Days 1 to 4 by Amy Cross

Author:Amy Cross [Cross, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic
Published: 2018-07-27T04:00:00+00:00

Day Three

THOMAS

Oklahoma

"Anything?"

My mother looks up from the kitchen table, where she's writing something in her old notebook. "No," she says after a moment. "Not yet".

Walking over to the sink, I turn the cold tap and wait to see if any water comes out. I know it's a forlorn hope, but I perform this ritual a couple of times each day. My reasoning is that at some point, things have to start getting back to normal. The water has to start running and the lights have to come back on, and then we can begin the recovery process. Just because there's nothing yet, it doesn't necessarily follow that we're screwed forever. They won't let us just die out here. They won't let everything fall apart like this. They're working on put things right. I know they are. Whoever 'they' are...

"I had a sudden idea in the night," my mother says, still writing. "It occurred to me that maybe we should keep a diary of what happens, so we can refer back to it when this is all over". She adds a couple more lines to the book, before setting her pen aside and sitting back with a satisfied smile. "Do you remember when I used to write bedtime stories for you, and for Joseph? I don't know why I ever gave that up. This seems like the perfect time to freshen up some old habits".

I watch as she adds some more lines to her notebook. There's something slightly pathetic about the sight of her reverting to an activity she abandoned more than a decade ago. It's almost as if her fear of the future is forcing her into the past.

"What are you writing?" I ask eventually.

"Just in idea I had when I was trying to get to sleep. I had to wait until morning, of course, so I could see to write. I could barely close my eyes, of course. I was too excited, and..." She pauses, and the smile fades from her lips. "Well, I'm not really sure why I bothered now. It seems silly. But you never know. It might be useful".

"Sure," I say quietly. Even though I don't really understand her point, I figure I might as well let her get on with whatever makes her feel better. Walking over to the fridge, which is still a little cooler than the rest of the house, I open the door and grab a bottle of water. We were pretty well-stocked when this began, but we're starting to run low and I doubt we've got enough for much more than another day. Suddenly, even the smallest things are cause for concern.

"Try not to drink too much," my mother says.

"I'm going to put out some butts," I reply. "Dad's got some big barrels in the barn. I figured it might rain, so we could collect the water".

"You're not allowed to collect rain-water," she says firmly.

"What?"

"It's against the law. You're not allowed to do it. You can get fined. It's part of the local land management rules".

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.