Dead Will Rise by Joshua Guess

Author:Joshua Guess [Guess, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Horror
Goodreads: 19481917
Publisher: Joshua Guess
Published: 2013-12-12T05:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Andrea didn't say a word to Kell about giving the prisoners weapons and supplies. The idea had come to him as naturally as breathing, as had the potential ramifications. There had been times since The Fall began when he'd left people alive when it would have been smarter to kill, but this felt different. He'd never gone out of his way to give more to those people than their lives. As the SUV trundled south, slow and steady, Kell felt a curious lack of guilt.

They had a good chance rather than simply being alive.

As before, the drive was slow. Andrea didn't do much more than cruise along at idle speed, only touching the gas to go up hills or move past dangerous areas perfect for traps. Kell chatted with her off and on for a while, then fell into playing games with Michelle. Evan watched in endless fascination at the world moving past them, occasionally naming an interesting thing he saw through the glass.

“Two archeologists discover the bodies of Adam and Eve in a cave. They're perfectly preserved, and look like they just went to sleep. How do the scientists know it's Adam and Eve?”

Michelle screwed her face up in thought. The girl had a sharp mind, and asking riddles was a game he'd played on car trips with his parents as a child. “Is it because they have fig leaves?”

“No, but that's a good guess,” Kell said. “I said the same thing the first time I heard this riddle. They're completely naked, but the scientists knew they were Adam and Eve at first glance.”

The little girl chewed her lip absently as she worked out the problem out loud. “The only thing they have is their bodies. What would be different about them? Could it—oh! Belly buttons! They don't have belly buttons, right?”

Kell held out a hand. “High five! You got it.”

Michelle pumped a fist in triumph. From the front seat, Andrea chimed in. “No belly buttons? How do you figure?”

“Mom, they weren't born. They were made! Babies have belly buttons because they came from mommies. Adam and Eve came from clay.” The little girl said it in the same tone others might have used on her a hundred times, explaining things to a kid.

“It's one of those riddles kids get a lot easier than adults,” Kell said. “That's what my parents told me, anyway. Said it has to do with kids being able to make larger logical jumps than an adult.”

Andrea looked back at them, smiling. “Okay, I've got one for you guys. It goes like this: hold me tight, I'll slip away. Keep me gently and I will stay. What am I?”

Kell went through a lifetime of possible answers all at once. Was it literal, something to do with relationships? Was it a solid object you could grasp, maybe a reference to a hot kettle or maybe something electrified? Could it be more abstract, like shadows or sunlight? Maybe—

“It's sand!” Michelle said, smiling like a maniac. “I used to grab sand in my sandbox back home.

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