The First Hours by Christine Conaway

Author:Christine Conaway [Conaway, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Survival
Published: 2019-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Teagan didn’t see the guy who blindsided her. She was intent on reaching the shopping bags and had forgotten to assess the situation. Situational awareness. How many times had her father tried to drum that term into her brain? She had failed to pay attention and went down hard. As much as she wanted to lay there and let the pain in her shoulder ease, from the corner of her eye, she saw a hand reach for one of the bags.

Teagan pushed with her knees and grabbed the cloth bag. Her fingers slid off, and she threw herself forward and grabbed for it again. This time she dug her nails in and felt one of them snap off. Teagan saw red. The pain from her finger was excruciating, and her shoulder throbbed, but she couldn’t let the person take their food. Teagan wiped the pain away and pushed herself to her feet. The guy who had demanded their food was on the ground. She didn’t know why or how, but his fat kid was dragging the shopping bag toward their truck. He couldn’t even pick the thing up, and this made Teagan furious. She grabbed him from behind by his hair, and as she tripped, she pulled him over backward. The kid was as tall as her and outweighed her by fifty pounds. She swore he bounced when he hit the pavement. His eyes met hers as they lay there trying to breathe. His red face began to pucker up, and she swore he was going to start crying at any second. Teagan bumped over the top of her backpack and rolled to her feet and grabbed the bag. He grabbed her ankle, and without thinking, Teagan stomped the arm holding on to her leg. He howled and jerked the hand to him.

She looked up when she heard another howl of pain and saw two women kicking the kid’s father, pinning him in place. Teagan didn’t know how they’d gotten involved, but she was grateful for the help.

“Behind you!” one of them screamed while pointing and Teagan turned to see the fat lady bearing down on her. Teagan had seen a mother bear one time while camping and the bear had nothing on this lady. A guttural roar spewed from her lips. Spittle flew out from her open mouth. Teagan grabbed the bag and ran.

She didn’t stop until she reached Ryan, Maddy, and the kids. Thank God, Ryan hadn’t come to help her or Maddy wouldn’t have been as far away from the fight as she was right then. Puffing from her efforts, Teagan panted, “It’s time to run.”

She reached down, grabbed one of the boys around his waist, hauled him up into her arms and with the shopping bag beating against her knees with every step she ran. Teagan saw Ryan grab the other boy and they ran. Maddy was either more rested or in better shape and passed Teagan and Ryan. She clutched the baby to her chest, the diaper bag swinging off her back.

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