End Times by Anna Schumacher

Author:Anna Schumacher
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Young Adult
ISBN: 9780698146365
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

ON the pullout sofa in the Peytons’ living room, Daphne’s eyes

snapped open. The trailer was still shrouded in milky darkness,

the furniture quiet black shapes. But someone was there, tiptoeing

around, making the floor vibrate almost imperceptibly.

She shot upright, instinctively curling her hands into fists, ready

to fight off the intruder. The cold fear of memory gripped her throat, reminding her of the times Jim had managed to jimmy the cheap lock

on her bedroom door and creep in while she was sleeping.

“Who’s there?” she whispered.

“Shhh.” The voice came from the kitchen. She whipped her head

around.

“It’s me—Uncle Floyd.”

Her shoulders un-tensed as her eyes slowly adjusted to the

darkness. She made out his outline, sitting over a bowl of cereal at

the kitchen’s banquette, hair still damp from his shower.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“It’s early. Go back to sleep. I can go eat outside.”

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E N D T I M E S

“It’s okay.” The adrenalin hadn’t stopped surging through her

veins, and sleep was a distant dream. She padded over to him, helping

herself to a bowl of Froot Loops.

“Why are you up so early?” She pushed the cereal down with her

spoon, soaking it in milk before bringing it to her mouth. The sudden

sugar rush erased the last of slumber’s dryness from her tongue.

He shrugged sheepishly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Is it the contract?” She tried to make out his eyes in the dimness.

He sighed. “That’s part of it. Vince has that lawyer calling me up

just about every day—and, to be honest, I can’t make head or tails of

all that legalese. It’s like a whole other language.”

“That’s why you need a lawyer of your own,” Daphne insisted.

“To tell you if it’s fair.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s fair.” Floyd looked uncomfortable. “I’m being

plenty generous—why would Vince want to cheat me? But that’s not

the main reason I’m up.” He seemed eager to change the subject.

“Mostly, I was just too excited about the day ahead of us to sleep.”

Of course. It was marked on the calendar in the admin shed

with a big red X, the day they were to start extracting oil. “I guess it’s a pretty big deal, huh?” she said.

“The biggest day of my life, since Janie was born.” He leaned

forward, elbows digging into the linoleum tabletop. “Daphne, I know

things’ve been busy around here lately, and we haven’t really had a

chance to sit down and have a proper talk, just you and me.”

“It’s all right.” Her cereal was dissolving, leaving swirls of pink

and green in the milk. “We’ve both been busy with the rig.”

“Well, see, that’s the thing.” Uncle Floyd ran his hand self-

consciously through his hair. “I feel like I haven’t thanked you

properly. There wouldn’t even be a rig if it weren’t for you.”

“That’s not true …” Daphne began. But Floyd hurried over her

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ANNA SCHUMACHER

words, anxious to let his thoughts spill onto the table.

“There’s something special about you, Daphne, something …

chosen. Everything changed the day you came to stay—first there were those trumpets, and then you led us to this blessed gift, this oil.

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