Lawless World (EMP Aftermath Book 6) by Grace Hamilton

Author:Grace Hamilton [Hamilton, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-11T23:00:00+00:00

18

BEAR

Most of the houses on the sparsely lined street were boarded up, but one had smashed-in windows and a door hanging off its hinges. Whoever lived there had clearly vacated the property almost as soon as the EMP hit, or perhaps they’d been on vacation and unable to make their way back. Staying with friends, and instead of returning home, went to set up their own little commune somewhere else.

It was impossible to tell, and whatever had happened, by now it had been thoroughly gone over by looters. This did, however, mean that Art, Gideon, Bear, and Bella were able to walk straight in instead of breaking in.

Inside the hallway, Bear wrinkled his nose. The entire place smelled musty and damp—as if food and water and dust had been allowed to accumulate and amalgamate and turn into something that smelled old and sad.

Walking through the hallway was like walking through a scene in a movie; family photographs on the wall smiled down at them from dusty frames. Next to the door was an old-fashioned coat stand. Beneath it, a pair of yellow Wellington boots and a slightly bigger pair with cartoon characters on their sides.

Bear swallowed forcefully and tried to sharpen his hearing. He was finding it increasingly difficult to latch onto small sounds, and although he had three other people with him, it left him feeling uncomfortably vulnerable.

If Jess had been there, he could have relied on her to alert him to things he didn’t hear, but it was decided among them that she would be too much of a liability for this particular trip. If he didn’t keep her on a leash, he had to admit she had a tendency to run off if she saw something interesting. And this far down the line, he didn’t want to risk her being injured, especially after her close call with the carbon monoxide when she ran into the room to try and save him.

She and Mae made a good pair, he thought—both putting themselves at risk to try and help him.

“She’ll be annoyed that you made her stay behind,” Gideon said, approaching Bear’s right shoulder.

“It wasn’t for any other reason than the fact that I didn’t want the kid coming along.” Bear looked over at Art and gave him a withering stare. “He shouldn’t have been invited.”

Ignoring Bear’s dig, Art proceeded to check the rooms ahead. “Looks like the kitchen has been cleared out already,” he said.

Bear stuck his head around the corner to see what Art was looking at. Just as he’d said, the entire place had been ransacked. Cupboard doors hung open and were now completely empty. Dishes, glasses, and Tupperware littered the floor.

“I’ve never understood why people who take stuff have to trash the place at the same time,” Bella said.

Raising his eyebrows, Bear turned to look at her.

“What? You think just because I ran with Arlo that I used to vandalize everywhere we looted or stayed at? We were respectful thieves,” she said, “and most of what Arlo did was to help Liam.

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