; he didn’t know any better. I mean he couldn’t have been more than 3 years old.

      Not now, I said, shaking my head. The disappointment in his eyes was brutal but that was something I was just going to have to live with. When I went into that cabin I wasn’t supposed to need any more supplies and I’d used up what I had just trying to keep him from dying. Somehow I needed to get us some more provisions, especially food, and that meant going to the Town. Not that it would do any good. Food would keep us going a little longer, but the hospital was about a day away on foot, even more if we stopped by the Town. Judging by the bite marks on my arm we didn’t have that long. On top of that I really had no idea what kind of shape he was actually in. His fever wouldn’t go away, and his leg was badly mangled; there was no way to know exactly what happened to him before I came along. Even if I somehow lasted the whole trip, I didn’t know if he would.

      It’s time to go, buddy, I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

      We were both exhausted but even with the bum leg he jumped on my back with the agility of a little monkey. I had to smile at that. I’d never had any kids of my own, and I wouldn’t think of bringing one into the world after all that mess, but something about that little boy’s attitude was almost contagious.

      With him on my back I grabbed the burlap pack containing everything I owned. When push comes to shove, it’s amazing what you can get by with.

      I also had to grab Excalibur; at least that’s what I called it. It was nothing like the mythical blade, I mean I made it from a wooden handle and an old lawnmower blade, but I liked the name. It was somehow fitting now that I was off on my own crusade.

      The sun was just rising as I stepped through the doorway of that dilapidated shack, searching for any sign that one of the stragglers might be there. The shack was deep in the woods and most of the infected kept close to the cities but I still didn’t want to take a chance. Fighting one was difficult as is, with the boy it would be damn near impossible.

      Hearing and smelling nothing, I took off down the trampled path. The infected weren’t usually bright enough to set an ambush on a game trail, mostly because that wasn’t the kind of game they were after, and the compacted earth made a hell of a lot less noise than wandering through the underbrush so I decided to keep following it as long as possible.

      As we made our way through the trees I realized that under different circumstances it could have been almost beautiful; a peaceful walk in the woods with a bird or two chirping as the sun continued to rise. The gentle warming as the cool dew still hung on the leaves was actually quite nice. If it wasn’t for all hell breaking loose everywhere and death quickly catching up with me, I could have almost enjoyed it.

      I froze mid stride as the birds suddenly went silent and my skin began to crawl. Instantly I ran to the nearest tree, swinging the boy off my back and hoisting him to the branch, just praying he wouldn’t fall out.

      I had barely made it back to the path and pulled Excalibur in front of me before I could smell it. The stench of rotting flesh with a sickeningly sweet overtone was one you’d never forget. When some of their fluids oozed or sprayed across you it could take a week to get rid of that smell.

      With a roar it leapt through the foliage with reckless abandon, its empty eye sockets black as night though in contrast its teeth were almost brilliantly white and sharp; like something from a bad nightmare. I hardly had a chance to brace myself as the thing hit me with more power than an NFL lineman. He was as big as one too so in honor of William The Refrigerator Perry I decided to call him Willie.

      The pain was intense, practically paralyzing me as we slammed into the ground. He hit me so hard that we just kept rolling over and over. I wish I could take credit for it, but even though I didn’t do anything I somehow ended up on top of old Willie. By that point I wasn’t worried about another bite; my death was inevitable. But I wanted to die on my own terms so there was no way in hell I

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