The Survival Code by Kelly deVos

Author:Kelly deVos
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Published: 2019-08-20T16:01:58+00:00

DR. DOOMSDAY SAYS:

IF YOU CAN’T OUTRUN THE PAST, YOU CAN HIDE FROM IT.

“Dad?” I ask.

What are you doing here?

Where have you been?

What is happening?

WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO?

These questions don’t come out.

Instead, Charles bounds out of the camper. “Dad? Dad!” My brother wears a massive grin on his face as he runs by my frozen form and jumps into our father’s arms.

Dad musses Charles’s reddish-brown hair. “Hello, sonny boy,” he says.

It’s dawn in the desert with the sun creeping up and sending first light over the yellowing brush. From the horizon, the golds of the sunrise burst over the low cholla into the early morning sky. Nearer to us, scattered saguaros are rendered in cool violet and indigo hues.

Navarro has taken us to a pretty good position, nestled in between two buttes, keeping us out of sight of anyone traveling across the open landscape.

I take slow steps toward my father. He appears to be clean, well fed and well rested. He’s even trimmed his beard. I’m covered in dirt and grime and splotches of blood, and look like I’ve been sleeping under the Adams Street Bridge for the past week. Dad looks like he just returned from free waffles at the Ramada Inn.

He’s sitting in front of a cheerful fire made of wood he must have brought with him.

I’ve got a thousand questions. “What...how did you find us?” is the one that comes out.

Dad eyes the distance between us. “Hello to you too,” he says. “Gustavo has a geolocation device. He gave me the coordinates.”

Navarro has a way to get in contact with my dad and I don’t. There’s something about it that feels like a betrayal. I glance around looking for the traitor but don’t find him. “Dad...” I say.

He smiles. “Jinx. Get some breakfast. Sit down. We have a lot to discuss and we need to get moving as soon as we can.”

“Like the fact that Mom thinks you can get Jay away from The Opposition,” I say.

His smiles fades. “Yes. Like that. After we eat.”

The fire crackles and pops.

MacKenna slowly steps out of the camper, putting her hair in a ponytail while she walks. As she approaches, she clears her throat. In addition to everything else, I’ve got bad manners, because it doesn’t immediately occur to me to introduce her. Dad’s book didn’t cover remote campsite etiquette.

It’s Charles who plops down next to Dad on the camping pack and says, “Hey! Dad! Did you ever meet MacKenna?”

The answer is no.

The fact that Mom got remarried so soon after the divorce really messed him up. He never made an effort to meet Jay. Or MacKenna and Toby.

“She’s awesome,” Charles goes on. “She knows everything. She reads everything. She writes for the newspaper.”

“The school newspaper,” MacKenna says quietly.

Charles grins. “She knows everything about The Spark. She was the teen volunteer coordinator for Rosenthal. Everyone’s for Rosenthal.”

I shake my head at my brother. “Dad is for The Opposition.”

“I’m not for anyone,” Dad says in a low tone.

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.