HOOD: A Post Apocalyptic Novel (American Rebirth Series Book 1) by Evan Pickering Page A

some in exchange for my brothers and my dad agreeing to help them fight. When they left on a raid, they came back without my dad or my brothers, and they. . . I had to escape. I managed to get away. Since then I’ve been heading towards Richmond. I know a guy there.”
    “Who is it? Why don't you still want to go there?” Hood asked, looking over at Whiskey to see if he wanted to start his own line of questioning. His expression was that of extreme skepticism.
    “He's my ex, if you must know. I'm not even sure he's alive. Or if it’s even a good idea.” She let out a labored breath. “When I saw how you guys at least showed some remorse after you shot that desperate guy, I decided I'd take my chances. It's a long walk to Richmond. After all, you weren't looting his corpse. It was a risk, but it was that or be alone.”
    Hood stared at her. “Why didn't you just tell us that?”
    She gathered her hair and pulled it over to one side of her head. “I don't know.” Her gaze looked empty as she stared out the window, sinking into thought. Hood continued to watch her, demanding a better response. She shrugged, turning away from him. “It's painful to talk about how bad things are.”
    “Yeah,” Hood looked down at his rifle. “There's a lot of that going on now.”
    “I won't let it hold me down. I'm still alive for some reason.”
    Hood smiled. “Yeah, to piss Whiskey off.”
    Her laugh had a melodic quality to it.
    “My true calling.” She smirked and looked over at Whiskey.
    “Nothing? You just Driving Miss Daisy over there?” She said, waving at him.
    “It's a sad story,” Whiskey said, his emphasis on the word 'story'.
    “You don't trust me.” Kerry shook her head, a look of acceptance on her face. “I get it.”
    Hood didn't know what to say to her. His thoughts were wrapped up in trying to decipher her story. If she was lying, why?
    “If you can't loosen up though, you might as well have died when the bombs went off.” She crossed her arms. “Just 'cause it's the apocalypse everyone hates fun,” she grumbled.
    Hood laughed, reminded of his old life before the fall. Images of hanging out with friends in parking lots, laughing, talking trash and drinking all their problems away.
    “That's the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever heard.” he said.
    “See? That's more like it,” she said, smiling at him. “Feels good.”
    Damn that's a pretty smile. Hood rubbed the back of his head and watched the road curve along the rusted old guard rail. The sun was rising, and the sky was blue. Whiskey drummed the steering wheel lightly with the carpenter pencil. Kerry sat staring straight ahead, content with her pot-stirring for now. What are you all about? It was hard to make sense of how she could end up here, with them.
    And what if people are looking for her?
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7 – Crossing
     
     
    The three of them stood in front of the truck, staring blankly at the broken stone bridge ahead. Whiskey crossed his arms and spat. Hood scratched the back of his head and turned around to look at the truck. His mind itched with impatience, knowing the longer it took to get them to D.C., the more Taylor was at risk. He felt the same stress emanating from Whiskey. Hood felt at least some measure of comfort knowing Ian was there with her. Whiskey might not understand yet, but there is someone looking out for her within the Kaiser's empire.
    Two days of driving, and it felt like they'd gone farther backwards then they had forwards. Some roads had been purposefully destroyed, others were cut off by endless rows of weather-beaten cars long abandoned in traffic jams. They were lucky the truck hadn't gotten stuck on any of their off-road detours. The only positive was that with each day Whiskey seemed to soften to Kerry a bit more. If she was here for any sinister purpose, she was doing a terrible job of it. She didn't seem to care where they went. She just seemed content to be