Affliction Z Series Books 1-3 by L.T. Ryan

Author:L.T. Ryan [Ryan, L.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-06T22:00:00+00:00

Thirty-One

Emma sat on the couch, knees drawn to her chest, crying. Her dad had been gone too long. She began to fear the worst. It had something to do with her mother. She knew that much. Her father hadn’t realized that she had seen the screen, seen him watching the woman.

Her mother was sick, like the people on the television.

But why had he gone out there? Was she in danger? Or did she pose a danger to them?

From across the room, Barbara watched her. The woman said nothing. Emma took note of Barbara’s red, puffy eyes, and raw nose. She knew, too. Perhaps, she knew more than Emma did.

“Why did my father go out there?” Emma asked.

Barbara stared blankly at her for a moment. She opened her mouth, but said nothing. Finally, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Tell me,” Emma said.

“I don’t know,” Barbara said.

“Yes, you do.”

“I wish I did. I wish I could have stopped him.” Her voice shook and she choked back sobs.

Emma studied her. She’d never realized how much Barbara and her mother looked alike until now. They could have been sisters. They acted like it, anyway.

“We’ve got to do something,” Emma said.

Barbara didn’t react to her words.

Emma rose and walked toward the computer. “You can stand around crying, Barb. I’m going to figure out what’s going on.”

Barbara reached out for Emma as she passed. Emma shrugged her off.

She took a seat in her father’s chair and wiggled the mouse side-to-side. A lock screen came up with a dialogue box asking for a password. She leaned back in her chair and thought for a minute. First, she entered her name. Nothing happened. Then she entered her mother’s name. Again, nothing happened. She combined their names, added birthdays, important years, anything she could think of. None of it worked.

“What was his friend’s name?” Barbara said.

Emma swiveled in her chair to face the woman. “Who?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”

Emma shrugged. “No idea. Dad doesn’t have friends.”

“No.” Barbara straightened up and walked toward the desk. She pointed at a picture tacked to the wall underneath the monitors. There was a row of them. Pictures of Emma, her mother, the family together. But there was one man that stood out. A black man dressed in military clothing. “Him.”

Emma studied the picture. She’d heard her father talk about the man. What was his name? “Julie? Jilly? Jelly?”

“Jules!” Barbara said. “Jules Hoover.”

Emma typed the name into the box and clicked enter. Nothing happened.

“What year did he die?” Barbara asked.

“I guess when Dad lost his leg.” She deducted eight years and entered that after Jules’s name. A moment later, her father’s desktop appeared.

The blank screen offered no clues. She double clicked the mouse and a handful of icons appeared. No descriptions, just odd pictures. She hovered the mouse along the bottom of the screen, looking for the taskbar. Nothing happened. She shifted it to the left and the bar appeared. She clicked on every icon that indicated there was an open window.

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