The Incident | Book 3 | Winter of Darkness by Johnson J.M
Author:Johnson, J.M. [Johnson, J.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Dystopian
Published: 2021-07-18T04:00:00+00:00
Chapter 17 - Doyleâs Dilemma
Snowflakes drifted down from a gray sky, covering the woodpile and hiding the mountains from view. Stan raised the axe over his head and drove it into another log. Danny was busy piling the split wood into the wheelbarrow. Smoke drifted from the makeshift chimney sticking out of the boarded-up window.
âDo you think we have enough?â Danny pushed his hands into his armpits to warm them. âIâm cold.â
Stan kept chopping. Steam issued from his mouth with every breath. âI know itâs cold,â he replied. âThatâs why we need lots of wood. That little heater burns it fast.â
He gave his son a sympathetic look. âWhy donât you go unload that pile and ask mom for something hot to drink? Iâll finish another few logs and come in too.â
Danny quickly disappeared into the house, leaving the wheelbarrow half full.
Stan was startled when Superintendent Doyle appeared beside him. âI didnât hear you.â Stan took his woollen toque off and wiped his forehead. He couldnât help but notice that the once burly officer was noticeably thinner. He even appeared shorter, hunched over with worry and responsibilities.
âYouâd better come in,â Stan said. âYou look like you could use something hot.â
Doyle shook his head. âLetâs stay here a minute.â He looked around as if he expected someone to jump out and grab him. His eyes darted back and forth, watching for some undefined danger.
Alarmed, Stan buried the axe head in the chopping block. âIs something wrong?â He turned around half expecting to see someone climbing over the fence or waving a gun at them.
Doyle handed him a tattered notebook. âI went and looked at the wrecked cars,â he said. âThatâs a list of the owners. Canât tell who was driving them though.â He shuddered. âIâve seen lots of awful things in my career, but going through those cars after bodies had been in them all this time was one of the worst. Some of them had collided at top speed and been killed right away. Some were injured and had tried to go for help.â He took a deep breath. âLittle kids, old people, all tossed around like toys.â
Stan looked down at his feet. âAny teenage girls in those cars?â Of course, Tara had disappeared long after the initial incident, but he had to ask.
âHard to tell.â Doyle sat on the top step, heedless of the snow that had piled up in the few minutes since he had arrived. âItâs been over two weeks and I canât sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see those empty eyes staring at me. If I do drop off, I have terrible dreams.â He looked up at Stan. âWe donât know when this will end, or what caused it. People come to me for support and answers and Iâm useless. There have been another dozen suicides this week and God help me; Iâm beginning to understand them.â
âDonât talk like that,â Stan said gruffly. âCome in and have some tea. Miriam managed to scrounge some cookies.
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