The Ocean in the Fire by Renee N. Meland

Author:Renee N. Meland [Meland, Renee N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quandary Hill Publishing
Published: 2018-06-27T16:00:00+00:00

A few nights later, Connor decided it was time to act. Enough time had gone by that he was sure his son wouldn’t catch on that he’d been spied on. Gabriel always came out to the garage after dinner, like clockwork. He’d work there until he went to bed. But this time, Connor would be waiting for him.

He heard his son come in and shut the door. He hesitated before he spoke, lingering in the dark like one of Gabriel’s forgotten projects that had grown a fine layer of dust over the years. He let him set up his work bench and start hammering away before he spoke. “You’re missing some things.”

His son jumped back, in his startle letting the hammer land on the work bench with a loud clatter. “Dad, you scared me. How long have you been in here?”

Connor slowly emerged, his face lit by the weak lamp that rested in the corner of the garage. “I did an inventory of all your weapons, and there were some missing. What did you do with them?” He stared at his son, almost willing him to dare and utter a lie.

But he didn’t. To Connor’s surprise, the first thing out of his son’s mouth was the truth. “I gave a couple to Cassius and Darius.”

“Why would you do something stupid like that?” The clench in his teeth made each word hiss its way out of his mouth.

“Because they aren’t any good to us if they can’t defend themselves. There’s no point. More people are probably on their way as we speak and they’re sitting ducks right now. Just another couple bodies to shoot.”

Connor felt as if he stepped outside of himself to watch as he pushed his only son against the wall. “They’ve barely been here for more than two days! How many times do I have to tell you…you can’t trust anyone but your mother, me and your sisters. How many times?”

“YOU are the one who chose to let them in here! For what? To do our chores? Dad, what are any of these people supposed to do if someone finds us up here? God forbid they grab Harper or Poe. What are they supposed to do to help? Ask them nicely to go away?”

Connor slapped him across the face. “You will show me respect.” As he looked at Gabriel, he thought for just a moment how easy it would be to let him win. It would serve him right if he gave up. Then when people turned on them Gabriel would only have himself to blame. But in the same instant, he knew he couldn’t do that to Kate, Poe, and Harper. He needed to protect them, not only from the new world, but from what he knew would follow.

As Gabriel rubbed his stung cheek, he said, “Maybe you should show me some too.” Connor took a deep breath and let Gabriel go. He hadn’t meant to strike him; Kate and he had never believed in that type of punishment.

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