Shattered: Yesterday's End Book 1: (A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller) by Paula Lester & Mike Kraus

Author:Paula Lester & Mike Kraus [Lester, Paula & Kraus, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Muonic Press Inc
Published: 2024-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Mike Clark

North of Pensacola, Florida

“Hang on, almost there.” Mike tugged on the adjustor strap of Jane’s backpack a little more, then slid two fingers under the shoulder strap. “That feels good now. Should be more comfortable—give it a shot.”

Jane took a few steps forward, then looked over her shoulder at him. “Much better. Thanks, honey. How does yours feel?”

He hooked his thumbs in his backpack’s straps and gave a couple short tugs to test it out. “Perfect. I’m not sure how yours got out of whack. Maybe the teeth on that strap adjustor are giving out or something. Let’s keep an eye on it, okay?”

Jane nodded, then rubbed her swollen eyes. “I can’t believe how tired I am. We haven’t been walking that long.”

Mike chuckled as he stepped forward fast, so they could continue walking side by side. “I suppose we aren’t as young as we used to be, dear.”

She cuffed his arm lightly. “Speak for yourself, buddy.”

“Right. Sorry. I aged while you stayed twenty-nine.”

“That’s right.” She ran her fingers through the back of her hair, wincing slightly when she ran into the pull of a snarl. “Don’t forget it again.”

Mike grinned. “I wouldn’t dare.”

The truth was, though, that they had aged since the last time they’d done a backpacking trip together. It used to be a regular thing when they lived in Michigan, but Florida was hotter, and they’d mostly been settling in and getting used to their new normal. He wouldn’t say it out loud to Jane, but Mike was worried.

Jane’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Do you think we did the right thing?”

“When?”

“When we left the car on the highway and walked away from it. Most of our food was in there.” She didn’t look at him but kept her eyes on her feet as they walked down the side of the highway. They’d been going for about half an hour, so they were too far away from the Subaru to consider returning to it.

“We’ll find more food. We have enough in our packs for a few days, at least.”

Without answering that, Jane skirted around some litter on the side of the road, and it brought her closer to a white Chevy Malibu stuck in the gridlock. She glanced toward it, then reeled away, off the road and into the grass. She tripped over part of an old tire and lurched forward. Mike grabbed for her and missed, but she regained her footing without falling. Mike glanced at the Chevy to see what had startled her—the driver sat unmoving, staring upward, mouth open.

“What is going on?” Jane said, her voice strangled. “Why are people dying like that?”

“I don’t know.” Mike took her elbow and propelled her past the Chevy, getting between her and the line of cars in hopes of blocking her view of any similar scenes they’d walk past. “We need to find a place to hunker down. The weather’s picking up.” Wind licked at Mike’s backpack as though it might try to lift it off his shoulders.

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.