Ride it Out (Nuclear Survival: Northern Exposure Book 3) by Harley Tate

Author:Harley Tate [Tate, Harley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

DANNY

Tuesday, 6:00 a.m. CST

Racine, Wisconsin

Danny turned the glass of water around on the counter as Conrad Holmes padded into the kitchen. He smiled at the older man. “Good morning.”

“I wish it were.” Conrad eased onto a barstool on the opposite end of the kitchen counter. “I’m sorry we can’t give you anything to eat.”

Danny stared at his glass. “When did your food run out?”

Conrad peered up at the ceiling. “Day before yesterday, I think.”

“And you haven’t eaten since then?”

He ran his fingers along the grout between the tiles. “Our neighbor a few doors down gave us a loaf of stale bread. Said he couldn’t eat it all before it molded.”

“Did you try the stores? There had to be some taking cash, at least in the beginning.”

“We didn’t know what happened. Thought it was a routine power outage. Those never last more than a day or two.” Conrad leaned back. “Even when we had that ice storm that brought down a transformer it only took three days for the power to come back.”

Danny tried to keep his voice neutral. “When did you learn about the bombs?”

“Only after we walked down to Joe’s place. His daughter made it here from Chicago. Told him all about it.”

“What have you been doing all this time?”

Conrad’s face lit up. “Painting. The natural light’s been wonderful for the canvas Edwina is working on, and for the first time in years we could actually see the stars.” He almost beamed. “Have you ever painted by starlight?”

Danny shook his head.

“It’s magical.”

A million descriptions for the past week rattled around in Danny’s skull. Magical wasn’t among them. He exhaled. “We need to head to Chicago to find Midge’s mother.”

“So you’ll be leaving?”

“Soon. But we need to gather more supplies and gas. You don’t have any left, do you?”

Conrad scratched the back of his head. “The Corolla might have a quarter tank. I can never remember to fill it until the light comes on.”

“Do you have a siphon? Something we can get the gas out with?”

Conrad thought it over. “I’ve got some tubing I use for my splatter art. Would that work?”

“It might.” Danny lapsed into silence. The more he talked to Conrad, the more he worried about Lilly’s future. They didn’t seem the sort to suddenly become resourceful.

After a few minutes, Conrad turned to him. “Were you with my son? In the end?”

Danny nodded. “I tried to save him. I really did. But the bullet… It tore him up.”

“Lilly said he rescued her?”

“We all did—Clark, me, and my friend Raymond. Lilly and Midge did a lot of the hard work themselves, but Clark was brave. He didn’t hesitate to rush in and save his sister even though he wasn’t armed.”

Danny might have embellished the truth a little, but what harm was there in telling a father his son died a hero? He smiled at the counter. “He fought for his sister right till the end.”

The door to the kitchen opened and Conrad ran a hasty hand down his face.

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